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A couple years ago I woke up in the middle of the night and shared this extremely vivid dream on actingclass. I’m glad I did, or I would have forgotten all about it. I think it’s time to share it again and remind some of you who might have seen it. Here it is. It’s a wild one!
I was working in the Amazon forest with people who were born, first, as tiny little flies, but quickly turned into human beings. But their life cycle was extremely short, and they were aging at an incredibly accelerated speed. And I was there because many of them wanted to learn acting before they died. So I was trying to teach them. Some at their bed side as they turned into very old people. But they still wanted to learn, working until they took their last breath.
One gray old man was about to die and I could see his spirit start to leave his body. I felt so bad that he hadn’t achieved what he hoped. But just as I thought he was gone for good, his spirit returned to him and he opened his eyes and ask me to tell him more.
I don’t know why these people wanted to act. They wouldn’t live long enough to have careers. But it was what they wanted, even on their deathbed, so I was there with them until they couldn’t hang on any longer.
It’s not so hard to interpret this dream. It’s kind of the way I feel now, knowing there are so many of you out there, ignoring what your heart has been telling you for years. If you are 20 years old, 70 seems a long ways away. But I am looking back from 69, and it seems like yesterday I was 20. We do all have a limited time on this earth. If we were more aware of it, we wouldn’t waste the precious time we have. And I think we are all born with our dreams and inclinations planted within us that need to be fulfilled. It may not make sense, but that desire is there and it will never go away. You already know—it hasn’t gone away yet.
If acting is your deepest desire, I do want to help you achieve it in your lifetime. I don’t want you to run out of time. You are blessed with a long life so you CAN achieve so much. But it is only a blink of an eye in reality. You can’t take it for granted. It will be over before you know it. At 69 years old, my desire is to help everyone to be able to fulfill their dreams. That is my passion. I know I don’t have forever to do it. So take advantage of this opportunity while you can—me wanting to help you. In fact, treasure every moment of your life and use your time to do what brings you joy and fulfillment.
What do you really mean when you say “I don’t have time? Plain and simple it’s that you haven’t made acting one of your priorities. If something is important to you, you will find a way to fit it into your schedule. You know, even as busy as you are, you waste time on things that don’t help you to move forward. Think about it! And try some of these alternatives:
1. Wake up Earlier! Set your alarm 15-30 minutes earlier. Read one of my WRITTEN LESSONS. Read them in order. Or watch one of my VIDEO LESSONS and work your way up from the bottom to the top. Leave comments on both so you can go back and remember what you learned. I will respond to you and keep track of what you are learning and give you pointers.
2. Go to bed later. If you’re not a morning person, maybe devoting some time to learning about acting would be better right before bed. It’s the commitment that counts. Do what I described above. I will be there to help.
3. Commit to One of my Weekly classes Check out YESTERDAY’S POST. It describes a step be step plan to become a professional actor. When you become a committed member of my student body you will be in the loop for whatever you should do next. But making yourself answerable to going to class and rehearsing with scene partners is a way to make sure you don’t let time slip away. It will change your life and help you to become “Acting Focused”. When you “don’t have time”, you sometimes need to commit to something in a definite way—like getting a trainer at the gym. I did that so I had to show up at appointment times. It made me find time. It got me in shape. My Acting Classes are like going to the “Acting Gym”. They will get you in shape for what you need to become a professional actor. A new session of “Intro to Acting” starts tomorrow.
4. Visit actingclass at least once a day! I want to encourage everyone to visit actingclass, every day. It’s almost impossible to take in all the information that is available here, but do a little at a time and get started. And if you want to start putting all those concepts and techniques into practice and you really have no time to join any of my scheduled classes, try taking a couple private lessons. Together we can take you to a whole new level of understanding. HERE is the post that describes all the possibilities and costs of working with me on Zoom.
I know you are busy. But are you too busy to do what your heart desires? Make time. Make a commitment. I’m here to help you every step of the way

Hey yall! This is a weird one because after Chapter 3 dropped on Patreon I actually went back and dropped a new Chapter 1. So this "Chapter 4" is actually a new Chapter 1 (moving Chapters 1, 2, and 3 to the 2, 3, and 4 slots respectively) and later this week I'll release the true Chapter 5 to get us back on track!
Sorry for the confusion! Releasing novel chapters on Patreon is always wacky compared to a true serial haha.
*********
Hi all! A few rules & reminders:

1. To read the chapter, download the free PDF from the Wraithmarked Patreon post(s) here:
   1. https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-3-1-95111466
2. ★ ABSOLUTELY NO STORMWEAVER III SPOILERS OUTSIDE THESE POSTS ★ (unless someone specifically requests them, in which case you can message them directly). Please respect the rights of those readers who do not want to read the book chapter by chapter! Any flaunting of this rule will be handled with prejudice. The quality of this community as a whole is much more important to me than your personal desire to show off that you know something other people don't. This includes comments like "No spoilers, but this is addressed in book III" and the like. Yes, that IS a spoiler in its own right.
3. Public Release chapters will release 10 chapters behind the Patreon release of Early Access chapters. Public Release chapters will likely release 24 to 72hrs after the Early Access chapters (that will most often be the Monday morning after the Friday Early Access drop), so the sub announcement posts for each have a chance to gain traction.
4. Recall that these are rough chapters, with no editing other than a single pass-through as I write.
5. On a similar note, I am not asking for advice or corrections at this time. Feel free to chat/criticize/disparage, but please DO NOT tag me. If I want feedback, I/Wraithmarked will certainly reach out, thank you!

