Wedge hair photo

Experts say that when you’re sexually or romantically attracted to someone, your pupils dilate. Oxytocin and dopamine, the “love hormones,” affect pupil size.
Like drugs do. I didn’t know this until I met her.
On our first date, we sat next to each other on wooden stools in a quiet corner of a popular bar in town. I ordered a Bee’s Knees. She ordered the same.
We turned and faced each other as we sipped and talked. Our legs were touching, and our faces were so close that I could feel her breath when she laughed. Within minutes of interacting, I noticed her smooth chocolate brown eyes turning black. I felt like I was getting sucked into a black hole of desire where there was no turning back.
Thirty minutes into the date, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I needed to calm down. The electric surge of chemicals between us was just too intense. When I looked in the bathroom mirror, I noticed that my sparkly blue-green eyes had turned mostly black too. I started to fantasize that I was living in some vampire romance novel.
I took my phone out of my purse and googled, “Why are my and my date’s eyes black?” “Your eyes dilate when you’re in love with someone,” Google replied.
I felt instantly drunk. I walked out of the bathroom with butterflies in my stomach and sat back down on the stool, inches from her.
We locked eyes again, and I gently put my hand on her thigh. For the next two hours, we talked about everything and anything. I watched her lips stretch and bend when she smiled and laughed. I studied the curve of her jaw and the petiteness of her frame. I noticed the adorable cowlick that made her hair stick up.
I was giddy. It felt like no one else was at that bar. It was only us. The live music next door sounded muffled, like the band was playing underwater. Time and space no longer existed.
It’s been seven months since that night. And I was right. There was and is no turning back.
Until two weeks ago when everything went downhill. We had a trip planned to Paris where I thought to myself, this is it. This trip will set our love in stone and the rest will be history. She decided to uninvite me about 1 month before we were to leave. We slowly grew apart as I knew subconsciously that her mind was made up, that she was done trying to work through our issues.
She comes to pick up her things from my house a week before heading out for Paris. Everything hits me all at once. "Oh my god what have I done". I realized right then and there that I had made the greatest mistake of my life. That I had given up on fighting for the most wonderful girl that had ever walked my way.
I began obsessing, looking at her Instagram. Trying to piece things together and figure out where everything went wrong. I realize that her and her ex of 3 years started following each other again on Instagram. I look further, she's unarchived 100 photos with him. I begin to lose my mind.
I reach out to her, call her a cheater, only to push her away more. She begins to think I'm crazy. Fast forward to today, I see her and her ex in Paris together, enjoying the trip that we had planned.
In the span of 1 month, she went from loving me to being amicable with me to getting back with her ex and completely disposing of me. Lying about it. Never once saying sorry, but instead that “you’re not my issue anymore” and that I should check myself into a psych ward for even feeling hurt by everything. Telling me she never thought we were meant to be. I was a terrible boyfriend. I was her rebound. And my hate for myself grew even more.
I'll see them grow happy, get engaged, have children. I can see their future clearly.
And all my future holds is the despair I will continue to endure as I see their life unfold. I've dated enough women to know this will forever be the best girl that has ever given me a chance. I am sick to my stomach. She loved me so much and I let it slip away.
I’ll never forget when I first met her. It was as if my heart leaped out of my chest. We had an immediate connection. I remember coming back home to my friends in discord at the end of the night and saying to them, “This is the one”. I don’t know how things got away so fast. I was a soul just barely hanging on when I met her. She helped me through my addiction, she showed me what true love is, and I took her for granted.
I feel like a true psychopath now. But at least she made me feel less alone for a few good months.
I've grown tired of the struggle, of the rollercoaster, of the endless highs and lows, of waking up feeling good and then without warning being triggered back into suicidal despair. It's been a consistent cycle for so long that I see no reason to believe that it will suddenly change. I just can’t get her out of my head. And I don’t ever see a day that I will.
I've wavered back and forth about making this post, secretly hoping she will see it. I've decided to go ahead and do so because in a sense I’m thankful that she's helped me decide to finally end my miserable life.

