TLDR: Our puppy is harassing my cats. Barking/chasing/trying to play. My cats hate it and they’re scared. I want them all to get along more than anything.
We have 3 cats. Our last dog was 15 and passed in February. She was a corgi and our cats were basically her cattle lol. They largely ignored each other but got along fine. It was actually fantastic because if we yelled at the cats for scratching the furniture our corgi would chase them away and run back to us looking for treats!
We got our 7 month old puppy nearing 2 months ago, and she still hasn’t gotten used to the cats. She gets extremely excited when she sees them and constantly wants to chase them and bark in their faces, which they hate. Apparently there was an elderly cat in her foster home before we got her who she was fine with. She’s not mean to them, she just wants to play, but my cats do not and I feel bad.
2 of them have basically sequestered themselves to the upstairs during the day (she’s not allowed upstairs because of this) while she’s out and only come downstairs to eat/play at night while she’s in her crate sleeping.
One of my cats likes to hang out in our dining room and is the least afraid of the puppy. He’ll stand up to her by hissing/growling and sometimes chase her back and swat at her when she gets too close. He hasn’t actually scratched her yet but I almost wish he would so she would learn to leave them alone. She gets a bit scared when he does this and hides behind me.
Another one of our cats will venture downstairs occasionally during the day but as soon as the dog gets sight of him, she will lurch to chase him and he’ll run back upstairs. We have a gate on the stairs to prevent her from following him and cornering him.
I mostly feel bad for my girl cat, who is extremely bonded to me and wants to be around me all the time. She has never come downstairs during the day since we got the pup and I feel terrible. She’s quite skittish in general but trusts me completely. I feel like I’ve barely spent quality time with her since the puppy which makes me feel absolutely awful.
I just want our dog to leave the cats alone, or at least be able to greet them calmly and respectfully. I think they might actually want to play with her if she wasn’t so crazy. She gets so worked up when our one cat won’t interact with her and it puts her in a crazy mood. The door to our backyard is in our dining room so she sees him most times we go to play in the yard.
Please help! I miss hanging out with my cats during the day and being able to interact with them downstairs. I feel like my bonded girl is a bit upset with me because I haven’t been able to give her the right amount of attention. I want them all to live in harmony lol. I feel horrible that my cats aren’t happy and are stressed because of the new dog.

I was injured a year ago, diagnosed with herniated C2-6 among some other stuff. I have been receiving treatment but feel as if my shoulder is being overlooked. From the initial injury it felt as if my trap was strained, I found myself bringing my right ear toward my right shoulder in a scrunched up manner. Upon having an EMG done they confirmed the nerve irritation at C8, which was looked over due to showing no visible damage on the MRI. I feel the pain around my right side collar every day.
This pain is triggered through any form of repetitive arm movement, and radiates toward the bottom of my right side scapula, followed by tightening of the latissimus down to my hip. Physical therapy has not helped and it feels as if my body is screaming at me about my shoulder.
Would anyone have any potential insight on what could possibly be causing the irritation at c8, and repeating this cycle of pain for me every day? I was wondering if it could be a possible muscle tear being misdiagnosed.

I originally posted a post under unrequited love that said “have u ever ended a friendship with someone you love who didn’t love you back.” The thing is he’s my guy friend for two years and I’m in love with him and I have strong feelings for him but I know he never felt the same way. The friendship was something that caused me a lot of ache and pain bc I hoped for something more when I knew that could never happen. It was driving me insane to stay in his life and not tell him how I feel and I was sure that the good decision was to walk away and end the friendship for my mental health which I did. Our friendship was also meaningless and pointless bc he would make fun of me a lot and call me “pessimistic” which I am but the unrequited feelings added to my pessimism. He would always reject my offer to hangout and would leave me on seen for months on end etc. So that also played a factor in why I ended the friendship including my feelings bc I was just so miserable. I texted him something really light bc I know it can be overwhelming for the person on the receiving end and I didn’t want to dump my feelings on him. I first said “I don’t think I can maintain a friendship anymore.” Bc I chickened out to which he didn’t even ask why or anything and just said “I wish u Nothing but the best.” That response got me a bit sad and mad bc he didn’t even care to ask why or anything and I just wanted to believe our friendship wasn’t that weak and had more care in it. I cried for hours bc I thought he would’ve at least asked why. We saw each other the day before I texted him this in which he made fun of me for being pessimistic. So I thought he would think that’s why I was ending the friendship bc I’ve told him I don’t like it when he calls me pessimistic. Either way I Thought he would just say something like “why” “did something happen” “are u okay.” But he didn’t. So bc I got mad I then told him I have to distance myself from him bc I have certain emotions and feelings for him that make it hard to maintain a friendship. Then I also sort of went off on him a little bit for calling me pessimistic and making fun of me for it bc he never understood that part of my reason for being pessimistic was loving him and hoping for him when I knew he never felt the same way. I said “my negativity isn’t who I am. You never knew the real me.” I also said distance myself and just not be friends for right now or forever bc I don’t know what the future holds. I texted this on sat and it’s now Mon. He hasn’t texted me back and I understand that’s okay and it must be overwhelming to hear that from me esp bc I never once let him know or even gave hints I liked him. I was so good at just hiding it so I know it’s a shock. He’s also a person that doesn’t open up or talk at all. He just closes up and never talks about how he feels. The thing is… I was so careful with what I said and I didn’t dump emotional love on him. I said I needed time away bc I have feelings for him. I just feel bad now? I feel so guilty? I feel like I did the wrong thing? I miss him? I KNOW the good thing was to distance myself bc I can’t even describe the pain I was in when we were friends not just bc of my feelings but bc he never put effort to be friends with me and would just be distant and dry to me. When I was friends with him I would tell myself I’d be much happier without him but now that I’m experiencing that side of the equation I feel more miserable? I just need help with my emotions? I think I messed up? Was being friends with him better than nothing? Should I have just hid my feelings and been happy to have him as a friend at least? I don’t know what he’s feeling bc he won’t talk to me and his silence is driving me insane. Do I miss him or the idea of a friendship with him? Do I miss him or our friendship? I feel like I’m regretting everything now but is it just too early and the pain of letting him go is fresh? Do I still have to get used to not having in my life bc I just cry and cry that we aren’t friends anymore. I thought would it be possible to stay friends after my confession and I would’ve liked to bc our friendship means a lot to me but I know that wasn’t possible bc my emotions were just too much for him but I’m beating myself over it that I could’ve told him in a diff way and said “i hope my feelings don’t ruin our friendship.” I’m just lost. I don’t know what im missing or what I did that was wrong or right. He’s a very patient and nice person overall by nature and we have school together on Thurs so i don’t know if I should just go and talk to him? But I feel sort of embarrassed to even see him. I also don’t know if he’ll still wanna see me even tho he is soft by nature I do get that if he’s upset or something and refuses to talk to me it makes sense. I feel terrible and miserable in my own self even tho I know I owed it to myself to distance myself bc it’s good for my mental and emotional health. Can someone just talk to me and tell me if I did the wrong thing or the right thing? What’s this feeling of missing him or just the friendship? Why do I feel and almost regret it? I just need him to talk to me even if he wants to yell at me for saying I have feelings but I just need him to TALK. I’ve never had to deal with such complicated emotions before. This entire situation is driving me insane esp bc he never talks about how he feels or shares anything. Oh and I forgot to mention he’s moving away to a diff state for grad school in July…. Which is 90% of the reason why I knew I should just end our friendship or distance myself bc what use is loving someone who’s far away from me that I can’t even see or hangout with? He could just get a gf and that would’ve made my pain and ache more severe. (He’s single rn and has been the entire time we were friends). I thought I would be so much happier without him and could start my “healing journey” but I had no idea the complications waiting for me on the other end.