Hi everyone,
I take my 7 next week and was hoping I can hear some last minute tips. Here is where I am at:
Been studying rigorously on nights and weekends for 6 months. I am using STC.
On the practice and green light exams, I am getting between 81% and 90%.
I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the material. I employed this same study strategy for the SIE and passed on the first try with 3 months preparation.
My biggest concern of all is that the study material may not correlate with the actual test. I am aware the material is based on the test outline designed by FINRA, I am just worried there are either certain topics not covered, or are under represented in the study material. I am also worried that I am too used to the STC format, and since there is no FINRA practice exam like there was for the SIE, I don't have much of a way to gage how comfortable I am.
Any tips appreciated! Thanks for reading this far!!!

January 1st, New Year New Me ah, chitty-chatty, never-seen-after-midterm-and-reading-week gym goers. Have a good life.

9:30am PA announcement for Heidi Goldstein to report to Ms. French's office. Embarrassing, class staring at me.
Waiting around the table for me was Ms. French, Coach (!), the dean (!!)...and Mom (!!!). Faces were not friendly.
Me: Mom, why are you here? Is Dad OK? Lita?
Mom: Everyone is fine.
Me: Am I in trouble? Did I do anything wrong?
Silence
Dean: We received an anonymous tip this morning, Heidi. The person claims you are engaging in behavior that could be dangerous to yourself or others. By law, we are required to investigate any and all such claims, whether or not they are anonymous.
Me: What? Who? Self-harm myself? Harm others? How? I'm an honor student and feel blessed for every single aspect of my life, from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. How can I be self-harming?
Dean: Coach, can you provide some background?
Coach: Two weeks ago I met with you and Lita. You talked about wanting to train to run the 10K. Do you remember what I said?
Me: Yes. You said I would need clearance from my doctor and I would have to do cross training with a certified coach.
Coach: Did you follow up?
Me: Yes, Lita and I spoke to our parents and they said they would support us. We've been researching gyms with a pool and with the right equipment. And also trainers who are certified.
Dean: But did you fulfill what you promised?
Me: No, but it is all in the works. There was just no time in our schedules to finalize the details yet.
Coach: The person who filed the complaint said you started training for the 10K on your own. Is this true?
Me: Yes, but just on weekends on our own time. Why does that matter? Why is that your business, Coach? It's my time.
Coach: Didn't I tell you about how much physical stress is involved in this type of training? It's not simply 5K + 5K. If you do not train carefully, you can injure yourselves very seriously. I am sure that your doctor would probably recommend that you even consult with a cardiologist.
Me: But before the track meets we were running well past the 5K together with you!
Coach: Gently. Under my supervision. With me walk/running in the pack, right there.
Ms. French: And, God forbid, if you had gone into cardiac arrest and died on the "none of your business" run, don't you think it would harm every single person in our school community, not to mention all of your family members and friends?
Me: I see where you are going with this. I understand. I'm sorry and accept responsibility.
Coach: And didn't we go through something just like this when Lita came early to the Morning Run after already doing unsupervised training? And didn't you observe her getting suspended for a week? Didn't you learn from that? You broke the trust between a coach and the athlete. That trust is not easily restored.
Me: OK. I get it. I apologize again. I deserve a suspense from the Morning Run.
Ms. French: It's not so simple, Honey. You observed Lita's punishment, right? That constitutes being forewarned and you went ahead and did virtually the same thing again on your own.
Dean: I think we need to go further than suspending you from the Morning Run. I think a 2-day suspension from school is warranted.
Me: You can't do that to me! I'm a straight A student. I've read the Citywide Student Code for Behavior. Since when is doing more than expected a violation of my Rights and Responsibilities?
Dean: Heidi, you said you understood but I you didn't digest what your coach said five minutes ago. You are now in denial. I don't think you have learned anything from what was just said to you. It's now a 3-day suspension.
Me: But I have important rehearsals in Jazz Band. And we are doing such an important project in Global History and Geography. You can't do this to me!
Dean: There are consequences for our actions. You are now insubordinate and it's a 4-day suspension. Anything else to say? I can go up to 10 days.
Me: This is so unfair. I don't want a suspension on my record!
Mom: Heidi, shut up. It's time for us to go home.
Dean: I am concluding this hearing at 10:05am. Thank you, everyone.
Here is actually when Mom came to my aid.
Mom: Wait a second. As you know, I'm an attorney and know that my daughter has due process rights. You did not provide me with written notification that this would be a suspense hearing rather than a guidance intervention. We are going to appeal this decision and we will win even at the first level. Come on, Heidi, let's go.
Ms. French: First go straight to your locker, Heidi, and get your things. No talking or signaIing to your friends. I will have your teachers email you your assignments and homework.
As I was leaving I saw Ms. French sit down with Mom. This what came out on our walk home.
Mom: You know, you can really be arrogant and self-righteous, Heidi, and you made things worse for yourself!
You and Lita never even told us that you were trying to break the 5K unsupervised. You broke our trust as well. You guys promised to never endanger the family with your behavior. That is exactly what you just did. They were absolutely right in suspending you.
And there are going to be consequences at home. I will have to talk to your father and Lita's parents but for now you are completely grounded until your suspension is over on Friday. We are talking about house arrest. And that means no sleepovers. And don't you dare roll your eyes, pout, or start acting like you are a victim.
And do you know what Ms. French shared with me after everyone else left? It was how much she and Coach have come to love you over the course of your year at the school, that this is just a learning experience, and I shouldn't be too tough on you. It seems that a lot of planning went into that little meeting we just left. I suspect that out of respect for you, they intentionally neglected to provide me with that due process notification so you could win an appeal and the suspense won't be on your record. There's a lot for you to reflect on.
I'm going back to work.
Me: You're right, Mom. I love you. But can't you spend the day with me?
Mom: No, I can't. Go commiserate with Frank Sinatra.
But she did give me a wink and kiss.

