Platform(s): It was a computer game that I played on a Windows computer.
Genre: I believe it was some sort of language educational game because we would sometimes play it on the English class to learn English.
Estimated year of release: I guess it can be anywhere from the 90s to the early 2000s.
Graphics/art style: I could not describe it in words, but I put an image so that you can take a look at the reference of what it looked like. The picture is not of the actual game, but it looked with that same graphic style.
Notable characters: I remember there was a guy that had a face shaped like Jimmy Neutron and showed a lot of teeth. There was another character that had a huge belly but actually super long skinny legs which he could contract like it was an accordion, I think this one might have had a mustache.
Notable gameplay mechanics: The game pretty much showed you different scenes from different characters (in their houses or on the street or in different rooms) and you had to interact with them or help them in order to move to the next stage. Everything was on 3D, but it was more like a cinematic gameplay. Where I think you were not exactly present like an individual, but you had to click on things and solve puzzles in order to progress the story. When you finished a stage, you would go to the next one. But everything in the story was correlated. You just kind of progressed through it.
Other details: I think I was between 6 to 9 years old. So, the game was totally kid friendly.
https://preview.redd.it/xqvhfffdig0d1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd38577f54cd8a9343909627ee6fbad0bbdca036

My ex and I were together for half a year before I started college overseas and we broke up due to non of us thinking that long distance relationship would work out. However, we are still in talking terms and we’ve hooked up a few times when I go back for vacation. When we were dating, my friend Judy, who was my best friend when I was in home country, was there to witness our relationship and how we broke up, however we hadn’t been talking as much since I went overseas. She used to hang out with my ex and I so they are on talking terms as well. She’s also studying overseas but in a different country.
My ex, me and Judy all play PUBG. When I logged online yesterday and saw that they were teaming up and in a match together. I thought it was normal and sent a request to join next match with them and they accepted.
However when we were in the match, and in voice chat, she kept asking my ex to find stuff for her, specifically saying that she “likes long things” and “love long guns specifically” (Gun in my native language is a slang for penis) and she repeated it a few times like “Long guns make me feel good” and “As long as possible”. She also referred to herself as how in English it would be “baby” or “Pookie”. So she kept saying things like “Can you find a loooong gun for your pookie, as long as possible because I like it?” Which made me physically cringe and I was upset that she was talking that way to my ex, when she knows how much I liked him. My ex was barely replying to her, and just talked as usual and told her a few “ok”.
After the game I confronted Judy, telling her that I don’t feel comfortable that she was talking to my ex in that way, knowing our past. Which Judy replied like “No way you still liked him? You should love yourself more, there’s no way you guys will work out” and was upset that I questioned her and trying to start a fight with her because of a man. AITA?

Hey guys, I'm curious about some tecnical things about sleeves, like:

• sizes? For Double and oversleeving
• materials: Polypropylene problably is the material, but is It expensive? Ecological? Durable??? Are there a ecological or sturdier options?
• bleed printing file (i would guess 3mm)
• what's the % of Lost material when printing? (Sleeves are small and a precise printing, I imagine some of the would be lost due to wrongs cuts)

Do you have any experience with It? As always, Sorry for bad english, not main language.

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I wanted to give back a bit after receiving some great information from folks on this sub before a (very short notice and sparsely planned) solo trip to Panama in late April/early May of 2024. I'm subtitling this post "I did a lot in Panama so you don't (necessarily) have to". Truth be told, I started the trip with 4 nights and one in-country flight booked and built the rest of my itinerary on the fly. I definitely could have used an extra week or so before the trip to do some itinerary planning, deeper research on where I chose to stay, etc. but I really enjoyed most of the trip and would absolutely recommend Panama as a solo trip destination.
Rough pre-departure itinerary:

• Panama City: Arrive at about 2 PM on a Thursday, stay three nights at Selina Casco Viejo, depart at 8 AM on Sunday via plane to David (Copa Airlines)
• Boquete: Arrive at about noon Sunday (after transit to town from airport), stay two nights at the Bambuda Castle
• Bocas for unknown amount of time/other stuff in the west off the country
• Return to Panama City from David via plane (Copa) Sunday Morning
• Return to USA on a redeye flight Tuesday night

