Is it ok to take 6000 g of vitamin c in one day

Has anybody had a month+ long cold and what did you do to get it to go away?
I’ve been tested for flu, covid, RSV, everything negative. Taken 2 rounds of antibiotics (first amoxicillin then azithromycin), hydrating, resting, last week started taking multivitamin, emergen-c for extra vitamin c, probiotic, still here. Main symptoms are sinus pressure/congestion and a nasty cough that’s sometimes dry and sometimes productive— phlegm is sometimes clear and sometimes greenish. Been taking benzonatate and delsym for the cough at night so I can sleep and mucinex-d and Flonase during the day.
I’m losing my mind!!!!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi all,
Anyone out there ever do the less common (at least from what I usually see on this sub) act of leaving teaching and then transitioning back?
I taught and managed programs while on special assignment (e.g. was classified as a teacher but around 50-75% of my day depending on funding that year was to manage programs). I did this for 10+ years, then went to work for a Fortune 5 company, am currently at a Fortune 500 (trying to preserve some anonymity). For reasons too long to get into here, I am looking for a new job - but to name a couple:

• I am burnt tf out with the corporate environment, but not many other jobs I can think of that excite me other than teaching

-Miss working with the kids - leaving my teaching job was one of the hardest dmecisions I ever made and if you’d told me I’d be where I am 10 years ago I wouldn’t have believed you
I will say I left before experiencing teaching in the post-COVID environment, so no clue what that was like.
My gut says it’s the right choice right now, but I don’t want to (and prob can’t) flip flop back and forth if it’s not the right decision in 2 years. A small part of me is also concerned it’s a bit of nostalgia mixed with the anxiety of the literal thousands of job apps I’ve got circulating out there for non-teaching positions (in an industry in which I’m actually doing very well according to my performance reviews). I do feel it’s relevant to add that I know that desperation or burnout are not WHY to get into teaching - I wouldn’t be pursuing this option if I didn’t already know I loved it.
So while it seems this sub is more geared for getting out of teaching, but has anyone left and come back to it? If so, how was it, do you regret it, and what was your experience?

I've been dealing with dental issues for the past 6 months due to some malpractice. Most recently I had a filling replaced because there was decay left untreated under the filling for years (didn't know). The new filling was done incorrectly in December so I had it redone correctly in December. Afterwards, pain to crunchy foods and severe sensitivity to cold remained, but it seemed to be improving over time. My dentist said the filling isn't deep enough to be experiencing these symptoms, but I very much am. It is now 5 weeks later and my tooth is suddenly in unbearable pain for seemingly no reason. Nothing has changed, I still wear my new mouth guard at night to prevent my teeth from touching at night so I can't grind, I didn't bite into anything hard and/or crack the tooth, there was nothing that happened to further impact the tooth in the last few days. Previously I was able to chew most soft foods on the tooth and gently could chew chips. But my tooth feels like it's about to BURST. The pain will come and go about every 10-30 minutes and will last roughly 5 minutes at a time. It's not responding to ibuprofen or acetaminophen and I can't even touch the tooth with my tongue without wincing as of this evening. It went from zero to one hundred in 24 hours. I can't eat or sleep. I'm crippling over and bawling on my living room floor in pain every 30 minutes. Can someone please tell me what is happening and what I need to do to make it stop and how soon should I expect it to take before it can be resolved?
My dentist wants to test the tooth by giving it anesthetic to see if the pain goes away because she isn't convinced it's the tooth, but rather a neurological issue. But I feel like I'm being tortured by being asked to wait and not sent directly to the endodontist same day.

2008 subaru, had my head gasket replaced 6 years ago from the same subaru dealership I got it at, in march I had my radiator replaced and their multi-point inspection showed no leaks anywhere. Last week several of my dash lights turned on (check engine, traction control, cruise control flashes) and also had trouble changing gears. It felt like it hesitated or stuttered while shifting and wouldn’t shift up, like it was stuck between gears, so I checked the oil and noticed it was low (2k miles since last oil change) and went to get an oil change. They said I have a severe oil leak and to get that addressed immediately. Brought it in to the Subaru dealership about 2 hours later and they found oil leaking literally everywhere. Head gasket, onto my exhaust which burns and smells while driving, just a nightmare. My question is this something that happens over 50 days?? I wouldn’t think that changing the radiator would cause oil leaks everywhere but I don’t know much. With the shifting issues, they said they literally didn’t know and that it could’ve been because the oil was so low. Do I eat the repair cost and trade in for something new next year or let subaru take it off my hands (not sure how that works) and drive my dads old car until I can save up for something else? Or I can let Subaru fix the minor leaks like the one dripping on my exhaust causing it to burn, and get a quote from somewhere else?

Attention Former and Currrent employees of Panera, what has been your worst customer encounters ever? I’ll go first had a lady once tell me she didn’t want something in her order. I did her order and I modified it. She made me repeat the order. (which I did a least twice)💀
She goes down to the line stares at the food when they call her name and says this is not my order” this has to be a mistake” comes back to me and asks me for a receipt. I tell her I have given her receipt and she says no you have not. I print out the receipt for her again . (I did tho)
She goes back on the line. They check it on the line and it’s modified check the sandwich and says I did not say that, the line people yell at me. My manager comes out and deals with her.
She takes sandwich that is modified from before the one that she said was not her order.💀 They remake the sandwich and give her a refund on top of it and a cookie and a drink(for mistake)💀
that day I felt like my head was about to explode…….. I’ve actually had a lot, but this is the only one that I could remember for now
some customers are never satisfied. YIKES now I wanna hear from you guys. What was your worst customeservice encounter ever???