Hi people.
Hope you're doing well.
I like having good, deep conversations with people, some of my interests are.

• Reading, especially biology, sports sciences and history.
• Cooking, usually meat dishes, sorry vegans, I like to try and experiment and try healthy eating practices.
• Sports and working out, I love to spend time and extra energy at the gym and on the track so I can eat more haha.
• I like old nostalgic cartoons like the Looney tunes.
• I love pop music, usually Jpop, Kpop and other artists like Dua lipa.
• I watch Kdramas so any suggestions will be great.

Other than that I have issues with people of any gender or age as long as you're an adult. Thank you.

Hello! I was very incorrectly misdiagnosed with bipolar 1 a few years ago when it turned out to be autism and c-ptsd, and I'm in the process of starting to come off of my medications. Seroquel is the first one to go as the side effects I experience are terrifying and my insurance company has stopped covering it. I do not think that Seroquel is inherently bad or dangerous, it just isn't something that has ever helped me because I didn't need it in the first place.
I'm having to decrease my dosage with the pills I have left. I've been on Seroquel 150 mg for about six months now, and I'm four days into a lower dose of 100 mg. I'm going to do five more days of 100 mg, and then seven days of 50 mg, followed by seven days of 25 mg, and then if I'm struggling with withdrawals 25 mg every other day for a week, and then 25 mg every three days for a week. This is the schedule I was told to follow by my doctor.
I'm feeling alright so far, aside from my stomach being a mess. I'm worried that it's only a matter of time before withdrawal symptoms hit. I usually do pretty well with coming off of medications (in the past I've quickly tapered off of lithium, lamotrigine, and lexapro without any issues), but I know that this one is a really high-powered.
Most of the withdrawal stories I've read have left me feeling extremely nervous about this whole process, especially because I'm having to taper off of the medication a lot faster than I would like to. Really, the bad stories have left me more panicked than anything that's going on in my actual body. For the most part I'm just ready to get off of this medication that has been hell for me.
Does anyone have a withdrawal success story to share, or any sort of reassurance? Did things such as exercise, looking after gut health, etc. help? Thank you!

I have been a stylist for almost 4 years. I worked at my now mother-in-law’s salon as a receptionist and loved watching the salon atmosphere. I went to school, assisted her, and slowly built (still building) my clientele.
MIL and I are very close, she only works 3 days a week so I still assist her for extra income, and work the weekends with my own clients. My struggle though is I keep going through a mental slump where I don’t know if I want to do this forever. I have lowedecent pricing for the area I’m in, I reach out, do marketing, and more. I feel like I do everything I’m supposed to do but my loyal clientele isn’t growing much more. It’s hard too because my MIL’s income is very stable, whereas mine is great some weeks and low others.
I enjoy doing hair, but I feel burnt out. But I can’t afford to go back to school so I feel like my options are serving or a 9-5 office job. I don’t mind those but I love the flexibility of being a hairstylist (but I’m not making as much as I thought I’d be by now). This will sound juvenile but I also hate filing a 1099. I miss the simplicity of a W2!!
I’m wondering if part of the reason is just because everyone is pinching pennies right now due the economy being the way it is, but I don’t know.
I also feel like I’m in a predicament because I work with my MIL. I know I need to do what’s best for me, but I would feel so sad to disappoint her. I know she would tell me to do what I want, but it still sucks.
Any advice? I keep having these slumps every other month. Sometimes I think I just need time off, but then I have the time off and don’t want to go back still lol. When I’m at work, I give it my all, I feel I have a decent work ethic, but I am tired.
Thanks for reading this jumbled rant!

• 80 pt DM2 on long acting 62units BID w compliance coming in w Glu 670 x2 days usually in 200s. Gap normal. Osm normal. Not being crazy.

A. 2U LR, 4 units rapid acting, glu less than NUMBER and dc?
B. Admit to obs
C. Insulin gtt (K is fine) no bolus

1. Type 2 DM old lady on roids for something dumb (knee pain). Glu >600 x1 week. No gap, blurred vision but not crazy, osm are fine. Takes metformin 500BID

A. Discharge on metformin 1k BID B. Add night time long acting at 0.1 u/kg C. Do nothing

1. New onset genital fungus in fast track w POCG 500. Obese, 30, peeing a lot never saw a doctor (no insurance!)

A. Long acting nightly 0.3u/kg B. Metformin 500 BID x1 week then 1000 BID
I admitted the first guy to obs and got yelled @ but then they kept him for 4 days (lol). Genuinely get all confused by hyperglycemia and the literature sucks except that one study that says it doesn’t matter what you do. No endo to consult so plz don’t suggest that
Other questions - have you ever checked an A1c - I understand this isn’t an Ed problem but nobody has a fkn doctor - Same questions as above but the person has CKD w a creatinine of 3 baseline

Hi people.
Hope you're doing well.
I like having good, deep conversations with people, some of my interests are.

