Judge jeremiah t. bueker

Bet record: 17-31, Staked: 53.75u, Profit/Loss: +4.96u, ROI: 9.24%, Parlay Suggestions: 21-6
If you’re not bothered about my ramblings on last week’s opinions, scroll down for UFC San Antonio Breakdowns
(For context, my UFC 286 Preview for that event can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/MMAbetting/comments/11qh6nn/ufc_286_betting_preview_ufc_las_vegas_review/)
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UFC 286
Bets: 4-3, +5.74u, Parlay Suggestions: 3-1
✅ 3u Gunnar Nelson & Marvin Vettori both to Win (-115)
✅ 2u Jack Shore & Impa Kasangany to Win (-180)
✅ 1u Jack Shore to Win in Round 2 or 3 (+241)
❌ 1.5u Omar Morales to Win (-110)
✅ 1u Leon Edwards to Win (+250)
❌ 1u Juliana Miller & Omran Chaaban to Win (-125)
❌ 0.25u Marvin Vettori, Gunnar Nelson, Jack Shore & Juliana Miller all to Win (+205)
As I said in my initial comments about UFC 286, I think it really under delivered from a fan perspective because of the lack of high level UK prospects. Without a Molly McCann, Darren Till, Paddy Pimblett or a Tom Aspinall, the fans just weren’t as excited or vocal throughout the card.
With that said, I’m always having fun if I’m making money! This was my third winning event in a row, a streak of over 10u profit in March. It was obviously a card of strong favourites but I’m mostly happy with the spots I chose to pull the trigger on. The Nelson/Vettori parlay was nice as both men delivered exactly what I expected them to, and Jack Shore also came through to cash a bigger priced prop bet. It’s really satisfying when your reads on fights turn out to be spot on, and your bets cash with relative ease as a result. Here's some live thoughts on the card + my breakdowns:
- So proud of Leon Edwards man, that was one hell of a performance. The way he levelled up that takedown defence and made his shots count in the clinch. It was one of those complicated fights to score in that he was moving backwards and fighting defensively for the most part, but he certainly landed more shots and had the better moments. Really happy to have gotten 2/1 and 3/1 (boosted) on the dog there.
- Jesus Christ Rafael Fiziev is quick. The combinations he was throwing in the first minute of round three were some of the most terrifying spurts of offence I’ve seen in some time. And then just a minute or so later Justin Gaethje starts winging massive uppercuts and cannot miss with them. That was such a good fight, real back and forth stuff. I feel like Gaethje was lowkey a really good underdog spot all week but it’s hard to give those opinions credence sometimes when the masses are all hyping up Fiziev. At least I identified Fiziev was not a good bet.
- Massive shoutout to Gunnar Nelson for performing exactly like a -400 should, as I expected him to! He got in, landed a takedown, and found the sub soon after. I still wish he would have done that against Takashi Sato, bur he rounded out the parlay with Vettori and made it a winning night for me! Along with Hadley, he was the best parlay option on the card (as I suggested).
- Casey O’Neill didn’t shoot for a takedown. Not the fight anyone was expecting. It’s disappointing when that happens but there’s not really a whole lot you can do. Jennifer Maia is a really underrated striker so god knows why Casey chose that path. When you consider the way Jake Hadley approached his fight and compare it with O’Neill…that’s the difference between good fight IQ and bad. I actually said in my analysis “I trust O’Neill’s dedication to her gameplan here” which is hilarious. Don’t think I can be blamed for not seeing it coming though haha.
- All week I was a little bit confused by all the love for Roman Dolidze, as I got on Marvin Vettori pretty early and didn’t really see a whole lot of reasoning that I understood. To be perfectly honest, Dolidze had more success than I expected him to, and any fighter other than Vettori would probably have wilted and got stopped. With that said, that’s exactly why I bet Marvin, so I don’t necessarily think it was a bad read at all. A solid parlay leg.
- Jack Shore vs Makwan Amirkhani played out exactly as I expected it to. Amirkhani’s a good grappler, so I wasn’t surprised nor worried when he clearly won round 1. In fact, I was more confident in winning my bets as soon as the horn sounded, and it showed. I don’t really understand how a professional fighter can have such a glaring cardio issue and not address it or adjust his style. I hope they keep Makwan around, those Round 2/3 props will always be good. Happy to finally win one of those bigger priced prop bets. I’ve historically been pretty good with props but somehow been on a dry patch since I started posting here.
- Chris Duncan v Morales was a frustrating one. Morales will look back on that one and be pissed off at himself, because he should absolutely be winning that. Chris Duncan really isn’t very good and I am already looking forward to fading him in the future. Hope they try and build him up because there’ll be a good fade waiting to happen. Annoying fight to lose but fair play to Duncan for identifying the path to victory. Glad I went with a smaller stake for a volatile fight.
- A shame what happened to Dusko Todorovic. Christian Leroy Duncan is a really exciting striker so I was looking forward to seeing more of him, but you never want to see that happen. I hope we don’t have to wait until the next England card for C L Duncan’s next fight, but I also hope they give him a bit of a lay-up for to allow for a proper “debut”.
- Nicely done from Jake Hadley, making use of his striking advantage and not getting sucked into a grappling affair. Always annoys me when someone has a distinct advantage but doesn’t use it because it’s not their plan A. He was the best parlay piece of the card. Good for Hadley and I’m excited to see what else he has to offer. Wish I’d gone with him instead of backing Juliana Miller.
- I was keeping half an eye on Herbert/Klein and Wood/Carolina whilst at work. Doesn’t look like I missed a whole lot and haven't bothered to rewatch.
- Juliana Miller with an awful performance. Veronica Macedo looked much improved but it didn’t take a whole lot to defeat an opponent with no plan B. I didn’t anticipate Macedo being the stronger fighter of the two, which changed a whole lot. Poor decision from me to back an inexperienced fighter at -400 like that. Grim. Inexperience really showed.
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UFC San Antonio
I'm really excited for the main event of this one, very glad they put this fight together. Unfortunately the headliner is a massive cut above the rest of the card in terms of popularity and calibre, but we’ve had worse cards this year, I don’t mind it. Usually I’d rejoice over the fact we aren’t in the Apex…but we are in Texas, where judging has been historically AWFUL. There isn’t a whole lot we can really do with that information though, except consider how much of a fighter’s win probability is based around them finding a finish. Fighters who are likely to win without the judges getting involved will be the less volatile spots this week.
From a betting perspective, it’s a very weak card. The bookies have done a really good job of pricing the punters out of any value, as my conclusions to most fights see me lining it pretty close to the books, where there ends up being no real numerical edge on either side! Nonetheless, I’ve broken down most of the bouts on the card below:
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Cory Sandhagen v Marlon Vera
Marlon Vera has always been one of my favourite fighters. Backing him to win inside the distance when he was a prelim fighter was a spot I always looked out for back in the day, so it’s great to see him climb so high in the rankings. I always support and ride with the fighters that make me money over the years, and Vera has been one of the best of them.
Unfortunately, Vera’s always relied on his power and finishing ability to really carry him through fights, as there are a lot of instances where he’s down on the overall scorecards, before finding a finish. His wins over Dominic Cruz and Frankie Edgar are the two best examples recently, but his issue of being a slow starter also made this applicable in wins over Davey Grant, Nohelin Hernandez and Guido Cannetti. Also similarly, he was being thoroughly outboxed by Rob Font in their main event encounter last year, but the Ecuadorian was stealing rounds with knockdowns in a very similar way.
Considering I expect this fight against Cory Sandhagen to be a closely contested one, Vera’s inability to win minutes and start strong could end up becoming a problem here. The pivotal question in this fight is whether or not Vera can hurt or finish Sandhagen, as I certainly lean towards favouring Cory if this fight goes the distance and Vera hasn’t scored multiple knockdowns.
Vera is one of the most dangerous guys P4P on the roster, with KO and Submission potential across all five rounds – but Sandhagen has been pretty damn durable in his MMA career. Aljamain Sterling was the only man of 19 able to finish Cory, and it came in under 90 seconds. Sandhagen’s performance there was such a disappointment that I’m convinced there was something else going on that hindered him that night. Petr Yan also dropped Sandhagen with a spinning back fist combo, but that seemed very much like Cory getting caught unaware – and he looked like he recover instantly.
Given the calibre that Sandhagen has fought against in the last four years – I think we have to give him the benefit of the doubt in assuming he can stay safe here. If that is the case I expect him to win rounds with superior output and a faster pace – especially considering he’s got a high likelihood of being one round up after five minutes.
I’m not super confident in that take though as it’s hardly on the level of Garbrandt vs Jones or something! So it’s a fight I’m definitely lining as quite close. Sandhagen deserves to be deemed the favourite for the above reasons, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if Vera’s dangerousness was enough to tip the balance in his favour, or if he was able to win a round by just point striking anyway.
I saw a stat this week that said there have been 10 rounds in 2023 where a knockdown is landed but the round still ended and was scored. Of those scorecards, the fighter landing the knockdown won 8 of 10 times. Whilst it’s highly implied that a knockdown means you’re more likely to win the round based off how the following minutes take place, that does still imply the judges are leaning towards awarding damage over minute winning (I personally hate the way MMA judging has gone these days but it is what it is). Just something to consider when you think about Chito’s path to victory.
At the end of the day, it’s an intriguing fight, and not one I think anyone should be rushing to the betting window for due to the small margins in the various skill discrepancies.
How I line this fight: Cory Sandhagen -150 (60%), Marlon Vera +150 (40%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
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Holly Holm v Yana Santos
Holly Holm is one of those fighters who makes your memory play tricks on you. I instinctively feel like I have a good read on her style and overall calibre, but then when I watch tape she’s always a much more underwhelming version of that fighter I have in my head. She just doesn’t really put her stamp on rounds – spending too much time in the clinch and does not have high enough volume. 3.24 significant strikes landed per 15 minutes is a shockingly low number, especially considering it’s Women’s MMA and Holm has a lot of in cage time. To make matters worse, Holm averages 0.72 takedowns per 15 minutes and is now 41 years old.
Whilst there’s a lot of data to crunch on Holm, there’s actually a surprisingly smaller sample size on Yana Santos. Considering Kunitskaya (previous surname) has been a known name in Women’s MMA for some time, it’s pretty crazy to think she only has 7 UFC appearances to her name – most of which are against a lesser calibre than Holly Holm. She’s also coming off a two year lay-off having had a child with Thiago Santos, which adds further uncertainty to an already tepid read.
As I’m sure you may have noticed by now, this breakdown is much more stat-based than I typically offer (though Women’s MMA is a lot more accessible for stats), because I honestly cannot bring myself to re-watch Holly Holm’s career and I’m instead relying on what the numbers are telling me. Perhaps that’s a bit lazy, but this is the 8th week of UFC cards in a row and I am feeling very burnt out! I just don’t think either woman has a particularly commanding style, and there’s a hell of a lot of intangibles floating around this fight (old age, post-child birth, lay-offs, levels of competition, Texas judging etc), so it’s a very easy pass.
How I line this fight: I won’t line a fight I haven’t taped, but I do not recommend Holm at this price.
Bet or Pass: Pass
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Nate Landwehr v Austin Lingo
It’s a shame Alex Caceres had to pull out of the originally scheduled bout against Nate Landwehr, but good to see they managed to find Austin Lingo a fight so soon after the Ricardo Ramos one fell through a couple of weeks ago (still annoyed I didn’t get to cash some easy money there). From a fan perspective, this bout is probably the most entertaining of the three available!
Both dudes are hardnosed strikers that like to fight gritty and wear out their opponents. Neither are particularly gifted from a technique perspective, but you’d be hard pressed to find fighters that can out work these two. Pitting them against one another is going to lead to an exhausting fight.
Landwehr is the much more experienced of the two and has clearly had more career success implementing the brawling style, but I think this is just one of those matchups that’s going to be fought quite closely, given how it should play out. Landwehr relies on sheer busyness and drowning his opponents to win rounds but, if he can’t necessarily do that to Lingo, do you really have a whole lot of confidence that he’s going to be the clear round winner? The guy gets hit by 5.56 significant strikes per minute. Considering we are in Texas and there is added volatility to the judging, any fighter that can land 5.56 S.Strikes is live to win a round or two!
Landwehr’s key to winning this fight is going to be in his wrestling, as that’s where he will clearly assert himself. But can he even get it there though? Lingo’s debut performance against Youseff Zalal was a big red flag in terms of his takedown defence, but he looks to have improved it in his following two bouts. However, those came against a lower level of competition so could well be flattering Lingo’s overall ability. His takedown defence stats are quite skewed, and he’s coming off an 18 month layoff which muddies the water even more.
I think the edge in experience and overall competence at the hard-nosed styles means that Landwehr deserves to be favoured here, but I think the pricetag is a bit ridiculous. He should get the win, but I would be very surprised if he does it with the dominance of a -275. The lay off for Lingo means that he can have anywhere from a very low floor to a reasonably high ceiling. Both men are durable and will have moments in this fight, so this is one of the fights where I’m expecting some wild shit from Texas judges. If you’re convinced about betting Landwehr at -300 here, you’re crazy. Lingo the value side, but mostly based off intangibles and hypotheticals, which doesn’t fill me with enough confidence to pull the trigger.
