Christian brothers automotive

Big brothers are Alexander James, Dominic Joseph & Michael Christian.
I literally can't figure out a name for their baby brother... I feel like I already used all the good ones! Hubby likes Benjamin & Theodore.. They're OK but I don't LOVE them like I want to love his name :( maybe a strong middle name would help?
Can you please give me some thoughtful suggestions! I really want to love my last babes name but I'm so lost!
TIA.

Hey, I hope it's okay if I talk about it here, but I really need an advice. I'm 14, soon 15, girl. My almost whole life, I've been Christian, Catholic. I went to church, took religious classes, etc. But around 12, I started to question my religion. I didn't feel like a Christian. At that time, I tried to be. But around turning 14 in June 2022, I was pretty sure I'm atheist. It just confirmed during next months. But I haven't told anyone. I kept it as a secret to not ruin my relationships with my family. Especially my mother. My father doesn't care about this stuff, he even doesn't go to church (which will be important later), my brother is mentally handicapped, and I also live in the same house as my grandparents from my mother. They're both very religious. But my mother is very religious and I think I can call her narcissistic. Maybe she's a good mother, just not for me. But last December, 2022, there's something called (holy) confession going on (or at least in my country), which is basically that you go to church, tell the priest your sins (that are just bizarre) and he tells you you've been bad and tells you to pray and let's you go. I always hated it. Didn't see the meaning behind it, didn't make sense to me. In December 2021, I was supposed to go with my grandparents, but before I could've gone there, I think I almost got a panic attack. I got headache, bad breathing, I couldn't stand etc. When I told my mother, who stayed at home with my brother, I couldn't do this, she yelled at me, told me I'm joking (I'm not, I couldn't even speak when it happened) and I'm just lazy and don't want to do it. I cried and told her I didn't, yet she didn't believe me and told me that next day, she's going to city close to us to get a confession there, and I'm going with her. Fortunately, I did it, but the priest was mad about things like "I didn't go to church every Sunday", which just seemed bizarre to me, and I didn't even pray as he told me. At Easter 2022, which is the second time we're supposed to go to confession, Christmas and Easter, I was seriously ill whole week this was happening, so I couldn't go (yay!). Well, Christmas 2022 came and one Friday before going to school, my mother told me that the next day, Saturday, we're going to confession. I told her "no" and she said I'm going and "she doesn't see any reason why I shouldn't go". I spent the whole day worrying and thinking what I'm going to say, but I just knew I have to tell her. I came home and told her I'm not going anywhere tomorrow, and she again asked why. I told her everything. That I'm atheist, but I respect her religion as much as possible, and I couldn't care less if she'd be Muslim, Christian or Jew, anything, even pastafarian, I.don't.care. But her response... scared me? I can't tell. She told me "but I'm scared you might be Muslim or something like that." Excuse me? Why should you be scared? I won't punish you for that. We barely talked the whole weekend after that, but I haven't gone to the confession. I haven't gone there even at Easter 2023, but my mother made me go the grave, which is just a statue of Chesus laying in the grave, and to pray. She told me to pray and when she asked me if I did, I was very naughty and lied and said I did pray (didn't even think about that).
The thing is she most likely wants me to be Christian again. She makes me do these things - go to church and pray, even though I really don't feel comfortable with it. When I told her about an annoying girl in my class and said that if she won't stop annoying me, I'll do anything to stop her, she said "no you won't because you're a nice Christian girl-" and at that moment I yelled "I'm not Christian!" And she just rolled her eyes and acted annoyed. Do I call her atheist girl just out of sudden because I'm atheist? I asked her to respect me since I respect her. I don't make her be also atheist, I just live my own atheist life and let her live her Christian one. Well, she responded with something like "you don't respect me and my religion, respecting it would mean going to church etc.!" E-excuse me? That's the exact opposite of respect. But if this is what respect means for her, we'll see how my respecting her will go (don't plan on doing it btw). And also, I respect people like Muslims and Jews and Buddhists, does it mean, according to her, that I should celebrate Hanukkah (that is an amazing tradition btw - putting a candle on the window so others get light too - I love you), go to Mekka or get my daily dose of meditation? Also, all the time she says something like "but you want to go to heaven so you'll do this" I want to f-ing die and done. I don't want to meet your favourite oc (that's not very oc). A Also, I stopped taking religious classes in 2021 when I was 12, and only after I promised I'll go to church instead, and that's very weird. But I didn't, covid quarantine saved me hehe. I got out with it also because the teacher was and still is very annoying. But like 5 mins ago, I heard her talking to my father about it and she said that the next time the priest (on my village we have one) will be asking her why I don't take religious classes anymore, she'll say because of the teacher, and that if she wouldn't be there, I'd still be going there. How about letting me decide? Also, when I told her I'm atheist, she had to tell my father and asked him "are you Christian?" and he said yes, even though according to her he isn't since the last time he was in church was like 5 years ago. She also used this as some "he is Christian I'm Christian so you should be too" okay, I'm woman, you're woman, my father should be too, now you realise how stupid it is? I also have two uncles, my mother's brothers, that I guess are also atheists. They go to church for like Christmas etc., but they don't go and do these things otherwise just because they moved out. I know I'll go to hell but e n v y. Also, ~month ago, she was watching the news and I just entered the living room and the reporter said something about LGBT, and she asked "well but what it is?" So I explained: L=lesbian, G=gay, B=bi, T=trans. She just knocked at her head which is a sign of pointing at something stupid in case someone doesn't know and asked for her letter, as "N, for normal!" She also says that she accepts normal (sigh), lesbians and gays. As a person that has been wondering about this some time and is thinking if I'm bi or not, this didn't make me happy. Also, some time ago, like year and a half, she told my cousin she'd accept her if she'd be anything, mentioning even bi. But my mother and my cousins is a whole different series.
Not so long ago, I told my Christian friend that has a bit of a problem to accept people different than her, and she was like "oh, I didn't know" and we joked about it. The whole time we laughed at our stupid jokes about it, I just wished my mother was like that. At least in the religion thing. Now, me and my friend talk like if nothing happened, because nothing happened.
I really need an advice. I don't know how long I can take this. She constantly laughs at people who are trans/bi/etc. and shoves her religion into my mouth. I don't know if my grandmother knows about me being atheist, but if she knows, she took it somehow lightly. Her fanatism is a whole different level. As I said, I don't know how long I can take this. My emotions are like a roller coaster, I'm sensitive and can get angry easily. I'm trying to do something about it but it's not getting much better (that's why I adore the Buddhist mindset). If anyone knows what to do, I'm opened to your suggestions. I'm 14 and can't move out, I wouldn't even got out with it if I tried. Thanks. Oh, and sorry for possible grammatical errors, English isn't my first language. Thanks again.

