Moved into our house during Covid (2021) so no one was in the mood to congregate and meet. We live in the southeastern US and people are generally pretty friendly. We have neighbors on both sides, typical suburban neighborhood setup, so our houses are fairly close together. Neighbors on one side are two guys who are nice but never around. One is a pilot and always gone for work. We chat with them occasionally if we’re both outside and my husband has lent them some yard tools in the past. The other side of us is a home with 2 women and a teenager. They are extremely private. Like I noticed when looking at our house on Google maps, they’ve had theirs blurred out. We got their Doordash order once and it said “Fake Name” on it. Walked it over and knocked on the door to see if it was theirs, and they wouldn’t answer until I was back on my porch. I’ve dropped off a couple of misdelivered Instacart orders in the past and they haven’t ever come to the door, so I just leave them on their porch now. No big deal, some people are big on privacy. However it’s now summer and we’re outside more and they will literally walk right by us if we are on the side of our house (20ft distance between houses) and not even say hi or make a noise to make their presence known if your back is turned. It’s getting to a point that I feel a little uncomfortable because we’ve lived next to them for 3+ years and don’t even say hi. Halloween is the 1 time a year, when they’re outside handing out candy that they’ll say hi and happy halloween. Is this just privacy to an extreme, because I’m starting to take offense or think we’ve done something to them.

Helena Pederson had few people knock on the door to her cabin. A life ostracized from her community left her with mostly her chickens and sheep and her dog for company, though there were several friendships that sustained themselves despite her exile. She grew food in her garden but also traded, her chickens giving her more eggs than she needed and her sheep growing wool she used to knit.
The knock that came at night drew her out of a reverie, having been sitting on her couch, sipping a cup of tea she’d just brewed. Her dog Grant lifted his head in curiosity, but didn’t bark, accustomed to knocks and not interested in wasting energy at his older age. Hesitating, Helena put the cup down in its saucer and stood, her socks still on to keep her toes warm against the chill of her hardwood floors. She went to the door, opening it wide.
She stared. “Marius,” she finally managed.
The king stood before her in clothing that made it almost difficult to recognize him. Whether it was the beautiful robes he wore for ceremonies or impeccably sewn clothes for day-to-day life, he always appeared as a king should. But now he was draped in a shabby, worn cloak that covered whatever he wore beneath. She saw his horse nearby, tied to a post, but he was alone, not accompanied by so much as a single guard.
“Helena,” he answered softly. “May I come in?”
Pursing her lips, she paused tersely for a long moment before she moved aside. Marius pulled back the hood of his cloak and stepped inside as Grant trotted over to take in his scent. The unfamiliar presence in the dog’s home made him wary, but the demeanor of his master and her permitting his entrance kept the dog from so much as growling.
Helena shut the door and walked over to the kitchen area. “You still take your tea the same?”
“I do.”
Marius sat on the couch and Grant plodded back over to his bed, laying down on it but keeping his head up and aware. The seconds ticked by slowly as Helena poured the still boiling hot water into another cup. She prepared it as she remembered, down to the exact size of the splash of milk, bringing it over on a saucer.
Marius nodded once in thanks and blew on it before taking a careful sip. Helena took a seat in the handcrafted wooden chair adjacent to the couch rather than beside the king, dismissing her own cup of tea, letting it cool, forgotten. “What’s happened?”
The king paused, taking another sip of tea that Helena knew was still hot enough to burn his tongue. “The battle at Hempstead. We lost…too many men. The situation is declining sharply, and the Empire threatens to overtake the kingdom.”
Helena took in and let out a deep breath, silently. She shook her head. “I know you’ve worked hard to protect this kingdom, and you’ll do what’s best. You always do.”
Marius raised his gaze to meet hers. “Always?”
Helena’s face tightened into a glare. No. Not always. “That doesn’t tell me anything,” she said. “What in God’s name would bring you to my door?”
“Desperation,” he confessed. He took another sip of the tea. “The Empire brings subjugation. They rule with an iron fist and many will die just in their invasion alone. And of course, many men will be conscripted.”
“Are you here to…complain?” Helena asked, leaning back in her chair, confusion thick in her tone.
Marius sighed. “No, Helena, I’m here…” He paused heavily before he met her gaze, with some effort, she noticed. “I’m here to ask for your help.”
Helena stared for a long moment before her confusion turned to shock. “You…” She swallowed hard. “Help.”
The king placed the tea down on the saucer on the table in front of him. “These are my people,” he whispered. “And they will suffer, and there is nothing I can do but watch as it happens. They deserve better.”
“And I didn’t?” she asked, a vice gripping her heart as she felt emotion swell up inside her. “You come asking for help? Your nerve, your arrogance, is unmatched. Besides which, what would you have me do?”
“I need an army that will not fall from an arrow or a sword, and army that feels no pain, that follows orders just as my men do,” he told her. He visibly forced the words out and Helena’s expression descended further into disbelief as he spoke each one. “We have thousands of dead soldiers. Helena, I am more desperate than I’ve ever been because I know what is coming for my citizens and I am afraid.”
Helena’s face twitched in disgust. “I told you,” she whispered, “that I only ever did this for those mourning a loss. For a last goodbye, for a grieving widow or parent or child. And now you come here to ask me to use my skills to raise you an army?”
“I’ve no right.”
“You don’t.” She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and regulated her breathing, refusing to allow herself to descend into tears. “I’m an exile, Marius. Because of you. What makes you think I would even consider doing this?”
“Because you’re a good person,” he said quietly. Helena’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You broke the law, repeatedly and with no remorse. It forced my hand, you must know that-”
“You are king,” she said. “Nothing forces your hand.”
Marius fell silent for a long moment. “I know I’ve not seen you for many years, but I still care for your well-being. I still have love for you. I’m not sure if that changes anything here, if it’s even relevant, but I wanted to say it, nonetheless. You’re still my sister.”
Helena’s expression slid into a wearied resignation. “Is that meant to sway my response here? This is an affront to everything I’ve ever tried to do with my necromancy.”
“It’s simply the truth.”
They lapsed into a long silence. “What makes you think I could even wield such power? Over so many at once?”
“You would have support,” he answered. “I’ve come to you first, but if you agree to help, there are other witches who would support you with their power. And the battle won’t be lengthy. It can’t be. We need a show of strength that turns the tides, that reveals we will not be conquered as easily as those who’ve fallen in their path so far.”
Helena slowly leaned back in his chair. “They could try the same thing, you know,” she muttered. “They surely have the same intolerance for my kind of magic, but they will find other necromancers among their people if they truly must. Where will you be then? Your soldiers will be pulled back to their decaying, bloody bodies, forced into battle until they can no longer stand, until their spirits untether from this realm because there is nothing left to hold to. The Empire will be the same. All soldiers will fall and even their corpses will become useless, falling to the ground as desecrated shells. What then?”
“I don’t know,” Marius said softly. “I only know that I need to try. I promised that I would try everything to keep our kingdom, to keep their families, safe. And I intent to keep that promise. To try everything.”
Helena’s gaze slid over to her now chilly cup of tea, a part of her wishing she had ignored that knock at the door. She folded her arms around her tightly, emotions she couldn’t describe roiling inside her, trying to hold tight to the life she’d had ten minutes ago. A life that was simple and, in a way, quite sad, but it was enviable from the position she found herself in now.
“How can I say no?” she whispered. Helena met her brother’s eyes, seeing in them a mixture of relief and utter despair. “I’m an outcast of the highest order save for a special few of my oldest friends, but they are still my people. I remember my home in the village, the children who would play in the streets, their parents doing their best to support their families and to simply…live their lives. I couldn’t leave them to be trampled underfoot in a war that is determined to arrive at their doorstep.
“And I hate you for it,” she continued, her gaze thick with a burden of emotion. “I will always hate you for it.”
“That is something I am willing to live with, and I’d expected nothing less,” he said.
Helena pushed herself to her feet. “I’m determined to have one last cup of tea. Then I’ll need someone to look after my animals. You can send word to Kasper Friis; he’d be willing. And then…” She let out an exhausted sigh. “Then…we prepare for battle.”
***
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I’m trying to understand if I’m the problem or if there’s really something to this. I am surrounded by Cancers (by blood or career, not by choice) and they ALL annoy tf out of me to the point where I’ve had to keep my own Cancer mom at arm’s length bc of not being able to stand her personality. Here are the common Cancer traits that I’ve noticed:

• Self-absorbed, they make everything about THEM. Example: I casually mention I have a headache and they immediately have to one-up me with their own headache story and how they also didn’t sleep well and their nose hairs hurt. Or someone mentions going through a breakup and they suddenly have some long, sad breakup story of their own to tell. They always claim to “know exactly how you feel” but they’re not even remotely close to knowing and have no desire to understand. They just want to talk about themselves.
• Poor listeners, including frequently interrupting/trying to finish others’ sentences.
• Passive aggressive!!! Whiny and sniffling about something always but won’t just outright tell you what tf is wrong when you ask them. Why should I have to play 20 questions to get someone to just say what they want/need? Cancers can’t EVER seem to express themselves without passive aggressive whining. It’s exhausting.
• Emotionally manipulative behavior. All the Cancers I know try to win attention and compliments by making self-effacing comments like “I’m so ugly” or “I’m so fat.” It’s so cringey and self-centered.
• They use gifts (sometimes money) to try to win people over and then get unreasonably sad/mopey if the recipient isn’t over the top thrilled and gushing with gratitude and adoration
• Instead of having an actual argument, they love to play the martyr and will shut down and play the punching bag instead of working out disagreements through conversation
• They naively claim to be super “independent”, but they’re actually just too self-obsessed to have healthy relationships, so they naturally end up alone
• They are OBSESSED with the past and can’t let go. They’re never forward-thinking or solution-driven. Every Cancer I know just loves to commiserate about what went wrong in the past and dwell in their sad thoughts about what could have been, instead of taking any action to fix or improve things.
• They brag about the same things for YEARS. They once hit a home run in little league and haven’t played sports since then, but, at age 40, they still tell the story annually and brag how athletic they are. Or someone once hit on them at a bar in college and at age 73 they still brag about how “hot” they looked that night.
• They are lazy. They spend 40 seconds cleaning one window and act like they expect an award for world’s best housekeeper. They never have any energy and love to just sit around doing anything but being productive.
• They expect people to make a big deal over them whenever they enter a room and then act like Eeyore if everyone doesn’t drop everything to gush over them and thank them for their presence. Then they’ll pull you aside and say things like “Does this outfit look okay?” when we all know what they’re really asking is: Why didn’t everyone notice me and drop everything to tell me how great I look?

I have many more qualms with Cancers but these are the main traits that I find extremely off-putting. It’s the ONLY sign that I don’t enjoy being with! I really want to know if I am the only one who feels this way about Cancers or if others notice it too.
(FYI: I’m also a water sign, a healthcare provider, an empath, and a nurturer. I am not simply insensitive or cold-hearted. I just can’t stand those personality traits I mentioned above. I’m very much open to being reproached and the possibility that I’m the problem. Lay it on me!)

why bring me to this room to kiss me, but not to hold my thoughts for eternity ? would you date my soul too ? would you come to my service and care ? we look upon ourselves in lost thinking could my heart even be lifted by touches kiss after kiss after kiss 💋 up until the day ran off, into praises our eyes even spoke into oblivions orbit how can you say you don’t even love me that boy your with doesn’t even know that boy back there is in the none light

I'm currently stuck living with my narc!mom until I can move out, and I decided a few months ago I'm gonna go no contact. I know in my heart it's the right thing to do, but now and then, a little seed of doubt sprouts up and I start questioning if the drama of going NC will be worth it.
And every time, every SINGLE time that I feel this doubt, my mom says or does something that reminds me exactly why NC is the only solution with her. Every time. At this point, I see these incidents as the universe/God/what have you telling me to stop doubting my decision, because it's the right decision.
If you're wondering what recent reminder prompted me to post about this, it was my mom projecting her illnesses onto me as usual (just because she has fibromyalgia, I must have it too, or even osteoporosis) and she started talking about finding me a doctor to do a checkup on me. She then asks me "Would you prefer your doctor to be a white lady? Or would you be comfortable with this Japanese lady who went to Harvard?"
...My brain honestly turned off for a few seconds when I processed what she said, since that incredibly stupid, racist fucking question came out of fucking nowhere. My mom's always been racist as hell, another one of her sterling qualities 🙄, but she normally just hates male doctors while always liking her female doctors, I've never heard her complain about her doctors' race before. Guess she's hitting new lows these days.
So yeah, "fun" little interactions like that always pluck that little seed of doubt right out of me, so at least they serve a purpose, even if my head feels like it's gonna explode from listening to my narc!mom's idiotic blathering. I can't move out soon enough. 🙄

Please be 21+.
🤷‍♂️ To be honest people would probably consider me an A-hope if they heard what I had to say & the thoughts running through my head. But I believe most people are just scared to speak their minds.
I’m a very open person who used to be shy & reserved. I got to a point many years ago where I just stopped caring. Stopped caring what people thought & felt about my decisions & how I lived my life. I basically do not have a filter & I rarely shy away from speaking what comes to mind,even if it’s brutally honest. I don’t like to offend people but if someone asks my genuine opinion then they need to be able to handle what I have to say.
I generally only talk to open minded people who don’t judge. I’ve moved beyond trying to convince close minded people to get where I’m coming from. I don’t need to explain myself or feel ashamed of who I am,so I don’t anymore.
While I am an open book,I am also a private person until I feel like it’s worth my time & effort to give details about my life. I live a particular lifestyle & I’ve been in it for a long time.
I have become almost obsessed with working out. There was a time in my life where I lost the motivation but I have regained that & I’m getting back into the kind of shape I was in most of my life.
I openly admit that I am a selfish person. I think of others but at the end of the day I’m going to get mine. I’ve been successful because of this approach to life.
I work out,play basketball,video games from time to time,I like horror movies.
At 41 I feel like I’m entering my prime & I don’t waste my time with things that I don’t find valuable.
If you’re up to talking hit me up. I won’t respond to comments so just DM.

when i was in like 7th grade and like 12 years old (im 16 now by the way) i dated this girl on and off
and when i say on and off i mean like 5 times in the span of 2 years (2020-2022) in which they broke up with me and then asked me out again 5 times
back then i was stupid and i went back every time bc i thought we were in love
i wont go into detail about the relationship because 1) i have zero care for how i was treated back then anymore, im over it 2) it was a lot and id be here forever even if i did want to talk about it
but to sum it up all of my friends absolutely hated this person and were mad i was dating them and were over the moon when we broke up for good
after a couple months after our last breakup we did what has always happened and we formed a friendship again, i went shopping with them and got food with them, car rides with them etc
in 2023 i started dating the most amazing man i could have ever asked for, he has truly been a blessing in my life and has really changed my life for the better, and to top it all off he has really shown me how a healthy relationship should be. He has shown me so much kindness and has gone above and beyond for me and i'm so appreciative of him and all his kindness
when me and him started dating i stopped being around this ex

1. because now that i was dating my amazing boyfriend i realized i used to hang around them in some hope they'd show me that temporary love again (i was very blind and manipulated 👎)
   
2. because now that i had realized this and was finally aware of how awful the situation had been and was now completely over them i realized they have always made me somewhat uncomfortable
   

and 3. who the hell wants to be around there toxic ex?? especially when i’m now in a serious relationship? being around an ex you were long term with is just lowkey weird, if my bf was friends with an ex he was long term with, even if completely over them, i’d be lying if i said it wouldn’t weird me out and make me uncomfortable
anyways, my ex hadn't tried to reach out to me since and they honestly haven't crossed my mind in half a year i thought (and hoped) that was the end of the story
TILL RECENTLY my friend group from one of my school activities is also somewhat friends with my ex, and this has never bugged me, but apparently it has bugged my ex strongly.
because half a year later since i stopped talking to this ex apparently they have started complaining to my friend in this shared group about how they • feel excluded when im around • feel i've been ignoring them • and how they believe this is all my boyfriends fault, and that my boyfriend is "controlling" who i talk to
it escalated because they brought it up to my friend again and said they were going to "confront" me about it?????
this kinda happened a couple months ago when they asked this friend if i dating my boyfriend and trying to get info, but my friend said they should stop being weird. Now they are back at it worse than before??
why can't they just let me go and leave me alone
to be perfectly clear my boyfriend is the furthest thing from controlling, and im very offended that my ex is 1) trying to bad mouth him and 2) painting him as controlling and assuming im only destined for toxic manipulative controlling relationships like the one i was in with them
i know im better than that now and i think its wild they believe there has to be some outside force keeping me from talking to them
the reality is it was completely my own decision to stop talk talking to them, and i’ve been very happy with my decision
my boyfriend doesn’t know about the current situation
i haven’t told him because hearing that someone is painting him to be controlling would break his heart, he is so kind and it’s made me absolutely livid that my ex is so immature they have to shit talk my boyfriend to feel better about themselves
but should i tell him? and besides telling him, what do i do about the situation??
do i confront my ex and tell them to get a grip and stop being an obsessive creep? or is that what they want and should i just not ingage in the situation
PLEASE help me 🙏🙏