How I line this fight: Nate Landwehr -200 (67%), Austin Lingo +200 (34%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
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Andrea Lee v Maycee Barber
This one should be pretty fun! It’s speed and agility vs power and force.
Andrea Lee is a complicated fighter to get a full read on, as her performances have really varied throughout her career. She’s well rounded enough to outstrike most equally levelled opponents on the feet, and her grappling isn’t too bad either. Takedown defence needs a bit of work though.
The biggest issue with Lee is those back-to-back losses to Lauren Murphy and Roxanne Modafferi. It’s just inexcusable to lose both of those of those fights when you’re the calibre that Andrea Lee is. I know you can argue she got robbed against Murphy (it’s probably the key example of Texas judging being so bad), but she let the fight become quite close. And yes, Barber lost to Modafferi, but that was all determined by an injury and anyone who tells you otherwise is a hater or hasn’t watched it.
I’ve always thought Barber was overrated in terms of skills, but her physicality and strength are a bit of a gamechanger in the Women’s divisions. She’s well-rounded, but statistically has lesser output than Andrea Lee…which is always concerning. I expect this one to be quite competitive, where Andrea Lee could easily stay safe on the outside and jab her way to a win, as long as she gets on her bike and utilises good footwork. Maycee will plod forward and look to land the power shot, but that’s not a particularly high percentage outcome to rely on in Women’s MMA. If she can get her hands on her and utilise the clinch, I think it’s all one way traffic from there though. Maycee is reliable to do that, at least.
I can understand Barber being the favourite based off the finishing upside, imposing striking with good metrics and ability to land takedowns…but I’m just still not wholly convinced by her ability as a mixed martial artist outside of the way she implements brute force. It might be enough here, but I just don’t like her at this short of a price. Lee has a clear path to victory that, whilst I’m not convinced she can execute it, should be taken seriously.
How I line this fight: Andrea Lee +163 (38%), Maycee Barber -163 (62%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
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Alex Perez v Manel Kape
It’s just impossible to know what we’re getting from Alex Perez at this stage, isn’t it? I like Manel Kape and rate him relatively highly, but I have always maintained that Perez on his best day could well be a champion at Flyweight. I bet him in most of his fights in the buildup to the title bout against Figgy – and I bet him there as well. Unfortunately Figgy was still in his explosive prime so it didn’t work out, but I expected Perez to become somewhat of a title eliminator gatekeeper from then on. Since that loss two and a half years ago his career has taken a peculiar turn – eight fight cancellations and a 91 second loss to Alexandre Pantoja.
There are just so many question marks surrounding Alex Perez at the moment, and that makes it impossible to know what to expect in this fight. If he was at his best, I’d consider him a slight favourite here, but who knows. Kape’s weakness is clearly defensive wrestling, and he can sometimes be low volume enough on the feet that he makes fights closer than they need to be. Perez has a good enough style to make that work and win here…providing we get him at his best.
I didn’t dive into much tape for this one as I knew I wasn’t going to bet it at all. If you think Kape beats Perez based off the footage available then you’re getting a decent price!
How I line this fight: Didn’t tape, won’t line it.
Bet or Pass: Pass
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Chidi Njokuani v Albert Duraev
It’s crazy how much Albert Duraev’s stock has fallen, all in one loss to Joaquin Buckley. Before that bout he looked sensational on the Contender Series, and followed it up with a dominant win over Roman Kopylov as a -450 favourite. He absolutely does his best work in the grappling and showed that he doesn’t have much of a plan B if he can’t land takedowns or settle his opponent on their back. I’m also not too convinced by his cardio, and any opponent that will make him work hard to secure top position can weaponise his questionable endurance in the later rounds.
Buckley’s such a physical and stocky guy though, I think he’s naturally going to be a tough opponent to take down when you’ve got a bit more of a wirey frame like Duraev does. Chidi Njokuani isn’t so muscular and stocky, so I think it’s fair to assume that Duraev’s going to be more of a threat with the takedowns than he was against Buckley.
The problem is, Chidi showed some really impressive get ups after the initial takedown and doesn’t usually settle on the bottom whilst he’s fresh. Dusko Todorovic isn’t the best grappler in the world by any stretch, but Chidi was doing all the right things to prevent hit back from lying flat on the mat, and if he has similar success against Duraev he’s cruising.
The finish to the Robocop fight was a bit of a concern, but that fight heated up to a ridiculously fast pace in round 1 that I think Chidi cardio dumped, got rocked, and kind of quit on the bottom against Rodrigues. The same could happen again, but it would rely on Duraev pushing the pace aggressively with his striking, which isn’t something he often does.
Overall, I think Njokuani definitely deserves to be a favourite here as he is much more dangerous on the feet and has shown us already that he can successfully answer the questions that Duraev will ask. The Russian also does not have much of a plan B and doesn’t always do a whole lot with his top control except set up submissions. Considering Njokuani is a BJJ Black Belt, and the judges probably won’t appreciate those kind of optics from Duraev, I’m not massively convinced by his chances here.
I’m interested to see what kind of price they’re giving for Njokuani ITD in this fight, as I’m quite convinced by his finishing ability since he moved up to Middleweight, and Duraev is very hittable if he gets stuck on the feet. If I can get + money on it I think I’d have a small wager.
How I line this fight: Chidi Njokuani -175 (64%), Albert Duraev +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: 1.5u Chidi Njokuani & CJ Vergara Both to Win (+122)
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Steven Peterson v Lucas Alexander
I complain pretty much every week about the UFC’s current fighter calibre having massively declined recently, and nothing proves my point like Steven Peterson finally becoming a betting favourite for the first time in 8 UFC bouts. The guy has been the perfect litmus test to determine whether any fighter is UFC level, and those he has beaten were notoriously bad at the time and didn’t last long at the top level (Chase Hooper excluded because he had some “name value”).
He’s got some similarities to Austin Lingo in that he is some generic white guy with bad tattoos, that doesn’t have any real skill but is gritty and dedicated to the fight. If you can’t put him away, you’re going to have keep your shit together or he might surprise you by sheer output and ruggedness. No fighter that is credited mostly for their ability to take a punch and walk forward deserves to be a -175 favourite, but they also don’t always deserve to be massive underdogs either (see breakdown of Landwehr vs Lingo). The thing that baffles me the most though is that Peterson isn’t much of a finisher (6 of his last 7 went the distance), meaning the books are putting a fair bit of stock into his ability to win a decision.
So…Lucas Alexander. His UFC debut was a quick loss via RNC, but it came off a slip from a kick and the rest was kind of a formality at that point once Brito got the back as a result. Personally I don’t really put much/any stock into that loss as I don’t think it showed us anything about him apart from his defensive grappling isn’t elite? Ask yourself this…if this was Lucas Alexander’s UFC debut, would the line still be the same? It depends on what the regional tape looks like, but I’m quite sure it wouldn’t!
Therefore, we have to go back to the regional scene to actually get a glimpse of Alexander…and there is a lot more to be intrigued by than you might think. He’s a better technical striker than Peterson! He’s got great fluidity and movement, throws a varied arsenal of kicks and combos (lots of leg kicks, which will halt that forward pressure), and switches stances quite often. I’m not too sure how he’ll deal with being crowded by Peterson and his intense style, but I fully expect him to get the better of the majority of the striking exchanges whilst they’re at distance.
To win this fight cleanly, the grappling is the answer for Peterson…but Alexander’s defensive wrestling and get ups aren’t bad at all from what I’ve seen! I’ve seen evidence of him using the cage to get back to his feet and reversing position in the clinch, as well as maintaining position in top control. Apparently he’s a black belt as well, but I try not to immediately assume that makes you a good grappler (he does have 3 submission losses tbf). I did see a few submission attempts and successful reversals from bottom against Jeremias Fernandez, and was impressed with how he handled being on the bottom. The two regional scene submission losses both came in 2018, and honestly he looks like he’s improved his wrestling/grappling a lot since then so I’m not massively concerned by them.
Peterson has averaged just 1.61 TDs landed per 15 minutes, which isn’t a massively high number and doesn’t really fill you with a whole lot of confidence that he’s going to stick to a grappling based gameplan in this fight, especially when we know how much he enjoys brawling. If he does come with that kind of gameplan then I guess I expect him to be favoured (still hard to say how good/bad Alexander’s grappling is), but if he opts to strike I think he’s at a disadvantage.
For me, this fight is clearly a pick’em, or at least leans slightly towards Peterson as the favourite. I do expect Alexander to perform better than his +150 price tag suggests, as I think he’s got the potential to keep out of danger with the grappling and actually outscore Peterson on the feet. This fight probably goes the distance and, given the hesitance I have about Texas judges, I’d much rather be on the + money side there as well. Alexander is still being regarded as a “UFC debut” fighter in my eyes so I won’t be staking much here…but if you’re betting Peterson at -180 I think you’re crazy.
How I line this fight: Steven Peterson -120 (54%), Lucas Alexander +120 (46%)
Bet or Pass: 1u Lucas Alexander to Win (+150 or better…waiting to see if the juice continues)
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Trevin Giles v Preston Parsons
Preston Parsons looked really good in his win over Evan Elder last year, with the latter going on to impress everyone with his latest performance against Nazim Sadykhov a few weeks ago. Parsons has a really suffocating wrestling/grappling style, forcing his opponents to work and threatening with a variety of submissions. He can be a little “submission over position” but he’s got an arsenal of really good sweeps from bottom. His striking also looked decent in the loss to Daniel Rodriguez, throwing shots at angles and landing pretty cleanly on D-Rod a few times.
He faces Trevin Giles, who has had a pretty eventful UFC career so far. Giles suffered back to back R3 losses to Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert in fights he was clearly winning, where lapses in concentration saw him snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. He then went on to be the benefactor of one of the worst decisions in MMA history when he beat James Krause by decision. Giles hasn’t really gone on to do a whole lot in his UFC career since, but a well-aged win over Roman Dolidze stands out as the highlight.
Giles has decent striking himself, but he is such a low volume fighter that I think he’s going to struggle to win rounds against Preston ‘Pressure’ Parsons if he doesn’t do damage. The younger fighter will be happy to push the pace in this one, varying up his striking with a few takedown entries and just overwhelming Giles, who likes to fight patiently and methodically on the feet. Giles looks clean when he’s involved in a staring match on the feet, but when the tempo turns up and things get a bit wild he kind of loses all composure and technique (see losses to Morales and Du Plessis recently). Giles is also a decent enough grappler, but he’s prone to reversals on the mat (which Parsons will definitely try to execute), and can accept bottom position if his initial guard sub or two get shut down.
I’m struggling to really see why this one is being lined as a pick’em here, as Giles doesn’t hold a whole lot of advantages that I think he’ll be able to implement. He’s clearly a good striker, but the low volume should prevent him from really being able to show that off properly, and he won’t be the fighter looking to put his stamp on rounds when he’s fighting at a tempo way higher than he wants. He’s more experienced, but we’ve also seen lots of examples of poor fight IQ consistently creeping into Giles’ game and he hasn’t addressed the flaws of his style.
I’d line Parsons as a small to moderate favourite in this fight, and I’ll be betting him for a couple of units as a result.
How I line this fight: Trevin Giles +150 (40%), Preston Parsons -150 (60%)
Bet or Pass: 3u Preston Parsons to Win (+100)
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CJ Vergara v Daniel Da Silva
To me, this seems like one of those fights where the UFC are acknowledging Vergara has paid his dues, and are giving him a bit of a softball as a result.
No one really knew what to make of Vergara when he got to the UFC – a KO win on the Contender Series in 41 seconds is usually a red flag more than anything! They lined him up with Ode Osbourne for his debut, where he was a +170 underdog. He put a really impressive display in that fight, with many thinking he actually won against a guy that is quite well respected at Flyweight.
Next, he was a +270 underdog to Kleydson Rodrigues, who was making his debut as a highly, highly touted prospect. Everyone and their mothers was on Rodrigues in that fight, yet Vergara fought a really smart and dedicated gameplan and won a close split decision. I had a big bet on Kleydson in his fight a few weeks ago, and rewatching the Vergara fight had me respecting him all over again. Given what we saw Kleydson do to Shannon Ross (not that the latter is a world beater) did nothing but improve Vergara’s stock.
Then, for his third UFC bout, he gets Tatsuro Taira! Probably one of the top 5 hottest unranked prospects in the sport right now. That was the first time we saw Vergara actually look like the +220 underdog that the books had him as, but given the hype around Taira that’s actually a respectable number to be graded at! There really isn’t a long list of fighters who are willing to fight Taira at the moment, so the matchmakers have probably scheduled this fight as a thank you for Vergara being a company man.
They’ve given him Daniel da Silva (Lacerda) as a reward. DdS is a pretty wild fighter, with 15 bouts all ending inside the distance (and none even reaching round 3). That kind of kill-or-be-killed style is certainly fun to watch, but it doesn’t really work out as well as you’d think when you hit the big shows. Don’t get me wrong, he looks pretty decent in round 1, but Vergara is a durable guy that has shown good IQ in the cage so far. He should find a way to stay safe in that opening round, probably by landing a takedown and coasting in top control like Jeff Molina did (also, shoutout Jeff Molina for handling the social media chaos with grace last week!), or by pushing that ferocious striking pace and keeping da Silva on the backfoot.