• Reading, especially biology, sports sciences and history.
• Cooking, usually meat dishes, sorry vegans, I like to try and experiment and try healthy eating practices.
• Sports and working out, I love to spend time and extra energy at the gym and on the track so I can eat more haha.
• I like old nostalgic cartoons like the Looney tunes.
• I love pop music, usually Jpop, Kpop and other artists like Dua lipa.
• I watch Kdramas so any suggestions will be great.

Other than that I have issues with people of any gender or age as long as you're an adult. Thank you.

Hi
I‘ve been having permanent derealization for around 8 years. When derealaization started my thought were that i‘m going to die i thought i had some kind of brain tumor or something else. I‘ve bee living very long with it at some point i thought that i‘ve accepted it but i actually didn‘t i just got used to it. One year ago in feburary my muscles started twitching and i freaked out they were constantly twitching and every twitch just scared me until my arms and legs started hurting that was the point where i told myself i can‘t anymore so i went to a doctor, i was always scared of going to a doctor cause i thought he would tell me some bad news. He listened to what i had to say we did the check ups and then he told me i‘m completely fine and that my problem is mental. I went to a psychiatrist and started taking medication. Some symptoms were actually really easening. That fog i had in front of my eyes started to disappearing, i wasn‘t that tired anymore and reading was actually getting easier for me.
Now 1 year of treatment has passed i‘d say i recovered around 60% my memory still isn‘t what it used to be before realization but it got better and the days pass by and long term it is getting better, there are days where i think its worse again but this is only for a short time.
My muscle twitches didn‘t disappeared until i went onto a 3 week vacation to Japan. I walked alot and i payed attention to the surroundings i really tried hard to pay attention and absorb the moment and to feel like i‘m in this moment. Since then they started disappearing.
I also had issues with body positivity and i just started to think about it and telling me fuck it who cares? I have my life and i only have one life am i going to think about how other judge about me? and since i just started giving a shit what others think it really got better.
I think sometimes we dont realize what our problems are and what is bothering our mind.
We just need to reflect out thinking and try to focus on the surroundings and beauty of life. I know it is hard to stay focused on something when you have derealization and it is not an easy way but if you try your best to just shutdown that thinking pattern and focusing on your surroundings and on reality everyday you can achieve alot.

So I (24M) have been doing OMAD pretty religiously for the past two months. I have lost 25 pounds and reached my goal weight (at the time). I look and feel amazing but could benefit from losing another ~10 pounds before my grad school starts.
I can do OMAD but the feeling of being hungry throughout the day frankly sucks so I want to taper off a bit. From a purely weight loss perspective, could I effectively lose weight doing OMAD 3 days a week? The other days I will workout and track calories to not overeat.
Anybody do partial OMAD?

Hi, sorry you've obviously heard most of this before. For context I am in the UK and I know its been eradicated here, however I need my mind putting to ease.
Sunday night at 8pm I was at someones house who is fostering a rescued Romanian street dog. He has been in UK for 6 weeks and been vaccinated (and quarantined for a month in Romania before the 6 weeks). He didn't like me from the get go and long story short as I was trying to leave he just went for me barking aggressively and jumping at me. He bit/scratched me a few times on my bare leg and I have 3 separate puncture wounds, which did draw blood, they have red dots/broke the skin but are pretty superficial/shallow.
I know UK is rabies free however I am aware Romania has a rabies risk and he has only been in the UK a short while. My heads all over the place and the fact the rescue said the dog was "good with men" when he clearly wasn't makes me wonder if they lied about being vaccinated as well and forged the pet passport documents to get into the country etc (probably very unlikely I know but illegal dog imports could happen). I rang the non-emergency health number and the operator told me a nurse said it definitely wouldn't be rabies but I'm still not convinced as I haven't seen/spoken to a healthcare professional directly 1-on-1. I'm assuming from reading the FAQ, after 2 weeks if the foster dog is still alive, I am rabies free? I know I'm probably being silly but any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hello !
So I am mainly looking for which organism to speak to.
My case is that I am a french citizen who worked between 2011 and 2018 in the UK. I was making a decent wage in London as an engineer for close to 7 years.

• I know you need 10 qualifying years to claim minimum state pension when you retire
• I was told and I saw you can make voluntary payments - if eligible - to reach those 10 years.

I will check my national insurance credit when I get my new passport (can't log in as passport was stolen )
My question are as follows :

• basically the whole point is to find out how much I would have to shell out now (I think 10k gbp based on my last payslip) and hopefully qualify for whatever the 10 years get you. If that is worth it. Full state pension is like 220gbp a week right ? Even if I get 20% of that, that's 176gbp a month, in like 5 years it s worth it. So are my figures off ? Which organism I need to speak to ?
  
• also I read the scheme about voluntary payments was going to change drastically this year, and it's been extended until 2025. So maybe I want to do this now until I am obligated to contribute more than those 3years worth to unlock anything.
  