I arrived in Panama City on time and took an Uber straight to Selina (cost $28). The Selina there is in a decent location, kind of on the edge of Casco Viejo but walkable to everything. I checked in and was told there was a welcome happy hour with a free drink and a free walking tour every day at 10. The 6-person dorm had a dedicated bathroom, but wasn't much for the price ($30/night) and I'm just now realizing I booked a 4-person dorm then was put in the wrong lodging... There is a bar and allegedly a pool on the roof of the property, but the pool was not open when I was there. The welcome drink was an underwhelming event, though I did meet a few cool people I ended up doing more with later. There really isn't much in the way of common space at Selina Casco Viejo and I found it to be overpriced, underwhelming, and not a great place to meet people. I ended up booking the canal tour ($60ish) with them (which was via the personal vehicle of the guide, a small sedan cramming 4 of us in plus the driver), but I did a different free walking tour after hearing poor reviews of the one provided by Selina. While Selina felt like a huge waste (would not recommend this location), I really liked Casco Viejo. The food was surprisingly good, especially ceviche at Marea https://maps.app.goo.gl/MdWBJ1uw4mWLB7r2A and a nice stop for middle eastern at Estambul Casco https://maps.app.goo.gl/qFq8wAm5NEzJw84F8 . I also made a quick stop with some people from the hostel at La Fabrica https://maps.app.goo.gl/WdAG1KAhwmkj1TbS8 which had a decent tap list and cool vibe and the Pedro Mandinga Rum bar (highly recommend) for some beers and a rum flight https://maps.app.goo.gl/seXCnetthN18BbUB9 . I also, as a cigar smoker, made a stop at the official La Casa del Habano store https://maps.app.goo.gl/uhswvnFPe1Y1Uzbu9 where the staff was chill and the cigarum selection was good. I finished out my cigar and partook in a bit of happy hour across the street at Finca del Mar which had a decent outdoor area for a drink https://maps.app.goo.gl/kPSiTHdd2mJmtakGA but the food was not recommended so I didn't try it.
I was up early to get to David on Sunday morning, so I figured I'd just grab food and coffee at the airport lounge (mistake). It turns out the Copa flight to David departs from the "domestic" gate, which is a standalone area on the ground floor of the airport. There are no amenities, just a single vending machine, and you get bussed to the plane. Do not go early for a David flight, security was very easy and I ended up waiting in the small seating area for way too long. The flight was fine, but don't expect to access a lounge or coffee shop after security.
I got to David pretty early and hadn't done my research on transit, but knew there was public bus service to Boquete. I was trying to figure out how to get to the bus terminal when a taxi offered to drive me all the way to Boquete for $40 which seemed like a decent deal so I went for it. Boquete is pretty small, a little mountain town with a relaxed vibe. I spent quite a bit of time at the brewery which, if you know craft beer pretty well, wasn't the best on beer quality but had good live music and a fun atmosphere https://maps.app.goo.gl/EJFiRiwQsbJ89UPa9 . I worked from here a little bit too, definitely where I spent the most time. I got a delicious dinner at RetroGusto which was really reasonable https://maps.app.goo.gl/8gcU1GHqXrfbTCoX9 and a good lunch at Donde Giselle which was a little more expensive, but also delicious https://maps.app.goo.gl/uNsz1EqCDfnSpYfk8 . I did a coffee finca tour through Bambuda ($35) at Don Pepe. It was pretty cool, not a lot of walking but the guide was knowledgeable and we got to see the full operation in a small footprint. I bought one bag and was happy I did, they were 3 times the price in the airport on the way home. The Tres Cascadas (three waterfall) trail was a must, it does have a steep section that has ropes affixed to help but was otherwise a pretty straightforward trail. It did cost a few dollars to hike as it's on private property. I took a taxi there ($20) but took the bus back ($2.25). The bus comes by every 30-40 minutes and they generally wait a bit at the entrance to the trail from the road to see if people come down. We did end up picking up a whole bunch of kids leaving school, but it was pretty funny and we managed to fit everyone. I did do the Volcan Baru hike, which cost $18 for a taxi to the trailhead but was otherwise free. It is a grueling hike, it took a little over 5 hours for me to get to the top and I was not having fun. I was very lucky to encounter a couple who was dropped off at the same time at the trailhead and, while we did not hike together, we did take a few breaks together and it was nice to be within sight of their headlamps. It was COLD at the top and I was happy I had a light down jacket and a fleece. I did a good job of timing up my climb with the sunrise, only needing to wait at the top for maybe 30 minutes before the sun came up. You can go up in a jeep, and I was very lucky to beat the offroad vehicles up as they were very loud coming up the mountain. It did get pretty crowded at the top by the time all of the jeeps had emptied out and their clients climbed the last bit to the summit. The view was phenomenal, you can see both the Caribbean and the Pacific on a clear day and the sunrise was beautiful. It was a little annoying that the 6 of us who climbed it had to share with the 25 or so who rode up in cars, but worth it. One spot I wish I had visited, but it just didn't work out, was a wood fire pizza spot that came recommended by our coffee guide and by several travelers https://maps.app.goo.gl/T93KKqHxXoQ7AFhf6 . I got lucky at the Bambuda Castle as I booked a 3 bed room but had it to myself. It had a nice restaurant and common space within the castle itself that was a good working space and had a fantastic view. The food was pretty good, with a few vegetarian options and smoothies. It's a pretty decent walk from the center of town, and about $4-5 taxi ride from the Boquete center. If I went again, I would probably look to stay somewhere in the center of town but I don't regret giving the Castle a shot.
I traveled out of Boquete to Bocas del Toro the same day I did the Baru hike, leaving via shuttle at 1 PM ($37) which I arranged through Bambuda. I ended up using a discount QR code at Bambuda Castle to book their Bocas town Hostel for three nights. The shuttle was fine, but it's a quick trip through winding mountain roads so be prepared if you get carsick. A big bonus, that I would recommend you ask about, was that this shuttle did not go all the way to Almirante, but instead stopped at Chiriqui Grande and proceeded via small boat (lancha) from there. The longer boat trip was fantastic, much better than the long/boring road which runs the rest of the way. I got stopped right off the boat in by several people trying to sell tours and got one person's number for a potential $35 Cayo Zapatilla tour but didn't commit, choosing to get to Bambuda Bocas Town first and settle in before making decisions. While I wish I had spent some more time at either red frog beach or another island, with only 3 nights and having booked late my options were limited. For Bocas Town, Bambuda was great. The front desk folks were pretty helpful and the restaurant was good for breakfast (the vegetarian burrito option is better than the sandwich). The hostel deck goes right out to the lagoon, and it's always busy with people hanging out in the sun or jumping into the lagoon. It was a great spot to do some work over coffee and, frankly, I wish I had spent more time here or at the Bambuda Lodge. I ended up doing the Caya Zapatilla tour (highly recommend, if only for the stop at Caya Zapatilla) for $35 with the operator I met right off the boat. This included pick up and drop off from Bambuda, and they had a cooler that I threw a few Balboas of my own in for the trip. We did stop mid-way for lunch which was not included and was a little expensive. This was the only actual tour I did during my time there, I spent my other full day just kind of hanging out and went to Starfish Beach (not as nice as Caya Zapatilla, but worth an afternoon) with a group from the hostel. I also did salsa night at Selina (fun, but a bad instructor) and karaoke at Aqua Lounge (get there in time to get a round of the happy hour special, the screen is behind the stage so not ideal for karaoke but it's easy to get on the list). I did not do Filthy Friday, I ended up departing Bocas that day but I would have been on the fence about it anyway. I guess it's a "when in Bocas" thing, so I probably would have gone for it. I really wish I had spent another night in Bocas, I regretted not having another day out there as soon as I left. It turned out to be the best place on my trip to meet people, it's definitely a general party vibe, and actually the best place to get work done of the hostels I stayed at. I did dinner at Pier 19 which was pretty nice, if not a little expensive and probably not a good solo traveler vibe https://maps.app.goo.gl/6vJG1rdUPCqEf9W3A . I did brunch one day away from Bambuda at Casa Papaya, their typical Panamanian breakfast and it was a great deal/meal https://maps.app.goo.gl/9CPFCxu6woWwKuwM7 . I did hear from some people that the bird island was a fun tour, and worth the day/cost. I did some bonus late night, unofficial stuff like swimming after midnight at Selina and an impromptu midnight trip out to see the bioluminescence and the stars with a random lancha taxi from the Selina dock. Not sure how I'd direct someone to arrange that, but say yes if it's an option.
I took off from Bocas via shuttle for the Lost and Found Hostel on Friday around noon ($20) which I arranged at the main lancha dock. This shuttle did not include a boat all the way to Chiriqui Grande, it was the short boat with the long road segment. A few people did get car sick during the first leg of the trip, the road is in pretty rough shape so lots of speeding up, slowing down, and swerving potholes. Lost and Found really caught my eye because of how much I enjoyed Secret Garden Cotopaxi in Ecuador. In the end, it didn't live up to that lofty expectation and I should not have squeezed it in. The allure is that it's isolated in the jungle, you have to walk about 15 minutes up the trail from the road to reach the hostel property. There are several buildings, with one primary common area with a few tables and hammocks. A big downside is that everything is outdoors, under cover of roofs but open still, which wasn't ideal in the evening during the season I went where it rained in the afternoons. There is a community kitchen if you bring your own food along, or there is an option to get breakfast/lunch/dinner from the hostel. I had a few meals there: the smoothie bowl was good, the lentil curry was a little on the salty side. The hiking is pretty cool and I ended up going up over the mountain to the big tree, the lookout, and the river. I didn't bring water, but definitely should have brought a liter along. In the end, with only about half a dozen other people staying there and 2/3 of the staff being pretty insular and not really socializing with the guests, it just wasn't a great addition to my trip. It might be a better option for a group or during a different season, but it provided a logistical challenge to make my flight back from David to Panama City and it wasn't really worth the risk of making it work, so I hired a car ($30) to take me to David and just ate the price of my second night at Lost and Found. It was beautiful, but it just wasn't on the same level as Secret Garden Cotopaxi which inspired me to give this a shot. I think, all in, my stop at Lost and Found cost me about $76.
The combination of having scheduled a flight on election day (oops) and the lack of help from lost and found staff meant that my best bet was a night in David. I used Hilton points to book a night at the Hampton and had myself a recovery night. I got a hot and ready pizza from the Little Caesar's next door and two Sam Adam's Boston Lagers from the bar. Fantastic recovery night, vey nice Hampton, and a pretty nice little breakfast. It refreshed me at a point where I was not really enjoying the trip and pushed me to go for one more stop rather than laying low in Panama City.
After my flight back to Panama City, I took the metro all the way to the Avenida Terminal (less than $1 total, it is very easy to purchase a card and load it at the station) to grab the bus to Valle de Anton. It was fairly easy to find the window to buy the bus ticket ($4.25). It's important to buy for El Valle and not just Anton, a town which is not where you want to end up. There was a confusing bit of business related to a transit card (not the same transit card as the metro. I couldn't seem to find a machine to buy one from, and eventually the guy at the turnstile took pity and just used his own to let me in. I paid him back, but it was very confusing that you needed to buy the ticket then a card with which to pay an additional 10 cents to get to the bus at Gate 53. I can't really offer advice other than you should try to figure out how to get this card, or if you can just pay with a dime, right when you buy your ticket. I let the bus (not a very big bus, somewhere between a van and a bus) driver know where I was headed on the way and they dropped me right at Bohdi in Valle de Anton. The whole trip is about 3 hours, with lots of local stops the whole way. Bohdi was a pretty cool spot, with a great yoga space with a guided lesson on a TV every morning. It has a kitchen if you want to cook for yourself and free coffee plus breakfast every day from 7:30-10:00. Both breakfasts were pancakes, but it was free and they were pretty good. There are some cool lounge spots out back, a few cafe tables out front, and a loft space as well. It was a decent, but not perfect spot, to do work if that's what you're looking for. The dorm does have 3 levels of beds, and they aren't all that comfy, but I'd recommend Bohdi. The first night I was in town I went to the Golden Frog Inn on a recommendation and it turned out to be a great spot to watch the sunset and have some pretty good (although a small) vegetarian tacos https://maps.app.goo.gl/pzRuyYuwHZvMVnAo8 . One afternoon I chose to do the India Dormida hike, I left and walked all the way back to Bohdi, it was a few hours total. It's a quick climb up to the top and you can walk the whole ridge that forms the edge of the caldera. It was a beautiful view and you can really see the old crater rim formations from the top. It's clear up there, no trees and wide open, and the breeze was very refreshing. I ended up coming down about halfway across the ridge, starting from the north. I grabbed a vegetarian dinner at El Rincon Colombiano which I'd recommend https://maps.app.goo.gl/tRcAAnAm9fYni7Nv8 and some guacamole and a beer at La Ranita which was pretty good https://maps.app.goo.gl/BcdB8uCqaSRv1RyE8 . Overall, I really liked Valle de Anton and I'm happy I made it happen. It's a little drier and warmer than Boquete, with a lot less coffee influence, but I liked the vibe and wish I had done more hiking around the area.
For my last evening in Panama, I grabbed a room just to have a place to put bags and clean up before my flight at Hotel Caracas, a recommendation from someone I met in my first stop in Casco Viejo. I did not plan to work from here, nor did I spend a night, but for $35 it was a perfect spot to leave things as I went to knock out a few more items before my flight home. I popped into Tantalo for a quick bite to eat https://maps.app.goo.gl/9pA9Dmw8AE9doabT7 which I don't know if I'd recommend for food, but the view was good. I think I meant to go to CasaCasco, which was recommended for ceviche and sushi, but ended up in the wrong spot. I then went over to Element to get some cocktails https://maps.app.goo.gl/mwYt2D7X43ua4jGu6 . Element has an interesting vibe, kind of a steampunk theme to the décor. The two guys behind the bar, who I believe own it, were fantastic. They don't have a set menu but instead try to match a drink to what you're feeling at the time. I had a classic daquiri and an old fashioned, which both came with a little bit of a twist on the classic recipe. They also pulled down a few different spirits which we tasted together, overall I'd highly recommend a stop and it was especially fun as the only patron there. After two cocktails, I cleaned up and called an Uber and headed to the airport. Just a heads up, the Copa Club is pretty nice, has limited food, but tragically closes at 9 PM. I had a flight that left at nearly 11 PM, so this was a little disappointing.
Overall, I loved Panama. The people were friendly, even if the service in many places was pretty lackluster. It's more expensive than Colombia or Ecuador, but several people told me it's slightly cheaper than Costa Rica. It's a good stop if you're not sure about central or south America as it's extremely safe, if you use common sense, and it's not too hard to get around using shuttles/taxis/ubers if you don't want to brave public transit. It offers very good food options in Panama City, and it's easy to find a Hampton Inn/Hooters/McDonald's/Little Caesar's/Wendy's if you need a break from being adventurous. The Spanish isn't difficult, and most people speak at least some English. I would have dropped lost and found hostel from my itinerary if I planned it again, but did not regret any of the other stops. I do kind of wish I had focused on Bocas and Boquete, saving Valle de Anton and maybe San Blas together for a future trip, but I had already painted myself into a bit of a corner with my David-Panama flights by the time I realized this. I hope this helps someone as they plan their Panama trip, or helps them decide Panama is a worthwhile visit! Please do not make as many changes as I did, I absolutely did at least one to many stops and wish I had spent more time in Bocas and probably Valle de Anton. Anyway, feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll try to address them as they come in!
Final Itinerary:

• 3 nights at Selina Casco Viejo (meh, not recommended)
• 2 nights at Bambuda Castle Boquete
• 3 nights at Bambuda Bocas Town (recommend)
• 1 night at Lost & Found Hostel (not my jam, would not do again)
• 1 night at Hampton Inn David (saved my trip, loved it, would recommend)
• 2 nights at Bohdi Valle de Anton (solid, would recommend)
• 1 kind of night at Hotel Caracas (did exactly what I needed)