Even so, da Silva is a liability to himself in Round 1 as well, as we saw in losses to Francisco Figueiredo and Victor Altamirano. Getting kneebar’d by Figgy’s subpar brother is a pretty bad look, and he had absolutely no answer for Altamirano’s ground striking as soon as he was on his back. His commitment to the guard sub is insane, and it’s probably going to be responsible for yet another loss here against Vergara.
I think we’re getting a decent price on Vergara here. The blueprint has been written on Da Silva and, whilst Vergara will have to be careful for the opening few minutes, I think CJ’s got him covered here. I jumped in on the -275 as a parlay piece, as I think there’s an argument Vergara should probably be a bigger favourite here?
Also, as a side note from watching Molina vs Da Silva – Damn James Krause was a good coach. What a waste!
How I line this fight: CJ Vergara -300 (75%), Daniel Da Silva +300 (25%)
Bet or Pass: 1.5u CJ Vergara & Chidi Njokuani Both to Win (+122)
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Vinicius Salvador v Victor Altamirano
I loved Vinicius Salvador’s DWCS performance against Shannon Ross and I’m really excited to see him make his debut, but I’m not massively sure about how good he is as an overall fighter. His style instantly makes him a fan favourite, but using nothing but head movement to defend, and having that cocky style that throws ridiculous highlight reel kicks isn’t really a positive trait when you’re looking to put your hard earned money on a fighter. It looks cool and can sometimes impress the judges…but it’s a risky game and can easily see you getting caught clean or making mistakes. There’s a reason Michel Pereira doesn’t fight like a lunatic anymore.
Salvador hits hard and absolutely has knockout power, having finished 13 of his 14 wins by KO (the other was a submission). He’s also lost inside the distance in three of his 4 losses, and Shannon Ross did have him hurt for a second or two in the DWCS fight. He’s a chaotic fighter, and I’m really annoyed we got robbed of the chance to see him fight Daniel Da Silva a few months ago. It would have been fireworks.
This might sound stupid as a genuine piece of logic and reasoning, but I have always fully believed the notion that Mexican fighters have the best chins and next level toughness. It’s kind of a dumb narrative for me to hang my hat on, but I am always hesitant to side with a knockout-based fighter if it’s a Mexican opponent they’re trying to put to sleep. We saw Altamirano eat a few clean and heavy shots from Daniel Da Silva in his last bout, which makes me think I might have to side with my illogical narrative once again.
With that said, I still think Salvador deserves to be favoured by a small margin here. Victor Altamirano just isn’t very good. His win over DdS was kind of a high variance random knee, and he was clearly losing that fight up to that point. He was competitive in the win against Carlos Hernandez, but I feel like that fight didn’t do much to show off the skills of either guy and it really solidified that they are equally matched as entry level UFC fighters. It was like an intense sparring session, where neither guy had any real sting on their shots and only looked to point score, with a bit of cage pushing thrown in for good measure.
The power discrepancy between Altamirano and Salvador is too big to ignore here. Salvador is going to come out hot and look to take Victor’s head off, and I just don’t think Altamirano is going to be able to earn back the respect of Salvador here. The striking should be one-way traffic whilst they’re fresh, simply because Salvador’s going be doing damage with almost every shot that he lands. As the fight wears on though, I expect Altamirano have a lot more success in the later minutes, as he settles into the fight and has grown confident he can withstand the power (as well as some of the sting coming off Salvador’s shots).
Altamirano doesn’t look like wrestling/grappling is his preferred skillset, but I think he would do well to lean on it a bit here. I haven’t been able to really find any tape on Salvador’s defensive wrestling/grappling, but I have to assume that a fighter with as little technical discipline as him is probably not the greatest grappler in the world.
I see Vinicius Salvador as something similar to the Brazilian equivalent of Trevor Peak. It's easy to get ahead of yourself and try to fade a guy with brute force and no technique, but it’s important to realise that the judges don’t score technique and as long as Salvador is landing something, he’ll earning favour with the judges and threatening to score a finish too.
I don’t think Altamirano is the guy to capitalise on those defensive lapses of Salvador, so I think the Brazilian is the rightful favourite. However, there’s not enough value on the line to justify a bet here, and Salvador could easily be the maker of his own downfall with his reckless style, and that’s not the kind of guy I like to back.
Very excited to see this one play out. I will probably throw Salvador into a couple of my untracked degenerate parlays, but officially it’s a no-bet for me.
How I line this fight: Vinicius Salvador -120 (54%), Victor Altamirano +120 (46%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
​
Tamires Vidal v Hailey Cowan
The UFC are being very generous to Hailey Cowan, aren’t they!? After trying and failing to set her up with one of the worst fighters on the roster, Ailin Perez, they’re trying again to offer her a bit of a soft entry into the UFC.
The problem is that Cowan is just simply not very good, so I think she’s going to struggle against anyone that’s borderline UFC calibre. Tamires Vidal sits on the fringe, and she seems to be the much more dangerous of the two and actually has some process to her striking, so I think Cowan deserves to be the underdog once again.
The betting line here has been on a real journey already. Books opened Cowan as a +200 underdog, and it looks to have been jumped on by some opportunistic value bettors – and rightly so! I just hope the steam has come in because they think the line was wide, not because they have any real faith in Cowan!
I’m intrigued to see how far the overcorrection goes, as this one really should land around a pick’em. The books won’t mind tipping the balance towards Cowan if it means they’ve got equal money on each side, as this isn’t going to be a high stakes fight so they’ll prioritise keeping the book green.
I have to remind myself of the calibre I’m dealing with here though…both women are low level and high variance is at play! If all the money on Cowan continues to come and Vidal’s price gets bigger, then a true value bettor should pounce on any decent size + money…but you really do have to accept that you’re getting into bed with variance here.
How I line this fight: Tamires Vidal -110 (52%), Hailey Cowan +110 (48%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
​
Bets (Placed bets in bold, others are pending as line may improve)
3u Preston Parsons to Win (+100)
1.5u CJ Vergara & Chidi Njokuani Both to Win (+122)
0.25u Njokuani, Parsons & Vergara All to Win (+330)
1u Lucas Alexander to Win (+150 or better)
Parlay Do’s: Njokuani, Parsons, Vergara
Parlay Don’ts: Sandhagen, Holm, Landwehr, Barber, Peterson, Cowan
​
UFC 287 (Breakdown next week but don’t expect line to hold)
2u Michael Chiesa to Win (-150)
Best of luck with your bets!

I’m not from an area where being a picky eater really exists. So that’s why I’m confused. I am not judging, what goes in your stomach is up to you. Just curious and also somewhat baffled.
Each time I see a picky eater video on TT or YT, they always have only fries and tenders. I made a few American friends who were picky eaters as kids, and same thing, only fries and tenders. I thought maybe it was related to poverty, but it seems even wealthy families in America give picky eaters those foods.
If you’re a picky eater, wouldn’t you eat something actually good tasting as opposed to that cardboard flavor of frozen tenders? Does it taste good to them? Are other foods too flavorful so they stick to the blander ones?
Is it related to some form of parental neglect and eating these foods make the person feel safe? Is it not even related to hunger at a certain point? I know everyone is different, but I want all answers.
Or is it not even about flavor for picky eaters and just relates to texture entirely?
I used to have an eating problem too, but I always chose to eat a full range of foods with different flavor profiles, etc.
Overall, why is it USUALLY chicken tenders and fries?

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Another new alien race! WOOOOO
Also to all arachnophobes: I am sorry…I guess just imagine eight legged dogs the size of horses if that helps…
Previous First [Next](link)
"So, you're telling me we found another sapient omnivore species?"
The commander grunted, ripping his boot from a watery patch of mud and nearly crashing into the swampy water between two twisted tree roots.
Sunny reached out with one of her four armored arms and caught him by the back of his pack, pulling him upright.
He nodded a thanks to her and adjusted his gear.
Behind her Ramirez ducked under a low hanging branch, slogging through a pool of knee-high water, adjusting the containment pod, holding Krill more comfortably over both shoulders.
Krill, comfortable and warm inside his containment pod, watched the marines, scientists, and a linguist struggle through the mud under a covering of impossibly tall, twisted trees, their canopy blocking out all light that might have dared cut downwards towards the watery floor below.
"Not entirely sapient, I suppose."
Krill answered,
"Unfortunately the way in which they communicate is going to drastically reduce their ability to create complex structures and perform mathematical equations."
Together they maneuvered themselves over a root, which at some point in the distant past, had decided to grow upwards instead of down. At about four feet high, it had changed its mind and arched back down into the water. Perhaps it had been smaller then, but at four feet wide, the root was an absolute monstrosity now.
The trees themselves were massive, challenging, and sometimes outgrowing the legendary redwood forests of the western Americas, but unlike the redwoods, these trees didn't stand tall and proud. Instead, they chose a twisted path much like the branching veins which made up a human vascular system. They twisted and undulated, interlocking past each other with branches that were well over two feet wide in many cases, and stretching to over four feet wide in others.
No one direction was good enough, and the trees twisted, ducked swirled and reached, grasping for any sort of light to be found.
On top of the darkness cast by the trees and the soggy nature of the forest floor, it was also horribly hot and humid, giving the impression of a microwaved wet blanket thrown over the world. Where heat from the upper canopy met the cooler air of deep forest pools, it created a perpetually thick mist which writhed and undulated through the trees, leaving only the shadowy impressions of twisted trunks and clawing branches past distances greater than 50 feet (15m).
"They communicate primarily through pheromones and heat modulation. From what I understand, the language in itself isn't precise, and really only works in generalities and feelings than it does in absolutes."
Commander Vir kicked a rotting log out of the way, ducking as a massive green bug buzzed over his head and into the fog.
Turns out the hotter and more humid a planet gets, the bigger the bugs get,
"But we were still able to communicate with them?”
Krill nodded from inside his case,
"Yes, generally speaking. For a species that cannot communicate in absolutes, I hear they are quite reasonable. They seem willing to accept our friendship, and have..... invited, I guess, us to participate in some sort of primitive ritual."
Vir perked up, flashing a bright smile.
“Reasonable? Peaceful? Rituals? And definitely CANNOT communicate in ABSOLUTES!? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds familiar?”
Sunny sighed,
“No Adam I am reasonably sure that they are not Jedis…”
“C’mon, that would be so cool! Like lightsabers, the force and stuff… maybe they look like tiny Yodas? I mean it fits, with the swamp, the speech impairment and all…”
He nearly fell over another root.
“Adam, focus. We have a mission here.”
The commander nodded, scrambling over another tree branch,
"Alright, so... where are these things anyway? How do they look?"
His boots hit solid ground, covered in some sort of wet spongy fungus and he glanced down at his GPS.
“Considering they talk by smell, my bet is on Elephants with giant human noses. What do you think Mav?”
Ramirez turned around to look at Maverick, who had stopped walking.
“…”
“Mav?”
“Giant… fucking spiders…”
“…”
Commander Vir was still looking at his GPS and no one else answered, so without looking up he broke the silence and said:
“Wow you are always so negative; it better not be, I want my space Yodas…”
“…”
“…”
More silence.
This time it was broken by Ramirez.
“Giant fucking spiders… with… Wolfheads!?”
The commander was still diddling around with the GPS in his hands.
“Oh not you too Ramirez, also that’s oddly specific, you always had a pretty cruel imagination. Ah there we go I think it’s that way.”
He said, looking up from his GPS to keep moving.
“…”
“…”
After some steps he realized no one was following him, so he stopped and turned around.
Behind him the other marines were dead silent, heads lifted towards the sky in shock.
"FUCK ME."
One of the marines whispered, scrambling back behind a tree root.
Commander Vir turned and nearly fell into the water again, eyes locked onto the creatures descending from high above.
They were huge, about the size of large horses, and horrifically spider like in their construction, or perhaps an ant. They had large-scale abdomens connected to a thinner thorax. All together they had ten appendages, three pairs of spider-like legs on the abdomen which, instead of ending in a pod or foot, ended in a sharp pointed spike. On the abdomen, they had two arm-like appendages, with too many joints and strange wavy tentacles instead of fingers.
The head was just as disconcerting.
It seemed too large for the body, grossly out of proportion and strangely out of place, like some cosmic sentience had used a random animal generator to assign parts to its body.
The head was wolflike, if you were to strip the skin and fur away, leaving only the muscle underneath. You could see the line of teeth running up either side of the muzzle, while the large red-pink ears rotated continuously.
Commander Vir had backed himself into the bowl of a tree eyes wide. Sunny slogged herself up from the water, placing herself between the strange spidery creatures and the human.
They didn't descend like a spider might, on threads of silk, but they used their back six feet, and the spikes on the end to dig into the bark of the trees with a disconcerting thud thud thud thud.
Finally the largest of the creatures reached the ground, surprisingly silent for its massive bulk.
