I just saw a recent post regarding fear of pregnancy. It made me think of how I’ve felt or thought about it. I have never been pregnant long enough to have a child, also I’m 22F, in a Christian relationship with my to be husband.
Previously ever since I was young I couldn’t say the word pregnant because it made me cringe and feel uncomfortable so much. The topic and thinking about it have always made me nervous. I elected to choose to not have any of my family around me specifically like my twin sister, my mom, step dad, or dad because it would be so uncomfortable and too vulnerable of a state for me to be in around them it makes me feel disgusting and I don’t know why!
My current bf makes me feel though differently and so does his family. The subject has come up with them a few times bc my bf and I are planning on being together for the rest of our lives, and I felt okay about it around them. And I also really want to have a child with this man, he makes me feel like a woman and part of being a woman is having kids of our own someday, I want it so bad I feel the fever haha. Although I don’t truly know how it will be until I get there I still don’t feel great about my family and that, but it isn’t something they’re the most supportive or talkative about and I’d rather never hear it come from their mouth anyway for not wanting to crawl out of my skin and run away. It makes me feel sick.
Anyone else have this experience? Help me out? Any advice? Thank you kindly for reading it means a lot ♥️

I am 17 and live with my mom, her partner and my grandparents. The only family member that knows I'm trans is my mom and she doesn't support me in any way. She has known for over 2 years now and despite our many "discussions" where I cried and begged her to change my name in school papers, she still hasn't called me in any masculine form even once (note: in polish, every adjective and verb you use towards another person has to be gendered, example: zrobił (masc for 'did'), zrobiła (fem for 'did'). Before I even came out, she once yelled at me and said she's ashamed to admit I'm her kid, just because on that day I wore a 'boyish' outfit. Now she uses arguments such as that I'm just insecure about my femininity, that it's because of my social anxiety, that I'm searching for something to blame my other problems for, that I'm a kid and I don't know what I'm doing, that it's because I "walked away from god" and other shit, she even asked me to go to a fucking EXORCIST. The only thing I wanted her to do was to change my name in school since I can't do it myself as a minor, I never even expected to be called by my new name by her, I knew that expectation was pointless. Over time, I stopped caring about or expecting her support, because when I'm 18 i'll just do everything myself. But that's the problem. You see, my family is very conservative, especially my grandparents. I've heard them insult anything even slightly "progressive" (note: if not going to church is progressive, then being trans is the epitomy of wokeness that they demonize so much) many times, they always called any queer people deviants, pedos, evil, degenerates, said that I'm "the devil's follower" when I defended the lgbt movement that was demonized by the tv at the time. They don't know I'm trans, and they don't need to with things as they are right now, but once I'll turn 18 and finally start medical transition, they will eventually know. Them throwing mean words at me when they do is not the problem, the problem is that it could geniuenly affect their health. Whenever I talked with my mom about it, she always emphasized that they cannot find out and that they could even get a heart attack. And I don't think she was exaggerating. See, if you live your whole life perceiving a certain thing as wrong, evil, spending years and years consuming political propaganda against a certain worldview that the thing is associated with, live in a bubble reassuring you that, yes, the thing is bad and you should never be that thing and then find out that your only grandchild is said thing, your reaction will be bad to say the least, especially if you're old and have health issues. It would really not be a problem if they just hated me as a queer person and wouldn't want to have anything to do with me, but I know they love me very much and they can't just treat me as any other trans person out there. They are a whole different generation with a different mentality and I know there's no way for them to accept those things, they don't need to, they don't need to accept me, but I don't want to cause them any actual mental or physical harm that finding out would bring them. At the same time, I don't want to keep being unhappy and living inside this female body just because of them, as bad as it sounds, I don't want to waste my whole youth waiting until they die to finally start living my life. The only person who supports me is my only friend who's trans too. I'm jealous of him, I feel awful for feeling that way, but feelings aren't something you can control. He's had his name changed in school only after 1 year of finding out he's trans. I've known that I'm a boy since I was 13 and still no progress in this regard. He's been treated as a boy by his class even before that change, and a teacher even went out of her way to offer him help just because he presented masculine and started calling him his name without the change in papers. In my case, some people in class do respect me, because I always introduced myself using my male name, others don't, I don't have any friends in class and I'm always included as one of the girls, the only teachers that know is one that won't call me using the male form in front of class, because "without permission from a parent, she could get in legal trouble", the other is my homeroom teacher who literally called me a boy on the very first day of high school when she had no idea who I was, but then she read my legal name and never adressed the topic ever again, even tho she heard countless times how I introduced myself with my male name. I'm glad that my friend is happy and I don't want to drag him down with me, but it doesn't change that I can't shake off that feeling of jealousy. My other friend said that "anime has fucked up my head" when I told her, and only started respecting it when I sent her a rant message about my life as a trans guy after she called me my deadname of social media. I had a girlfriend who cheated on me with a cis guy multiple times, he was so jealous of me being her boyfriend that he was beating me, started misgendering me despite being nice at the beggining and told me to overdose my antidepressants and kms. As a child, I've never been "boyish", I didn't like 'boys' toys, I've never liked sports, I've never had friends who were boys, I was a girly girl and that makes my mom conclude that I'm not really trans and makes even me have doubts, even tho for 4 years I've craved nothing else than having a male body and being seen as a boy. Every day I ask why I had to get gender dysphoria, it makes the whole life so much harder, I hate being trans, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, everything would be so much easier if I'd just be a girl.

Hey guys! Im currently writing a paper about how modern gay pop artists such as Chappel Roan, Hayley Kiyoko, and Girl in Red can help create a safe space for queer youth (specifically wlw) and normalize wlw relationships in society and am struggling to find any atricles, tiktoks, or YouTube videos that relate to the topic. Does anyone have any that come to mind? Any help is greatly appreciately!!

Islam has several significant and minor indicators of the imminence of the Day of Judgement, but they all point to the manner and timing of its arrival. The Quranic findings and other hadiths give Muslims wisdom and direction beforehand so that when the time comes, they will be able to discriminate between good and wrong, even though only Allah knows the precise day. True events are predicted by Qayamah’s lesser and greater indications.
From an early age, we are taught about the approaching judgement day, and when we inquire about its exact date, we are informed that it will occur eventually. We have the texts of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet (SAW) to confirm its authenticity. Hudhayfah bin Usayd says that as we were having a conversation, Allah’s Apostle showed up out of the blue. “What topics do you discuss?” he asked. “We are discussing the Final Hour,” the friends uttered.
The smoke, the Anti-Christ, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus, the Gog and Magog, and landslides in three places, one in the east, one in the west, and one in Arabia, at the end of which fire would burn forth from Yemen, driving people to the place of their assembly, were among the ten signs he mentioned. (Muslim)

In Islam, there are ten phases to the day of judgement, each of which depicts the event categorically:

1) Arrival of Imam Mahdi
Following Imam Mehdi’s entrance, the Prophet (Saw) declared, “One person will appear before the end of the world.” Both his and my names will be the same, as will those of his father. The world will be full of tyranny and injustice before to his coming, but justice will prevail when he arrives. An angel would appear from the cloud above his head and say, “This is Mehdi, listen to what he says.”

He is going to take on many of the enemies of Islam and try to make the international legal system better. There will be a great lot of injustice, transgressions, murders of Muslims, and the system of good actions will be destroyed by the evildoers prior to his arrival.

2) Dajjal Will Arrive

Most people are informed that the most obvious and well-known sign is the advent of Dajjal. He’ll claim to be God when he gets there. A heretic is someone who places their confidence in him. If information about him is misguiding people, why would they believe him? This is the job of the Fitnah of Dajjal, forcing the population’s thinking to be fixed so that they will inevitably accept the idea that he is God (God forbid). Dajjal is going to be able to control the sky to rain and the earth to sprout plants. These are deceptive signs, but they will make people think he is God.

3) The Descent of Jesus

According to Islamic belief, Prophet Jesus will descend at the time Dajjal shows up and declares himself to be God. He would then attack and murder Dajjal. In addition, he will bring Muslims to Tur Mountain, destroy the cross, and free them from the Majooj and Yajooj. The Jews were supposed to kill the Prophet, but Allah raised him up and preserved him. When he gets there, everyone who has been buying into falsehoods and misconceptions will be taken aback.

4) Yajooj And Majooj’s emergence

There are multiple references to Yajooj and Majooj’s rise to prominence. A wall encloses them. There is a legend about them that states that during Hazrat Ibrahim’s (a.s.) reign, there lived a just King by the name of Zulqarnain. People asked him to keep them safe from the Gog and Magog tribes, two deadly tribes they had heard about. Zulqarnain consequently built an iron wall that would remain impenetrable till the end of time. They will therefore be able to break past the barrier and chase the populace come the end of time. To relieve humanity from its fury and danger, Hazrat Isa will arrive on Earth

5) Smoke will appear as a sign of the Day of Judgment.

The Quran states, “Wait for the day when smoke appears from the sky.” According to Hadith, “the smoke will come from the sky and blanket the entire planet for 40 days.” It is said that although smoke will chill Christians, it will chastise unbelievers. There are numerous theories regarding what smoking will be like in the future. The most frequent possibilities are an atomic explosion or environmental contamination. In any event, the result will serve as one of the markers for the Day of Judgement in Islam.

6) The Coming Of The Beast

As stated in the Quran, “And when the word of torture is fulfilled against them, we shall bring out from the Earth a beast for them, to speak to them, because mankind did not accept with conviction in Our signs,” Allah verifies the arrival of the beast in Islam. (An-Naml: 82) It is said that the beast is carrying Mousa’s handstick for believers, and that if they are sincere believers, light would radiate from their faces. For the unbelievers, he will wield the Seal of Suleman; if it comes into contact with them, their countenance will turn gloomy, denoting their degree of faith.

7) The Sun Rise from the West

One of the primary indicators of Qayamah, or the Day of Judgement in Islam, is the rising of the Sun from its setting position in the West. “The Hour will not come until the Sun has risen from the West, and when it rises and people see it, they will all believe,” but additionally, “that will be the time when it will do no good to a person who has not believed before, nor earned good (by doing deeds of righteousness through his faith),” according to Abu Hurayrah, a contemporary of the Prophet (saw). (As stated by Muslim and Al-Bukhari, 11/352 and 2/194)
There are numerous ways to read the hadith and the time indication. There are others who hold the belief that anything that Allah has predetermined cannot be changed. Some people think that the Sun rising in the West signifies the upending of the global system.

8) Landslides

There will be three major landslides in Islam: one in the Arabian Peninsula, one in the East, and one in the West. The Prophet (saw) stated that the signs won’t appear until these regions have attained the highest concentrations of immorality and bad behaviour. Some people think that earthquakes, not landslides, will be the cause of the landslides. The most common belief is that these locations would submerge due to a natural disaster, killing the local population.

9) The Fire Will Begin

The eruption of fire from the direction of Yemen, from the bottom of ‘Aden, from the Sea of Hadramawt’ is another key sign of the day of judgement. The Prophet (Saw) was heard saying, “The last of them will be a fire that will come from Yemen, and will force the people to the area of their assembly,” according to Hudhayfah ibn Usayd. (Source: Muslim, 18/27)

10) The Kaabah Will Be Destroyed

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Dhu’l-Suwayqatayn from Abyssinia will ruin the Ka’ba and seize its treasure and kiswah,” according to Abdullah Ibn “Amr.” I feel as if I can see him now; he’s balding and his wrists are distorted. With his spade and pich-axe, he will attack the Ka’ba. Allah will take the Quran and the virtuous people from the Earth to shield them from the Last Hour.
However, regular supplications and prayers are very necessary and can prevent one from taking actions that will ultimately be harmful to them. In addition to these major signs, there are other smaller or more subtle signs of the Day of Judgement in Islam, and numerous theories have been formed based on these signs to confirm their accuracy.
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SOURCE : islamtheultimatepeace.com