I (21F) am part of a very religious and traditionally strict family. When my sister (40, Alice) got married her husband (40, Stephen) and his brother (mid 40s, Joseph) moved into the house next door (my dad helped them get it and their jobs since they emigrated from a different country). Stephen and Joseph came to our house at mealtimes to eat (since they're men and obvs can't cook /s).
One day Joseph came to eat and he had a helium balloon to give me (i was 5 at the time), I was in the bathroom and instead of leaving it there or giving it to one of my many family members, he decided to take it back with him. After he'd left, someone told me about the balloon so I went to get it with my brother (34 now, 18 then, Simon), my brother went to park his car from the driveway into the garage and told me to quickly go and get it. I went in and I couldn't reach it since it was stuck to the ceiling so asked Joseph to get it down for me to, which he said "take your pants off first".
Even at that age I knew I shouldn't do this because not only did it feel wrong but my mom had also repeatedly told me to be careful, modest and stay away from boys (religious and all, she instilled these beliefs in me from back then and I have older sisters who were thought they same things but more strictly so I was the same). So I didn't do anything and was like "no, give it to me". He kept insisting but by that point my brother had also come in and he got it down for me and we went home. Idk if my brother heard but he never mentioned it.
Stephen on the other hand seemed like a nice guy, was good to my sister and all of us siblings and treated us nicely. Throughout the years he somehow flipped, around the time that their sister (Tammy) married my brother. Now, my sister and Stephen can't stand each other but stay together for the sake of their kids and because they know that if they divorce the same will happen to their respective siblings.
A similar thing has already happened in their family, basically their other brother (Cameron) and sister (Sammy) are also married to a pair of siblings. Cameron was caught fucking a random other girl in a field so his wife's brother who is married to Sammy openly dated and had a mistress while still being married. They basically want to avoid another situation like this, our culture is very family oriented and one couple cannot break up and the other stay together.
So basically my sister Alice is scared of her husband and his brothers doing stuff to her children because she lived with them for a decade and they were physically abusive to the kids and also weird in a pedo way. Although they didn't do anything sexual during this time (that I know of; me being so much younger means they don't tell me some stuff) I don't have any doubts about why she thinks that because I know they have these kind of tendencies and wouldn't put it past them to try on their little children.
I believe this because Stephen recently told his 9 year old son about how to "feel good" and get a "warm reaction" when rubbing his private parts. Now his son is 10, and Stephen took him to his bedroom and "laid on top of [my nephew] and jumped and pressed into" in my nephews words. I have nothing against secual education, or masturbation, but 9 years old is too young and humping your son is also a unacceptable.
On the other hand, my sister in law Tammy has a habit of watching porn on our TV, which is in the living room and used by everyone (mostly for the children to watch cartoons on or for family movie nights, ironically). Additionally, she was caught by my brother chatting up my other brother in law (35, Elias). Elias was my brother Simon's best friend since they were toddlers and he strongly denied anything happening between him and Tammy, but his wife (my sister Felice, 32) has previously caught Tammy doing this thing and told my brother Simon. He didn't believe her until we were all vacationing together 2 years ago and he saw it happen first hand. Since then Simon and Elias haven't talked to each other and their wives are basically no contact with each other (Simon and Felice still talk tho, although its more of a small talk kinda relationship so not very close).
Another thing I hate is that Tammy is hateful towards me and my all my sisters, but I will focus on Alice. Alice lives in a one bedroom with her 6 kids, she relies on her husband Stephen for money and everything else, he has control of all the banks and all the government benefits they receive for the kids. He recently sent 20000 back to his family in a different country and sends an additional 1000 every month. His family bought 4 houses in the past 2/3 years, while Alice's kids literally get bullied because they dont have the right equipment for school, their lunches, their clothes and other such reasons.
One of these was when their washing machine broke when Alice was 7 months pregnant and she had to wash the clothes by hand. She tried to talk to my parents and brother Simon and his wife Tammy to persuade Stephen to buy a new one cuz she physically couldn't anymore, to which Tammy responded with "whatever happens, whether something breaks or not, he's not gonna fix it and we're not gonna get you a new one. If you wanna stay here stay otherwise fuck off". My brother shouted at her and then her crocodile tears came out, but in the end my brother had to buy a washing machine for my sister Alice. Stephen also has a habit of leaving his wife with their 6 kids for months on end when he goes to his home country, this happened when she was pregnant twice.
When I was 14, they also tried to arrange a meeting for me to get married to their younger brother who is 7-8 years older than me. My parents and I both rejected this thought without hesitation.
I feel like their whole family is sexually fucked up and I hate them so much, I'm scared for all their kids and feel like either they will rape them or teach them that these things are normal, so they will grow up to be like them. Naturally I want neither of these things, I love my siblings and wish we could just get rid of Tammy and Stephen, but in our culture divorce is frowned upon and people make a really big deal out of it. Idk if I should report Stephen or how to help Alice, pls lmk if there's something I could do, if not pls help me sort out my thoughts and thank you for listening to my rant.

I (19 F) and my Best Friend (19 F) have been lying to everyone we know that we are cousins.
For context, I have a summer birthday and turn 20 in 2 months. I graduated high school early (as did a lot of people in my area due to covid) and came out to college at 17 the winter semester of 2022. I was at college for a year and a half before I met my now best friend from randomly rooming in an off campus apartment at the beginning of this last school year This was her first year at college, as she is almost a year younger than me, and graduated in 2023. We clicked INSTANTLY and have become inseparably close ever since.
Our entire immediate and extended families all know each other, and we will often take trips and stay with her family. And when my family came into town, she stayed with us the whole time. Our families love each other, and meeting her has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, I feel like I have known her my entire life. My cousins who live in the area all call her cousin, and she comes to all the family functions.
Because we lived together, we share all of our belongings and even grocery shop together. Since we became so close so fast, and stayed at her family's house only a few weeks into the school year, people always asked us how we knew each other and would not believe us when we said we were random roommates. So instead, we started saying we were cousins and nobody questioned it. We became curious if we were actually related as we both have pretty large families, and used the app family tree to see if we were. To our surprise, we were somewhere between 3rd and 5th cousins, I can't quite remember. It was through my Grammy, and our moms sides of the family.
We are close with a few of both my cousins on my mom's side and her cousins fromher mom's side, and both of them just call the other "cousin", and have all accepted the other into the family. We even call each other's parents aunt and uncle as we will see or talk to them frequently. We will stay at each other's family and extended family. Everyone has welcomed the other with open arms into the family, and this made our lie seem even more real. This became so normal to us, that we would forget sometimes that it was sort of a lie. Whenever cousins would come to stay with us during the year, they called us both cousin no matter who's it was.
There were a couple other things that inadvertently helped our case too. For one, she was online at a different school the first semester as she had started college the last year of high school and had to finish it but still wanted to live in the college town she would be attending next semester, so people assumed she moved here to live with me. Second, my mom's mom is called Grammy and her mom's mom is called Gammy so whenever we talk about them, nobody notices that we are saying something different as they are super similar. And lastly, all the cousin's that came to stay with us or that we are close to are all from both our mom's sides and the ones we are still both technically related to.
During the year, we would tell all the people we met and it wasn't ever really an issue. The most people would question is that we don't look super alike as she is blonde and I have dark brown hair with tan skin, so sometimes people would ask how we were related and we would say our moms as both our moms are blonde. Early on we met a bunch of guys that ended up becoming our best friends. I started dating one of the guys in the group a few months later. The 3 of us became super close, and we never told him that we weren't cousins. One of the guys in the group that i'll call B, has two cousins in the group but from opposite sides. Because they were actual cousins, they wanted to know how we were related so we said our moms and when they asked if they were sisters we agreed.
Up until about 6 months ago, this was all there was to it and it wasn't really a big deal or that deep, just kind of funny. But things took a bit of a turn when one of B's cousins E had a thing with one of my actual cousin's roommates. Her roommate accidentally let it slip to E that me and my best friend weren't really cousins. Luckily my cousin gave us a heads up, so we knew they might ask. E ended up telling all of the other guys while they were at the gym that day and my boyfriend texted me saying "Bro no way you guys have been lying to me this whole time" when I asked how, he said "yall aren't even cousins" and then added "by blood".
We probably should have come clean then and there, but we had another one of our friends over who also thought we were cousins and didn't feel explaining to him or everyone that we had been lying for months. So naturally, we doubled down. But my boyfriend didn't believe us and asked for proof. When I said I would find a picture (my mom's family is huge so we could have played it off) he said to show him the family tree app. So we took an ss of our relation to each other and put another ss on top of it so it looked like it said we were just cousins instead of 3rd. That ended the debate as E and the girl never became anything so the guys just assumed it was bad intel, and never asked us about it again.
Now here comes the major problem. My best friend decided to do a year and a half long humanitarian trip and is having a party to say goodbye at her house this weekend. Me and my boyfriend are going up on Thursday (which is in 2 days) and her family is all coming into town. Her dad's mom and her mom's parents will all be there. My boyfriend has been with us when we were on a face time call with her family and her Gammy months ago, and has also met my Grammy, and was even at a family dinner this past weekend. However, since talking to Gammy and meeting Grammy were spaced apart so far he never questioned or asked about it, and we never gave it a second thought. The other day when we were at my Grammy's house, he snapped my best friend who is currently home saying "guess where I am", it was clear he assumed that Grammy was our mutual grandparent so she just went along with it.
We have been lying so long that we don't know what to do about this weekend. We talked to her mom and one of her aunts who know about the situation and they think it is hilarious. It started out as an innocent joke and just letting people assume our grandmas are the same person, but we are so deep in it at this point that we don't know if we should come clean or not.
At this point we have 3 options: 1: we come completely clean, 2: we slightly lie and say we are 2nd cousins which isn't that far from the truth, or 3: lie even more and keep pretending to be first cousins.
Her mom thinks we are in too deep to come clean at this point and is willing to go along with whatever we tell him. We came up with a plan that would further enforce the lie that goes as follows: Her Gammy and my (now dead) grandad were married and had 2 kids: the first one died (my mom has a sister that died as a baby) and the second one was her mom. They divorced after the death as it was hard on the marriage and both got remarried. My grandad to my Grammy, and her Gammy to her grandfather. Gammy got custody of her mom, and both couples had more kids and moved on with their lives.
This would make us half cousins and our moms half sisters. You wouldn't really refer to your half cousin as anything but a cousin, and it would explain why we were weird when people asked if our moms were sisters. Additionally, the sister that died is a real thing and asking anyone about it would make our lie seem true. It is messy enough to where it would be like oh we don't talk about it and he won't want to ask questions, but not messy enough with like affairs and cheating to where it makes our families look bad. Her mom and aunt and cousins will all go along with it as the find the whole thing funny. The issue is, this would make us get involved so deep and having lies that include dead family members feels disrespectful.
At this point I don't know what to do, should we come completely clean now? Should we come partially clean and admit to lying about our mom's being sisters and the family tree app ss being fake? Or do we keep lying and go with everything we've said for a year now? I'm worried that my boyfriend will feel betrayed by everyone lying to him, no matter when it is if it's now or if we keeping lying and he finds out later. I don't want him to be hurt and question other things in our relationship, as this is the ONLY thing I have ever lied to him about. There is a chance that if we keep lying he will never find out, but there's also a chance that he will. I honestly forgot about all of this, and when me an my best friend facetimed a few minutes ago we realized we are so screwed.
Please help lol I feel like an idiot and I don't know what to do 😭