TLDR: My "mother" is a vile evil woman who has stolen from my grandma and nephew, committed crimes and exploited people, had me working at 15 to support the family while she did nothing, and lied to me so I wouldn't see my grandma on Mother's Day. I have a long post on my full story on another subreddit on my profile if you want more context.
My "mother" is a vile, awful person who has committed heinous and despicable acts. To make an extremely long story short, I grew up in an unstable household. My dad wasn't around and my mom was unwilling to work to support us. I was pawned off to my grandparents who lived with us, and they were more parents to me than my actual parents were. Everything my mom has done has been to fuel her ego, and as with many narcissists, to seek validation to reinforce her nonexistent identity outside external validation. She needs validation constantly on how young and beautiful she looks, how rich and great she is, and how she is an excellent and caring mom. Yet a good mother wouldn't have had me and my siblings and grandparents living in a former drug house infested with millions of roaches, rats, black mold, and on again off again running water and electricity. A good mom also wouldn't have sat around having parties and drinking while I, at 15 years of age and two senior citizens, broke our backs trying to sell and rent party supplies and carrying an 800 lb bounce house to customers that wanted to rent them. I worked at 15 like a Victorian boy instead of going to school trying to make ends meet because my parents wouldn't. My "mother" has done everything evil you can think of, from scamming and stealing from innocent people, catfishing other men (while with my stepdad), pretending to be my sister online for validation and money, forcing my sister to be a model and hook up with much older men for the promise of advancement (she was 17 and these men where in there 30s or older), spies on my widowed sister-in-law, had me living in deplorable conditions and having me eat old food infested with roaches and rat droppings, conducting illegal gambling business and money laundering, kept the fact that (some of) my siblings are adopted from them, baby trapped my stepdad, had little to no concern for my mental health and did not help or try to accommodate my sensory issues (I suspect I may have level 1 autism, mostly with sensory issues) and much, much, much more. I have been going to therapy and am currently doing emdr to undo the damage that my evil "mother" has done. She is a master of manipulation, love bombing, and buying people's love, loyalty, and affection. I, for the second time, have gone no contact with her.
Now that there's some context, my grandmother means everything to me. She lives in a convalescent home and my mom has control over her. I wanted to see her on Mother's Day. My mom asked if I was going to come to lunch. I said we were visiting my wife's mom, then coming to the house later at 5. She said that was not going to work because they were going to eat at 1. I said, OK well, if we can't do the restaurant, then take her to the house, so we can all visit her at 5. She said she couldn't do that, and why couldn't we just go to eat with them and then, IF there's time, we could go to my mother-in-law's house for a little bit. I said no, everything has been arranged already, and as usual you don't inform anyone of plans and expect everyone last second to cancel theirs and do yours. We were going to make my mother-in-law a priority, however, there was time for both. She got mad and said she would not be bringing my grandma to the house and I guess that was it. I said, well, I guess it is. On Mother's Day, I called my grandma, and she was upset and crying, asking why I hadn't seen her, and that she had come to visit the house. My mom took her to the house after lunch and didn't tell me. Neither did any of my other family. She said that she wanted to come back home and didn't want to live at the facility. She is fairly healthy and in reality, doesn't need to be at the facility. After talking to her, I confronted my mom and said that I explicitly told you that I wanted to see Grandma, and you said you were NOT bringing her to the house. You did bring her to the house and intentionally did not tell me. Because I did not bow down and follow your commands like everyone else, you deliberately orchestrated this, so I would not see her in an act of revenge to spite me. There was no reason you couldn't have called or texted and told me you were bringing her, especially after I told you I wanted to see her, even if it was at the last minute. It was an intentional act. She just said you are always talking shit about me. I told her it's not talking shit if it's true. She then hung up. This is what she does. If you don't follow the Führers command, bow at her feet, and tell her how wonderful and gracious she is, she will seek vengeance and do things to spite you, to bring glory for herself.
My grandma told me that my "mom" mistreats her, and is collecting pay from the government pretending to be her caretaker (when in reality my mom does absolutely nothing and has no job whatsoever. She dedicates her life to crime, fraud, and scams. She ran an underground casino with my stepdad and when they got busted my stepdad took the fall) but instead dumped her in a conversant home and does not care for her at all. Besides all that, my grandma also stated that she takes all of her social security money and keeps it. This is not surprising because my nephew, who is technically an orphan, having lost both parents recently, is under the custody of my horrible "mother" and he had some kind of inheritance left for him. When my "mother" discovered this, she swept in and wiped it clean. Her greed is deplorable. Wherever there is money, the Sheriff of Nottingham will do anything to get every last coin wherever she can get it. She even charges people $5 to use the washing machine. The most important thing to my "mother" is herself and her endless black hole of needing to be validated and praised, along with the endless black hole of greed. It is her entire identity. I am so enraged, and I can not let these things happen. When will my "mother" face consequences for her actions? She cannot continue to commit evil acts and not only get away with them but also prosper because of it. One of the worst parts, however, is that everyone, even if they have their problems with her, always goes along with what the dear leader says and continues to enable her by telling her she's a good mom and that they appreciate her. She needs to face consequences for her actions, but I don't know what to do. She can't continue to harm people and get away with it. I need help.

TLDR: My "mother" is a vile evil woman who has stolen from my grandma and nephew, committed crimes and exploited people, had me working at 15 to support the family while she did nothing, and lied to me so I wouldn't see my grandma on Mother's Day. I have a long post on my full story on another subreddit on my profile if you want more context.
My "mother" is a vile, awful person who has committed heinous and despicable acts. To make an extremely long story short, I grew up in an unstable household. My dad wasn't around and my mom was unwilling to work to support us. I was pawned off to my grandparents who lived with us, and they were more parents to me than my actual parents were. Everything my mom has done has been to fuel her ego, and as with many narcissists, to seek validation to reinforce her nonexistent identity outside external validation. She needs validation constantly on how young and beautiful she looks, how rich and great she is, and how she is an excellent and caring mom. Yet a good mother wouldn't have had me and my siblings and grandparents living in a former drug house infested with millions of roaches, rats, black mold, and on again off again running water and electricity. A good mom also wouldn't have sat around having parties and drinking while I, at 15 years of age and two senior citizens, broke our backs trying to sell and rent party supplies and carrying an 800 lb bounce house to customers that wanted to rent them. I worked at 15 like a Victorian boy instead of going to school trying to make ends meet because my parents wouldn't. My "mother" has done everything evil you can think of, from scamming and stealing from innocent people, catfishing other men (while with my stepdad), pretending to be my sister online for validation and money, forcing my sister to be a model and hook up with much older men for the promise of advancement (she was 17 and these men where in there 30s or older), spies on my widowed sister-in-law, had me living in deplorable conditions and having me eat old food infested with roaches and rat droppings, conducting illegal gambling business and money laundering, kept the fact that (some of) my siblings are adopted from them, baby trapped my stepdad, had little to no concern for my mental health and did not help or try to accommodate my sensory issues (I suspect I may have level 1 autism, mostly with sensory issues) and much, much, much more. I have been going to therapy and am currently doing emdr to undo the damage that my evil "mother" has done. She is a master of manipulation, love bombing, and buying people's love, loyalty, and affection. I, for the second time, have gone no contact with her.
Now that there's some context, my grandmother means everything to me. She lives in a convalescent home and my mom has control over her. I wanted to see her on Mother's Day. My mom asked if I was going to come to lunch. I said we were visiting my wife's mom, then coming to the house later at 5. She said that was not going to work because they were going to eat at 1. I said, OK well, if we can't do the restaurant, then take her to the house, so we can all visit her at 5. She said she couldn't do that, and why couldn't we just go to eat with them and then, IF there's time, we could go to my mother-in-law's house for a little bit. I said no, everything has been arranged already, and as usual you don't inform anyone of plans and expect everyone last second to cancel theirs and do yours. We were going to make my mother-in-law a priority, however, there was time for both. She got mad and said she would not be bringing my grandma to the house and I guess that was it. I said, well, I guess it is. On Mother's Day, I called my grandma, and she was upset and crying, asking why I hadn't seen her, and that she had come to visit the house. My mom took her to the house after lunch and didn't tell me. Neither did any of my other family. She said that she wanted to come back home and didn't want to live at the facility. She is fairly healthy and in reality, doesn't need to be at the facility. After talking to her, I confronted my mom and said that I explicitly told you that I wanted to see Grandma, and you said you were NOT bringing her to the house. You did bring her to the house and intentionally did not tell me. Because I did not bow down and follow your commands like everyone else, you deliberately orchestrated this, so I would not see her in an act of revenge to spite me. There was no reason you couldn't have called or texted and told me you were bringing her, especially after I told you I wanted to see her, even if it was at the last minute. It was an intentional act. She just said you are always talking shit about me. I told her it's not talking shit if it's true. She then hung up. This is what she does. If you don't follow the Führers command, bow at her feet, and tell her how wonderful and gracious she is, she will seek vengeance and do things to spite you, to bring glory for herself.
My grandma told me that my "mom" mistreats her, and is collecting pay from the government pretending to be her caretaker (when in reality my mom does absolutely nothing and has no job whatsoever. She dedicates her life to crime, fraud, and scams. She ran an underground casino with my stepdad and when they got busted my stepdad took the fall) but instead dumped her in a conversant home and does not care for her at all. Besides all that, my grandma also stated that she takes all of her social security money and keeps it. This is not surprising because my nephew, who is technically an orphan, having lost both parents recently, is under the custody of my horrible "mother" and he had some kind of inheritance left for him. When my "mother" discovered this, she swept in and wiped it clean. Her greed is deplorable. Wherever there is money, the Sheriff of Nottingham will do anything to get every last coin wherever she can get it. She even charges people $5 to use the washing machine. The most important thing to my "mother" is herself and her endless black hole of needing to be validated and praised, along with the endless black hole of greed. It is her entire identity. I am so enraged, and I can not let these things happen. When will my "mother" face consequences for her actions? She cannot continue to commit evil acts and not only get away with them but also prosper because of it. One of the worst parts, however, is that everyone, even if they have their problems with her, always goes along with what the dear leader says and continues to enable her by telling her she's a good mom and that they appreciate her. She needs to face consequences for her actions, but I don't know what to do. She can't continue to harm people and get away with it. I need help.