If you have found this message and your are reading this. Then know that it was meant for you. If at any point of time, you don't feel like reading it, then you can skip and ignore this message.
~Today's Card: [BUTTERFLY]~
SPREAD YOUR WINGS, BE UNIQUE, SURRENDER TO CHANGE
~MESSAGE:~ Everything around you and within you has changed. Even though you have felt stuck and have asked for things to change, at the same time you may be resisting the changes that are here for you now. In order for this next cycle of your life to unfold, you will be challenged to give up what is not in your control. This is the time to surrender and trust in the unseen forces that will guide you, even though you cannot see a way through your current circumstances. You have cultivated great strength and wisdom from your past trials and tribulations, and because of this you may be called into a situation that tests your ability to soar high above the limitations that once would have caused you self-doubt or stagnation. Everything you need is within you, so fly high above any and all challenges that come your way. This is a beautiful new chapter opening for you now, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate all of the spiritual wisdom you have acquired up to this point. You have nothing to prove to anyone or anything outside of you. Now go forth fearlessly and spread your uniquely beautiful wings for all the world to see, the universe and Source will support you. All you have to do now is trust and believe that this is true.
~YOUR SIGN:~ You may be asking yourself, Will this get better? Will I get through this or is everything going to be okay? If so, don’t be surprised when a butterfly flutters right past you, leaving you awestruck and speechless. The butterfly is a symbol of profound transformation through our individual struggles which then paves the way for freedom of expression to be authentically and uniquely you.
When the universe presents you with the sign of the butterfly, you are most likely experiencing suffering in some way. This suffering is a part of your metamorphosis process. This is the universe showing you that you are about to get your wings. The spiritual metaphor of growing wings refers to transcending past the difficulties and struggles in your life through connecting with your true self, inner strength, and resolve. Through this process you will undergo a death and rebirth process. When this stage of your life is complete, you will emerge with a new understanding of who you truly are and be uninhibited by past limitations that often keep you trapped in a situation that limits your true self and potential. The butterfly brings you hope during a difficult time and reminds you that you, too, have the power to transform the pain of the past into something beautiful for the future.
Hope this helps!

She said she wanted to go home. She said I didn't care about her unless she was leaving. I was just trying to understand what was going on. She said she was going home. I accepted that she didn't want to stay with me then but it was raining outside. "Can I at least give you a ride? It's raining and cold."
Her answer? "Oh, so you want me to beg for a ride?"
What??? I just offered her a ride.
"If you really wanted to give me a ride, you would have said 'I am giving you a ride home, let's go.' Not made me ask for it."
Look, at this point, I'm just confused. I did drive her home, and she left my car without saying goodbye. I gave her the space she needed and cried on the way home.
But no. She said I was codependent. She said it wasn't good that I was sad just because of her emotions. So, ok, I decided to take her advice. I went to the event we were planning on going on with friends to distract for a few hours. Before I left, she texts me.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh sorry I was getting ready to go to the thing."
"Oh. Fun! I can't wait for the next time you feel like shit and I can go out and have fun."
"Sick. Thanks for that."
"💋"
And then she blocked me everywhere.
I distracted myself. Then I got home and I cried. And I screamed. And I hit my head against the wall and yelled I GIVE UP I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT TO GIVE. Just that day we had gone through a workbook and discussed what our greatest fears were from each other. Mine were sarcasm and suddenly leaving. She had done both and she didn't give a damn. She actively chose to hurt me. And if it were me 2.5 years ago, maybe I would have had the emotional control to hold it in, to deal with things. But I didn't. I am a shell of who I once was. And I never have the power to consider leaving unless I am fully drained and feel like I can't breathe, I can't stand, I can't live.
So I packed all of her things up. I dumped boxes into my car and I drove to her house. I wanted to talk.
I knocked on her door. She opened it.
"What are you doing here?"
"You won. I don't know what you were trying to win, but whatever it was, you won."
She just stared at me.
I waited for her to say something. Nothing. Then, finally...
"What do you want?"
There was no chance of conversation. No "I'm sorry for using the things you fear most because I knew they would dig in and hurt." No. Just a what do you want? What do I want? To not be hurt. I want to not be blocked for 12 or 24 or 48 or 72 hours with no idea of what's going on until you decide that you're willing to come back. I want to not be put in situations where you say you block me because you don't want a wall of text, but in reality you want to hurt me fast and hard and then run away so that you don't hear the consequences of your actions.
"Your things are in the car. Please get them."
"OK. But only if you promise not to talk to me while I do."
"Sure. If that's what you want I won't talk."
The next day we texted and discussed things. Things were... emotional. Then she disappeared and stopped responding. That would have been fine, had her sister not called me looking for her since she hadn't been able to reach her. My heart dropped. Had something happened? Had she done something? I told her sister, "Hey, bad timing, but you should probably just go check her in person." And then, "And, not my business, but if you find her can you just let me know she's safe? Nothing else, I just want to know she's ok." Her sister said "Of course."
Queue to a few days ago. She asked me to hang out with her in person for a jazz thing. I said hey, look, I am very emotional right now. I want to see you but I can't today. Maybe we can talk in a few days?
Apparently that was the wrong answer.
"Honestly I'm just going to come get my stuff."
She did. And then she said "Leave me alone," so I did.
But I had no idea where we stood. Was this just another week-long block? I messaged her 4-5 days later.
"Hey, I just want to know if the plan is to go no contact or if there's a chance of staying friends or coming back to this in the future so I know whether to start grieving or not."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Sorry I don't want to be a bother I just want to know so I'm not on edge."
She called me. Man, that was hard.
I did my best not to cry. She asked me why I was crying. I said "Because you're my best friend and I don't want to lose you." She laughed. "You're the one that did this." She laughed. She laughed. She laughed.
I asked if theres a chance we would be able to either stay friends in the future or maybe come back to the relationship down the line after we had both worked on ourselves. She said "As long as you don't get emotional or controlling when you see me go on trips with other people."
Ow.
OK, maybe not. But what about controlling?
"You're trying to control me."
"What? When?"
"You're messaging my sister."
"I texted her once because I wanted to make sure you were safe." I then sent her the screenshots to prove this.
"You're contacting my family to try and control me. After we broke up."
"That was the day we broke up."
"LIES."
"What? That was Sunday?"
"You dropped my s*** off on saturday night. You texted my sister on sunday."
"Oh. Sorry. I guess it was saturday. Sorry, everything's been blending together in this wall of confusion and pain."
She laughed.
She said "Look, I'm just not going to be there for you anymore emotionally when you're never there for me."
"What was I supposed to do that night you wanted me to drop you off. Like, what was the best outcome?"
"Come over and hug me. Hold me."
"You said you didn't want to be next to me. You said you wanted me to take you home. And when I pulled in you just got out of the car and left without saying goodbye. Was I supposed to follow you into your house after all that?"
She changed the topic.
"But instead you chose to go have fun with your friends."
"Was I supposed to go home and cry alone? Can I not distract? I am not even sure why this started in the first place I am so confused and just wanted to stop crying and distract and go to this thing that you had made me confirm my attendance to just an hour prior to you leaving."
"Must have been nice having fun." She laughed loudly. "OK I have to get ready for work. Bye."
And then she hung up.
The amount of pain I felt in that moment. The amount of guilt. I did this. Even she said it. This was my fault my fault my fault. I shouldn't have reacted by dropping her stuff off. I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't it was my fault.
But I had nothing left. She stopped caring about me so quickly. She laughed when I cried.
I sent her a final message and went no contact. I final sorry to top off the mountain of apologies I had given her over the last two and a half years.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just trying to stop hurting myself. I will love you forever and if you ever need me you know where I live and are always welcome in. I feel that I am causing you pain and maybe resentment so I will let you move on to somebody better for you now. Goodbye."
And then I went no contact.
It's been a few days now and the pain comes and goes. Sometimes it's unbearable. Sometimes it's replaced by anger. And sometimes I just wish she would have given my my shirt back, the one passed down to me from my mother, the one I held near and dear to my heart that she would steal to wear. She has the rest of my stuff but really all I want is the shirt and I'll be at peace. But I've now initiated no contact on my end so perhaps my shirt and what it means to me is gone. Maybe she threw it away already. I don't know.
And these emotions come and go and sometimes I laugh and then the laugh turns into a gasp as my chest is stabbed with the most agonizing pain I can imagine and I feel like a fish out of water, making ungodly noises as I hope to black out and make the pain stop. And sometimes I imagine her coming back through my door like she used to, walking in and kissing me and picking me up and carrying me to bed and laying me down and holding me, her skin against mine, her lips against mine, her soul against mine.
But now, when that happens, I just need to remember one thing:
She laughed.