(btw English is not my first language so if there are some mistakes try to understand it I'm trying my best ) Last year I was heading home from a vacation,I actually like being at the airport cuz there I can see different people and in general older good looking guy/man,I was going for the check out ,to fly from that county and I see this good looking man ,he was probably in his 40s or idk in his late 40s...idk but he really looked old enough to be my father, actually older than my father,the moment I saw him I was only looking after him ,good thing he was from my country and we were close to each other cuz where he was going I was going too.He had 3 big boys staying next to him I think they were his son's and they didn't look old then 16 17 or so on somewhere around that age .I made some eye contact with 2 of them with one of those boys I made many eye contacts but they lasted like 3-5sec .I was actually looking more at their father lol,I mean he was soooo.Anyways he was actually my type andi really liked that ,he had brown or black hair if with some white ,he was tall like taller than me and that was perfect ,he had some veiny ahh hands omggg u couldn't belive what I was feeling in that moment . I catched him talking with his son's ,he was annoyed for some reason and how he was speaking was much more attractive.I don't remember making eye contact with him really....but I was always looking at him and his eyes ,he had long hair to his shoulder but still shorter than shoulder,It looked like a kind of hot male teacher yk ,and how he was pulling his hair back with his finger like he just got out of the water and got the we hair or of his face .Anyways I kind of had some crush on him for that time at the airport. When we were going into the plane I really wanted him to be near me or even to have his seat next to me oh god....I had an separate seat than my family so yeah ,but sadly it didn't happen ,when we got to out destination,home country,we were waiting for the luggages on that trail ,he sat in front of me and the way he was standing is was like he was in the military,he had his hands crossed legs apart and standing there very serious,his luggage came first,he just got it and left immediately Don't think that I forgot about him I still think of him somesomes ,but this happened 2023 on 4 august on my bday ,is was cool I was thinking of him and made some fake scenarios In my head they were wild and idk...how to explain them , interesting but weirdly cool Everytime I was in the city I was kind of looking out for him idk why cuz it's not like he is a relative of my father or sum and someday I will just see him visiting my house and reseeing him again ...

I have been divorced for two years (went on some dates during that time, but nothing that became a relationship) and I am just feeling VERY out of my depth and I would love some unbiased input on how this very new relationship is going. I was with my ex for almost thirteen years and I was really religious before that, so my dating experience was already pretty limited and it's been a really long time since I've been at this point.
A big reason why I'm posting here is that I strongly suspect that I'm autistic and my psychiatrist has agreed that a lot of what I've described about myself and why I believe I might be would fit an autism diagnosis, but I have not been officially tested. I have been diagnosed with ADHD (thus the psychiatrist). I have a hard time interpreting social cues and hints even if they're positive and I tend to assume people are telling me the truth (which has gotten me into trouble). I also tend to take things very literally and when I communicate I am either very direct or I swing towards quiet and kind of shy. No one has ever guessed that I'm autistic, though. Usually people just think I'm very, very quiet until they get to know me.
I (42F) met this man (52) on Tinder and we have been seeing each other for almost three weeks now and have met up six times over that period. Our values align, we work in similar fields, have a few shared hobbies and interests, similar needs for time alone, and we are both looking for a longterm relationship. I think he's hot and he's told me that he thinks I'm really gorgeous/sexy/beautiful/etc. We've both agreed to pause our accounts on dating apps. We've had sex on half of these dates (first time was on the second date). He did tell me on the first date that if we do start sleeping together, that I don't have to worry about him seeing anyone else, but we haven't had a conversation about being exclusive since then. I'm not interested in seeing anyone else, but it seems a little soon to have that conversation?
On the first date, he said he wanted to see me again as soon as I would let him. Then two days later (which was the day before we were already planning on meeting up again), he texted me and said that he was supposed to go on another date that night with someone else but that he didn't want to and he would rather spend time with me. So we went out that night and I ended up spending the night (it was a good time, no awkwardness).
We text each other throughout the day and he initiates a lot of those conversations and usually responds pretty quickly. Any time I've asked if we could talk on the phone, he's always said yes. He bought me a book that he's read and that I expressed interest in reading and he even wrapped it in xmas paper, and he brought treats for my cats the first time he came over. He's planned and paid for most of the dates and today he asked me to go to the beach with him this coming Sunday (and he bought a beach tent for this because I love the beach but I'm really prone to getting skin cancer). He's always complimenting me. He has never pressured me to do anything physically/sexually, he has always asked for permission before doing something new, and he checks in with me to make sure I am still okay with everything that is happening.
All of the above is great.
Here is what I'm a little concerned about and I would like to know if I'm overthinking this.
He came on pretty strong at first with how attracted he was to me physically. Like, he let me know how much he wanted me in no uncertain terms. After I spent the night at his place, he said "If we do this again, and I really hope that we do, I promise that the next time will be a lot more relaxed in the morning." He had early morning plans that day that I already knew about, so I wasn't bothered at all. I told him that I would also definitely like to do that again. But that hasn't happened. The next time I saw him after that, he told me that he really enjoyed it but that he was kind of exhausted the next day so we would have to plan it out better next time? But since then, everything he's suggested we do together has been during the day on the weekend or a couple of hours during the week when he has spare time. We were going to go out on a friday night, but he asked if we could reschedule because he'd had a really stressful work week and was really tired (we talked on the phone that night instead). He's also pulled back on telling me that he wants me since then, but he texts and talks to me in general more than before?
I'm nervous that maybe his ego has taken a hit because I haven't had an orgasm with him yet and it's not because he hasn't been trying or doing the right things. I've told him that I'm really enjoying being with him and I'm not worried about my orgasm because we haven't known each other for very long and this is new and we have plenty of time, but he seems kind of disappointed that I didn't afterwards anyway? Last time, I told him that I got pretty close and he sighed and said, "Oh, don't tell me that."
I guess I'm concerned that he's losing interest in me sexually or thinks that I am.
I would appreciate any thoughts or impressions on this.
TL;DR: Worried that new guy I'm seeing is losing interest in me sexually because I haven't had an orgasm with him yet. Also I feel like I don't know how to date in general and would appreciate other people's thoughts on how this is going.