There are a lot of coming out stories, both on reddit and in media, but they're all about younger people, like teenagers or people in their 20s, like "Love, Simon". I'm so lost and confused, and I could use some support/love.
I'm a 40 year-old man. A few years ago, I concluded and accepted I was gay. My family doesn't know yet (conservative Christian family), but people at work know, etc. Oh, by the way, I am single.
My best friend, who is also 40M, doesn't know I'm gay. I want to tell him, but I don't know how. Let's call him Brian. We've been friends for 25+ years. We've been through a divorce (his, to a woman, not mine) and deaths in our families (both sides), and so we've been there for each other through thick and thin. And, we really don't have other friends. He's dating a woman right now, and he has a son, but aside from that, his only other friend is me. Same for me. He's my only friend.
Now when I say "only" friend, I don't want to give the impression that we're both antisocial or loners. Just that, we consider each other especially important compared to acquaintances and so on.
Now, he knows I have never been in a relationship or dated. He never really asked me if I am dating or not, but he always knew that I am a career-focused guy, and I was also moving around for work every so few years, so I never really got a chance to date or settle down.
A few months ago, he suggested that I go online dating to meet women, as all his dates post-divorce were met online, so he's had success meeting women online. He only brought it up casually, and never pushed it. And pretty much aside from this, as I said above, he's never asked me about my dating life. He's never asked about my sex life too, lol.
Do I think he's homophobic? When we were in college together, so like 20 years ago, he kinda was as he always avoided the gay areas of town, even when it would be convenient to drive through to get from A to B. Is that homophobic? Maybe, but he has never been explicitly so. We never make "gay" jokes even as "bros", if that matters. He never uses derogatory terms even as a joke.
Recently, we were watching the news together and the issue of teaching LGBTQ issues in Florida schools came up. It was just a casual chat in response to the news. I didn't really mention my stance. He did say, though, that "I don't mind whether people are gay or straight, but keep it to yourself, teaching this to kids in 3rd grade is just too young". Is that homophobic? His "I don't mind whether people are gay or straight" seems to suggest he's not entirely homophobic.
Anyways, yeah, why am I afraid to tell him I'm gay? He's my single best friend for 25+ years. It is downright terrifying to think that I could lose the one person in my life (besides my family, who I also haven't told yet, but that's a different matter). Younger kids these days have such large social circles and can make friends easily if their best friend rejects them. But at 40 years old, the stakes are higher. On the one hand, I think he would accept me especially since he probably won't want to lose me as a friend either. But, the uncertainty, the risk, just too damn high, it seems. There are times when it seems hiding my sexual orientation from him for the rest of our lives would be worth it, to preserve the friendship. I know, if I tell him and he accepts, our friendship can get stronger. But...
I guess I don't have a specific question. But, how should I tell him? Should I even? Any one who is middle-aged and came out to their best friends? I know you guys don't know Brian, but based on what I wrote, does it seem like he is homophobic? Any support or love, I really need right now.
Edit: Should clarify, I am not attracted to Brian in any way. If that matters. He's the closest thing I have to a brother, and that is all.