I'm 15m and I've been doing ballet for 2 years. I do 4 ballet classes a week however in September when I join my vocational school I'll be doing 10 ballet classes among other dance classes. (32 hours a week). In my advanced open ballet class I just feel so behind. I wish to be a ballet dancer but my teacher keeps correcting me and taking me to the side which is good however I don't know why I'm still so behind I've worked really hard at home as well as at the studio. Is there anything i can do at home just do make my ballet better in the most efficient way as just doing barre isn't the most efficient. I do record myself sometimes and look for corrections. For example, I can do clean doubles on my right however on my left I can do sometimes a double but mostly just a single with a sickled foot. And people in my class are doing quadruples. Any advice is welcome aha 😄 I would do private lessons but we can't afford them so I might get a part time job for that. Is it still possible to become a professional ballet dancer?

Just felt a (likely) bone spur dislodge from my right hip (33F-bilateral total arthroplasty and iliospoas tendon release surgery, right leg). Nearly six years to the date today, I have been in some form of crippling pain, having trained for a 10k-had left total hip arthroplasty in 2016, left in 2019, and an iliopsoas tendon release on the right in 2023. Did 3 rounds of PT throughout 2029-2023.
I have RA, a connective tissue disease, attacking an injured connective tissue overlying my hip; thus, the constant inflammation creates an environment for bone spurs (which I’ve had prior to my tendon release surgery).
Following some advice on the hips subreddit, I decidedly randomly today to consciously activate the muscle opposing the psoas (glute)-I felt a pop at the “back end” and the “hip end” of my psoas muscle followed by nearly instant relief and mobility I hadn’t had in SIX YEARS.
I will add that leading up to today, over the past six weeks, I have done (2) hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions; six sports massage sessions; foam rolling; and “Thera-Gun-ing” (due to a recent move with lots of physical demands on my body). I’ve also used Gua-sha and manual self-massage of my hip to break up scar tissue.
I say all this as many practitioners don’t emphasize these options (if standard PT and conservative treatments don’t help after a major procedure / surgery). Yet, I found MASSIVE relief and mobility, six years later, greatly accelerated once I started massage-related techniques. I’m just so grateful, as I thought I would never get better; I want others to know that they can, too. Don’t give up-you don’t have to settle for miserable!
—
Disclaimer-not a doctor or physician; just a millennial with a lot of early onset degenerative joint disease from having competed internationally in Sport Taekwondo.

Hey everyone! I’ve posted here in the past so I’ll spare all the details. I’m 32 years old, and almost 18 months out from a an emergency bentall procedure. Had a dissection and got lucky and caught it in time. I’m glad to be alive so the rest are just minor gripes.
Surgery and recovery went well. My cardiac rehab was kinda bullshit but I went to physical therapy later on and it was really helpful. I feel like I’ve had a million follow up appointments and I’m healthy by just about every metric.
Despite all this I just feel completely different after the surgery. I have no energy at all. I don’t feel unusually depressed, just always physically tired. I’ve had a hard time getting back into physical activity. I still get chest pains at the incision site and right over my heart/ in my armpit. I can live with all of this but I guess I just expected to feel better by now. Just needed to rant, thanks for reading.

27 FTM from Australia here.
I occasionally get a weird tremospasm/? in my hand, where it will just start rotating on its own, usually pretty quickly. I'm not sure how to describe it properly. Imagine sort of like if your hands are wet and you're trying to shake them off? Sometimes the movement is in the wrist, other times it's in the elbow. If I concentrate I can stop it, but it takes considerable effort.
It's usually in my right hand. I used to think it was linked with anxiety, but recently it's started happening when I'm not particularly anxious at all - unless I'm more anxious than I realise, idk, wouldn't be the first time. The only other possible thing I can think of it correlating with is that I've started drinking caffeine more regularly again?
It can last anywhere from a couple minutes up to about an hour. There's no real pattern to when it occurs that I can think of. The first time it occured would have been 2021, happened a few times over the course of a couple weeks, then stopped. I think I had it happen again in 22, similar circumstance. Now it's popped up again - it happened the other night, and has just happened again.
I've done a bit of googling out of curiousity, but I haven't been able to find anything. All it brought up was tremors that are usually caused by neurological issues. I obviously have no idea if this is anything similar, but I've been tested for MS, have had a couple of MRIs for other stuff (MS, back issues/chronic pain) where everything looked normal, I've never had brain surgery, nor do I have any major injuries that I know of. I don't think I'd ever even had a concussion when this started.
As for medical history, I have ADHD, Anxiety/Depression, Autism, c-PTSD & Fibromyalgia. (I know some Doctors don't "believe" in Fibro, not here to debate that, simply including the diagnosis in case it gives any clues.) I've been taking Lexapro for almost a decade, am on Dex and Vyvanse for the ADHD & take Meloxicam for chronic pain. I don't think I had any medication adjustments around the time this started, either.
I plan to bring it up with my doctor of course, but in the meantime I mostly wanted advice on anything I should keep an eye on, info that might help my doc, etc... or if anyone can give me any clues as to what this might be, I'd be grateful.

