Hello, I would like some advice on this situation. I've met online a guy from a dating app and at first we clicked abit. In his bio he's sapiosexual and I like it because he discusses intellectual witty and deep topics. It was a refreshing convo because he engages in sexual topics rarely or sometimes. Which is what I like because most of the guy I talk to would talk sexual. This is where I know what a guy's intentions are.
Okay so he seems really nice. He's got lots of pics and he's attractive.
So here are some of the things that made me abit uncomfortable/icky is:
•Guy uses alot of emojis like every sentence, every chat bubble theres more than two emojis. I don't really mind this and I understand that people use this to express themselves but I'm not rlly used to it. This is neutral flag for me tho.
•Replies in different topics overlapping each other. When I reply I have to answer each topic. It overlaps. Our topics are deep and very intellectual. This is okay. Ngl I like the long messages.
But his way of dealing stuff got me alittle uncomfortable. He sends big ones. And I'm expected to reply the same amount.
•Doesn't answer to all of my replies but whines/complains why I didn't answer some of his questions.
•When I don't answer or if he doesn't like my answer, he judges me and making me feel bad and him being the victim. It's like guilt-tripping was happening in the conversation.
•Words, phrases unintentionally meant to be harmless, he takes it as an insult. Like I said, "You do you." on regarding the usage of emojis and he says I'm mean. Or when there's a Tornado happening in his place and I said, "Stay safe." He said I'm cold/careless.
Latest red flag for me: Wants me to reply to the messages he sent that I didn't reply yet. Well I didn't reply because he hadn't reply as well. And he's doing the same. The questions aren't even a big deal. He just said it's important for him to be answered. Also because he's bothered by the effort that didn't get reciprocated. I was like move on geez. Type it again. Also I tried to tell him to just say those missed messages again but he wont. He wanted me to scroll way up when we've had a whole new conversations before his unanswered messages.
..
What could be the reason behind this behavior? I really like his other vibe talking about movies and he's attractive but I feel like any moment he'll say something that says my words are cold and insulting and I don't want to feel bad. We just talked for like a week. This insistance to answer his efforts with the same efforts is weird.
Should I keep talking to him? Also we've never spoken after I told him it's ridiculous to go back up and reply. I actually went up and double read to see what he's been whining about that I should answer but they're just topics that aren't really relevant like pet peeves or favorite stuff. I mean if he wants to really know then ask again? 🤷‍♀️ Also I deduced that there's like he's displaying a strong desire for validation and control in the conversation. That's redflag?

Okay this is not specifically Taylor AND Travis, but I feel this sub would get where I am coming from.
Now I am not one to ever compare one individual's mental health conditions that may be with another person. Everyone has their own struggles and challenges they go through, even if the severity differs. However, in this situation, I would like to put my two cents in on a subject many of us already have started to discuss: Taylor's usage of mental illness, mental institutions, and just overall angst she has been harbouring since TTPD's announcement to present times. As others have pointed out before me, it has never been confirmed if Taylor has any medical condition or has any mental disorder. She did confirm back in 2019 though I believe, she has never gone to therapy as she sees her mom as the only therapist she ever could need (if it has changed since then, please let me know). To be honest, yes, it's not our place to know if she doesn't want to share, about anything involving herself, especially like mental health, as it's a personal subject for many, whether famous or not. Also I truly think therapy while super helpful for some, may not be the right for others in contrast. It genuinely depends on each individual on what they need and what works best for them. Alas, whatever we want to call Taylor is doing for the TTPD era with the usage and imagery of mental illness, personally I'm not only over it but disgusted by it.
For starters, we are led to think all this imagery and wordplay and overall presentation of mental illness and mental institutions and lobonomies etc are solely due to her broken heart over a former love (popular suggestion says it's for Matty Healy but some think it's still Joe and some think it's for other people completely or even other situations). We're left with solely her songs and her choices in words both in songs and in real life, to theorize what they could be alluding to. I have seen many Gaylors suggest these are influenced by the LGBTQIA+ was and have been treated in mainstream society. How, homosexuality was even listed an actual illness not so long ago unfortunately.
But for the sake of calling a spade a spade and being simplistic, I am just going to follow the popular belief that this era is just her choice of showing her reaction and feelings towards some ex-lover and feeling scorned by them, most likely it's Matty. Or least the grand majority of the songs seem to lean in his not so favour. That being said (and as someone who has been there with Taylor since Debut), she could have honestly chose a better direction. Mental illness isn't a joke to make people laugh at parties. It isn't a trend or the latest accessory to buy at the mall. It's not something you can just shake off and pretend it's done by the next album. It's real and it's really affects your every day life. Just as mental institutions are no joke. They're not fun playgrounds to meet potential besties at. It's literally a place that originally people were sent to against their will. Even in present times, some people are still sent to them against their will. Yes, some go now voluntarily, but it isn't always the case. I understand being heartbroken and something like ghosting can make one feel emotionally vulnerable and hurt on a multitude of levels. I just wouldn't justify making chronic word usage of "asylums", "madhouses", phrases like "they sent me away" or referencing coming straight from the hospital if she just meant it "symbolically". I get she could have easily meant Hollywood and stardom especially like she has experienced, is a crazy experience to endure, but in that case, it seems like her previous analogies of a circus works better without offending potential parties or people with actual experiences with mental institutions and/or mental illness. It reminds me of how several people say something like "I always wash my hands, I'm OCD" or "War time flashbacks, I got PTSD from *names a very underwhelming situation that disturb a person slightly*", It's careless and callous wording all around. The fact we have even seen some of Taylor's so-called fans start to make their own medical bracelets to play up this theme is disturbing in my opinion. Again mental illness isn't some necklace to show off like a diamond studded piece.
I'm not saying Taylor couldn't have felt maddened in a way by her experiences that inspired TTPD thus how she chose to display this era and such. In my own personal experience without going too much into it, I had my own ghosting experience a few years back that wasn't fun in any way, and it was with someone, who reassured me for months on end that they were going to stay and we'd always be in each other's lives so obviously my trust and faith were both shaken when I noticed one night, I got blocked from all their social media and they didn't answer any call or text I left. However, I didn't go around not only acting like a tortured Victorian woman, who was imprisoned against her own will in a sanitarium but marketing myself as one and even trying to trademark a term I clearly didn't create. Granted say Taylor hypothetically went through a whole bunch of worst case scenarios: loved ones dying, friends leaving her when she needed them the most, people she care for getting sick, potential bankruptcy, etc then fuck, I get her reason behind using all this theme and the imagery as well. But I am going to take the benefit of the doubt and say she really chose a serious topic and things associated with it, just because something went awry again with her and some person she dated unfortunately. And what makes it even more vulgar in my opinion is it's not even like her first break up. It's much more than her first rodeo at this game yet she chose to display all of her feelings for it this time in perhaps, one of the worst ways. She is being insensitive to the ones who actually have been in mental institutions, whether by choice or not, and/or are suffering from mental illness. Again maybe she has something too, maybe not but regardless, she seems tone-deaf to the bigger picture here, similar to her using soldier terminology despite never been at war or even in service.
Many musicians have used this imagery before as we've established but it doesn't make it any more right. Several artists in comparison have been public with their mental health situations and don't even choose to use this type of imagery for themselves. They'll mention it time from time, but it's definitely not treated like a personality trait from them. It's just an aspect of them but not the whole picture. The fact she's even referring to herself as "The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department" sounds like the combination of one of the most pretentious and woe is me crock I have ever heard. We don't see Morrissey calling himself, "The Pope of Mope" (yes, the fans do but he doesn't) and I doubt we'd see Robert Smith call himself, "The King of Sad". Yet Taylor who has had what seemed like a well off childhood and many good things happen to her and never seemed to brand herself as anything less than cheery adjectives for more over a decade, it just sounds so off-putting now she's trying to play the tragic role like it's natural or genuine.
I find it important to note, one particular musician named Emilie Autumn, has been inspired by the Victorian era for her whole career and real life "tortured" writers , along with incorporating the whole asylum analogy long before Taylor, but in sheer contrast, it was documented she actually went to a psych ward in a book she published in 2009. In the book itself, she discusses what it was in both a fictional way and factual way of what she went through as well showcasing how women were treated there in present times compared with the 1800s hasn't changed that much. She wanted to write the book to empower women though and to rise above the turmoil and be stronger because of it. She was no victim here (nor trying to just use it "alt points"). She has since (and even before the book) been very open about her experiences with mental illness (she's openly bipolar and the abuse she's endured over the years, as well her songs show she's not afraid to tackle the harder subjects) and what's it really like to be in a psych ward. I feel Emilie Autumn accomplished making mental illness a subject we can understand and even relate to, without it feeling gimmicky or a cash grab until she comes up with another aesthetic. Again I'm not saying Taylor's life story has been nothing but peaches and cream though, I recognize it hasn't been. And again she isn't expected to tell us her entire medical history and every blemish she ever had, but I don't support nor think her going around at her concerts with her dancers dressed as nurses and doctors and her using mental institutions as settings when she has been so mum on the subject of mental health, whether hers or in general, is a good look especially if she's just doing it to songs about how a guy stopped pursuing her and they weren't even together for that long. It comes off disrespectful and even condescending to the ones, who really have mental conditions and we can't just shake it off with a dance number. I'm sorry she got hurt (whether she still is or was is debated), but it doesn't give her a free pass to use something as heavy as this as just an aesthetic and equally turning a blind eye when some of her fans think it's just a lighthearted thing too. I will never get over how so many are now using asylums so loosely, like "OMG this album makes me crazy, send me to an asylum next". That's fucked up to say the least. Ultimately, I just hope this phase changes fast, and hopefully, Taylor can heal from whatever she is or isn't singing about, and more people step in when an idea is just isn't a good one.