For context: I was born in Russia and I have a Russian pasport. I am an EU resident and I do not support Russia in the war with Ukraine.
I am a 21-year-old transman and I'm almost 2 years on T. Last time I went to Russia I was female representing in 2018. I have been thinking of traveling to Russia to this year to see my family. They are supportive of my transition. However I am very scared of crossing the border with my russian pasport photo made in 2016 of me with long hairs clearly being female. I look nothing like that right now. I fully pass as male these days. Am I putting myself in danger by travelling to Russia? Should I try to look as female as possible when crossing the border? Can they think I have a fake pasport? Long story short: does anyone have experience travelling to a country with no lgbtq protective laws? And if so, are there any tips?
I think most of you will disincourage me to go, but I really need to see my grandma. I don't think she has much time left and I want to spend some time with her before she passes. I am convinced that while I am in the country I will blend in fine and no one would suspect I'm trans if they see me. It's really about crossing the border and getting my pasport checked.

Hi all!
I am in search of day-of-wedding getting ready outfits to gift my bridesmaids. I am not a fan of “stuff” and am having a destination wedding, so I would prefer to buy everyone one nice getting ready outfit that they would ideally wear again in lieu of doing the semi traditional bridal party gift bag filled with goodies that (in my opinion) rarely get used. I personally do not need another cup/mug/glass with my name on it ever again.
The challenges I am running into are the following: 1) I am not interested in robes (I think this is so personal and most of my girls already have luxe robes that they adore, plus this is a challenge to fly home with from a destination); 2) I need to be size inclusive, and based on body sensitivities I am aware of, I am trying to avoid lounge sets with shorts; 3) re-wearability.
The best I have come up with is the Hill House Nap Dress (although the larger sizes seem to sell out very quickly). My concern is taking off the dress after hair and make-up to change into their outfits. I have a nap dress and usually just slide it off over my butt rather than removing it over my head, but not sure if this is possible for everyone.
TLDR: any nice, re-wearable, bridesmaid getting ready outfits that are size inclusive?
Also open to suggestions for bridesmaid gifts that are not cheesy, not monogrammed, and easy to travel with for a destination wedding! I know that a getting ready outfit isn’t “necessary” but thought it would be nice for photos.
Thank you in advance!!!