In 2022 I was able to take Elagolix for treatment for about 3 months. My insurance denied further coverage so I was unable to afford it.
I was basically left with no options, but to just suck it up. I’ve been dealing with severe endometriosis pain since I was 10, I’m now 24. I have chronic gastritis due to constantly needing and taking NSAIDs for the pain, eventually more than the recommended dosages which messed up my stomach permanently.
My OBGYN wouldn’t prescribe me anything stronger than Naproxen which was the biggest slap in the face. Since stopping Elagolix, I began taking the combination birth control Lessina and after about 3 months of taking it consistently, my periods stopped being irregular and it reduced my endometriosis pain about 70% which was amazing to me.
I’ve been on Lessina for a year and a half, however my new gynecologist needs to check my hormones so I stopped it two weeks ago for blood tests tomorrow.
Endometriosis pain was an everyday thing before the birth control, except for when I got my periods. Since stopping it two weeks ago, I am severely bloated and in pain. My back and pelvis, especially the right side hurt like crazy.
For sure I’m not constipated, but idk what to do about this pain and bloating. I look 7 months pregnant. I don’t miss this pain, it has negatively affected my life for so long and the thought of it legit terrifies me.

I am just tired and exhausted. All my life I've chased a mirage my parents painted for me. I feel burned out and dead inside. Exam, after exam after exam after exam. There are days I just go to bed and wish I never wake up. I don't enjoy what I do, I don't like who I am. I wish there was a reset button, where I can go back and build a simple not complicated beautiful life for myself. Just a simple 9 to 5 bank job, a small family (no kids. Dont want kids) of my own no parents, no in laws. Save up, and retire in a small cottage with a garden. I don't want to amass wealth to pass on to anyone. Basically, I want to live and disappear without leaving anyone or anything behind. Take the memories of a life well lived with me.
But being a woman makes it that much harder. Because I've been raised in an environment where we were always driven by success. You're nothing if not successfull. You're nobody if not successful. You won't be loved if you're not successful.
My grandfather and grandmother literally cried when I was born. Because I was a girl. Then they asked my mother to perform demeaning rituals at a temple at 40yrs mind you, to pray for a male child. My father has always maintained that he has no one to support him. That he is completely alone. He doesn't say it out loud but his annoyance and pain at having all girls is very obvious from the little things he does.
In this situation, if I were to say eff it all, I'm going to focus on what makes me happy, and what gives me fulfillment. I'll just be proving them right. That having a girl child had been a curse. But if I go on like this everyday is a pain. It's like I'm waiting for death to find me. Because I'm too scared of the social implications if I killed myself. Again, my mom would have to suffere. They'll probably tell her things like, 'It's your fault, you should have gotten her married in time', or 'If you had a son, then this would not have happened'.
I hate living in this self-pitying hell. People day women have it easy. But the cost of failure for women is steep. The world is very unforgiving.

Now that this is mostly set in cultural stone and I'm out the trenches, I've been giving this song a fair shake, trying to be objective and get a sense of how it will fit in to the bigger picture in hip hop history.
It's pretty damn good, Drake put everything he has into it. I'm only really acquainted with Take Care and the hits since, which is a lot, but I feel it's gotta be one of his best and I've seen Drake fans say the same. Seems like he was determined to not get embarrassed on a technical level against Kendrick, he just didn't realize he was playing a different game entirely.
There's absolutely an alternate universe where this thing drops, with that very ambitious video, Kendrick takes another week to respond like Drake fully expected, which allows FM to get the full attention of everyone invested and "Ya dead" rings in their heads long enough to tip perception in Drake's favor permanently. Luckily we don't live in that universe, we live in the one where KDot is the fuckin boogeyman.
As for criticisms, obviously many lines in here are aging badly very fast, thems the breaks. Like others have said, it's unfocused, but some of its best lines come from that...."Able hit us with the serenade", "Rick readin' my Miranda rights".
My biggest thing is...how the fuck did Drake think this was gonna be a club banger?
"All these rappers wavin' white flags while the whole club sing to it"
It just doesn't come off as that kind of song to me at all, it's a bar heavy rap song, it's way more like Euphoria than a Not Like Us or Back to Back. I feel like he should have a better ear for that kinda thing, did he just really want to get that line off?
Oh and I also did this for THP6, it's still trash.

I hope this will either give you comfort to know you're not alone, or that your ex may be regretful for whatever reason.
9 years, been together since 18 and I just could not do it anymore. She was the only person who enjoyed me without any qualifications, and she was the first person I ever felt comfortable being some amount of myself around. She was the only person I've ever felt such curiosity for, I just wanted to know everything about her. From her favorite things and worst memories, to the mundane annoyances and joys of her every day. I think she liked the attention I gave her or something, because I was just a mentally ill loser when we met and I never really changed, I just got a job. Still, she loved me with all her heart.
In the last few years, I relied on her to validate my worth since she was the only thing I really ever loved in my life and nothing beyond the relationship gave me pride/joy. She relied on me for support in basically every aspect of her life -- emotional, physical, financial, chores, even some career-wise. We took turns being mentally unwell, but this time I just couldn't wait for her turn to be up for whatever reason. She started getting better and doing a lot of those things she does when she is happy, and I just reached a point of burnout (from multiple sources) that I became slightly resentful of the support I gave while at the same time feeling like she was abandoning me to spend time with other people when I needed help.
I couldn't talk to her about it. I was afraid she wouldn't take it serious, or that by even voicing my feelings it would unravel all her progress. Things of that nature happen during any decade long relationship, and had, but I stopped trying to even talk about it during the last few months. I was just afraid. At the time of the breakup, when I blindsided her, I really thought every little thing way she let me down in regard to my unspoken expectations was proof she didn't like or care about me anymore. I was so wrong. I am just toxically independent and hid my feelings, while she lived her life like a normal person with a normal partner who loves and communicates. I really felt afraid of the dynamic we had to the point that I couldn't admit my feelings in part for fear of hurting her, and so I just decided to end it. Normal, right?
I pictured the breakup in my head for about a month before a big emotional event triggered a hypo-manic episode on top of my deep depression, and it has not gone how I thought it would. I thought she'd cry for a couple weeks, but because of the friends she'd be living with, she'd get over me pretty quick since she had support and love all around and people to spend time with. Maybe she'd get better faster without me hanging around and being a downer all the time? I thought I'd end up spending a couple weeks getting my affairs in order and practicing my knots before taking an early exit, or I'd end up becoming a hermit who just worked his stupid little job to live in his dumb little 1 bedroom apartment for the rest of his life. To that end, I removed myself from all the group chats and stopped talking to mutual friends, so that she could have all the support they could provide. They were 90% of the people I talked to outside of work. It was self-abuse wrapped up as me doing a favor for her, which I can see now.
How it's gone is that she ended up in the hospital for a weeklong hold and I'm cycling between pretending to practice radical self-care and literally beating myself up while drinking/smoking alone in our home on a monday night. I'm just so stupid for thinking this would be a good outcome for anyone. Now its been 7 months since I fucked it all up, and after some back and forth we've agreed to go NC until the 12 month mark. I can't stop thinking about her, the pain I caused her, all the times I told her I wanted to marry her before I just stopped wanting it one day. I can't stop thinking about getting back together with her, and just doing it all again because I had a really bad week or something. I have a much better understanding of myself/why I do things or think certain ways now, but that hasn't changed me really. I'm afraid I can't change, and even if I moved on, I'd just do this all again to a new person.
I guess I wish, at the very least, that I knew what I do now back when I dumped her. I was still figuring things out and told her a lot of stuff that I was only feeling in the moment but didn't really understand. Some of it just isn't true anymore, some of it didn't need to be heard, but a lot of it is just symptoms of greater problems that would have resolved themselves if I just waited a couple months. All of it hurt her more than she needed to be hurt. I wish I never hurt her in the first place.
At this point, I am choosing to do those things that healthy people do (exercise, rest, therapy, being social, family) because I'm hoping she'll appreciate it and will have been doing the same things when I see her next. But if we're not both strongemore resilient people when that happens, we can not start a new relationship without the threat of a repeat hanging over us. So we just can not start again. And then what? I fucked up my life and then spent a year building a new one just to not have her back in it? The obvious answer is "yes," but the only answer I can really believe in is "I wasted a year of effort building a life for a guy I don't even like and I didn't even get what I wanted out of it." Its such a stupid position to put yourself into and I hate myself more than ever for doing it. I want to be positive, but it's hard.
If you're reading this post before you decide to dump someone you still love and you're also unwell, just please get into therapy and submit to the process. If you end up staying a few extra months getting your head right before you break it off, that's great! You will have an easier recovery and not so much guilt! If you get right and figure out how to solve your relationship issues(literally just talking 90% of the time), awesome! But to not give yourself that help just opens you up to this pain and guilt and crisis, even if it is the correct decision.