Glancing around Sunnys tensed body, he noticed something he hadn't before, and that was a strange small mass gripping onto the spidery creature's underbelly. Upon closer inspection he counted ten legs and a surprisingly spidery head buried against its underside... a completely separate creature holding on to its companion.
Behind the largest creature, he noted ANOTHER type of creature. It boasted the same sort of structure as the large creature, but its abdomen was devoid of scales, and covered in strange black bulbs suctioned onto its body by way of a strange, sticky black-green webbing. Its head was also constructed differently more like a lizard than a wolf, with large bulbous eyes that could rotate behind its own head to look in all directions.
Commander Vir fiddled nervously with the advanced translation headset he wore, strapped to his helmet, supposedly it was supposed to be able to understand what these things were saying.
"Sky... friends."
The translation was somewhat garbled, but he understood it was the large wolf-head who spoke.
He walked forward, pushing Sunny gently to the side despite her clear reluctance,
"Yes, we are friends, and we are here to offer peace to you, and the assistance of the Galactic Assembly."
He wasn't entirely sure how that was going to translate over in smell, but the creature seemed happy lifting its head and gnashing its large canine teeth.
"Agreement... for a favor."
Commander Vir grew unsure then, letting off a reluctant,
"What favor?”
The spidery shape moved closer sniffing at him with its large wolffish nose. Sunny stiffened at his side, and he put a hand on her arm to calm her.
"Ritual... you watch and help."
"None of us will get hurt... will we?"
The creature stopped and pondered the question for a long moment,
"No danger... live... healthy... happy."
Commander Vir nodded slowly,
"Alright, what do we have to do?"
The creature hefted its large bulk, and turned in the opposite direction,
"Follow."
It commanded, scuttling off into the trees.
[…]
"This is very interesting."
Krill was saying to one of the accompanying scientists, who nodded vigorously in agreement.
"What's so interesting?”
Commander Vir whispered, from where he stood at the edge of yet another, but larger fungus covered clearing, watching as the creatures scuttled back and forth.
The scientist learned in in excitement,
"It seems that these creatures have a ternary gender system."
Before the commander could ask, the scientist continued,
"For ease of speech, the large ones are the females, and those things on their bellies are probably the males. The medium ones are the third gender, the 'they' if you will. It looks like the male impregnates the female who then attaches the eggs to the third party. Dr. Krill tells me that the third party have a very high heat signature, probably to incubate the young. Those attachments probably provide nutrients into the egg and may even transfer DNA over as well."
"Wow... freaky."
The commander muttered in fascination.
"Kind of gross if you ask me."
Sunny muttered.
"I'm with her. Its kinky, but too kinky for me…"
Ramirez muttered, receiving a few nods from the other marines.
"Oh please."
Krill whispered,
"I know what human reproduction is like, and it's arguable way worse."
The scientist waved them all off,
"The big one there, the one that's been talking to us. I think she's the queen, and judging from those egg sacks, this is probably mating season, if they have one."
"Creepy, but cool, I guess."
The captain muttered. They watched for a little longer as the queen scuttled around the clearing and then returned to look at them, lowering her meaty wolffish head to the commander's eye level.
"Ritual... find... eggkeeper."
She scuttled away.
"Oh... this is some sort of… Mating ritual maybe? To choose that third party you were talking about?”
"This isn't exactly the kind of "Mating ritual" I wanted to see."
Ramirez muttered. The other marines turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. Sunny stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Off in the clearing, some of the smaller females had moved themselves onto the high branches scuttling through the trees to examine the "they" who waited patiently. It appeared that side was very important in the ritual, as they all fought for the largest counterpart. Once found, the wolffish head would lower, and open up to reveal a tube under the tongue. From there she would... disgorge the egg onto the abdomen of the 'they' and the mucus would solidify to hold them on.
"It has to do with size."
Krill hissed,
"But it seems that it has more to do with heat. The big ones only get chosen more because they also happen to be warmer than the smaller ones. I'd say they incubate at an average of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so 32 degrees Celsius."
They watched this for a while, the scientists taking notes and the marines making inappropriate jokes.
Eventually most of the creatures had finished, leaving only the queen left over.
Everything went still when she began to move, and she scuttled around the clearing, looking over all the available 'theys' she could find, but she just didn't seem satisfied.
Commander Vir tugged at the collar of his jacket, a line of sweat dripping down his face.
She continued her circuit once and then twice; at some point she turned her head, large eyes locking on the humans.
She sniffed at them.
The human laughter died as she advanced.
"What is she doing?"
The commander muttered under his breath.
The scientist that stood next to him, hidden partially behind Sunny, answered
"I... I'm not sure."
She scuttled even closer, and the humans backed away.
"Hey doc... didn't you say something about... them being attracted to heat? And like the “they’s” being around 90 F/32 Celsius?”
Ramirez wondered, hiding himself behind a root.
"Yeah... I did, why?”
"Not to freak anyone out or anything but... isn't average human heat about 98.6 Fahrenheit… so 37 degrees Celsius?"
”FUCK!”
”OH NONONONONO!”
”HIIIIDE!”
”RUUUN!”
What followed was a rather violent game of nose goes, but instead of involving touching one’s nose to see who was the last person standing, it involved a mad rush to reduce body heat.
The smartest marines took the initiative and dove into the water beside the clearing, completely submerging themselves under the surface.
Others chose to cover whatever exposed skin they might have had in mud, as if to mask the heat.
Still others chose to cut and run.
Unfortunately, with his position at the head of the group, commander Vir wasn't fast enough.
She came at him in a scuttling rush, and in a frantic leap to get away, his boot caught on a root and he hit the ground hard.
Sunny tried to leap in front of him, but was bowled over by the mad rushing form.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Commander Vir repeated, scuttling backwards across the ground, as the large spidery shape loomed over him.
He stopped dead in his tracks, backed against a tree root.
She leaned closer.
He raised his hands above his head blocking his face,
"Please don't lay your eggs in me. Please don't lay your eggs in me."
She reached out one of her forward hands, surprisingly delicate, as she cut through the first layers of his jacket, and shirt.
They fell away in slices revealing the pale human skin underneath red and sticky with the tropical heat.
His chest and abdomen heaved with his breath as he tried to scramble away, but she caught him with the prong of one of her back legs pinning him in place.
"Fuck... Help... HELP."
Sunny wasn't fast enough, having been tipped head over heels into the water, with the rest of the marines in similar positions, Krill contained inside his tube unable to help but also unable to look away.
She lowered her head, and the man screamed. It was cold, gelatinous and slimy at first, but even as it touched open air, he could feel it fusing against his skin solidifying. He thrashed and wriggled, but she was far too strong holding him in place.
Finally though, she backed away, leaving him panting on the ground shaking and trembling leg throbbing where he had been pinned.
She leaned her head down to examine him,
"Warm."
They locked eyes,
"Friends... now... Keep them... warm."
She retreated, and he struggled to his knees, turning to look down at his body which was now partially obscured by a sticky pod of six black eggs, pulled tight against his skin. His hands were shaking, as he reached down to touch them, cold and smooth.
He tried tugging on one, but nearly fainted at the pain it caused against his skin.
The creatures were withdrawing back into the trees, leaving him kneeling on the fungus, hands trembling as looked downwards.
Sunny was the first to recover, scrambling out of the water and over to him, placing a hand on his back as she examined the strange eggs attached to his skin,
"Mother of-"
The marines cut her off as they came wriggling from the trees,
"Commander, commander are you ok..."
One of the marines cut around front, frozen in his tracks, eyes wide once he saw,
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Sunny reached out as if to tug on one of them,
"NO!"
He snapped, jerking away from her.
The others gathered around to look with exclamations of shock and disgust.
The commander looked up at Sunny pleadingly.
She decided to take charge, helping him to his feet and then pulling him into her arms,
"We have to get him back to the ship, let's move, NOW!"
"What do you think, Dr."
Dr. Katie examined the scan with a frown,
"It's very, very strange, that's for sure."
Commander Vir lifted his head to look down at them,
"Well what the HELL does that mean?”
Krill shoved his head back onto the table,
"Stay still."
Dr. Katie hummed softly as she continued to examine the scans,
"It looks like these little filaments have breached the skin ... and.... well at least one of them has made it to your liver, this one here has made it to your lungs."
"What about white blood count?"
Krill wondered,
"The body must have noticed something by now?"
Dr Katie shook her head,
"Nothing, the body seems to have accepted it. I took some samples and... well I think I might know why."
She rolled herself to the side in her chair and over to one of the adjoining computers,
"See this, this is HIS DNA ...and this is the DNA of the strands."
Krill pearled over her shoulder,
"What the... they look almost identical."
"Yes... I don't think the body knows anything is wrong."
She turned her chair back around to look at the commander,
"Congratulations commander, you are perhaps, in the weirdest way possible, the only man in the history of existence who might just experience the miracle of life. You are going to be a dad!"
The look on his face made it clear he wasn't interested in being congratulated,
"What the actual fuck does that mean?"
He snapped, Dr. Katie rolled closer,
"Well, to explain in terms you may understand. You are doing more than keeping them warm. Those filaments that you saw are acting like umbilical cords. The one at your liver is using it as a filter, and to take in nutrients as it seems to have branching filaments to the stomach and intestines. The one going to your lungs is taking in carbon... not sure what that's going to do to your breathing if anything. But at this point I don't think that even Dr. Krill, as good as he is, can remove them. We would have to remove too much of your internal structure to it to be viable, plus they don't seem to be hurting you."
"Not hurting me! NOT HURTING ME! You said it yourself they are SUCKING OUT MY VITAL JUICES."
Dr. Katie shrugged,
"Welcome to pregnancy... sort of.”**
”Look we will monitor you, make sure they aren't sucking away to many nutrients. Look on the bright side, you can probably eat more, and judging from an analysis of the egg sacks, the average gestational period is only around two months."
"TWO MONTHS!?"
Sunny, who had been standing next to the man at the head of the exam table, couldn't suppress a short chirp of laughter.
He glowered at her,
"What's so funny!?"
She chirped again placing a hand on his arm,
"You're gonna be a mom."
If looks could kill, shed be reduced to a singularity,
"Get your hand off me or ill break it in half!"
She continued chirping but removed her hand just in case.
This was going to be a very awkward call to the UNSC and the GA.
For that matter, it was going to be a very awkward call home.
Previous First [Next](link)
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

Okay so don’t judge me, but I was browsing p*rnhub the other night. When I finished my duties, I was curious and looked up that weird pizza video she recorded with Lena the plug. Okay so that video was taken down, but instead there are a few videos where she literally PAID to have some guy “jack off” to her photos/videos. I just think that’s hilarious when I discovered the guy was commissioned.

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?

So my (26M) GF (21F) of almost a year is making me feel pretty shitty about my living situation. She is so kind and loving and understanding , but she doesn’t realize how much this is hurting me.
She doesn’t come from a great family, and they kicked her out as soon as she turned 18 so she was thrown into independence way before she should have been. I, on the other hand, have a very helpful & loving family.
I dropped out of college 7 years ago, and time has just kind of flown by. I have never had a girlfriend before her, so I really didn’t spend much time planning a future or a timeline. Was just kinda seeing where things go.
My girlfriend told me when we first started dating, that she’s looking for something serious. Eventually Marriage, kids , ect in the next few years. I agreed and said I am looking for the same. I have a decent paying job right now. So I’m not a bum.
She told me that before we move in together, I should spend time living alone by myself so I can learn about “finances “ and “expenses”. I applied for one apartment on Zillow, and didn’t hear back, so I kind of gave up. I do want to move in with her tho.
My parents pay pretty much all of my bills except my car note. They pay my insurances, food, phone, ect. They also deal with all the insurance specifics. I have been trying to find my own insurance, and my girlfriend seems to look down on me when I struggle to do it or attempt to apply. Since I’m on their current medical insurance now, my mom helps me find a doctor since they’re in her network.
She was being a bit rude when she was explaining the cost of living to me, and I told her I don’t really know how much groceries cost since my family pays for them. She said “you really don’t know how much toilet paper costs” ? Or “you don’t have an idea of a phone bill”
We were packing for a trip, and I was getting overwhelmed. So I asked her if she could help me pack. She said “ you can’t pack yourself ?” So I kinda snapped and said “You are making me feel like shit and are judgmental. Stop overwhelming me” I didn’t mean it.
I feel judged and she needs to realize barley anybody her age is doing what she’s doing. All of my friends live at h home and some don’t even have jobs and do nothing with their life. So idk.

So my (26M) GF (21F) of almost a year is making me feel pretty shitty about my living situation. She is so kind and loving and understanding , but she doesn’t realize how much this is hurting me.
She doesn’t come from a great family, and they kicked her out as soon as she turned 18 so she was thrown into independence way before she should have been. I, on the other hand, have a very helpful & loving family.
I dropped out of college 7 years ago, and time has just kind of flown by. I have never had a girlfriend before her, so I really didn’t spend much time planning a future or a timeline. Was just kinda seeing where things go.
My girlfriend told me when we first started dating, that she’s looking for something serious. Eventually Marriage, kids , ect in the next few years. I agreed and said I am looking for the same. I have a decent paying job right now. So I’m not a bum.