Hi,
I have been playing EU since around 2016 and one of the answers to the signature EU4 event "Comet sighted" has been confusing me ever since. English is not my native language (but I do speak it very well), so I am looking for help on this.
What does "The economy, fools!" mean in this context exactly? Does the comet look like an economy, and the "king" (or whoever the governing body of the country is) is pointing towards the comet and shout that phrase, because it is going down or something? How is the phrase pronounced exactly? Under what circumstances would saying that make sense? What is meant by it? Am I looking just looking too deep into a simple joke? Even then, it must be some form of surreal humour. I just don't understand, please help

5'7 115lb
I don't want the dr to get the wrong idea that I have an eating disorder when I don't. I was considering seeing a dr for something unrelated that i'm worried is contagious to other people.
Do any of these sound like an eating disorder without saying anything else if i'm asking about my eating habits?
Phrases:
"I maybe don't eat the best"
"I don't like to eat"
"I'm sometimes busy and forget to eat"
"i don't like to spend money on food or sometimes i am too lazy to make food"
I promise i don't have an eating disorder! I just don't want the dr to think I have one if that makes sense.

Tracking down the Xanathar Guild Outposts and the traitors of Halleth through Floor 2, this week the party had Goba, the Dwarven fighter barbarian, Archimedes, the Gnome artificer, Freyja, the half Elf paladin, and Nazar, the Goliath paladin.
Alongside them came Nanaz, Goba’s grouchy duergar uncle and manservant, and Halleth Garke, revenant adventurer currently dead in their portable hole.
DEAD EYES WATCH POST
Faced with an undead Beholder, the party at first found the Xanathar Guild Outpost to be quite tame. Archimedes shot it well with his magical gauntlets, but Nazar, Goba and Freyja have only basic ranged weapons. In turn, the two paladins protective auras prevented the vile magic from taking effect.
Up until doors slammed open, and a cohort of mobsters and orcs poured in, having heard the ruckus. The humans, led by a barbaric greataxe wielding woman, Nadia the Unbent, seemed to be in competition with garotter orcs led by a well armoured Boss Grox, with the orcs wearing symbols of an upside down tree.
Too little melee turned into too much melee very quickly. Goba heroically engaged in a barbarian duel with Nadia, Freyja battled an orc strangler, and Nazar unleashed a divine spiritual weapon upon the undead beholder. Who looked over them and unleashed a black bolt of energy directly at Archimedes. The gnome shook with deadly energy, quaking him to the very core, and was unsettled to realise he had almost been disintegrated.
It was a very close battle, swung by Goba slaying Nadia and the paladins slaying the orcs. They intimidated the human mobsters into standing down, while the Beholder was finally smited by Freyja, and Boss Grox retreated, ranting of traitorous Guildmen.
FLOOR TWO DAY TWO
Said treacherous Xanathar Guild men immediately legged it into the tunnels- the orc had another squad of orc mercs exploring nearby, and they didn’t fancy sticking around to face them all. The party was beaten and battered already so they hotfooted it back to the Goblin Bazaar, taking note of where the mobsters ran as another likely outpost.
After returning to the Rustbones Goblin Bazaar, they had the safe territory to rest up and heal up, reflecting on a wild day- on their first excursion through floor two, they’d allied with Queen Yenk, encountered Torbrand, slain the Stormskull, killed two targets of Halleth’s vengeance, defeated the Nothics, Demons, and Nadia the Unbent. Now quite bent.
Which is code for, boom, several of the party levelled up to level 7 quite early on in the floor, being Nazar and Goba who make sessions most regularly.
Over the night, Freyja dreamt of her father, an elven paladin named Jan. With him she had sworn before the shrine of Mielekee, Goddess of the Forest, to always be brave, strong, just. And she had seen him die, choked out on poison from a Green Dragon, Bullfang.
The dragon who lurks deeper down in the dungeon.
Come morning, with some encouragement from Queen Yenk, they ventured out once more.
DIPLOMACY???
They discovered Boss Grox along with another six orc mercenaries, eating breakfast with full packs back at the outpost. The orc debated if they wanted to attack him and die- or if they wanted to hire him. He and his crew were mercenaries, not truly loyal to Xanathar, up from the orcish tribe of the Hanging Tree that dwells on Floor Three.
The party elected to not fight or hire them, and poked around the rooms to find the orcs had thoroughly looted them, including of a magical dwarven hammer. But since the orcs are leaving and noone is loyal to Xanathar here, the outpost is wiped! Success! They also discovered another of Halastur’s Gateway portals here, marked with dwarven statues, grindstones, and a symbol for Floor Six.
Heading off to scout elsewhere, Halleth was revived and arose, delighted and furious that he had missed the chance to kill Rex the Hammer himself, so much so that he was bleeding from the eyes. He again croaked angrily that none had even attempted to give him funeral rites, and was hungry to search for his final target, Midna, somewhere nearby.
In the farthest north of the dungeon, they discovered a corridor trapped with dart shooters, and two Xanathar Guild Bugbear Guards. On Goba remembering a pass phrase from earlier, but saying it at the wrong time, they got a brief, stand off meeting with the outposts leader- a spider faced Drow named Shun.
Shun was impressed they’d taken down Nadia, a rival of his, and offered a simple challenge- they bring back a stone key from ratfolk stole from him, and he’ll put in a good word for them to join the guild. Otherwise, he’ll call on his men and start shooting them down a trapped corridor if they want to fight.
Another quest acquired? Maybe?
The party decided not to fight him for now, avoided some tunnels that stank of slime, and followed Halleth’s vengeance sense eastwards. There, beyond some grand old double doors, they found an oddly plush comfortable shrine with a fully laden feast table, bright magical fires illuminating the place, and a statue of Shar, Goddess of Night, Loss and Darkness.
Tending to the black-and-gold stonework was a woman clad in dark robes, smiling features and scarred flesh. Midna invited them to turn on Halleth, simply claiming that he was too troublesome to be kept alive. When they refused, Midna quietly elected to offer them to Shar, and the chamber plunged into darkness as long shadows sp

You are *not* in a country where they speak your target language. You have very minimal budget (can't afford to just fly to the country, or spend a ton on a bunch of language lessons). Your objective is to learn the language as quickly as possible.
MUST be *somewhat* realistic. For instance, there's no way someone could Anki for 12 a day straight, ro jump directly into native level content and be expected to pay attention for that long.
For me, I might say something like:
Target language: German from English.
Week 1:

1. 30 minutes -- Anki cards: Run through German to English frequency dictionary deck. Also, can do sentences / phrases / words Languages on Fire deck. JUST German to English though. Put Anki settings on 0.8 retention goal, which will allow you to study a lot more words without the reviews piling up. Be loose on what you count as correct / incorrect. Give yourself a lot of leeway. If it's "risk" but you said "danger" you can count that as correct, for instance.
   