I (34F) am so furious at life and the United States health care system. Sorry if this is long. Back story I got my first period in 5th grade the pain was so bad a passed out. I bled so heavily my mom was so concerned she brought me to the hospital. They basically told her that I (an 11 year old girl) had heavy period and bad cramps because I was over weight (by 15lbs) and need to exercise more. I bled for 8-10 days every month after (and still do). Every month became torture the week leading up to my period I’d be in debilitating pain and when it finally came I would bleed so heavy I’d have to wear 3-4 pads at a time. I couldn’t go to school. By 9th grade I was missing 2 weeks of school every month. They were threatening to not pass me. Doctor after doctor. Gynecologist after gynecologist all just telling me I’m being dramatic, maybe I just don’t like school and I’m lying, I need to walk the pain off, one after the other. It was disgusting. I stopped eating because maybe if I was underweight they’d take me seriously. One doctor when I was 12 actually looked me in the face and said oh honey it’s a shame you aren’t older we could just put a baby in you that cures it. Like what?!?!? I’ve lived with that lie my whole life. I’ve had laparoscopy after laparoscopy, rounds of that prostate cancer shot twice ( which they totally lied about and said was the same as a birth control shot comparatively). I have been made to feel insane like I’m a liar that I am causing the pain to myself. Told I could never have kids. And yet I miraculously got pregnant on my own twice. While on birth control (cause they all stop working after a certain period of time) and that lie that little lie I’ve held on to the light at the end of the tunnel “oh if you have kids it’ll cure itself” it’s not true!!! I’ve been on constant continuous birth control since I was 12 years old. All of them. Because they stop working after a while. Well after my second son I developed hypertension and became a stroke risk in hypertensive crisis. The first thing they did was tell me I can never take birth control again. (Im not overweight this time so at least they can’t blame it on that) My husband got a vasectomy cool. But I forgot after two pregnancies and decades of birth control how bad it is. I’ve been off the birth control for about a year now and each month is filled with a new torture. The pain is excruciating and knocks me off my feet. I’ve now delivered two children and can 100% say I want to go back in time and kick the ass of all of those doctors and medical staff that were so horrible. The mental health and eating disorder issues could have all been avoided if maybe one person had taken me seriously. Sorry for the long rant. I’ve been holding this in for a long time. And also anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. I’m looking into maybe getting a hysterectomy but I heard even that’s not a guarantee?

I have tried working other jobs in finance and insurance. But I am utterly miserable and kinda suck at it to be really frank. The only way I kept my job was by kissing the right butt. I had a job in finance and got fired. I now work in insurance and while my team lead thinks I'm a dullard who moves too slow, my supervisor and the head Honcho at this office loves me.
Anyway, I hated working in human services, especially case management, when I got paid peanuts just to do the stressful job itself. I loved my clients and gave my heart and soul to my work. I watched children with disabilities learn to walk, talk, communicate, and stay in school. One parent even reached out to me to say her kid got into college; he was in middle school when I first worked with him and I feel old now. I also worked with people who made a bad decision with addiction. And the thing is, they weren't bad people. I learned that they were depressed, lonely, and scared people who didn't know what options they had when it came to managing pain, mental illness, or suicidality. I watched them beat addiction and become good friends, family members, and spouses. I once saw this young woman being welcomed into her parents home once again, keys to the house placed in her ha ds, when she completed one year of sobriety from heroin. And that meant a lot considering how she was so consumed by addiction that she stole from her family to get drugs. To see someone be taken back like that pulled my heart strings.
People told me I was empathetic, strong-willed, and dedicated. But I got tired of it at some point. I was sick of being blamed for something that was simply out of my control. I'm there to help people not force them to make decisions. I got tired of having no work-life balance and sick of bringing my stress from work, home. I also got so sick of being obsessed with my work (that was my fault though), and taking it to heart when someone still ended up dropping out of school, went back to jail, relapsed on drugs, and so on. I also got tired of not being a le to meet my needs. I have medical bills and health issues of my own to tend to, and will need to pay more if I had a family. It's pretty upsetting knowing your friends who have the same level of education as you make significantly more than you, all because a younger version of you felt money didn't matter.
I tried helping people by simply being a good friend, family, or neighbor. Many of my clients needed that and wouldn't have been in their horrible situations if they had that. Yet it wasn't enough because I'm not good at anything else.
When I say I'm good at helping people, I mean that I fit right in and actually felt like I was a part of something. My clients were the ones who were good at solving their problems, I was just there to help navigate.