She told me that before we move in together, I should spend time living alone by myself so I can learn about “finances “ and “expenses”. I applied for one apartment on Zillow, and didn’t hear back, so I kind of gave up. I do want to move in with her tho.
My parents pay pretty much all of my bills except my car note. They pay my insurances, food, phone, ect. They also deal with all the insurance specifics. I have been trying to find my own insurance, and my girlfriend seems to look down on me when I struggle to do it or attempt to apply. Since I’m on their current medical insurance now, my mom helps me find a doctor since they’re in her network.
She was being a bit rude when she was explaining the cost of living to me, and I told her I don’t really know how much groceries cost since my family pays for them. She said “you really don’t know how much toilet paper costs” ? Or “you don’t have an idea of a phone bill”
I feel judged and she needs to realize barley anybody her age is doing what she’s doing. All of my friends live at h home and some don’t even have jobs and do nothing with their life. So idk.
TLDR: I love my gf but she makes me feel bad about my situation. I do want a future with her but she gets frustrated that I don’t understand certain things.

So my (26M) GF (21F) of almost a year is making me feel pretty shitty about my living situation. She is so kind and loving and understanding , but she doesn’t realize how much this is hurting me.
She doesn’t come from a great family, and they kicked her out as soon as she turned 18 so she was thrown into independence way before she should have been. I, on the other hand, have a very helpful & loving family.
I dropped out of college 7 years ago, and time has just kind of flown by. I have never had a girlfriend before her, so I really didn’t spend much time planning a future or a timeline. Was just kinda seeing where things go.
My girlfriend told me when we first started dating, that she’s looking for something serious. Eventually Marriage, kids , ect in the next few years. I agreed and said I am looking for the same. I have a decent paying job right now. So I’m not a bum.
She told me that before we move in together, I should spend time living alone by myself so I can learn about “finances “ and “expenses”. I applied for one apartment on Zillow, and didn’t hear back, so I kind of gave up. I do want to move in with her tho.
My parents pay pretty much all of my bills except my car note. They pay my insurances, food, phone, ect. They also deal with all the insurance specifics. I have been trying to find my own insurance, and my girlfriend seems to look down on me when I struggle to do it or attempt to apply. Since I’m on their current medical insurance now, my mom helps me find a doctor since they’re in her network.
She was being a bit rude when she was explaining the cost of living to me, and I told her I don’t really know how much groceries cost since my family pays for them. She said “you really don’t know how much toilet paper costs” ? Or “you don’t have an idea of a phone bill”
I feel judged and she needs to realize barley anybody her age is doing what she’s doing. All of my friends live at h home and some don’t even have jobs and do nothing with their life. So idk.

So my (26M) GF (21F) of almost a year is making me feel pretty shitty about my living situation. She is so kind and loving and understanding , but she doesn’t realize how much this is hurting me.
She doesn’t come from a great family, and they kicked her out as soon as she turned 18 so she was thrown into independence way before she should have been. I, on the other hand, have a very helpful & loving family.
I dropped out of college 7 years ago, and time has just kind of flown by. I have never had a girlfriend before her, so I really didn’t spend much time planning a future or a timeline. Was just kinda seeing where things go.
My girlfriend told me when we first started dating, that she’s looking for something serious. Eventually Marriage, kids , ect in the next few years. I agreed and said I am looking for the same. I have a decent paying job right now. So I’m not a bum.
She told me that before we move in together, I should spend time living alone by myself so I can learn about “finances “ and “expenses”. I applied for one apartment on Zillow, and didn’t hear back, so I kind of gave up. I do want to move in with her tho.
My parents pay pretty much all of my bills except my car note. They pay my insurances, food, phone, ect. They also deal with all the insurance specifics. I have been trying to find my own insurance, and my girlfriend seems to look down on me when I struggle to do it or attempt to apply. Since I’m on their current medical insurance now, my mom helps me find a doctor since they’re in her network.
She was being a bit rude when she was explaining the cost of living to me, and I told her I don’t really know how much groceries cost since my family pays for them. She said “you really don’t know how much toilet paper costs” ? Or “you don’t have an idea of a phone bill”
I feel judged and she needs to realize barley anybody her age is doing what she’s doing. All of my friends live at h home and some don’t even have jobs and do nothing with their life. So idk.

So my (26M) GF (21F) of almost a year is making me feel pretty shitty about my living situation. She is so kind and loving and understanding , but she doesn’t realize how much this is hurting me.
She doesn’t come from a great family, and they kicked her out as soon as she turned 18 so she was thrown into independence way before she should have been. I, on the other hand, have a very helpful & loving family.
I dropped out of college 7 years ago, and time has just kind of flown by. I have never had a girlfriend before her, so I really didn’t spend much time planning a future or a timeline. Was just kinda seeing where things go.
My girlfriend told me when we first started dating, that she’s looking for something serious. Eventually Marriage, kids , ect in the next few years. I agreed and said I am looking for the same. I have a decent paying job right now. So I’m not a bum.
She told me that before we move in together, I should spend time living alone by myself so I can learn about “finances “ and “expenses”. I applied for one apartment on Zillow, and didn’t hear back, so I kind of gave up. I do want to move in with her tho.
My parents pay pretty much all of my bills except my car note. They pay my insurances, food, phone, ect. They also deal with all the insurance specifics. I have been trying to find my own insurance, and my girlfriend seems to look down on me when I struggle to do it or attempt to apply. Since I’m on their current medical insurance now, my mom helps me find a doctor since they’re in her network.
She was being a bit rude when she was explaining the cost of living to me, and I told her I don’t really know how much groceries cost since my family pays for them. She said “you really don’t know how much toilet paper costs” ? Or “you don’t have an idea of a phone bill”
I feel judged and she needs to realize barley anybody her age is doing what she’s doing. All of my friends live at h home and some don’t even have jobs and do nothing with their life. So idk.

Pheonix stared at the letter in her hands, feeling a surge of fear and anger. How could this happen? How could her kingdom be at war? She had left five months ago, hoping to find a better life in the human world. She had hated being the princess of the demon realm, always under pressure and scrutiny. She had wanted to be free, to explore and learn new things. She had enrolled in a boarding school for supernatural beings, where she hoped to blend in and make friends.
But it wasn’t easy. The other students were wary of her, knowing she was a demon. They whispered behind her back, called her names, avoided her like the plague. Pheonix felt lonely and isolated, until she met Aliya.
Aliya was a wolf girl, with silver fur and amber eyes. She was kind and brave, always standing up for Pheonix when others bullied her. She was also smart and funny, making Pheonix laugh with her jokes and stories. They became friends quickly, spending time together in classes and after school. Pheonix felt happy for the first time in her life.
She also felt something else: love. She realized she had fallen for Aliya, who was sweet and gentle with her. Aliya felt the same way, and they started dating secretly. They didn’t want anyone to know about their relationship, fearing they would be judged or worse.
They were happy together, until Pheonix received the letter from her dad.
She read it over and over again, trying to make sense of it. Her kingdom was at war with another demon realm that wanted to overthrow them. Her dad said he was doing his best to protect their people and their land, but he needed Pheonix to stay safe at the school. He said he loved her and hoped to see her soon.
Pheonix felt torn between two worlds: the one she had left behind and the one she had found here.
She heard a knock on the door of her dorm room.
“Phee? Are you there? It’s me.” It was Aliya’s voice.
Pheonix quickly hid the letter under her pillow and opened the door.
“Hey,” she said weakly.
Aliya smiled at her warmly and hugged her.
“Hey yourself,” she said softly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Pheonix said honestly.
Aliya pulled back slightly and looked into Pheonix’s eyes.
“Is everything okay?” she asked with concern. “You look upset.”
Pheonix hesitated for a moment. Should she tell Aliya about the letter? About the war? About how scared she was?
She decided to tell her everything. Aliya deserved to know the truth.
She took Aliya’s hand and led her inside the room.
She closed the door behind them and sat on the bed with Aliya beside her.
She took out the letter from under her pillow and handed it to Aliya.
“Read this,” she said quietly.
Aliya took the letter and read it carefully. She gasped when she reached the end.
“Oh Phee,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
She looked at Pheonix with sympathy and sadness.
“I had no idea your kingdom was at war. That’s terrible.”
Pheonix nodded, feeling tears sting her eyes.
“It is,” she said. “I don’t know what to do.”
Aliya wrapped her arms around Pheonix and hugged her tightly.
“You don’t have to do anything right now,” she said soothingly. “You’re safe here with me. We’ll figure this out together.”
Pheonix felt a wave of gratitude and love for Aliya.
“Thank you,” she said. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Aliya kissed Pheonix’s cheek and smiled.
“You’re welcome,” she said. “And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me too.”
They cuddled on the bed, holding each other close.
They didn’t say anything for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence.
They felt a sense of peace and comfort in each other’s arms.
They also felt a sense of fear and uncertainty about the future.
They didn’t know what would happen next.
But they knew they would face it together.The next day, Pheonix and Aliya went to their classes as usual.
They tried to act normal, but they couldn’t help feeling anxious and distracted.
They wondered how the war was going, and if Pheonix’s family and friends were okay.
They also wondered if anyone at the school knew about their relationship, and if they would be in danger if they did.
They decided to keep their love a secret for now, until they could find a way to be together safely.
They met after school in the library, where they usually studied together.
They found a secluded corner and sat down with their books.
They pretended to read, but they were really looking at each other.
They smiled and whispered sweet nothings to each other.
They held hands under the table and squeezed them gently.
They felt happy and alive in each other’s company.
But they also felt scared and alone in the world.
They wished they could run away together, somewhere far from the war and the hate.
But they knew they couldn’t. They had responsibilities and obligations. They had to stay at the school and finish their education. They had to face reality and deal with it.
They sighed and leaned closer to each other.
They kissed softly and tenderly.
They felt a spark of hope and courage in their hearts.
They knew they would never give up on each other. They knew they would fight for their love. They knew they would make it through this.

First/wiki/Patreon
Pirates in Unity
The crew was much less willing than Alwen had anticipated. For a ship full of horny sailors, they were way to squeamish about providing Alwen with the samples she needed. Alwen eventually had to go to the Captain to get the whole crew in line. But even with a direct order from the Captain Alwen still had plenty of complaints to deal with.
“This is humiliating.” Alice grumbled as she passed Alwen an opaque jar.
“How do you think I feel.” Alwen shot back. “If the results of my research ever get published I will forever be marked as the doctor who learned about this because she was having cramps.”
“I don’t even see why any of this is important.” She mumbled.
“You don’t see how potential Terran/Torweni genetic compatibility is important?”
“I don’t see why we have to be your test subjects?”
“Have a care Alice” a voice said from behind Alice. Captain Astarte had just entered the med bay. There was a suspicious flush to her cheeks as she passed Alwen a labeled container. “There’s a whole ship of us to provide the Terran samples, and only five of them for the Torweni samples.”
Alice watched Astarte suspiciously. “It still feels like a violation of privacy.”
Aster raised an eyebrow “You’re a Marine, you’re in the wrong career for privacy.”
“Yeah” Alwen agreed “this isn’t even the grossest sample I’ve asked from you.”
“Don’t remind me.” She muttered, her ears falling flat as she shuffled out of the med bay.
Alwen turned to Astarte and added her sample to the batch. “Thanks again Captain.”
“Don’t mention it, after all this isn’t just about Terran/Torweni compatibility. This could finally unravel the secrets of the Uplifted, might even give us conclusive proof of Union tampering.”
Alwen nodded; they were keeping that potential discovery from the crew just in case it didn’t pan out. Most Mammaloids went about their everyday life like any other person, but there was always a thought in the back of their mind. Why are we here, why are we like this? No point in getting their hopes up.
Aster put a hand on Alwen’s shoulder “Well, do your best. We’ve got time until we pull into Unity and I would love to see some progress before things get messy.”
“Of course, so long as the crew behaves I’ll have plenty of time to research.” Alwen answered, though she knew it was a pipe dream the moment she said it. Because in that moment a crewmen with a twisted ankle hobbled in.
~~~*~~~
The Arbiter stepped through the door into Judge’s private office before slowly closing the door and dropping the privacy field. Rachel looked around the office, but nothing had changed since she last met with Judge. His office never changed, even when he was promoted to Chief he still kept the same spartan furnishings from his original office. There were no signs of his new power and influence changing his personality.
That’s what Rachel liked about Judge, he was born into the very epitome of power and wealth, and he turned away from it all to be a lowly station officer. Even as he climbed the ranks and earned more influence, it couldn’t compare to what he gave up.
“You wanted to see me?” Rachel asked as she stood at attention.
Judge glanced up and gave her his full attention. “I wanted a report.”
“Yes sir,” Rachel said as she reached into her heavy black cloak and produced a manila file folder. The Union had been in the digital era for so long that the idea of paper folders seemed exotic and bizarre, but most police work was done on paper due to the inherent security in physical print versus a vulnerable digital database. Some of it was eventually scanned into the database, but only files that were deemed unimportant.
He took the folder and began to scan through its contents. His naturally stern expression deepened as he read. “Nothing but dead ends.” He muttered.