LONG POST WARNING
Hello everyone,
My partner (24F) and I (25M) returned home from our 3-week Japan trip last week and due to us using this sub a lot during our planning I thought it would be helpful for other current planners to upload a trip report.
Our main interests are Japanese traditions and history, street style/culture, and food so keep reading if these interests are mutual. Read to the bottom to see how much we spent plus some tips and disappointments.
Prelude
We were caught up in the madness at Dubai airport during our layover. Long story short; Airport (and the rest of Dubai) flooded and caused all the flights to be cancelled. What was meant to be a 5-hour layover turned into a torturous 36 hour wait. No staff to be seen, crowds of people arguing, fighting, and crying. We queued for 12 hours to get a new boarding pass for the next flight to Japan. We were meant to fly to Haneda but settled for Narita as we needed to get out of that place as soon as possible but still ended up missing our first day in Tokyo (should have had 5 days). We can’t complain too much as some of the people I spoke to on emirates were in the airport for up to 5 days before getting a flight back to their departure destination. Oh, and our baggage was missing with us only receiving our checked in bags on day 19. Cheers Emirates.
Day 1
Arrived in Shinjuku around midnight. We went straight to Don Quiojte to buy some replacement cosmetics and clothes. The combination of no good-quality sleep for 48 hours and the stimulating nature of the store was very intense! We then started to walk back towards the hostel and passed a Ichiran, so dropped in for some 2am ramen. Not the best ramen I’ve ever had but was still very good for the price.
Steps: 21,643 (includes some airport steps)
Day 2
Woke up and ate the free breakfast at the hostel (this turned out to be a really good money saver for the whole trip as we are not huge eaters in the morning anyway, but it was good to get something light in us before a long day walking). We then walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – saw some late blooming cheery blossoms and overall, it was a really beautiful botanical garden.
The next stop was Meji Shrine and a walk through Yoyogi park. The shrine was cool to see, especially as it was our first one in Japan. Saw a middle-aged man wearing denim hotpants so short that his balls were hanging out?!?!
Walked to Shibuya to see the scramble. This was cool but also felt it was a bit underwhelming at ground level but the view from Shibuya station walkway was wicked. Lunch was at a conveyor belt sushi place on the top floor of this department store right next to the scramble. This would be higher than average quality sushi in Europe, so it blew our minds that it was available on the top floor of a department store and for so cheap.
Shimokitazawa – We picked up some bargains at 2^nd street and I treated myself some Japanese jeans from a small Demin shop called Bears. The guy in the shop was super helpful and friendly and even tailored the trousers to exactly my size.
In the evening, we first had a poke around Golden Gai and then headed towards Shibuya and stopped in a cool bar where the owner was mixing vinyl while he mixed your drinks (think it was called Q Bar).
We had previously bought tickets to a gig at Circus for one of my fav rappers who I’d been wanting to see for a while. Also really enjoyed seeing the local Japanese warm up acts. Stayed until 5am and then go the train straight to the Tsukiji outer fish market. Was there way too early and had to wait roughly an hour for thing to open. Went to chill by a bench for a bit and by the time we went back to the market it was rammed! Went to bed around 8:30am.
Steps: 32,159
Day 3
We woke up at 2:30pm, got ready, and headed to the Bunkyo civic centre for the free observation deck. We heard it wasn’t meant to be the best Tokyo skyline view but for a free attraction we thought it was very good! Jimbocho book town was also very cool to see. We had a peak into a couple adult movie/magazine stores where I don’t think the owner appreciated our presence as western tourists.
In the evening, we first went for Ramen at Motenashi Kuraki in Asakusa Bashi. Honestly probably the best Ramen I’ve had to date. I ordered the Black Pepper Shio special, and it blew my mind. Even though the staff didn’t speak English they were very accommodating for my partner who doesn’t eat meat (pescetarian but will brave a meaty broth).
We then had a stroll around Akihabara and played some dance mat games in the arcades before heading back for an earlyish night.
Steps: 28,680
Day 4
I couldn’t sleep so got up around 3am and did some admin stuff to try and get our bags back to us ASAP. Chatted to people in the hostel for a few hours.
We arrived at Senso-ji for around 8am. Wasn’t too busy at this time and the temple was impressive. Went for a coffee down the road and had a chill for about an hour before heading into Asakusa. Got admission to the Drum museum which was wicked. Only 400 yen each and had the whole place to ourselves to smack some big fucking drums and make as much noise as we wanted.
We then started to head towards Ueno but made a slight detour to Kappabashi Dougu street to peruse the Japanese chef knives and other cookware. Grabbed lunch from a 7/11 and went and sat in Ueno park which was super busy. There was some food market event on which loads of food stalls had set up. There was also a stage with some J-pop performers and people dressed as ninjas dancing in the crowd. Weird to say the least. By mid-afternoon we were pretty tired so headed back to the hostel for a nap.
In the evening, we headed down to Harajuku and stopped by Big Love records. My partner is really into vinyl, so this was definitely a highlight for her. She picked up Wu Tang 36 chambers in case you were wondering. We then went for food at Afuri as my partner wanted to try the Vegan ramen to which she said it was ok but nothing special. My cold dipping noodle dish was very tasty, however. We then stumbled across this vinyl listening bar called Bar Music on the 5^th floor of this pokey building on the outskirts of Shibuya for a few drinks before bed. There was such a good vibe in there and the cocktails were super good for the price. If you’re looking for a romantic spot, then this is the place to go.
Steps: 31,818
Day 5
Today we headed to Kyoto on the shinkansen around midday after a slow morning chilling in and around the hostel and catching up on some sleep. Checked in to the hostel and had a walk around downtown Kyoto, stopping at 2^nd Street to buy some more clothes.
In the evening, we headed to Kodai-Ji to see the shrine lit up at night. We couldn’t believe how few people were there as it was stunning and truly magical place to be at night. It also has a bamboo grove (much better than Arashiyama, see below). The bar for Kyoto shrines/temples had been set very high.
Walked down Pontocho alley and stopped at a yakitori restaurant which was just ok. We knew it was going to be average when we looked around the restaurant and it was just western tourists dining.
Steps: 25,255
Day 6
First thing in the morning we rented bikes and cycled across the city to Arashiyama. Parked the bikes at the train station and walked up through Arashiyama. We were expecting it to be busy but there were so many people it was almost impossible to move. Had a look around the bamboo grove and was slightly underwhelmed after our visit to Kodai-Ji so we took the tram and then bus up to Kosan-Ji. This was very much worth the 45-minute journey as there was only one other group there and the temple nestled between the trees overlooking the river was breath-taking. On the whole, Arashiyama was way too packed during peak times to enjoy and with everything else Kyoto has to offer we wouldn’t say it was a must see.
We then picked up the bikes from the train station and cycled back across Kyoto taking the long route to explore and get lost. Once we dropped off the bikes, we went for another explore and this time went into WeGo for more clothes shopping. At this point we’d pretty much matched the amount of clothing that we had packed in our checked-in luggage that was still stuck in Dubai.
After a nap we walked towards the metro and stopped at a Katsu restaurant as we wanted to try something different, and it was pretty good. For the price of 1300 yen each we got so much food/sake and left stuffed.
Fushimi Inari in the evening. Like Kodai-Ji, we would recommend visiting Fushimi Inari at night. Firstly, to help avoid the crowds (we got there around 9pm and there was hardly anybody there) and secondly as seeing it lit up at night is a nice change. It was however slightly creepy at night, especially as it was lightly raining. My partner started to get a bit scared once we saw the signs to be careful of the wild boar and monkeys haha. We didn’t make it to the top of Mt Inari as the rain started to get heavy but still very much enjoyed walking through the hundreds of tori gates, stopping off at the shrines and soaking up the history.
Steps: 23,686
Day 7
Today was a late start as even after 8 hours sleep the 25k plus steps a day was starting to catch up with us.
We took the metro to Shimogamo Shrine in north Kyoto. It was very peaceful and quiet however temple fatigue had definitely set in at this point. We then walked through Kyoto to the beginning of Philosophers path. We had seen on this sub that people recommend skipping it unless its Sakura season however we disagree. The path along the river is so pretty and atmospheric, along with the fish gently swimming along in the river.
Kyoto Hand Crafts Centre – if you have the money then this is a great place to pick up souvenirs.
Pre-booked Sushi Iwa for a 15 course Omakase. The food was amazing, but it came to an eye watering 28k yen each. The difference for our western palettes between mid-range sushi and exceptional sushi is negligible. Nonetheless it was a good experience and I’m glad that we did it.
Steps: 23,751
Day 8
Today was an empty day in terms of things we wanted to do, so used it to walk the city and explore.
We checked out the Nishiki market and ate various fried foods on sticks which were all pretty tasty. We then walked northwards, stopping for coffee before reaching the imperial palace. By this point we were very much bored of temples and structures of similar architecture, but we actually ended up enjoying walking the palace grounds and seeing the buildings more than we thought and would recommend it to those who find themselves in north Kyoto.
A leisurely walk back down towards downtown Kyoto, stopping off at a wicked standing soba joint. Forgotten the name but their curry soba was delicious.
Chao Chao gyozas (only veggie gyoza place we could find) for our evening meal before a night cap at the bar across the road before bed.
Steps: 23,304
Day 9
Shinkansen to Hiroshima arriving around 11am.
Checked into hostel and then went straight to the A-dome, peace memorial and museum. We thought the museum was very moving and captured the horror of the events that unfolded very well. A must see for sure.
Okonomiyaki at Okonomimura and then some vintage clothes shopping in Hondori.
Went back out for food in the evening and ended up getting Okonomiyaki again. This time it we enjoyed it a lot more than we did at lunch (probably because we got it covered in cheese). There are a few streets by Hiroshima station with lots of bars and restaurants on top of each other, much like Golden Gai in Shinjuku, however they are not super touristy and has a more laid-back feel to them.
We then went to some bars in the city centre. The best one we stumbled across was called Tropical Bar Revolucion. It was on the 8^th floor and the smoking balcony overlooked the city. Plus, the beers in there tasted so good and I’m not sure why.
Steps: 23,299
Day 10
A hungover morning. Headed to the Hiroshima National Gardens. Going to some gardens is my go-to hangover activity as its low effort, relaxing, and feels productive. These gardens in particular were great and we really appreciated the signs explaining the history behind the space. Overall, we enjoyed this more than the national gardens in Shinjuku.
Public baths near Dobashi in the afternoon. If you’re feeling brave enough to get your kit off in front of 10s of strangers, then this is a good experience. Male and female baths are separate. Can’t go wrong for 400 yen.
Went for a drink at Bar Pretty and then realised the effect of golden week on trying to get a table walking into a restaurant. Walked around for about an hour with no success so settled for food from a department store food court. Sounds miserable but the food was pretty good for the price, and it was busy in there, so it still had an atmosphere.
Steps: 29,487
Day 11
Miyajima Day. Took the ferry to the island arriving at 10:30am. The Ryokan staff met us at the port and collected our bags to take back to the hotel.
Had a mooch around the port area before doing the hike up Mt Misen. The climb to the top on a hot day is not to be underestimated. Sweating buckets, but the route and the view from the top was amazing and one of the standout highlights of the whole trip.
After descending Mt Misen, we bought some beers, oysters and, ice cream and sat along the beach wall and chilled in the sun for a couple hours. The hotel staff then picked us up from the ferry terminal, we checked in and went straight to the Onsen for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was a traditional kaiseki meal (with more courses than I can remember) served in the banquet hall with the other guests.
While the staff converted our retro ryokan room and set up the futons we had a few more beers before bed.
Steps: 20,803
Day 12
Today we had a chilled morning on the island, having a stroll and stopping for some coffees. We then took the ferry back to Hiroshima, stopping for Okonomiyaki one more time, before taking the shinkansen to Osaka.
Checked into our hostel near Namba and went out for a walk around 8pm. When looking for somewhere to eat we walked past a sign for a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Shama. After nearly two weeks of pure Japanese food we were craving some variety so decided to head in. Located on the basement floor of a particularly run down looking building the restaurant was not the most glamorous. Barely enough space for 10 people, it was hot in there. A constant stream of people was coming in and out of the restaurant and we were lucky enough to walk in when there were two spaces available. From sitting down at the table to receiving our food we waited just under an hour. This would be enough to put most people off but fuck me the food was good when it did finally arrive. We got a selection of 4 different curries, naan breads and samosa. We left stuffed. If you’re in the area this is definitely a place worth checking out.
Steps: 25,502
Day 13
Our first stop of the day was the Umeda Sky Building. Not suitable if you are scared of heights as the glass elevator made our stomachs drop slightly. The views were impressive but we thought the price was a bit steep at 1500 yen each.
We then spent the afternoon wondering about near Namba and Shinsujibashi dropping into shops and picking up some food.
For dinner we made a reservation for a Mexican restaurant near Dotonbori. Massive margheritas, nachos and enchiladas. The food was great, and it shows by how busy the place was still at 10pm. It had been open since the late 70’s with the décor to match and it had a great atmosphere.
Steps: 27,290
Day 14
Checked out Tsuruhashi and Korea Town. Loved the market – dimly lit maze of numerous food and clothing vendors. Stopped to have some Korean stew and pancakes and it was delicious. One of the best meals of the trip.
Shinsekai in the evening. What I can describe as the armpit of Osaka. We loved it. Dirty? Yes. Rowdy? Yes. Rough around the edges with a red light district to top it all off. We had Kushikatsu to finish the evening off. Fried stuff on a stick – of course it going to be tasty but it wasn’t exactly flavour town.
Steps: 23,777
Day 15
Took the train to Minoh and hiked up the trail to see the waterfall. Hike was easy in comparison to Mt Misen and the waterfall was very cool to see. Had a wonder around Minoh stopping for some lunch at a Ramen bar.
We went to the Team lab botanical gardens in the evening. It was very awe inspiring seeing all the installations lit up.
After sampling Japanese McDonalds (I had a burger where the buns were made out of rice) we went for some drinks at Zerro. We liked this bar a lot, the guys working there were very friendly and it had a good vibe.
We then sat and watched the skaters at triangle park with some beers from the konbini before going to see Dj Masda at Circus until around 4am. This area of Osaka was such a vibe and came back here a few times over our 6 days here. Overall, a very fun evening.
Steps: 26,130
Day 16
Woke up chronically hungover but powered on and went to see a baseball game. You’re allowed to bring food and drink into the stadium (as long as alcohol is in plastic/paper cups) so we grabbed some beers and snacks from family mart. We had no idea what was happening but the atmosphere was electric and we enjoyed getting pissed and cheering.
Had a nap and then went to Hafez for middle eastern food. The food was good but not amazing, nothing in comparison to my local middle eastern restaurant back home. Chilled around the Namba park/Big step area. Loved this area so much, we are big into street fashion and culture so this place really ticked some boxes. Lots of skaters and street wear stores concentrated around here. Got an early night watching Battle Royale back at the hostel.
Steps: 22,065
Day 17
Today we went to the Umeda area. Popped into some shopping centres and had Omurice for lunch. It was tasty but not something I will crave when back home. Good experience trying it though. We then walked through Yodoyobashi along the rivers and got gelato and sat in the rose garden. The sun was beating down and we enjoyed just chilling in the sun eating our ice cream.
Compufunk Records were holding a party in their store. Decent gaff with some very welcoming and kind people to party with until the early hours.
Steps: 21,267
Day 18
We reluctantly left Osaka for Hakone today. Very sad to go but onwards to the next adventure. Took the shinkansen to Odawara and then the Hakone Tozan Train to Gora. Checked into our Ryokan and relaxed in the Onsen for a few hours.
Went for a walk around Gora and had dinner at the Ryokan before watching Predator in bed.
Steps: 16,926
Day 19
Today we did the Hakone Loop, starting early in Gora.
Started with the Open-air museum and it was great. We loved the installation and ended up spending 3 hours slowly making our way round. Got some cool photos as well for the gram.
Ropeway to Lake Ashi. This was absolutely terrifying. You have to swap cable cars 3 times on the way over and the warnings of the service being suspended due to the wind was announced at each stop. I’m not going to ruin the surprise, but one section made me literally freeze in terror due to the winds outside so try to do it on a calm weather day.
We then took the pirate boat (bit underwhelming) across the Lake and stopped for some soba noodles and a wander around. Unfortunately it was way too cloudy to even get a chance at seeing Mt Fuji.
Train to Kamakura and checked into our super cute traditional hostel near the beach.
Dinner at an Izakaya from the hostel owners recommendation. Food great and beers slipped down a treat. First time I tried Yuzu Kosho as well – I’m now addicted to the stuff and literally cover all my food with it.
Steps: 19,512
Day 20
A slow start to the morning. Weather was pretty bad but we still managed to hit all the main sights in Kamakura. Big Buddha was a refreshing sight from the temples. Did some shopping up Komachi Dori. Highlight of the day was Hukokaji temple. It was so peaceful and zen in the rain with its very own matcha tea ceremony backdropped by bamboo forest. This turned out to be our second favourite temple/shrine we visited, just being beaten by Kodaji.
In the evening we went for Sushi at a conveyor belt place. Figured this would probably be my last Japanese sushi of the trip so devoured 7000 yen worth of sushi and beer. Went back to the hostel and invited some of the other guests to drink with us. The owner of the hostel had some bayberry homebrew, so we got stuck into that.
Steps: 20,494
Day 21
Enoshima Island is just a 25 min train from Kamakura. Started off the day by walking to the top of the island to get French toast and a beer with a lovely view across the bay. We then headed up the Sea candle to check out the observation deck, still the illusive Mt Fuji hides behind the clouds.
We then bought admission to the caves beneath the island which was pretty cool. I won’t ruin the surprise but there’s something waiting for you at the end of one of the caves.
Had an explore around the rockpools near the caves and took some cool photos. We then had a pizza with fish on which was pretty crazy. Walked around the island a little bit more and I picked up some more Japanese denim which wasn’t the cheapest but the quality of the trousers are great and will last me a lifetime.
Back to Tokyo in the evening.
Went for Izakaya around Asakusa and popped into a couple bars. One was called Not Suspicious and the whole bar was covered in handwritten notes by patrons. Very touristy but quite cool at the same time. Our favourite was a drawing of Mario saying It’s a Me Muthafucka.
Steps: 25,903
Day 22
First stop was Don Quiojte to pick up some Yuzu Kosho (if you know you know) and weird flavoured KitKats.
Kappabashi Dougu street to purchase a fine Japanese carbon stell Santoku. Honestly in love with this knife so much. The people at the store were very happy to hear exactly what I was looking for and even let me try before you buy on some daikon radish.
While in Asakusa I had to return to the place where I put the best thing in my mouth in Japan. Motenashi Kuroki. Switched it up this time and had their classic Shio ramen plus the duck rice as a side. Honestly this place is amazing, and you have to go there if you have time. They aren’t veggie/pescy friendly so my partner went for one last round of sushi round the corner. We met up at a massage chair parlour and spent 30 mins relaxing in the chairs.
We had a bright idea to watch the sunset one last time so headed over to the rooftop park on a department store in Shibuya. Sipping on an ice cold Kirin, the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains and we knew our trip had come to an end. How symbolic.
Flight at 11pm from Haneda.
Steps: 23,187
On reflection:
I honestly think this trip was almost perfect in terms of hitting our interests and travel style. There was a good balance of doing the typical first time visit to Japan sights and activities while still exploring and seeing what we came across in the moment.
It hard to pinpoint exact highlights of the trip as everywhere we visited had so much going for it in different ways. We loved the rugged and trendy vibe to Osaka, and I think this would be the city I would most want to live in for a considerable amount of time (If I had to choose). Miyajima was also stunning and a great overnight trip with the Ryokan experience. We also underestimated how much we would enjoy Kamakura with its laid-back surfer vibe and access to Enoshima Island.
One random memorable moment that has stuck with me was when we landed at Narita airport, we took the limo bus to Shinjuku. As the driver pulled away, all the staff at the station turned and bowed in unison. It felt so special to first observe a culture totally opposite to the one I grew up with and was at this point I knew I had embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
If I could go back and change something I would probably miss out Hakone and do an extra day in one of the major cities. This isn’t because we didn’t enjoy Hakone, but we feel like it’s a place that needs more time to soak in what’s going on around you (plus the weather was bad when we were there). This being said the Open-Air Museum was amazing and we enjoyed it more than the Teamlab botanical gardens so the trip up the mountains was worth it just for that.
So, how much did we spend per person (not inc flights)?
Accommodation - £765pp
Given that we spent a couple nights in Ryokans raising the average price slightly, we were pretty happy with the accommodation costs. We stayed in a mix of private room and shared dorm hostels and pretty much all of them were spot on. Travelling as a couple meant that anywhere with a private room split the price between 2. The only hostel we didn’t like was the one in Hiroshima, there wasn’t anything in particularly wrong with it, there was just a really bad vibe from the owner and other guests.
Transport - £344pp
This includes shinkansen to and from all the major cities as well as our suica top ups for metros and buses. Unless your itinerary is something like 3 days Tokyo, 2 days Osaka 2 days Kyoto then there really isn’t any point getting the JR pass now that the price has increased.
Activities – £280pp
It is hard to give an exact amount for activities and food as 1) I didn’t track what we spent our cash on and 2) my partner and I would take in turns paying for things like temple admission. That being said I’ve allocated 25% of the cash we spent to activities such as temple admission. Activities includes our baseball tickets plus club entries as well as temple and museum admissions etc.
Food – £962pp
As above, its hard to give an exact amount for food. On the whole we tried to eat cheap with possible, especially at the start of our trip. There were a few expensive meals peppered in plus we ate out twice a day towards the end of our trip as we realised we were under budget.
The total is a bit skewed as this includes all the alcohol we bought in bars as well as the konbini trips for beers and cigarettes. I estimate that booze accounts for around a third of the total per person. If you would like to do Japan on a budget, reducing the booze will make a big difference.
Shopping/Souvenirs/Gifts – £607 (just me)
We went hard with the shopping. We didn’t actually receive our checked in luggage until day 19 so we had to buy all new clothes and cosmetics. If this wasn’t the case, then I don’t think I would have spent so much (airline is comping us for the additional clothing bought anyway). I also bought a fairly expensive chef knife and Japanese denim pieces, plus lots of gifts for friends and family. Obviously, this number could theoretically 0 if you are on a serious budget and did no shopping but I really underestimated Japanese shopping, especially thrifting. Also, given our cheap choices when it came to accommodation we could afford to splurge. However just to note my partner spent less than half than I did on shopping.
Total: £2958 (582,628 yen at time of writing)
I kept within my budget of £3000. I definitely got a bit frivolous with the cash in the last few days or so, if being as careful as I was towards the start of the trip, I think the total would be closer to £2500.
Disappointments
Takoyaki. We thought it was going to be all about the octopus but were disappointed with our balls of sloppy goo surrounding tiny chewy pieces of octopus. We tried it twice and couldn’t get behind it. Sorry Takoyaki fans.
Arashiyama. Way too busy, especially around the main station and bamboo grove. If it’s the bamboo you are going to see, then Kodaji is a much better spot.
Dotonburi. Albeit we were there in golden week, and it was pretty busy. However, I get the feeling this area has fallen to the past its golden days title and has become a bit of a cash cow for places selling spiralised potatoes on a stick. The area around Namba park was a better option for us.
Tips
Konbini. Absolute life saver for snacks and drinks on the go. The food quality for a convenience store is higher than most other countries so we had no problem with grabbing a meal from one to help keep within our budget.
Don’t over pack – even though we didn’t get our checked in bags, I still packed light so had plenty of space to bring stuff back. Emirates give you your allowance by weight rather than number of baggage so we could check in additional bags on the way back.
Don’t be scared of hostels. If you don’t want to brave the shared dorms, then most hostels offer private rooms with just the shower and toilet shared. Obviously, it’s cheaper if there are two people sharing a room.
Don’t stress about cash. Most places take debit/credit card and if they don’t, you’re never more than 5 minutes from a konbini ATM.
For us, golden week didn’t seem that big of an issue. No problems booking shinkansen around GW. We spent most of GW in Osaka, as such it was going to be busy anyway so maybe we didn’t see much of a difference from normal numbers in the spring.