Informative, but however I can't believe that he didn't talk about how The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been refuted by scientific research, it remains a cultural phenomenon, with many celebrities who die at 27 noted for their high-risk lifestyles. Beginning with the deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971, dying at the age of 27 came to be, and remains, a perennial subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, and entertainment industry lore. This cultural phenomenon, which came to be known as the "27 Club," attributes special significance to popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents. Several exhibitions have been devoted to the idea, as well as novels, films and stage plays. The cultural phenomenon also gave rise to an urban myth that celebrity deaths are more common at 27, a claim that has been refuted by statistical research. Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. Blues musician Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, is one of the earliest popular musicians to be included in lists of 27 Club members.
According to Hendrix and Kurt Cobain's biographer Charles R. Cross, the growing importance of the media—Internet, magazines, and television—and the response to an interview of Cobain's mother were jointly responsible for such theories. An excerpt from a statement that Cobain's mother, Wendy Fradenburg Cobain O'Connor, made in the Aberdeen, Washington, newspaper The Daily World—"Now he's gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club."—referred to Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison dying at the same age, according to Cross. Other authors share his view. On the other hand, Eric Segalstad, writer of The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, assumed that Cobain's mother referred to the death of his two uncles and his great-uncle, all of whom had also committed suicide. According to Cross, the events have led a "set of conspiracy theorists [to suggest] the absurd notion that Kurt Cobain intentionally timed his death so he could join the 27 Club".
In 2011, seventeen years after Cobain's death, Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, prompting a renewed swell of media attention devoted to the club once again. Three years earlier, she had expressed a fear of dying at that age.
An individual does not necessarily have to be a musician to qualify as a "member" of the 27 Club. Rolling Stone included television actor Jonathan Brandis, who committed suicide in 2003, in a list of 27 Club members. Anton Yelchin, who had played in a punk rock band but was primarily known as a film actor, was also described as a member of the club upon his death in 2016. Likewise, Jean-Michel Basquiat has been included in 27 Club lists, despite the relative brevity of his music career, and his prominence as a painter.
According to music biographer Charles R. Cross, "The number of musicians who passed away at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. Though humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27." Despite the cultural significance given to musician and celebrity deaths at age 27, the claim that they are statistically more common at this age is an urban myth, refuted by scientific research. A study by university academics published in the British Medical Journal in December 2011 concluded that there was no increase in the risk of death for musicians at the age of 27, stating that there were equally small increases at ages 25 and 32. The study noted that young adult musicians have a higher death rate than the general young adult population, surmising that "fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27". The selection criteria for the musicians included in the study, based on having scored a UK No. 1 album between 1956 and 2007, excluded several notable members of the 27 Club, including Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Pete Ham, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. A 2014 article at The Conversation suggested that statistical evidence shows popular musicians are most likely to die at the age of 56 (2.2% compared to 1.3% at 27).
Because the 27 Club is entirely notional, there is no official membership. The following table lists people described as "members" of the club in reliable published sources, in the opinion of their respective authors.
Joseph Merrick August 5, 1862-April 11, 1890 Man who suffered from Proteus syndrome who gained fame by joining the circus and appearing in freak shows. Accidental death caused by his condition, which caused him to suffocate and a dislocated neck, which likely severed his vertebral arteries . 27 years, 249 days
Alexandre Levy November 10, 1864- January 17, 1892 Composer, pianist and conductor. Cause of death not recorded. 27 years, 68 days
Louis Chauvin March 13, 1881-March 26, 1908 Ragtime musician. Neurosyphilitic sclerosis. 27 years, 13 days
Rupert Brooke August 3, 1887-April 23, 1915 Poet. Sepsis. 27 years, 263 days
Robert Johnson May 8, 1911-August 16, 1938 Blues singer and musician. Unknown cause of death, rumored to be supernatural at a crossroads. 27 years, 100 days
Ghazi of Iraq March 21, 1912-April 4, 1939 King of Iraq from 1933-1939. Traffic accident, probable murder.27 years, 14 days.
Nat Jaffe January 1, 1918-August 5, 1945 Swing jazz pianist. Complications from high blood pressure. 27 years, 216 days.
Jesse Belvin December 15, 1932-February 6, 1960 R&B singer, pianist and songwriter. Car crash, suspected foul play. 27 years, 53 days.
Rudy Lewis August 23, 1936-May 20, 1964 Vocalist of the Drifters . Drug overdose. 27 years, 271 days.
Joe Henderson April 24, 1937-October 24, 1964 R&B and gospel singer. Heart attack. 27 years, 183 days.
Malcolm Hale May 17, 1941-October 30, 1968 Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang. Carbon monoxide poisoning. 27 years, 166 days.
Dickie Pride October 21, 1941-March 26, 1969 Rock and roll singer. Drug overdose. 27 years, 156 days.
Brian Jones February 28, 1942-July 3, 1969 Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Drowning, suspected foul play. 27 years, 125 days.
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson July 4, 1943-September 3, 1970 Leader, singer and primary composer of Canned Heat. Drug overdose. 27 years, 61 days.
Jimi Hendrix November 27, 1942-September 18, 1970 Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys. Asphyxia due to drug use. 27 years, 295 days.
Janis Joplin January 19, 1943-October 4, 1970 Lead vocalist and songwriter of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band. Drug overdose. 27 years, 258 days.
Arlester "Dyke" Christian June 13, 1943-March 13, 1971 Frontman, vocalist and bassist of Dyke and the Blazers . Murdered by Clarence Daniels. 27 years, 273 days.
Jim Morrison December 8, 1943-July 3, 1971 Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors. Found in Paris bathtub deceased from heart failure. 27 years, 207 days.
Leslie Harvey September 14, 1944-May 3, 1972 Guitarist in several Scottish bands, most notably Stone the Crows. Electrocuted by unearthed microphone. 27 years, 232 days.
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan September 8, 1945-March 8, 1973 Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by alcoholism. 27 years, 181 days.
Roger Lee Durham February 14, 1946-July 27, 1973 Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone. Horseriding accident. 27 years, 163 days.
Pamela Courson December 22, 1946-April 25, 1974 Long-term companion of Jim Morrison and heir to his estate. Heroin overdose. 27 years, 124 days.
Wallace "Wally" Yohn January 12, 1947-August 12, 1974 Organ player for Chase. Plane crash. 27 years, 212 days.
Dave Alexander June 3, 1947-February 10, 1975 Bassist of the Stooges. Pulmonary edema caused by alcoholism. 27 years, 252 days.
Pete Ham April 27, 1947-April 24, 1975 Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger. Suicide by hanging. 27 years, 362 days.
Gary Thain May 15, 1948-December 8, 1975 Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band. Drug overdose. 27 years, 205 days.
Cecilia October 11, 1948-August 2, 1976 Spanish singer-songwriter. Car accident. 27 years, 296 days.
Helmut Köllen March 2, 1950-May 3, 1977 Bassist of 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat. Carbon monoxide poisoning. 27 years, 62 days.
Chris Bell January 12, 1951-December 27, 1978 Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo artist. Car accident. 27 years, 349 days.
Zenon De Fleur September 9, 1951-March 17, 1979 Guitarist of the Count Bishops. Car accident. 27 years, 189 days.
D. Boon April 1, 1958-December 22, 1985 Guitarist, lead singer of punk band Minutemen. Car accident. 27 years, 266 days.
Alexander Bashlachev May 27, 1960- February 17, 1988 Poet, rock musician and songwriter. Defenestration, possible suicide. 27 years, 266 days.
Amar Singh Chamkila July 21, 1960- March 8, 1988 Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. Murder by a gang of motorcyclists. 27 years, 231 days.
Jean-Michel Basquiat December 22, 1960-August 12, 1988 Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray. Drug overdose. 27 years, 234 days.
Pete de Freitas August 2, 1961-June 14, 1989 Drummer of Echo & the Bunnymen. Motorcycle accident. 27 years, 316 days.
Finbarr Donnelly April 25, 1962-June 18, 1989 Singer of Five Go Down to the Sea?. Drowning. 27 years, 50 days.
Chris Austin February 24, 1964-March 16, 1991 Country singer and guitarist/fiddle player for Reba McEntire. Plane crash. 27 years, 20 days.
Dimitar Voev May 21, 1965-September 5, 1992 Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation. Cancer. 27 years, 107 days.
Mia Zapata August 25 1965-July 7 1992 Lead singer of the Gits. Murder by Jesus Mezquia. 27 years, 316 days.
Kurt Cobain February 20 1967-c. April 5 1994 Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Nirvana. Suicide by gunshot. 27 years, c. 44 days.
Kristen Pfaff May 26 1967-June 16 1994 Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe. Drug overdose. 27 years, 21 days.
Andrés Escobar March 13 1967-July 2 1994 Footballer. Murdered by Columbian crime rings. 27 years, 111 days.
Richey Edwards December 22 1967-c. February 1st 1995 Lyricist and guitarist of Manic Street Preachers. Disappeared, later declared legally dead. 27 years, 41 days.
Stretch April 8 1968-November 30 1995 Rapper and member of Thug Life. Murder by unknown assailant. 27 years, 236 days.
Fat Pat December 4 1970-Feburary 3 1998 Rapper and member of Screwed Up Click. Murder by unknown assailant. 27 years, 61 days.
Freaky Tah May 14, 1971-March 28, 1999 Rapper and member of the hip hop group Lost Boyz. Murder by Kelvin Jones. 27 years, 316 days.
Kami February 1, 1972-June 21, 1999 Drummer of Malice Mizer. Subarachnoid hemorrhage. 27 years, 140 days.
Rodrigo Bueno May 24, 1973-June 24, 2000 Cuarteto singer. Car accident. 27 years, 31 days.
Sean Patrick McCabe November 13, 1972-August 28, 2000 Lead singer of Ink & Dagger. Asphyxia. 27 years, 289 days.
María Serrano Serrano November 26, 1973-November 24, 2001 Singer of Passion Fruit. Plane crash. 27 years, 363 days.
Rico Yan March 14, 1975-March 29, 2002 Filipino actor. Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. 27 years, 15 days.
Jeremy Ward May 5, 1976-May 25, 2003 The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator. Drug overdose. 27 years, 20 days.
Jonathan Brandis April 13, 1976-November 12, 2003 American actor. Suicide by hanging. 27 years, 213 days.
Andrea Absolonová December 26, 1976-December 9, 2004 Porn actress. Glioblastoma. 27 years, 349 days.
Bryan Ottoson March 18, 1978-April 19, 2005 Guitarist of American Head Charge. Drug overdose. 27 years, 32 days.
Valentín Elizalde February 1, 1979-November 25, 2006 Mexican banda singer. Murder by Raúl Hernández Barrón. 27 years, 297 days.
Damien "Damo" Morris May 22, 1980-December 19, 2007 Member of Australian deathcore band the Red Shore. Bus accident. 27 years, 211 days.
Orish Grinstead June 2, 1980-April 20, 2008 Founding member of the R&B group 702. Kidney failure. 27 years, 323 days.
Jade Goody June 5, 1981-March 22, 2009 Reality-television personality. Cancer of the cervix. 27 years, 290 days.
Dash Snow July 27, 1981-July 13, 2009 Artist. Drug overdose. 27 years, 351 days.
Amy Winehouse September 14, 1983-July 23, 2011 Singer-songwriter. Alcohol poisoning. 27 years, 312 days.
Richard Turner July 30, 1984-August 11, 2011 Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires. Heart attack. 27 years, 12 days.
Sahara Davenport December 17, 1984-October 1, 2012 Drag queen. Heart failure. 27 years, 289 days.
Christian Benítez May 1, 1986-July 29, 2013 Footballer. Respiratory failure. 27 years, 89 days.
Thomas Fekete July 1, 1988-May 31, 2016 Guitarist of Surfer Blood. Sarcoma. 27 years, 335 days.
Anton Yelchin March 11, 1989-June 19, 2016 Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series. Car accident. 27 years, 100 days.
Shot December 1, 1989-September 21, 2017 Russian rapper. Diabetes. 27 years, 294 days.
Kim Jong-hyun April 8, 1990-December 18, 2017 Vocalist and lyricist of Shinee. Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. 27 years, 254 days.
Fredo Santana July 4, 1990-January 19, 2018 American rapper. Idiopathic epilepsy . 27 years, 199 days.
Tyler Skaggs July 13, 1991-July 1, 2019 American professional baseball starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Asphyxia due to drug use. 27 years, 353 days.
Benjamin Keough October 21, 1992-July 12, 2020 Elvis Presley's grandson, son of Lisa Marie Presley and brother of Riley Keough. Suicide by gunshot. 27 years, 265 days.
Murda Killa March 9, 1993-July 13, 2020 Russian rapper. Asthma attack provoked by the use of alcohol and antidepressants. 27 years, 127 days.
Yoo Ju-eun May 3, 1995-August 29, 2022 South Korean actress. Suicide. 27 years, 118 days.
Walkie May 24, 1995-September 30, 2022 Russian battle rapper. Suicide by jumping to avoid being drafted by the Russian military. 27 years, 129 days.
Yung Trappa August 14, 1995-February 2, 2023 Russian rapper. Overdose. 27 years, 172 days.
Julián Figueroa May 27, 1995-April 2, 2023 Singer, actor, and composer. Myocardial infarction and Ventricular fibrillation. 27 years, 310 days.
so relevant to this drama smh.

I’m a Christian. I am not a religious person but I am very spiritual. I took my vows extremely serious and thought my partner did too. Last year I found out about a pornography addiction (porn was a dealbreaker dating for me because of childhood abuse involving porn and he knew this so he hid it). He also lied to me about also being a Christian. I stayed married, stayed kind, and tried to help him through it in a loving way (and didn’t push my faith at all onto him). Two months after that he blindsides me about possibly wanting a divorce to sleep around because him and a flight attendant flirted and he couldn’t stop fantasizing about her so he was pretty sure he’d cheat. I was devastated. We talked through it, stayed married, I stayed kind, and tried to help him in a loving way. I got into IC immediately and two months after that got us into MC (his IC was off and on). The proceeding year he would cycle through being committed to not, distant to not, mean to nice, and it was like whiplash. All of this time I still felt very married and committed to my vows. I rationalized them not being broken yet since it felt more like borderline infidelity. My mental health severely declined to the point of feeling suicidal due to our home life and the previous trauma it triggered. I had to have my brother’s wife come stay with me one weekend. He knew. That weekend and the next. He told me this a couple of weeks ago. I don’t feel married anymore. Our vows have been broken and I’m reconsidering reconciliation, and seeing the effort he is only now putting in, but it’s like - who is this? It’s not a husband in my heart. I know it’s more than like a “boyfriend”. I don’t know of a name to describe what this person is to me anymore beyond a vague “loved one”.
I hate that I don’t feel married in my soul anymore and just on a piece of paper, but I refuse to renew vows until/unless our marriage is radically honest and new.