I am a 25F and I am in about 20k debt due to my poor financial decisions and my family. I enable their addictions and the fact they can walk all over me. I know that.
When I was 18, we were in a small two-bedroom apartment. I was young, didn't do too well in school (we took in my cousin when she was a baby and I had to basically mother her when I got out of school), and so I went to work immediately. I got into hostessing and worked my ass off for overtime constantly. My mom lost her job due to her health and I had to take up the helm.
Every dime I had, my parents begged for. I trusted them that they paid the rent and utilities, since they wouldn't screw me over if the home was in my name, right? Of course, they screwed me over. I found out that not only my dad had started abusing narcotics, but my mother too. I couldn't let them fall out, I loved them. I love them. So I worked even more, becoming a waitress and we stayed in a motel after our eviction, until family graciously took us in. I worked everyday. Every hour I could, and I had basically isolated myself to my job alone. My parents got my checks, my every cent, and to this day it's still like that.
We had to move around until I found a place that I didn't need to qualify moving in for. Even if rent is more than it's worth, it's all we have. I tried going to classes, but to avoid being homeless, I took out student loans and used them for our necessities, while I had aid to pay for my classes. I couldn't finish my degree because my circumstances weren't too great and I was left with more debt than I could handle.
My brother, who doesn't work either, is in his twenties as well, and he started abusing pills too. That's where all my money goes, to their habits, and I don't know how to leave. They get paid every month for their own benefits and they blow it all instantaneously on drugs. Screw my debt. Screw my ruined credit. My checks are used up within days, and I have to feel an incredible amount of anxiety every time bills come up because I hope to God they don't do anything stupid so I can pay for things. I feel like I'm barely scraping by, keeping my head above water by just an inch.
I don't think I ever grew up, and I don't know how to be an adult. In a world full of quick knowledge too, I don't even know where to begin learning.
I don't know where to start. I don't have any friends that can house me. I don't know how to drive. I don't know how to move on or save without them finding out.
I'm utterly miserable and I'm in a job that I can't leave as well, because it's my one means of safe income. They drive me to and from work everyday and my account is usually overdrafted so I wouldn't be able to even get a rideshare. My mom holds my cards and she keeps telling me they'll get help and be better.
I'm done hoping that they'll change and see that they're hurting me. I'm tired, and now I want a plan to leave. I just want to be happy and independent. I'm terrified of change, but I just wanted to tell someone, anyone, that I'm going to try to get my circumstances under control.

Timestamp
PPFF USPS shipping Yolo > Chat
Really cool stuff today. If you want to chat with a trade offer, please comment here first.
Click on name of knife for video.
SV $490 / TV $550 Tactile Turn Archer. This is a catch and release for me. Bought as LNIB (well, in cool pouch, so...LNIP) and received yesterday. Its a stunner...but I'm finding that I prefer smaller-than-full-size stuff, so moving this on for someone else to enjoy. If you are going to offer a trade for this beauty...make sure its smaller than this 3.4 inch blade! These are $599 from TT and are sold out. The feather milling pattern is like nothing i've seen. Original edge, no cut and limited carry (previous owner mentioned one day of office carry). 2/7/24 DOB which you can see in the timestamp picture on the cool metal card included. These come stock with skiff bearings and the action and acoustics (turn on sound!) are wonderful.
SV/TV $199 Heretic Jinn Magnacut partially serrated blade. Its a wicked little slip joint that retails for $300+. I'm at least second owner, but I don't see any evidence of use. I carried it for less than a day in a leather slip. I really like the walk and talk on this thing since its not as stiff as a Jack Wolf, but also not "squishy" at all. Satisfying while also not hard to open. I don't know the fancy slip joint lingo or how to rate the pull. I added a little lanyard to it.
SV/TV $125 Benchmade Grizzly Creek 15060-2 *note: once one of these Benchmade gets a yolo, I will likely withdraw the other. I couldn't decide which one to keep, so I'll let the swap decide.
At least second owner, but no use to speak of. Action is pretty incredible on both of these Benchmades. Recurve blade is sweet looking. This one has a gut hook for all your gut needs. Comes in box with the little baggy thing.
SV/TV $125 Benchmade North Creek 15031-2 At least second owner, bought at the same time as the one above. Nice action with the axis lock and also a cool little recurve blade in S30V. I don't think this has been cut or carried.
SV/TV $135 $120 Spyderco Mcbee price drop since this was listed a while back. Its little, its sharp, its cute. CTS XHP. First owner, purchased from REC for around $190. Very light cut (some mail) and carry (around the house). Has been disassembled and cleaned. The awesome rock textured pivots are not so awesome with the Spyderco loctite, and I stripped the originals when taking apart. Spyderco customer support is great, though, and they sent brand new ones that I just installed. The knife is pretty pristine except where you can see some marks from my initial struggle taking apart. Comes in original box.
SV/TV $60 Creeper Knives Friction Folder This is light as air due to the kydex construction. Comes with a nice nylon sheath. I'm at least second owner but bought it as "like new" and I have not used it to my recollection. I don't know much about this maker, but I understand these go for $200+ when buying from him directly
SV/TV $30 TwoSun TS359-Shell looks cool in the sunlight, huh? Its a Twosun brand slip joint (although it doesn't have any branding that I can see) with a Damascus blade. I removed the original lanyard and put my own on there. I've listed this a couple of times a while back and it didn't sell so its been sitting in a drawer. Comes in Twosun box.