I’ve got gallbladder pain in the same places everyone else does However,they found a growth on the tail section of my pancreas..I feel fine on my left side,no issues at all..Now,they say the pancreas shares a common bile duct with the gallbladder..A few years ago ,a functional doctor ordered me a really detailed of my stool(sorry if this sounds common)..It demonstrated ,that I had high amounts of fat and triglycerides in my stool,which means I’m not producing enough bil…Right?..This is my theory anyway. No matter what type of foods I eat,the pain doesn’t seem to change. It’s almost like I’m recovering from a hernia operation or perhaps some type of injury, where the gallbladder region gets punctured ..The pain just radiates throughout the exact places a bad gallbladder would.Please,I don’t expect a diagnosis,just to understand these two organs connection

Ok, this will be a long one, so bear with me. To start everything, I would like to answer some of the 3 main questions of lore: 1. Who are we? 2. Where are we? and 3. Why are we there?(This theory will be against MatPat's theory btw. Sorry bro) First of all, let's pay attention to what we see on the TV when it opens: a mad Amanda, the monster destroying a bookcase, but what really caught my attention is the logo. (just a little easer egg: when the tape starts it says "ch 3" and the apple is rotten. Just wanted to point that out :) ) you see, Woolie is not present on the logo. He is only present once in the entire teaser, on a poster. Also, remember the boy from part 1 who "got hypnotized" and disappeared while watching the show? I actually think he ran away on purpose. Hear me out: What if the boy was Rebecca's best friend and she cried out for help to him? It would also make sense for him to be Woolie, since Woolie's whole thing is making Amanda comfortable. But I don't think he is just Woolie yet. That's right! I think this game is a prequel. This brings us to the other question: Where are we an why are we here? I think Amanda told told the boy that she was in pain, so he ran away to save her. Where? I think the recording studio. It would also make sense if the studio was also some sort of kindergarten. I think the boy was the one who recorded those hidden tapes in the first game, but it wouldn't make sense for him to be there unless it would be some sort of kindergarten. This whole theory ties up to Amanda holding her head on the TV. Just like in chapter 1, she is trying to keep the monster away. Trying to protect her BFF. She would ultimately fail as the boy will be forced to Blue-Skidoo into the show as Woolie. The perfect plot for a horror game in my opinion. This theory might get debunked the second the Demo is released, but I'm just glad I managed to theorize on it before Tom :)

"I don’t know how to do this. I read about it quite often or see it in movies. Who knows, maybe this is just right. I should start with a quick introduction, which is the most important part of it. I am 48 years old and have terminal cancer (metastatic melanoma). I have been going through some pretty rough chemotherapy treatments and I am in a lot of pain.
I am not here to whine, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. This is more of a release and a way to maybe see or do things that I haven't during my life - my bucket list. My sister and I, who were once very close, no longer speak. I am homeless now. I had treatment the other day and it's been bad.
I have a friend who has been the most supportive - my friend just to be so. I have been thinking a lot and I can't, you know, no matter how bad I want to. People, this is your chance. If you feel alone, depressed, unloved, or anything, everything - remember, you are not alone. No matter how bad it is, no matter what, everyone feels that way sometimes. Disease and loss are the worst pains, and someone always has it worse. Or you can hit me up.
You must be wondering what this post is about. I want to get the chance to travel and see things that I always had time to do later. Later's here and I want to run the hell away! I'd be happy to help around the house or office as much as I could stand, I'd get that all worked out though. Make suggestions or offers, ideas. Please."

How am I suppose to act after I seen all the love letters he wrote his girlfriends on reditt how he didn’t love his spouse but was Married 30!years ! Never once had anyone considered I was in so much pain because I worshipped the ground he walked on! But the flip side is not ever I can remember he showed me love it was violence ! Yes I stood up for myself! I fought a good fight but his violence was too much if I brought up his cheating he took it out on me !! I can’t understand why I could love e a man who cheated and treated me very badly ! I still don’t understand maybe I only hoped it would be better ! But they say if you have a lot to say it means you in pain! We hell yeah I had pain from a-z but it made me a bitter person but in some ways a better person because through all my pain and him not caring about me made me a better at believing God Is my strength and he loves me just the way I am because if you have to beg for the smallest of details in a marriage then what the purpose in being united in life! See I know not I have never felt and love only betrayal and never understood the why behind it!! It was due to the fact that I as a person could only get the ones who I thought needed me but that’s not love that’s only co- depend on someone who only found good in me when they needed something ! Not out of the heart! Iwas wrong to ever expect him to be faithful or even have love for me if I couldn’t depend on him to show me any love as well! So he is going back to his ex ex and I will start my new journey in a different life! I may not see this is a good thing right now but in time it will be just one of those bad memories he so worked hard to put me inside of! I will be okay and I will not look back at him as a spouse that didn’t love me ! I will just take a deep breath and let his betrayal continue on! Because the truth is he truly killed me from the inside out! Because I was the one who was married to him when he started all his cheating and ripping me apart little by little! It hurts but I can hold my head up knowing I never cheated on him but really who cares it never changed nothing but me ! He was to busy hurting me to notice!

Gday team. I have a note I add to when I learn things about SM. I got sick of seeing the same questions so I every time I answered I added to the note and just pasted a generic reply. I’ve been invited to post it here, so here you are!
Here’s my ever-growing, non-specific copy-paste reply, built from my own notes:

• Remember, followers are only for your ego. If you’re a business, Would you rather have a million followers who never buy anything or 1000 followers who purchase everything? (Read Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true fans article). However, if you’re trying to build an account for a brand or human deals, you need as many as possible. I.e. athletes wanting future deals/contracts, actresses wanting future roles, etc
  
• Dollars are the only score that matters in business. You can sell 1 million $1 items or 1x $1m item, it’s still a million dollars
  
• How do you get your first ten followers/sales? ASK. Start with your friends/family/personal socials. “Hey, I've started this thing; I'd love for you to follow”. Then contact everyone you've ever known (see cold outreach later, but this is warm haha). THEN ask them all for referrals: “who do you know that could use my help?”
  
• Re: cold contacting. Have a framework, but don't automate. Solve their problems. Say something personal (” [mutual person] told me to reach out to you” / “I really like your x” /”congratulations on y”). I noticed that [problem]. Fix their problem. Wish them a nice day. Have an offer in your email signature.
  
• Your profile description should be a hook/tagline / USP and link to your offer. Remember you’re building your house on rented land if you use socials as your client base. Algorithm changes, and they’re gone. Try sending them off socials to your email list, learn storytelling in email marketing (Russell Brunson has good advice), and you will own that contact for life.
  
• Choose a monetisable niche, find the most successful person in that niche, and put your spin on what they’re doing (ask AI)
  
• Make GOOD content that is visually appealing, entertaining, and has hooks (you have 3 seconds to get attention), but most importantly, ADDS VALUE to your target market (ask AI for suggestions - you can even ask AI to create a customer avatar for you and then ask it how to make good, relevant IG posts for that avatar)
  
• Keep your ears and eyes out for trends. Can you throw a trending song over a clip?
  
• Leverage pop culture. Search for what’s trending daily. Can you combine a movie or album release with your product? For example, if you’re in the auto niche, create an image of a car covered in green slime coinciding with the new Ghostbusters movie
  
• Document your process. Humans evolved on stories & we love to feel part of something and/or have front-row tickets to the show. For example, If you post art, film yourself making the art, not just the final product; talk about your decisions along the way. Also, it is easy content for you, and you’re just filming something you’re already doing
  
• Share as many success stories/testimonials as possible, preferably videos. Tag them. Make it easy for users to share themselves.
  