So I, 32 male, enjoy watching anime as a Christian. I started watching anime long before I came to Jesus but now I still watch it because I don't feel any conviction from the holy spirit about it. I mainly watch wholesome shows, sometimes I'll watch a slice-of-life show or a romantic comedy, or something sad because the story is just so good. But when I talk about myself to other Christians and I mention one of my hobbies is watching anime, it feels like I'm being judged. I never feel that way when I pray to God about it, or about other things, but as soon as I mention it my brothers and sisters in Christ tend to shy away from me, almost as if they'll become anime watchers too just by proximity. I don't mine people having preferences, but what ever happened to the "judge not" passage of scripture? I feel like I'm being deliberately pushed away because of my interests, despite being very intentional about avoiding unwholesome series. I do admit I used to watch yuri anime, which promotes unhealthy and immoral relationships between girls, but I no longer watch that. I just enjoy fun shows, and honestly some western shows are worse than anime in their moral compasses failing. I just don't understand why I can't just like something if it doesn't overtly go against God's law.

This is a hard pill to swallow.
When I was eight, my granny's cousin came to visit. I have never met this guy before, I walked downstairs to make my brother and I cereal and he was there. My granny was upstairs on a call, mind you that I wore a cartoon nightgown. I chatted to him alot and I still blame myself for that, he started touching me, my breasts and my crotch and kissing my neck. He made me touch his shaft, I didn't know what was going on or what was happening. He told me: "I'm teaching you what your boyfriend is going to do to you." All I felt that day was fear, disgust and sadness, I froze up, too afraid to scream. He opened my legs and nearly entered inside me but my brother, at the time was six walked in. Frighteningly I told him to eat his cereal while I washed out all the evidence, (Big mistake) he threatened to kill me and quickly left. I ran upstairs and got dress crying, I sat on my granny's bed waiting patiently for her call to end. I remembered that Michael Knight was playing every Sunday morning on TV, when she was done. I told her everything, she cried called her friend back, called my mom and my mom rushed me to the police station. I spoke to the detectives and they tried to cheer me up but the minute I saw them arresting him I broke down and cried, the detectives put me in trauma unit and tried to calm me down while asking questions. I went to the hospital and they checked if I was broken into, but I washed all the evidence away.
Court took nine months, and therapy by court, I was in fourth grade at the time. My teacher felt sympathy for me. My classmates knew and in my community that is a scandalous thing, I was called ugly names by kids and girls told me it was my fault for opening my legs. I remembered my lawyers and even met a girl in court with a rape case who older than me (She was 12), we became friends, the lawyers didn't want to go into deep details afraid I was gonna cry like her but put me on camera while he was with a judge and my parents where there in my stead. The lawyers promised me nine years for him to go to jail for his crimes, I blamed that the judge and jury believed he's side of the story and gave him a warning and a restraining order.
Growing up, my granny told me not to tell the family, that she'll handle it. Nobody knew, I grew up thinking it was my fault. It's my fault I spoke to him, my granny said my beauty could attracted men into lust via Islam. (I'm christian who was a former muslim. A christian mom and a muslim dad) I dressed modestly and way too mature for my age, I avoided my stepfather and any men in my family. I blamed myself, I felt that no justice was done. I couldn't be around boys my age afraid they'll do the same, (In which the two case of molestation did happen on high school) every family function he was there and I would have to walk out of the house and cry while my brother comforted me.
My cousins started to notice a pattern, eventually I told them. My Granny was worried about face and her reputation with the family, it affected me badly. He acts like a true family oriented guy and so humble knowing he fucked up my life, breaking the court order.
I couldn't date, guys didn't want to be with a trauma messed up girl. I can't be intimate with a guy, I haven't gone to therapy because its looked down upon my community. In 2023, I saw him after the Eid in April when a family member died, my brother was fed up. He told me why didn't I told the court he was a witness, I told him that he was too young to understand and would cry if being questioned too much. I almost thought he did something to him (The guy) when burying the body in Islamic rights since women dont go to the graveyard, but luckily he left it.
Today I visited my granny's father's family. And he was there again, he's wife was there too. She always give me glares and dirty looks to say it was my fault. My granny comforted me, when serving food he served me a plate after I said continuously no thank you. I lost my apatite and was very uncomfortable, I told my cousin who hasn't seen me since the incident why I looked down but didn't go into detail.
I tried talking to my mom but it's always a hush hush topic because she's a rape survivor and she doesn't know how to handle my case if she had to endure silently. Rape and molestation is a victim fault situation since we have the biggest female genocide and rape in the world one year. I feel angry, sad and disgusted with myself. Some men will tell me wearing a night gown provoked him, but I was eight.
I slowly got over these feelings, by bottling them up. I am comfortable around guys my age but not with older men accept a few. I have a boyfriend of four years, and we worked together with this issue where I'm comfortable enough to be almost intimate with him but he will never do it unless I'm mentally and physically sure.
I dunno what to do. I know nothing is going to help, telling people will give me pity and people don't know how to treat me. I don't know if therapy is going to help since the few I met weren't patient enough even if I'm fully open with them and willing to work on myself. I want people to know I'm not that fragile, though he's in my face like a free man, live goes on. But seeing him unlocks the feelings on that day, I still remember, the date, day and time but I forgot his name. Then after a while I forget his face until I see him again.