2. 30 - 60 minutes of grammar study.
   
3. 30 minutes optional of immersive content. You won't understand any content this early, and will have to translate a lot if you want to follow, so literally whatever keeps you engaged, whether you want to translate a lot.
   
4. Take a break. Relax, chill. Exercise. Do low dopamine activities. No scrolling / video games / drugs / alcohol for the remainder of the challenge (with the exception of caffeine / stimulants).
   
5. Whenever you're ready, go through this cycle again and again for the remainder of the day.
   

The goal for week one is to get much more acquainted with the language, and to speed run the first 500 - 1000 words so you can begin to pick A1 sentences apart. Breaking up Anki reviews into many different chunks and putting a 0.8 retention should allow you to hit really high numbers in the first week.
After first week:

1. 30 - 45 minutes Anki cards. Continue on previous path, can afford to be a little bit more chill on new cards / day reviewed now, but should still seem like a *mad* number to the regular Anki user. Something like 50 or 60 new cards a day should do the trick. Do many Anki sessions throughout the day, but if they start to get annoying, stop your review session and pick it up later. You could probably accumulate ab 4 hours of anki / day this way and get through a ton of cards.
   
2. Immersion session. Do something like LingQ or Language Reactor. Ideally something where you can test your ability, learn new words, but it not be too terrible. Once you reach ~2000 words or something like this, you can afford to be a little looser on which materials you use to review, b/c you'll begin to understand a whole lot more.
   
3. Optional writing / speaking exercise. You can record yourself speaking about something, or journal about something, and optionally go through and correct your mistakes.
   
4. Rinse and repeat.
   

Throughout this process, I've forgone any explicit grammar study, but basically the idea is that any questions you have about grammar as you go along, you should just research / ask ChatGPT, and optionally make some Anki cards about them. Stay curious and encourage yourself to be wondering a lot / asking these questions, but it should come from a natural place!
Bonus would would what if you *could* go to the target country / had more financial resources.
Eager to hear what you all think!

as someone both neurodivergent and from another culture, i only recently learned of the concept of "self-pity". this is apparently a very abhorrent action that warrants disgust from all people, including therapists, maybe especially.
as a result, i think i'm coming off this way, and as a result of these biases, instead of accessing their skills and training, i only access what i guess are their worst sides: aggression, outbursts, eye-rolling, etc. as someone neurodivergent who is constantly checking what they're doing "wrong", i get really confused, bc i must've done something to warrant this and yet for the life of me i can't figure out what–– yes even after confronting them, i just get vague answers like "it's the way you say it," (in a tone as if they're extremely burdened by my phrasing), "you say it like you're the only one."
and yet i know i'm not the only one, so i get confused. i thought that was obvious? afterwards, i started preemptively padding my phrases: "i know everyone is going through this, but...", "everyone has this problem right now, and...", spelling out "i'm not saying i'm the only one", to the point that i wondered if i should outright substitute "i" with "everyone". even trauma symptoms like foreshortened future were dismissed with the fact that there are other people who also have the same issue but worse. i wondered if a problem was only valid in therapy if that issue affects only you, which is impossible.
so, instead of learning how to cope with my feelings or problems, or that there's other ways to deal with them than how i've been, i meet pointed dismissal.
for example, if i detail my experience with undiagnosed adhd (like taking hours to finish something), instead of learning possible reasons why or how, i get met with an aggressive, irritated, "well if you didn't do anything about it, then what do you expect?"
after this session i started wondering if he genuinely meant i should've taken myself to the doctor at 8 years old and asked them to consider if i have inattentive adhd. like... it's just not logical. i have many teen students with diagnosed adhd who (no judgment!!) don't do as much to work around their symptoms the way i did undiagnosed, so i know how "not doing anything about it" looks. and it's not me.
ppl in general also either become really cold and pointedly "deny" sympathy (not what i was looking for to start) or simply hand me sympathy like a pacifier, leaving me unsatisfied, infantilized, baffled, and no other perspective for the issue i opened up about which i now never want to do again. this, i recently learned, is from the assumption of "self pity". i've apparently been submitting unsolicited requests for sympathy.
i'm not sure how to phrase issues without sounding apparently disgusting and insufferable. i really just state the facts with an underlying neutral regard that i have apparently erroneously mutually expected.
to save my own self-respect and image and have access to help in therapy (instead of damage), how do i present my issues without sounding like whatever this damning "self-pitying" social concept is?

Hi Finns. My name is Leslie and I'm an American. I don't know any Suomi except for the word "kahvi" and I have a friend who wants a customized mug. We've heard that in Suomi, you say "comma fucker" instead of "grammar Nazi." So, now we both want the Finnish word or phrase for that on a coffee mug. I thought I would check with you to make sure of the spelling and that I am not wrong. Very Finnish Problems wouldn't lie to me. ;) Thank you so much for your help.