• In a similar vein, and with permission, share your audience questions in your stories (and tag them)
  
• Remember the rule of 100 (you need to do something 100x before you get “good” at it). Have you posted 100x and made changes as you’ve observed what worked and what didn’t?
  
• Every 5th or so post, add a Call To Action
  
• Always have something to invite people to, such as an event (e.g. Facebook live, face-to-face), a giveaway, a new product, etc. Ensure all your social media banners, popups, CTAs & email sig reflect this (read Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port)
  
• Use the right hashtags (be discoverable)
  
• Post at the correct times for your target market (I like 6-630am so when they wake up and scroll, it’s on their feed, their lunch break and a story at 8 pm in the relevant timezone). Steven Bartlett credits the daily 8pm personal thought post the most important part of his success.
  
• Follow the top 100 people in your niche with between 10k & 100k followers. Engage with them daily. Share their posts. Comment on Their work. As always, be sincere and say something meaningful
  
• Comment relevant things on important people pages (Gary Vees $1.80 strategy)
  
• Spend $10 a day on ads of targeted content to targeted people (don’t “but I want to grow organically” - Do you want to be seen or not?). Start ad sets at midnight.
  
• Russell Brunson recommends ads are only for offers; posts that aren't offers aren’t to be paid for ads—two separate things. Ads get your customers into the funnel and upsell makes you a profit. Say you sell a $10 ebook and a $300 course. Spend $10 per click for the ebook, so it’s a break-even cost, and everyone who buys the upsell is pure profit. Ad budget for testing is the price/profit of ONE upsell, so $300 in this example. Then, reassess, test and adjust. If it’s working, keep it going, but also test variations regardless. Brendan Kane suggests 50-100 variations from memory. Again, get AI to help. Start with your headline. Ask for ten variations. Then your pic. Get ten variations. Then your hook. Get ten variations etc.
  
• Pay relevant influencers to share your stuff
  
• Read all of Gary Vees and Brendan Kane’s books
  
• Do these things 30-50x a day (Gary Vees' advice for new accounts, search for his eight tips 2024 YT vid) across all your platforms for months, maybe years, and you’ll grow. Perhaps someone famous will share your stuff, and you’ll go viral. But remember, each platform has its nuances, so you need to rework content for it (again, use AI - create one piece and ask AI to brainstorm how to recreate for each platform - you can start with the longest form, say a YouTube vid or blog post and ask it how to make tweets or IG posts from it) however you can still “push”. For example, you can post native Facebook content, but you can also put your YouTube vids and IG posts there
  
• Make at least three posts a day for a month, that's 90 posts, and report back what you learned, what worked and didn’t for everyone else’s benefit. *I've had some pushback on this: A) I don’t make the rules; this seems to be current best practice; B) 1st post = a BTS post of you developing the post, 2nd post = the post, 3rd post = a story summing up your day. OR make all your content in one day and schedule it to post throughout the week. If you don’t have money, you have time; if you have money, outsource it.
  
• Good luck!
  

Helena - Courtlady of Lannisport

Part 1

Reddit Account: SunstriderAlar
Discord Tag: u/SunstriderAlar
Name and House: Helena
Age: 22
Cultural Group: Westerman
Appearance: Helena is a young woman with soft doe-eyes, and unmistakable curling, golden hair. Raised by smallfolk, and Septa’s she wears her hair up and away from her face to ensure she does not let it get wet while cleaning or in her mouth while singing. She has delicate, porcelain, pale skin and cloudy soft blue eyes. No taller than 5’5” and is most often dressed in conservative simple fashions gathered by herself, or more elegant options gifted to her by a doting patron for formal events. Never shy to present her opinion, Helena has seen the world change, and her place in it numerous times. She is unafraid to do what she must, but knows the role of a woman.
Helena prefers to wear blue and yellow, the colours of Lord Swyft’s old sigil even though she has not lived in Cornfield for many years, and has no personal attachment to the house. Her real love though is unique broaches, and hairpins, different pins reveal different favours or stylings for different lords. She does enjoy crafting dresses as well, when the rare bolt of fabric comes her way she enjoys sewing and tailoring. She is often seen carrying a unique wooden six stringed lyre, or a three stringed lute; the former the cause for her name the Six Eyed Singer. She daps herself with lavender water most mornings, and cleans her teeth with mint, and rose now that she is employed by the Lannisters of Lannisport. Clean teeth are the hallmark of a charming, easy smile to make hearts of men and women alike flutter.
Trait: Elusive Shadow
Skill(s): Espionage, Devious, Schemer, Covert, Rumourmonger
Talent(s): Storyteller, lyre playing, deft fingers
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): The Six-Eyed Singer, Septa Morgan, Jinny of Aegon’s Rest
Starting Location: Opening event