I just want to find out if this is worth it really. I am 36 and definitely not keen on being pressured to shell out 10k now and eventually benefit from it when I am like 70, but at least I will know.
I already checked that those years worked in the UK (best years in my professional life I must say) will qualify as years in my country's scheme, although I will lose on the "amount" I chipped in for. But it won't affect my retirement age here in France.
Regards from across the channel

Hello, I just want somewhere to share this with. My gf and I broke up days ago. This is the first time I’m starting to lose interest in everything, I always tried to escape in games but this time I get tired of it too so I want to let this out.
She tried ghosting me, I was lucky I followed my instinct to kinda hack my way in to her messenger and found out about it (read a chat with one of her friends) even if it meant I invaded her privacy. Also found out that she was talking to her guy friend she met at the same dating app that she met me in. (I was not able to see the messages and no sign of it because of the new encryption of messenger).
I thought we were still okay this past month, although I noticed some changes that she doesn’t want me to hug her anymore for long when sleeping or cuddling, saying that it is hot. She is getting cold in the chat, I always tried to be lively in the chat but it was not as it was how it supposed to be. I ignored this knowing she is busy with her work.
Days before our break up, she met with the guy she was talking to after work. She did ask for permission from me and that it was all just about catching up with one another. I agreed even if I did not really want to because we had an app that is called life360 and I can check up on her wherever she is going. This did not go well for me, as I was monitoring the app from time to time, I thought it was cancelled as her location never moved from her house. Later that day I asked her about it and she told me it was not cancelled and that she left her phone at home and only brought her sister’s phone. I was kinda mad and it resulted to me ignoring her.
I did not know that this was the start of her ghosting me, she also ignored me and let it pass, I messaged her asking for something like to start a conversation again and make it up again. But she still ignored me. And this was when I did it, going through her messenger. I also I tried checking on some of her social media platform, I found out she has a threads account which I did not know that she had one. I saw there her 2 posts that caught my attention. It says “You are one of a kind”, and the other “In another life, maybe we met each other earlier then I would love you” posted this month, one that is days ago and one that is weeks ago. Definitely not for me.
I don’t know how long they have been chatting as I only saw a few in her email and this is not accurate idk how or why meta sends this email and not all messages she receives in messenger are emailed to notify, only a few. There was 5 emails in different dates this month that notifies she received a message in her messenger from this guy.
I’m not perfect, we had our ups and downs, I had red flags and she did too. The reason I read why she was leaving me was because she said I was not respecting her anymore, rude words whenever we had argument and the silent treatment that she wanted me to change and she said that I did not change, she gave me a chance and she is done and she is spent. Yes, that is true I am guilty of it, I am trying to change, but it is still not enough or she saw too little of it, definitely my fault. But now with everything that I found out there is also a question in my mind.
The question now in my mind is if that is the real reason or did she really cheated…. Now my emotions are being mixed with anger whenever I think about it.

So this guy (34M) and I (30F) have been going out since Valentines Day so exactly 3 months. Things have been going very well, but once in a while I noticed that he would “drop the ball.” Last time was that I asked him to come to drinks after my dinner with my friends and he fell asleep and didn’t respond, but the next day he doesn’t straight away say sorry, I had to write to him to tell him I was bit upset that he didn’t, then he apologised. The last few weeks we spent a lot of time together, he’s been asking that we plan a trip together. Anyways last weekend, I asked him if he wanted to see each other on Friday and he said he was super busy with work, and I was like fair enough. On Saturday I had plans all day with friends so I asked if Sunday afternoon if he’s not working we could do park/dinnesleepover, and he was like great idea. Come Sunday afternoon, he tells me he’s still working and that he doesn’t know if it will be done soon, so I told him that I hope he could get through quickly, would be nice if he could join me in the park. Then he basically went silent until Monday evening, where he asked me how I am, and that he was sorry he didn’t text me night before and that it’s been very hectic. Now I completely understand work needs to be prioritised, but I just think he could have texted and said that ah in the end he’s gonna work late so dinnesleepover is off the cards. Anyways, I responded today and told him that I understand that he’s super busy but I need someone who makes me enough priority to at least text me and tell me he cannot make it than leaving me on read, because that hurts my feelings. I haven’t heard back from him.. in my past relationships I was extremely conflict avoidant, but always builds up into a bigger fight later when I cannot hold it in anymore. But because of that, it’s hard for me to judge if I am making too big of a deal about this, did I overreact? The moment I sent that response, I started feeling very anxious 😥😥

Hello there, I’ve been producing on my iPad for the past couple of years using only my headphones (ATH-M50Xs) but the time has now come where I feel like my production ability is good enough to start releasing my tracks. Although mixing and mastering is a skill I am still yet to learn.
Anyway, I am looking to purchase 2 Adam Audio T5V monitors and I’m looking for help and advice on how to connect them to my iPad so that I can get the best possible sound quality out of them. I do not have an audio interface but I do have a USB-C hub with a headphone jack and a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter.
Please tell me the best way to connect the monitors to my iPad. If I have to buy an audio interface, I can do that too. Thank you for taking the time to read this and replying :)
Edit: I would also like to add that I would prefer 0 latency & no hiss/electronic interference sounds, and I’m willing to shell out for an audio interface for that. When I connect my Launchpad X or Launchkey mini to my iPad using my usb c hub it always emits a slight hum/hiss which I absolutely hate and it makes me not want to use the midi controllers as much. (The hiss sound comes from my headphones and iPad speakers both)
Edit 2: Can I just use an aux splitter via the usb c to 3.5mm adapter I have to connect to the unbalanced inputs on both of the speakers?