Rachel felt a flush of shame, “Yes, I exhausted every lead I had, but nothing came up. Your bro… I mean our suspect is very thorough.”
“Indeed. I have been looking into him for thirty years, and I’ve begun to suspect that someone very powerful is covering his tracks.”
A thought occurred to Rachel “It might be councilman Ozzath.”
He looked up “Explain your reasoning?”
Rachel had been keeping her mother’s visit from Judge, and had been doing her best to keep it from interfering with her job. But she couldn’t ignore the coincidence. “As you know Ozzath appeared at one of my arrests, well after our talk my mother appeared in my apartment for the first time in years. Said she wanted me to come back to the family. My family and Ozzath have been in business for as long as I can remember, and I doubt she really wants to welcome me back.”
He folded his hands and brought them up to his chin. “An interesting theory, but we can’t just investigate a councilmen without good cause. But this does explain your slower than average progress, your mothers been interfering.”
Rachel gritted her teeth at the thought. “Yes, Alexandra has been dragging me out to her vain parties with little notice. Its been cutting into my investigation time.”
He looked thoughtful. “Problematic, we’ll need to figure out her part in this. Is she just a pawn, or does she have a larger role in all this?”
Rachel felt a bitter shame at not wondering the same herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that? It was because Alexandra was in her head, clouding her thoughts.
He put his hands back down “It will have to wait, I called you here for another reason.”
“What?”
“I have received word from Chief Kera’keck of Femeri, it seems the pirate angle is back.”
“Pirate angle?”
He nodded gravely “According the Kera’keck this Astarte women and her companies have several strong connections to local pirate organizations. She was in the middle of the pirate attack on Femeri, and escaped on legal technicalities.” He turned over the folder on the potential pirate and Rachel began to scan through the contents.
She read for a minute before closing it “I see a lot of maybes and potentialities, but nothing concrete.”
“Of course not, if he had something concrete that women would be in jail. But look at the report on her ship.”
Rachel flipped a few pages until she got to several pictures of a strange gray hulled ship, “Is this for real?” she asked incredulously.
“Afraid so.”
“This looks like an old maritime battleship, not a space ship.”
“Indeed, specifically it seems to be modeled after one of the Iowa’s, some of the last battleships ever built. Look at the name.”
She looked to the top “Astaroth? Really? Isn’t that some sort of catholic demon?”
“It is, and after a quick internet search I found a curious connection. The demon Astaroth was based off the Phoenician goddess Astarte, which seems to imply that Astarte isn’t our pirates original name. I’m currently trying to dig up records to see if I can’t find her original name, but I doubt I’ll find anything. Her birth certificate was filed less than a decade ago, and lists her city of birth as New Mombasa.”
“Why so late? I doubt she’s only ten years old.”
“No, but things are different on deathworlds. Not everyone has access to hospitals, and the births aren’t always recorded. Those people later officially file their existence with local magistrates, but there is little the magistrate can do to confirm the details. Our pirate likely never had an official birth record, which makes looking into her past close to impossible.”
Rachel thought for a minute. “What about the last part, Maidens-Daughter doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. It might be a connection to her past.”
“I thought the same, I did a quick search but couldn’t find many people named Maidens-Daughter, at least not officially. Earth society is an enigma at the best of times, and its going to be tough to try and link that name to anything solid.”
“This still begs the question, what does a pirate want with terraforming tech? And why would they steal it from themselves?”
“My new working theory is insurance fraud. Order something expensive, steal it, then try to claim insurance on it. But then our assassin killed off the office, likely saving the company millions in damages.” He explained.
“This still links my assassin to Amaterasu, and it could explain why I can’t find anything on the missing equipment. I doubt our pirates will let this go.”
Judge nodded “I thought the same thing. I’m currently monitoring port offices for the next time the Astaroth pulls into a station-” he stopped short as his computer beeped. He turned back to and opened up a new screen. “Speak of the Devil” he muttered.
“Is that them? Where are they?” Rachel asked.
Judge nodded “Its them, they just pulled into Unity.”
“They’re here!” she asked in shock and incredulity. Known pirates pulling into the heart of the Union, how brazen were these people?
“It would appear so, they just checked in with the orbital controllers and have booked berth 239 in industrial section 7. Their stay is listed as indeterminate. No cargo to off load.” The winkles on his brow furrowed. “They’re due to pull in soon, maybe an hour.”
Rachel scowled “That’s more than enough time for me to get there.”
“And do what?” he asked, there was a sharp bite to his question.
“Not sure, I won’t know until I get there. But we can’t let a warship full of pirates enter Unity without challenge. I might get lucky and get them to make a mistake.”
He frowned “Or you’ll tip them off.” He began to tap one of his fingers “But your right, we can’t let them in unchallenged.” He thought for moment “Fine, you are to go there as a representative of the ADCU to inform our guests of the rules here, and look into their visit.”
Rachel nodded and turned away to leave promptly. She put her hood back up and began to march back to the ADCU to recruit a few extra officers. Pirates or not, they couldn’t allow a ship like that to enter port without challenge.

Me and my girlfriend have been fighting the past few weeks and keeps giving me the cold shoulder for saying my opinion that sex is important in a relationship. She’s saying that she lost her respect for me after my statement and judges me for wanting it like I’m a criminal. It seems like everything I say is invalid.
I’m not pressing her about it because I know we have different needs and am aware that she doesn’t want it and I respect that choice of hers. I just think that I should be allowed to express my opinion and be respected just as I do with her. Is what she’s doing sensible? Thanks

I am very new to this. I have been listening to reddit stories on YouTube and have been really interested even addicted to listening to all the relationship stories. I realize that the stories I hear on YouTube have been curated and only the best or most popular comments are the ones read aloud. but I've heard so much good advice that I was hoping to bring my family relationship here and hopes to get some good advice. I have to admit I'm a little afraid of the hate that I hear about but anyway let's get started.
I, female, 50ish have a really big involved family. Even though my family identifies strongly with our heritage, and even though many of us are bilingual, we are every bit Americans and have been here, in the US (legally) for many generations. Most of my family is also in general very good looking, healthy, strong people and are very proud of this. When I say we are very good looking, robust and vigorous people I'm telling you this because this is pertinent to the story.
Needless to say my family is full of really big personalities. I myself have always been shy and introverted. My family is loud and boisterous and they call themselves Bigger than Life. My family refers to our collective and individual good looks as "the family blessing". I have never really enjoyed the big family parties and gatherings over the years. Until recently I always just chalked it up to not enjoying big events or loud and boisterous interactions, but lately I have figured out that I honestly really don't even like most of my family. Not only are they big and proud and loud but they are ableists in the worst way. Let me explain.
Okay I just had to erase the last paragraph because I really don't want my family to recognize themselves in this story so I can't tell you some of the background. What I can tell you is that I have a cousin, let's call her Chelsea. Chelsea was born with a disability. Her parents did not fight for custody as my big brawny, good looking uncle could not handle the fact that she was disabled and gave her up to her Mother completely. He says it's because he was baby trapped. He was forced to pay child support. We did not see Chelsea for many many years as she lived with her Mother and her Father was loath to bring her around. (Chelsea would disagree with this part as in her mind and heart her Father loves her and maybe he does in his own way but, I can’t see it) Not only that, when Chelsea reached adulthood at the age of 22, my uncle sued her, Yes! his own daughter, for back child support. He asked her to testify that she was perfectly able to pay and therefore he won. Because she had a good paying job and a Pell Grant to begin an education I guess the Judge decided that she was set and could pay the back child support which she did.
Chelsea is now in her mid to late 30s and has had a very hard life due to her disability. She has not been able to make a salary much over the poverty line and has experienced a lot of discrimination and been passed up for promotions and even forced out of jobs because of ableists prejudice against her disability and Etc. Chelsea is single and lives alone unlike every other member of our family who has parents, husbands, wives, siblings and children. I don't want to say exactly what her disability is again because I want to keep anonymity, however I will say that her disability is apparent to anyone who looks at her and it does make it difficult for her mobility. She does use Mobility AIDS but is unable to drive herself anywhere.
Recently one of my other cousins had a big wedding. This cousin, Brittany, has had both her mother, my aunt and her father with her all her life doting on her every achievement including her dominating in sports as she is big, brawny, beautiful and brainy, basically Bigger than Life. The wedding was beautiful and she was supported by her entire…Our entire, huge family.
One of my Aunty's who is now in her late eighties came to the wedding and tottered about as she has balance issues and trouble with her feet, but she refused to use her cane or bring her walker because in her words, " I would rather die than be seen like that” that meaning using a Mobility device, despite being a fall risk.
At one point the wedding party was to be transported to a second venue. But something had happened and transport was delayed. No one considered my cousin, Chelsea or my Aunty (who refused to use her cane and so was a fall risk), or my other cousin who had sprained her ankle or the bride's mother's best friend who has a crippling disease that she has contracted in her older years that requires her to use a wheelchair. The wedding party was directed to walk to the second venue. I eventually had to speak up for those who could not walk as they were all, every single one of them, not willing to, “mess up the wedding party for everyone else”. The bride's mother's best friend disappeared, I assume because she knew that she wasn't going to be able to make it to the second venue without help. I could tell the bride was not happy that we couldn't just all walk to the next venue and it did seem to mess up the wedding party for everyone else as it took a lot longer for us to wait for transportation. But wait, there's more.
Every time the family was expected to be in a photograph I noticed my cousin Chelsea would get run over, cut in front of and twice she was almost pushed over. She seriously lost her balance on two occasions and was luckily caught by someone one time and was able to rite herself the second time. All she was trying to do was to move to the front to be in the family wedding pictures as she was called to do, but just like being out in the general public, she was worse than disregarded. Worse because she was actually put in danger by able-bodied people pushing past her and not just people, these were Her people, these are Her family. Anyway this isn't even the biggest issue.
The biggest issue is a couple of months down the road when she sent out a family text message. Basically Chelsea was frustrated because she gets left out of a lot of family events because people don't want to give her a ride. She's not told about Family events so that nobody has to worry about who is going to transport her. (But she always finds out after the fact because they post on social media!) she didn't mention that part in her text. What she did mention is that she would like help figuring out how to get rides to family events. She mentioned a previous family event that she was unable to get a ride to. She had asked another cousin, Let's call her Anna, who wasn't able to do it. Chelsea Was frustrated and tired and didn't feel like making 10 phone calls to get a ride so she just gave up after asking Anna. She did mention this in the text and said that she didn't mean to throw Anna under the bus but that she was just letting people know what it's like and how she feels And can she get some help for next time. Anna decided that she HAD been thrown under the bus (metaphorically of course) but you would have thought that she was actually pushed under a real bus the way that she reacted. The story is, after reading Chelsea's text, Anna went into full panic mode gasping for air and went into the fetal position (My mother told me that Anna (a grown, adult woman with a husband, two parents [with money] and great career, also, in the Bigger than Life crowd) was actually in the fetal position because, "Chelsea was mean to her in front of the whole family." There is a whole second text chain of family, that didn't include Chelsea so they could talk about and rally poor Anna.
To be fair, I do not want to discount unseen disabilities like mental illness here, but, rest assured Anna doesn't have any of these issues. Believe me, the whole family would know about it.
Anna's husband then called Chelsea and chewed her out and told her how ungrateful she was and that they would no longer be giving her any rides anywhere because of her behavior. Her behavior being that she sent out a text message asking for help. Not only that but another male cousin called Chelsea and berated her for being so mean to Sweet Anna.
Now, here's the kicker. I'm ready to take my cousin Chelsea and call ourselves a family and disown the rest of the family, but she loves them and she knows they love her, even if they don't know how to show it. I think this reeks of ableism and it makes me sick. I want to know what to do from this point that will help Chelsea and maybe even our family. Because I saw so much good advice here I thought maybe I would try it out. Thank you in advance for anything that you have to say. TLDR My disabled cousin is misunderstood by our ableist family

I personally think that VR has always been a new frontier for all kinds of players. To sum it up briefly, most games are very unfriendly to new players, since they oftentimes demand intense attention and high amounts of skill AS WELL AS a baseline of knowledge about gaming. A controller in itself is incredibly complicated and can be hard to grasp for people just starting out. That’s why so many new players defect to easy games like Roblox and such. However, VR is different. While a screen and a keyboard aren’t very immersive and are honestly really complicated, as they demand incredibly fine motor skills, VR asks of you the basics: Use the way you interact with stuff in real life to judge what you would do in a situation like (insert game here). It doesn’t ask of you much other than 2 buttons, a joystick, and your hands. And Bonelab is a completely new instance on that frontier, a super realistic and well made simulation of real life. It’s accurate and, due to the limits of the Quest 2, is built pretty straightforward since you can’t make too big maps. It’s a special game and I genuinely think it will foster the next generations gamers. I’m a massive loser but I know too much about this to let it sit in my head

Ok. Before everyone goes all "sweet home Alabama" on me, let me explain. My step cousin and I are both adults, and NO, we haven't known each other all our lives. My mom and her uncle have been dating for a few years, but are getting married. We have only known each other for about a year, and had a strong attraction to each other and it formed into this.