Hey everyone, I'm curious to hear people's take on this topic. I'm sure its been talked about before but I can't seem to find it specifically in this thread and so I wanted to check in.
What are people's thoughts on Sex/Masturbation/Porn in relation to their Queerness and their Catholic faith?
Is there absolutely no room/space for Porn when committing ourselves to Christ?
I ask because on one hand our Queer communities very heavily focuses on Sexuality and the physical act of sex. So much so we are incredibly sex positive, call for more support to sex workers, and really tap into freedom in regards to hook up culture, sex positivity, and a hard attack on sex shaming. I even came across a Queer Christian (Non-Catholic) take on this idea that Queer people are hyper sexual because we are so admonished for our rights to act on sex that in turn, by acting on it we're rebelling against repression and permitting ourselves the gift which God gave us.
On the Catholic side of things, we're basically taught that sex and sexuality is more in line with monogamy, marriage, and procreation and that anything outside of that is wrong and immoral.
I personally struggle with both sides of things. I'm an Gay male and Demisexual and I very heavily lean on romance and emotions over sex. I would 1000 % would rather hold hands and go on a romantic date with a man than hook up all day any day. I've always been in line with monogamy and am open to sex however only in a committed and monogamous relationship.
Sadly, I have not met the right man yet, maybe never will, and so direct physical sex has not been something I have experienced in a long time. The extent of my experience with sexuality in the past 10 years has been watching porn and having common kinks which I indulge in through porn but other than that I do not seek hook ups out.
Off late though I have been wondering about porn/masturbation/lust and just have felt a pull away from that too. My main inner dialogue has been that by watching porn , and with my fetishes, I seem to internally objectify other men and desire them in a way that doesn't make me feel good.
I try to remind myself that there's MORE to my queerness than just sex and however I can't seem to reconcile that by fully committing to Christ I am giving up on my queerness to an extent.
Just a few minutes before writing this, I was watching a Catholic Priest on Youtube who prays on different topics. The one I watched was a prayer to "Break contracts with satan". The priest talks about how the contracts can be formed inadvertently and during the prayer he asks us to pause and let whatever thought or message come through.
When I paused, the thought that organically came to me was "Masturbation" . When I analyzed it, I organically felt it was not the actual act of masturbation that was being brought up but the intentions lay behind the act ie; hyper fixating on men and in effect using their image as a means to an end which I fully agree isn't right. It dehumanizes them.
I feel that this is satan's entire goal, to dehumanize, objectify, and then toss away humans when we clearly are God's children and infinitely filled with his love and compassion.
Anyways, this sparked my question and makes me wonder where do I go from here?
I personally have cut down on masturbation and porn A LOT and feel quite good.
I just wonder however if this compromises my Queerness. I wonder if this makes me abnormal ? But also I don't think it does . I prayed to God and an internal revelation has been that he is preparing me , cleansing/purging me from old obsessive ways of operating so that when he does send me a partner one day, if he does , I will be ready and capable with my capacity to love instead of being "stunted" which porn seems to do.
Sorry for the long post but thank you for letting me share!

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

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Ever since my partner (M 25) and I (F 25) have started dating, his parents have been disrespectful to both of us. My partner and I live apart from them but whenever we would visit, they will take that opportunity to give us interventions and have long serious talks with us about what they don’t like. Recently they flew here to attend my partner’s graduation ceremony and they were staying for 5 days. My partner and I had to completely clear our schedules for that week to spend time with them. Throughout the week, I was not only disrespected by his parents, my presence was basically not acknowledged. His mother would talk over me and only speak to his son even though I was right there in front of her. Especially meal times when she would go “What do you want to eat son, order whatever you want to eat.”. Or when we would go shopping, she would go up to my partner and say “Pick whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you.”. The worst part of it all is at the end of the day when we would part ways. She would hug her son and say goodbye and not say a word to me. Only when I say bye to her first, she would merely look back while walking away and utter softly “bye”. That’s not it. His parents are somewhat devoted Christians while I’m not religious. My partner is nowhere as devoted but still a Christian. His mom would take the opportunity to bring religion up whenever she could. In a condescending tone she would ask “So how many times did you visit the church?”. “So are you going to go?” This has always been a difficult and uncomfortable topic for me, even though I do go with my partner at times. His dad on the other hand, is no different. In front of me he would act all nice but as soon as it was the end of their 5-day trip here, he went guns blazing. I’ll start with the first morning they were here. His mom went to the bathroom when we were having breakfast and he suddenly said “Just a piece of advice, do not speak to my son separately. We should be able hear everything you say and talk about so we don’t feel left out.”. Immediately I’m thinking, “Oh so I can’t even converse with my own partner normally when we’re hanging out with you guys.”. Going back to the end of the 5-day trip, he would make use of the group chat that we created during the trip to start nitpicking things and saying what he didn’t like about me during the trip. “We are your elders. Respect begets respect.”. First of all, I have been nothing but respectful to them throughout the entire trip even though they treat me otherwise. Even after all that they have said to me and how much they’ve expressed their dislike and how much they intimidate me, I will still respect them because they are my partner’s parents after all. But both his parents texted and said that I did not respect them at all. And when my partner asked him to clarify on what specific occasion did she disrespect you, he replied “Her body language...”. Maybe he was relating to my body language in which I was feeling scared and intimidated the whole trip. But if not, I had no recollection of being disrespectful. And to top things off, he is currently asking my partner to pull up all of his bank statements and telling my partner to write down all expenses for him to dictate whether I have been “leeching” off of my partner. My partner and I have always been sharing our expenses equally. So this is what we are currently dealing with. Any advice on how to deal with toxic in-laws/parents? My partner and I are being pushed to our limits. Even his own mom told him “I do not respect you.”.

Another installment in the eternal gay crusades of /Christianity, now complete with more Daughters of the Confederacy level discourse about slavery.

Because it is worse than slavery.
Why do people try to force God to agree with them and accept their ideas rather than trying to learn God's will and align themselves to it?

so god has a poor morality

No. You do, if you disagree with him.

common you can also use your critical mind and say something is bad if it is obviously bad

Obvious to whom?
And based on what standard of badness?

mmm... empathy, compassion,
make a person as your property is baaad

Suffering under massive debt? Choose to sell yourself into slavery to pay the debt and remove the burden. While a slave you will have to do whatever work your owner requires, but you are guaranteed room and board and have no financial obligations. When the term of your slavery is over, if you are happy in your current situation, you can choose to make it permanent. If you are unhappy you go free with no debt and a small amount of money to help you establish yourself in your restored liberty.
The problem is that people today only think of slavery as it existed in the transatlantic slave trade, but that was not the only form in history. I think if slavery as set out in the Law of Moses was practiced today we would have much less of a debt based economy.

it doesn't work that way if you're a woman. if you're a woman and are sold by your father, you are enslaved for life.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42fjhk/
There's also another child thread where someone pointed out that the parent commenter is an insane bigot but the mods nuked their responses for incivility.

Slavery doesn't cause less people to exist. The YouTube apologists have approached the slavery topic a lot recently. I used to wonder the same thing. The matter is God has these people and he wants them to be a certain way but they are stubborn.. think of it like you have a cow that ran away and home is north and this dumb ass cow doesn't want to go north but he will go north west..

Slavery torments the already living...

Not always historically. This is what people are taught in a modern lens. Sometimes in the past people would purposely become slaves in Jacob's case to get a wife. And something interesting in Bible slave laws is that these people could run away.. so if your gig is such a bad deal that you want to leave, you can. Additionally in the case of Israel after a certain number of years they go free.. and some of them loved their masters so much they decided to stay.. which is likely the case with Eliezer.

.... leave it to Christianity to see people speak so positively on the concept of salvery

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l427som/
A digression on Hebrew translation

For one thing, "abomination" is not really a great translation of the word "ṯō·w·‘ă·ḇaṯ" / ṯō·w·‘ê·ḇāh, which is used in a variety of "do not" contexts, not necessarily conveying the sort of disgust and rage that "abomination" suggests.

Let me rephrase the post to your liking: Why does the Bible condone enslaving people but demand two men be killed if they have sex with each other?

Because one is a commandment and one is not.
Doesn’t seem fair to most ears, but when someone is circumcised of ear and heart, they “see” things differently.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l432735/

That's a very good question. Slavery is a horrible thing, it's detestable. The idea of something like that coming from a loving god would be a huge contradiction. It's up to you how you choose to rectify that
Slavery back then is not the same as what we went through recently. Where it’s just whips on plantations.
And you guys cherry picking homosexuality over all other sins is ridiculous. If homosexuality is ok, then why can’t all adultery be ok?

What's wrong with two people of the same sex in a loving, consensual, mutual relationship?

If they’re celibate then nothing…
What’s wrong with Covet and adultey as a whole? Let’s just abolish it. Is that ok?

Well both of those things harm people
If you covet something that doesn't belong to you, that eats a hole in you and might inspire you to do something to get what you covet.
Adultery damages trust between romantic partners and breaks hearts.
Two mutually loving people having sex who have the same genitalia harms no one.

Two same sex couple having sex also eats a hole in them. Spiritually. If you don’t like it then it’s ok, just don’t call yourself a Christian and expect God to favor your desires in the end. The point is to trust God. You’re literally going against him by committing adultey having same sex in the dark… Why not just be celibate? Why do you need to have same sex relations and blame the Bible for not being fair. It makes no sense. If you’re a homosexual who chooses sex over God. Cool. But don’t drag him down because he can’t see you in the dark.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ssq8/

Are you saying slavery isn’t detestable or that it coming from a loving god isn’t a contradiction?

a loving God and slavery isn’t a contradiction. You need objective morality in the first place for it to be a contradiction, and you atheists do not.

a loving God and slavery isn’t a contradiction. You need objective morality in the first place for it to be a contradiction, and you atheists do not.

I think you're misunderstanding "objective morality" there are several ethical schools that don't require an authority figure.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l43e65c/

I think saying homosexuality is not harmful is naive. You are free to do it but it does have consequences that preclude you from any semblance of traditional living. Also, if everyone was homosexual there would be no people bc it does not produce children.

The only downsides are from the hate bigots create. Let’s not victim blame now

Haters gotta hate 🤷🏾‍♂️... is Taylor swift a victim too? She has haters after all.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42tgxf/

I believe it has to do with the nature of their slavery. The standards for slavery were different than today’s- I don’t believe they had prisons; if you owed someone something, you became their slave. It was a temporary status.
The only more permanent slave status I’ve read in the Bible involved pagan people that were being punished.

No, god explicitly permits people to own other people as their property for life. It was not always temporary, and didn't always have anything to do with debt repayment.

Exodus 21: 2-6
“When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything.”

Right. Now read Leviticus 25:44-46 about buying and owning foreign slaves.

Yeah, that’s what I meant about “punishment for pagan nations” Everyone around the Israelites were pagans.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42hqpl/

According to your own morality, the concepts of slavery and that of a loving God are contradictory. Just about anyone should be able to see that regardless of religious beliefs.

Nope. Slavery and a loving God are compatible, as we don’t decide morality you might as well tell that opinion to a brick wall.
So again, how is slavery and a loving God contradictory?

Because slaves are not the recipient of God’s love. You can’t love someone and also allow them to be enslaved.

Why not? Who are you to decide what love is and what love isn’t?

I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s mind-boggling to me that you think enslavement of humans is OK.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ybv5/

Slavery isn’t necessarily the worst thing to happen to anybody ever, we just fetishise it today because America puts so much importance on it. Fact is that in ancient pre-mechanised times if you needed something doing you with did it yourself or got your captured enemies to do it. Slavery has been present in every society in history and has many forms, it’s damn nearly a natural state of humanity. Sometimes slaves were abused, murdered, tortured, raped; sometimes they were given gifts and made part of the family. “The ottomans took Christian children as slaves and made them into elite warriors who eventually got their own kingdom, meanwhile their trans-Saharan slave traders routinely castrated all the males they got from Africa and sent the women into harems, making European slavery relatively benign.

“B-But akshually guys slavery wasn’t that bad and it’s natural!!!”
You go out of your way to defend slavery, but don’t do the same with homosexuality which is objectively less harmful, please stop talking.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42gaf7/

The Lord doesn't need to call salvery an abomination. There is a correct way to handle slavery through debt. However, that does not mean they are property. The Lord's children, ARE NOT FOR SALE. All debt should be and needs to be released freely every 7 years. Then you bless them as they leave freely, regardless of the amount of debt returned back.
Homosexuality IS A CHOICE. It's a much of a choice to choose who you sleep with, as it is to lust in the first place. He calls it an abomination because it's your choice, and it almost always leads to a chaotic state. Not directly, rather, indirectly. It leads culture into a mindset of "I should be able to anything I want to". Sadly, that's just not how a stable society functions, and you see it's ripple effect today.

Homosexuality is NOT a choice, plain and simple, no buts or ifs. If it was, you could choose to be homosexual for just 5 minutes to prove your point which you obviously can’t, no matter how hard you try you can’t control who or what you’re attracted to. It is also not inherently lustful just as heterosexuality isn’t inherently lustful, couples of any gender or sexuality can have a loving and healthy relationship. It doesn’t lead to any “chaotic state”, as I mentioned before it can be perfectly healthy, what truly leads to a chaotic state is the constant backlash of mindless homophobes who don’t want to accept the fact that their worldview is wrong. Also, multiple societies in the past had no problem with homosexuality and turned out very prosperous. Read a book, bigot.

Lol

What an insightful response.

There is no response you will accept or even listen to. I gave the only one worth giving.