Link to AO3
chapters 1&2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
The Academy looked normal enough from the distance but blew Gentry’s mind when she finally entered it. First of all, the way in lay through a massive winter garden full of the most luxurious botanical collection she’s ever seen. Not only that, but it seemed to be arranged in a way that offered spaces for hanging out as well as paths in and out. Here and there, G noticed little nooks with people’s voices coming from them and small murmuring streams gleamed in the sun that blazed through the transparent walls and roof. This place looked magical and invited to stay, enjoy the refreshing coolness and peace of mind. But Gentry had a good enough rest in her communal room the night before and was eager to start working on her first assignment that the System had spat out with a congratulating letter. Figuring out the controls of her new wristcomm was simple enough.
DEAR GENTRY!
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU ARE THE FIRST CONTESTANT TO CLEAR ALL CHALLENGES AND OBTAIN THE STATUS OF AN ASHTAPADAN NEWCOMER! YOUR MEDICAL DATA HAS BEEN ANALYSED AND FOUND ACCEPTABLE.
IN THE ATTACHMENT TO THIS LETTER YOU WILL FIND A LIST OF RULES, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IDEAS THAT WILL DEFINITELY HELP YOU IN THE FIRST WEEKS IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY BUT WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND FINDING A BUDDY THAT WOULD BE YOUR MAIN GUIDE AND POTENTIALLY A NEW GREAT FRIEND! IT CAN BE ANY CITIZEN OR A MORE EXPERIENCED NEWCOMER.
YOUR CURRENT POINTS: 0
WHY NOT START EARNING SOME WITH YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT?
START ANY BEGINNER COURSE AT THE ACADEMY AND KEEP YOUR ATTENDANCE RATE OVER 80% — WORTH 50 POINTS
(OPTIONAL) FIND SOMEBODY WHO IS WILLING TO BECOME YOUR BUDDY — WORTH 20 POINTS
Without stopping to check if the vending machines offered anything good, G made her way through the dreamy garden and entered the inner yard that looked just like everything here: nothing too eye-catching at first glance but secrets hidden everywhere.
One thing she had already noticed was that most of the people had another piece of technology on their bodies besides the comm on their wrists: a sort of extendable visor that some of them kept engaged at all times. Those who were focused on the screen had a comical look on their faces, a thousand-mile stare, eyes wide even as they were talking to each other or going about their business. It was unclear yet why they would engage the screen for so long though. No one needed this much time to read a notification or check a map.
Take a group of young students by the fountain, for example. They seemed deep in conversation with each other yet their pupils didn’t focus on the person in front, but on the translucent screen over the top part of their faces. Was it some kind of virtual reality helmet?
If so, G needed one, too.
Perhaps she’d be able to make new friends this way.
There was something else that caught Gentry’s eye. Despite her initial disappointment about the severe lack of male hotness in the streets, people of both sexes seemed to really care about their appearance. Even those who probably weren’t naturally stunning were very interesting to look at not least because of the crazy fashion sense everyone here had. Never before had G seen so much variety in what everyone wore: countless variations on different national garments, some looking very traditional, like something one could see in a theatre, some — futuristic uniforms straight out of a sci-fi movie. It didn’t seem like anyone was concerned with gender norms here, too. At least in when it came to the outfits.
G hoped she didn’t look like a creepy stalker when her gaze lingered on a pair of very nicely shaped legs stretching from underneath a plaid skirt that belonged to a young man in the group sat by the edge of the water. A pair of snow-white knee-highs, flat loafers and neat raven hair with some blue streaks completed the image. His clothes fit him very well and weren’t inappropriate in the least: something an old money university student would wear.
A female student that is.
And he wasn’t alone. Here and there, among more conventionally dressed people, there were people wearing all sorts of things: a crazy mix of goth-like apparel but barefoot, men and women with heads covered with scarves, people in strange jewelery that looked like it weighed a ton and so on. Most importantly, no one seemed to care what the others looked like.
Was it paradise? Looks like the demo didn’t lie: it was heaven on earth.
The young man in the middle of the student gaggle caught her staring after all. With a dazzling smile, he waved in her direction as if they were great friends, and G waved back, face heating, hoping there wasn’t anyone behind her this tease was actually waving at. Thank god his shoes weren’t heeled, otherwise she would definitely have a heart attack right here, in the middle of the common area, on her first day.
Did he notice her ogling his legs? Judging by the giggles of his friend's entourage, they all did. The young flirt covered his mouth, eyes wide in mock indignation and pulled his knees in, as if hiding them from the improper attention, getting even more laughter from the rest of the company. G averted her eyes and tried to calm her breathing as she was on her way through the yard again, but before they all disappeared from her field of view, she noticed the coquette stretch his legs again and fall back on a friend of his, embracing the lucky man’s neck in an affectionate gesture, already forgetting G existed.
There was no way she wasn’t going to make some pretty boy do the same for her. Forget the assignment, put that in the list of her top priorities!
At first, Gentry was lost when she failed to find any kind of class schedule and there was no one to ask at the reception desk.
Why have a reception desk if nobody’s on duty?
Soon, however, it occurred to her that there was no schedule: each room within the wide marble corridors had a small display with a handwritten message scribbled on it.
Bachata for beginners
Product engineering (Tuesday class cancelled)
Colloidal chemistry (revision today)
None of these were the Communications course that Jey was talking about, but the variety definitely made G’s eyebrows go up.
Was she just supposed to barge into any class and sign up? Did she have to sign up later if she liked the subject? Was it ok to choose any?