I finally published for the first time. Not the first time I've finished a novel, but certainly the first time I have actively published one .. one that I've been a little proud of. I know it's a long process to get noticed, or even start to see some traction in sales & downloads, but how do you go about promoting your novel? I feel like I'm stuck. 😕
Beginning of chapter one below - if anyone would like to provide feedback that would be lovely. 🙂
[2,310] It began like a surreal haze, a fever dream dancing with unknown figures swirling around her like a languid tornado, their movements seemingly slowed by some unseen force as she awoke to a world spinning out of her control. She found herself surrounded by strangers who moved like spectres in a dream, fragmented flashes who assaulted her consciousness - a woman gently pressing a cloth to her throbbing head, another offering sips of water while she coughed and struggled to swallow, a man peering down at her with a furrowed brow, and a mysterious figure lingering in the doorway with an unsettling glint of desire in his eyes.
The room buzzed with a quiet urgency as they hovered around her, their faces etched with concern and something else she couldn't quite place - an undercurrent of tension that seemed to pulse in time with her own racing heart. These disjointed images flitted in and out, creating a mosaic of fragmented reality. Awake, her body throbbed with pain; asleep, she plunged into a black abyss, time slipping away unnoticed. Each awakening brought the desire for oblivion as her mind plunged back into the depths of darkness.
Beth jolted upright, startled by the sharp bang of a car backfiring. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she attempted to sit up, her back and legs resisting her will. A woman, the same from her fleeting visions, hurried into the room with a damp cloth and a glass of water.
"Easy now," the woman spoke gently, her mild Spanish accent adding warmth to her sharp words as she pressed the cloth to Beth's forehead and helped her sit up, "you're weak, rushing won't do you any favours. The sooner you regain strength, the sooner you can move."
A man, the one with the odd expression in her visions, appeared in the doorway once again; "and the sooner we can leave this place, I'm sick of it." He grumbled, striding away with urgency and frustration. His steps were heavy and fraught with agitation, each one seeming to leave a deep imprint on the ground beneath him. His grumbling was like distant thunder, punctuated by the clenching of his jaw and the tightening of his fists.
"Don't mind my brother," the woman interjected sharply, "it's not you - he hates everyone." Hate, Beth pondered, wondering what she might have done to earn his disdain.
"Are you hungry?" The woman stood, walking to the other side of the room to adjust another pillow behind Beth's back. Beth nodded; "I'll get you some soup."
Left alone, Beth surveyed the room - beige walls, a shattered TV, torn brown curtains. She squinted at the notepad on the side table, revealing the branding - Mill Village Motel Eatonville. The coffee pod machine at the room's far end, covered in dust, hinted at a neglected past.
"You're awake," startled, Beth turned to find the man with the furrowed brow at the door - tall and dark, with piercing brown eyes, he appeared softer now, "how are you feeling?" Beth managed a brief smile before adjusting herself, wincing in pain. He rushed to offer a hand, and she took his arm to shift as he adjusted the pillow.
"Want to give walking a try?" The man's warm, brown eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled down at her, his features etched with concern, his furrowed brow now smooth and his brown eyes sparkled with an unfamiliar kindness.
She shook her head, and the woman returned with soup and water; "she needs to eat before attempting to walk, Austin," she said, setting the tray before Beth.
"Then we'll try again tomorrow," Austin expressed, heading towards the door, "the sooner we leave, the better - we've been here for too long." His footsteps echoed with determination and authority, less frustrated than the other man's but equally resolute.
"I apologise if it's cold. Heating options are limited here. Need a hand?" The woman offered. Beth shook her head, the pounding of her headache resonating through her body.
"Well I'll leave you to it then. Shout out if you need anything, if you can talk at all." Beth glanced down at her bowl of soup, parting her lips as if to speak, but no words escaped. A deep sigh escaped from the woman's mouth as she turned and left the room, leaving Beth alone with her cold, untouched meal. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the sound of muffed chatter outside.
The days stretched longer as Beth's need for rest diminished. Boredom and confusion settled in, intensifying as the people from her visions became tangible presences, moving in and out of her room. They attended to her needs but seldom engaged in conversation. At night, their muffled voices in the adjoining room became a distant comfort, and the faint echoes of their arguments a source of intrigue.
"We need to leave," a frustrated male voice pierced through the thin walls, "we have to head further south before winter traps us with little supplies and an extra mouth to feed - considering you're all so intent on keeping this girl alive."
"This woman," a familiar female voice retorted, likely the one who had been caring for her, "needed help - I distinctly remember a time when I wasn't doing well and needed it too."
"You're my sister, of course, I wasn't going to leave you behind."
"I'm not talking about you, Luis," she yelled, "I'm talking about before you came back from Minnesota and found me."
"Why can't we just leave her here with some supplies and a gun. Why do we need to bring her with us?"
"Jesus Christ Luis we're not leaving her here alone and you two can have it out later," intervened another man, "but Luis is right - we need to leave before the snow settles in."
The argument faded into muffled voices again, and Beth strained to catch the words exchanged between the trio. A knock at the door startled her.
"May I come in?" A young girl, the same from her visions, had opened the door quietly without her even noticing. "I thought the yelling might have woken you." Beth nodded, maintaining her silence.
"I'm Chantelle." Her soft Southern accent flowed like a gentle breeze through a cornfield. She pulled up a chair beside the bed. "Luis can get into it with everybody, but he means well. Well, no, that's a lie. I don't know why I said that. He's a dick."
"I gathered," Beth whispered and laughed a little, suddenly overtaken by a violent cough.
Chantelle rushed to hand her water; "so, you do speak. From the way Austin and Val were sayin' it, it sounded like you were mute. I thought, you couldn't be deaf because you've been nodding and smiling like a dang puppet."
Beth laughed and took another sip; "I didn't really have anything worth saying until now. No one has bothered to make conversation."
"Your accent, where are you from?" Chantelle sat down on the wooden chair, her long dark hair cascading down her back in gentle curls. Her bright brown eyes sparkled with kindness as she looked towards Beth.
"Australia," Beth paused, realising she hadn't thought about home for a while, "I'm from Australia," she repeated.
Chantelle pulled out a deck of cards; "well, I figured you might be bored and needed a little human interaction that didn't make you feel like you were in a hospital."
Beth's eyes lit up, and Chantelle smiled; "what do you want to play?"
— — —
"What do you think you are doing?" Austin stormed into the motel room.
"We're leaving. Today," Luis' words cut through the air.
"The van's still in bad shape, and we won't survive this winter on foot." Austin's arms were folded tightly across his chest, the muscles in his biceps and forearms bulging with tension. His jaw was clenched, and his brows furrowed in frustration.
"Then fix the damn van!" Luis yelled, the sound piercing through the walls and resonating outside the motel room for others to hear the heated exchange.
"Oh, sorry, I'll just take it down the road to the mechanic, shall I?" Austin raised a quizzical eyebrow, smirking at his friend. The men paused their argument, exchanging laughter.
"Luis, what's going on with you?" Austin softened his tone, taking a seat on the other bed. "We've been friends since high school, grew up together, served in the army together. This isn't you."
"I don't know, man." Luis sat on the other bed, facing his friend, his face buried in his hands. He rubbed his face hard, threw his head back, and sighed heavily. "This just isn't—" he paused.
"Isn't what?"
"Isn't life." Luis gestured around the room.
"We'll get to the coast, find a boat, just like we planned." There was a slight taste of bitterness in the air, as if Austin's mild frustration was tangible.
"And then what?"
"Do the best we can," Austin stood up, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we all have our dark moments, brother. You helped me get through mine, I'll help you get through yours."
Austin walked out of the motel room into the crisp morning air. The atmosphere was fresh, with a subtle scent of dew and grass. The sweet aroma of winter's imminent arrival filled the air, mingling with the faint scent of burning oil from their broken down van across the parking lot.
"Ben thinks he can fix the van by tomorrow. He found the parts we need on the other side of town." Val caught Austin as he had walked outside.
"He went scouting alone?" Austin looked across the lot at Ben, deep into the hood of the black church van they had found a while back.
Chantelle bounded up before she could answer; "Beth seems much better today. She's eatin' and drinkin' more. I think she could try walkin' today."
"Beth?" Val and Austin remarked in unison.
"Mmm, she speaks - she might have a lot more to say if either of you bothered to converse with her instead of just talkin' to her." She walked off towards Ben, a light air in her hopeful stride.
— — —
Austin found Beth sitting on the edge of her bed, her feet bare and dangling idly over the side. Her toes were curled, squeezing them tightly as she wiggled them back and forth. Her face was tense with concentration as she tried to alleviate the tingling sensation in her feet.
"Beth." His voice was soothing and calming, his words spoken with a gentle tone as he tried to ease Beth's discomfort.
"Chantelle?" She looked up at him, as he nodded, smiling gently. "She's a good kid." She smiled and looked back at her toes.
"Do you want to try walking today?" He walked towards the chair on the other side of the room and sat down as it creaked underneath the weight of him.
"The sooner I can walk, the sooner you can get out of here." She said with a sarcastic air, mocking Luis.
"The sooner we can get out of here." He repeated sarcastically with a smile, a light spread of jest washing over him as he joined her in mocking his friend.
"Your friend Luis seems to be very against bringing me along with you." She looked back at him.
"I'm not in the business of leaving people behind. Especially in Washington in the middle of October," he sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, "you wouldn't survive the winter."
"Then maybe you should have just left me to die." She turned her body to face him abruptly. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interjected before he could respond.
"Why did you help me? You don't know me, why did you even bother?"
"Like I said, Beth," he stood up, his wistful tone switching back to cold and dry, "I'm not in the business of leaving people behind." He walked over to her slowly.
"I've lost too many people. I've watched people kill others over a can of soup. I've seen friends leave friends behind to save themselves," he sat down on the end of her bed, "I don't leave people behind."
His brown eyes cut through his words like a thunderstorm. She looked at his face, tired and weathered from sleepless nights with one eye open to ensure his group's safety. She pegged him as their leader - strong and determined with clear military training.
"What happened to you?" She asked softly.
"What happened to you?" He countered; "I refuse to believe you survived a pandemic alone for six months in a foreign country."
She said nothing and looked back at her feet. They sat in silence for a while before he stood up and headed for the door.
"We're leaving the day after tomorrow. We need to head south before it's too cold, and we don't know how long the van or the car will last, so part of that might be on foot."
"I'll try walking today." Beth nodded obediently.
"I'll send Val and Chantelle in to help you." He replied, his voice maintaining the cold cadency.
"Thank you." She smiled, wriggling her toes as the numbness started to dissipate. Before he could leave, she looked up at him again.
"Austin?" He stopped at the door and turned to her. "I know you've all done a lot for me, including putting your friendship with Luis on the line, so thank you. But I have a favour to ask," her voice grew quiet, "before we leave."
"What is it?" He asked sternly at her audacity to ask for another favour.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He noticed her green eyes glisten with the added layer of acridity and the change in her demeanour; "before we leave, I need you to help me bury my husband."