After digging into literature, I found that the story of the legendary knight Cid Campeador, sounds to me like the story of a mercenary Mechwarrior, instead of the usual legend that shows him as a religious warrior. It does not take too much to export this story to Battletech universe, and indeed I plan to add a version of him to my Mechwarrior Destiny game at some point.
The following is a summary of "Historia Roderici" an old Spanish text that may likely be inaccessible to English speaking readers, not only because of language barrier, but also because of the ancient Spanish words that are difficult to understand even for modern Spanish speakers. You will discover that Cid Campeador was not a religious hero, but a merc.
I believe it could be used as source material to inspire a novel.
Sorry about the long read, but it still shorter than the original "Historia Roderici".
------------------------------------------------
Rodrigo "Ruy" Díaz de Vivar is also known as Cid Campeador, and some people believe he was a religious hero but others see him as a mercenary. The oldest biography is "Historia Roderici" in 1190 when the Castillan warrior had passed away 80 years ago. This biography was made popular via minstrels, and it incorporated many fictional episodes that composed "Cantar del Mio Cid" around the year 1200. For example, there is no evidence that Rodrigo had 2 swords called Tisona and Colada, and a horse called Babieca. He had 2 daughters but they were not named doña Sol and doña Elvira.
Spain was invaded in the year 711 from the south and only a small strip was left at the north where Christian kings would seek a safe haven. The invaders ruling lasted for 800 years but these years also were full of internal disputes, just like in the Inner Sphere.
The war in Spain was always portrayed as a holy war, like a Jihad. This was the time where the term "pariah" was born. The non Christian rulers paid tribute called pariah to Christian kings in exchange for protection. And that was the historical context of eternal war.
Rodrigo was born in the small town of Vivar, near Burgos. His father was a low rank noble, but his mother was from the elite of nobles, daughter of count of Oviedo. The last name Diaz indicated he was son of Diego. When he was 10, his father died, and he was sent to the court of Fernando I de León, to complete his education with the sons of the king. One of the sons, Sancho turned Rodrigo into his page and became close friends. He receives high education and learned to fight. He knew how to read and write, something very uncommon.
When Rodrigo was 15 he went with don Sancho to Zaragoza, a territory which was under the protection of Fernando I de León in exchange for pariah. Ramiro I de Aragón uncle of Fernando I de León wanted the land under protection, and this is how Sancho and his "mesnadas" (forces under command of a lord) went to help. Ramiro I not only was defeated, but also died.
When Fernando I (ruler of Galicia, León and Castilla) died, he distributed his kingdom among his 5 sons instead of having a linear succession, because Alfonso, his second son, was his favorite. Sancho ruled Castilla and had the right to collect the pariah of Zaragoza. Sancho did not like the distribution of land, as he felt he should have been the heir of the whole kingdom. He entered a conflict with his siblings. Rodrigo ended up being in charge of the army of Sancho. In his first one on one match defeated the Alferez of Navarra kingdom, Jimeno Arcés. This is where he earned the title of "campeador", which means he is a master of the battlefield.
After his mother died, Sancho started war against Alfonso. Rodrigo skill surfaced among all other warriors. Sancho won the battle, but Alfonoso escaped and did not surrender as agreed. Instead, Alfonso agreed to allow Sancho to conquer Galicia ruled by his younger brother García. García was defeated and was and outcast who escaped to the taifa of Sevilla. But that did not end the war with Alfonso. In the new battle, Rodrigo skill shined again. And Alfonso was defeated once again. Alfonso was an outcast too, and he went to the taifa of Toledo. The reunification war ended. But it would last a few months.
Zamora was ruled by his sister Urraca. Many nobles gathered there and they did not embrace Sanho as the king. Urraca supported them, and supported Alfonso. Sancho sieged Zamora for months, but it did cost Sancho's life at the hands of a Zamoran warrior, and not even Rodrigo could stop that. The killer pretended to defecte from Urraca city and earned Sancho's trust. The defector Bellido Dolfos was going to show him a weak spot in the walls of Zamora, and when Sanch went to the loo, the defector took Sancho's spear and killed him. Alfonso became king. García attempted to recover his kingdom but ended in prison where he died. Alfonso married Rodrigo with doña Jimena, relative of Alfonso and apparently Rodrigo was deeply in love with her.
Rodrigo was sent to collect Paria To Sevilla, and García Ordoñez, close friend of alfonso was sent to Granada. Granada ruler asked Ordoñez to attack Sevilla and that Rodrigo had to fight García Ordoñez and made him prisoner and set him free later. García Ordoñez accused Rodrigo of stealing a portion of the pariah of Sevilla, which are believed to be the gift of Sevilla ruler to Rodrigo for defending his land.
Alfonso went to Taifa of Toledo, and Rodrigo was sick at home. There was an attack on a castle and Rodrigo reacted without asking for permission, chased the attackers who entered Toledo territory and Rodrigo took a huge loot, Alfonso was so upset because that destroyed Alfonso's plans to own Toledo without a fight. García Ordoñez presented this to Alfonso as an attempt to make people from Toledo to kill Alfonso. So Rodrigo became an outcast, and he was exiled and had to make a living. Along the road, many men joined him. He went to Zaragoza to offer his services. Now Zaragoza should not have to pay pariah to different kingdoms for protection.
This contradicts the jihadist nature of Rodrigo as a religious warrior. After the ruler of Zaragoza died, his 2 sons also fought. Rodrigo stood in the side of Zaragoza, and the opponent sought help among the kings in the north. The enemy forces outnumbered Rodrigo's but he defeated them in the battle of Almenar.
An uncle of the ruler of Zaragoza, who was prisoner of Alfonso, earned the trust of the alcalde who controlled the prison, so the alcalde passed the message to Alfonso. The uncle offered him the castle of Zaragoza in exchange for paying the pariah to Alfonso. So Alfonso marched towards Zaragoza. But Alfonso this time was not ahead of the forces. He sent scouts who were killed. It seems that the uncle died while the expedition was on its way to Zaragoza, so the alcalde had the idea of becoming an ally of Zaragoza and tried to kill king Alfonso.
Later Alfonso met Rodrigo and Rodrigo told that he had no part in that betrayal, and Alfonso and Rodrigo went back to normal relations without hard feelings.
Alfonso managed to conquer Toledo and that meant a raise in the pariah for other taifas. But religious fundamentalist fanatics from northern Africa were asked to help and their fanatism made them fearsome. Alfonso had Zaragoza under siege, and Rodrigo did not want to fight Alfonso. But news came from the new invaders and the siege stopped. Then the battle of Sagrajas came, where Alfonso suffered a defeat. Alfonso had to escape to save his life. Rodrigo went to Toledo to offer his services to Alfonso.
Alfonso commissioned Rodrigo to take care of the invaders and conquer lands, and to collect the pariah from Zaragoza, which had Rodrigo working as a merc for 6 years.
But good relations did not last. During a campaign Rodrigo was supposed to reinforce Alfonso's forces, but Rodrigo did not arrive. Rodrigo was exiled for second time after García Ordoñez made the king feel betrayed. Alfonso took his property and made his family prisoner. Rodrigo begged and his family was set free. And he became a warlord in Valencia and fought against both sides.
Rodrigo suffered an attack and he took revenge against García Ordoñez and led an expedition to do exactly that and looted along his way. Alfonso gave away these lands and no one wanted to fight Rodrigo. Now the only enemies of Rodrigo were the invaders in the south who attacked Valencia and killed its ruler. Rodrigo sieged the city and help did not arrive so they surrendered, and Rodrigo self proclaimed himself prince.
The invader Almoraviles forces were obsessed with taking Valencia. And epic battles took place.

I recently read Dombowsky's brilliant book on the centrality of Napoleon to Nietzsche's politics. He makes a convincing case for Nietzsche as an advocate of a united Europe run by a Bonapartist autocrat and an aristocracy of exceptional individuals who would manipulate the institutions of democracy and use it to come to power and use the state in their own interests. He also makes the case that Nietzsche had held Bonapartist views since he was at least 19, when he wrote an article justifying Napoleon III's coup in 1851. Despite his initially favourable views on Napoleon III, Dombowsky shows how Nietzsche turned against him in his later years on the grounds that he had not been ruthless enough in ruling France. He had allowed the semblance of democracy in France to become real, leading to his downfall, unlike his uncle, who always made sure to keep the reins of power in his hands. Dombowsky does not try to sanitise Nietzsche's praise of dictatorship and aristocracy, and explains, quoting relevant passages from Nietzsche's corpus, that he was in favour of using mysticism and religion to bind the masses to the state whilst the exceptional individuals at its head would of course act beyond good and evil. I found it striking how similar Nietzsche's views were to those of the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, who argues that the masses are too weak to exercise free will in striving for the Christian ideal - they must be assisted by a higher authority on earth, who keeps them from despair through means of mystery and miracle.
This book is a very useful piece of scholarship that sheds light on a neglected aspect of Nietzsche's thinking. I recommend it to one and all.