After some wandering around, too scared to just walk in uninvited or ask others for directions, she finally stumbled across the door saying:
Communication & decision making course (Newcomers welcome)
With the desks arranged in a horseshoe and the people of various ages that were also apparently Newcomers, it all seemed comfortably casual. Everyone was chatting as she walked in, paying G no mind so she busied herself with the wristcomm that dinged at exactly the right time to save her the embarrassment of looking for a desk.
Would you like to enroll in this course? Scroll down to read the description.
Was this damn thing a spying device? Did it just know which room she was in? Jey didn’t joke when she said the little thing was going to be her primary aid!
“Are you looking for somewhere to sit?” called a young red-haired woman at one of the paired desks. “Here, this one is free.” She had the auglasses on, like everyone else, but they were off, showing her lively face and a pair of sharp green eyes.
“Thanks,” G said, gratefully taking the offer. “I’m new here, don’t know how things work yet.”
“It’s alright, the course is very engaging, you’ll love it.” — the woman held out a hand — “I’m Sereen, what’s your name?”
G shook the warm palm. “It’s Gentry. And by new I mean I’m new to Ashtapada, not just the course. Literally arrived yesterday.”
“Really?” — S looked surprised — “Everything must be very confusing!”
“You have no idea,” G smiled. “I’m glad someone understands. Everyone’s friendly but acts as if giant mechanical dogs in the streets and a moss garden in the lobby are the most normal things ever.”
“Don’t worry, I was just like you when I first arrived, you’ll get the hang of it soon.”
“Hope so! Is that the lecturer?”
“Shhh...”
Just like everything else in Ashtapada, the lecture started out normal enough only to unfold into something completely alien to how things were normally done.
Apparently, the Communications course involved learning rationality, debating, logic, etiquette and god knew what else. It was supposed to give the future citizens tools to, well, communicate. G was given a booklet with some ground rules for beginners that included entries that sounded like something Sun Tzu would say if he studied debating instead of warcraft.
“The purpose of any argument is not to win it and not to change the other disputant’s mind. It’s to find the truth.”
“Always argue in good faith.”
“Don’t attack your opponent.”
“If attacked, dismiss the attack as if it didn’t happen.”
Well, hopefully, it only meant verbal attacks! G knew too well that when it came to physical violence, it was hard to ignore it.
Most of the rules looked straightforward enough, some were confusing.
“Seek challenge to your convictions. Avoid echo chambers.”
“Don’t seek being right.”
“Be mindful of your audience including yourself.”
“Avoid “Empty arguments” that don’t bring everyone closer to the goal of finding the truth.”
The lecturer, a willowy man of about sixty that drowned in his tweed jacket, started the class with a bit of small talk with the regulars after distributing the booklets to all first-timers. He made sure to give it to G face down so that his photo under the “About the author” title didn’t go unnoticed. He also made most of the “talk” part himself.
“I never took part in a debate,” G told Sereen, who was patiently waiting for the class to begin. “And never seen anything like these rules. Is it actually useful?”
“Oh, believe me, professor Poe will be ecstatic to talk to you about them. He can’t not start discussing his subject at the slightest provocation. Look.” — she raised her hand — “Professor, how was your weekend?”
The man wearily smiled. “That might seem like a meaningless question, Sereen, but it’s actually very much related to the topic we are going to cover today.”
“See?” — S raised her eyebrows with a suppressed smile. G giggled. This promised to be interesting.
“Our friend Sereen is a very polite person, isn’t she?” — Poe smiled at the class but his eyes glided over everyone’s faces, gaze turned inwards like he was reading an invisible text written on the walls. “But as kind as she is, I don’t think she’s actually interested in how my weekend went. Small talk is just a social custom we engage in to strengthen our social relations. Why don’t we just start a day by saying “Hi! I value our relationship and would like to fulfill my societal role!” to everyone we know? I would definitely prefer THAT over the small talk! He-he!”
The audience laughed politely. The guy seemed alright.
“However, just as we use different tools to fulfill this role in different contexts, so can the context of a logical problem steer our thinking towards a rational, that is, right, and an irrational, that is, wrong, answer.”
“Well, that’s not a given,” Gentry mumbled under her breath but it went unnoticed by S, who was already immersed in the lecture.
“Consider the famous René Descartes’s quote "Cogito, ergo sum". Who can translate it from Latin?” — the board behind the thin, almost transparent man glowed, displaying the words.
“Is it really a Beginner’s course?” G asked Sereen in a low voice but her companion was already raising her hand, together with a dozen other students.
“I think, therefore I am,” she said after a curt nod of the lecturer’s permission.
“Very good,” he continued, pleased. “I taught you well. Those of you who attend my lectures regularly are familiar with the notion of solipsism, which states that the only thing we can be sure about is our own thoughts.”
Gentry looked at S with raised eyebrows.
If this is an introductory course, what was the advanced like?
Sereen didn’t seem to perplexed. She was fully following the thread.
“However,” professor Poe said. “I am going to challenge that notion by demonstrating that we can’t trust our own mind when it comes to perceiving reality.”
He looked at the audience with a quizzical eye, and pointed at Gentry with a long bony finger “You, new girl. I want you to close your eyes.”
Why her?
Gentry was only happy to hide behind her eyelids. No doubt the whole room was now staring at her.
Through the blood rushing in her ears, she heard the old man’s voice, “Who was sitting beside you before you closed your eyes?”
“My new friend Sereen,” G answered and heard a little gasp of appreciation from the woman.
“So you know she existed as long as you two were whispering behind my back. However, now that you can’t see or hear her. How do you know she exists?”
“Well, I can reach with my hand and touch her,” Gentry said, demonstrating.