Hi guys, I try to cut this shortly. I am a med student and i am in a serach for a hobby.
First let me explain why i came down to this option as a hobby and my worries as i am absolutely clueless about what i am getting into.
My hobbies are: 1. Gym 2. Videogames 3. Books
I do study most of the time and then i workout. When i have to prepare for exams (in particularly those hard) i cut the videogames as i enjoy them too much and i think about them so i just cut them and read more “leisure” books in breaks between study sessions or free time.
Sometimes i need and enjoy the silence from a good book but sometimes i feel the need to “express” myself i little bit more, i feel i need to create so i go to make and refine notes from school. This feels still feels like work and not really expressing myself.
So i tried to draw but i am so f bad at it. I just can’t do it and i was never good at it. I tried but i am not good at drawing.
But then on my ipad pro i started messing around with this app Nomad Sculpt which for sure you know about.
I watched a couple of videos and it seems like you can be good with more knowledge about the tools and not your ability to “draw”. Like i can get better knowing more about the tools.
Also big major factor: i start with something (the starting ball) and i mess around and then the ideas pop ups. While i try to draw this “ideas” doesn’t really come.
I don’t know if i am good at explaining (i am not english).
So i messed around with Nomad, seemed fun, wanted to get better but can’t draw at all. Do i need to practice a lot to be decent enough that i can make ideas that come to mind?
Like i can’t fucking draw a man that is not a stick but i guess i can do it better with sculpting?