“Your house is huge,” I say as I enter, glancing at the chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. “And you live here alone?”
“You get used to it,” my boyfriend smiles as he introduces me to the luxurious living room. “Make yourself at home.”
He jumps on the white leather couch and grabs a bottle of champagne from an ice bucket, pouring it in two crystal glasses. He hands me one and we drink it in one go.
“You’ve prepared everything,” I giggle. “I feel like this is gonna be a looong night.”
He pushes a few buttons on a remote control and the curtains glide open, revealing a dark garden. Lights flash on, illuminating the pool as well as various trees from below. A romantic song emanates from the ceiling speakers, gradually intensifying.
“Amazing,” I gasp.
“The pool’s heated, so we can take a dip without worrying about the snow.”
“Maybe later,” I say, afraid to tell him I never learned to swim.
We cuddle and chat for the next half hour when nature calls. He shows me to one of the bathrooms and returns to the living room.
I look around, appreciating the heated seat, the marble tiles and the golden toilet paper holder. When I try to snatch the paper, I notice something strange. It’s been placed backwards, the paper hanging from the back. I pull it out and put it in the right way so that the paper faces me.
When I’m done I wash my hands and open the door. I thought the music had become louder, but it’s only when I return to the living room that the blasting sound make me almost cover my ears. The curtains are shut close and my boyfriend is nowhere to see.
“What took you so long?”
I jump as he appears behind me.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine,” I say, holding my chest, heart pounding. “Could you lower the volume a bit? It’s really loud.”
“Answer my question first,” he smiles.
“Erm, I was just looking around when I noticed your toilet roll was placed backwards, so I put it the right way in. I mean, who does that?” I giggle. “You must be either a cat owner or total psycho.”
He stiffens and stares right at me.
“Guess which one I am?”
“A total psycho?” I laugh but stop immediately when his expression hardens.
He inches towards me and carries his lips near my ear. He lowers his voice to a hiss and murmurs, “Right on the jackpot, baby.”
A cutter knife appears out of nowhere. With one hand he grabs my neck, slowly extending the blade in front of my eyes with the other.
“Stop!” I cry. “T-that’s not funny.”
“Neither is altering my stuff.”
The corner of his lip curls upwards, puckering a kiss in the air.
“I think you’re right, baby; I also feel like this is gonna be a looong night.”

Or: Should I stay or should I go?
After my unexpectedly discussed post (thanks again, you wonderful peeps!) I've been rather busy: I've read volumes 2 and 3 of the Wheel of Time series within the last two weeks, book 4 is ready to go, but first I think I need a little break. The thing is: With each book, so it seems, RJ's narrative strengths become more apparent—the weaknesses, though, too. Moiraine continues to be evil incarnate to just about everyone, nearly every female character except her is somewhat identical, Nynaeve tugs her braid three times per paragraph, and men are from Mars, women from Venus. Either way, I can't help that I lost my heart somewhere between Emond's Field and the White Tower, I just have to take a breather so I don't get bogged down by its (few) weaknesses. Besides, I want this epic journey to last as long as possible. (As I type this, however, I'm starting to wonder if you wouldn't recommend that I continue with the series...)
So now it's time to ask the important question: What's next? What can keep up with WoT or even, dare I ask, surpass it? Malazan is too dark for me at the moment, I'm afraid. I still have the Dragonbone Chair with me as I'm currently travelling through Europe, but I'm worried that I'm going to run into Rand 2.0 here (let me know). Or do you recommend that I stick with WoT for the moment, no matter what? Do the female characters grow and develop in book 4? Will Nynaeve forget her braid at some point? Will we see more of Moiraine my beloved again? Or, more generally, how do you handle big series?
I had actually planned to start a shorter book or at least a shorter series in between, but, what can I say, I'm wide open to anything. I want the big and the epic; I want quests and magnificent landscapes; heroes and villains; give me the very best fantasy has to offer. Works that show why this genre is what it is. Why it is irreplaceable and important. However, since this is my first time dealing with a series as colossal as WoT, perhaps you'll steer me back in the other direction...
P.S. I can't say it enough. Thank you again—you have reaffirmed me with your comments and many messages and often made me smile during a during a persistently difficult time.

I just need to talk about this, we've been trying to conceive for over a year, which in reality isn't a long time, I know not to give up hope and it might happen, I got told there is a chance I can get pregnant due still having some period ( twice a year ish) for the past 4 months I've been tracking my ovulation, and last month I did get my period but I haven't ovulated once, I thought having my period meant I must have ovulated but I guess not, I keep testing. I'm only 22 but everyone in my family has had kids before that age, so I feel behind, I feel numb, I feel I'm trying so hard so when my sister told me she is pregnant, when she was on the pill, completely unexpected and unplanned out a pain in my heart, I'm happy for her but hurt for us, I have a big family and ATM everyone's having kids, my dad, my sister, 3 of my cousins, people at work, I'm constantly around people having kids and falling pregnant so easily. I don't want to hurt anyone with this post who may be older and trying for longer, but in my family it's unheard of. My boyfriend's parents are asking and keep saying how excited for grandchildren they are and I just don't know how to deal with it all

I know some people asked for an update so here it is
Original post is on my profile
So it’s been a week since my post and not much has happened but some things did happen. For starters I decided to stay NC with my dad and his family for the foreseeable future. I ended up having to see my dad and my step mom the following day due to an unforeseen and unfortunate event that happened to one of my relatives. I stayed completely clear of them and did not say a word to them and no eye contact either, One of my relatives made it a point to stay with me the whole time because they knew of the situation and didn’t know if they would try to do something. My step mom noticed what my relative was doing for me and she made it an obvious point to roll her eyes at me, i didn’t react at all. the way I saw it was, if she wants to be distasteful at an unfortunate event for one of my relatives she can go right ahead she can make herself look bad, but I wasn’t going to disrespect to that relative and the rest of my family.
I spoke with more of my family and in their words they were “shocked” “speechless” “disgusted” and “appalled”. They agreed with me standing up for my son and completely understand why I am going NC with my dad. I found out that none of my immediate family knew and they were confused at first why my dad didn’t tell them but they realized it was because my dad and step knew they were going to be ripped a new one.
Now some of my family is divided about the my decision to stay completely NC with them. They all agree that what I did was right and applaud me for no longer being a push over(I did see in the comments someone said that and unfortunately they weren’t completely wrong). Where the divide is happening is some agree not speaking to them till I’m ready and others believe I don’t need to speak to them outside of family events and invite them to my kids things so they don’t have any ammunition to claim anything about me. I don’t really agree with the rest saying I should talk to them only at family events but they have all stated they will support me in anything I decide to do.
My older brother was trying to meditate(I usually do this for my dad and him) but I made it clear to him that anyone who tries to convince me to forgive/speak to them before I’m ready, then I will be cutting them off as well and will have no problem with that either. My brother did respect that but stated he hopes this blows over.
There was a comment stating that there might have been other things under the surface regarding my dad and they were 110% correct. I have not always had the most healthy of relationships with him and a lot of our problems come from….you guessed it boundaries, treating me like a child and letting his new family including wife walk all over me. I stated these things many times to him but it never changed.
Now some/most may be asking why I didn’t cut him off sooner and the simple answer is…..I didn’t want to basically be an orphan. I don’t have mom and the thought of not having her breaks my heart because she truly was my best friend but typing it out now just makes me sound incredibly dumb and selfish(towards my children). The unfortunate thing is my dad had our issues but we could get over them and he would always stick up for my kids if something happened. When my step mom came around that all changed.
Through this time I have been going into my mind trying to figure a lot of things between my relationship with him. I’m noticing a lot has been suppressed and I need to think about it one at a time because the other day I ended up breaking down because it felt like everything from my past was coming up all at once.
This is it for now and if there are any updates I’ll be sure to do that!
Thank you everyone for your comments! I read them all and I appreciate it. The ones asking about my son he’s doing fine but has stayed firm he doesn’t want to see any of them. He seemed to be wanting to do/say this for a bit now.

Please be 21+.
I’m a very open person who used to be shy & reserved. I got to a point many years ago where I just stopped caring. Stopped caring what people thought & felt about my decisions & how I lived my life. I basically do not have a filter & I rarely shy away from speaking what comes to mind,even if it’s brutally honest. I don’t like to offend people but if someone asks my genuine opinion then they need to be able to handle what I have to say.
I generally only talk to open minded people who don’t judge. I’ve moved beyond trying to convince close minded people to get where I’m coming from. I don’t need to explain myself or feel ashamed of who I am,so I don’t anymore.
While I am an open book,I am also a private person until I feel like it’s worth my time & effort to give details about my life. I live a particular lifestyle & I’ve been in it for a long time.
I have become almost obsessed with working out. There was a time in my life where I lost the motivation but I have regained that & I’m getting back into the kind of shape I was in most of my life.
I openly admit that I am a selfish person. I think of others but at the end of the day I’m going to get mine. I’ve been successful because of this approach to life.
I work out,play basketball,video games from time to time,I like horror movies.
At 41 I feel like I’m entering my prime & I don’t waste my time with things that I don’t find valuable.
If you’re up to talking hit me up. I won’t respond to comments so just DM.

Like my own mc for cop (on my fourth replay lol) he’s just so pretty??? And so likeable??? It’s so refreshing having an mc that isn’t a newbie and is a seasoned professional, their backstory is super interesting (and probably will be resolved in cop 3??) witty, a badass and a little bit of a softie ????? (Trystan move aside)
ITS SO nice to see a grumpier mc trying to get wooed by Trystan, and the dynamic mc and trystan have????!!! (I play cop as an mlm story) the slow burn was so good, and the tenderness and fierce sorta “you have my back and I’ll always have yours” thing is so sweet, trystan saying “I couldn’t care less if I have a kingdom as long as I’m king of your heart” AAA ITS SO CHEESY BUT it suits them so well! I really enjoy playing with male mcs too because I enjoy playing different perspectives and I really love this mc so much WIIFIW (trystan can you fight?)