OC
In the far future, mankind is surrounded by neighbours that rule over their citizens with an iron first and no regard for their happiness, either in the name of a select few families with noble blood, absolute monarchs or tyrants that claim to serve the interests of their nations while their actions suggest otherwise.
It is a sickening thought and certain individuals would not stand for this. Many species were flabbergasted when they learned so many humans were willing to meddle in the affairs of their neighbours, even more were shocked to learn that these endeavours were not funded by any human government for the sake of destabilising potential rivals.
It was a voluntary effort.
[----------------------------------------]
If Mesch could describe the current microcycle, she’d call it tiring, soul-crushing even, she had no choice but to overwork herself to pay off her debt to the state. After the brother of her father was falsely charged with high treason and shipped off, all of her immediate family-including her-was charged the appropriate price for being the acquaintance of a dissident. The dread residing in her heart only grew stronger as she made her way back to her meager apartment-dwelling, the thought of the massive debt and the cost of living only served to wear her mind down.
“Hello miss, did you know you have rights?” Mesch’s ears perked up at the sudden barrage of noise directed at her, turning to look at the source, she found a strange, seemingly furless biped looking at her. She exhaled from her snout, as if she didn’t have anything better to do…she had recently gotten off her twelfth consecutive overtime shift and the last thing the drowsy nersk needed was a speech about- “You actually do and since I’m here, I’m willing to tell you all about it” The biped was holding plenty of pamphlets in its first appendage and a clipboard in the second. Whatever it wanted to tell her must have been important enough to stand in the same spot for an indefinite amount of time, Mesch decided to humour the strange alien, stopping in her tracks and focusing exclusively on the being in front of her.
"Enlighten me then, what rights do I have?” She came to the conclusion that the alien ignored the sarcasm in her response, seeing that it was thick enough to pierce. She had nothing to her name besides the clothes on her person and what little she had in her apartment-dwelling. The alien handed her a pamphlet, why not? She had come this far, may as well go the whole way. It was written fluently in the language of her people and the information it divulged immediately drew her attention.
-The average Nerski adult works an average of ten human hours for six human days every human week with for the same criminally low wages. This is twenty nerski mini-cycles every twelve nerski micro-cycles every nerski mega-cycle. That is humiliating, grating and unacceptable. Besides being deprived of overtime rates, the average nerski adult is robbed of their sense of safety in their own dwelling, the nerski authorities need no one’s written permission to invade and sack someone’s dwelling for evidence of a crime, perceived or not. The average nerski citizen has no say in who governs them or the measures they may enact at any given moment. The average nersk is not free. But you can be, if you ask the nearest F.F.F advocate for more information. Freedom Forever Foundation-
Something just did not sit well with her about this, was she supposed to work less? Was she supposed to be paid more for the unskilled labour she provided? Was she being taken advantage of? The intrusive thoughts did not let her already weary mind rest, for she had a myriad of questions that urgently needed answering. “I…I want to know more” Mesch did not bother masking the tone of her voice, it sounded equally tired and pleading, desperate for answers to the questions that only kept appearing with each passing second.
The face of the alien brightened by a considerable amount, quickly withdrawing something from the bag on their back. In that span of seconds that felt like a lifetime she remembered the race the odd sentient in front of her belonged to, humans. Not new to FTL technology by any means, but still treated like children in many political-and social-circles thanks to being the newest addition to the Neutral Cooperation Concord. “Glad your rights concern you…this is the information kit, spread the word” A beige folder was handed to her, it was almost as thick as her arm, the scandalous information…the pull it had on her, it was hellish! The promise of relief almost made her knees buckle under the pressure of her need to know.
“One more thing…can I have your signature? I will sooner burn the page than let it fall in the hands of nerski authorities…you have my word” She didn’t need to be pressured to sign and she did so eagerly, carefully hiding the illicit materials within her clothes with shaky hands. ‘Thank-” The human did not get to thank her in time, noticing a single file line of nerski plain clothes enforcers closing in on them, picking up speed when he started backing away. “Unfortunately this is where we part ways…now go!” The last glimpse of the human she caught was him getting swarmed by the enforcers “Liberty fears no tyrant! FREEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!” Mesch’s attempts at leading the human away had failed, tears threatened to spill out of the corners of her eyes the longer she ran yet she had no other choice. If only she could see him again…
Almost an entire megacycle latehuman month later…
Mesch was returning from work, this time she failed to evade the treacherous weather, opting to withstand it and head back home through the camped alleyways leading to that fabled square she had met the human at. She sighed, stopping for a bit and sitting down, squeezing her long ears to get what little water had gathered in there out again. That was when a familiar voice caressed her ears once more. “Hello miss, did you know you have rights?” Her head spun around a little too quicker than she liked, causing some pain to her neck but ultimately ignoring it in favour of finding the source of that blessed voice.
“Of course you do, you’re the first one!” The same human from before sat next to her, shielding her from most of the raindrops thanks to his larger size. “Also I’m now considered a political dissident and there’s an active warrant out for my detainment but that’s not the important thing here! It is this…” The same clipboard came into her view, this time filled with plenty more signatures and from the looks of things there were more pages under the one on top, all filled to the brim with signatures as well. “Whoever has it out for me sure doesn’t like it when people think on their own”
Mesch…was stunned, she had convinced herself the human would never see the light of day again and yet here he was, staring at her with that same smile, the same smile with the same, if not larger, amount of defiant spirit brewing behind it. “How did you?...”
"I am a vessel for liberty, as long as it exists somewhere, I will not be stopped” The human stood up and offered her his hand, she accepted it and after getting pulled up on her feet he showed her another pamphlet, this time it talked about a protest right outside the presidential palace, it was suicidal to say the least…which was why Mesch thought she had finally flown off the handle when she accepted without second-guessing herself.
“So…there are more like me?” Hope filled her heart, it was good, way too good to be true. “Not just more…way, wayyy more! Now come, I will get us there with the Liberty mobile!” She soon found herself strapped inside a vehicle of signature human design, heading straight to the presidential palace, her stomach flipping at the mere sight of the crowd gathered at the meeting point. Chanting slogans, phrases, speeches that at any other point in time she would have rejected as crazy and meant to destabilise the nation her people had built over many lifetimes. They got out and marched with the rest of the assembled nersk until they hit a chokepoint, lines upon lines of enforcers ready to meet them halfway , they were not scared or intimidated, they were ready.
Before long, either due to their own initiative or an order from a higher up, the enforcers were set loose on the crowd. Bashing, bruisng and shooting with electrically-charged pellets, trying their damnest to scare the crowd away. Mesch was scared but she would not flee, for the life she lived before this grand event was nothing more than celebrated slavery. Enforcers descended on her and the human, she was badly beaten but before any serious harm could befall her the human shielded her and proceeded to drive back the enforcers hellbent on killing her without even fighting back , the only weapon in his name was his own body and he did not use it as a weapon, only a a shield.
A few moments before she fainted from the overwhelming pain, she could hear the battle cry she had heard only once before and a sense of comfort, a painful but satisfying end to her life of misery.
This would have been the case if she hadn’t woken an indeterminate amount of time later in a hospital, with none other than the same human sitting besides her, watching her. “Slept well? You deserve it after all these bruises” It was painful to move and for the second time, she ignored it. Twisting just enough to be able to hug the human. “Thank you for everything” The human hugged her back, comforting her with the warmth only his words had provided so far. “You shouldn’t thank me, I was doing my moral duty…there is someone else you should be embracing right now” Behind the human stood another nersk, it was uncle Vinow, the same uncle that had gotten dragged off by the secret police. Tears of happiness overwhelmed her and she soon hugged both of them.
“Some sympathetic soul leaked the coordinates to several blacksites holding political prisoners and from the looks of things this isn’t the last act of defiance we’re going to be hearing about, while you were unconscious I was ferrying as many prisoners back and forth to the capital….Congratulations Mersch, your people have embraced freedom. Enjoy it, your blood, sweat and tears have finally paid off”
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[My HFY-themed discord server](http:// https://discord.gg/KQeBuv88EB)

Rewatching the film "jumper" now after several years (I think 7 years later) the last time I saw it was on TV at night with my mother, I have a Mandela effect, when I watched it on TV the beginning of the film was totally different, It started with Samuel Jackson (who is the film's villain), hunting a jumper in the forest, when I watched it today there was this scene, but it's not at the beginning, and it's much later and very different, and what I remembered when I watched it a long time ago on Open TV, this jumper who was being hunted, was in the forest sleeping in the house of a local native, and in the bed he was in there was even a musketeer (like a net that doesn't let mosquitoes get to you), so he hears a noise and starts to run away, but it doesn't take long for him to be caught by the paladins, then Samuel Jackson says the same phrase that is in the film "only God can be everywhere at the same time" and finishes the jumper, who was caught by several electrical wires, similar to what happens in the film. After that, the scene cuts to what is the beginning of the film, but without that narrated part, just David talking to the girl and then falling into the stream and getting the powers. I wanted to know if anyone also remembers seeing this film in the past, and the scenes I wrote are the same ones I remember. I searched, but I didn't find anything similar to what I remember, I haven't read the book yet, but I'll read it to see if there's anything different from the film and similar to what I remember.