To be honest, I wasn't sure that the Advice sub would let me post this there so I'm posting it here because it's so fucked up. And it didn't seem right for Let's Not Meet, either. But I do need advice, because I feel I'm losing my fucking mind.
So I (30F) have always been very close to my cousin (30F), let's call her Angela. Because we're the same age, our parents (my mom and her father are siblings) went through all the same stages with us and as such, we were more or less raised like siblings due to how much time our families spent together.
We even had homes in the country in the same township, which is where I think this happened. And I can't really tell my family this because it will make me sound legitimately crazy. And some part of me even doubts this memory, but at the same time I know in my heart that it's true. It's a complicated feeling, and this memory was brought to light last week when my suspicion I've had for years was more or less confirmed.
One winter, sixteen years ago, when Angela and I were both fourteen, both of our families were at our cottages, a twenty minute drive from each other. Angela and her little brother (my cousin, let's call him James) parents (my aunt and uncle) were going skiing one morning, and I wanted to go too. So I spent the night at their cottage, like I often did when we all went up north.
Angela's bedroom had two single beds in it, and James' room was down the hall. The whole house was open concept, so the hall from Angela's room to James' room did not have walls, but rather was bordered by two railings over which you could see down into the main floor, the open concept living and dining rooms.
James is four years younger than us, and when he was 10, he was such a typical little boy/little brother, it's almost cartoonish to look back on. Like, I'm talking *constantly* bothering us, putting a stink bomb on a remote control car that he would sneak into our rooms, trying to read Angela's diary when we weren't in her bedroom, just all the stuff. But never anything cruel or out of the ordinary or sinister, just a massive handful.
The basement of James and Angela's cottage was filled with storage and old toys, and sometimes (on the rare occasion) that we'd willingly play with James, we'd all go down to the basement and try to freak each other out. Anyway, one of the toys in the basement was your typical Raggedy-Ann doll from the 60s or something. I think it belonged to my uncle when he was a kid and then Angela when she was a baby. Her name was Trilly. I forget who named it. Anyway, I have vague memories of playing with it when we were much younger and pretending it was our third cousin or our little daughter. But since then she'd sat in storage in the basement.
But, what great nightmare material! Right?! A creepy, limp, smiling doll. So the night I stayed over, before we went skiing in the morning, James, Angela and I were up to our playing in the basement, and I remember we tried to freak James out by pretending Trilly was alive or something like that. Whatever. Game over, we all had dinner with the parents, then watched a movie as a family and went to bed. James to his room and Angela and me to Angela's room.
Now this is the thing. Angela and I still joke about this night, and she remembers it just like I do, which is why I sort of wrote off my hypothesis until last week. That night, in the middle of the night, I started tossing and turning. I woke up and could tell that Angela was stirring as well. One of us said to the other, "are you awake?" and the other said "yes," and we realized that we both couldn't sleep or were woken up by the same thing or were both just feeling restless. But then, at the other end of her room, Trilly was sitting in the fucking desk chair.
I think it was Angela who pointed it out. We saw a shadow, thinking it was a person, freaked out, and then relaxed briefly when we saw it was just the doll. But then we got freaked out all over again and were like, "why the FUCK is this FUCKING doll in your room!?!?", murderously standing up and going over to it to pick it up and throw it in James' room and pound the living Christ out of him.
We turn on all the lights, turn on the hall light, stomp down the hall into his room and turn on his lights, and see he's not in his bed. We then go downstairs (my aunt and uncle's room was on the main floor), Trilly still in Angela's hands, and hear my aunt and James in the washroom. Turns out James had been sick for the last few hours and my aunt had been up all night with him as he was throwing up in the washroom. And when we saw the scene we immediately could tell that James had nothing to do with Trilly. Like, it was just one of those really believable situations where we could tell James truly had no idea what was going on. We even felt bad for him. And, to top it off, when we told him the story in the morning it scared him so much that he didn't go into the basement for like a year. Anyway, it just seemed really sincere.
So Angela and I went back up to her room and we were like, "are we *sure* we didn't bring this up here last night? Are we sure? We must have." Anyway, while we were really freaked, we figured that it was explainable. We knew the doll obviously didn't walk itself upstairs like it was some horror movie. But, because we were fourteen and all for the drama (and I remember us having the "better safe than sorry" mindset) we called her dog upstairs (Bella, a poorly behaved black poodle). We started playing tug-of-war with Bella, using Trilly as the toy, and eventually Bella ripped her to shreds.
Anyway, funny memory, making the dog rip up the doll, we laughed and thought we were tough and cool, then we went back to bed.
The next morning, instead of all of us going skiing, it was just Me, Angela, and my Uncle, because James stayed home with my aunt on account of his stomach flu. But when we woke up, Angela was acting weird. Nothing too noteable, just really bizarrely quiet as she moved around her room to get her clothes out of her drawers and get changed. She didn't, like, acknowledge me in her room. I said something like "morning" when she didn't acknowledge me, and she looked at me and then turned back to her drawers and kept getting changed.
And she was looking around weirdly, I remember that too. Almost like she'd misplaced something, but a little more dazed than that. Just moving strangely. Then she went downstairs without saying anything to me at all. I thought maybe she was just super groggy... but it still felt really weird.