Hey guys ! I actually have an iPad pro M2 for studying. And a pc for gaming. I'm selling my pc because I have a Steam deck recently and i dont need it anymore. And now i'm thinking of selling my iPad for a MacBook. I love the side of studying and watch content on my ipad but i think I will be more focus and effective with an macbook. The macbook air M3 seems very nice and i love the blue night color. What do you think about this ?
Sorry if my english sounds bad haha.

Tl;Dr The day before I propose to my girlfriend, she told me that she is still in love with her ex and is now conflicted and that she had recently saw him in person and they shared the same feelings.
Me: 34M Her: 34F Her son: 12M
Hello everyone, I'm new in this community.... However, I have a bit on my plate right now and I need advice.
In 2010. I was with someone whom I had gotten married to and as of this last year had gotten a divorce.
During that time I had a good friend of mine from high school, whom me and her had been just chatting. Trying to keep in touch. As far as I had known, it was purely platonic, although I did in high school have a crush on her. Earlier this year me and her decided to give it a shot and go out after she had broken up with someone she was with for 5 years not married. Someone who had stressed her out and her son, been emotionally abusive, indecisive on their future together, and at one point told her that he didn't even know if he wanted to be with her.
Now....
Me and her, we've been together for about 4 and 1/2 months now. And to be honest, I was ready to propose as of this Monday, I actually went as far as getting in contact with my old school to go and propose at the same place me and her used to eat lunch at.
.... And then.... The day before, she has me sit down to tell me when still loves her ex. And that she has recently talked to him...in person .. about that ...and they both still have feelings for each other
Now I've become close with the family and her son enjoys spending time with me and I enjoy spending time with the entire family...
So literally the day before I proposed.... She dropped that on me. And honestly I have no idea what to do now.
Her son actually went and talked to her about it, him going into tears... Gushed that I've treated her better than anybody has ever, and that he loves me in the way that his own dad (not the ex mind you), doesn't give him a fraction of the father-like figure that apparently I present to him. Her own father actually went out of his way wanting to be there when I proposed, so the whole family stands behind me on this.
Yet here I am....
She knows that she needs to cut off contact with her ex, however, she's kept line of communication open " so that he can get mail", however, after my divorce I cut ties to my ex not only for myself but respectfully for her, and I went as far as removing all the photos and everything off my Facebook in remembrance of it
The conversation as is right now is that she wants until this next Monday to think what she wants to do, whether it's to go back to him, to stay with me, or to go a whole year just by herself so she can figure out what she wants.
Regardless of which I stand behind her because I just want her happy. And yes it would be a lie to say I wouldn't want her to pick me.... But I know that a hurting heart is not something that you can demand to be fixed.
I leave this to you guys.... As I really don't know what to do at this point. I'm at work right now. Trying not to think about it but it's... it's eating me up.... And I don't want to keep talking about it with her because I need her to feel like she has the time to work on it. I'm just getting tired of the games that people tend to play with each other's hearts.... Especially when I moved in with her to help her out with finances... And now I'd have to consider possibly moving out and finding my own place within a couple weeks if she decides against me.
What would you recommend that I do in this situation? Give her the time she needs? Should I move out? ;Dr The day before I proposed My girlfriend told me she's still in love with her ex and now is unsure who she wants to be with even if the past couple of years have been rough between them.

I really just wanna vent my frustration over this exam I'm going into tomorrow. I'm scoring high enough so it's not the problem but the questions being asked and some answers are very annoying.
The following example is the worst I've encountered yet, preparing for my exams:
(Nederlands VWO Centraal tijdvak 2) (part of the) source text: "Zo betoogt Sarah Meuleman in haar stuk 'Hij is de standaard. Waarom?' dat de Nederlandse taal is blijven hangen in een tijd waarin vooral mannen geletterd waren. Daarom zou 'schrijver' een mannelijk woord zijn, waarnaar we verwijzen met hij. Laten we voortaan ook naar 'schrijver' verwijzen met zij, zegt Meuleman, want vrouwen schrijven ook.
Maar waarom verwijst meuleman dan naar zichzelf als 'schrijver' (v), als vrouwen die haar stuk lezen als 'lezer' en ongetwijfeld naar iemand zoals Emily Dickinson als 'dichter' terwijl er toch vrouwelijke equivalenten voor zijn: 'schrijfster', 'lezeres', 'dichteres'? Het gebruikelijke antwoord op deze tegenwerping luidt dat een specifiek vrouwelijke aanduiding van vrouwen een aparte en minder waardevolle categorie zou maken. Daarom zeggen we ook ‘directeur’ en geen ‘directrice’. Deze tendens komt uit Amerika, waar men inmiddels ook geen ‘actress’ meer zegt maar ‘female actor’.
Tegen deze redenering valt wel iets in te brengen. Ten eerste is het denkbeeld dat verwijzen naar Emily Dickinson als dichteres een onderschikking aan haar mannelijke collegae impliceert gewoon een misvatting. ‘Dickinson is een groot dichteres’ plaatst haar in de categorie van Rilke en Yeats, niet in de categorie van de hobbyende dames. Ten tweede getuigt het idee dat het gebruik van specifiek vrouwelijke woorden als ‘schrijfster’ of ‘actrice’ op de een of andere manier discriminerend zou zijn van een typisch Nederlands-Angelsaksisch provincialisme. In Frankrijk en Duitsland pleiten progressieve stemmen juist voor wat in dat eerste land écriture inclusive wordt genoemd en in Duitsland inklusive Schreibweise. 1) Deze tendens kent fanatieke voorstanders van beide geslachten alsook tegenstanders, eveneens van beiderlei kunne."
Naar: Sjoerd van Hoorn Uit: NRC Handelsblad, 21 december 2021
Sjoerd van Hoorn sutdeerde filosofie aan de Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen. Hij schrijft voor diverse tijdschriften en digitale podia
1) Both écriture inclusive and inklusive Schreibweise mean 'inclusive writing' in inclusive writing gender neutral pronouns are preferrably chosen. If there's no gender neutral pronoun possible, both forms, male and female, are used in one common way. (such as: leerling*e)
The question goes:
“Blijkbaar werkt emancipatie in het Duits en het Frans heel anders dan in het Engels en het Nederlands.” (regels 62-64)
Leg dit verschil uit aan de hand van alinea 2 en 3. Betrek in je antwoord zowel het Duits en Frans als het Engels en Nederlands. Geef antwoord in een of meer volledige zinnen en gebruik voor je antwoord niet meer dan 50 woorden.
and the official answer is:
De kern van een goed antwoord is: • In het Duits en het Frans worden termen gebruikt die alle geslachten recht doen / wordt inclusief taalgebruik nagestreefd • In het Engels en het Nederlands worden specifiek vrouwelijke aanduidingen vermeden
Brushing this guy's stanza of linguistic heresy aside, the question is asking what the difference is between how emancipation (in regards to gendered grammar) is different in German and French as opposed to Dutch in English (according to van Hoorn). However, the Dutch and English way is, in the text, directly referring to how Meuleman makes her case. This is a problem, because if you read into it, even just a bit, the point Meuleman is exactly the point the advocates of inclusive writing are making. use gender neutral words wherever possible. And her point is to make words like schrijver just be neutral. so, like point one of the official answer says "terms that address all genders" are used, instead of dividing them into male and female groups. this makes it so there is no real difference between the two points and the question is and answer are just wrong. Instead, the question should just be something like "What point is van Hoorn trying to make" because aside from the logic of his argument not really making sense, it's still possible to make out what he means.
I wonder if I'm just being a lil dumdum or if people agree this shit's just stoopid

Recently found this on dell's official website, currently selling for $1,799, if factor in the 10% sign up discount it would be around $1620.
Specs:

• Intel® Core™ i7 14700F (20-Core, 61MB Total Cache, 2.1GHz to 5.4GHz w/Turbo Boost Max 3.0)
• Windows 11 Home, English, French, Spanish
• NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070Ti SUPER 16GB GDDR6X
• 16 GB: 2 x 8 GB, DDR5, 5600 MT/s
• 1 TB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
• 1000W Platinum Rated PSU, 240mm Liquid-Cooled CPU & Clear Side Panel

On paper the discount isn't much (just $200 off), but when compared to other configurations that have higher discounts, I still find this deal more valuable.
I don't really have to go with Alienware, it's just that due to space contraints I would much prefer a small factor pc. I could build one on my own, but it seems like I won't be saving too much money.
Please let me know what you guys think. Thank you in advance for the help!

Hi guys can anyone recommend a lawyer in Guyana.Basically when my parents divorced they agreed the house would go to us kids. He remarried, passed away and then the new wife just passed away. Her family is trying to claim the house. I need to find the divorce decree and figure out our rights. I’m in the states so in need someone we can trust. Ty

One year ago mybest friend passed away tragically, leaving his mother and a younger sister behind. His sister is 19, I had met her 3 years ago for the first time, and I thought that she was really pretty and exactly my type (good girl, but also a bit tomboyish and girly at the same time) and I respected her as my best friend's sister, so I kept my feelings for her for myself. I treated her like she was my own sister, instead of thinking about how happy we'd be together.