My PC is currently very outdated (it turns 9 this year), and I want to upgrade my PC, and I currently have this list (constantly updated as AliExpress prices change), and I want a cheap, used $200-$300 GPU to go with. I'm thinking used RTX 3070 or RX 6700XT. My mom however, wants to get the 7700x Microcenter bundle. At the price point of $400-$500, which would be better? I currently have a GTX 960, an ATX case, and an EVGA 650 watt PSU, which one should I go for? I will be doing mostly gaming (1080p 144hz), and a bit of coding (maybe I keep putting off learning C++ (I first started in like December lol)). Thanks in advance!

TLDR; This guy I don’t really know clearly has feelings for me. He seems sweet but I’m hesitant because I’m trans and his parents are apparently conservative. Guy is also trying a bit too hard and recently tried to impress me by potentially lying about being a fan of theater.
Heya, so I’m curious to see what people’s thoughts are on a little… situation I’m in. I (transmasc Junior) realized recently that a classmate (male Junior) almost certainly has feelings for me. I’ll call him “Kay” for now. Let me explain.
In my 6th period, I don’t really interact with people much. I’m certainly not shy, but it’s one of those core classes that has a mix of everyone and non of your usual crowd, so you end up struggling to make friends. Theres this small group of guys that I get along fairly well with, they’re accepting of my identity, really chill, and just the kind of dorks that I love surrounding myself with. Because I’ve always sorta had those four, I’ve never breached out to the rest of the class. Which is why it was unusual when another guy (who istg I had NEVER interacted with) approached me while we were changing seats for assigned groups and suddenly said hi. This is Kay.
It was a simple greeting and I thought nothing of it. I asked if he was in my assigned group, and he didn’t really respond and awkwardly shuffled away. Alright, a little weird, but nothing harmful and I forgot about it.
Two days later, the whole class is waiting outside for our teacher to show up and open the door. Kay suddenly approaches me and asked how I was. Reminder that I DON’T KNOW THIS GUY. I didn’t even know his NAME until a week after our first interaction when I overheard the teacher call him. He knew mine though, and I ended up feeling ridiculously guilty for it for that week I was trying to figure out what was happening.
Anyway, I digress.
When he asked me how I was, I was honest and told him I was looking forward to going home because of how tired I was from rehearsals. He asks about what I was rehearsing for, and I explained that I’m in my theater classes’s final show where we host it entirely on our own. But because of how little time we were given, we’ve been hauling ass with rehearsals that last from right after school until 7:30 at night. Then he did something that no one has ever done to me before:
He asked me to save him a ticket. He WANTED to go to this play I was in. No one besides immediate family ever wanted to go to a production I was in. Like… fuck, okay, if that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. I told him that I’d let him know when tickets went live.
Flash forward to that following Monday, our teacher spontaneously decided to change up the seating layout in her classroom and told people to sit wherever they wanted that day. I took a random seat and Kay sits, not next to me, but like a table over. I guess trying to not be too obvious? But then he hits me with this ringer “Hey Evan! How was your weekend” It was alright “Did you go to prom?” (Prom was that previous weekend)
Woah.
Now that felt like he just asked me if I was single.
So I tell him “Nah, not this year. But I will next year, for sure.”
His response? “Oh! Well, if you’re not going with anyone, maybe we could go together next year?” Then followed by the quick backtrack of: “As friends!”
Oh. Oh he is stupid. But it’s a kind of cute stupid that I don’t actually mind all that much. It’s sort of endearing how silly it is.
We don’t interact too much after that, I would note that during a class debate where we were split into two teams, he and I happened to be on the same team. Really, I was the only one on my team debating (and, not to brag, but to totally I won my team the debate and I was arguing the opposite of what I actually believed in), but he was the only one who tried to pitch in. Now what he said was out of pocket and didn’t match the stance I was going with at all, but it was sweet how he tried to help. He even leaned over after everything was said and done and thanked for winning the debate for my team.
Really, he seems sweet, but I barely know him. All I know is that he’s in the Medical Technology classes (based on how he wears scrubs once in a while) and apparently plays Call of Duty because he asked if I played. I might download it, just in case he asks again. I’m not the type to fall head over heels quickly. It takes me time. Especially as a trans guy who needs to be careful who they befriend and date because I never know what someone’s opinions of me or my identity is. Or if they even realize I am trans. I dress rather androgynous, leaning towards masculine, and my hair goes down to my collar bone in a sort of wolf-cut mullet thing. I’m short. I don’t passes very well, a lot of people tend to think I am just a bit androgynous rather than transmasc. I should be starting hormone replacement therapy later this summer, but this guy doesn’t know that. Sure I’m not traditionally feminine in the slightest and he has to be okay with that if he’s got a thing for me now. But does he know to what extent that goes? Is he just hoping for a tomboy girlfriend and not a boyfriend? Fuck, man, I don’t know.
With Kay, I’m particularly concerned because when I brought this up in my Theater class, I got two different responses which were not… great. One of my classmates literally squealed “EW!” because apparently he wasn’t a great guy in middle school. But I’m willing to see past that since that was 3+ years ago. People change and middle school tends to bring out the worst in everyone (middle schoolers are VICIOUS). But then my teacher had this sort of “Oh no…” kind of look. She explained that he’s a sweet guy, but his family is also extremely conservative. However, his older brother is apparently gay, so there’s that. Does he take after his brother or his parents? I genuinely have no clue, but I am praying to whatever got that is out there that he’s the former.
So yeah. Terrified of giving this guy a chance. I’m not disinterested, I want to give it a chance, get to know him before deciding how I feel because I literally have no way of knowing until we can have actual conversations beyond “how was your day?”
Then there’s today. We had another short “how are you” conversation and I told him I was stressed (again, because of my show), and he laid it on heavy that he was hoping to go, and I told him “Yeah! I remember you asking me to save you a ticket, but I’m not confident in its quality right now. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a theater production, but if you haven’t I wouldn’t want this one to be your first.”
He responds with: “Oh no, it’s not my first time, I’ve seen Hamilton and the nutcracker and stuff like that. I like theater.”
I was so excited at first because I thought he genuinely had an interest in Theater, but then a minute later I realized we saw both of those shows in our history class: one was Hamilton on Disney+ and we watched it when we were learning about the Revolution and what not, the other was when we saw a Ballet troupe perform the Nutcracker in our theater because our teacher was a guest dancer in it.
This. Mother fucker. Pretty much lied to my face to impress me. I don’t know if I should feel flattered that he’s trying so hard or insulted that he thought I’d fall for it.
I don’t even know how I feel. I almost want to just call him out and tell him to just ask for my number instead of trying to be someone he’s not to impress me. I might just do that. I’ll think about it.
Anywho, give me your thoughts on the situation. I’m at a loss, and tbh, my friends aren’t being the most helpful. Meanwhile my mom is telling me to play hard to get, which just feels cruel considering how hard he’s already trying.