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could provide insight on my situation.
My ex boyfriend and I (26,23) have been together for 2,5 years. We both agreed that the connection was very special from the beginning, I think I could say he was my first "real" love. During this time we had two long-distance periods of 5 months due to me studying abroad. The first one was planned, went just fine and everything was right back after. The second one wasn't planned, but he encouraged me to take the opportunity. It was rough as we were in different time zones, but when I came back everything "clicked" for me again.
Two months after I got back he broke up with me out of the blue, saying that he just doesn't love me anymore and had been feeling that way for a few months already. I understand that our relationship has gotten a bit "stale" due to me being busy studying, but I genuinely felt fulfilled and happy and he never indicated any problems. He said he still wants us to be "best friends" and agreed to go to relationship counseling on "neutral grounds". A week after the breakup he said he was going on a date. I was naturally upset and said I'm still going to get counseling, alone or with him. A day before our first session he came over, said he canceled the date and went with me. For about a month it was going well, then he suddenly said he wanted to date the other girl because he's in love with her and not with me. That was a week ago. They're not even together yet and she's already the wallpaper of his phone, saved as "my eternal love", all the works lol, I suspect it was like that the whole time, although he swears he didn't cheat. It's all so gross, she's like the polar opposite of me, he says "her personality fits him better" and "they share more hobbies and do more stuff". It feels like he's improving his life, stopped smoking, started going to the gym, and replacing me feels like he's just getting another "upgrade".
Obviously I'm heartbroken. I feel like I have made too many mistakes to hope for reconciliation, I should have gone NC from the beginning. It's also very confusing for me, the day after he told me he wanted to be with someone else he came over, cuddled with me all night and then we impulsively slept together in the morning. He's begging me not to move away, texts me about random stuff/updates every day, and claims he still wants to "do stuff" together. That all makes me feel like he's just in a rebound, but it might just be wishful thinking. I'm still seeing a counselor myself, this has been actually traumatic for me. I have already made the decision to go NC this week, just thinking about how to phrase it, wondering who should reach out first, etc.
This is all so convoluted. I'll be thankful for any supportive words :)

This thread is devoted to putting these assholes on blast for being a fraud and being traitors and exposing their treasonous behavior towards our great nation. There is no Morroccon Empire but there is a Moronic Empire and the peeps in it wear red fez hats. The following are rebuttals to their catch phrases and sayings and slogans. Expose these treasonous scumbags!

For context, part 1 is here. Thanks to everyone who provided their insight! I followed your advice and stopped responding in email.
And it happened again…
Got a call Friday from the home care admin which I didn’t answer as I’m busy with household chores. I am also scheduled to call my family that noon and go to town to buy provisions. Needless to say, it was a busy day.
Got the call around 11am and it was followed by an email which I read because I’m also waiting for an email that is personal to me. Their email states “please come to name of workplace NOW it is urgent and you need to take the training”.
1) training wasn’t scheduled ahead of time. 2) the now means all of the things Im planned to do with my 1-day off will be set aside.
So nope. I ignored it.
Then today a staff meeting was done and I was highlighted for (1) not answering my phone (2) for having to be emailed.
So I said that I keep my phone in silent all the time, which is really the truth. manager said I have “duty of care” and should always be available to answer calls from workplace. I responded and said that I’m fine to go to a training but they cannot expect me to be available last minute.
Anyway, what is this duty of care and how can I best answer when this phrase is brought up in this situation?
I hate that this even happened and I blocked my workplace’ phone number now out of frustration. It is easy to be on airplane mode at home since there is wifi (in case they use a different number to call me) but outside, I have no choice but use the cellular network which gives them opportunity to call me with whatever mobile number they want to use.

I first heard this song at a Goth club in 2004, but the song might be originally from the early 2000s or maybe even from the 1990s. It's by a male singer, and he says the phrase "I am lost forever" in the chorus. The music itself has a keyboard type of sound. It sounded VERY SIMILAR to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlLo9z8B-Do
The song I'm looking for is NOT any of the following songs:
Angels & Agony - Lost
Angels & Agony - Forever
BlutEngel - Forever
Bruderschaft - Forever
Pulcher Femina - Lost Forever
Paradise Lost - Eternal