Part 2: Biography

Swyft Sept (3AC - 15AC)
Helena’s early life began in the Sept of Cornfield where her mother begged the Septa’s to take her. Dutifully, though reluctantly, they agreed, for what else were they to do, and where else was the girl to go. To the Governess of Cornfield, under the sanctity of the confessional, the woman, aching from the pain of birth and shame, confessed that the little girl was the bastard of Lord Swyft. The Governess, doubtful but knowing the man was not without vice, kept the secret to herself and allowed the girl to remain. The woman, who’s name was never revealed even to the Septa's, fled into the night shortly after never to be seen again. Helena was then, as promised, raised by the septas and the Governess of House Swyft. She learns basic literacy from the Seven Pointed Star with the Sisters and numbers from the Governess. Alongside her studies, she was put to work on chores like maid work, baking, cooking, cleaning, and serving Lord Swyft.
In 11AC, a travelling minstrel named The Lying Lyre arrived at Cornfield. A dashing young man with a shock of blonde curls that tumbled down his back like a mullet captivated Helena with his songs of far-off lands and noble families. In particular he sang of the Maiden’s Bay Tourney, the feats of House Targaryen, and after some time the Field of Fire and the failings of House Lannister. House Swyft was wealthy, and the Liar’s talents earned him much and more coin from the silver mines.
Helena of an age where curiosity ruled a child’s mind was enamoured with the man and his songs. She took up practising the lyre with him, and discovered that while no maestro, she had deft fingers and a mind for lyrics. Impressed by her interest and talent, the Liar gifted her a lyre before he left for future profits in far off lands. Some years of practice though, and a natural storyteller and rumourmonger Helena combined tales of the Seven Pointed Star and was invited to sing in the sept and even twice for Lord Swyft.
Six Eyed Singer (15AC - 20AC)
It was not to last though and following the slaughter in the Kingswood, the line of House Swyft was extinguished. Not wanting to test the new residents of Cornfield, the Warriors Sons and Poor Fellows, after all, all men have vice, she left Cornfield, and took to singing on the road. Going under the name Lyrebird, Helena played and sang for her coin and lodgings, a young girl protected only by being seen when she wanted and an elusive shadow when she did not.
Times on the road were not easy and The Lyrebird drew much attention. This necessitated the need for another alter ego and after a year on the road and towns and villages through the West were soon visited by the travelling Septa Morgan. The Septa heard confessions and sins, gave forgiveness and offered small advice to the poor and needy. She spared coins where she could and allowed Helena to remain covert. It did not matter to most that she was no real septa, she wore the robes, knew the words, and offered as a good moral compass to children. For most in the far flung reaches of the West she was enough.
Being raised in the faith though telling a perpetual lie about being a sister of the cloth was a little too much to bear for Helena. After a year with the reputation of Septa Morgan growing through the small folks of small villages, the Septa soon faded away. Instead Jinny of Aegon’s Rest started coming to smaller castles; Turnbury, Redbramble, Parren Hall, Oldstars and the like. She took on odd jobs cleaning, cooking, teaching a daughter to read or a son to do his numbers. She was after all no threat, knew her letters and numbers herself, and was capable of scheming many a septa or fatherly gatesman to let her in.
Jinny of Aegon’s Rest became a traveller through the keeps of the Westerlands. She heard the tales from children and small folk alike. She had never meant to undertake espionage, but her place inside various courts across the land, and her talent for being in the right place at the right time meant she was an unfortunate witness to many a courtly intrigue. As her small gifts earned her again a broad reputation she would be traded between greater lords. Soon she was playing for the elite, and earning the rewards that came with it. Helena of Cornfield once again took a new name, the Six Eyed Singer, which she quickly used to escape her courtly life and take again to the road as a travelling minstrel.
The Strawberry Tourney and Ball (20AC - Current)
The Six Eyed Singer formed a little bard troupe, nothing extravagant, she wasn’t playing for the Lannisters or the Targaryen’s yet, but enough to provide several shows across the Westerlands, Reach, and former Kingdom of the Trident. Her troupe, much like she had been accidentally, was devious, and while she or they sang, pockets were pinched, and many houses were looted. Her troupe when apart played for all the minor and middle nobles of the Trident and of the Reach too now. She and they were as much a part of the debauchery of the West as any of the wealthy merchants. There was no party too scandalous, no whorehouse unsung, no court too far flung for the right price and the West had gold burning through pockets.
The Six Eyed Singer was not the only bard with a troupe though and soon through the Kingdoms after Aegon’s conquest artisans, bards, and mummers alike filled the world with talent. In 20AC the Songbird made its mark, and with a little bit of fun, a lot of resentment for nobility, and an ingrained childlike sense of chaos, the first of the Songbirds’ letters sang. The voice of the little people flooded across the western coast of the Iron Throne. Lord Belaerys’ dragon had eaten several children whilst growing fat and hungry. Lancel Lannister had claimed the maidenhood of his chambermaid, and sired a bastard all at the age of just fifteen. Lord Frey schemed against his overlord for a free and independent Trident once again. Was all of it true? Impossible to say, but there were enough truths to turn heads, and the songs of the Songbird began to cause chaos in the Westerlands most of all. The Six Eyed Singer and her troupe played through it all, they were bards, but the Songbird was the most famous one of all; not their little merry band.
The Six Eyed Singer though continued her good work, and with her reputation came an invite to participate at the Strawberry Tourney and Ball alongside the other bardic troupes of the West and Reach. She was not so famous as to be alone, merely enough to earn an invite, and a paid job. The planning was years long, and with new songs and tunes came new rumours. While the Six-Eyed Singer played songs such as Fleece-eye, Dornish Sour Grapes, and Lion of the West, the Songbird worked their chaos.
A ripple pulsed through the tourney, first a cheater in the joust was revealed, Ser Byron who was disqualified as a result. Then a second cheater, this time in the melee, then a third cheater again in the joust Lord Payne had accepted a bribe from Lord Reyne to fall early. Cheating in the tourney was just the start, cheating in the bedroom of the ball was the main affair. Here the Songbird revealed three affairs; Lords Serret and Lyden were both fathers to children on women , not their wives. While Lady Serret and Lady Ruskin were bedfriends behind their husbands’ backs. There was one final scandal though, which was revealed to all at the tourney. Septon Karron was no true anointed Septon, and worse there was legitimacy to foulness surrounding young boys who served him.
The chaos broke over the tourney and all the artisans in attendance were forced to flee. Yet, all was not lost, for Lord Gerold Lannister of Lannisport had taken his eye to Helena and her playing. He offered her a job, for he wished to be a great sponsor of art in the new Seven Kingdoms. So it was she came to a courtly position, advising the Lord Lannister on matters of fine art, musicians, mummery, and all manner of artisanal dealings.
Timeline
3AC - Helena is born in the Sept of Cornfield, her mother a woman from Silverhill who begs the septa’s to take the girl in. She reveals her identity to the Governess of House Swyft, and claims the child is Lord Swyft’s bastard. She leaves shortly after giving birth and recovering.
4-10AC - She is raised in the cloister with the sisters, her Septa mothers raising her lessons on reading from the Seven Pointed Star, and numbers from the Governess to ensure that she can do basic arithmetic. She takes basic lessons in scullery maid work, baking, and general service work for old Lord Swyft.
11AC - A travelling minstrel, The Lying Lyre, comes through Cornfield to sing songs of the tourney of Maiden’s Bay, House Targaryen, and the Field of Fire. He takes a liking to the young Helena, and gifts her a lyre. He stays in Cornfield for some time, both because it is lucrative and because he enjoys teaching the young girl.
12-14AC - The Lying Lyre departs Cornfield but leaves a talented and hardworking Helena with the sisters once more. She takes to singing sections of the Seven Pointed Star, and even performs for Lord Swyft a few times.
15AC - The House of Swyft dies out and Helena, unaware of her claimed parentage but with a talent for song leaves the cloister and takes to the road, not trusting the new Warriors Sons or Poor Fellows. She uses the name Lyrebird and sings and plays her lyre for coin to survive.
16AC - After a year on the road Helena takes up the name Septa Morgan and takes to hearing confessions of the poor and needy across the Westerlands. Many of them need guidance and wearing her septa robes she is the perfect person to hear them. She is no real Septa but no amount of explaining the technicality of that stops people asking her to forgive them.
17AC - Her reputation as Septa Morgan grows a little too heavy on her shoulders, and Helena takes to wearing more common clothes, moving from keep to keep and working as a barmaid, scullery girl, and baker amongst other professions. She goes by the name Jinny of Aegon’s Rest.
18AC - Chance takes its favour on her, and Helena with her simple lyre is invited to play at a feast in Lannisport. Dressed now as a travelling minstrel she performs for the gathered nobles and earns herself invitations to other keeps. With her generous benefactors she hires a small troupe to perform her songs across the West.
19AC - Travelling the Westerlands, Helena under the moniker The Six Eyed Singer, takes her talents for being present at feasts and gatherings of all sorts.
20AC - Rumour of The Songbird takes hold, and the West is awash in the voice of the little people.
21AC - The Strawberry Tourney and Ball unfolds and Helena’s skills earn her favour with Lord Gerold Lannister.
22AC - Lord Gerold Lannister recognising her many talents picked her up to be one of the primary serving women in his House. His eye for artistic endeavours endeared him to her enough for a comfortable place as a favoured bard, painter, educator, and common court woman.