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31yr old (m)
Will my hair still improve or at least get back to what it was after stopping Minoxidil for 3-4 months? How long will it take?
Is the Minoxidil causing more shedding to replace weaker hairs? Or did I really mess up by stopping in the first place?
I have been using Dutasteride once a week, derma roll once a week, Biotin daily, and used a compound spray daily (Finasteride, Minoxidil, Melatonin, Vitamin D) for over 2 years. In January one night I used the derma roll too deep and it resulted in excessive shedding the following days.
I told my family doctor what happened, but also expressed the frustration of the spray, making the scalp sticky, routinely only being able to use once a day instead of twice, I didn’t like that it had cost $120 CAD a month, I felt my hair gradually got worst bit by bit the past year and I wanted a hair transplant soon. My doctor recommended that I should stop taking the spray and just take Finasteride (1.25mg daily, split 5mg into 4s) daily and Dutasteride once a week to see what happens. Due to panic and uncertainty I agreed.
In March is when the shedding started to get worse again but I didn’t know if it’s still due to the derma roll mistake from a couple months earlier. I decided to see HairClub and had a consultation appointment with the manager of the building location. I explained the situation leading up to that point and she said that I should continue using the spray and the only other option is hair transplant but she didn’t recommend it yet due to my hair still in a good state at the time and my age. To be fair I always had my hair in a way that made it near impossible to notice hair loss unless it’s unkept or wet, but she was nice and helpful.
Unfortunately as April started the hair loss worsened again, I was forced to recede my hairline back as I am no longer able to make my hair loss unnoticeable. I hoped it wouldn't get worse but it has, and not only is the crown thinning but between the crown and the hairline is becoming a problem, neither areas were problematic before. What makes the situation more difficult is that due to another situation that financially got in the way, I am no longer able to afford the hair transplant until much later than preferred.
I started to take Minoxidil again a week into April but in tablet form (5mg), still taking Finasteride (1.25 mg) daily, added New Nordic Hair Gro vitamin twice daily (contains biotin and more), Vitamin D daily, Dutasteride weekly, Derma weekly, and 2% ketoconazole shampoo (though I’m scared to shampoo my hair). I haven’t used hair thickening fibers for my hair for years until these past 2 weeks. It’s getting to the point where I should start wearing hats.
I overtyped but I felt like venting. What’s most frustrating is that I had a plan for multiple things in my life only for things to fall out of control. I had saved and reserved money anticipating a hair transplant with only the hairline to worry about, then potentially years/decade down the road another transplant if necessary, now it’s inevitable that there’s more to be done. I gave up waiting years for a dermatologist and I tried reaching Hair Club a week ago but was unable to reach them and they still haven’t called back. I'm wondering if HC only does first-time-only consultations and follow up appointments isn’t what they do.
It’s now objectively clear that the Minoxidil in the spray was 100% working (or at least slowed down hair loss), I should have never stopped. I messed up consecutively with back to back mistakes, nothing is working, my worst fear of this type of hair loss came true after years of avoiding it, and now feel completely helpless not knowing what’s next…

I adopted a pair of 2-year-old cat brothers two months ago. I'm a first-time cat owner so I was really scared when they started having diarrhea and began pooping outside the litter box a week into living with me - thankfully the rescue was really helpful in calming me down and they even paid for their vet appointments; they did a bunch of tests but found nothing wrong, so I think it was a mixture of stress/changing their food too quickly. I had started them on two cans of Fancy Feast classic pate each, per day, supplemented with 3oz of Purina One chicken kibble, because I was told they liked this food; however, they had been receiving Hill's Science Diet at the cat cafe they were living in previously, so I probably should've kept them on that. Either way - vet prescribed Hill's i/d Digestive Care wet food + Royal Canin Gastrointestinal kibble. They've been on this for a month and a half and are doing great.
I've got a few weeks before I start to (slowly this time) transition them off the prescription diet, but I'm finding myself overwhelmed with wet food choices. I'm kind of nervous about putting them back on Fancy Feast, but since I don't think it was the food specifically that was causing the issues, maybe it's worth it to go back to it? I was told by the rescue that grain-free food is better, and the classic pate is grain-free and actually looks like it has pretty decent ingredients. I was also looking into Weruva, because the ingredients look good and the price point isn't too bad, but the lady from the cat rescue said that Weruva might be "too rich" for my cats since they have sensitive stomachs.
Does anyone else have any other recommendations for over-the-counter wet foods for cats with sensitive stomachs? Ideally, lower cost (although I'm ok with slightly higher prices - like I said, I was looking into Weruva, and also Purina One, but I wouldn't want to be paying Blue Buffalo/Hill's prices on the regular if you catch my drift), poultry flavor, and possibly pate texture (my cats seem to prefer it). I'd also love to hear from people who've gone through something similar and maybe do feed their cats FF/Weruva. Thanks in advance!
tl;dr: I need recommendations for wet cat food for cats transitioning off prescription probiotic food due to sensitive stomachs & bouts of diarrhea.

I live in Northern California. My work consist of slight carpentry/general labor. All the clients we deal with have very high net worth. I would love to just talk to some of the people and ask how they got started in life but that’s not possible as I’m just a laboreapprentice... I work with people who don’t see a future for themselves and my company constantly is bragging about how all the employees are 20+ year veterans. But they don’t have nice things or take care of their body’s. They drink everyday after work, smoke. And I just can’t see my self doing that. Everyday I come home I try and work on something to better my life and it’s just frustrating sometimes because I just have a feeling I can be better and do better in life I just don’t know what. I want to find a mentor who is actually wealthy and would just talk to me about how they got started. I am very intrigued by finances and would love to meet someone who i could learn from. I don’t like how people have a bad connotation about people with high net worths because I want to be like that one day. I grew up broke parents scraping by everyday to live in a nice county. And seeing all the wealth here I know I can I just don’t know where to start.