Most meetings should be an email:
Their “all hands on deck” meetings are early in the morning, even though the first three hours of your workday are your most precious and productive and should be reserved for the most important tasks where focus, attention, high cognitive function, willpower is needed, according to research. Willpower or mental energy regulates your thoughts, emotions, impulses, and performance control.
Top management has recurring meetings but it seems like the topic was determined 5 min beforehand because the meetings are often all over the place, with no clear agenda, and random topics. Often, they feel like a parent lecturing their teenager.
Meetings are mandatory. Most employees do not really have to be there. The meetings do not affect the actual day to day job functions. The main purpose for these meetings seems to be for unity (or the appearance of). They are often not productive. Not useful and not engaging for most employees. Not worth spending company time. Not used for coaching or mentoring. Not used for making decisions. They are not about a complex issue that needs to be talked through ideas and solutions. In actuality, 98% of the meetings should really just be emails. There are three regular weekly meetings: about 80-90% of them include testimonies or personal stories and about 10-20% is someone sharing statistics (about the products they produce) or status updates or the behind the scenes (how the "hotdogs" are made). One out of about four meetings involve a recount of the ministry's history. If one did not attend the meetings, nothing would change. There really would not be any consequences that would affect doing your job.
Finally, Managers or employees who have traveled internationally are the only ones that get to speak and address the entire ministry. Everyone else doesn't get a voice.
Testimonies or personal stories:
Stories and testimonies as a form of encouragement and motivation are not bad or not useful; however, there are other areas in the work culture that are lacking that destroy any built up motivation. Employees are expected to have some kind of emotional response to them. Over the months and years, stories and testimonies become overused. In fact, you will hear so many testimonies that, over time, they will blurr and you will probably become desensitized to them. Stories and testimonies are probably seen as a way of providing support to employees but other supports are also lacking and needed (e.g., better leadership, empowerment, resources, tools, better communication, regular check ins, accountability, empathy, feedback, personal and professional development). Stories, anecdotes, and testimonies seem to be used to deflect from some of the problems in the ministry culture.
Top management pressures employees to feel a certain way. They want them to always feel encouraged and motivated by everything and anything the ministry does:
If you replace "encourage" with Love" and then talk to your wife....
“I took out the trash, that should make you feel loved. I mowed the lawn, that should make you feel loved. I picked up my laundry, that should make you feel loved. I went exercised today, that should make you feel loved. i helped an old lady cross the street.”
This makes it all about YOU, not how your wife actually feels! in fact, you are manipulating her to feel a certain way by what you did!
"If you are not feeling loved by all these things I did, then something is wrong with YOU.”
So management tells employees how they should be feeling about things. Performance is often not rewarded. Many employees do not know how much management cares about them as a person. What would be really encouraging is if management gave employees confidence, listed better, spoke to their needs, and empowered them.
Meetings - introverts vs extroverts:
Meetings are not set up to accommodate the basic differences between introverts and extroverts (e.g., how they best think, work, process information, communicate, learn; introverts typically dislike noise and big group settings) nor of how people need to manage their energy (ultradian rhythms). Management does not use information about individual team members’ personalities and predilections to formulate norms and dynamics that are respectful to everyone. Research indicates that in a typical six-person meeting, two people do more than 60% of the talking. In bigger groups, like the 100+ group at FCBH, the problem is worse. Management allows a certain dominant personality to do all the talking. They are not coached to listen, reflect, and become more open to the perspectives of their more silent peers. Top management does not send the meeting agenda in advance and ask for written feedback to give introverts time to formulate thoughts and summon the courage to share them.
Management’s definition of a “successful” meeting is different from that of other organizations. Top management does not appear to have any training in meeting science. Most meetings do not provide value to all attendees. They are not set up for employees to contribute and add value to them. Also, no opportunities to give feedback on meeting quality when meetings end.
A “Christian” version of CRT:
The opinions and perspectives of international employees are valued over local/american employees. Employees who are international (and especially those who live in persecuted areas) are often prioritized and favored. Their voice, their input, is often considered more important because top management pressures them to share and speak.
If there is a need, entire ministry is notified to pray if the need is from internationals but not if the need is local.
Personal convictions. Money:
Top management tends to have some childhood trauma, that is the root cause of their strong personal convictions, that often comes out during their mandatory meetings. These “preaching” moments usually have to do with money. They grew up poor or had strict parents or been around groups, ministries, and churches that abused money and now they get triggered or feel guilty when they see new things and resist replacing things like whiteboards and chairs: "if we already have something, we don't need to replace it = if it ain't broke, don't fix/replace it. wear your shoes out until your soles poke through the bottom before buying new ones." They seem to get triggered when employees ask them for upgrades/replacements” “if it can still 'technically' work, then it's fine.”
Compromises:
In order to fulfill their deadlines and to keep up appearances with ministry partners and donors, management will often “let things go”. Things such as quality of the recordings or training issues with internationals. They are willing to sacrifice quality control to get the results their supporters want to see.
Employee well-being:
Top management often makes assumptions about the well-being and contentment of employees.
They do not invest time and effort in comprehending genuine emotions and needs to create a supportive and harmonious work environment.
No consideration for managing energy or attention. No discussions on employees’ health and wellness goals. Instead, employees are expected to focus, to look at computer screens for extended periods of time (an 8 hrs shift includes two short breaks) even though editing and processing audio and video requires high mental energy and prolonged focus. Management often ignores telltale singles of burnout and fatigue. No effort is made to increase energy, reduce fatigue, and improve job performance. So, consistency, accuracy, and quality of recordings are affected as well as employees’ well-being.
Moveover, no paid maternity or even work from home options for new parents. Many new moms have left. New parents must be use PTO if they want time with their new baby.
The end result? Low moral, isolation, aloneness. Many employees are overworked and underappreciated. Many are not satisfied with their position. Most work until they burn out. Someone said this and it's true: for every employee that leaves, they have to hire at least two people to replace them. Sure, there are some long-term or for life employees who have been around for 10+ years. Unfortunately, most of these employees have outdated skills and would have a difficult time finding work (there is no continuing education or certifications offered) if they wanted to leave (or were let go). In addition, many of the skills employees learn on the job are non-transferrable. So, many choose to stay and remain loyal to the ministry because the cost of leaving is just too high.
No windows; no natural light:
Most of the building has no windows. Something to note if you struggle with depression.
People are different:
Management seems to lack an understanding of how people are wired, how each person is different, what drives their behavior and what they’re capable of doing with their skills. Not much consideration for each person’s individual goals, strengths, and weaknesses. Management does not create situations that encourage employees to motivate themselves.
So, work areas do not reflect the needs of Gen Z and millennials, the basic differences between introverts and extroverts (e.g., how they think, work, process information, communicate, learn), how personality impacts work preferences and styles. No awareness of how people need to manage their energy (ultradian rhythms). They do not allow people to work the way they want to; extroverts should feel comfortable taking time to socialize, while introverts should have license to work remotely or take breaks from the team.
Top management does not recognize that individuals may not always express their inner concerns or desires openly. They don’t sculpt jobs to enhance individual engagement: they don’t seek to understand the unique motivations of employees or develop each employee’s career. No incentives or rewards are provided. Not much authentic appreciation is shown. Employees have value as people (not just as producers), and management needs to communicate in ways that are meaningful to the recipient (as opposed to just going through the motions). Management must adopt business practices that help employees have a personal life.”
Work family:
Despite current best business practices, management will continually use the phrase “work family”.
All about the numbers:
There is more focus on production than the core values of the ministry. Top management almost idolizes how many bibles are produced. There is a focus on goals and numbers which often comes off as self-righteous and self-promoting and self-important: Numbers of bibles produced, numbers of people who receive those bibles, numbers of testimonies from those that get the bibles. Focus seems to be on the products FCBH produces over the people reached. Focus is on getting bibles to people. Focus is not on discipleship or teaching people how to correctly interpret the Bible they receive so they can become more like Jesus. Top management seems to be more focused on what they have done well rather than on what others have done well. And they often take credit for accomplishments that should be credited to God.
Theology at work:
Management does not want discussions to get “too theological”, they want to keep it “practical”, as though good practice did not require careful thought to direct it. They discourage employees from discussing theology because they want to keep “unity” and avoid division among Christians, however, they will present their own theological positions and convictions but not allow other employees to question or share their own views and opinions especially on controversial topics (e.g., spiritual gifts, hearing from God, fasting, finances, stewardship, prophesy, replacement theology).
Favoritism:
Major donors to the ministry are singled out to entire staff and praised. The poor widow with two coins wouldn't get any mention. This makes it seem that the ministry only really cares about the major donors. All donors should be anonymous to employees that are not directly working with the donors.
Employees who are pastors are also favored:
They are often asked to pray or give a word in meetings as if their prayers and words are above employees who are not pastors. As if God will take extra time and attention to hear from them and answer their prayers.
Inconsistencies:
Some “special” employees are allowed to work remotely for some unknown reason. Most employees requesting to WFH are denied. This is never explained and so it creates division, confusion, and envy.
Birthday, thanksgiving, and Christmas parties vary drastically by department: some departments work half day and get together off site to celebrate; some work full day and have no party; some work full day and have a 30min party onsite (during work hours?); some have food only, some have food and games, some have everyone bring in food but some have the ministry? provide the food; some have gift exchange and some don’t….
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Conclusion:
Some people might say this is all superficial and selfish, all that really matters is getting bibles to people. You be the judge. Many have chosen to ignore these issues and remain loyal to the ministry; some stay and think things will get better; others stay because they have nowhere else to go; some mentally check out; some have spoken out and been labeled as “causing disunity” and then let go, and many others have chosen to leave. Unfortunately, the people most sensitive to a decrease in the quality of the culture are typically those with the most resources, skills, and talents that could be used to effectuate improvement. The people who are the least sensitive to quality usually have fewer resources, skills, and talents.

It's not a bad thought, it is something I've been thinking about for quite some time but is always just a thought at the moment
I should clarify first that I am a 32 year old cis het gal (new to this phrasing so I'm not sure how that was suppose to be typed)
I am in general someone who recognizes beauty in people, even if I wouldn't find myself attracted to them, I can say they're genuinely beautiful or pretty, and it doesn't apply to just men. I do this as well for women and those who identify beyond the 2 genders as well.
I like men, I know I do. Granted I'm not lucky at all in the dating aspect as I'm considered ugly as hell (according to Florida people) so I've chosen to put a pause until I can move and get more confidence.
The women is the interesting part.
I say that there are women that would be so gorgeous I would say "I'm straight, but if she wanted to sit on my face I would say yes ma'am you deserve the world". There are women that are physically, spiritually, emotionally, characteristically beautiful I genuinely get giddy and nervous.
How my friend brought this up? My friend (32 year old Cis gay man, love him) was playing Hades 2 and I fawned over Hecate's character design. Subtle and stunning, you could see the strength yet caring aspect of her overall. He was a little drunk at the time too. So he asked "So like are you maybe bi?" And I was like "no idea I might be".
That's pretty much it really. It was a pleasant conversation, but it is something that's appeared in my mind.
I'm not entirely sure how one goes about exploring this to see if it's true or not. Not sure how I would approach this.
Tips in how I could? How did you guys figure this out?