We all know about Asriels name being serial murderer. As well, Asriel is the god of death. But I wanted to look at the whole family and see what else could be there and found some things that could make implications or additions to the story and see what y’all thought Asriel: I already put that above but I found something else. Asriels as Hebrew name means “god is my help” from psalms 121. From reading the verse the only implication I can make is the fact that Flowey looks to chara as a god as he speaks about them like Christian’s speak on Jesus ( not so much god from my experience they tend to speak on/to Jesus like a wise remorseful friend and god like a wise strict yet sympathetic father) and as the player we are god we “save” Asriel. Toriel: Now Toriels name is short for tutorial, which is funny because that’s tutorial murderer as she holds your hand through the whole thing and is the first boss. So if she kills she’s a tutorial murderer figuratively and literally. But as you can see the E is missing that’s because Toriel is anagram for loiter. So loiter murderer; what could that mean. I think it could looked at like bystander murderer. Loitering’s definition is to “stand or wait around idly or without apparent purpose.”. This could be an implication of how toriel rather than traveling with the kids through the underground she “loitered” in the ruins “without purpose”knowing they’d get “murdered” by Asgore. But also another anagram for dreemurr is to demurrer, which means an objection, a loitering objection to a murderer. Asgore: Immediately I found his name is an anagram for Aegros; A Latin name meaning patient. It’s cognates have some interesting comments aswell. Ancient Greek ἄγω ("to lead"), Old English acan (English ache). A pretty clear implication of how he waited for humans to fall, suffering from loss, anxious of his future, with only his responsibilities as king to keep him going So Asgore Dreemurr, Aegros murderer, patient murderer, Murderer trying to lead in ache. I found another possibility completely by accident just looking at the name. Asgore Dreemurr, A “sage or murderer”; I’ll be using this definition of sage “a mature or venerable person of sound judgment”. I liked this one as it pops the moral question on us. Asgore lost his children to humans, his wife left him during a time of crazy stress and grief; he has every right to desire revenge. Yet none of of those, based on the way it’s framed, are the reasons he killed those kids He did it to give his people hope, maybe there was a better decision, maybe his grief and anger influenced his actions, but he thought he needed to be strong and steadfast to lead monster kind to the surface. And ultimately, he was correct without his actions we wouldn’t have been able to break the barrier; but if he didn’t want to kill us he could have just asked us to break it, but in his mind war would be right around the corner so more power couldn’t hurt. So Asgore a “sage or murderer”? Chara: This one was the trickiest one and it makes sense. Chara was adopted and they were never referenced to have Dreemurr in their name. But I had some findings I’ll list all of them quickly then give thoughts.Chara Dreemur, character murderer, Anagram Achar = to think, To think murderer?, Chara name meaning (all languages and cognates) darling, beloved, dear, loved one joy, gladness, shine “Star”?, grace, glory. “Hope of humans and monsters”?! Lie, joke, chara chara = frivolous and talkative(personality?!). Valentine, expectation, love, yearning, desire, demand, option, longing, care, hungriness, bait, fodder(genocide?)Beautiful, pretty, or the lovely one(looks?!) ( all translations emphasize feminine connotations, usage, and meanings) Chara, RAHAC, Refugee and Humanitarian Arrival Clinic(possible orgin), Chara bible “Chara is used to describe ones who rejoice, who are glad, and who have received joy!”. “HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV.” Hope, option?( fodder, demand, desire, yearning), care?(bait), glory?, experience, love. !? So the joy, happy ones translations and meanings are obviously meant to emphasize the hope and joy that chara brought them. But it could be a double meaning to it. Character Murder, Loved one murderer, character murderer, fodder murderer, beloved murderer, Love murder, joy murderer. All of these make sense for chara in many ways. But one doesn’t stick out more than the others; Charas plan killed the hope monsters had and costed the life of their brother. Nothing really sticks out for genocide. Other than Love, fodder, and character. As chara kills frisk, the person you play as, at the end. Or, character murderer could be in reference to their suicide. So there’s not many implications other than charas place in the story. To save words I’ll type of summary of thoughts that could be taken from the translations: Chara was happy to be with the dreemurrs. Chara was biologically female (so a non-binary female, or a feminine non-binary person whatever you’re comfortable with). They may possibly refugee. The monsters loved chara, personality for you writers: Chara was carefree, Lied a lot ( maybe about there past), was graceful, Told a lot of jokes, loving, social, caring,Maybe like a assertive mother type personality; Toriel but farless protective, the type that would let you stay out all day would have dinner done when you get home and when the big kids in the neighborhood beat you up while she’s patching your wounds would tell you to man up, don’t let them bully you “big kids don’t cry”. But that’s just from what I gathered from reading the descriptions on usage and connotations. I would say you could possibly use this to imply the narrator theory the ,personality lines up with this, as the narrator is caring and joking, they assist you in your journey and transfer Asgores memories of stay determined when dying; and much more they line up pretty well if you just imagine chara babysitting an ignorant kid going through the underground. Maybe just imagine a ENTJ 8 mother, I imagine the mother type vibe that comes from this is how they probably babied Asriel. Theirs actually a comic online called “Adventures with Narrator Chara” that follows Chara through the underground with a mute frisk I think could be a good look at that so I’ll leave it at that. So yeah nothing really concrete or compelling as usual with Chara but I’d love to see if y’all see something. I don’t know, the anagram for Chara, means “To Think” or “distance” I’m not sure what to make of that. Chara in Irish literally means “O friend”. Well I’ll get y’all’s thoughts on it good day

After digging into literature, I found that the story of the legendary knight Cid Campeador, sounds to me like the story of a mercenary Mechwarrior, instead of the usual legend that shows him as a religious warrior. It does not take too much to export this story to Battletech universe, and indeed I plan to add a version of him to my Mechwarrior Destiny game at some point.
The following is a summary of "Historia Roderici" an old Spanish text that may likely be inaccessible to English speaking readers, not only because of language barrier, but also because of the ancient Spanish words that are difficult to understand even for modern Spanish speakers. You will discover that Cid Campeador was not a religious hero, but a merc.
I believe it could be used as source material to inspire a novel.
Sorry about the long read, but it still shorter than the original "Historia Roderici".
------------------------------------------------
Rodrigo "Ruy" Díaz de Vivar is also known as Cid Campeador, and some people believe he was a religious hero but others see him as a mercenary. The oldest biography is "Historia Roderici" in 1190 when the Castillan warrior had passed away 80 years ago. This biography was made popular via minstrels, and it incorporated many fictional episodes that composed "Cantar del Mio Cid" around the year 1200. For example, there is no evidence that Rodrigo had 2 swords called Tisona and Colada, and a horse called Babieca. He had 2 daughters but they were not named doña Sol and doña Elvira.
Spain was invaded in the year 711 from the south and only a small strip was left at the north where Christian kings would seek a safe haven. The invaders ruling lasted for 800 years but these years also were full of internal disputes, just like in the Inner Sphere.
The war in Spain was always portrayed as a holy war, like a Jihad. This was the time where the term "pariah" was born. The non Christian rulers paid tribute called pariah to Christian kings in exchange for protection. And that was the historical context of eternal war.
Rodrigo was born in the small town of Vivar, near Burgos. His father was a low rank noble, but his mother was from the elite of nobles, daughter of count of Oviedo. The last name Diaz indicated he was son of Diego. When he was 10, his father died, and he was sent to the court of Fernando I de León, to complete his education with the sons of the king. One of the sons, Sancho turned Rodrigo into his page and became close friends. He receives high education and learned to fight. He knew how to read and write, something very uncommon.
When Rodrigo was 15 he went with don Sancho to Zaragoza, a territory which was under the protection of Fernando I de León in exchange for pariah. Ramiro I de Aragón uncle of Fernando I de León wanted the land under protection, and this is how Sancho and his "mesnadas" (forces under command of a lord) went to help. Ramiro I not only was defeated, but also died.
When Fernando I (ruler of Galicia, León and Castilla) died, he distributed his kingdom among his 5 sons instead of having a linear succession, because Alfonso, his second son, was his favorite. Sancho ruled Castilla and had the right to collect the pariah of Zaragoza. Sancho did not like the distribution of land, as he felt he should have been the heir of the whole kingdom. He entered a conflict with his siblings. Rodrigo ended up being in charge of the army of Sancho. In his first one on one match defeated the Alferez of Navarra kingdom, Jimeno Arcés. This is where he earned the title of "campeador", which means he is a master of the battlefield.
After his mother died, Sancho started war against Alfonso. Rodrigo skill surfaced among all other warriors. Sancho won the battle, but Alfonoso escaped and did not surrender as agreed. Instead, Alfonso agreed to allow Sancho to conquer Galicia ruled by his younger brother García. García was defeated and was and outcast who escaped to the taifa of Sevilla. But that did not end the war with Alfonso. In the new battle, Rodrigo skill shined again. And Alfonso was defeated once again. Alfonso was an outcast too, and he went to the taifa of Toledo. The reunification war ended. But it would last a few months.
Zamora was ruled by his sister Urraca. Many nobles gathered there and they did not embrace Sanho as the king. Urraca supported them, and supported Alfonso. Sancho sieged Zamora for months, but it did cost Sancho's life at the hands of a Zamoran warrior, and not even Rodrigo could stop that. The killer pretended to defecte from Urraca city and earned Sancho's trust. The defector Bellido Dolfos was going to show him a weak spot in the walls of Zamora, and when Sanch went to the loo, the defector took Sancho's spear and killed him. Alfonso became king. García attempted to recover his kingdom but ended in prison where he died. Alfonso married Rodrigo with doña Jimena, relative of Alfonso and apparently Rodrigo was deeply in love with her.
Rodrigo was sent to collect Paria To Sevilla, and García Ordoñez, close friend of alfonso was sent to Granada. Granada ruler asked Ordoñez to attack Sevilla and that Rodrigo had to fight García Ordoñez and made him prisoner and set him free later. García Ordoñez accused Rodrigo of stealing a portion of the pariah of Sevilla, which are believed to be the gift of Sevilla ruler to Rodrigo for defending his land.
Alfonso went to Taifa of Toledo, and Rodrigo was sick at home. There was an attack on a castle and Rodrigo reacted without asking for permission, chased the attackers who entered Toledo territory and Rodrigo took a huge loot, Alfonso was so upset because that destroyed Alfonso's plans to own Toledo without a fight. García Ordoñez presented this to Alfonso as an attempt to make people from Toledo to kill Alfonso. So Rodrigo became an outcast, and he was exiled and had to make a living. Along the road, many men joined him. He went to Zaragoza to offer his services. Now Zaragoza should not have to pay pariah to different kingdoms for protection.
This contradicts the jihadist nature of Rodrigo as a religious warrior. After the ruler of Zaragoza died, his 2 sons also fought. Rodrigo stood in the side of Zaragoza, and the opponent sought help among the kings in the north. The enemy forces outnumbered Rodrigo's but he defeated them in the battle of Almenar.
An uncle of the ruler of Zaragoza, who was prisoner of Alfonso, earned the trust of the alcalde who controlled the prison, so the alcalde passed the message to Alfonso. The uncle offered him the castle of Zaragoza in exchange for paying the pariah to Alfonso. So Alfonso marched towards Zaragoza. But Alfonso this time was not ahead of the forces. He sent scouts who were killed. It seems that the uncle died while the expedition was on its way to Zaragoza, so the alcalde had the idea of becoming an ally of Zaragoza and tried to kill king Alfonso.
Later Alfonso met Rodrigo and Rodrigo told that he had no part in that betrayal, and Alfonso and Rodrigo went back to normal relations without hard feelings.
Alfonso managed to conquer Toledo and that meant a raise in the pariah for other taifas. But religious fundamentalist fanatics from northern Africa were asked to help and their fanatism made them fearsome. Alfonso had Zaragoza under siege, and Rodrigo did not want to fight Alfonso. But news came from the new invaders and the siege stopped. Then the battle of Sagrajas came, where Alfonso suffered a defeat. Alfonso had to escape to save his life. Rodrigo went to Toledo to offer his services to Alfonso.
Alfonso commissioned Rodrigo to take care of the invaders and conquer lands, and to collect the pariah from Zaragoza, which had Rodrigo working as a merc for 6 years.
But good relations did not last. During a campaign Rodrigo was supposed to reinforce Alfonso's forces, but Rodrigo did not arrive. Rodrigo was exiled for second time after García Ordoñez made the king feel betrayed. Alfonso took his property and made his family prisoner. Rodrigo begged and his family was set free. And he became a warlord in Valencia and fought against both sides.
Rodrigo suffered an attack and he took revenge against García Ordoñez and led an expedition to do exactly that and looted along his way. Alfonso gave away these lands and no one wanted to fight Rodrigo. Now the only enemies of Rodrigo were the invaders in the south who attacked Valencia and killed its ruler. Rodrigo sieged the city and help did not arrive so they surrendered, and Rodrigo self proclaimed himself prince.
The invader Almoraviles forces were obsessed with taking Valencia. And epic battles took place.
​