Hello everyone! Good day!
First of all, i apologize in advance if i make any mistakes in my post, or if this post shouldnt be in this subreddit, since this is my second post on this subreddit.
Second, i had already made a post about this theme/song approx. a year ago, the only reason as to why im making another post about it, is because of some details i left out in the first post i made because im stupid.
Third, i apologize for any grammar mistakes, english is not my first language!
Okay, so i need help identifying this horror theme that i've known about for almost 10 years now (https://vocaroo.com/1kRpjK800ZNu clean version with no TTS voice that i made with vocalremover), first heard it in a creepypasta that was posted 12 years ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LplL2zT59Aw&t=4s theme starts at 1:24), then i eventually came across another video posted 7 years ago which also uses this theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i0xPjGDrUQ theme starts at 1:10). Other users in said videos have asked about this specific theme's origin, although no answer has ever been given by the videos OP's
As i said before, i skipped mentioning certain details in my first post since im not very smart, such as providing the theme itself and the videos where it can be heard, and i've done some research myself, having found some interesting things in the process, but never the song itself.
Theme has "lyrics", at one point you can hear a woman's voice saying something that i've made out as: "take a deep breath, come into my world, and relax your body", and later on, near the theme's end, you can hear the same voice saying "close your eyes"
This theme has been used as a sample in other themes, found this out through Shazam. it has been sampled in a song called "O Grande Dia" by an artist called Valdo Siqueira da Silva (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyYZrnM\_rLw at 3:11), a song called "Song for Paris" by an artist called "Just Joe" on spotify (https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/track/4YkfhhHBJ6BpvKWKwueRnb), and a song called "Songe", song that for the life of me i unfortunately cannot find the link to, but its posted on youtube, and another song that i cannot remember the name to and cant find the link as well, but is also posted on youtube.
Here's the interesting part: One day while shazaming a specific part of the song (cant remember which one...) Shazam detected a song called "Close Your Eyes" by an artist called "MS-DOS" For some reason, shazam did not provide the link from where it got this result from, but the title is interesting, since as i mentioned before, in the theme's lyrics, you can hear a woman's voice saying "Close Your Eyes"
And this is pretty much all i've got and all i can tell yall, hopefully you can help me solve this mistery, i was debating whether or not posting this in the LostWave subreddit, but i decided to do it here first, what do you guys think? should i ask for help there?
If anyone knows anything, please let me know, Thank you!

5/13/2024
For legal reasons (😜😜) let’s call this story fiction. I’ll change the name of the characters. The locations. And some of the smaller details. Maybe I even made the whole thing up- after all, this is a fictional story ( 😉) let’s get started.
You know that part in a mystery movie where you finally get the clue you needed to put the whole story together and you finally figure out who was good, and who was bad all along, and you realize you had it wrong the whole time. That’s where I am at in life.
July 6th 2023 I promised to not speak to my brother for one year. One day fever everyday he spend lying to my face about the wedding. I didn’t know that the wedding was only going to be one of several horrible things that happened this year. But after what happened, and after going viral- the over all main question was why? Why would he do this? Did i think we were closer than he did? . What was the point ? Why has there been zero accountability or repercussions for this. I’ve spent a year trying to figure it out, and I was given the clue I needed. And sadly this isn’t just about the wedding. This goes back so much future. But since, this is fiction ( 😉) no one should be to upset when they see their chapter.
Why? Why now. Why make this public. What’s the point?
Why- Reddit- you helped me more than you will ever know this year. On days when i really believed i deserved this- I’d read responses and remember this wasn’t me. I know the things I’m going to talk about at the very least will reassure someone they are not alone, just like I needed. Why now- well, now I have the freedom to Speak as freely as I want, and I do not have to worry about the repercussions anymore.
Triggers : CSA. SA. MENTAL HEALTH. CHEATING. PHYSICAL/ MENTAL / EMOTIONAL ABUSE. TOXIC FAMILY. SELF HARM.
Our family is known for not speaking about their feeling. For shoving them down and never letting the other person know how hurt you are because that somehow feels like they won. But I realized recently, triggered by my brother acting so unfazed by all of this that I will not give him, or anyone else in this story the COURTESY of not saying what you did. I won’t hold it in so you won’t know the pain you caused. I won’t pretend to be unbothered or like I’m “over” what you did. I’m not going to live in a fairlytale where I pretend none of this affected me. You are going to know. I will not allow any of you the courtesy of living the rest of your life unknowing of the pain and destruction that you have caused, you are going to know it, and you’re gonna know it well, and you’re gonna live with that for the rest of your life.
You’re going to know (all characters) what you did. You’re going to know how it affects me both short term and long term. You’re going to know that I wasn’t ok. You’re going to know this year for the first time ever I spent months in my bed. I cried every time I got in the car. There were times this year where I was only still finding the will to want to live in the obligation I have for my husband and kids. You don’t get to get away with not knowing EXACTLY how what you did destroyed me mentally this year.
I won’t protect any of the characters in this story - but after all they are all fiction ( 😉) and you can retaliate if you must- you can try to convince anyone who will listen that I am the villain- and if that’s non fiction - then do us both the favor- protect yourself and stay as far away from me as you can- because at the end of this. Everyone will know the truth (in this deff not completely accurate fictional story)
I have nothing left to lose.
Reddit - chapter 2 will be the wedding story. Everyone where knows it. So I’ll be skipping it - but giving a short summary on TT.
See everyone here in chapter 3 or over on TT.
Also- this is a lot. It’s heavy- and I’m going to need to break it up over the course of a few weeks. It would be too much to put out all at once and I need time to process. Need time to regroup and spend time with my family in between letting all of this out. But rest assured you will have your answer by July 6, 2024.

Had an epiphany last night. Not a very profound one. It arrived as many epiphanies do, late at night when the house was quiet and the TV was in the locked and upright position. It was, for want of a better term, Rumsfeldian. It has to do with suddenly knowing something you’ve known all along, knowing the known. Earlier in the day I had seen a short news item concerning a ‘bounty hunter’ and it started me thinking about a long standing discomfort I’ve had with ‘bounty hunters’ i.e. they operate outside the constraints associated with law enforcement relative to search and seizure, miranda rights, forced entry, etc. I’m sure this has to do with their being part of the private sector and not operating under color of authority and yet I’m deeply uneasy with a system which puts these guys in motion with all the same capacity for misreading an address, or misidentifying an individual or, frankly, just being sent on a fool’s errand, as our official arbiters of the law, but without any recourse to the subsequently injured individual. But my epiphany really didn’t have anything to do with the bounty hunter. It had to do with the idea of the extrajudicial use of power. Our Republic is lost. I’m sorry. I don’t know any other way to put it. We’ll never be able to restore the fabric of this particular democracy after what has happened in the last six plus years. The ability of the state to engage in extrajudicial force is now beyond recall. We’ll never get it back. When I say ‘we’ I mean us, the People. We’ll never be able to get it back because the tools with which we might have addressed the problem simply no longer exist. The government (in the person of George W. Bush) has decided (and codified) the idea that the People are the enemy and any attempt to gain access to information is itself an act against the state. Any effort to bring information to the People is an act against the state. Our safeguards against the mistreatment of prisoners are rendered inoperable by the government’s willingness to simply render the prisoner to a country where torture and murder are possible and probable. The People’s ability to know the names and circumstances of such extrajudicial kidnappings is denied. The rules under which our military operates, the safeguards that our armed forces will not do something without our approval are made obsolete by the fact of standing armies of mercenaries, subcontractors, willing and able to operate without constraint or oversight. There are presently more American mercenaries in Iraq than American military personnel (which, by the way, is at an all-time high). No one tells these armed men what they can and can’t do and since it happens outside the U.S. we apparently have little official interest in how they do their jobs anyway. Our system of laws cannot protect the people any further. This president regularly signs legislation into law and then quietly issues a signing statement which exempts the executive branch from the very law he just signed. We’ll never get to the bottom of this, Executive Privilege, you know, and the sealing of president’s papers and the secreting of their location insures that we’ll never get to look through the official history. The office of the Vice-President no longer even keeps logs of classified material they’ve handled, they don’t want a paper trail and so there isn’t one. We’re no longer among the healthiest people in the industrialized world, we rank no. 43 in infant mortality, behind Cuba, Croatia and the Czech Republic. Our ‘health care system’ delivers the poorest actual care at the highest cost of any industrialized country in the world. But our ‘health care system’ is a great money maker and so any attempt to change it, to make health care more universally available and more affordable is defeated. We are no longer a country of the People, by the People and for the People (if we ever were, albeit moving inexorably in that idealized direction). We are now permanently a country for the rich and for the largest corporations, everyone else, devil take the hindmost. I always harbored the secret belief that once these guys are out of office we can get down to the job of rebuilding, of reclaiming our democracy but, and this is my epiphany, it ain’t gonna happen. The terrible changes wrought by these men will stand. Power will find a way to sustain itself. Not wanting to diminish the powers he conveniently finds at his disposal, the next chief executive won’t do anything to restore the Republic. Nor will the one after that. And the tools once available to the people simply no longer exist.
MR August, 2007