“Yes, this is what most people answer,” Poe said. “You can open your eyes now. But let me ask you this: how would you know it was her, an not some other person that took her place?”
Gentry’s intuition was right: everyone was staring, as if waiting for her answer.
“Well, I suppose— ”
“Hush, it was a rhetorical question,” the professor cut her off. “The correct answer is that you can’t know that. We think we can trust our senses or at least our thoughts, but this is also false. Everyone, look out of the window.”
Everyone did.
The day was as fine as Gentry was annoyed.
What did this pops think of himself?
“I’d ask what you see, but I already know the answer,” he went on. “All of you would say “the sky”. And all of you would be wrong, because sky doesn’t exist. We only see the endless emptiness of the outer space, but perceive it as a blue dome. It’s an illusion, a phantom, born out of our collective unconscious.”
Sereen whispered, lost in the lecture, “Ah, yes, Carl Jung.”
What?
Was it supposed to be obvious?
“But listen to this,” he continued, voice booming like a demiurge’s in the completely silent room. “Listen to this. How many words is it? Listentothis. Our common sense says it’s three words while in reality it’s just a string of sounds I an producing with my mouth. I am literally making you hallucinate the spaces between the words I’m saying. With knowing that our perception is so flawed, how can we know that we even know how to think?”
“I’m sorry, professor, I disagr...” G started but got struck down by his serrated gaze.
“I’ll invite questions at the end, young miss,” he chopped out.
Sereen’s eyes were sympathetic. It looked like most if not all of professor Poe’s students had learned not to interrupt him.
He went on, “Anyway, the fact that you even understand what I am saying is in itself incredible and shouldn’t be possible.”
“But it IS possible, right?” G whispered to Sereen. “I mean, aren’t we understanding this as he speaks?”
“PLEASE refrain from talking unless asked!” professor Poe roared.
Impressive lung capacity for such a frail human being!
G begrudgingly did as she was told. The guy seemed to be enjoying this power trip a bit too much to her taste.
“Now, since most of you,” he put some emphasis on the word to shut up another pair of whispering students. “Most of you think you comprehend my words, you must know that there is a way to tell that something is real, even though we can’t rely on our senses for perception. I’m giving you a minute to discuss with your partners what it might be.”
G considered it. She and Sereen exchanged equally confused glances.
Like a dutiful student, S started summarising Poe’s arguments but Gentry listened with only half an ear. She felt that behind all this over-thinking was a clear and simple answer.
She watched the professor walk along the aisles, tuning into one or another conversation before leaving each with a smug head shake of disapproval.
What was there to think about? Even if they didn’t see the world precisely as it was, something was definitely real, right? The chair she felt under her buttocks, the air around, the low murmur of the students. The annoying professor that… looked a little too translucent.
Gentry waited for the man to approach their desks and tune into Sereen’s musings. As he came so near they could reach out and touch him, Gentry did just that.
To her utter shock, her hand went through the old jacket and sent a wave of static over the professor’s figure, his whole form glitching and flickering.
Professor Poe was a hologram!
Unable to help herself, Gentry said, “No wonder you don’t think anything is real, Professor, you are hardly real yourself!”
The whole roomful of people stared, transfixed, at the surreal scene of a student’s arm disappearing into the teacher’s abdomen.
Gentry looked back at Sereen in search of support.
Was it laughter in her eyes?
Poe’s blood drained from his face, the mouth slacked open, twitching as if trying to form some words, but none came out.
Sereen chimed in, “You never told us you were a simulation, Professor.”
“Out!” Poe gritted lowly so that no one really heard him.
“I’m sorry?” G asked, innocently.
“Out of my class!” he exploded, jumping out of Gentry’s reach with an enraged grimace. “I am as real as you are!”
G stood up and looked at her hand then back at Professor Poe.
How much rage could storm in those watery eyes?
Then, she winked at her new friend.
“Let’s go then, shall we?” she said.
Sereen looked lost for a second, her eyes darting pack and forth between Gentry and Poe. Then, her gaze seemed to cloud a little, as if she retreated into her own head, but when she resurfaced, she nodded with a mischievous smile.
Both young women left the room, the classmates’ sympathetic silence and Poe’s angry seething seeing them off.
***
“What a way to start my first day,” Gentry said. “My hands are still trembling a bit.”
She and S were calming their nerves in the green winter garden, the soothing sound of the little running streamlet at their feet a welcome distraction.
“Believe it or not, his course is actually quite useful,” Sereen laughed. “Who would have thought the old Poe is actually not human? I guess we never thought of poking him in the stomach before. This is going to be the talk of the Academy for the next month or so!”
“Is it? I feel bad now. I guess I’m not getting any points for attending this lecture, right?” — Gentry checked her wristcomm — “It says “zero progress” and something else… ad.. Honi… adhonim…”
Sereen laughed, “Yeah, you adhominem’ed good old Poe, no wonder you got zero credit!”
“What does it mean?”
“You’ve seen the rules of learning and discourse, right?” S said. “There are no-nos, things that aren’t allowed, especially when it comes to Rationality classes and the like. Ad Hominem means an attack on the speaker, not their argument. It isn’t exactly what you did, but I guess it’s the closest thing!”
“Ad Hominem, huh,” G said. “Well, I guess I deserve it then. Thanks for standing by me.”
If it wasn’t for Sereen, G wasn’t sure she would be going to return to the Academy any time soon!
“You just chose a wrong course as your first class, G,” — no doubt about that! — “But another lecturer who works here is much more open-minded and he also teaches Rationality. I think you’ll enjoy him more than our old Poe. His next class is in a couple of days. Wanna come?”
***
DEAR GENTRY!
CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING AN OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT! 20 POINTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO YOUR STATUS COUNTER.