So I (F16) met this guy (M18) he’s from my schools sister schools and we met at a school party a month ago. He asked me for my socials after i complimented his outfit. Him and i are in the same grade and are only one year apart and get along really well, we’ve been texting every single day anywhere between 10 minutes to 2 hour long texting cessions. The best part is we really get along, we have similar music taste, we both do sports, we both have fairly good grades, like similar things, our biggest disagreement was on wether or not spiders or ants were less scary lmao. I don’t really think we fall into friends because we’ve been what I assume to be flirty (asking me if I’m dating anyone, liking my fit checks, hearting pictures we send each other, complimenting our looks and so on) and according to my friends that might fall under being a “situationship”
Well yesterday I texted him fairly late to ask him about his day like I usually do but he didn’t see it until the next morning where he answered telling me he had fallen asleep early last night and then casually told me something fun that happened during his day, I ended up asking him a few hours later when I finally opened his message (I didn’t know what to answer so I just didn’t open my socials that day) I ended up just saying that his day sounded like more fun than I did lmao and then asked “btw, wanna hang out sometimes” which he just answered “yuh, why not”.
I have no clue wether or not this means he actually wants to or if he might just be saying that to be nice, I’m actually really confused (I’m autistic btw) and I’ve just been not opening my phone at all for the last two hours since I don’t know how to react and don’t want to leave him on read. On top of that I can only hang out with friends when I’m at my dads which will be in 11 days and he already told me a week before about another subject that he never made plans until one or three days before when the plans happen and I wouldn’t want to make him uncomfortable by asking him so far beforehand.

1. What his message might mean and what I should answer
2. Wether or not he’s even interested in me
3. And if he is, wether or not I should try to make plans with him

TL;DR a guy I’ve been in a situationship with who I only socialize through text answered to me asking him to hang out with me in what I think is a disinterested way and I don’t know how I’m supposed to answer

Hi everyone, the title is pretty much the core of the issue.
23, male, 180cm, 60kg, white pale complexion, smoker, no previous heart or circulatory condition, previous food-allergy related rashes and epileptic crises during high fevers as a kid (both no longer present).
I have been experiencing this for years now and I can’t seem to find any definitive solution. Not even my doctor could help me so I’m asking here in the hope someone recognises this or has some useful advice.
Long story short sometimes I get out of the shower or bath and as soon as my legs dry a little they start to itch. Itching restlessly and intensely as if someone was pinching me all over them. It usually lasts a few minutes and then progressively calms down, even tho it can last up to half an hour sometimes.
I know it doesn’t sound like much of a problem but I really can’t describe how terrible it feels with words. When it happens I feel helpless and like I could go mad, it’s a very intense sensation, sometimes I even slapped my legs hoping they would stop. Sometimes it starts making me shake
It feels obvious to say it but scratching only makes it worse and prolongs the torture.
On to the weirdness of this: I thought of every possible reason this happens and every possible remedy doesn’t help in the slightest and sometimes makes it worse.
I thought it was a skin sensitivity problem and I only use pharmacy’s shower oil to wash my body, nor do I use exfoliants chemical or physical (I wash myself with my bare hands and nothing more).
I thought it was a dryness problem so I tried multiple hydrating creams all with varying results from no effect to making the situation worse.
I thought it was an oil depletion problem so I applied sweet almond oil (which also should have calming effects on irritations) and it doesn’t do anything.
I thought it was a circulatory problem so I started wearing compression socks as some recommend (I don’t have varicose veins nor anything similar).
What is left on my list of ideas is a peripheral nervous problem and I really want to hope that is not the case.
I can’t see a correlation between the times it happens (as it’s not a regular appointment, thankfully) as it doesn’t matter if I shower or bathe, hot or cold, etc.
The additional useful information that I can tell you is:

• It could have some correlation with shaving: I say could because I don’t shave often, I don’t do it with anything other than an electric razors with spacers anymore and, most importantly, it happened when I hadn’t shaved for months too, although less intensely
  
• It happens consistently every time I bathe in sea water and that is the only time the sensation expands all over my body (when it happens at home my arms itch too sometimes, but way less noticeably than my legs).
  
• There are no visible signs of this, no rashes, not even redness
  
• My mother said she has had this problem all her life but the solution that worked for her was using cleaning products for sensitive skin which, as I mentioned, didn’t do it for me (although it seems to have made it a little less frequent, sea water aside).
  

Please help Thank you for reading this long message

I want to take a moment to list out some of my most challenging problems with Protestantism according to what Scripture says, in no particular order. It is not a comprehensive list of all of the problems that I have with it, but having these answered would go a long way to me taking Protestantism seriously from a theological viewpoint.
We should rely on our own personal interpretation of Scripture
And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Here, Peter is saying PAY ATTENTION TO THE CHURCH!!! Listen to what the apostles are teaching and allow that to form your reading of Scripture. If you read the rest of this chapter, He says that "we" (the apostles) have had given to them, "all things that pertain to life and godliness" through knowledge of Jesus Christ. When we read Scripture, we should not read it solely with our own understanding, but allow ourselves to be taught by the apostles (or those appointed by them as successors).
When it comes to Sola Scriptura, I do not see how it is not relying on one's own personal interpretation. How do I know that I am understanding Scripture correctly? How do I know that I do not have an interpretation that is horribly off base? I have never really gotten an answer to this from Protestants.
If I am debating Scripture, according to Protestants, I am debating the sole highest authority. So if I test my interpretation against something else, I am testing against a lesser authority and thus it can still be challenged and I have not sufficiently solved the problem.
We only need to declare Jesus as Lord to get to Heaven
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Here Jesus flatly says professing that Jesus is Lord is not enough to get you into Heaven, but doing the will of the Father. Yes, we are saved by faith through grace. If you get baptized and are shot dead the moment you walk out of the church, you will go to Heaven having done nothing except making that "leap of faith." If you are in a car crash and have a minute to live and all you can do is place your trust in Jesus, yes, you will be saved. But for 99.99999% of people, this is not the case. We have our entire lives to live after baptism. So the question is "Do we live according to what we profess with our mouth?"
If I say "I am an Orioles fan." but only ever go to/watch Yankees games and only ever root for the Yankees, would you say that I am actually an Orioles fan? Do I not call into question that statement that I made by my actions? What if I grow up as an Orioles fan, regularly attending games and watching them daily. But then later, my favorite player gets traded to the Yankees and I convert to a Yankees fan. Was I never an Orioles fan to begin with? No. That would be silly. I was an Orioles fan, but then became a Yankees fan.
Likewise, if I say "I am a Christian and believe that Jesus rose from the dead." But I never attend Church, I am not loving others, I am worshipping other gods, etc. Am I really a Christian? Maybe I was at one point, but I certainly am not now based on what I have done.
As such, yes, it is true that works do not save us, but if we act contrary to what we believe, we cannot have assurance of our salvation. Hopefully God still finds a way to bring us to Heaven. I would rather someone spend 1000 years after death having their soul purified knowing that they will go to Heaven then know for a fact that they are in Hell. Even so, we must recognize that Hell is real, it is a real possibility.
Baptism does not save
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
I have ZERO idea where some Protestants get this idea from. The idea that Baptism is not salvific is not at all Scriptural. This really ties into the "Sola Fide" bit of this post.
The Eucharist is merely symbolic
I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^\)^c\) which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
⁵² The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”^\)^d\) ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; ⁵⁴ he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” ⁵⁹ This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um.
Jesus flat out says "This bread that I am talking about here is my flesh." So the disciples challenge Him saying "You mean this figuratively right?... RIGHT?
So Jesus responds repeating himself over and over in verses 53 through 58. How many times does Jesus need to say something for you to believe it? You will latch on to a singular verse that teaches something you agree with (or seems to) for dear life at the exclusion of literally any other verse on the topic, but something else is taught multiple times and you don't believe it? I am confused about how Protestants read the Bible. It does not seem to be in any kind of coherent exegesis.
You are allowed to get divorced and remarried... at all.
“Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,^\)^a\) ⁸ and the two shall become one.’^\)^b\) So they are no longer two but one.^\)^c\) ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity,^\)^c\) and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
Marriage is "until death do us part." The teachings on divorce from the Gospels is trying to set a trap for Jesus to see which rabbinical school he agrees with. Jesus comes out and says. "Neither." He says "Yeah. Moses allowed for divorce. But this is not how it was from the beginning. What about that "except for unchastity" phrase in Matthew (and only Matthew)?
There Matthew is talking about unions that God did not join together. He is talking about invalid marriages that his primarily Jewish readers would have been thinking about. The gentile converts to Christianity would not have thought about these weird situations, so this is excluded from the other gospels.
You can get re-baptized
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Some that want to say that you can get rebaptized jump to Acts 19. Reading this passage, it would seem that what is going on here is that the Baptism by John was not in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul is essentially saying that the "baptism" that they had received was not valid. He does not say that he "baptized them again into Christ." Rather it says that Paul "baptized them in the name Jesus Christ." As in they were not baptized into Christ, so Paul baptized them "for real this time."
You can only be cleansed from Original Sin once. After that, you can confess your sins and have them forgiven. Baptism is what makes into a child of God. That can only happen once. To do otherwise is a grave sin because you are saying that God was not powerful enough to save you the first time. Again, if a baptism is deemed to be invalid, this is a different story. This is why Paul asks "Into what were you baptized?"
The Church is simply the collection of believers
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Here it is clear that the "Church" is something more than a collection of believers. Jesus teaches here that first, you deal with disagreement 1 on 1. If that does not work, you go and get other believers to help show that they are wrong. If that does not work, then take to the Church. If even that does not work, they are to be treated as an unbeliever (excommunicated).
Certainly, all believers are a part of the Church - which is the body of Christ. The Church is not a parish or a singular building. The Church is universal, but there is a clear structure to it. There are priests, bishops, elders, etc. There is real authority in that structure. This article goes over in Scripture and towards the bottom the Church Fathers what the Church is meant to look like: https://www.scripturecatholic.com/the-biblical-church/
Many Protestant ideas sound nice, but I do not want to believe something merely because it sounds nice. Dessert for dinner sounds nice but it is not good for my body. Likewise, we should not judge something on "does it sound nice." We should judge something on whether it is good for our souls.
I look at many Protestant theological views and note how they seem to not be based in Scripture or based on a misunderstanding of Scripture. I would love to see if Protestants can properly answer these. Simply quoting verses that seem to back you up is not enough here. You need to show that these other verses are not problematic.
I do not only want to trust in Jesus, I want to trust that I am following everything that he taught. Jesus commanded the apostles to teach all that He has commanded, not just the important stuff. If you get the main stuff right but other things wrong, you still got it wrong. If a teacher gave a 10 question quiz and said, "You got questions 1, 2, 5, and 7 right, but everything else wrong. It is ok though those questions were the most important." I still get a failing grade. So, if you want me to convert to Protestantism you need to show that you actually follow all of Scripture, because I want to strive to get a 100% on the "test" of salvation. After all Jesus told us to "Be perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect" Not "Be kind of perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect."