It's really not going to look like anything special tbh. The Vocab cards would just be the Spanish word on the front then, answer on the back with an example sentence and a contextualizing image or clip on the back... if relevant.
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But I wasted alot of time curating a personalized example sentence for (almost) every single vocab word I discover. Key word is discover imo.
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Right now my example sentences contain a simple concept I already comprehend, atleast within the context of that sentence, for the word that I am learning to be applied to. Like my lunes card is ´´lunes es antes martes´´. As I create the vocab cards I try to keep main vocab word part as the primary focus in usage and less that of the sentence itself for the sake of simplicity which means that the vocab card usually ends up as the first word of the sentence unless I personally see no reason actually care. Like another card I have that was luckily easy to make for desde is ´´el imperio de mongol duró desde a 1206 a 1368''. Every example I create is with words I already know or do not feel a remote need to understand - to understand the sentence. but IDK. Also I'm more concerned with audio than I am with imagery though. But If I could make the back into a really simple clip and very quickly that would be nice, but I dont care about imagery too much as most of it is going to end up in immersion anyways. Sound matters for me though. Sound is really so i can read something out loud before I hear what it sounds like, which helps me make comparisons and judge myself while I flag cards to make filtered decks out of later. And of course, for words that I already knew before starting studying I do not even consider making vocab cards out of as it will be fluff. completely random words like mañana or lanzar are weirdly glued to my head specifically because I have a specific memory with them. like for lanzar I watched a little game trailer and a text prompt showed up saying ''lanzar roca'' for this fucking kid to just launch a whole ass rock at a dude across a bridge. which is goofy as fuck. the game was called pedros adventures btw.
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Also on the back of one of my vocab cards for the word 4th... I literally just put ''cuarto y cuarto'' fucking 10 times. because if you say cuarto 10x fast, it sounds like Squidward in Japanese which is fucking HILARIOUS.
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But if I could imagine imagery in a specific way it would really just be for nouns and numbers... and anything that has a very concrete meaning with just an image. like for example, you could have a game where an image flashes on the screen and you need to translate that image in your head or if you want by typing it or speaking it out loud. And you get feedback for elements of the image relayed... but I haven't spent much time thinking about that kind of thing cos its not on any to do list, but it would be pretty cool.
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its quite easy to curate examples as I'm watching these dreaming Spanish videos which is why id like to make some kind of sentence cards out of the clips. this is really because there is like a mix in my head between a sentence card and an example sentence on the back of a vocab card. Vocab cards are really the gateway for sentence cards imo. For any vocab card that has multiple definitions I need only create 1 vocab card for its primary use, and create sentence cards for its primary use and its different usages as I discover them through immersion. I can work out the nuance as I watch, read and write. and then as i immerse and gain enough vocabulary i will eventually bury more and more vocab cards and instead replace them with sentence cards. But of course, still using both in a balance.
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And ideally, all of this comes from something I highly associate with in my head. As in English; for any single word and phrase and etc., I have in my subconscious a lil smth-smth associated with that word in so many ways that I do not even realize. But I do not care to understand the little neural networks, just as I do not care to actually develop some stupid ass grammatical understanding before I even begin speaking or listening. but only to just create a 24 7 immersive study environment conducive to an almost gamified consumption that gradually improves my abilities over time. Right now it feels like i'm just trying to make a build, and I cant even start grinding the way I want to. I have tidbits here and there but I haven't worked it out entirely.
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And I do apologize if I seemed like there was friction between me and watching the dreaming Spanish videos when you had brought it up. it was just that as of now; everything I've been doing is just thinking of how to make this situation fairly seamless without needing any weird in-between steps just to do a single repetitive task. Like tagging and flagging cards is something you dont want to do manually, you want to do it with a key stroke or command. Books are easy to get, and I will be consuming the dreaming spanish videos now that I'm feeling how helpful they are compared to what I was doing before... Spanish dubs... alot of scrolling in tiktok... ALSO that one Spanish youtuber for chess called rey engima. He's like gotham chess but for Spanish which i absolutely love because I love chess and I needed a spanish way to consume it. Ive made alot of Spanish accounts for things and translated alot of UI into spanish. and I also downloaded urban VPN but i think that part was unnecessary asf.
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But really the annoying thing was how to approach anki. also, that 4 hour video I linked is really just an oversimplified text book to just get a general idea of a concept. Which is all I care about. Things like grammar are terribly taught in classrooms and that video just goes about it in a way I really like, atleast compared to every other explanation ive seen. I planned to just do just 30 minutes per day on that video as I focused on other things. but I got caught up with other random shit and then I kind of just set that video to the side... which is why i only watched 20 minutes of it.
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I am a really slow thinker, and things get to expedited when I get a foundation.
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In regards to what I mean when I said 'gamified element'. I don't mean to say things like grind and such like this is some MMORPG. I mean gamified in the sense that I get some kind of gamified feedback or feeling in a dopamine inducing form that encourages me to do really weird things to lock in that I dont anyone actually does. Like if im at the microwave and the numbers are going down, im literally saying those numbers in Spanish as they go down because in the end the main goal is to entirely quit using English as a crutch for the language and reach a point where you need only convert your conceptualizations into language and vice versa i.e., other Spanish speakers. But gamified elements provide for me an extremely significant way for me to engage with the language that I also really enjoy... cos im a weirdo. Being able to see how long I've spent on each card and other visual inputs about the outputs of my efforts are also cool, especially if displayed in a consumable manner to increase my receptivity.
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Anyways, hopefully I could at least give you an idea of what's going on in my head and what my goals are. This process has been poopoo stinky, and my brain is very poo poo stinky.

I mean, what are the sources about his life, his speeches, and his actions? For example, in Islam, besides the Quran, Muslims traditionally consider the Hadith, which are the sayings of their prophet, and they are collected (for Sunnis) in 6 books (the most famous being Sahih Al Bukhari, it is the oldest and contains the most well-known phrases and opinions of Muhammad).
What about Joseph Smith? Of him, I have only read the testimony present in the Book of Mormon and what he wrote in the Pearl of Great Price, but I don't know more. For example, I know that one of his famous sermons is the "King Follett Discourse," which I can easily find online, but where can I find the rest? I would love to know him better