That’s blatant projection right there, you did not accept or listen to my response, so it’s more like you were proven wrong and didn’t know what to reply with.

https://www.reddit.com/Christianity/comments/1cs2bb4/why_does_the_bible_call_homosexuality_an/l42ga4o/

I was looking at the comments and the Girls Never Die music video on youtube and was really interested reading the english translations from all of the Korean comments. Many were recounting how the song gave them strength amidst depression.
Others were contrasting how New Jeans portrays adolescence in Ditto vs tripleS in Girls Never Cry. I feel like they see Ditto capturing a nostalgic and playful view of youth, full of carefree moments with friends. Whereas, "Girls Never Die" dives into the more complex and often harsh realities of growing up, portraying themes of struggle, resilience, and the determination to keep going despite hardships.
Not trying to start a fanwar but just an interesting topic. It is interesting because even though most of the Ditto music video involved friends dancing with each other, the ending is definitely darker.
Overall, I'm glad tripleS is being appreciated for their artistry and it's incredible that the lyrics are resonating so strongly with Koreans.
Some of the comments:

• "누군가의 10대는 화려했겠지만, 또 누군가는 암울한 과거였을 것이다. 트리플에스는 저마다 가지고 있는 어두운 시절을 이 노래로 위로해준다."
  • "Someone's teenage years might have been glamorous, but for others, it was a dark past. TripleS comforts each person's dark times with this song."
• "뉴진스는 화목한 가정에서 자란 10대 느낌이라면 트리플에스는 가정환경 불행한 10대아이들이 서로 의지하면서 살아가는느낌,,, 둘다 좋음ㅠㅠㅠㅠ"
  • "NewJeans gives the feeling of teenagers growing up in a harmonious family, while TripleS feels like teenagers with unhappy family environments who rely on each other to live... Both are goodㅠㅠㅠㅠ"
• "그래 모두의 학창시절이 디토는 아니잖아 다시해보자"
  • "That's right, not everyone's school days are like 'Ditto'. Let's try again." (Lyric from the song)
• "우울증 진단은 6년 전 약 먹기 시작한건 4년 전인 06인데 온갖거 다했어요 살고싶지 않다가 아니라 자살이 너무 하고싶었는데 사람들 다 힘든데 제 시신 치울 사람들 생각하니까 갑자기 죽을 정도의 사고가 나기를 계속 바랬어요. '다시 해볼까' 라는 말에 공감은 되지 않지만 뮤비랑 음원을 계속 보고 듣게 돼요. 아직 살 힘이 남았나봐요 감사합니다 불완전한 청춘을 눈으로 볼 수 있게 해주셔서."
  • "I was diagnosed with depression 6 years ago and started medication 4 years ago in '06. I've tried everything. It wasn't that I didn't want to live, but I really wanted to commit suicide. But thinking about people who would have to deal with my body made me constantly hope for an accident that would kill me. The words 'Shall we try again' don’t resonate with me, but I keep watching the music video and listening to the song. I guess I still have some strength left to live. Thank you for showing the imperfect youth."
• "아무리 나이를 먹어도 상처받았던 10대 소녀가 그대로 어딘가에 잠들어 있는 사람도 많겠죠? 제가 그런 사람이예요 오래전 좌절했던 소녀였던 저는 다 극복해내지 못한채 겉만 어른이 된지가 소녀였던 시절보다 더 길어졌네요 그시절의 저를 위로해줘서 고마워요"
  • "No matter how old we get, there are many people who still have the hurt teenage girl inside them somewhere, right? I am one of those people. I was a girl who was frustrated a long time ago, and I haven't overcome it all, so I've been an adult on the outside longer than I was a girl. Thank you for comforting that girl from those days."
• "이제 곧 30대인데 왜 뮤비보면서 울고있냐 얼마전 우울증 판정받고 많은 위로를 받았어요 감사합니다"
  • "I'm almost in my 30s, so why am I crying while watching this music video? I was recently diagnosed with depression and received a lot of comfort. Thank you."
• "아..진짜 댓글이 뮤비를 완성하네 눈물 나온다 '다시 해볼까' '끝까지 가볼래 포기는 안할래'... 맘먹은거 어케 알고 이시기에 딱 나왔는지.. 청춘 드라마 뉴진스 감성 보면 내가 아는 현실과는 너무 달라서 이질감?이 들었는데 이 노래, 뮤비는 왜이리 좋은건지.. 과거는 잊고 다시 해봐야지 진짜 꼭 쓰러져도 일어나..."
  • "The comments really complete the music video, bringing tears to my eyes. 'Shall we try again', 'I’ll go to the end, I won’t give up'... How did they know what I was feeling and release this at the right time... When I watch youth dramas or NewJeans's vibes, it feels so different from the reality I know, almost alien? But why do I love this song and music video so much... I must forget the past and try again, really, even if I fall down, get back up."
• "제네리이션때부터 느꼈던 뉴진스랑 반대의 10대 감성... 맞아 10대시절이 항상 밝고 힘차지만은 않아 오히려 가장 고민많고 별거아닌거에 상처받고 할 나이였지 누군가의 어린시절은 뉴진스였겠지만 나 포함 누군가는 트리플에스야 정말 땅에 쳐박히는듯이 괴롭고 몸부림치다가도 그래도 다시해보자 하고 버텼으니 지금 이 노래를 듣는거고... 끝까지 가볼래 포기는 안 할래 난."
  • "From Generation to now, the opposite of NewJeans's teenage emotions... That's right, teenage years aren't always bright and energetic. It's actually the time when you worry the most and get hurt over trivial things. Someone's childhood might have been like NewJeans, but for me and some others, it's TripleS. Really struggling and suffering as if being pushed to the ground, but still deciding to try again and enduring, so I'm listening to this song now... I'll go to the end, I won't give up."
• "타돌들이 팔려는 여자 아이돌의 10대 20대는 제작자의 시선으로 물들어져 있음. 싱그러움, 10대의 장난기, 귀여움, 청순함 때로는 로리타. 근데 트리플에스는 데뷔때부터 늘 10대, 20대의 여성의 시선에서 그렇게 마냥 싱그럽고 귀엽지만은 않은 위태로움, 불안함과 그럼에도 불구하고 어떻게든 살아보려는 그 청춘의 현실감을 보여줌. 그렇게 주소비층의 공감을 이끌어내면서도 노래 퀄이랑 뮤비 퀄 컨셉 퀄 다 챙김. 얘넨 진짜 그냥 그런 다인원 그룹이 아님. 프로듀싱이 미쳤고 진짜 잘됐으면 좋겠다."
  • "The teenage and twenties female idols that other groups try to sell are tinted with the producer's perspective: freshness, teenage mischief, cuteness, purity, sometimes Lolita. But TripleS, from their debut, has always shown the precariousness, anxiety, and yet the reality of youth trying to live somehow from the perspective of teenage and twenties women. They draw empathy from their main audience while maintaining high quality in their music, music videos, and concepts. They're really not just another large group. The producing is crazy good, and I really hope they succeed."

quick recap me (F20) and my PA (M21) have gone through two ddays, most recent of which i found out that he lied about being a virgin when we met. he had sex with several ex girlfriends before we met, one of which was a virgin and one that wasn't.
now background about me, my parents both have several STDs and have medications they take for them. it's something i found out on my own when i was a teen and since then i've taken sexual health very seriously. i come from a christian home so i've kinda had to educate myself on the topic, but i'd like to think i'm well informed.
now upon learning this from my PA, not willingly might i add, i have had a concern on my mind. did he use protection with these women? one of them i know was not a virgin, he told me, so of course i'm concerned about my own sexual health. i consented to having sex with him under the guise that he had not been exposed before and now things have changed. he lied.
after ruminating on it for a week and never finding a good time to ask, i asked him today on our lunch if he wore a condom during the encounters and he said it wasn't something we should be talking about.
i told him that when it affects my sexual health, i deserve to know.
he says 'i think it's something not okay to ask about. you don't have an std'
i told him '...i don't know that and i deserve to know what i've gotten myself into considering i went into our sexual relationship thinking you were a virgin with no prior sexual history.' he tells me i still have nothing to be concerned over, and basically that i should just take him at his word.
so i say that because he won't tell me, i'm just going to assume he didn't use one.
after some more back and forth he finally says, i did use one and i'm leaving. so he drops me off and we go separately.
i don't think this was inappropriate to ask. and i think his responses were... suspicious? to say the least. i'm probably still going to go to get tested to put my mind at ease because this shit scares me.

Panicked from the topic - all of my knowledge about geopolitics and Christian history OUT THE WINDOW.
For the record, I talked about other stuff- but I really think my mama is going to make or break it for me.
I feel bad like they're gonna think I'm trying to get pity points. I PROMISE I KNOW THINGS ABOUT HISTORY AND THE REAL WORLD!!!! It was just all I could think of.
Anyway thank you ma- maybe. We'll see in July.
This prompt was terrible. Are AP English teachers into the trauma dumping on a national exam move 🤔 is the real question

I found this public structure with stairs, ramps and a covered bridge that crosses a set of railroad tracks. I've been going mostly to test my fear of heights and get over it like gradual exposure therapy. First time I was able to take a few ramps up, but stopped before the top. I was ok with the stairs. Looking down was scary. Gradually, after a few tries on different days., it got better. One day on a particularly windy day, I managed to get to the top with the ramps , but felt a bit unsteady, and afraid. There were these 2 young women who looked at me from ground level and one of them screamed AHHHHHH , then the other laughed. Guess they thought it was funny to joke around about me possibly falling or jumping off. I swung my arms in the air and looked down as if I was thinking of jumping.
I kept walking and 2 minutes later, ran into the young women. I asked: what would they do if someone jumped from the bridge? Looks like they were stunned, one came up with the reply: "well that's their choice I guess...I wouldn't care". I reacted with: that's a weird question isn't it? Then she replies yeah...and the other asked me "Are you OK?" To which I responded, don't worry , I won't jump, wished them a nice day and continued my walk. They climbed over a railing and took a selfie.
I have mixed feelings about getting them to think about a dark topic after they trolled me with that yelling. I also don't feel like returning there soon in case someone else grills me on it or takes a video and posts it on fb or something. Was the question I asked wrong? Or did the youths deserve to think about the jumping topic? Maybe they'll think twice about what they yell and to whom.
tl;dr AITAH for asking a pair of teenagers what they would do if someone were to jump off a high platform onto a set of railroad tracks?