Welcome to the most sarcastic and sassy Christian community known as Above Water. Our love language is spoken through reaction gifs and just the right amount of trolling. We're a PvE/Social guild in Tyria that is simply looking to foster friendships, kinships, and a sense of community that extends beyond gaming. While it is true that our love of gaming is what initially draws us together, it is our love of Christ that binds us as brothers and sisters. We'll support you in Tyria and IRL.
We're so very excited to be exploring the world of Tyria and we welcome you to come along as we shake suspicious bushes, fill golden hearts, leap off of cliffsides, and drag less-than-enthusiastic members through Jumping Puzzles. We're a PvE community that has some loose interest in WvW and non-serious PvP---but the majority of our shenanigans take place in the form of beating up dragons in story mode, slaying Kitty Golems in low-level fractals (we're working towards T4, but we're also filthy casuals in comparison to T4 runners), and doing our PvE dailies.
Above Water is also eagerly awaiting to spread our roots into other realms like Verra (Ashes of Creation), Terminus (Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen), and Palia (Palia). Anyone who joins us will have a home in those worlds and will never be alone in their new adventures.
Quick facts about us:

• Christian and Family-friendly.
  • Due to this, Reddit has a history of banning our members once they post a recruitment ad. So read quickly or you may find the post gone. :)
• Conversations with adults without adult-rated content.
  • We don't cuss, curse, or use profanities.
  • We are sarcastic and enjoy joking around.
• Provide fellowship beyond gaming.
  • We have weekly prayeBible studies.
  • An ongoing Prayer Request channel for anyone who needs/wants prayer outside of our Prayer meeting.
• Encourage faith-based discussions.
  • We all walk different paths, but we encourage our members to walk with God and to openly discuss theology in a constructive and caring manner.
• Fun as it's meant to be.
  • We believe that games are meant to be fun, so we won't make demands of our members when it comes to dedicated playtime, playstyles, or builds. If you want advice, we've got you. If you want to run rogue with your own setup, we support that too.
  • We play a variety of games including Valheim, Tribes of Midgard, Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Diablo IV and Jackbox Party Games.
• We're growing.
  • We don't require 100% representation in GW2. We only ask that you regularly participate in our Comms to the best of your abilities. It's hard to build camaraderie if members don't communicate with one another.

If you're interested in learning more about us, please visit our site at abovewater.net and if you're ready to join us, we invite you to complete an application to come Above Water with us. Oh! Also, we don't use Discord---instead, we use Guilded.
Family-friendly non-Christians are welcome to join us! Don't feel that you have to be a Christian to join us as family-friendly oriented people can thrive in Above Water so long as they're open to Christian thought and discussion. If that's not your cup of tea, we get it and we wish you the best in finding a place to call home.

I am a evangelical Lutheran, and I live in a household where I am the only practicing Christian. My whole family is baptized, but my parents only go to church on holy days, and my siblings have no interest in religion.
I find it hard to talk to them about religion, because I follow the doctrine of the Bible, and I believe things like I’m against abortion and gay marriage, and no sex before marriage, to name a few. But I am afraid to express these opinions, since my parents are very liberal, and don’t care about most of that stuff, and my sister is a self-described “rationally believing feminist”, (no, I am not making that up), and she and I are practically pure opposites. The only one I feel i can talk to is my brother, but he is still young, and my parents don’t want me to preach to him, since they don’t want me to influence him.
I guess the advice I am looking is just advice on how to deal with all that.
Thanks in advance from a young Christian, and may God bless.

Firsts of all, we do have misogyny and sexism in the MENA region. Men by far have more freedoms and have less accountability in comparison to us women, and there are ladies until this day who lose their lives when their brothers, fathers and uncle decide that they dishonoured their families. It's time for reforms.
However, as an Arab woman, I find it quite disheartening that people think of me as a walking stereotype as an 'oppressed woman'. What annoys me is that they don't even acknowledge the good parts of my culture, which I can argue is a lot stronger than their own.
As an Iraqi, I grew up thinking it's perfectly normal for a woman to be an engineer. Perfectly normal that a woman is great in math. It's only when I came to the West, I heard the sexist statement, 'women aren't good in math.'
The Arab World doesn't have to LURE their women to major in STEM. Actually, "In the Middle East, women earn more science and mathematics degrees per capita than their counterparts in both the United States and Europe. UNESCO estimates up to 57% of all STEM graduates in Arab countries are women".
Not only that, Algeria has highest proportion of Women Engineers in the world with 48.5%. Also, Arab women in the West are getting recognition for their experience and knowledge in various fields, they come with hunger!
I just don't hear other cultures getting flack as much as Arabs do. Why do we have to be the poster child of misogyny when the world is loaded with misogynistic cultures. They aren't even aware of nuisances too as each state is different despite the commonalities.
I remember watching a Youtube Channel called Asian Boss, I kid you not, Japanese men are fully allowed to have sex with hookers without any backlash from the wives. Wives are expected to be 100% exclusive to their men. Yet, Japanese culture is highly celebrated. I understand why, I love sushi but no one talks about their gender issues?
How about Latin America? The violence against women with no accountability is creating a perilous situation for women there. For example, Mexico reached the tragic figure of 100,000 disappeared in 2022 and missing people since records have been kept.
And strangely enough for me as a liberal Arab woman, white women as a group is the largest demographic group converting to Islam. It's quite bizarre because as a more liberal woman who grew up in a Muslim household, I believe we Arab (Muslim-born) ladies need to push for our right to marry whoever we want, for example, be able to marry Christian men. I am tired of hearing the recurrent theme of a Muslim Arab woman and her heartbreak for not marrying her Christian Arab man. (I actually find no difference between Christianity and Islam, and as an Arab nationalist, I prefer to be with an Arab Christian than non-Arab of Muslim background). Also, as a liberal woman we need to push for freedom of religion/belief, a right that's highly enjoyed by these white women converts. However, the reason why I am bringing this up is that these women aren't ONLY converting for a religious purpose solely, I do believe that there is a cultural pull especially when it comes to male-female gender relations. However, I would love to see data on these women's socioeconomics.
What I am trying to say is that the MENA region has GREAT POTENTIAL for a prosperous society when it comes to gender. We strive for knowledge be it for male or female, and this is the essence of our Arab culture despite our current stagnation. If we are EVER successful in enacting real REFORMS by improving education and the wider economy, I honestly believe we're going to be one of the best places for women. What I love about successful Arab women is their ability balance between culture and self-growth. They are so graceful and don't receive enough recognition.
Real reforms will definitely eliminate idiotic people in power. This will in effect criminalize honour killing especially when people realize Islam doesn't support it at all. Real reforms will also criminalize underage marriage for girls.
I know we have a long way to go in the Arab world especially for women who come from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds as we also suffer from classism. But I find it quite rich that women from other cultures think of me as this walking stereotype. Yes, I didn't grow with their sexual freedoms or the freedom marry whoever I want from any religion, but at least in my culture I didn't see our teen girls getting pregnant out of wedlock, which is something I totally reject, and hope our culture never reaches this level. In my culture especially as an Iraqi, I am encouraged to be educated, respectful and strong.