Hello, people of Reddit! 😊
My dog Mochi, a German Spitz (Mittelspitz), has been suffering from severe itching since March. He licks his paws and scratches his head/eye area frequently. He lost a lot of hair around his eyes.
I hope that someone on here maybe experienced something similar with their dog who can point me to the right direction in where to go from here or give some advice. We’ve already visited the vet a few times because of this and have an appointment for next week as well.
Here are a few photos to show the progression of his hair loss.
As you can see he was completely fine at the start of the year. ☹ It started around the end of March.
He is nearly 2 years old and weights around 10 kg. He has been neutered last year. We’re located in Austria.
Sorry for the long post ahead, but I would like to include as much information as possible.
Information about his food & current medication:

• We have completely switched to Vet Concept Sana Horse (dry and wet food) to rule out a food intolerance
• He gets some salmon hemp oil from Vet Concept every day since the itching started
• He got Bravecto at the start of April for ticks but also as a prevention for mites
• Mochi currently gets prednisolone tablets (5 mg) in decreasing doses. We have an appointment for next week to give him Cytopoint instead. As I understand from my vet, Cytopoint has less side effects and contains no cortisone. We plan to conduct an allergy test (pre-screening) after 4-6 weeks following the Cytopoint injection

The current possible diagnoses are:

• environmental allergy (maybe dust mites?)
• autoimmune disease
• travel diseases (Leishmaniasis?) Info: Mochi has never left the country we reside in (Austria)
• something else entirely

We have also considered:

• Hair loss caused by mites: We had a skin scraping done that came back negative (for mites and fungi)
• a zinc deficiency but if my math isn’t completely off he should be currently getting around 16 mg zinc each day from his food which would cover his need for zinc

Here’s also a short summary of the last two months in case some of these things are important:

• Mochi had bloody diarrhea in early March. We visited the vet for this and got some medicine, and Mochi an injection; he recovered well. Before this point (the diarrhea incident lol) everything was completely okay. He was not itching and his eyes looked normal. I list this point in case the weakened immune system has something to do with the hair loss/itching that followed
• He started licking his paws in mid/late March. At the end of March he started losing hair around his right eye at first, a bit later around his left eye as well
• At the beginning of April we suspected he had mites but the test (mites + fungi) turned out negative. We also changed his food to Vet Concept at this point
• All blood test results so far were perfect (nothing abnormal)

Aside from the itching and loss of hair around his eyes, he is otherwise completely healthy. He still loves to play, has a lot of energy, eats his usual amount and poops like a king.
We are also considering going to a specialist / dermatologist. We actually got a letter of referral from our vet to a dermatologist, but the reviews we saw online were pretty mixed (leaning towards pretty bad) and we will probably try to find another one on our own. Still considering our options here.
I’m feeling pretty lost with all of this since it sounds like it could be basically anything. After each vet visit it went from “it’s probably this” to “actually, it might be this AND this” to “well, we could do this test and this test and…”
The current plan would be to see how the Cytopoint works and do the allergy test and then go from there (and probably look for a good dermatologist). I’m not sure if we should also do a test for Leishmaniasis since most of the other symptoms don’t apply to Mochi.
I also sadly don’t have a pet insurance and now I’m not sure if it’s already too late since Mochi already gets medicine for allergies so I’m not sure if he would automatically get excluded from any future tests even if he doesn't have an official diagnosis yet.
If anyone read all of this – thank you so much! I would be thankful for any advice.