I just wanted to get it off my chest somewhere because it seems most people judge the situation and think it's wrong. We aren't blood related, and I don't think of her as family at all. It's a difficult thing because even feelings have come of it, but I don't know what to do. Definitely the most interesting "movie" type situation I've ever been in. AMA.

The previous ones:
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/115yiq7/spacewars_hackfraudery_how_esb_is_a_lot_closer_to/ "SpaceWars HackFraudery: How ESB is a lot closer to TFA and TLJ in terms of "undoing the victory from the previous movie" and Mauler was WROOOOOOOOOONG"
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11fytsc/an_example_of_mauler_as_well_as_plinkett/ "An example of Mauler (as well as Plinkett) significantly overestimating the OT's "cause&effect motivation consistency sense-making" - and what possible implications this could have"
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11fytsc/an_example_of_mauler_as_well_as_plinkett/japzym (bit of a correction/expansion of the OP in an added comment - I should probably post a revised version of the OP somewhere at some point)
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11hki5e/ot_discontinuity_thread_number_3_schroedingers/ ""OT discontinuity" thread number 3: Schroedinger's gigantic space distances"
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11q2vwl/ot_discontinuities_thread_4_magic_invisibility/ ""OT discontinuities" thread 4: magic invisibility charms, except not; + First Empire competence issues"
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11uhedc/ot_discontinuity_thread_5_sending_x_number_of/ ""OT discontinuity" thread 5: sending x number of TIEtroopers + the homing beacon plan"
https://old.reddit.com/MauLecomments/11vbnud/6th_and_probably_almost_last_thread_anhtfa/ "6th (and probably almost last) thread: ANH/TFA opening plot holes and Tatooine/Jakku comparisons"
1a) When covering Rey and Finn's escape from Jakku, here starting at 1:56:30 (Part 2), Mauler says this:

But her navigation of the debris with the Falcon is still undeniably ridiculous - and that closes off the scene which is a horrible mess, but it happened fast, so maybe some people don't notice it so much.

It should be mentioned that they move on to the scene in space with Han Solo very soon, and that up to this point the situation of having this incredibly important droid, this man who knows the importance of the Droid and the inner workings of the First Order, and this woman who is an ace pilot as well as the future most powerful Jedi to exist, that nudges Kylo to kill Snoke, and can get Luke out of retirement, all meeting up, is incredibly lucky.
"Magic and coincidences - oh look that, that's just the Millennium Falcon, it's just sitting there! Oh we gotta run into HAN SOLO - ah heeyy, what a coincidence!!"
If not for Rey, both Finn and BB-8 would likely have been captured or killed by now.
The interesting comparison is that in Episode 4, Obi-wan is seeking out a good pilot with the interest of smuggling them - and so they get the attention of just that, and they pay money for that service; thus Han Solo smuggles them out with strong piloting.
Here though - Lady Luke is smilin'.

First of all, Finn plays an essential role by being the one shooting the gun and blowing up the TIE fighters - the second one in that impressive collaborative maneuver that they did at the end;
so saying that "Rey saved Finn and BB-8" isn't really that accurate - Rey and Finn both saved themselves as well as BB-8.
So now to the Ep4 comparison again:

The interesting comparison is that in Episode 4, Obi-wan is seeking out a good pilot with the interest of smuggling them - and so they get the attention of just that, and they pay money for that service; thus Han Solo smuggles them out with strong piloting.
Here though - Lady Luke is smilin'.

The phrasing here doesn't make 100% clear what exactly his point is, but judging by the context as well as the rest of this review, it's that the Ep4 examples makes a lot more sense because Obi-Wan and Luke seek out a professional pilot, instead of... Luke ace-piloting his way out of a hairy situation as the Troopers have caught up to them?
Implying that that would've been nonsensical (to some degree at least) which is why ANH didn't do it since it doesn't engage in such nonsense - while what it does is all based on established consistency & logic?
However this is a highly questionable assertion, to say the least.
Obi-Wan needs to find a transport in the Mos Eisley spaceport because... he doesn't have a spaceship of his own; which necessarily leads to the question, why doesn't he have a space ship?
If he's there waiting for the right moment to get called into action, and possibly recruit / start training Luke, or protect him (which may very well involve escaping with him from the planet, if a certain type of situation were to arise), why doesn't he keep a spaceship or 2 tucked away somewhere so he's prepared for emergency situations like this?
He doesn't even have a speeder apparently? Why?

"I need your help, Luke - she needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing..."
"I can't get involved... I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's all such a long way from here..."
"That's your uncle talking."
"My uncle... how am I ever gonna explain this?"
"Learn about the Force, Luke."
"Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead - you can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."
"You must do what you feel is right, of course."

Mauler's phrase about "Han's strong piloting" kind of almost implies that Obi-Wan couldn't have pulled that off, which also leads to the question - why assume Obi-Wan was a bad pilot (or not at all), and/or what does the film establish about this? Could it indeed somehow be the case that he can't really fly a spaceship?

"No, my father didn't fight in the wars; he was a navigator on a spice freighter."
"That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals; thought he should have stayed here - and not gotten involved."
"You fought in the Clone Wars?"
"Yes - I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father."
"I wish I'd known him..."
"He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself!
And he was a good friend...
Which reminds me - I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it; he feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did."

So he was a Jedi Knight just like Skywalker Sr.; they went on an idealistic crusade together - fought together in the Clone Wars (or certainly Obi-Wan did - Skywalker just in "wars", but 99% the Clone ones), and he's describing Skywalker as a "cunning warrior" and "the best pilot";
how much room do any of these lines leave for the interpretation that despite being "a Jedi Knight, same as Skywalker", and even a Jedi instructor i.e. to Vader, he was in fact, unlike Skywalker, a lousy warrior and a lousy pilot if a pilot at all?
Especially given how in final act of the film, Luke's emerging Force powers enhance his starfighter abilities?
I think one can safely say here that virtually none - that he may not have been quite as ace as Skywalker, but probably very good and competent at the very least - and the movie simply didn't need to go out of its way to assure everyone that yes, since Obi-Wan shared Skywalker's "Jedi Knight" and "fought in the wars together" attributes, by extension he also shared the "great warrior & pilot" attributes listed in the same paragraph.
So.... all but confirmed as a skilled ex-warrior pilot, and completely inexplicably without a ship or even speeder, how is his need for a pirate pilot with a ship "logically justified", exactly?
Doesn't seem to be justified at all - and if it isn't, then literally the only reason why the movie had him "have to" go to Mos Eisley and pay for a pilot, is because it wanted them to go to a city with colorful aliens, enter a Western salon, and team up with their new pirate pilot co-protagonist in this way;
quite obviously not a case of rational ground-up plot construction.
So if this intention by the movie to team them up with Solo, or specifically do that in this fashion, at this point, is taken out of the picture - what could've happened alternatively?
Luke's got a speeder, Obi-Wan's got a spaceship tucked away either right by his home, or in some kinda secret cave somewhere or who knows (and probably has a speeder as well) - and, to maintain the spirit of their Mos Eisley escape, the Stormtroopers have now followed the trail from Luke's home to Ben's and are closing in on them;
or perhaps Luke catches their attention by going against Ben's advice and speeding to the homestead;
either way now there's a tense action sequence where Obi-Wan and Luke are both chased by the Stormtroopers and have to quickly get away and leave the planet - and both are skilled pilots, as already established.
Would it somehow been out-of-character for this movie if Luke then jumped into some kind of co-pilot or gotten behind a turret or something, and played an essential role in escaping & fighting off the pursuing Troopers - thus showcasing these skills that he's been said to have, and maybe even already an early hint of his inherited Force potential?
And if yes, how so? That's pretty much exactly what proceeds to happen in the middle and final acts of this movie - and by all looks, really the only reason it doesn't already happen right here and now, at the same spot where Rey&Finn are escaping Jakku in this fashion, is because the movie wanted them to go to the spaceport city and meet Han there instead: an arbitrary creative decision.
The only thing that would've been out-of-character for ANH, would be to make this sequence as over-the-top as its TFA counterpart - however it wouldn't have had the technology for that anyway, and besides, the regular gunslinging in TFA is also over-the-top compared to ANH, along with the visual gags during those shoot-outs;
so yes, ANH would've had a more "tone down", no-nonsense version of that, but that's about the only expected difference there:

But her navigation of the debris with the Falcon is still undeniably ridiculous - and that closes off the scene which is a horrible mess, but it happened fast, so maybe some people don't notice it so much.

; not the core concept of Luke (and Obiwan) not taking a backseat to Solo.
At this point a structured breakdown of both Luke's and Rey's initial skillsets and lvl'ing up arcs is in order:
1b)
Rey can fight of 3 (unarmed, in this case) dudes with a staff, struggling somewhat, ending up taking a light punch or something, but basically being quite on top of things there.
She threatens a grumpy asshole of seemingly very limited mobility on an ultra-slow horse with a knife - he has a staff but clearly just uses it to try and throw his weight around, having no apparent ability or willingness to fight.
How much her staff and knife skills extend beyond what was shown here, is unknown and remains unknown.
Never used a gun before somehow??

"You might need this."
"I think I can handle myself."
"I know you do - that's why I'm giving it to you. Take it. You know how to use one of those?"
"Yeah. You pull the trigger."
"A little bit more to it than that - you got a lot to learn. You got a name?"

Has "flown ships before" though:

"That was some flying." "Thanks!" "How did you do that?!" "I don't know!" "No one trained you? No one?!" "I've flown some ships, but I've never left the planet!"

and pulls off a ultra-feat she herself is surprised by.
Then gets told her destiny by Maz, has a mystical experience with the sentient lightsaber;
and shortly later pulls out the gun for the first time, and almost immediately (small hiccup with the "safety", and 1 missed shot a second before the successful one) "sharpshoots" a trooper (after he misses her) - looking startled and amazed immediately afterwards, either at having been immediately able to hit someone at such a long distance, or perhaps at having personally killed somebody for the 1st time? It's unclear.
While she keeps sharpshooting Stormtroopers but also still running from them in visible distress, Han is seen gunslinging like mad, and then Poe is also seen taking down one TIE after another while also hitting individual Troopers on the ground, impressing Finn. (The prominently filmed X-Wing(s) shown picking off the troopers holding them as well as numerous other ground and air targets a slight bit earlier, seemingly aren't strictly speaking confirmed to all be the same one - however it's most likely Poe as well. If not, that just means more over-the-top aces in this Resistance fleet who aren't main characters.)
Then her telepathy / mind control powers are "unlocked" by Kylo.
Then Finn tries to "rise to the occasion" by fighting Kylo, after having seen Rey get knocked unconscious by getting pushed into a tree - lacking the Force (aside from having received a bit of Maz' blessing as well), but evidently having been trained in melee combat incl. with energy blades, just like his earlier stormtrooper adversary.
After his defeat, Rey in turn rises to the occasion, and manages to (intuitively? it happens off-screen while focusing on Kylo trying to do the same) summon the lightsaber and starts putting up a better fight than Finn - only having staff brawling experience in terms of concrete combat practice (and not even against other staff/weapon wielders, at least from what was shown), but now having a serious amount of Force access (which seemingly replaces the need for concrete practice, as has been long established in 4 and 5);
as she's getting pushed against the edge of the chasm, she "taps into the Force" even more, along with getting a new sense of determination and fury, and then proceeds to overpower him.
When Luke

"Sandpeople, or worse... come on - let's go have a look. Come on!"

, he takes a rifle with him, looking quite confident - however it's unknown if he's already shot at moving targets or what not.
Then as he gets overwhelmed by a Tusken raider, and manages to dodge a few of his staff attacks while on the ground and unarmed, before eventually getting knocked out - it's not quite clear how good he would've been in such a brawl had he been prepared; apparently above 0, but beyond that, who knows.
Then he gets approached by the 2 thugs in the cantina, clearly not looking like he's ready to start a fight with them, but also not all that intimidated - even when when the guy grabs him and threatens to kill him. The impression is that he's just determined to not take them very seriously, and doesn't really expect them to attack him if he refuses to give them attention? And then he gets pushed across the room, without putting up any resistance, but also again getting surprised after not really having been prepared (due to some kind of arrogance or naivity) - judging by this moment alone, he may as well have been a complete total zero rookie when it comes to fighting, but just like the Tusken attack it doesn't rule out he can generally do better.

"I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself!"
"10 thousand?! We could almost buy our own ship for that!" "But who's gonna fly it, kid - you?" "You bet I could - I'm not such a bad pilot myself. We don't have to sit here and listen-"
"It's not impossible - I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home, they're not much bigger than 2 meters."

While it's not clear whether he's "ever left the planet", he's established in dialogue as already a "quite good" / "not bad" pilot - and later as having performed a feat the difficulty of which isn't really consistently established:
One pilot thinks it's "impossible even for a computer", but he replies that it's "not impossible" - and judging by his tone he doesn't even mean that it's particularly impressive either.
However then Gold Leader fails at it "even with a targeting computer" (one is probably to assume that that skeptical pilot was referring to this, and not an automated computer-guided shot?) - and Luke is then seen also starting to use that targeting computer (did he also when shooting those womp rats?), but eventually turns it off to rely on the Force instead.