We are finally going to get my husband’s AC fixed. He drives a 2015 Hyundai sedan. Any recommendations for a good/honest/reasonably priced mechanic? Was thinking Christian Brothers-but really don’t know where the best place would be.

There are a lot of coming out stories, both on reddit and in media, but they're all about younger people, like teenagers or people in their 20s, like "Love, Simon". I'm so lost and confused, and I could use some support/love.
I'm a 40 year-old man. A few years ago, I concluded and accepted I was gay. My family doesn't know yet (conservative Christian family), but people at work know, etc. Oh, by the way, I am single.
My best friend, who is also 40M, doesn't know I'm gay. I want to tell him, but I don't know how. Let's call him Brian. We've been friends for 25+ years. We've been through a divorce (his, to a woman, not mine) and deaths in our families (both sides), and so we've been there for each other through thick and thin. And, we really don't have other friends. He's dating a woman right now, and he has a son, but aside from that, his only other friend is me. Same for me. He's my only friend.
Now when I say "only" friend, I don't want to give the impression that we're both antisocial or loners. Just that, we consider each other especially important compared to acquaintances and so on.
Now, he knows I have never been in a relationship or dated. He never really asked me if I am dating or not, but he always knew that I am a career-focused guy, and I was also moving around for work every so few years, so I never really got a chance to date or settle down.
A few months ago, he suggested that I go online dating to meet women, as all his dates post-divorce were met online, so he's had success meeting women online. He only brought it up casually, and never pushed it. And pretty much aside from this, as I said above, he's never asked me about my dating life. He's never asked about my sex life too, lol.
Do I think he's homophobic? When we were in college together, so like 20 years ago, he kinda was as he always avoided the gay areas of town, even when it would be convenient to drive through to get from A to B. Is that homophobic? Maybe, but he has never been explicitly so. We never make "gay" jokes even as "bros", if that matters. He never uses derogatory terms even as a joke.
Recently, we were watching the news together and the issue of teaching LGBTQ issues in Florida schools came up. It was just a casual chat in response to the news. I didn't really mention my stance. He did say, though, that "I don't mind whether people are gay or straight, but keep it to yourself, teaching this to kids in 3rd grade is just too young". Is that homophobic? His "I don't mind whether people are gay or straight" seems to suggest he's not entirely homophobic.
Anyways, yeah, why am I afraid to tell him I'm gay? He's my single best friend for 25+ years. It is downright terrifying to think that I could lose the one person in my life (besides my family, who I also haven't told yet, but that's a different matter). Younger kids these days have such large social circles and can make friends easily if their best friend rejects them. But at 40 years old, the stakes are higher. On the one hand, I think he would accept me especially since he probably won't want to lose me as a friend either. But, the uncertainty, the risk, just too damn high, it seems. There are times when it seems hiding my sexual orientation from him for the rest of our lives would be worth it, to preserve the friendship. I know, if I tell him and he accepts, our friendship can get stronger. But...
I guess I don't have a specific question. But, how should I tell him? Should I even? Any one who is middle-aged and came out to their best friends? I know you guys don't know Brian, but based on what I wrote, does it seem like he is homophobic? Any support or love, I really need right now.
Edit: Should clarify, I am not attracted to Brian in any way. If that matters. He's the closest thing I have to a brother, and that is all.

This is going to be a really long one.
My(28) Nmom(61) has reigned over all my relationships my whole life. I barely have a relationship with my dad who she is still married to and only see my brother(31)and his family on holidays unless I make efforts to go see his kids.
We a few months ago had my niece(4) over to spend the night for the first time. We live an hour and a half away from them. I met my brother half way to pick her up for her stay. During her stay my daughter who was 10mo at the time got very sick, throwing up and all. My husband mainly took care of my niece because I was tending to my daughter. When it came to bringing her home my husband drove her to meet her dad at the half way point. I did as her mother for permission first and she seemed to be fine with it.
Fast forward to now I’ve tried to have my niece spend the night and get no response from my sis-in-law. So I casually mentioned to my Nmom “I wonder if I did something wrong when she stayed with me” my moms eyes lit up, she quickly informed me that my brother was not comfortable with my husband driving her home alone because he could have done something to her (insinuating he could be a child predator)
my family has always been overprotective as I was SAed when I was 5 by my older cousin. But believe me I have always been the one to pay for it. Apologizing to my parents for their guilt because they didn’t protect me. Always having to dress modestly and be told that men were going to attack me if I didn’t act a certain way and avoid men at all cost.
I got extremely offended by the insinuation, my husband has been a part of our lives for 6 years he’s always been a wonderful uncle and he is an even more wonderful father. He always plays with the kids and is just fun loving guy. He has never ever once said or done anything to warrant them to think this.
I understand my brother wanting to protect his daughter. I feel if he had been worried about it he could have told me before I she spent the night that he didn’t want her to be alone with my husband just as a general rule. But I did ask if it was okay for my husband to drive her home.
The break down of all this was messy and really stressful. I called my mother originally. She began screaming at me when I told her we no longer feel comfortable watching my niece and my husband no longer feels comfortable playing with her because we don’t want them to think that my husband is trying to get close to my niece with ill intentions. We now just want to avoid any situations where that thought could come up.
My mother accused me of making this situation “a story” and that it was just a comment that wasn’t supposed to have any weight to it and I was supposed to just brush it off and I was absolutely not supposed to tell my husband why me niece could no longer spend the night. She says that they don’t know my husband and that he never makes any effort towards them.(which means he could be a child molester!? WHAT!) She then told me she didn’t know why I was talking to her when I had the problem with my brother. She said the whole reason why I ever have problems with her is because she is advocating for my brother or my dad and I told her not I have problems with you because I have problems with you. She then tried to get me to tell her all my issues with her. I hug up on her when she began saying that I make problems where there are none and the only person who has issues with my mother is me.
I called my brother her confirmed everything my mother had said. He was upset with me that I told my husband and he was also upset that my mother told me. So basically my relationship with my brother and his family is completely ruined and my mother says she won’t have a relationship with me unless I go to a Christian counselor with her (where I’m sure I will be bullied and told I need to respect and honor my mother) I’ve gone to counseling with her before in my teens and as soon as the counselor informed my mother I could have an issue with her and not my dad we got up and left mid session.
I feel it’s the perfect time to go no contact. We go through theses cycles about 3times a year she love bombs, I think maybe she’s not a narcissist, I let her back in, she does something, I confront her, she goes ballistic on me, I don’t talk to her for a while, she comes back and love bombs again. I don’t want my daughter to grow up in this and I don’t like that my husband was the target this time. I want her out of my life.