When I went downstairs, she was standing at the island in the kitchen buttering toast that my uncle had put in for us. I distinctly remember walking up beside her and the toaster, pulling a piece of toast out of it, putting it on the plate that had been set out for me, and when I dipped the knife into the container of butter, Angela smacked my hand away, hard, and looked at me and snapped, "what are you doing? Don't take things that aren't yours". I was shocked. It honestly felt like being struck in the face. She'd never spoken to me like that before, and even though we were like siblings, I still felt that kind of mortifying embarrassment you feel when someone calls you out on misbehaving, even though I wasn't doing anything wrong; but it *was* her family's butter and bread? I don't know. That's what I remember thinking. But it was awkward and weird and I just said, "um, what?" and then she didn't say anything, just kept buttering her toast, and I mumbled some apology.
The three of us then drove to the ski hill and, I kid you not, Angela and I didn't speak the whole way there. I had no idea what was up, but I didn't want to ask with her dad in the car.
Then when we got to the ski hill, we went skiing just the two of us and on the chairlift during the first run I mustered up the courage to say "Hey, did I do something wrong? I feel like you're really mad at me or something". And she turned to look at me and was confused. Not friendly, not warm, not reassuring, but confused. It was almost as if I was a stranger and she looked at me as if to say, "sorry, who are you? why are you talking to me?"
And she responded in a formal way: "Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about". The distance in her voice was really eerie, and I started to think maybe this had to do with the doll incident the night before and either she was trying to extend the prank, and she was the one who had put the doll on the chair, OR she felt guilty that we ruined this family doll and she resented me for being a part of it. Anyway, when we got to the top of the hill, she skied down quickly and didn't wait for me to go back up again, and we ended up skiing separately.
I felt awkward and embarrassed like I'd done something wrong. I ended up skiing with my uncle who asked me what was up with us, and I just said I didn't know. Then after our day of skiing, he dropped me off at my family's cottage and continued on home with Angela.
For the rest of that whole school year (we were in ninth grade), Angela and I didn't really speak. It was really sad. We were like sisters before, but better because we weren't actually sisters, but cousins, and so we were like best friends that were related. Seriously, we were really close. And it really messed me up, I felt like she just ghosted me. I would text her and call her house but she was always "fine" or "with Jessica" (her best friend). I chalked it up to her just outgrowing me, and it really fucking sucked. But, to be honest, it was so jarring and such a stark shift that I was more confused than hurt. I talked to my mom about it and she explained to me how rough it can be to be a teenage girl.
But that following summer, we were up at our cottages again, and our family had a barbecue and invited over my aunt and uncle and Angela and James. I had seen Angela at family things a couple of times since and she would just kind of ignore me and spend the whole time texting, which is what I expected this time.
Sure enough, that's what happened for the first bit of the barbecue. But then when the food was ready, she came up beside me as we were dressing our hamburgers at the condiment table and said, "oh my god, remember that night we got Bella to ruin Trilly?" and I was so shocked by her friendly tone, by her acting as though she were picking up a conversation we just were having, that I just stared at her and said, "yeah, that was crazy". And she said, "yeah, so funny. Anyway, how've you been?" again, really different and formal. I almost couldn't get past how altered her tone was, like we'd never even met. In fact she seemed so sprightly and kind that I thought she was mocking me.
And our relationship since that barbecue carried on just like that. She started talking to me more, but I'd reference inside jokes or ways we used to be or things we used to do and she never really latched on to any of them. I was caught between thinking she'd outgrown me and thinking she was like embarrassed of our closeness before or something and was trying to move on. I talked to my mom about this, and again got the speech about how teenage girls can be really cruel/strange sometimes.
So until we were about 22, we were like that. Nice to each other, talking sometimes, not that close, and I learned to not try and act like we were all close or that we had been close. I talked to my friends about it too and they said it was normal for friendships to change like that. But something felt off about this. I started to honestly feel crazy for hanging on to this "before" memory of Angela so much.
Then when we were 22, we grew apart. This time, it was mutual and natural. I moved cities, and she got engaged and became a real estate agent and we just had nothing to talk about. It was gradual and I didn't notice it much. Which brings us to eight years later, just last week.
I was travelling in Iceland. I had to be there (very randomly) for a conference/workshop I was leading for work, and turned it into a vacation. Rented a car, decided I was going to drive across the island after the conference was over and stay on the east part and explore a bit.
Day four of my seven-day long road trip. It's mid-afternoon, I'm hungry. I've been driving for three hours and have come across no sign of civilization at all, and it was fifty miles to the next town. But then, voila! A little gas station/general store/cafe! Perfect!
Ah, fuck. I literally can't believe I'm writing this. It makes me sound fucking crazy. But here I go.
I park in the little three-car parking lot. I get out of my car, step onto the gravel, the sky is white, expansive, there are mountains everywhere around me, fields, sheep. The air is fresh. Seriously middle of nowhere. I walk up the wooden rickety steps and push open the door and hear the door chimes go. A man walks out from the back room and greets me, and the place is cute. There's a little handwritten menu above the cash register and I asked him in my pathetic Icelandic/English mix if I could have the gravlax toast. He's very friendly and kind and says yes, asks if I want a coffee, I say yes please, blah blah, he rings me up at the cash register, and I go and sit at the one table they have and wait for my food.