So it was impossible even for a computer after all? Is that because they're flying faster? But then if those womprat shots had been at done lower speeds, why did he bring it up in the first place?

"Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!"

So... Han's exaggerating, or was it really a "1 in a million shot" that could've only been nailed supernaturally? Or they could've nailed it after a several more attempts, but the supernatural aid just increased the odds for this last second attempt?
But if this task was difficult enough to likely miss at the 1st or 2nd attempt, shouldn't Luke have thought of that when recounting his story? They'd probably know they'd have limited time up there, right?
Or, if the womprats hadn't been too difficult to hit on the 1st attempt, and the speeds back home were comparable, making it valid for him to bring that up - then why did he need to "let go and trust the Force" when he hadn't needed that back home? Again, had he been using targeting computers to hit those womprats? If yes, him putting away the computer here is a bigger deal - however if not, hadn't he already succeeded at it without the Force or a computer? Why did he need it now - again, just to increase the odds since this was the last ditch attempt against a ticking clock?
Point is, according to these various lines and attempts/methods, it's quite unclear just how impossible or just difficult or even unimpressive the task of hitting that 2 meter target in fact was - not clear how impressive the climactic shot was, and not clear how impressive Luke's skills back home had been either.
So while him snapping at Han like this in the bar may come off as some kind of over-confidence, and Obi-Wan even softly reins him in, it's ultimately unclear at that point whether he really could've pulled that off or not - maybe Obi-Wan thinks he doesn't have the skills yet (but then he probably has those skills himself - or is he doubting them due to his age?), or maybe he thinks he does, and he himself does, but why throw away their chances with this good pilot they've just met and his impressive ship, and take chances by going to look to buy some other ship?
So depending on how cocky and irrational Luke is being during that outburst, he either has "never left the planet" and is only really "good" on a local semi-amateur level, and going into space would be serious uncharted territory for him - or in fact he is as good as he's saying, and could really pull this off.
Shortly after takeoff, he's seen being completely clueless about hyperspace travel - however that doesn't mean they would've been screwed on their own, since Obi-Wan obviously knows about hyperspace travel and he could've handled that part.
However is that the only aspect of piloting that he's ignorant about, or is he severely lagging behind in other departments as well?
Well - after what's revealed about his backstory in that Yavin briefing, if he was already pulling off shots that Han would praise as "1 in a million" (even if hyperbolically) before the movie started, then that certainly raises him up quite highly;
however perhaps he's still lacking in the "evasive maneuvers against Star Destroyers" department?
How much time passes between their jump to hyperspace and this:

"Are you all right? What's wrong?"
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force... - as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror - and were suddenly silenced... I fear something terrible has happened.
You'd better get on with your exercises."
"Well, you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs - I told you I'd outrun them."
"Don't everybody thank me at once..."

One has to assume that the "Imperial slugs" he's talking about there are the same Stardestroyers (or, well, "Imperial Cruisers" - they weren't yet called "Star Destroyers" in this 1st movie) that they escaped from on Tatooine - however by "outrunning them" Han clearly can't be referring to just having jumped to hyperspace in front of their noses, since evidently enough time has passed for them to have started playing chess and began training with the lightsaber since that point; and he's only outrun them just now.

"Why don't you outrun 'em? I thought you said this thing was fast!"
"Watch your mouth, kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers.

"Safe enough", well this all adds up - looks like in this movie, unlike ESB, the Imperial ships can chase them through hyperspace/lightspeed; and Han just outran them after what might be a 30min or 1h chase, or who knows how long/short.
This is then further confirmed a few minutes later:

Obi-Wan: "It's an Imperial fighter."
Luke: "It followed us!"
Obi-Wan: "No - it's a short-range fighter."
Han: "There aren't any bases around here, where did it come from."

So "long-range ships" could have followed them through that hyperspace trip? (Despite Han having thought he'd lost them?)
At the end of V, they jump to lightspeed, leaving Vader's ship without any chances of catching or tracking them anymore - Vader walks off the bridge, looking defeated and even too depressed go lash out at Piett;
that wouldn't have worked in the universe of ANH?
So when they "invent the new hyperspace tracking tech" in by TLJ, that's only a "new" ability according to ESB's changed universe - before this continuity shift, a similar thing was already possible in ANH.
TFA-Han's ability to lightspeed-jump through a planetary shield, while inconsistent with how he introduced the mechanics of hyperspace travel to Luke:

"It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navi-computer." "Are you kidding?! At the rate they're gaining??" "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy! Without precise calculations, we'd fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova... and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

, doesn't seem to stand out that much anymore...
Also to go off on a short tangent here:

"Did your men deactivate the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon?" >"Yes, my Lord."

Last time they placed a "homing beacon" and tracked them to Yavin, but now - despite having screwed with the ship in an analogous situation - they've only "deactivated the hyperdrive";
had they also put a tracking device on it, just in case, they could've tracked them down, attempted to capture them and Luke again, and also found their space base - unless of course the Falcon's crew had the bright idea to think of this possibility, and then (instead of immediately forgetting about it moments later) either change ships or find&deactivate the homing beacon.
(Also if a Star Destroyer had showed up at their space base's doorsteps, or even several, couldn't they have attacked it with X-Wings just like the last time? Motti said they were generally more vulnerable than the Death Star - and even if they don't happen to have an equivalent Achilles' Heel, the RotJ fighters still managed to destroy the Super Stardestroyer.)
Also:

"Lord Vader - our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing. If the Millennium Falcon went into lightspeed, it'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now."
"Alert all commands. Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory."
"Yes, my Lord. We'll find them."
"Don't fail me again - Admiral."
"Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet."

So now the Falcon did jump to lightspeed - can't they at least have tried the same approach? That Piett even showed such confidence about? Or was that just in case the Falcon hadn't jumped to lightspeed? (It certainly would've been absurd otherwise.)
This one's not too big of an issue if it's interpreted as Vader just being desperate / refusing to give up and Piett trying to be optimistic and not get killed on the spot; what "trajectory" was he even referring to here, given how all the Falcon had been doing this whole time was fly around in curves and circles while trying to evade them? The trajectory they took when flying at the Stardestroyer's window? Or some earlier point? If it was supposed to make sense, then it seems very hard to explain how so.
Aaaand, for a second tangent:

Obi-Wan: "A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space, on its own?.."
Luke: "He.. must've gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something..."

Other than the issue of Ben repeating almost the same exact thought that Han voiced moments ago, there are other confusing things about this sequence:

Han: "There aren't any bases around here, where did it come from."

By "no bases" does he mean he's not picking up any big stations / hyperspace-able ships on his scanners, or that there are no known ones in this area (as if the Empire doesn't have lots of mobile "bases"? a mobile "convoy" could've been an explanation too, of course) - or that there are no planets/moons around here?

"Look at him, he's heading for that small moon!.."
"Think I can get him before he gets there - he's almost in range."
"That's no moon - it's a space station..."
"It's too big to be a space station..."

Han hadn't picked up the Death Star on his scanners (which, if that's what he was referring to, should've been a lot wider than what the naked eye could see, since the Death Star was still too far away to be even visible at that moment), and no one showed surprise at there being a "moon" not showing up on any of the charts.
While Han and the rest not immediately thinking of the possibility that "that TIE could've been dropped there by a Stardestroyer" (i.e. what Luke suggests about a possible "convoy" moments later) isn't really a problem, Han's line about "no bases around here" followed by them bumping into this giant moon-sized station remains quite inexplicable.
Back from the tangents:

I have 4c hair.When I comb it(comb it out)it is always dry.After I wash my hair and attempt to blow dry it,it becomes dry which makes it very hard to comb.I don’t know what to do as I don’t know how to properly take care of it.Please don’t judge me I just need advice on what to do.The only products I put in my hair is the blue Maui shampoo/conditioner,leave in conditioner afterwards,and for the past few months I have had my hair in twists so I use the Nasara Moisturizer and Oil.

Don’t forget starting opening day of the MLB season it’s 20 day (was 15) MLB Giveaway. Some nice RC’s. Verlander Ohtani Judge Machado Trout Harper Goldschmidt Vlad Soto Alonso Tatis Jr Franco Freeman Devers Xander Peña Rodriguez Tucker Rizzo Arenado!!!

New to the series? Start at the beginning. Or go back to Part 71
Steel makes a subtle movement with the sword, the tip dropping slightly. The tension in his body loosens, and he smiles like a wolf heading in for the kill. There is only one thing Steel is looking for, and it isn’t Mattias coming with him. He won’t stop for anything less than our father’s head.
Jasper notices the shift in focus as well, like a shark smelling blood. Steel focuses on the object of his revenge, so tantalizingly within reach, that he’s no longer concerned with us.
When Madelyn lets out another loud groan of pain, Jasper strikes. Mattias’ calls for reason and Kyle’s work on Madelyn drown out his sudden movement .
Doing the only thing I can to help, I cross between Steel and Mattias, just out of reach of the sword, hoping my movement will distract from Jasper’s.
Steel lets out a howl as the searing pain of Jasper’s power shoots through him. I lunge forward as his knees buckle, aiming to pull the sword from his grip. But his movement is either a feint or he’s stronger than I judged. He doesn’t fall to the ground, instead lunges forward, sword outstretched.
I jerk, but I’m off balance and my momentum carries me forward. Right towards the tip of that power-infused sword. I hear Kyle call out in warning, but it’s too late to change my course.
I can almost feel the heat from the sword as something barrels into my side, the sword so close it slices through part of my hair.
Evie collapses over my side, gritting her teeth and panting. “I saw it,” she says, almost choking out the words. “Over and over. In my vision. I couldn’t watch and not do anything.”
A moment later, there is another sound of bodies colliding as Mattias slams into Steel. Mattias is smaller than Steel’s overwhelming frame, but he uses speed and momentum to his full advantage.
Jasper reappears as the blow hits, sending his own jolt of power through Steel. The larger man crumbles to the ground, the sword clattering beyond any of their reach.
“No,” Evie gasps and clutches her throat. She looks like a fish pulled from water as her eyes bulge. She kicks at the ground as if she’s trying to escape an invisible grasp.
I can’t go in there. It’s like a black hole inside. Time is warning me.
Like a black hole in time.
I look to my father, or the man before he became my father, according to his perspective. A walking paradox of time.
Evie continues to struggle, scraping at her throat, undiluted panic in her eyes.
The movement around me slows. I roll Evie gently off of me, not able to give her any more reassurance than a quick smile. The three men are still grappling on the floor. Steel is outnumbered, but agile enough that they appear to be at a stalemate.
Just beyond them, glinting in the darkness as if to call me, the sword lays abandoned on the ground.
The rest of the world, the sounds and the pain and the fight, all disappear. All that exists is me and this sword, drawn together like two magnets.
I pick it up and the warmth and power wraps around me as tightly as my grip wraps around the hilt. Holding it, I can smell wet soil underneath the summer sun, blooming flowers mixed with falls dying leaves. Growth and decay extending from my hands, glittering with the personality of the Viden that spawned this captured power.
Jasper, Mattias, and Steel have barely moved since I picked up the sword, like they’ve stepped out of time. Or I have.
But it makes my job easier. I can’t afford even the smallest unintended scratch.
The blade cuts through the air with ease, Bohdan’s power giving the strike twice its normal strength. Before Steel has a chance to scream, the blade slices through the entirety of his neck and vibrates with the impact of the ground beneath him.
Evie whimpers, a gurgling noise cut short as she convulses. Jasper looks me up and down in wide-eyed shock, the sword in my hand still buried in what used to be Steel’s neck.
With a jerk of my head, he rushes to Evie’s side. Mattias is slower to rise, still looking in disbelief at the body of his son.
As he turns his attention to Evie, the daughter he never knew about or met, he meets the edge of my blade.
Shock and fear wash over his features.
“You’re killing her,” I say, not giving him time to argue or recover.
When he opens his mouth to argue, I cut him off. “Whatever happened to you with that artifact and explosion, it’s killing Evie.”
His gaze drift back to Evie and flinches from another gurgling whimper of pain escapes.
“You’ll find me again. Come to me after this, and we can give each other what answers we have. But stay far away from Evie. For her own good.” He doesn’t take his eyes off Evie as I speak, but nods his confirmation.
“I love you Dad,” I whisper, low enough I’m not sure he hears me over Evie and Madelyn’s pain. Then louder and more urgent I shout, “Go. Now.”
He jolts at my tone, but gives me a half smile as he sprints away, swallowed by the darkness and decaying structures.
As his footsteps recede, so does Evie’s howls.

i’m 18 and i dropped out at 15 because of anxiety, and much more was going on so please don’t judge me. i keep getting rejected from small minimum wage jobs and all my friends are going to university, while i feel stuck. is this all that life is? i feel like everything i do is a failure. i’m awkward and i’m not academically or street smart. i have my own hope and dreams which i will never be able to pursue as i’m not rich at all. the only thing i have is my looks, and even then i’m insecure. please give me advice, thank you