Please be 21+
I’m a very open person who used to be shy & reserved. I got to a point many years ago where I just stopped caring. Stopped caring what people thought & felt about my decisions & how I lived my life. I basically do not have a filter & I rarely shy away from speaking what comes to mind,even if it’s brutally honest. I don’t like to offend people but if someone asks my genuine opinion then they need to be able to handle what I have to say.
I usally only talk to open minded people who don’t judge. I’ve moved beyond trying to convince close minded people to get me. I don’t need to explain myself or feel ashamed of who I am,so I don’t anymore.
While I am an open book,I am also a private person until I feel like it’s worth my time & effort to give details about my life. I live a particular lifestyle & I’ve been in it for a long time.
I have become almost obsessed with working out. There was a time in my life where I lost the motivation but I have regained that & I’m getting back into the kind of shape I was in most of my life.
I openly admit that I am a selfish person. I think of others but at the end of the day I’m going to get mine. I’ve been successful because of this approach to life. Successful,happy,have everything I’d ever want. I’m at a place in life where I don’t want for anything anymore.
I work out,play basketball,video games from time to time,I like horror movies.
At 41 I feel like I’m entering my prime & I don’t waste my time with things that I don’t find valuable.
If you’re up to talking hit me up. I won’t respond to comments so just DM.

They're the only ones I've ever written, it's my first time doing it so I honestly don't know if they're good or anything so if you don't mind please be kind. It's very important to me to give me your feedback cause in two days it's the last ever day of school and I'm thinking of giving them to her. I've spoken to her so many times and all of these times she denied me but I can't stop loving her. Anyway here you go:

Sweet Girl

Sweet girl You invaded in my life In a dull day of September I didn't understand outright But you marked me forever
Sweet girl Your beauty makes me shiver I could stare at you all day Cause what you deliver Makes me wanna go insane
Sweet girl You make me lose my mind I love to hear your voice You're just one of a kind You're my number one choice
Sweet girl There's nobody like you I'm longing for the days we'll spend Please love me as I do Will you help me mend?

Letter To My Love

It was the day my life changed forever At first I didn't realize But now I really know You're the love of my life
Your eyes mesmerize me Your voice, oh, so charming I want to hold you tight And taste your sweet skin
Cause there's no girl like you You're the only one who's stolen my heart Yeah, yeah, you're so brilliant You're on top of my world
Tried to approach you so many times But I've always failed to reach you If I could only achieve that dream I'd tell you the whole truth about me
You've broken my heart into pieces And now I'm left in tears I just wish you could understand How much I love you, my dear
Maybe I'm not perfect As much as you are But, baby, does it really matter? Cause I love you so much I'll do anything to be with you
I thought I had lost you But you resurfaced in my life You captured my mind once more You were again stuck in my thoughts
I saw the light again You ignited my spark once more You cured my misery Baby, please accept my love
I've tried to turn the page But I couldn't move on You're so unique, my love I'll fight once again to win your heart
I just can't get you out of my mind There's no way out I've fought so hard my feelings But you always end up winning
But now it's clear I'll forever love you Right till the end of time My heart belongs to you
You are so wholesome You're so, so wonderful Your beauty is just mind-blowing You're like a blooming flower
I'll always protect you I'll always defend you I'll forever be there for you I was designed to love you I was born to be with you I was destined for your love

Wasted Love

You seemed like a treasure Hard to be found Turns out my pleasure Wasn't for you bound
I thought you were different Thought we were meant to be But now I'll give all this an end Cause now I know
I wasted my love in you I wasted myself just for you How can you do this to me Oh baby why you're so mean
I wasted my love in you I spent all my time for you Oh can't you see my love Do you have any feelings at all?
All your lies Deceived me for real Now just get out of my life I can't withstand your heel
You were laughing at my back While you were on my thoughts Now I'm on my own and I rack My efforts have come to nought
I wasted my love for you I wasted myself just for you Why can't my love be enough Bitch, why you're so rough
I wasted my love for you I planned my life so I'd be with you I'm still drowned in my grief I just can't get no relief
Now I really know Love isn't real Now I really know Love's a big, big lie
I wasted my love for you I wasted myself just for you How can you do this to me Oh baby why you're so mean
I wasted my love for you I wasted myself just for you I'll be free when you're out of my head Til then I won't be taking a rest

Tears of Blood

He got the chance of his life Says I gotta be decisive I'm not gonna crack He'll let his heart do the job
He would wish he just knew What was about to happen As now he's drowning for you In those tears of blood
Leaving the bus Sees her stand in the middle Walking close to her now The time has finally come
Your pigeon post has arrived It's got a letter for you mistress Don't you let this boy die In his tears of blood

Missed Opportunities

Lying here alone and helpless Wandering around the past Seeing all those who've gone Thinking of what could've been
All I wanted was you Wish you could just accept me You're my most precious jewel I can't live without you
All the missed opportunities That I had with you Now I can't escape Wish I had made no mistake And skipped none of these Missed opportunities
I tried real hard To get you my darling And as I finally made it You just denied
All those years later I'm still thinking of you My heart's still in pain No medicine can heal me
All the missed opportunities That I had with you Now I can't escape Wish I had made no mistake And skipped none of these Missed opportunities

I Dream Of...

I dream of you girl Being with me I dream of us two Sitting next to each other
I dream of the days with you I dream of the nights for us two I dream of our endless conversations I dream of us two Hang out in the still of the night
I dream of you and me Walking hand in hand I fantasize of the moments When you'd whisper in my ear
I dream of the places we'll see And all things we'll experience together I dream of those precious moments Smirking to one another
I dream of my future And you hold a special place on it Please never wake me up I can't get enough of this.

15th of December

Stranded alone in my room Like a butterfly in the winter Things didn't go to plan I have lost my faith
I wish you all didn't let me down I've lost my lust for life All I want is
Take me back To the 15th of December And leave me no room for escape
Bring me back To the 15th of December To find my peace at last
You were my only joy In my bitter, boring life Now I've lost my will To even just try
I'm still dreaming of you When you sat next to me Oh God will you please
Take me back To the 15th of December And make my dream realise
Get me back To the 15th of December Hear again that song of the Mats

Invisible Glances

Arriving on the scene With my superhero boot Checking the time then I say Let the fun shoot
As I sit now myself I see you in the distance I just wanna let you know You got my soul in trance
Tonight you blew my mind You were like a princess Oh baby can't you feel My invisible glances
Staring at you all night You captured my eyes You were my shooting star You were brighter than Venus
Then you talked to me And I struggled to move When you looked at me My heart almost melted
Tonight you stole my heart I just died in your sight But still you cannot feel My invisible glances

Bid Me Farewell?