I look around - it's mostly a fishing supplies store with some general groceries. The man opens the door to the room from which he came, the kitchen I suppose, and says the order to the lady in the back who looks like she's doing some prep cooking. Immediately I stop. It's freaking Angela!!!! Or I thought it was.
Now, remember, I hadn't seen Angela in about eight years. Since her dad passed away when we were twenty-three, and because I'd moved cities, we just had no reason to really see each other especially after growing so far apart.
So, like, OH MY GOD, it's Angela! She's working at a random little general store in middle-of-nowhere Iceland! But wait, I thought. No. This is obviously not-fucking-Angela. Angela is a real estate agent in my hometown. I'd obviously know if she lived in Iceland lol. Right? I don't really use social media but the odd time I do, she'll pop up here and there. But I guess not enough for me to *confirm* she still lived in my hometown.
But anyway, she looked enough like Angela that I went right up to the cash register and rang the little bell and the guy came back out and when he opened the door I was able to get another look at her, and my heart skidded. A chill spread across my crown. It was one hundred percent Angela. Like, my full-on cousin. So, looking over the guys' shoulder, RIGHT AT ANGELA, I smile and say, "Angela!! Oh my god!!" and before she could respond, the door shut again.
And the guy at the cash smiled really big, a nice, friendly, smile and he looked surprised as well, and pointed back over his shoulder and then at me, as if to say, "you two know each other?!" which confirmed for me that her name was Angela, because he seemed really delighted at the coincidence. Expecting her to emerge from the kitchen, I walked around to behind the cash register (the invitation was implied by the guy) and he put his arm back to open the door for me, or for Angela, whom we both expected to be making her way over to me, too.
When he opened the door, she was head-down again, chopping vegetables. I walked through the door and said, "Angela? Angela!" smiling, thinking she hadn't seen me yet or realized who I was, all context considered. She looked up at me, and then quickly, as though avoiding my eyes, looked down. "Hey", she said, quietly, at the cutting board.
WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON? Before I could ask anything, she said, "I'm really sorry, okay?"
What?
She repeated herself and then continued: "I'm really sorry okay? But we can't talk".
I actually, like, had no clue what was happening. I was looking into the eyes of my cousin whom I hadn't seen in forever in some random fucking shack in Iceland and she was acting skittish and afraid. I opened my mouth to protest and she said, "I need you to leave," then she called the guy's name and said something to him in Icelandic. She can speak Icelandic??!
The guy came in, his demeanour totally different. Almost like he was a bouncer. He gestured to my coffee and toast that were ready to go, took them in his hands and ushered me out of the kitchen and I could tell I no longer was welcome. Either I wasn't welcome or I was in danger, or both. It felt more like the former. And I don't think the guy had any idea what was going on, either. I think she must have said something to him like "I don't know this person, this person is crazy" or something. That's how he was acting toward me.
I got in my car, I drove five minutes down the road, and pulled over. I miraculously had service and I called my mom and told her everything. She kind of just laughed at me and was like "Many-Patient2894, that obviously wasn't Angela". And joked about me making some poor Icelandic woman feel extremely weird. But based off the guy's reaction when I said her name, her name was Angela, and the way she spoke to me and said sorry and said we couldn't talk, like, she knew me too. I told my mom all of this and I sounded fucking crazy and she just was basically like, "Haha, yeah, weird". I think she thinks I was making up the part about the apology.
I told all of my friends this, when I was still in Iceland, and they all reacted like my mom did. At this point, I had four days left in the country, and I kept wanting to return to the cafe/general store. But I didn't. I started to think maybe the woman thought I was someone else. But then I kept coming back to, but wait, this person was Angela. Her name, her body, her face, like I just didn't know what to do.
This brings me to two days ago, the day before yesterday, when I returned to Canada, where I live. It's eight o'clock in the morning and I'm on my way to work. In my car. Just picked up a coffee. Exhausted. Not thinking about Angela at all. Thinking about my laundry, my bills, what I'm going to make for dinner. The traffic is bad and it's a miserable day outside.
My phone dings. It's a random number. The text reads: "Hey! It's Angela! How was your trip?"
Haven't heard from her in eight years (except for our run-in in Iceland, if indeed it was one). No "how have you been??", no "I miss you!!" no "long time no talk/see!". I also hadn't posted anything about my trip on social media. Unless you were a friend of mine, you didn't know I was there.
I immediately call my mom, who follows Angela on Instagram, and ask her to look at her profile. Sure enough, Angela (not at all to my mother's surprise), is posting stories of the bachelorette party she's at in Miami. She's, like, not at all in Iceland.
I have no idea what's going on. And the way Angela/the woman spoke to me in the cafe had the cadence and softness that Angela had, and in my memory, lost, starting the morning of the skiing after the incident with Trilly and the dog. For some reason I'm fully back there in my memory now, realizing that that was the first morning of "the new Angela", the one that seemed to have no emotional memory of me at all. Like, the Iceland Angela seemed more like the "before" Angela.
I haven't replied to the text. I have no idea if it was bachelorette party Miami Angela or Iceland Angela that sent me the message, the area code is from neither Angela's hometown or Iceland.
I need advice, I have no idea what to do or who to talk to. Do I reply to the text? What do I say? I feel like the real Angela is fucking trapped in Iceland or something and has been for a long time. Or I don't even know. I have no idea what to do.