I'm just curious honestly! I can think of only three idols that have curly hair and they're all male idols. I'm talking about Hyunjae from The Boyz and Bangchan from SKZ. I believe L from Infinite also has curly hair, but I could be wrong. Hyunjae doesn't seem to particularly like that his hair is curly, though idk if that's the case for Bangchan or L (hope not, curly hair is lovely, just as much as straight hair is). Interestingly enough, from all of the pre-debut photos I've seen of Hyunjae, he has straight hair so I'm guessing his mom or himself would blow dry it so it wouldn't be curly (again, idk if that's the case with Bangchan or L since I don't follow them closely).
From my understanding, naturally curly hair isn't too rare in South Korea-it's rather they go to greater lengths to keep their hair straight bc curly hair isn't super "in" or whatever. Also, the actual state of curliness varies and Korean people's hair is usually more on the wavy side, probably due to heat damage since they might be straightening it a lot (and not taking care of it properly).
Lmk if I've got anything wrong or you have something to add lol also drop idols who have naturally curly hair down below :)

We've had our cat for 9 months
Last October, we were treating him from ringworm which he came with, and it was on all of his body, ears & head. By the time it was January, the vet declared him ringworm free, he didn't have any spots on his skin like he did before
Every month here and there, a localized infection happens, particularly at his ears. We treat it and after and now those spots are gone.
However, this is the main issue. I took him to 3 vets to get different opinions on what we're seeing in the photos.
https://preview.redd.it/z69689id3g0d1.jpg?width=1484&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67b98acba053b8197f8ef1d0af2c3edeb3843d49
The skin is no longer glowing with circular patches reminiscent of ringworm. Now, only the hair strands are glowing, and in some slightly rare cases, the hair root itself is glowing.

• Vet no.1 said that the ringworm is imbedded within his hair and roots and you have to attack it once again with the full package (Anti-fungal cream, betadene, cone, pills, injections, etc) and gave us a hefty quote, which is what we've done back in October and we really dont want to go through it again.
• Vet no.2 said that the ringworm is only on the hair and doing consistent weekly medicated baths+ shaving the hair will alleviate it, and we shouldn't primarly attack it with antifungal cream because it's not on the skin
• Vet no.3 said the same thing as no.2, that its on the hair and it should be treated with medicated baths and shaving the hair.

We ended up following the advice of vet 2 and 3. It feels no matter how much antifungal cream we use, it doesnt do anything to the supposed ringworm on the hair.
I read online, and people said that the ringworm on the hair rather than on the skin is supposedly the hair recovering or potentially even having recovered fully from a previous ringworm infection. But I dont know whether that's true or not, so has anyone gone through the same issue, and is there any solution for it? Because we are starting to lose hope

For context, I’m 50% Irish & English and 46% Southern European (Italian & Greek and Balkan), according to my 23&Me. I’ve always had SUPER heavy periods but typically zero symptoms besides maybe being a bit hungrier before my period. I also am very hairy, but my question is: Is this hair normal at all??? I have hair all on my stomach but I don’t know if they is just my genes or if it’s due to PCOS or anything. More background: Mum had period at 9, very heavy but regular periods and is now barely hitting menopause at 49 y/o. I got my period at 12, had acne and oily skin since 10 (22 now), and I’ve had this excess body hair since I was about 12, 12.5? Since photos aren’t allowed here, it looks like just more straight public hair that’s basically a happy trail, but it leads up to my chest socially, and even goes as far as my sides, but it gets thinner and smaller and less pube-like above my bellybutton. I also have chest hair that grows between my breasts. I do shave all of it except above my bellybutton and my sides (I do shave my chest too), but I wanted to know if this is just my genes or PCOS???

So I’m in here because I’m trying to get better with my emetophobia, but I’m wondering if I even really qualify Warning for the rest because of details. I have no problem with other people vomiting. I have no problem comforting people who’ve just thrown up. I have no problem holding my girlfriend’s hair back when she pukes. I don’t get triggered by reading about it, seeing photos, or anything like that. It’s just me. Every time I think I’m about to vomit, I have a panic attack. I’ve gotten good at controlling it, but if it’s bad enough it’ll still happen. I’ve had panic attacks last for hours in the middle of the night, and then I end up not even throwing up. I would like to mention that I have Stage 2 GERD and Severe Anxiety and Panic Disorder, so I’m wondering if my fears are true emetophobia or just those things. I don’t know if I should be here or not, even though I am petrified of vomiting.