Another day comes by And I still miss you baby Everything around me Reminds me of your sight
Now you'll be there for me The moment I was looking for But it won't last for long As you'll still fly away from me
Will you bid me farewell Before you leave me After all the moments we lived Will you even care for me
The last one is unfinished. Well, I think most are but they seem completed tbh.
Thanks for your time too 😂

So I (F16) met this guy (M18) he’s from my schools sister schools and we met at a school party a month ago. He asked me for my socials after i complimented his outfit. Him and i are in the same grade and are only one year apart and get along really well, we’ve been texting every single day anywhere between 10 minutes to 2 hour long texting cessions. The best part is we really get along, we have similar music taste, we both do sports, we both have fairly good grades, like similar things, our biggest disagreement was on wether or not spiders or ants were less scary lmao. I don’t really think we fall into friends because we’ve been what I assume to be flirty (asking me if I’m dating anyone, liking my fit checks, hearting pictures we send each other, complimenting our looks and so on) and according to my friends that might fall under being a “situationship”
Well yesterday I texted him fairly late to ask him about his day like I usually do but he didn’t see it until the next morning where he answered telling me he had fallen asleep early last night and then casually told me something fun that happened during his day, I ended up asking him a few hours later when I finally opened his message (I didn’t know what to answer so I just didn’t open my socials that day) I ended up just saying that his day sounded like more fun than I did lmao and then asked “btw, wanna hang out sometimes” which he just answered “yuh, why not”.
I have no clue wether or not this means he actually wants to or if he might just be saying that to be nice, I’m actually really confused (I’m autistic btw) and I’ve just been not opening my phone at all for the last two hours since I don’t know. On top of that I can only hang out with friends when I’m at my dads which will be in 11 days and he already told me a week before about another subject that he never made plans until one or three days before when the plans happen and I wouldn’t want to make him uncomfortable by asking him so far beforehand.

1. What his message means and what I should answer
2. Wether or not he’s even interested in me
3. And if he is wether or not I should try to make plans with him

Episode Description

Simba leaves Kiara in charge of the Pride Lands while he, Nala, and Zazu go to Kilio Valley to attend a funeral for an old elephant friend named Amanifu who has just died. Upon learning this from Mzingo, Janja decides to take advantage of Kiara's inexperience and comes up with a plan to take over the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, Simba is nervous about performing his eulogy in front of the elephants, including Aminifu's daughter, Ma Tembo.
Song: "Duties of the King" sung by Simba and Zazu

Pros
-First off, I like the sibling dynamic in this episode, as somebody with a similarly aged older brother. Kion and Kiara's relationship has resonated with me, the way they have off days and arguments, but, obviously love each other and make it out strong in the end. I, for one, do not hate Kiara in The Lion Guard, and Kion gives her the same attitude she gives him in early episodes. I like watching their relationship go through ups and downs throughout Season 1.
-I know the opening scene, where Kiara and Kion are fighting over a tree to sharpen their claws is quite intense, because they would've probably gotten into a scuffle if Simba hadn't showed up when he did, but, that is siblings for you sometimes. I feel like anyone who's got siblings of your own can relate, at least a little bit, to that scene.
-I like the plotline of Kiara and Kion's sibling rivalry stemming from their roles in leadership. Kiara is clearly a reflection of her father, when he was a cub, which is interesting and so, she thinks that being the Future Queen is really swell and makes her the alpha, and Kion (who is no better than her) thinks that being Leader of the Lion Guard makes him more important than her. I like this mechanic in this episode. It makes me want to know if Scar felt the same way about Mufasa. I mean, Kion was obviously not resentful of Kiara, unlike Scar, but I wonder if a similar thing happened with the two brothers except, in this case, it drove Scar to insanity and wanting to murder Mufasa.
-Now let's talk about Kiara being left in charge of the Pride Lands (I mean, I do think the main conflict of the episode was Simba's fault, but we'll get to that later). So, I like the fact that Kiara is nervous about ruling the Pride Lands, even for a brief period of time. I like this because for one thing, she's still only a cub at this time, so, she's entitled to be nervous and anxious about being responsible for an entire kingdom. There's a lot of responsibility being placed on her at such a young age, but, she still remained likable, in my opinion. I do like how, in The Lion Guard, she takes her responsibility as Future Queen very seriously. I know this is unpopular to say, but, I headcanon that, as she's grown up into an older cub, she's realised that being queen won't prevent her from being herself, a concern she had at the beginning of TLK 2.
-I do empathise with Kiara, and Kion, because they are both being put into a huge responsibility of looking after the entire kingdom on their own, while all the adults are away from Pride Rock. This is still really early on in Season 1, so Kion is inexperienced as Leader of the Lion Guard, and Kiara only just started her training with Simba, in the pilot episode. I do feel bad at the fact that they have to figure everything without their parents around and I respect them for managing to work out their differences by the end of the episode.
-I really feel bad for Kiara because she gets a lot of crap from people in the TLG community, moreso than Kion does. I feel really sorry for her because people say they hate her for her attitude and that they think she's a self-righteous bitch at the start of the series, but, I don't. Even as a kid, I knew that a lot of Kiara's behaviour in this episode was down to the stress of being left in charge of whole kingdom for a few days without her parents around, while still being a cub at this point. I do really like her and it really upsets when I see people hating on her. I don't think Kiara really means to be controlling in this episode, she's just trying to do right by her father while he's gone.
-I like the fact that Kiara is really hesitant and nervous to have a huge weight on her shoulders, a role she was previously really excited to fulfil in the pilot episode. When Simba asks this of her, she's understanding feeling a lot of pressure to make him proud. I like the fact that Simba admits to her that he was also nervous about becoming king the first time. I like this because we only saw the side of him that was cocky, overconfident and optimistic about becoming king. I like the fact that she was nervous and that he decides to be upfront about it.
-Kiara still remained a likable character to me throughout this episode. I like how she starts out as nervous and how her confidence is slowly building up nicely during the episode. But, she never came off as mean-spirited, to me. Also, it becomes clear that the reason her responsibility goes to her head is because of Tiifu and Zuri's influence on her and the Lion Guard's inexperience and, in this case, plot-convenient incompetence.
-Beshte, "I'm sure she'll be a nice queen." Well, I'm glad at least one of you believes in her. I can't tell you guys how much I love Beshte, always the sweetest soul out of the group.
-Ono, "Thank you for the opportunity, my queen. And you.... err..... my Kion." That line was funnier than it had any right to be.
-Speaking of which, I thought seeing Ono in Zazu's position, temporarily for Kiara was interesting and I think was a great use of his character, outside of being a Member of the Lion Guard. I personally would've been down for more scenes like this. I think a cool send off for Ono would've been to have him be the Royal Advisor to Queen Kiara and King Kovu, in the future. I wish Ono had stayed in the Pride Lands in the series finale and had become Zazu's apprentice or something.
-Bunga, "Your majesty." {bows at Kiara}. Kiara, "Bunga, that's really not necessary." I found that whole interaction surprisingly funny. Also, strong feeling that Bunga has a huge crush on his best friend's sister at this point, and Kiara views him as her friend, nothing more.
-Kiara's plan about the Bees and the Eelands fiasco was actually very smart, and even when I saw this as a kid, I knew that she had a better idea than Kion. Her idea about moving the eelands away from bees' nests is smarter because bees obviously sting when angered. So, Kion was too proud to admit Kiara had the better idea.
-One of the funniest parts of the whole episode for me was Kion saying, "I say we move the bees". Then, the scene cuts to Kion, Beshte, Fuli and Ono running away from a swarm of bees, in terror. I obviously don't want them hurt, but, I just had to laugh because it was so predictable.
-Bunga, "What are you guys running for? Bees taste even better when they're mad!" Accurate behaviour from a honey badger. They can raid beehives without being stung due to their very thick hide and their stink sap.
-When the Lion Guard arrived back at Pride Rock covered in bee stings, if I were Kiara, I'd be laughing in Kion's face at that moment, like "Ha, ha, you were wrong. Only an idiot would decide to move a swarm of bees to a new place." But, in fairness, Kiara was right to be mad at him, in that moment, for his little screw up.
-"It wasn't a total disaster," Kion, while talking to Kiara. Kiara, looks at Fuli and Ono scratching themselves, "Really? It looks pretty total to me." I mean, she does have a point there. In this situation, Kion had everything to gain from taking her advice.
-However, I do like the fact this episode shows that Kiara and Kion are not perfect leaders yet, they're still fairly young and are only just finding their feet, so it's natural for them to have some minor slip ups, that they learn from, like every kid does.
-"Admit it. I was right about the bees and you were wrong." Kion, just admit it and save yourself the embarrassment. Kiara was not being rude to him whatsoever. She was speaking nothing but facts.
-When Kiara talks to Mzingo at Pride Rock, I like the fact that the latter is clearly higher up in the frame because he's the one dominating the conversation and is also the one who manipulates Kiara. I think it's a nice touch where he creepily approaches and blackmails her.
-*laughs "Janja wants peace?" I like the fact that Kiara is clearly sceptical and she's obviously suspicious of Janja's true intentions. I like this because it doesn't make Kiara out to be seriously wayyy too gullible and silly. The fact that was she was suspicious feels more in-line with TLK 2 and makes her decision to believe Janja, partially Kion's fault. Manipulation is also a very powerful tool, especially to done on a semi-young child, like Kiara.
-I like the fact that Mufasa appears to Kion, unprompted in this episode, for the first time in the series. I love this because it feels like Mufasa saw the argument that had just gone down and was like, "Right I need to put an end to this sibling drama before it gets out of hand. I need to make Kion see the error of his ways."
-I actually love the fact that Kiara is, at least partially willing, to give Outlanders a chance for peace. It feels like a nice bit of foreshadowing for her character arc in TLK 2, where she was able to give the Outsider lions a chance to fit in.
-Kion angrily to Tiifu and Zuri, "Ugh! Some advisors you two are!" That was more hilarious than it had any right to be. Because, let's be honest, they were pretty obnoxious in this episode.
-"Get away from the Queen!!!!" I actually love the moment where Kion comes bursting in like a superhero, to his sister's aid. I also love the fact that he calls Kiara his queen, at this point, because he clearly listened to Mufasa's advice, and also because he had felt somewhat responsible for her almost being killed by Janja.
-"Oh we can fight all right!!!" So badass. I personally would've loved to see Kiara fight alongside the Lion Guard. I think it would've been cool to see her help to fight off Janja's clan. I wanted to see what she could do.
-"Six on six..... Forget it!!!!" Yeah, you better run, Janja, you don't stand a chance against all six of these heroic friends. And one of them is a bloody hippo.
-I love Kion and Kiara's closeness at the end of the episode where they make up for their uncivil, squabbling at the start. Kion finally rightfully admits that he should've taken Kiara's advice about the bees and the elands, and Kiara admits that Kion was right about Janja being nothing but trouble.
-Kion, "And I should've listened to you about the bees." Ono, "Oh, sure {rolls his eyes}. Now he admits it." Oh, Ono, you knew all along, but, we love you.
-Kiara and Kion when Simba and Nala arrive home, are really sweet. I love the fact that Kiara wants to be honest about what happened, "Ruling the Pride Lands? It went..." I absolutely love the moment where Kion decides to cover for her and admits that she'll be a great queen, this is an incredibly sweet brother and sister moment. That moment feels like a precursor to the episode "Baboons" and even later "The Trail to Udugu."
-I love the moral of this episode about "being supportive of your loved ones efforts to help, especially when they are wrong," because it applies to both Kiara and Kion in two different situations. Kion was obviously wrong to go against Kiara's advice to move the elands, but, Kiara learned that she should've been more sensitive about that whole situation. But, Kion also learned that if hadn't been so dismissive of her acting queen for a few days and given her his utmost support when she was clearly nervous about ruling the Pride Lands. If Kion and Kiara been more sensitive to each other, then, they would've been able to be in charge of the Pride Lands together instead of arguing. Also, this episode shares another moral, "Communication is key to understanding each other and a successful team." Kiara learns this after Kion saves her and she realises she was wrong about Janja, and Kion learns this when the Lion Guard get stung by bees, and even later when he realises that he was partly to blame for Kiara going into the Outlands, and that if he had been upfront with her instead of outright yelling at her and running out on her, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued. These are two important lessons for kids going through school together, or with siblings and friends.
-Also, Janja is genuinely dangerous and scary in this episode. He traps Kiara in the Outlands to use her as a bargaining chip for Simba or else he and his would eat her. They would've gotten away with it if Kion didn't jump in at the last second. Janja threatened the freaking princess of the Pride Lands! Reason number #50 why he should never be allowed enter the Pride Lands, no matter if he is starving or not, because he clearly cannot be trusted to follow the rules.
-And now I'm finally going to talk about the B-plot of the episode. It wasn't as good the A-plot, in my opinion. I did love the worldbuilding aspect of this episode where we learn that different animals in the Pride Lands have their own customs and traditions that need to be respected. I like the idea of Simba upholding a tradition and it was interesting that he was never trained for it because obviously Mufasa died before he could complete his training.
-I like the idea of Simba, Nala and Zazu going to an elephant funeral. Elephants actually have "funerals" in real life. In real life, if a member of their herd dies, the elephants will crowd around them ceremoniously to pay tribute and they'll collect twigs and branches to cover the fallen elephant to pay tribute, out of respect for them. I love the way its portrayed as a ceremonial funeral in The Lion Guard and that Simba is upholding a tradition. I love the way he has to say it in Elephantese because the idea of the elephants' having a language barrier is a cool worldbuilding element.
-Aminifu is a cool worldbuilding character too who, we're told, played a big part in the Pride Lands' revival and bringing the circle of life into balance. I like to headcanon we was a childhood friend of Mufasa and Scar, and the rest of the Royal Family, and how he go on to be a good friend to Simba, Nala and the rest of Simba's pride. I like to think Aminifu was responsible for all the animals in the kingdom, similar to the Lion Guard, and how his daughter fills that role in Season 2.
-The Elephant Funeral scene looks cool because of how emotional and how heart-wrenching it looks from afar. I like the addition of all the elephants mourning in the background. It was a little dark this early on the series. One elephant hugs Aminifu and looks like their going to cry, another elephant and her calf are crying, while hugging each other.
-I like how you can see shades of Mufasa's death through Simba's voice in this episode, such as, "And now Aminifu has completely his part of the circle of life," and "Well, time for the tribute." I like this because I like to think Simba is obviously nervous about performing a eulogy in front of elephants, but, probably also a bit upset and mourning over his own father's death. I mean, in fairness, he never to give his father a proper send off when he died, so, this probably hit even harder for him.
-I like how this is Zazu's first main character moment in the series and how much of a hard worker and a loyal he is to Simba and Nala, his whole motivation is just to help Simba learn Elephantese properly so he can impress Ma Tembo's herd, during the tribute.
-Nala is such a sweetheart and a loving partner to Simba. I love her because she's pretty much exactly how she was in the original film. She's his loving and supportive wife, and I love the way he gives him moral support when he gets nervous. I love her snarky jab at her husband early on the episode too, by the way, "Worried about Kiara? Or are you worried about your tribute?"
-The song "Duties of the King" was decent enough, I suppose. I mean, it's not my favourite song in the series and I wouldn't be reaching for it. But, I don't hate it. I like the more cutesy, "miscellaneous" animals shown in the background, like the chimpanzees and the porcupines. Plus, it's nice to know that Simba doesn't just sit on his ass all day and that he does important jobs, like he assigns gazelles to their grazing grounds and songbirds to their trees. I love that he presides over aardvark wedding rites and then we saw Muhanga and Muhangus kissing behind some grass. So, I wonder if Simba did in fact, preside over their wedding before this episode. Overall, I like the cute scenes of this song and I like the fact that Simba actually has important stuff to do. I can see why kids would dance around to this song because it's very bouncy and energetic. The beat is fine, but, I don't like Rob Lowe's singing voice as Simba. I think they should've used Cam Clarke all along for The Lion Guard, who actually voices Mwoga the vulture. I don't mind the beat, but, I don't think Simba and Zazu are the best singers, at least in this series, that is. I'll give it a 5/10 because there are worse songs than it.
-Ma Tembo is such a sweetheart in this episode and I love her. She doesn't have a major role in the series as of yet, but, it's still clear in this episode that she has a great relationship with Simba and the Royal Family. I'm glad she had a bigger part in Season 2. I also love her voice actress, Lynette DuPree (R.I.P) and I think she's one of the best in the series. I love how she makes her sound genuinely sad during the procession and then a little bittersweet during the "poop" scene. Also, shout out to the moment where she wraps her trunk around Simba.
-Also, call me childish if you want to, but I actually love it when Simba actually says that Aminifu had "poop on him". I mean, it just gets me because that's not something you'd say at a funeral and the fact that the elephants took it really well and actually laughed hysterically is genuinely hilarious. Like, even his daughter admitted that he had always had faeces on him. It was funny because of how much Simba feels like he screwed up, but, then, the elephants had a really good sense of humour about it.
-Also, this episode makes me wish that at least someone went to the Elephant Graveyard during this series. Maybe Aminifu's funeral could've been there and Simba and Nala would've had to go the place where they almost got killed as cubs or maybe even Kion and the Lion Guard would have to go there. It's such a missed opportunity. Or if Janja went there then maybe he could've learn that Scar betrayed his ancestors long before the events of The Lion Guard. But, speaking of the Elephant Graveyard, I bet Ma Tembo's herd are going to wait for Aminifu to decompose and then carry his remains to the Graveyard because that's something that elephants do if a member of their herd dies outside of their designated area. I like to think that that's what happened after this episode. I just wish they had the funeral in the Elephant Graveyard and we got to see Simba and Nala go there as adults, but, I'm not going to fault this episode for not going in this direction.
-Zazu, "I'm not sure Sire, but, I think you just said he had.... {quietly} poop on him...." Try not to judge me too harshly, but, I just find poop jokes hilarious for some reason, as an adult.
Cons
-First off, I don't like how Kion and Kiara were both dumbed down for the sake of plot-convenience for much of this episode. I get that they're still kids, but, Kion's plans to move the bees instead of the elands was the most stupid idea I've seen in the series. The literally just had an episode where Kion calls out his best friend, Bunga, for making bad decisions and now it's Kion who made a really dumb decision. I mean, that should be bee rescue 101, don't try to move a swarm of bees, they do not like, and the fact that Kiara spells it out for them before this scene, "....if the elands step on the beehives, they'll get stung.... there could be chaos." She's speaking nothing but facts. Kion should've realised that they shouldn't have tried to aggravate the bees. I don't like the fact that he acts cocky and dismissive towards Kiara, when she was so obviously right. However, Kiara was dumb to go into the Outlands alone to see Janja. I mean, I admire her willingness to give strangers a chance for peace, but the fact that she had her suspicions about him and she already knew what he was like, in accordance to the pilot episode, wouldn't she see reason to bring Tiifu and Zuri along for backup.
-I don't like how this episode seems to indicate that Simba favours his daughter over his son. Between the pilot episode and this episode, it seems like he sees Kion as a just a Child Soldier and doesn't actually love him equally. I know it's obviously not through, but, I don't like how he gives off an impression that he has favourites. Parents don't have favourites, unless you're an evil lioness named Zira and you give your youngest son everything, but then treat your eldest son like dirt. But, Simba isn't like that. I don't like how he says "I have faith in you," in such a way that gives off Parental Favouritism vibes. I'm really glad he doesn't have this in any of the later episodes.
-I hate the way the writers tried to do the Kion/Scar and Kiara/Mufasa parallels in this episode. I just don't like it being used as a plot device. The series makes a point to say that Kion is nothing like Scar and how he would never take his anger out on his family and friends. I don't mind Kiara being like her grandfather because he was a great king in his day, but, I don't like how the writers made Kion and Kiara have a similar relationship that led to Mufasa's fall. Also, one thing I loathed early on in the series is the fanart of Kion brutally murdering Kiara in rage, just like Scar murdered Mufasa. I just hate it so much because it would happen since Kiara and Kion have a caring relationship, where they do bicker like siblings tend to do, but, they would never turn on each other.
-I don't like the part where Kiara and Kion were outright malicious towards each other. All the lion cubs in this episode were quite mean-spirited at times. Kion and Kiara for obviously constantly fighting and being horrible instead of admitting to being wrong in certain situations, like the bees and the elands and the Janja situation. Kion is too cocky and overconfident about the bees, for my liking, and Kiara allows Tiifu and Zuri's influence to get her head and ends up believing she's always right. Kion only adds fuel to the fire by yelling at Kiara and then callously running out her instead of being upfront with her about Janja's true intentions. I get that siblings don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but, I don't like Kion and Kiara constantly being scumbags to each other and not giving things a second thought until the end. Mufasa had to be the one to put an end to the "sibling drama".
-Tiifu and Zuri were the worst of all, in my opinion, and I think all of you guys will agree. They were pretty annoying and obnoxious in this episode. They were very disrespectful and condescending towards Kion just because he's not a queen, and they caused Kiara to be disrespectful right back. Kiara doesn't strike me as disrespectful without these two around. I'm glad she actually stands up to them in later episodes rather than being influenced by them. Zuri is my least favourite of the two of them, she comes off as super mean-spirited and bitchy, and Tiifu comes off as domineering and rude. I don't like the way they talk down and belittle Kion and how they throw shade at anyone who believes Kiara is wrong. They act like stereotypical Mean Girls, but, the annoying kind. Plus, they weren't very good friends to Kiara for letting her go into the Outlands alone without a second thought about the fact that it might be dangerous. That doesn't sound like Tiifu. Remember how in the pilot, she was deeply concerned when Kiara was trapped by the gazelles. But, here, the stakes are much higher, and she's up against a much bigger threat and Tiifu and Zuri don't seem to give a damn. I'm glad Kion called them out on this behaviour before leaving. What I wouldn't give for Tiifu and Zuri to be captured by Janja instead, not to get eaten, but just so they can see how dangerous it is. It's episodes like this that make me wonder are they her actual best friends or are they just using her to hang out with the Royal Family. Kiara deserves better than these self-entitled bitches, in my opinion.
-I feel like Kiara should've been the main focus of this episode instead of Kion. I know this only S1 Ep4, but, I still think this should've been a Kiara focused episode, rather than a brothesister episode. I would've been interested to see Kiara take centre stage and the Lion Guard take a back seat. Then, we could've seen more of Kiara's apprehension about becoming Queen and her trying to make all the decisions without Simba around to guide her, and most importantly, see her trying to decide what sort of Queen she wants to be. I would've loved if Kion tried to be supportive of her and tries to help her watch over the entire kingdom, instead of saying "Screw you Kiara, go get herself killed if you want to and my friends hate you." I would've liked to see that explored and maybe have them be a little bit annoyed at each other, but without making them really malicious. Also, have Tiifu and Zuri be in their annoying phase and for Kiara to realise that her "so-called" friends are not being very good friends to her, and have her ditch those bitches at the end of the episode. Then, have Kiara and Kion make some big decision together that really develops their relationship, in the future.
-I don't like how Simba is portrayed for much of this episode. I know, he was mourning the loss of an old friend, but I really don't like angry Simba moments in this series. I don't like the fact that all Zazu was doing was trying to help him practice his eulogy and Simba gets frustrated and roars in his face. I hate it when he throws tantrums, as a full-grown adult lion. I hate the idea of Simba regressing more into his evil uncle as of this series. I know he's not, but, I hate it when acts like it. Zazu, bless him, was just trying to help and Simba took out his rage on him. I do not like it when Zazu has to be the butt of all the jokes. I don't like Simba being a headstrong asshole in The Lion Guard.
-I also don't want to point fingers, but, if Simba hadn't left his semi-young daughter to rule over an entire kingdom for a few days, none of the conflict would've happened if he left Kion and Kiara with a responsible adult, like Rafiki or Basi or someone, just to keep an eye on things. I wouldn't leave kids their age home alone for even a day or more than an afternoon. If they had an adult in Pride Rock with them, the arguing wouldn't have spiralled out of control the way that it did. Also, this makes no sense with Simba's character in TLK 2. This is the same guy who sheltered his daughter the whole time she was growing up and wouldn't even let her explore more than 2ft from Pride Rock or even leave Pride Rock, at another point in the film. In this episode, she's still a cub and he's okay with leaving her to look after an entire kingdom for days on end! Yes, he did show hesitation, but that was after he and Nala had already left the Pride Lands. This episode fails to show just how okay he was with leaving his preteen daughter in charge of the kingdom for a few days with no adult supervision. Also, this episode and the series fails to explain how he regressed back into his over-protective state of mind in the second half of TLK 2.
-A minor complaint I have. This is a very minor nitpick. But, the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands that was established in this episode is very confusing. This episode implies that the elephants live approximately a two or three day walk from the Pride Lands, enough for Simba to outside of the kingdom, when in other episodes it's actually a part of the Pride Lands, just barely on the outskirts of the kingdom. I also don't get why the writers made it seem like Simba, Nala and Zazu took like a day or less to arrive at the elephants' funeral. There's no indication that they were travelling at night or that they ever slept. However, I understand, the writers just wanted to show some of journey and then transition to the day of the funeral, so I won't fault it to harshly. However, I do wish that the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands was consistent. This episode makes it seem like that whenever Kion and his friends have to help the elephants, it would take them a whole day to arrive on the scene. But, that's just a small criticism I had with this episode.
Overall
So, overall, I did always thoroughly enjoy this episode. Even as a kid, I could not stand the fact that Kiara got a lot of hate in the Lion Guard Fandom and that loads of people blamed her, just her, for a lot of the drama in this episode. Kion and Kiara shared 50% of the blame each and I think that Kiara is overhated. Anyways, I did like Kion and Kiara interacting like real siblings and slowly learning how to work together, it felt a little bit like a prequel to "Baboons" and "The Trail to Udugu", in that way. I like the lesson about learning to communicate well and to listen to one another and that they were both in the right and wrong, at different points. I liked the loving sibling dynamic at the end and the friendship with all the Lion Guard. I like the sense of family between Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kion at the end. Janja poses as a genuinely threat to Kiara. I think the humour was pretty solid as well and the educational value. I liked the worldbuilding aspect and the elephants' relationship with the lions. Aminifu is a cool headcanon character. The only parts I didn't like were, Tiifu and Zuri were unbearably annoying in this episode and weren't very good friends to Kiara. I don't like them being stereotypical Middle School girls. I hate their disrespect and belittling towards Kion and their toxic influence on Kiara. I didn't like Kiara and Kion's maliciousness at the start or the fact that the writers tried to draw Mufasa/Scar parallels. I don't like angry Simba at all in this series. I hate the fact that he gives off Parental Favouritism vibes in this episode. I don't like the fact that Kion and Kiara were hit with the idiot stick in this episode. Simba and Tiifu and Zuri are kind of at fault for all the drama in this episode. The song was just decent, not the best not the worst. Overall, I'll give this episode a 6.5/10, it's not perfect, but I think it deserves more love in the fandom and I think there are way worse episodes than it.