I (29F NT) am extremely neurotypical and emotionally/mentally/financially stable. I’ve been struggling with my fiancé (31M dx rx) for a long time, and could really use some tailored words of wisdom. Lurking this subreddit/community has been so incredibly validating and helpful as I navigate this overwhelming journey… 2 years into our relationship and I feel like I’m at my breaking point. I doubt whether he’s capable of changing fast enough, I’m not sure I want this for my life anymore. Things will only get harder as we age and kids are thrown in the mix…
The past year has been soul-crushing, I’m a shell of the person I used to be. I’ve self-isolated from friends, had depressive episodes (never had that before), gained an excessive amount of weight, am frequently paranoid and anxious (never had anxiety before). I just never have long-lasting peace, it has destroyed my mental health. Before all this, I was eager to get engaged/married while he was nervous and wanted to take it slow. Now things have flip-flopped: he proposed far earlier than I thought he would, and I’m hitting the breaks uncertain of our future when I’m supposed to be planning a wedding (I refuse to until I see long-term/consistent improvement from him).
I can say that thankfully, my fiancé is not on the extreme end of ADHD. He doesn’t struggle holding a job, he isn’t a slob, he doesn’t shut down sexually, etc. He was diagnosed with ADD (so inattentive ADHD) when he was 18, and has been taking Adderall since. He does not take as much as he is prescribed, which I’ve questioned and he brushed off. We have gotten into heated, and ridiculous, arguments since early-on in our relationship.
Fall last year I unintentionally stumbled upon the emotional dysregulation aspect of ADHD. I was watching reels on Facebook, and in one a woman started by saying “If your partner has ADHD, watch this.” I continued watching, and 5-10 seconds later she mentioned in passing how they have problems with emotional regulation. I was immediately floored and replayed the video to make sure I heard it correctly. I Googled it and, low and behold: there was article after article about this. I read bullet point after bullet point of the manifestations of ADHD, and I couldn’t believe how it described exactly what I had been dealing with for nearly a year and a half.
My entire life I thought ADHD just meant someone had more difficulty focusing or they were hyperactive. This is what most of [uninformed] society thinks, and also what my fiancé himself thought. Over a 12+ year period since being diagnosed, not a single doctor or psychiatrist ever once mentioned the emotional dysregulation aspect of ADHD to my fiancé. He had no idea! Previously, I had chalked up our problems to political differences and that for his entire 20s he was always around (and dated) people very different from me. So I thought he just had trouble adjusting away from judgmental worldviews he had adopted while being surrounded by like-minded people for so long.
The discovery of emotional dysregulation and RSD was ground-breaking for us. He had been starting to think I was the problem since he “didn’t have these problems in my previous relationships.” Well that’s because he always dated less-mentally-stable people (his most recent girlfriend was diagnosed bipolar), so by comparison he was always the more stable one in the relationship and the magnifying glass was pointed away from him. Making the link between our problems and his ADHD made it tangible in a way that he could understand, which provided a foundation for his growth and improvements to begin (alongside therapy). But it’s very difficult for a 30+ year old man with a brain disorder to unlearn bad habits he was fully unaware of & learn how to retrain his brain to process information in a healthy way…
My fiancé has externalized RSD - he becomes highly reactive and verbally aggressive. He is hypersensitive, his brain distorts reality and interprets innocuous questions/statements like “did you put water in the soap dispenser” or “that’s a lot of cereal” as personal attacks. He also has a very big problem not respecting certain differences in opinion we have, or not respecting my choice to not eat/do certain things - he will push and push and push and push, will not stop pushing even after I calmly & nicely asked him to stop dozens of times after dozens of arguments, will not stop even after I’m sobbing begging him to please stop with tears streaming down my face. What are these explosive arguments about? The most mundane, inconsequential things. I wish this was made-up: HOV lanes, me not wanting to eat salad, me not wanting to eat warm guac, me not wanting to eat mustard, me not wanting to try Adderall or coke, me having a different view/opinion on how we should heat up a frozen pizza, me not wanting to eat mushrooms because they make me sick, etc etc.
Every single time we have an explosive argument, he pushes and pushes and pushes. When I reiterate, for the 100th time, that I have autonomy over my own body and don’t need to do anything I don’t want to do, he tries to manipulate me by flipping the script and parroting words/phrases I’ve used in previous discussions (like saying I’m being “disrespectful” and “dismissive” of his feelings/opinions because I won’t do what he wants me to do). Only once he calms down does he realize how badly he effed-up, profusely apologizes, and promises to never do it again and that he’s capable of being better… But then he just does it again and again and again and again and again and AGAIN.
He tries to play the victim and come off as reasonable by saying that he’s just “trying to understand” me by asking questions. I told him that is a cop-out because after I’ve explained how I feel, he ignores it since it doesn’t make sense to him & doesn’t line up with what he thinks/believes, and instead he continues pushing/pressuring me.
More recently he also claims that he isn’t trying to pressure me to do anything TO MYSELF, he’s just sharing his own experiences and thoughts with me so I can understand him better. When you repetitively “share your experiences/thoughts” on XYZ after I made it clear dozens of times that I don’t want to do XYZ and to please stop pressuring me to, even if you don’t explicitly state “You should try XYZ,” you are still INDIRECTLY pushing/pressuring me.
I. am. SO TIRED. Resentment has been growing, I’m paranoid and anxious, I don’t trust him (because he has repeatedly lied to me), his substance use (alcohol and weed) has become less and less attractive. He claimed a long time ago that I’m obsessed with being right, but he’s just projecting - he’s the one obsessed with “being right.” While he loves how I do all the paperwork-related “adult” part of life, he gets really annoyed that I’m almost always ‘right’ about things while he is not - so he takes it out on me.
Things have gotten to the point of reactive abuse, which I warned him about a few months into our relationship (at the time I didn’t know the term, just the concept). I’m having such a hard time making my mind up on where to go from here. When things are good, they are so good. He is a genuine person and a good man, we have SO much love for each other. We share many laughs and have built a life together. But… his brain is plagued with a disorder (that he was not fully informed on & did not begin attempting to manage until 6 months ago) that breaks me down.
While he has improved since the ADHD link was discovered and he started therapy, he continues slipping up and defaulting back to his regular BS. I don’t think I can take it anymore. I don’t want to waste more years of my life, or end up trapped in a marriage because of kids… I’m afraid that’s what it will come to, and I’ll be forever mad at myself for sticking around despite the red flags and what I knew about his condition.
BUT… What if it’s possible for him to improve and stop hurting me? Maybe he needs different medication? Maybe there are other communication approaches we can try? Maybe there’s a better kind of ADHD-specific therapy out there (I don’t think his/our current therapist is helping much)?
I know that he has a long way to go, and that I need to focus on healing. What are methods that have worked for you? Is there a better way I can go about looking for a therapist that specializes in adult ADHD & who truly understands it and can help? My fiancé acknowledges and understands that he has a problem, I can see that he is genuinely trying to improve - he wants to be a better person for himself and also be the partner I deserve. He is struggling to make it happen, he wants it SO badly - he doesn’t want to lose me or the life we have together. I just don’t know how much more of this I can take… Please, any advice & support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

I don’t mind if people don’t like AI. Everyone has their opinions. It just bugs me when they spew and spread out the clearly wrong information.
Then classic Reddit hive mind just downvotes anyone who dared to correct them.
I hate when people are against something yet didn’t ever bother to learn or read about it at all. Like. If you are gonna hate something, at least do it properly. Hate it due to actual info and not something you think you know. Then say to those who do know they are wrong.
Just had a conversation where someone said I “clearly” didn’t know what I was talking about. As if I didn’t spend 2 years studying this.
Can someone tell me, how do AI image generators work?
Cause all I’ve seen from anti ai people is them saying “oh. It takes images then cuts them apart and puts them together.” Which I know isn’t true at all. Yet I get people hating on me for saying it.
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(Also can someone come and define “machine learning”?
Cause someone anti ai told me that “it’s not called machine learning cause it learns like a human. That’s moronic.” Cause. Pretty sure it does.)
(Also. Am I wrong? Cause I said in response to that:
“Tell me this. How does a human learn? Through failure and adapting. Through recognition of patterns and links.
That’s what “machine learning” is. A system of machines that can learn from data and unseen data. The more it experiences, the more it adapts and learns. Through trial and error.
Thus. Producing predictions and results using data given. And adapting to unseen data. Random events. Etc. It is a system in ai, specifically designed to learn from data it is given. Growing better with every change, every test, every new piece of info that is given.
It uses algorithm and to recognize patterns and links in data. Then it makes a predication/result based upon these. In this case, links to phrases in the prompts given, to examples it already was given prior. Which it then stored to use again.
Like us. Humans recognize patterns. We make connections. It’s how we learn. How did you learn to read English? Someone came and correlated to you, words to what you saw. Then you as a human, began to do this on your own. It’s how we learn other languages, linking different words, ones we know, and ones that mean the same thing in another language. Or in the case of art. We, see pictures of art, we see how they are made, see these connections and patterns then do it ourselves. (How do you know you are seeing a device when you replied to me? Someone once told you, or you saw someone say, “this is a device for communication” or anything of a similar meaning.)
Main difference is. Humans become self dependent on learning. We learn on our own. An AI, is fed information to learn from, by us. Albeit. Ai Mainly, (currently) through text and visual imprints.
Machine learning also comes in many forms. Learning differently like us. Supervision. We tell it the patterns. Semi supervised, we tell it then leave it be to recognize the pattern, unsupervised, where it will need to learn to recognize patterns it’s own.
Like a human. Some need supervision at the beginning to see the patterns and link stuff. Some, need less support. And some don’t.
We humans do this. We take in information through our sense and act accordingly after recognizing how others do so. Then making a decision from it.
Take a kid. They did something wrong, but they through it was right from learning from others. Eg. They see their parents make something or use tools, etc. but they have not learnt the dangers. As such, they mimic the behavior based on what they know. When they do it wrong, their parents tell them It’s wrong, then if they do it again, they take into account what the parent said. (Mostly. AIs are more restrictive than that. But that’s the gist.) ——“
Is this very wrong? Cause that’s what I learned over the last 2 years of me studying this. But I want to be sure. (I checked Google too. And it seems right. But wanted to check here too.)