And I am not even talking about the akgaes of the other members.
Yes, they do exist too. I know that there were some who celebrated their bias getting more chance to showcase their skills while covering his lines and I knows there are government shippers who are happy that he can no longer interfere with those "moments" but honestly, I have to dig through the searches in order to find them. Maybe it's because I've utilized my mute and block function on them a long time ago hence why they don't even cross the "for you" section of my feed or maybe it's because Renjun is one of my biases in NCT Dream that's why his fans appear more on my timeline.
I get it. It's a tough time to be a Renjun stan. There were so many things about their recent comeback that I wish didn't happen. I wish people were kinder to him. I wish he didn't miss their concert because he worked hard for it. I wish he wasn't hurting because of things that aren't even his fault.
I get being sad. I get being angry. What I don't get is directing those emotions to the other members.
It was crazy. Jaemin got hated on for "lying" during a fansigning event, for telling a fan who asked him that Renjun caught a flu. This was before official announcement was made, and in that official announcement, SM cited poor health condition and symptoms of anxiety as the reason. It means, Jaemin may not be lying. He's just in a position where he can't talk about the other reason yet.
The days before the concert kicked off in Seoul were tough. People who are trying to go the rational routes were automatically harassed for "defending" SM. For example, when rumors of rerecording Renjun's A.R., when fans were citing Chenle and Haechan as example (they both missed a few cities during tour due to poor health condition), when people pointed out that the case is different because Chenle and Haechan had to be pulled out while the tour is already starting, thus no time to make adjustment, akgaes deemed it as "normalizing mistreatment towards Renjun". They said the same thing when people pointed out that others in SM (and even in some other companies) were excluded on the MD during their hiatus.
It reached a point where akgaes were already directing their frustrations towards the other members. "Why aren't they talking about him when they usually say 'we'll come back here as 7Dream' whenever someone misses their schedule". It wasn't true because the other members were talking about him, just not in the specific manner they wanted. When people pointed out it's easier to predict how long a flu will last and that "promising to comeback as seven" can be burdening to someone who had to take a break for issues relating to mental health, akgaes deemed it as ONLY being sympathetic towards the other members and not towards Renjun. Because for some reasons they believed it's mutually exclusive. Whatever. Anything that doesn't agree with their agenda of proving that the six members are erasing Renjun's existence in NCT Dream were treated as something that's antagonizes him. This "why aren't they talking about him", we'll get back to later as it reached an unfortunate development.
The concert in Seoul finally happens. People can still hear his voice in the AR and it's very noticeable whenever members were late covering his parts. While there's also a possibility that the rumor of rerecording was true, it's obvious that they didn't rerecord every single part. For those not following NCT Dream, they have this song called ANL (All Night Long) which they've already performed during their previous tours. In The Dream Show 2, during the bridge which is Renjun's part, the other members would sit around him as he sings his part. Now for The Dream Show 3, instead of having anyone cover that part, they decided to play his AR, yellow planet was shown on the screen during this time, yellow butterfies (confettis) rained down, and the colors of the lightstick turned yellow. Yellow is Renjun's favorite color.
Haechan dedicated part of his ending ment towards Renjun, how Renjun practiced until the very end because he really wanted to be there but unfortunately couldn't because he needed to rest, and how they reassured him that Dream is a strong team who will hold on until he's finally ready to come back. We had Chenle and Jisung emphasizing how important Renjun is and that they wanted to go on stage as seven again. We had Mark who's wearing and three injeolmis (Renjun's doll) attached to his robe for encore, because he's the older and he's the leader, thus it's he's responsibility to make sure that in some ways 7Dream is complete on stage, while making sure people will also clap for Renjun during concerts because he worked hard for it too. We had Jeno who's lowkey wearing a Renjun danji keyring attached to his pants for the entirety of Seoul concerts and telling Renjun, whom they knew were watching, that Dream is okay as long as he's okay so he can come back anytime. Jaemin may not have talked about him in the concert, but he, in his own ways in his bubble expressed missing Renjun and wanting to hear his voice again because to him it was the best.
Before the Seoul concert, akgaes "wanted" the other members to talk about Renjun. Quotation because obviously, that's not really what they wanted. They just latched on to the idea that the other members are excluding him because it feeds the agenda that everyone is out to get him. During the days prior to the concert, they were citing other groups as examples and how much better they were at including a member who went through hiatus. Now, the narrative has changed.
Suddenly, the other members talking about Renjun "feels" like a duty, basically accusing the other six of faking their concerns. Members appreciating him as being the glue of the group is now something offensive to him. Jisung appreciating how serious Renjun is about NCT Dream is causing annoyance to them. Fans being reassured that Renjun is resting well is ticking them off.
The length they'll go through to prove this narrative is crazy. I even saw some using a fancall footage where Renjun cited talking to Yangyang, and his frequent visits to the WayV dorm as proof that NCT Dream don't care about him. Because apparently, having more friends mean that the ones you already have aren't genuine. Ironic because just before something like this happened, Renjun made it a point to fans to not question their relationship as they know each other more. Granted that he talked about it for a different issue, when fans where expressing worries that he might have offended Jeno for saying he'd be awkward eating alone with Jeno but the point still stands.
No, them playing his bridge during ANL wasn't enough. Mark still wearing his injeolmis during the Osaka leg of their tour is still not enough even if that's basically the equivalent of other groups bringing a plushie representative to fansigning events. No, it's not enough that banners dedicated for Renjun were highlighted and shown on the screen. Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung were still not doing enough because THEY'RE NOT BRINGING A CARDBOARD CUTOUT OF RENJUN WITH THEM.
It's crazy. Akgaes always find a way to invalidate opinions that are not in line with theirs. You like 7Dream? Then you don't really care about Renjun, you're only using him to feed your 7Dream friendship agenda. You're a shipper? Nevermind that you spent so much money to go overseas and attend a concert wearing his merch and raising his banner when he's not even going to person, you don't care about him beyond RPS.
Well, I guess akgaes don't really like their bias beyond having someone to project their thoughts and feelings on because for people who are supposed to be fans of someone who expressed appreciation towards the members of his team and what they do for him, you certainly have no qualms in accusing him of lying during one of his lowest points in time. So much for being "the only ones" who truly loves him.