Conspiracy theories involving “elite” pedophile rings have recently been dominating social media in a disorienting frenzy. They have been around for some time but in this century rose back to popularity during the 2016 Election cycle. This crop, at least, took root with what became known as “Pizzagate.”
Promoters of that conspiracy theory in 2016 used social media platforms to make unfounded but viral allegations that Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats were running a pedophile ring out of the basement of a pizzeria even though that restaurant had no basement, or any ties to known politicians other than the typical flesh pressing (Phrasing I know) moments fit for a picture hung on the wall.
Since then, the dark theme of Pizzagate has found new life with permutations forming part of the #Qanon conspiracy theory, incorporated under the umbrella term “pedogate.” The gist of the #pedogate conspiracy theory is that global elites (politicians, celebrities, and wealthy businesspersons) are covertly involved in a far-reaching ring that uses young children for sexual purposes.
“What most of these conspiracy theories involve in one way or another is laying accusations of pedophilia or involvement in pedophile rings at the feet of people that they despise or hate, and during the 16’ election cycle, Democrats were a wide target for an opposing political movement that had hijacked the rival Republican party. Pizzagate originated with the “alt right” and “alt lite,” far right extremists who range from outright white supremacists to those who publicly shun racists but otherwise fall in step with their belief systems.
Pizzagate jumped from the fringes to the mainstream because as it denigrated Hillary Clinton, it sucked in supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump.
After the election all mention of pedogate seemed to be put on a simmer while other National outrages boiled over (#Covid #RussiaGate #BLM) and just like clockwork (heading into our next election cycle has been turned back up.
The pedogate conspiracy and all associated stories employ a centuries-old tactic: playing on deep-seated human anxieties by conjuring images of imperiled children, the purest and defenseless victim of any manner of injustice.
An example in the modern era of weaponized conspiracy was the satanic panic of the 1980s, in which a wave of hysteria over alleged child molestation at daycare centers swept the nation. But while that phenomenon was a moral panic attributable, at least in part, to social anxiety over white middle class women entering the work force en masse for the first time and entrusting their children to others, the current conspiracy theories about pedophile rings equate to similar propaganda. They carry a danger for stirring up violence.
If you want to elicit violent action the way to do it is through hate and fear. Once you target and label a population as pedophiles, you can do anything you like to that population with full excuse being given to the myth you’ve wrapped around it.
That’s not to say fears of child abuse or sex trafficking are unfounded. There are many as pedophilia has ancient roots and in many cases was encourage by many world cultures and religions a lot later into Civilization than we’d like to admit. The International Labor Organization reports that 25 percent of the world’s 40.3 million victims of human trafficking are children.
The most vulnerable, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are migrants, runaways, the homeless, and youngsters who have been victims of violence. Despite their obsession over the topic, conspiracy followers aren’t worked up about those children who are in true harm’s way.
In the world of propaganda, it’s never about real children. Instead, it’s about what children represent. The children imperiled by conspiracy theories, in other words, are only metaphors.
Children carry a vast amount of weight in any society, but especially modern ones when they’re expected to survive past the age of five. It wasn’t as intense before the 18th century when child mortality rates were really high. They represent the future, and all that is beautiful and decent and honest in a society, because they are innocent.
For most people also, the meaning of their existence is rooted in their children. Children are eschatological, they represent death for us, and what is coming behind us after we are gone. They also represent the threat of loss, if they disappear, if they die, that is the death of society. That’s why they became so crucial and central to Cold War propaganda. The real terror of the nuclear holocaust would be the death of the children, because that’s the death of everyone.
A recent example of this is in a recent police investigation into conspiracy claims of PizzaGate style accusation of Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts. Detectives attempted to contact the person accusing Voodoo Doughnuts on social media of running a pedophile ring. The accuser did not cooperate with investigators and it’s been documented in other coverage online that they had become agitated and accused the Police with complicity when tracked down in person, even though they were attempting to investigate.
The pendulum of conspiracy theories about systematic child abuse has swung back and forth for centuries. Examples such as blood libel, when Jewish communities were attacked over false allegations of murdering and consuming Christian children in the Middle Ages.
In Europe, During the Thirty Years War, entire villages were put to the sword because it was believed they were abusing children of the other religions.
One characteristic that helps Pizzagate-style conspiracy theories gain popularity is that they function like a puzzle game and give its audience a large level of involvement through social media.
A lot of conspiracy theories are oracular, where the information comes from one source an oracle. Then there are others where there are a few people who promote the notions, almost like gurus or a conspiracy priesthood.
With Pizzagate, it’s more of what one would call a participatory conspiracy theory. Participatory conspiracy theories lay out a scenario or situation and then they ask their audience, ‘what more can you find out about this, what more can you add?’ It turns the audience into willing participants, some knowing they are creating a destructive madlib and other (potential real victims) caking on mystical distraction to issues that have been unreported or scars that have not bee properly treated.
The thing about participatory conspiracy theories is it can really create a devoted following because it gives people something to do, it makes them feel they can solve the whole thing or uncover new aspects to it. Once you get that energy going it’s almost self-sustaining. Followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory, call themselves “bakers” because their protagonist “Q” pops up on Internet message boards and leaves “crumbs” (i.e., clues), and they are tasked with picking up the crumbs in order to solve the puzzle. (“Q” is supposed to reference the character’s government security clearance level).
*#Q followers believe an even more incoherent version of Pizzagate. This is largely a right-wing fantasy that originated in a series of incoherent posts on #4chan in 2017 by someone calling themselves #QAnon. Following on the heels of similar idiocy such as Pizzagate, it advances a fantastic web of deceit that wraps up Trumpism, deep state fearmongering, evil, satanic pedophilia rings controlled by the Democratic Party, investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, the Las Vegas shooting, and New World Order paranoia into a package easily and wholeheartedly promoted by internet cesspools and far-right personalities such as Alex Jones.
The premise is that President Trump is secretly working to take down a global ring of elite, cannibalistic, satanic pedophiles. And the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election, led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, is actually an investigation into the so-called “deep state”, where a cabal of evil, globalists, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are responsible for everything from a global pedophile ring to the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017.
According to the enlightened, when Trump awkwardly took a drink from a bottle of Fiji water at a press conference in November 2017, it wasn’t because he was thirsty; it was actually a secret signal to those in the know that the annihilation of deep state pedophiles had begun (or was about to begin). Because as everyone knows, Fiji is a hot spot for child trafficking.* ( I could go on and on with this poorly thought-out shit, I will spare you )
The role the Internet and social media play in helping to spread such insanity can’t be underestimated. Just a few decades earlier, conspiracy theorists would identify each other using letters to the editor printed in newspapers and magazines. It was a lot harder to identify your fellow conspiracy theorists. You would have to physically meet to swap your stories or send letters or call. They would set up these groups that would communicate by newsletter. They would meet in a physical space, like someone’s living room.
I personally witnessed people from my childhood, dutifully photocopying newsletters they had received in the mail to give to others (Primarily at my #JW congregation, how ironic). Now obviously it can go much more quickly, because you can identity people immediately. You can quickly share ideas and the data you’ve collected.
The Internet allows such people to exist in bubbles where they rarely have their beliefs challenged. The extraordinarily polarized society we’re in right now has made people less willing to seek out other view points. Because of the internet you have less chance of doing this.
There’s very little incentive to look outside one’s own bubble once they have become invested in a conspiracy theory. Once you start to act out on those behaviors you are forced to double down by repeating the act to prove it was a just act. Eventually you get caught up in a movement that totally defines your conscious and you can’t get out of it. The second you step out of that world view your actions go back to being reprehensible.
Now the question becomes, “What’s the harm? If it sheds light on child abuse, then isn’t it still productive?” The answer in this case is a resounding NO. In my opinion and PAINFUL experience, the root cause and sustaining factors of institutionalized child sex abuse are all things that would counter your typical Conspiracy Nut’s world view, thus causing a complete blackout to the problems.
The entity taking part in the harming of children on a local and tangible level aren’t some suit and tie wearing global elitist. It’s a guidance counselor, youth pastor, unvetted young substitute teacher, aunt/uncle/cousin/neighbor.
It’s anyone who has been given routine private access to a child’s mind and body because of the social conventions that have been protected for generations by our relatives whether they themselves are guilty of abuse or not.
In all the Qanon madness I also kept very close tabs on the pending prosecution of the Boy scouts of America and never saw any widely shared memes about their involvement in the abuse syndicate.
Why is this? How is this so? Aren’t these people watching the news, seeing the court records and hearing the individual cases being brought against Scout Leaders (SOME OF WHO RAN THEIR OWN NETWORKS!!)?
When I would find mention of accusation it was met with the ever scarce “skepticism” because if the media is covering it, it must be a plot to destroy the organization. There are now non-for profit organizations setting up victim funds and protections for people to come out with their stories and somehow THIS is the fake ruse.
Some that know me know that I was a Jehovah’s Witness as a youth/teen/young adult. That chapter of my life could fill many chapters and the research on the organization, the real true black and white history of the religion would honestly surprise you. I saw what I now know was abuse, I personally experienced abuse in many forms. The perpetrators involved are either still Witnesses or are dead or have moved “away from the organization”.
One thing that was left intact in each situation was the secret that they prey on children. The parents, these organizations and the collective promise to keep up appearances are directly to blame for the suffering untold thousands, millions of children and broken adults.
All for what? Pride and Vanity and a commitment to all involved to protect them from the “mean old world” despite allowing predators to eat their children from within.
Being a #JW was a very interesting experience. It provides a very efficient form of insulation from outside society and allows people involved to view the chaos from afar. There is this persistent (albeit false) sense of shared peace that members have. It’s as though for three days a week you go to this meeting where no matter what, everyone has a smile and feels about things EXACTLY how you do. There is no cursing, there are no politics, there surely isn’t any destructive influences that would tarnish your chances of salvation. For a parent this is a refuge when raising a child in a world that is dangerously unpredictable.
A Child that you are unable (or unwilling) to teach coping skills to get along by societal standards, A child you want to protect by hiding. This is problem #1.
As an adult the congregation presents an avenue for which you can act and behave in a way that allows you to reconcile your past, a way to have less of those nights awake because you think about past wrongs you’ve committed against people. It’s the proverbial band-aid for a guilty, bruised, destroyed conscious of any size. Coming into the organization takes nothing more than the desire to change, publicly declaring your willingness to hand over your life to God (The organization). Bam, You’re in! No credit check, no background check. This is problem #2.
A JW is taught that “every facet is an asset” (Ministerial Servants know what I’m talking about). What this means is that every facet of your life is an asset to the organization to spread its word. If the world see’s their product’s application into your life and thereby how much better it is than a normal person’s, then they’ve made an “Effective Witness” to the world. This causes Witnesses of any age to allow almost every facet of their life to be a tool by the organization. For a parent this includes their children. This is problem #3.
When you get a culture that insulates itself from the real world, that allows you to enter without any coherent vetting, give access to children whose parents feel obligated to present as a “witness” to the lifestyle. You get a twisted corridor in which victims can get lost for a lifetime and predators can hide in plain sight.
For any proponents of the “Save-The-Children” movement to not take a step back and really analyze their local community and lifestyle through these lenses only illustrates that child abuse is being weaponized politically at the expense of others whom you aren’t willing to save because it would look bad for ‘your side’. If you truly care, you wouldn’t be sharing email forwards about what evil unverified unmentionable thing you read some celebrity or politician did. Instead, you’d be drawing back on your experiences as a child.
Even if nothing happened directly to you, I’m sure you know some one that had an experience that forever harmed their life. Who did it? Was there a pattern or social condition that allowed for this as was laid out in the JW example?
How could it have been avoided? Would you have stopped it if you saw the signs? Are you willing to stop it in the future, knowing what you know now?
If you can answer any of those questions with a yes, then you have all you need to WRITE your own material to reach real victims and their families. Does your action cause problems for your ‘side’? It shouldn’t matter and you know that. If it does make a difference to you then you are no better than the shadowy pedophilic cabal that you are so obsessed with.

I have two reddit accounts, so if these stories are familiar, that's why. Someone commented that one of these sounds like abuse from my Christian parent to me. So I've compiled all most of them here. (Most of them are to do with Christianity, the hypocrisy of Christianity, or the consequences of my choice to leave it.) Please be honest but also recognize that this isn't all the times sometimes these are amazing people and I love these people but for my sake I need to know if it's really that bad.
"I'm rather young. My mom (42F) and my dad (41M) both grew up in the church. My grandfather is the pastor of his own church and my mother was raised by her grandmother who played piano in the church. Growing up I'd say I was the perfect little Christian girl. I liked praying and went to church, I wanted to help the world, and I wanted to be baptized before I even started kindergarten. I remember that vividly. I was sitting in the kitchen in one of our folding chairs because we couldn't afford real ones and I was begging my mom to let me get baptized.
My family and I are African American. The church I went to when I was little was a black church. My mother was the praise dance choreographer so of course I did praise dancing. I'd go to Sunday school, I wore the big puffy dresses, and I knew all the songs. Of course I had the common experience of being assaulted in a sexual manor by someone I went to church with. But we were both the same age and I just knew I was uncomfortable and she just knew that's how people bigger than us touched each other. All that came of me telling my mom and me not having to go to her house anymore. I was always told that I was intelligent and I believed everything I was told without question. Then my sister was born and we moved. At first everything stayed the same. We ended up having to switch churches as the previous one was an hour away from our new home. We found a new church. A church were you can wear your hoodie and jeans like it's a Tuesday. I made friends and played sports and nothing really changed until I was eight. When I was eight there was a girl on my softball team I'll call E. E is Jewish and at the time I thought everyone was Christian. As in Christianity was the default and only option. But my friend E's church wasn't called a church but a synagogue, and she couldn't eat specific foods together. E also talked about BaBat Mitzvah's. When I brought that up to my mom she said my friend was Jewish and that being Jewish is like being Christian but they read from the old testament exclusively but they don't believe in Jesus.
Which a while later caused me to spend all night crying because I put the two and two together of: Believing in resurrection Sunday and that Jesus was gods son is what got us into heaven and I cried worrying one of my closest, sweetest friend and her nice family would go to hell. Then school, which had always been easy, became hard. Which made me feel dumb. Especially since my self worth was put into how smart I was and I wouldn't dare get below an A or high B because I was scared I'd get punished. Like the time I slammed my fingers a metal door on accident and spent the next fifteen minutes in tears and my mom told me if I kept crying she'd take me to the hospital to have them cut off my fingers. Because of moments like that disappointing my parent or having to big of an emotional reaction was not okay and it made me scared and uncomfortable. They knew I was struggling, they were the ones who stayed up till four something in the morning with me trying to explain the concept. But with every minor and major struggle I felt like my worth was slipping away. But the better I did in school the more my outstanding grades became the expectation which resulted in acknowledgement for my academic achievements disappearing. I felt like I was falling apart so I'd spend hours pray and begging god for help. To take the feeling of being worthless away. I developed an eating disorder sometime before ten. Specifically binge eating. My parents would find the trash, not understand that it was more than just "the sin of gluttony" and yell which made me feel threatened and eat more food.
And then I'd pray on my knees on the hard wood outside my room door with nails and splinters in it and hurt myself because not only was I a dumb glutton but I also apparently wasn't good enough for god to save or help. It made me think if he wants a relationship with me so bad why does he ignore me? I'd hold a knife to my wrist when I'd wash dishes to see if I felt him then. I questions if I'd even go to heaven. For all my problems the answer was to pray but the problem was I'm doing that but my prayers aren't being answered. I was having thought of death no twelve year old should have. On my birthday I was like a puppet simply going through the motions. Then I started questioning my sexuality. Not to mention, I'm now cut off from the world because this is all during covid, on the bright side they gave me my door back. Now I'm older and I have questions like. How was Adam able to name all the animals and understand god not wanting him to eat from the tree and their need to stay in the garden, but not comprehend his nakedness? How was Eve able to be tempted and not understand her nakedness? Why did they and apparently god think being naked was wrong? How are we not all messed up from tons of inbreeding and how do animals still exist after the inbreeding the would've occurred after Noah's ark if he only saved one male and female of each species? Why did god want to flood the Earth and purge it of it's evil humans if he was the one who decided free will would be a good idea? Since he is perfect and all knowing their shouldn't have been a moment of let me make something I'll destroy, wait nvm. My parents have changed a lot since I was little and have let me go to therapy. Of course I have a Christian therapist. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that every time I bring up trauma that's linked to religion or need advice in terms of how to change a bad behavior or over come anxiety the advice is to pray. And at times I feel like I'm in a moment of doubt she feel she should try and pull me back in. But they also said I have to volunteer in the childern ministry at church.
I used to work with children ages three to five. Now I'm in one to three. And it feels like I'm spreading propaganda. They tell me what to say and what the goal is for the kids to believe by the end of the month. After I can't help but feel dirty. I'm at the point in my journey were I don't believe. But I have to keep working in the childern ministry, I have to go to church every Sunday, my parents are both devotional authors with published books. I'm the only one in my family who doesn't believe both extended and intermediate. I just wanna know I'm not crazy. I feel like I'm being brainwashed or something. Like drink the blood and eat the body of Jesus!? It's all too much. And now that my parents know they're trying to make me go back to believing. And I listen to them talk and it's like I can't have a conversations with you. You put your faith above all else. You believe whole heartedly, my point of view is automatically wrong to you because faith trumps logic so why would I share it with you? But at the same time it's majority of the music they play, it's all their advice, I go every Sunday, my classmates and friends are majority Christian and yet I even though I see the flaws and hypocrisy, I still can't help but wonder, am I the crazy one?"
"My grandma would grab me and call me "big booty Judy." And my butt was grabbed, spanked, and frequently talked about. Sometimes she'd just sit there tapping it while she talked. It started when I was around three or four and just continued. Though now I'm in my teens and rarely see her. But my breast were also a topic for a while. Comments like "where'd you get those from?", "she's bigger than you.", and "her sisters the tall one but she's the curvy one." They felt icky but I didn't dwell on them. But she's also an alcoholic along with many other things. She dated my mom's friends when she was in college, gets shit faced in at events like birthdays and funerals. Shakes her ass on family members and frequently offered us alcohol. But I always took pride in being her favorite grandchild. Which she constantly reminded me I was. She also has a serious spending problem. But the funny thing is. She goes to a church church. She's in the choir and used frequently as a look example. She hosts church events and potlucks. She even remarried in the church. Never mind the things I just said that'd be considered sins. She's the perfect Christian woman."
"How do you cope with the level of disrespect? I'm not eighteen yet, but I'm still able to be disrespected. My main problem is the disrespect from my parents. My parents who wish to be respected in their beliefs and don't want their minds to change. But at the same time, my dad has sent my scriptures and stuff for the past couple of months since it came out. I don't believe in God or Jesus. They force me to serve and volunteer at church and attend every Sunday. They paired me with a not so ethical Christian therapist. Then both gang up on me about it and take my silence as defeat when I'm just respecting their beliefs. I'm literally the only non Christian in my family. I also have mental problems from staying with them and just in general, but they won't test me because I don't behave in such a stereotypical manner. I want to say they love me, but does someone who blatantly disrespects you love you? I'm having a hard time with seeing if I should do something as drastic as no contact after I reach a certain age.
But at the same time their those awful parents who don't just blatantly suck but also have messed me up quite a bit, resulting in me not feeling like I have a right to be upset. I've told them about how Christianity mixed with their parenting drove me to suicidal thoughts, almost going through with it, and an eating disorder I'm still battling. I also can't just leave and close the door behind me. I'm the oldest, and their are two more kids just like me, and if I turned my back on them, I'd never forgive myself. They're my siblings, but they're also what stopped me from going through with the bad thoughts I was having. They need someone who will be honest, say the weird things, and answer the ignored questions. So, how can I deal with the blatant disrespect so that I'm around for them? What skill for stress management can I use? How do I block out the constant religious gaslighting that happens in church? Because I have over two more years of this."
"My dad said if people don't wanna have a baby, they shouldn't have sex even if they're married. But sir, you had three babies while financially unstable because you couldn't keep your damn hands off my mom. You were planning me, but your job fell through, and when my mom went to get back on birth control, it was too late, so I'll give you a pass with me. But my siblings were both surprises. So, quit judging and practice what you preach. But that's not what pissed me off the most. He said women will put all their time into work and not their husbands, and that's why some men cheat, but the way he said it, it was like he was justifying it. But my dad, he'd go to hooters alone, and when I needed tights, he got them from a woman their and it made me think what if. And I know it's stupid, but that what if. It is so loud.
And it's not even the first time he's said something along the lines of justifying it and almost blaming the woman who gets cheated on. But then he likes to be all up in arms about how his friend married a woman who cheated on him multiple times. My dad's like, I wanna pour into my kids but then makes no effort, and when we spent time with him, we had to initiate it. He doesn't do the hey you wanna . . . stuff. But he has his own company, and they can't get any work right now, so he spends most of his time at home. And then says I'm just to tired to spend time with ya'll.
My mom was sick to the point of being half passed out in a drive-thru after taking my brother to karate and having to pick up dinner. I would've offered to drive him if I could. I'm still leaning, and I'm bad at staying in one lane. But my dad was really busy on his PS5 with his made-up football team. So busy he couldn't take my brother to karate nor could he pause his game to get dinner. I'm kinda starting to hate him. He's also done a couple of other things, but that's what recently has made me mad. But I don't feel like I have a right to be mad because he's here and a lot of my friends dad aren't, and he's not physically abusive like my best friends dad is. I just don't know how I should feel. Is everyone's dad like this?
Edit: It's mothers day and he couldn't be bothered to get the food, pick up the groceries, nothing. #1Dad guys."
​
So is it truly a horrible go no contact at eighteen situation, a be watchful situation, or is it fine? I know some of this stuff is a lot but some of it was also in a moment of extreme emotion. Remember like I said in the beginning they're not always like this.

Although children are eligible to be nominated, I feel young performers are being done a massive disservice not having their own categor(ies) recognising their talents.
Deserving kids throughout cinematic history have been overlooked for great performances due to what I would see as this bias against them: Macauley Culkin in The Good Son, Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun, River Phoenix in Stand by Me to name a few.
Now I know the natural response will be that they have the opportunity to be nominated alongside the adults, but if we’re thinking of it realistically, while that is the case, the odds of them ever winning are massively stacked against them (I know there’s a few who have).
For example, what hope would a child actor have of winning in a category that would feature such acting heavyweights as Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio or Meryl Streep?
The introduction of a youth award wouldn’t disqualify young actors from the adult awards (like when Parasite won Best Picture and wasn’t just relegated to Best Foreign Language), so for the truly next level exceptional performances, the academy could still recognise those, but I do truly feel a Child Actor award would be a good starting point to finally recognising the talents of the younger generation on screen.

"Good evening, tributes, and welcome back to the stories of Panem. Before we begin, I would like to thank Christian Blanco, the original writer of "Tales of the Hunger Games," and Lauren from "Panem Reborn." Now, since I don't have too much else to say, let's go!
Game 114 (150):
District 1: Jacqueline and Facet
District 2: Malona and Crane
District 3: Darlene and Colt
District 4: Brook and Harbor
District 5: Unknown girl and Darian
District 6: Fifi and Atlas
District 7: Bloom and Amarylio
District 8: Scarlet and Carter
District 9: Zest and Mazin
District 10: Zulu and Mateo
District 11: Unknown girl and Lee
District 12: Dorothy and Hargree
District 14: Both unknown
A plethora of excitement crossed the capital over the past year, especially their beloved commentator Camilia Ravenstil's pregnancy, which resulted in her giving birth to twins named Amelia and Cyrus, to honor the past two Game Makers. Even Winnow's victory was still in high popularity.
As the reapings rolled around on July 4th, many of the capital citizens flew to their TVs and viewing parties. Winnow made her journey from district to district with her mother and entourage from the capital. When she landed in District 4 on the late morning of the third day of the reapings, she was greeted by Mayor Chigwell. After a rather long tour of the district's harbors and jewelry stores, they stopped at a nearby seaside diner for a brief lunch. Viewers in Snow Square laughed at Winnow's face of pure boredom as Mayor Chigwell ranted about the latest trends in the district's fashion. Winnow's face soon turned to relief as the mayor brought her back to the district's reaping square.
After a little bit of time, the light blue-catered youths were walked into the square by rather impatient Peacekeepers. Mayor Chigwell finished up his speech before welcoming Winnow to the stage. She gave out a rather tired smile at the district's population before talking about the joys of being a victor. She then asked if any of the girls wanted to volunteer. After hearing no response, she then took out the name of 17-year-old Brook Branachok.
Brook was found in the back of the 17-year-old section. Her platinum blonde hair made her quite noticeable to viewers in Snow Square. She sighed dramatically before flipping her blonde hair back in a dramatic manner as her piercing blue eyes even made some of her nearby peers shudder in fear as Brook arrived at the stage and shook Winnow's hand. "She was later described as a 'rich high school bully' by commentators. The girls in a mood," Winnow laughed before shaking Brook’s hand before walking to the male reaping bowl. After a brief silence, she thrusted her hand elbow-deep before taking out the name of 17-year-old Harbor Zanders. A brief pause soon followed by a discussion as a boy with dark brown curly hair with a smattering of light brown freckles on his face gave a guilt-ridden smile before walking up to the stage. However, as a group of teens his age giggled, Harbor turned back and glared at the giggling boys as they suddenly grew quiet. Harbor soon took out a flask of wine. Capital citizens laughed as Harbor found one of his friends and tossed it to him before walking back up to the stage. Back in the capital, both Camilia and Silca and even most of the audience had been surprised at the pair's striking attitudes.
Harbor then shook Brook and Winnow’s hand before they were announced as this year's tributes for District 4 before moderate applause followed. Winnow soon brought the two tributes to the drawing room before she made her journey to District 3 with her entourage.
Brook was visited by her mother, father, and four younger sisters clinging dearly onto their sister. After successfully removing her sobbing siblings, Brook’s mother calmed her daughter down as her father, Coral, gave the best advice he could offer. Peacekeepers soon came in to bring Brook to the waiting dock. She waved and said she’d "At least try to win."
As for Harbor, he was visited by his mother, father, and his younger and older brothers. As his siblings were saddened as well as his parents, Harbor embraced them all in a tight hug. Before he was needed at the dock, his girlfriend Melanie even joined in this hug causing Harbor to show some emotion.
After a few more minutes, peacekeepers soon brought Harbor out of the room to join Brook at the dock as the pair boarded the jet boat to the capital.
"Man, you've been through the ringer, haven't you?"
"Same goes to you, girl. Haven't seen you in a year."
The pair soon chatted with each other about their experiences at the academy and gossiping about old friends. Brook, in particular, laughed hysterically when Harbor mentioned how his ex-girlfriend got karma returned to her when she crashed a birthday party at Harbor’s dad's bar, resulting in the peacekeepers putting her in the district's jail for a month.
However, as the pair tried to dine upon the food provided, the boat hit a bump resulting in Brook, Harbor, four avoxes, the dining table, and nine peacekeepers to go flying up into the sky. Thankfully, no harm came between the fifteen as the peacekeepers then helped the two back up as a new lunch buffet was arrived. And so did their mentor, Sienna Shoreville, victor of the 105th Hunger Games, arrived in.
"I don't want you two to ally with the 2s, maybe the 1s, depends on how they are."
Brook looked curiously at Sienna before saying, "Didn't Anamaria get her neck snapped by the girl a year prior?"
Sienna groaned in annoyance at remembering this cringeworthy death before walking to the bar carriage before inviting the two to join. As Sienna asked the pair about their lives, she laughed while listening to Harbor telling some stories of working at his dad's bar and the customers who would frequent the place. However, when Sienna asked Brook about her life and possible skills, Brook sighed before saying, "I guess looking pretty’s a skill."
Sienna laughed before replying, "For getting sponsors, yes, but not when you're in a fight to the death."
As this reality check wiped the smile from Brook’s face, she and Harbor finished up their meals before listening more to Sienna’s lecture about the games. And as an act to see if her tributes were actually paying attention, she quizzed them on the dos and don'ts in the capital. As Harbor passed this quiz, Sienna laughed before allowing him some "Capital Goodies." However, as Brook blatantly failed the quiz, she laughed and called Harbor a "suck-up" before walking to her room.
Sienna looked at Harbor for a second before saying, "I guess she’s either related to the mayor or is a spoiled rotten brat."
"She usually brags about her rich family members, always thinks she's better than everyone."
"And trust me, the girl ain't pretty."
Sienna and Snow Square laughed as she then patted him on the back before""telling him to get a 'nap' in before they were to arrive in the capital."
He nodded before Brook returned. It is unknown what the two girls talked about for the remainder of the trip, but our historians have noted that Brook’s scowl from before had dissolved for the time being. As evening rolled around, the pair from District 4's boat landed at Mcaine dock as an excited crowd of capital citizens swarmed the pair from 4 and their very popular mentor, who had been giving out her new jewelry to some of her lucky fans.
Brook and Harbor performed rather well, with the capital citizens enjoying their "feisty sailor attitudes." Even some reporters from Golden 24 put up a most popular tribute poll with Harbor and Brook being in the top 3, narrowly beating Fifi from District 6.
Sienna then thanked the capital for their time before taking her tributes to the limousine. Once it arrived at the accommodation tower, they arrived at the 4th floor. After arriving, Sienna called their stylist, Orivile Cartwright.
Orivile embraced Sienna before showing his tributes his pre-made outfits, which were Sailor themed, which made Brook and Harbor smile. Due to them having a fair amount of time left, Sienna displayed the post-reaping commentaries before turning on the commentary for District 1 as Orivile worked away at the pairs' outfits.
Mayor Cassino greeted a very exhausted Winnow Fraiser. Also accompanying the mayor was Realm Jones, victor of the 101st Hunger Games, and Quintin Mahoney, victor of the 108th Hunger Games, joined Winnow on the initial tour. Winnow appeared to be star-struck sitting between both iconic victors. She even turned around to Quintin saying, "I can't believe I get to meet a legend like you."
Quintin laughed before giving Winnow some comic relief during the tour, telling her about his games and even asking a few questions about her own games. At the conclusion of the tour, Realm's eyes lit up in delight as he saw his own capital mentor, Narcissa Valentions, warmly embracing her mentee.
"So what're you doing here?"
"I had some time off. I figured I'd come by and see how you've been doing. Business at my shop has been bustling as ever, so I figured I’d take a break to see my first victor."
As Realm and Narcissa soon walked over to the talent demonstrations together, Quintin laughed as Mayor Cassino welcomed the scarlet youths. Winnow was then brought up to the stage. She asked if any of the youths wanted to volunteer, becoming surprised when 10 ladies and 8 gentlemen volunteered for the role of tribute for District 1. Silca joked with Camilia, saying, "It's normal for them, isn't it?"
With the ladies' many remarkable weapon displays and archery displays, 18-year-old Jacqueline Faywether had been announced as the final volunteer to try her luck. She smiled at many nearby cameras as even one enthralled boy in the audience fainted seeing the rather extractive career girl.
She shot 10 arrows blindfolded and threw 8 knives in the letter J form, causing even more ripples of laughter sounded in the square. The mayor announced the two passing tributes. As for the two tributes, Jacqueline’s only remaining opponent, Jewel, had almost won the title of female tribute but had a stroke leading to Jacqueline to win the title of female tributes.
As for the guys, 18-year-old Facet Elixithorn had made himself a crowd and capital favorite by his spear-throwing display and to ending in a handstand with wild applause following. Three guys made it to the debate round with Realm this time asking the questions. With poise and dignity, Lance’s strong mind and less nerves had won him the title of male tribute for District 1.
After the pair were bathed and stylized, they were then brought out to the square as they then shook Winnow’s hand before she announced Jacqueline and Facet were announced as the tributes for District 1.
And after a brief meeting with their families and friends with not too much emotion, Jacqueline and Facet were then brought to the train as the train began their journey to the capital.
Narcissa, Realm, and Quintin then greeted their tributes with Jacqueline and Facet being surprised seeing their district's first victor’s mentor. Quintin soon brought the four to the table having a brief dinner with Narcissa asking the two if they had any skills besides their ‘weapons of choice.’ Quintin was pleased to hear of Jacqueline's diverse skills of weaponry before bragging to her district partner about her achievements at the Kobayashi self-defense center. However, instead of being jealous, Facet asked his district partner about her accomplishments.
Realm and Quintin were pleased with their tributes getting along with each other before showing the past reapings in the districts. Facet and Jacqueline laughed hysterically at the District 2 reaping games even Narcissa let out a smile. Quintin then asked the pair if there had been “Other commendable allies besides the non-dazzling loonies from 2 besides Jade and Hermina, they are dazzling.” Realm also chimed in adding that they should “Look for others.”
However, as Jacqueline was going to ask why Realm shushed her and said, “The career pack has their on and off years.” Jacqueline nodded before Quintin continued talking to the pair about the past reapings. Facet and Jacqueline even suggested the girl from 3 and the pair from 4 as potential allies. Realm appeared to consider this before Quintin added in that “He would see what he could do.”
As the pair nodded, the pair from 1’s train arrived in the outskirts of the capital. Narcissa soon styled the pair up, quietly complaining to Realm of how Jacqueline's red hair and Facet's long blonde curls were impossible to tame. The train then arrived in the capital with the usual excited capital crowd marveling scarlet couture. Jacqueline and Facet were both outstanding hits with the capital citizens maintaining proper etiquette. However, two capital lights had to be removed from the audience after heckling Facet about his district partner. Narcissa then wished Jacqueline and Facet luck before kissing Realm and Quintin on the cheek. Realm and Quintin then thanked the capital citizens for their time before bringing the pair from 1 to the limousine as it brought them to their accommodation tower.
Once they arrived at their accommodation tower apartment, they were greeted by their stylist, Aurelia Heavensbee. She smiled at the four of them before whisking them to the dining table showing them her designs for the parade. Jacqueline in particular was marveling at her long ruby dress as Facet jokingly told Jacqueline that they looked like a “walking jewel.” However, Aurelia frowned as Realm glared at Facet as the smile was wiped from his face. The pair then groaned in annoyance at their stylist's bland outfits.
Before the pair were then brought to the parade moments later, Facet and Jacqueline were immediately approached by Malona and Crane, both from 2 introducing themselves. However, Facet cut the pair off from further words, saying, “the career pack is gonna be different this year.” As Malona protested, Jacqueline said, ‘thanks but no thanks.” Both Jade Heath and Herminia Gold looked at the District 1 mentors in bewilderment as they also reciprocated. However, the pair from 1 then came over to the pair from 4 chatting with their mentor.
“Darling, you look stunning.”
“Oh, thank you, you dazzling ruby.”
Brook and Jacqueline seemed to obtain an instant connection. As Facet complemented Harbor’s outfit. Harbor smiled good-naturedly back before chatting away with him about lives in their districts. Facet soon asked the pair if they would be interested in an alliance in the arena; however, Sienna leaned in this conversation asking “Where are the 2s?”
Jacqueline then replied that they were “trying something new this year” before pointing at the pair making fun of Mateo from 10’s cow-themed parade outfit. Sienna shrugged as Brook and Harbor warmly accepted the offer as Facet and Jacqueline smiled saying “splendid see you soon.” When the pair from 1 got back, Realm popped up asking “You with the 4s this year.” As the pair nodded, Realm smiled and nodded with Quintin and Aurelia doing their touch-ups to their tributes' outfits. Sienna commended the pair for “making friends already,” she still urged caution before re-adding in “The 2 mentors there are my ride or dies but still keep your eyes on them if needed.”
The pair then nodded as the parade then began. Regal applause and cheers sounded for the pair from 1, but Nico Anderson lead editor of Anderson Fashion applauded for their strong impression but said the dress was “So Basic.” The pair from 4 were given a large amount of applause as Harbor and Brook waved at the audience even performing an old dance known as a “Jig”. The pair were also given a boatload of flowers and chocolate resulting in both Brook and Harbor sneezing uncontrollably at the end of the parade during President Mcaine's speech. Best dressed was ultimately awarded to the pair from 4 with their sailor-themed couture.
When the pair from 1 arrived back in their district apartment, they were glaring daggers from afar at Aurelia,
“How did it go.”
“How did it feel getting harshly criticized on live TV.”
Quintin shot Jacqueline a disapproving look as Realm asked if there other worthy allies. Both mentors were pleased hearing their success with the pair from 4 before Realm reassured them that they still looked “dazzling” before sending his tributes to bed. However, with the pair from 4, Sienna warmly embraced the two of her tributes on a best-dressed win. As Orville also joined in the group hug has the 4 of them partied till around 11:30 pm until Sienna sent her tributes to bed as she and Orville stayed up a while longer.
Bright and early the following morning, the mentors ushered their tributes to the training center with a very frustrated Apollo Price. Unfortunately, during his speech about the rules of the training center, he tasered Mateo from 10 after he tried to make a break for the door after Price’s speech concluded. Mateo’s mentor Bianca Jr Ramon rolled her eyes before dropping her mentee at the knife station.
The newly made career alliance between the District 1 and 4 tributes conquered most of the training stations with Facet and Harbor bonding over dropping and throwing large weights causing Fifi from 6 to wet herself earning a smirk from the boys. When Mateo awoke from his unconscious slumber, he immediately ran to Mateo asking him to spare. Since Mateo was no older than 14 and he was the youngest tribute the careers laughed before Facet told him to “Buzz off”. However, as Mateo continued to pester the career boys, Harbor gave Facet a knowing look before accepting Mateo’s sparing request.
A short crowd of tributes went to the jousting stations as Mateo and Harbor were briefed on the rules before being allowed to go at it. It was no surprise that Harbor won all 4 rounds.
“Easy”.
Harbor smiled warmly before being tackled to the ground by the 14-year-old boy from 10.
“You think you're better than me HA you rotten career boy.”
As Price Facet Brook and even Sienna tried to step in Harbor held his hand up to stay back. Harbor then threw the boy off him before pinching the nerve on Mateo’s neck knocking him clean out. As training master Price and Sienna looked at him in bewilderment before Price smiled saying
“Good job kid”.
Harbor smiled before Facet and he returned to the weight station and survival, knife and axe stations even giving advice to Amarylio from 7 with starting fires.
As for the girls they mainly gossiped to themselves and having “Girl talk” at the aquatic station sword station and archery stations. When any tribute tried to use the archery station both Jacqueline and Brook would melodicaly but fiercely slam there weapons into the targtes.
At the end of the traing head master price brought the tributes to the asscors room. Due to the request of the new head game maker the tributes assesment scores were kept strictly confidential. However tabloid reporters manage to scoop out that Jacqueline Facet Harbor and Malona from to managed to score at the top of the pack with a 11. Brook and Amarylio scored a 9 and at the bottom of the pack was Mateo and Hargree from 12 scoring a 3 each.
Both Sienna Quintin and Realm were beyond impressed with there tributes scores before they’re stylist sketched up potential outfits with there mentors soon quizing the pairs on interview educate.
Camilia Ravenstil welcomed the excited capital audience modeling a rather gothic dress that made her look like a ghost tree by the audience. The audience even laughed good naturedly as Camilia shook for a second as leaves fell of her costume as if wind had hit her. She then exictedly welcomed Jacqueline from 1. She was adorned in a stunning pink and red dress with her hair put up in braids. The two had some gossip before reavling to the audience that she was a decdent of Emarld Rivelta victor of the 34th hunher games. Camilia slapped her knee and laughed saying “Thats who you resmbl I guessed right I knew it!”
As the girls chatted the audience loved her regal responses to Camilas questions as even mentoning the carrer alliance brought the crowd into rapsous cheers,even when she talked about her allies from 4 openly. She then kissed Camilia on the hand before bowing which caused even more cheers before she was dismissed back stage. Facet was welcomed in next marveling a sleeveless pink suit with ruby jeans making many of the capital audience to swoon over his physeigue. Even Camilia was taken aback by his charm and confidence as he spoke about his training experience and the strength of his alliance with Jacqueline. His witty remarks and easygoing demeanor captivated the audience, earning him loud applause and admiration.
Later on into the night brook was welcomed in next with wild cheers and wolf whistles sounding. With her hair being dyed a pure yellow with a light brown dress resembling sand following her. She proceeded to have the same amount of banter with Camilia as Jacqueline did however Camilia cut her off as she was finshing up talking about her dads money saying “Honey this is the hunger games.”
“Yeah and Ill live how I like before the games.”
As a few jeers sounded the rest of her interview was rather dull the only light being Camilia shooing the “Regina George” of the stage. As Camila then called Harbor loud cheers sounded again as Harbor walked on to the stage with his curly black hair and brown eyes making him quite attrauctive to many even his pirate themed coustume became an over night sensation with many fashion designers stating that they wanted this fashionable suit.
As Camilia asked Harbor about the games becoming pleased with his short but sweet responses. Even cracking some good jokes about the other competitors mainly about Bloom from 7 and Mateo from 10 . To conclude Harbor’s inteviwed he tossed his waist coat to teh crowd as an excited gagle of captial ladies clammered for this waist coat. As his interview ended on a high. Finaly after the interview of the boy from 14 the new head game maker Natellia Swan was welcomed to the stage. Head game maker swan was adorned in a regal black gown also sporting garish make up making her resmble more of ghost then human. After introducing herself to the excited capital audience Camila smiled before shaking her hand saying that “Game maker swan has alot to accept from.” She laughed before giving hint out to teh audience by pointing to both of the laides dresses. Curious osund sof inteirgue soon followed as game maker swan smiled and bowed as she then left the stage as Camilia then ended the interviews there. The next morning tributes were given a breif breakefst before being brought to the arena’s holding room.
This years outfits consisted of black coats with black jeans and snakers with there distristicts nymbers stickered on the back of there coats. Realm visited Facet before reminding him to stick with Jacqueline and Harbor and Brook. However before Realm finished Facet replied “That girl Brook might be problem.” Realm nodded and agreed before reminding him to keep an eye on her before shaking his hand as he went into his tube. Jacqueline was visited by Quintin the pair had a similar conversation as Realm did with Facet before Jacqueline embraced Quintin and thanked him joking “District 1 needs more ladys.” Quintin laughed before hugging her back before walking Jacqueline to her tube. As for Brook she was not visited by Sienna nor Orvilve a fact that suprised her the most but shrugged before patiently puting her hair up in a bun and waiting for the tribute call to sound. As for Harbor Sienna visted him. She embacred Harbor before reminding him to “ Keep an eye on all of them.”
Harbor smiled before thanking Sienna for her mentor ship before Sienna walked Harbor to his tube his tube and at mid day the podiums then arose into the arena.
Arena Ghosty lake Game 114

So for some context I'm in freshman year of highschool right now, of my 6-12 grade school. I never really had too many friends overall, but now I actually have real friends, for pretty much the first time in my life. We've known each other for about a year or two now, and I like them, I like talking to them, playing games with them, sports, we've even been to a water park together. but everytime the topic of religion or anything lgbtq related comes up they become pretty worrying to me. My friends literally openly detest anything lgbtq, and think that Christianity is the "only truth", and how I should just convert. Which, considering I am both not religious and (maybe?) bi is kind of concerning for me. And I just don't really know what to do. I like my Friends and a lot about them, but this kind of talk always makes me super uncomfortable. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone!
I'm a college student, residing in Philly, PA. I'm also an immigrant. I became an orthodox when I was about 15 years old, then I switched to Protestantism, and now I'm orthodox again. My family are not religious, so I came to faith on my own. I've been struggling with depression and my faith, especially when I moved to the US. I went to college and then a pandemic started, it was hard for me to find new friends. After COVID I got to know some people, but I often felt not close enough with them. I was struggling to find friends like me, especially those who would help me with a spiritual journey. When I'm home I may struggle with depression, and I feel like I get spiritual delusion, negative thoughts just filling my mind and I get apathetic. Before I became a Christian, I feel like I was more simple, but then smth changed with me. Overall, I'm a smart guy, I was TAing and took on some leadership roles in college. But it was often hard for me socializing, especially when I became a Christian, I quickly get busy and rarely speak with people. I wish to find people who would talk with me on any topic and would make meaningful conversations. Hope to get to know you all soon!

14-minute read.

average monthly nominal salaries and YoY change in Q1 2024

Yerevan +8% to ֏324K/$836
Syunik +7% to ֏295K/$760
Shirak +7% to ֏142K/$366
Yerevan had the highest wages. Syunik had the highest wages among provinces, while Shirak had the lowest.
REPORT: While the average nominal monthly salary does not always show the level of economic prosperity in a region, its rise has made a tangible difference in Syunik.
SUREN PARSYAN (economist): Syunik has higher wages and strong employment. It is the most prosperous province with the lowest unemployment poverty rate in Armenia: 24% in Armenia, 15% in Yerevan, and 2% in Syunik.
REPORT: Over the last 5 years, the average monthly nominal salaries have risen by 40% while the inflation was 21%.
source,

Armenian army launches command staff exercises

They will exercise the practical implementation of deployment and combat plans, evaluate the commanders' skills, improve the synchronized work between various groups, develop the officers' moral characteristics and practical skills during preparation and combat operations, etc.
They will use automated control systems and modern technologies during the exercises.
source,

Armenia and India will form a new working group for defense cooperation

Defense ministries of AM and IN held a meeting on Tuesday. They discussed the 2024-2025 cooperation plan and the creation of a new working group to coordinate the cooperation.
source,

from PM Pashinyan's speech at Copenhagen Democracy Summit:

PASHINYAN: Democracy has indeed become a reality in Armenia. Before the 2018 Velvet Revolution, massive electoral frauds were the usual companion of elections in Armenia. There was no trust among the citizens that there was a real chance for them to elect the government.
Now the situation is totally different; citizens know that they are powerful enough to decide. The two general elections that were held in Armenia after the Velvet Revolution have been acknowledged as democratic, free, and competitive both by the Armenian society and the international community.
Armenia made huge progress in strengthening the democratic institutions, an achievement reflected in reputable democracy indexes:
(a) Now we are the 43rd in the Reporters Without Borders’ Freedom of Speech index, compared to 79th place in 2017.
(b) Categorized as having partially free internet in 2017 by Freedom House, now we enjoy the status of a country with free internet.
(c) In Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Armenia is now 62nd instead of 107th in 2017.
(d) In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index we are 84th compared to 111th in 2017.
In order to assess this progress, it's essential to note that alongside democratic reforms, Armenia has been contending with external security challenges: the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's invasion of Armenia in 2021 and 2022 and the occupation of over 200 km² amid inaction by [Russia's] CSTO, the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, have cast doubts among Armenian citizens weather democracy is the right choice. So, democracy needs to prove its efficiency while dealing with security, economic and humanitarian challenges.
We are pleased with the deployment of EU monitoring mission alongside the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and we welcome EU’s decision to expand its capacity. On the other hand, we hope for the inclusion of Armenia into the European Peace Facility and in this regard, we rely on the support of all EU member states [Hungary].
A new set of commitments aimed at strengthening Armenia’s economic resilience, state institutions, and addressing the humanitarian needs of refugees has been taken on by the European Union and United States during the high-level meeting on April 5 in Brussels. The rapid and effective implementation of those commitments is of utmost importance.
Despite all the challenges, we believe that the real and most aspiring companion for democracy is lasting and sustainable peace. My government took the share of its responsibility for this. Recently we reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to launch the delimitation of our interstate borders on the basis of the Almaty Declaration of 1991. That means that during the delimitation we should simply reproduce the Soviet-era administrative borders. This is the implementation of the agreement reached in Prague in 2022. Now it is time to incorporate and reflect those agreements in the peace treaty and have it signed.
Another key point for our regional stability is the «Crossroads of Peace», project, initiated by my government. This project implies that Armenia and Azerbaijan restore and open transport and other communications in accordance with the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass, and comply with the principles of equality and reciprocity. These elements of the concept were agreed upon during the July 2023 meeting with Ilham Aliyev and Charles Michel. //

... Politico reporter's Q&A with Pashinyan

REPORTER: [Ex-NATO leader] Anders Fogh Rasmussen called your neighbor an autocracy. You are in a very difficult geopolitical and geographical position. How do you solve the security problem in that environment?
PASHINYAN: I would not like to comment on the internal situation of our neighboring countries. Democracy fully corresponds to the mentality of our people. It is a strategy for our government, it is our political belief, it is also our political identity. The members of our political team have spent most of their lives fighting for democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of speech. Now we have the opportunity to realize all these values in our country.
The security situation was complicated because of the regional and global situation; the world order is collapsing at the moment. My assessment is, and I have had occasion to say this publicly, that the 2020 war was a prelude to further developments. And now the main issue is security.
What is our strategic point of view, how are we going to guarantee the security of our country? Recently, I gave a speech in our parliament, where I said that the most important tool for ensuring security is a foreign policy based on legitimacy. This is the reason why we so often speak about the 1991 Almaty Declaration.
It is very important that during the 2022 Prague meeting, two very important agreements were reached. Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on the basis of the Almaty Declaration and will use it as the basis for the border demarcation. This is the reason why I said that we are not drawing a new border, we just need to reproduce the existing one on the ground. This process is happening right now, and I hope that we will continue it steadfastly.
REPORTER: The border conflict that has occurred in recent years has had a negative impact on relations with Russia and Russia's role for Armenia. What would you say about this?
PASHINYAN: Armenia is a member of CSTO. We are officially a CSTO member, but I have announced that we have frozen our participation.
REPORTER: So are you still a member or...?
PASHINYAN: It is a matter for further discussion, but it is very important to record the current situation. A crisis arose in our relations after Azerbaijani troops invaded Armenia, and according to CSTO procedures, the Organization and its member states had to support Armenia in this situation. But even after the formal application, the CSTO refused to take any concrete steps, and in fact, that is the main reason for freezing our participation in the CSTO at all levels.
REPORTER: Do you expect the West to occupy the current vacuum and ensure your security?
PASHINYAN: We are diversifying our foreign relations in all spheres. Now we are developing defense cooperation with India, France, and other countries. We have a certain cooperation with the European Union because as I mentioned, we are happy about the deployment of the EU Civilian Observation Mission on the border. It is a civilian mission but in a way, it is a new factor for the security of our region. This is the first time that the European Union participates in the security agenda of Armenia.
REPORTER: Would you like to become an EU member?
PASHINYAN: We are waiting for the EU's decision to include Armenia in the European Peace Facility. We also hope to start visa liberalization negotiations, and last year I announced in the European Parliament that Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the European Union deems it possible. This is our position.
REPORTER: Can you elaborate on what initiatives Armenia is taking in the fight against corruption?
PASHINYAN: We have made huge progress but have not eradicated corruption from Armenia. We must continue to be persistent in the agenda of democratic reforms. This is the reason why cooperation with the European Union is of utmost importance for us because today the European Union is our main partner in the implementation of our democratic reform agenda. We hope that the European Union, as well as the USA, will increase their support to Armenia in the implementation of democratic reforms, because, as I said, democracy is a strategy for us.
By the way, in 2019 we started a Strategic Dialogue with the USA, and today we see the strengthening of our cooperation with the European Union. We recently had a tripartite meeting with the participation of the USA, EU, and Armenia. It was an unprecedented format, where we adopted a huge agenda of institutional and economic reforms. It is also very important that we receive more tangible support from the EU and the US to address the humanitarian needs of the Nagorno Karabakh refugees because it is a very sensitive and emotional issue for us.
REPORTER: In which year would you like Armenia to become a member of the EU?
PASHINYAN: This year [as soon as possible]. //
Pashinyan met Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The latter emphasized the importance of the “Crossroads of Peace” project in the context of unblocking the regional infrastructure.
Pashinyan discussed various topics with the PM of Denmark. The latter accepted his invitation to visit Armenia.
full video, source, video, other, other, source, video,

former regime continues to hold protests and briefly shut down roads in Yerevan with demands for PM Pashinyan's resignation

ԳԼՈՒԽ 1
Dozens of participants were detained and released the same day for blocking roads. The detentions decreased from 170 on Monday to ~63 on Tuesday. They want Pashinyan to resign or to be impeached. The protest organizers visited universities to gather student supporters, some of whom joined them with a dance. The organizers also stopped by at a bakery where they were given free food.
A felony investigation was launched after a police vehicle, "with the sirens on", struck a reporter on the street. In another instance, an investigation was launched against a protester who brought a long sword. One other case was launched over alleged threats made on Facebook by a Galstanyan fan who wants scores of people to be beaten in dalans and exiled from Armenia, "մենակ էտ դեպքում էս սրբազան հողը կմաքրվի էս տեսակ շան ծնունդներից, ուրիշ ձև չկա!!!!"
ԳԼՈՒԽ 2
A ruling faction member of Yerevan City Council complained about "harassment" by opposition figures who are attempting to convince ruling party members to join the protests and the impeachment.
RULING MEMBER: That is not how it works. No one will join you with that conduct. People will join if they see you have a legitimate agenda with trustworthy leaders. Instead, you are "ethnically cleansing" the citizens of Armenia [referring to one opposition speaker telling non-Armenians to leave] և հեռու չէ են օրը երբ դուք գուցե ասեք որ հայ լինելու համար պետք է Հայկ նահապետից տեղեկանք բերել: //
ԳԼՈՒԽ 3
Yesterday the protest co-organizer Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said he received a report suggesting that the Deputy Rector of Yerevan State University supposedly urged deans and others to retaliate against students who joined the protests. Galstanyan said he was unsure whether the report was true, but decided to read it out loud anyway. On Tuesday he rallied his supporters to the backyard of the University where he demanded to speak with the Deputy Rector for clarification.
The Deputy Rector went downstairs and greeted Galstanyan, who shook her hand but wouldn't let it go for an uncomfortably long period, prompting her to ask him to let go of her hand. The Deputy Rector declared that whatever Galstanyan read about her was a defamatory lie.
GALSTANYAN: I never believed it myself.
DEPUTY RECTOR: Then you should not have said out loud something you did not believe.
GALSTANYAN: Listen, there is a recorded fact...
DEPUTY RECTOR: Where is that "recorded fact"?
GALSTANYAN: It was on the media. As I said yesterday, I had no verification that it was true, which is why we came here to clarify it. If it's false, then I apologize.
DEPUTY RECTOR: Thank you. //
The Deputy Rector urged the protest organizers not to enter the building or disrupt the classes, and that "anyone who wants to follow you can follow you, anyone who wants to stay in classrooms should stay in classrooms".
The angry Deputy Rector left. Another university official criticized Galstanyan for not checking the information before reading it to his followers. Galstanyan said he stands behind his words, and that he was "just reading what was on the media", but reiterated that he had no intention to insult the Deputy Rector.
ԳԼՈՒԽ 4
Galstanyan and his supporters visited the monument dedicated to Operation Nemesis. He praised the figures behind Nemesis for "assuming personal responsibility". In front of the crowd, Galstanyan introduced Hambig Sassounian who recently joined his movement. He pointed to the Nemesis monument and said Sassounian is "one of the successors, one of the brightest people." In related news, on Sunday a ruling faction MP complained about receiving death threats with reference to Operation Nemesis.
ԳԼՈՒԽ 5
DANIEL IOANNESIAN (NGO chief): When this protest dies down, we need to discuss the following: (1) The transparency of political and media funding. There are some regulations in place, but they are incomplete and easily bypassed. For example, I'd like to know who paid for Archbishop Galstanyan's giant stage in Republic Square. In 2018 Pashinyan organized a fundraising for it and disclosed a detailed report. (2) Should the media organizations that do not respect the rules of financial transparency enjoy all the mechanisms for the protection of journalists? (3) Are the customs authorities confident that the church is not facilitating the business activities of certain figures disguised as donations? (4) Is it fair for the church and clergy members not to pay taxes? Should they be able to have a Bently and LX570 without paying taxes? [The "Bentley" is based on a true story.]
ԳԼՈՒԽ 6
Archbishop's fans spotted Miss Armenia 2003 and a H1 host Lusine Tovmasyan drinking a coffee at a Yerevan café and approached her.
PROTESTER: (unintelligable)
LUSINE: I was here drinking coffee yesterday, and a year before that.
PROTESTER: Why have you not joined the holy struggle?
LUSINE: Լավ եկեք թարգեք, շատ զզվելի ա, էնքան զզվելի ա․ //
ԳԼՈՒԽ 7
Pro-Kremlin propagandist Alexander Dugin praised the pro-Russian forces' protests in Armenia and criticized the pro-EU protests in Georgia.
Pro-Kremlin Russian politician Semyon Baghdasarov praised Archbishop Bagrat and the ongoing "uprising" in Armenia against the "traitor" [Nikol] who "rigged" the elections with the help of "Turkey, UK, and US". Nikol is a Turkish MI6 agent. video,
ԳԼՈՒԽ 8
Video of a protest recorded from above: video
source, video, video, video, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, video,

Armenian government has upgraded other diplomatic channels to reduce reliance on ARF's diaspora structures in the US, says pro-West NGO chief

KHURSHUDYAN: The status of the Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. [Lilith Makunts] has been significantly upgraded. I won't go into specifics because it's tied to our neighbors, but she plays an interesting role there. We have great conditions for the U.S. Congress to pressure Azerbaijan. This is outside of ARF's lobbyist groups in the U.S.
REPORTER: ARF Hay Dat's recent conduct has been shameful.
KHURSHUDYAN: And its influence on the Lemkin Institute was obvious. //
Yesterday Kurshudyan accused the Lemkin Institute of caving to ARF's pressure and meddling into Armenia's internal affairs to assist the protests by the pro-Russian former regime.
KHURSHUDYAN: Lemkin Institute accused Pashinyan's April 24 genocide remembrance day statement of containing "victim blaming". Lemkin did not comment on Pashinyan's statement for several weeks, waited 15 days, and as soon as these pro-Russian protests began in Armenia, they gave them a պաս:
source,

Armenia's four most prominent pro-West opposition parties announce the formation of a unified platform

Republic Party, led by ex-PM Aram Sargsyan.
Hanun Republic Party, led by Arman Babajanyan.
European Party of Armenia, led by Tigran Khzmalyan.
Christian-Democratic Party, led by Levon Shirinyan.
Have the following agenda...
(1) Promotion of Western values in Armenia and Armenia's membership in EU and NATO.
(2) United front against threats and risks of destabilization coming from Russia.
(3) Vetting judges to clean up the courts, and resolution of issues left unaddressed by the Pashinyan administration.
(4) Continuation of border demarcation based on 1991 Almaty.
(5) The use of international law to achieve a fair resolution for Nagorno-Karabakh residents.
The platform is open for like-minded forces to join.
source,

Armenian army chief denies being a Russian citizen

A statement released by the defense ministry denies media reports that CoGS LtGen Edward Asryan is a dual citizen of Russia. His wife is an ethnic Russian with Armenian citizenship and his kids are dual citizens, but Asryan only has citizenship in Armenia. The whole family has resided in Armenia since 2006, said the statement.
source,

Georgia passes controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill despite widespread opposition

The law will require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face crippling fines.
The bill will be sent to the President who is expected to veto it, but her veto is expected to be overruled by the parliamentary majority later.
Georgian PM Kobakhidze had an "honest conversation" with U.S. deputy foreign minister James O'Brien, telling him that the Georgian government is interested in deepening the partnership with the U.S., "which requires mutual efforts and relations based on fairness."
James O'Brien demanded to speak with the manager - Bidza Ivanishvili. The latter refused to meet O'Brien, saying he won't hold any meetings under "blackmail".
The White House said the U.S. will review its relations with Georgia if the bill becomes law.
source, source, source,

how many of the 101,000 Nagorno-Karabakh refugees have left Armenia and haven't returned yet?

As of...
Dec: 6.6K
Jan: 6.9K
Mar: 8.0K
Apr: 9.1K
May: 9.9K
The former Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh said many of them have family members and friends in Russia who invite them to move.
source,

temperatures are rising rapidly in Armenia

REPORTER: The rainy May is not going to be enough to alleviate the negative consequences of the rapidly rising temperatures in Armenia. With a ~3 Celsius anomaly, Armenia had the second-highest increase in temperature over the last 6 months among a group of monitored countries.
WEATHER CENTER: High temperatures increase the evaporation of water and reduce the amount of snow in the winter. In December and January, we recorded rain instead of snow in certain mountainous regions, which is bad for water resources.
REPORTER: A conference was recently held in Yerevan within the framework of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
UN official: Around 40% of global soils are degraded. Millions of people will be forced to migrate from their communities by 2050 as a result of climate problems. Emergency action is needed to reduce the rate of rising temperatures. //
Armenia joined the Convention three decades ago and has assumed the responsibility to restore degraded soil by 2030. The government is promoting drip irrigation systems for farming and wants to plant more trees.
video,

is the decline of Lake Sevan levels finally slowing down?

see the YoY chart

Yerevan Municipality to receive a €25 million loan from European Investment Bank to raise energy efficiency

It's part of the implementation of Eastern Partnership programs. The Armenian government and the EU are co-financing it.
The goal is to raise energy efficiency and carry out seismic retrofitting in 6 medical clinics and 32 kindergartens run by the municipality. The length of the program is 4 years.
video, video,

Gagik Tsarukyan is inside you

there is a bit of Tsarukyan inside all of you
see it to believe it

Gagik Tsarukyan says the new Jesus statue is ready and will be installed by the end of 2025

It will be a tourist attraction site. There will be a ropeway. Also, Tsarukyan needs you to know that he is a man of God and an avid believer.
video,

Armenia and Slovakia discussed AM-EU visa liberalization

source,

Lithuania will help retrain Armenian law enforcement agents to combat cybercrime, analyze crimes, etc.

source,

Armenia's Economy Minister Papoyan met the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt

In a Washington meeting participated by the Armenian Ministry delegation and Armenia's Ambassador, they spoke about the Crossroads of Peace logistics project proposed by Armenia, several topics relating to Armenia's energy and economic security, and the Armenian government's ongoing efforts to classify Armenia as a "market economy".
source,

Armenia and Iran discussed the construction of a second bridge over the River Araks

The first bridge began operating in 1996. It came to replace the floating bridges on the river.
Iran says the AM-IR traffic through the Meghri checkpoint significantly increased last year. Coupled with the fact that Armenia is building a modern North-South highway, they believe it's necessary to have a second AM-IR bridge to handle the rising traffic.
The parties are currently discussing the formation of a working group consisting of experts to discuss the topic.
source,

a new study on mice indicates that more exercise might be better than more sleep for clearing brain of toxins

They injected a dye into a brain and tracked the speed of its movement during sleep and exercise.
The findings show that the clearance of the dye was reduced by 30% in sleeping mice compared with mice that were kept awake. This has not been confirmed on humans yet.
Previous research has suggested that sleep is important for preventing dementia as it is during this time that toxic proteins are cleared from the brain.
source, source,

I posted this on AskHistorians, but figured this was a good place for it too, given that I am asking about historical military methods. Do let me know if this is off-topic though.
I am mainly interested in Medieval Europe, but anything regarding the rest of the world is fine. By infiltration, I mean sneaking in (or bribing someone already inside), and undermining the defenses from the inside (of the fortress or fortified city). An example scenario would be sneaking in a few men through deliveries of supplies, having them hide in the city with some food and water to sustain themselves, and once the besieging army is close, they would kill the gate keepers and open/destroy the gate. Another example would involve infilitration and then siezing the liege (or their family) and holding them hostage until they order the opening of the gates.
I haven't seen that much mention of infiltration in texts about sieges. Of course, there is the famous Trojan horse example. Then there's the perhaps more dubious account of the siege of Luna in 860, in which some Vikings pretended to be Christians wanting to bury their dying chieftain inside the city. According to the account, this worked, and the siege began from the inside. Apparently, they eventually reached the city walls and let in the greater besieging force.
As far as I can tell, this Wikipedia article on siegeing only mention infiltration in a single sentence:
"This [sieging] is typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engines, artillery bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses." (bold by me)
It appears infiltration wasn't that common. I can think of some reasons why it wouldn't be common, but also reasons why it would.
Why it should have been common:

1. Infilitration is inexpensive in resources and time compared to other methods of besiegement.
2. Infilitration sometimes does not require special knowledge, skills and tools, but other methods of besiegement almost always does. As such, infilitration is method someone without all that much could attempt.

If one is trying to infiltrate a city/fortress whilst acting as someone with no bad intentions, one must be able to act, know enough about the role one is acting as, and if infilitrating a foreign city/fortress, one would often have to be (or act as) a native of the region, which could also be rare ability/trait for members of the besieging force. So, 2. is not universally true, but I would think more often true than other methods of besiegement.
Why it should not have been common:

1. Infilitration is scary and dangerous; not everyone would want that job.
2. Infilitrating men could be taken captive and tortured for information hurting the besieging force.
3. The city/fortress could know about the besiegeing force's proximity, and thus be alert, checking all supplies and people that go through the gate; or perhaps, they let nothing and no-one in and take from storages instead.
4. The internal security could be so good that infilitrators wouldn't be effective anyways, unless they were so numerous that getting all of them in would be harder than just normal besiegement.
5. Maybe infilitration wasn't as glorious/gracious/pious as other methods of besiegement to many of the Medieval cultures/religions?

So, my question is this:
How (un)common was infilitration as a siege method, and why was it that (un)common?