I went to visit her mother because she was having trouble with the ceiling, needed to put a barrier on the balcony and to install the things that surround the light bulbs. I dont know how you call them in english.
Her husband also passed away, and she's a widow with a low income job and a girl to raise, and my father told me to check in on them once in a while and help them in case they need some help in the house for things to fix
Turns out the issue was that the ceiling leaked in her daughter's room, so I went there. The girl still had a very chilhood sort of bedroom with decorations, and she herself seemed to be so different. I greeted her and shook her hand as we do over here, and she kept studyin g on her desk. I opened the windows to remove the old satellite and install the new receiver, and noticed that there were some crumbs on the side of the window. I asked her about the crumbs, and she said "it's for a little bird that comes to visit me every day"
and I said "ok". Sounds fine... until I found out later, by another friend of mine, that the girl is heavily depressed and hasnt stepped out of home for days since her brother died, and that in college she endured some sort of abuse by some guys, there is a trial going on, this friend said we should do something for her as she is our best friend's sister, and we should protect her, and this also makes sense because I saw in her room packets of a medicine that I looked up and turns out it's an antidepressant. Actually she looked so different from the last time I saw her, she was very pretty, wearing girly summer dresses and long hair and looked so pretty and lovely and now she seems so pale, wears baggy clothes and turtlenecks and seems sort of "without will to live"
and the silly thing she said about the bird worries me too. I feel like that bird is the only interaction she has had in a while. At some point while I was asking her questions about the things to fix, it seemed like she was turning red about to cry. Like, something was very wrong.
I said "I know you miss him, but you have to be strong, for your mom at least" and she said "I dont know... everything is over now. they're not coming back anymore. mom knows that, I know that" (she lost her brother, and also her father a few years earlier).
I did the things I had to do, but I tried to involve her. Like, I asked "where is the hammer? do you have some nails like this one?" and she went looking for things for me in the house in case they already had them, and she tried her best to look for them. even if she didnt find all the things, I always said "ok dont worry, I'm gonna buy them on the store here close to your house"
After I finished, I tried to clean up the place, but she said "no dont worry, I'll clean up. you already did a lot for us thank you" with a very sad face.
I didnt tell her mother anything, I'm sure she's already aware of how her daughter is, but I cant help but think about her. I'm so worried. Should I talk to her mom? Even if I do, what am I supposed to say? I'm just his brother's friend, not someone important for her.

I was watching the new Ziostorm video and in the moment he talks about the hand and the ring in the cocoon on Mohg's arena, one thing came to my mind, im 99% sure im just tripping, but Miyazaki basically said the hand it's not miquella so do you guys think that Mohg maybe whas trying to bring Mesmer from tha shadow realm to the lands between using the cocoon in some sort of way?
(sorry for bad english yk not first language)

I was watching the new Ziostorm video and in the moment he talks about the hand and the ring in the cocoon on Mohg's arena, one thing came to my mind, im 99% sure im just tripping, but Miyazaki basically said the hand it's not miquella so do you guys think that Mohg maybe whas trying to bring Mesmer from tha shadow realm to the lands between using the cocoon in some sort of way?
(sorry for bad english yk not first language)

Help! Throwaway account because i don't want to be recognized😅
I 35F am in love with my bff 47M....
Not just in love. Really in love.
We had a friendship that goes more than 20 years back. We had a connection back then but i never did anything with those feelings because i was under aged and never even would have considered he would feel something for me. I always thought he saw me as his younger siste niece kind of girl. I looked up to him and even thought that my feelings were because of my puberty and him just beeing awesome in my eyes.
We lost contact for almost 10 years because our shared contact went in to another fase of his life and social media and contact wasnt the same as now. Somebody wasnt easy to find once lost.
But 5,5 years ago i went to a party and... there he was! We were over the moon seeing eachother again! He proudly presented me to his wife, we had a blast that evening and promised we would now keep in touch.
I was single at that time and on that same evening I hooked up with a very cute guy for a one night stand ( first time in my life after a 14 year relationship). That didn’t turn out to be a one night stand... we had a relationship for 4 years.
Only a month in, it turns out he is really good friends with my friend who i lost contact with.
Well... that went really well! We spend a lot of time with the four of us. Went to parties, had nice evenings at home, stayed over at their place or ours, and sometimes it was just us 2 reconnecting and going away together. Sometimes just the 2 males away together, all combo's were possible.
The relationship between me and my male bff grew. We were really grateful for the second chance of spending time together. But... i did already caught myself thinking.... why didn’t i run in to him earlier? Why did we never find eachother? I hope i find a man like him. But i would never!!! Hook up with a married man or even suggest or let him notice! And time went on. Everything was nice.
Then he drops a bomb. His wife cheated. Big time. With a shitshow coming with that you can't even imagine. He told us everything. We were in shock! After about a month of frustration, thinking, seeking help... they decide they want to save their marriage. I supported that choice. I could get that you don't want to throw away if you stil think you can save it. My boyfriend did not. He couldnt forgive her.
Later on my bff warned me..... because he saw that my relationship with my boyfriend was not ok due to his anger management problems and addictions. Combine that with my childhood trauma where i was neglected and hit and scolded way too many times... i let this guy treat me like shit again. I also did things wrong within the relationship but was always honest about working on myself. It finally exploded with him beeing violent.
A lot of people around us were incredibly angry with him. I was shattered in pieces. I was thankful for the support. Also from this couple. Because i trusted them. After a few months of grief i was starting to get back on my feet. Finally.
And then... he calls and tells me they gave up on their marriage. He was gonna call it quits. Totally tired of trying to feel it again. Devistated it didnt work. Thinking he would grow old with her. And my heart broke too! I wanted it to work. For him.
And that's the moment i realised again. For him. For him. I don't care for her if he doesnt.
We spend so much time together. We had evenings full of sorrow and drinks and movies to get over the pain, helped him in his new house, so many nice laughs, parties and joy and my feelings expand and expand. Finally i blurred out that i always thought of him of a really perfect guy but that i would have never acted on it while he was married. He was in shock. He did notice the behaviour of the last period but it was there all the time? He honestly said to me... i need time. I need to heal from this. I don't want anything to happen between us and i may become a mistake. And i totally agreed. I'll wait.
It's one year since the divorce.. We had so many amazing times together. Totally comfortabel and beeing just us. And yes, some moments you can feel it in the air.
I can't wait anymore. I need to do something. Kiss him. Tell him again. Something. Or not? I'm so afraid of losing this one of a kind friendship. But i also don't want to miss out any longer on what could be our happy ever after?
I wanna give him the world. I would never betray him like that. I would give everything for a life together.

I (21F) am part of a very religious and traditionally strict family. When my sister (40, Alice) got married her husband (40, Stephen) and his brother (mid 40s, Joseph) moved into the house next door (my dad helped them get it and their jobs since they emigrated from a different country). Stephen and Joseph came to our house at mealtimes to eat (since they're men and obvs can't cook /s).
One day Joseph came to eat and he had a helium balloon to give me (i was 5 at the time), I was in the bathroom and instead of leaving it there or giving it to one of my many family members, he decided to take it back with him. After he'd left, someone told me about the balloon so I went to get it with my brother (34 now, 18 then, Simon), my brother went to park his car from the driveway into the garage and told me to quickly go and get it. I went in and I couldn't reach it since it was stuck to the ceiling so asked Joseph to get it down for me to, which he said "take your pants off first".
Even at that age I knew I shouldn't do this because not only did it feel wrong but my mom had also repeatedly told me to be careful, modest and stay away from boys (religious and all, she instilled these beliefs in me from back then and I have older sisters who were thought they same things but more strictly so I was the same). So I didn't do anything and was like "no, give it to me". He kept insisting but by that point my brother had also come in and he got it down for me and we went home. Idk if my brother heard but he never mentioned it.
Stephen on the other hand seemed like a nice guy, was good to my sister and all of us siblings and treated us nicely. Throughout the years he somehow flipped, around the time that their sister (Tammy) married my brother. Now, my sister and Stephen can't stand each other but stay together for the sake of their kids and because they know that if they divorce the same will happen to their respective siblings.
A similar thing has already happened in their family, basically their other brother (Cameron) and sister (Sammy) are also married to a pair of siblings. Cameron was caught fucking a random other girl in a field so his wife's brother who is married to Sammy openly dated and had a mistress while still being married. They basically want to avoid another situation like this, our culture is very family oriented and one couple cannot break up and the other stay together.
So basically my sister Alice is scared of her husband and his brothers doing stuff to her children because she lived with them for a decade and they were physically abusive to the kids and also weird in a pedo way. Although they didn't do anything sexual during this time (that I know of; me being so much younger means they don't tell me some stuff) I don't have any doubts about why she thinks that because I know they have these kind of tendencies and wouldn't put it past them to try on their little children.
I believe this because Stephen recently told his 9 year old son about how to "feel good" and get a "warm reaction" when rubbing his private parts. Now his son is 10, and Stephen took him to his bedroom and "laid on top of [my nephew] and jumped and pressed into" in my nephews words. I have nothing against secual education, or masturbation, but 9 years old is too young and humping your son is also a unacceptable.
On the other hand, my sister in law Tammy has a habit of watching porn on our TV, which is in the living room and used by everyone (mostly for the children to watch cartoons on or for family movie nights, ironically). Additionally, she was caught by my brother chatting up my other brother in law (35, Elias). Elias was my brother Simon's best friend since they were toddlers and he strongly denied anything happening between him and Tammy, but his wife (my sister Felice, 32) has previously caught Tammy doing this thing and told my brother Simon. He didn't believe her until we were all vacationing together 2 years ago and he saw it happen first hand. Since then Simon and Elias haven't talked to each other and their wives are basically no contact with each other (Simon and Felice still talk tho, although its more of a small talk kinda relationship so not very close).
Another thing I hate is that Tammy is hateful towards me and my all my sisters, but I will focus on Alice. Alice lives in a one bedroom with her 6 kids, she relies on her husband Stephen for money and everything else, he has control of all the banks and all the government benefits they receive for the kids. He recently sent 20000 back to his family in a different country and sends an additional 1000 every month. His family bought 4 houses in the past 2/3 years, while Alice's kids literally get bullied because they dont have the right equipment for school, their lunches, their clothes and other such reasons.
One of these was when their washing machine broke when Alice was 7 months pregnant and she had to wash the clothes by hand. She tried to talk to my parents and brother Simon and his wife Tammy to persuade Stephen to buy a new one cuz she physically couldn't anymore, to which Tammy responded with "whatever happens, whether something breaks or not, he's not gonna fix it and we're not gonna get you a new one. If you wanna stay here stay otherwise fuck off". My brother shouted at her and then her crocodile tears came out, but in the end my brother had to buy a washing machine for my sister Alice. Stephen also has a habit of leaving his wife with their 6 kids for months on end when he goes to his home country, this happened when she was pregnant twice.
When I was 14, they also tried to arrange a meeting for me to get married to their younger brother who is 7-8 years older than me. My parents and I both rejected this thought without hesitation.
I feel like their whole family is sexually fucked up and I hate them so much, I'm scared for all their kids and feel like either they will rape them or teach them that these things are normal, so they will grow up to be like them. Naturally I want neither of these things, I love my niblings and wish we could just get rid of Tammy and Stephen, but in our culture divorce is frowned upon and people make a really big deal out of it. Plus both Alice and Simon love their kids, and one of them would have to probably give up on them if the divorces took place.
Idk if I should report Stephen or how to help Alice, pls lmk if there's something I could do, if not pls help me sort out my thoughts and thank you for listening to my rant.