Hello and warm blessings, I am only part Nepali.... Kiranti Rai, and I think also Limbu? I went there many many years ago to where my ancestor was from to just connect with the land and people. I was just sitting on the ground watching the sunset when an old man and woman approached me and started touching my hair and sat down in front of me talking and smiling.and the old woman was touching my hands.
A younger man came and sat next to me, and began translating what they were saying, as they were very curious about me. I have ivory skin and darkish auburn hair, but I took some photos of me as child and my father too with me for when I could talk to my ancestor.
Anyway, in my baby photo I had black hair with a silver streak in the front. I have gray eyes. I am the only one with this color eye in my family. everyone else has blue or hazel.
The old man said I was blessed by the river goddess to journey to her home, but they did not tell me which one? Does anyone know the names of the River Goddess among the Kiranti Rai or Limbu or how I can learn more about her? I thought there was only Yuma Sammang? Any help is appreciated. Many Blessings,
Thank you.

Hi! This is my first time on this sub so I apologize if I made any posting errors. you can’t really tell in the photos due to all these damaged strands but I have type 2a, low porosity hair. In these photos, my hair is about 50% dry after a wash, with the products and routine mentioned below used in my hair.
i started a wavy hair routine about 2 months ago after years of believing my hair was straight but i’m faced with these weird damaged strands that pop out everywhere and make my hair look frizzy. I got a hair cut last year and cut my hair to below shoulder length thinking that would fix it but if anything, it’s gotten worse.
My hair is straight cut, no layers. I currently use

• Rosemary Mint Shampoo (2x a week)
• Marc Anthony Repair Bond Hair Mask (Biweekly)
• Rosemary Oil (The night before every wash)
• L’oréal Bond Repair Leave In Serum (On wet hair after every wash)
• Garnier Whole Blends Almond and Argan Oil Leave In Conditioner (After every hair wash on damp hair)

I use a microfibre towel to loosely wrap around my hair as it air dries.
I really just want these damaged strands to go away and properly define my waves. My hair used to be extremely thick and healthy and I’ve hit a stump at this point. It’s destroying my confidence someone please tell me what I’m doing wrong or if it’s something in my routine.

All records in excellent condition, with most being spun only once. Shipping from California via media mail at $6 if you reside in the lower 48 United States. If located elsewhere and interested in a record, message me and we'll see what we can make happen.
All unsealed records are stored upright in 3 mil anti-static sleeves, and are VG+ quality at worst, most are NM. Photos available upon request.
Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper - $40
Black Midi - Live-Cade - $35
Black Midi – Schlagenheim - $12
Black Midi – Talking Heads / Crow’s Perch - $5
Black Sabbath – Paranoid - $30
The Claypool Lennon Delirium – South Of Reality - $22
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River - $22
Deftones – Deftones - $12
Frankie And The Witch Fingers – Levitation Sessions - $20
Fuzz – Fuzz - $40
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – Petrodragonic Apocalypse; Or, Dawn Of Eternal Night: An Annihilation Of Planet Earth And The Beginning Of Merciless Damnation Clear & Ruby Marbled [Blood Mist] vinyl - $50
Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley - $75
Lightning Bolt – Hypermagic Mountain - $25
Lightning Bolt – Sonic Citadel - $30
Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - $50
Muddy Waters – Fathers And Sons - $25
My Morning Jacket – My Morning Jacket - $15
The Nude Party – Rides On - $25
The Nude Party - The Nude Party - $15
Parquet Courts – Light Up Gold - $25
Peeping Tom – Peeping Tom - $40
Power Trip – Nightmare Logic - $18
The Pretenders – Learning To Crawl MoFi Original Master Recording - $40
Robot God – Silver Buddha Dreaming - $30
The Strokes – First Impressions Of Earth - $40
Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler / The Dream EP - $20
Thee Oh Sees – Mutilator Defeated at Last Translucent Blue vinyl - $25
Thee Oh Sees – Live In San Francisco - $22
Thee Oh Sees – A Weird Exits Green/Purple vinyl - $29
Thee Oh Sees – An Odd Entrances Sealed. Neon Green/Clear Split With Black Splatter - $12
Oh Sees – Orc Fluoro Yellow vinyl - $24
Oh Sees – Smote Reverser Sealed. Grey/Orange/Blue Tri-Stripe vinyl - $28
Oh Sees – Face Stabber Black & Clear Spinner w/ Red Splatter vinyl - $20
Thee Oh Sees – Panther Rotate Sealed. Magenta In Clear With Yellow Splatter vinyl - $12
Ty Segall – "Hello, Hi" - $10
Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair - $12
Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse - $15