Women taking clothes off videos

This probably isn’t the right subreddit but I got banned from vent for some reason. The title didn’t mean I’m just like a dick that spreads misinformation I meant I lie about myself. So I’m going to explain when I first noticed I physically can’t tell the whole truth about myself and my whole thing so this is going to be so long. So in 5th grade I hated school and I would cry to my mom begging not to go and eventually my attendance was so bad they threatened to take my parents to court. The school got me a counselor I would see once a week to talk about my problems and help my attendance, it did help my attendance but still lots of hours missed. When I first had my counselor I would tell them the truth that I was afraid of school and wanted friends and all my problems with school. I had this counselor in the summer and 6th grade. At first 6th grade was hard for me and my attendance became pretty bad again even with the counselor. I was able to bring my attendance and grades up a little bit and my anxiety started to go away once I made my first friend that year towards the end of 6th grade. Me and my friend hung out at his house and eventually we made a group of friends and we were all chill and I was pretty happy. That summer we went to carnival together and we had a couple sleepovers, there was no beef and it was pretty nice. The end of the summer I still had my counselor and the next school year started, 7th grade. I remember being really nervous because I everyone I knew said that 7th grade was the worst year of their life’s and the school year was gonna suck. The year started out pretty good we were all still friends and so far it wasn’t as bad as everyone said. By November me and one of the guys in the group got really close we were homies. We would call everyday after school and play Xbox and shit. I remember towards the end of November I started liking this girl in one of my classes. I never really had friends when I had crushes before this so I would just look at them in class never talk to them,get their number, etc. my friends started to notice that I liked someone and kept trying to get it out of me. The one guy that I got really good friends with in the group told me that he liked a girl to and we should tell eachother. I eventually gave in and told him on Snapchat. I told him and he told me. I thought it would some quick thing and we would move on. The next day at school all he did would tease me about it and act like he would tell her. I know that it is normal so I was fine with it because I thought he would tease me for a couple days and that’s it. He ended up teasing me for the rest of November and December and I didn’t do anything about it. We went into winter break and I got the girls snap (not by asking her just finding her on my quick add.). Me and my best friend from the group would continue playing Xbox all day and hanging out over winter break. At the time (December 2022) I had pretty low confidence in my hair because it was just some flat straight side part and I got some sea salt spray for Christmas that made my hair the fluffy hair i always wanted and I got a confidence booster even though I was still fat and ugly. I came back to school with my hair looking really good and got some compliments and I was pretty happy. My best friend that would tease me about my crush would start taking really bad pictures of me and horrible ss of my face on FaceTime and would post it on his story where my crush was added on his account. Obviously he was doing this to be a dick and lower my self esteem. I started to notice around February that my best friend was a complete dick but I thought it was funny and kept being friends with him. In February i started to get a little popular and people had a nickname for me and I knew that they didn’t actually like me and it was like a joke. Also at this time my best friend convinced the rest of the group to sit at the table next to his crush. We did and my crush happened to sit a couple tables away from us and Im not sure if he made us sit there because of that or because his actual crush. Also around this time my best friend convinced me to unfriend someone from the group and I did. I felt really bad for him and I still talked to him. When the best friend found this out he basically said over text when we were on the bus that I feel betrayed and we are done being friends. I was so upset and while I was on the bus I looked at his story and it’s him exposing all my secrets. Everything I told him was on his story. My crushes name, my dark secrets, everything. He also posted most of the bad pictures and apparently when I told him crushes name in November he was doing some glitch where he could ss and not tell me. I just turned off my phone and was holding back tears on the bus full of people, when the bus got to my stop I just quickly and quietly walked off the bus and walked to my house. I was mortified and just went to my room and cried, the hardest I cried since 5th grade. I thought my life was ruined. He called me and said he deleted the stories before anyone saw them and I became his friend again🤦‍♂️. I was scared because he had the other horrible photos of me. Shortly after i just forgot about the story and me and him and his crush and her friend hung out. We just got ice cream and went to a playground.his crush handed me a vape and told me to hit it. I don’t want to seem like a pussy so i did. I didn’t inhale it and apparently she was recording and sent it to my best friend. Later that night I saw the video on his story and was mortified and told him to delete it and he refused and the next day at school everyone was making fun of me for a month. It was so embarrassing. The thing that pissed me off the most about it was the fact that half of the school vapes and no one made fun of them. I never told my counselor about it and she thought I was doing good enough to end her being my counselor. That is when I truly noticed that I’m a really bad liar. She thought I was doing my best even though I was at my worst. The rest of the school year went okay but since I was kinda popular I started to get bullied more and more about my weight. All my best friend did was make fun of me even though he was fat too. People started to take pictures of me in class and sent to their story and me to make fun of me. I started to go to the gym and some kid would help me out With my diet and at the gym. Me and him started to become friends and he convinced me to join the football team the following school year. So I got a physical at the end of 7th grade and was determined to join the football team. I wanted to gain respect,become more confident, lose weight, become stronger,faster,etc.so at the end of the school year I became kind of happy again. My family was praising me because I would go to the gym. I wanted to lose like 30 pounds in like 2 months or something crazy like that. The start of the summer was good, i would work out a few times a week. In late June my whole dad’s side of the family pays for a week in a really good and big air b&b and it’s really fun. My best friend and I didn’t talk much during the first half of the summer and he kept trying to call me when I was swimming, fishing, talking with my whole family,etc. and I got pissed and texted him something along the lines of “can you fuck off im on vacation get off my dick.” And he left me on opened and really didn’t talk for the rest of the summer. I realized my gym partner was a dick along too and wasn’t trying to help me at all. Long story short I lost a few pounds by the start of football season. The first practices were really hard and I hated it. But by a couple weeks in I started to get more stamina and strength. By a month into footballl season my ankles were really fucked up because the only cardio I did during that summer was jog a mile or something but in practice we run so much in heavy pads and uncomfortable cleats. I was never good I was always a back up. I had practice every single day after school was so tired but couldn’t quit. My best friend who was a dick that me and him started to drift away from each other thought we were still homies the next school year and I didn’t want to tell him that we aren’t cool any more so I just acted like we were chill and then was at practice for 2 hours after school then went home and had to do homework and repeat the next day. I hated my life at this point so much. I didn’t enjoy playing football, I sucked at it and was made fun of for it, etc. towards the end of the football season I got hit really hard and went to a head doctor appointment a couple days later and had a concussion. So I basically just quit the football team. Everyone on the team called me a pussy and said I quit even when I told them I had a concussion. I would go home after school in the first time in months. I realized I was so depressed and how I have no one I can trust. There was no classes with any friends, either my class was complete assholes or weirdos. Lunch was awkward because of my “best friend” thinking we were still locked in. There was no good part of the day for me I hated the way I felt but I would lie if someone asked if I was good. At this point it was October and I was in the verge of suicide. There was no good part of the day, I go home get yelled at for my grades eat and cry myself to sleep. I realized I was going to end my life if I didn’t get out of my school. I found an online school and started to beg my parents to put me in online school. They immediately refused but after a month and half of begging they agreed. I started the school by end November and was really happy for a couple of weeks then started to become depressed again by end of December. Now in may im more depressed than I ever was, I’m not suicidal but I have no friends and not going to talk to my parents about what im going through . I feel so alone I have full on conversations with myself and my lying is so bad I lie to myself went I’m venting to myself. I hate myself so much that I can’t even tell the truth to myself and it’s so bad. I make the situation sound better in my head but it’s not. I think online school was a mistake but if I stayed in the school I was in I probably would have taken my own life by now. I can only think my best friend was just praying on my downfall and he won. I am moving to a new town later this summer and I’m hoping I can start a new life there and not be such a pushover. I’m sorry that this is so long and bad grammar. This is more than just low confidence and lying but I need to talk about myself. If you read this thank you

I wrote out and edited the story for 5 hours with context on how I got screwed over by a friend of 10+ years, but even with a throwaway and vague detail, I'm scared they'll find it before I get a chance to get advice here and find my solution.
If they do find this somehow- Sorry. This is how I felt. I hid it, but now I need help.
To keep it briefer than brief (this is leaving out a lot), I moved in with two friends of 10+ years, the neutral party (x) and the one I'm having difficulties with (y) and their partner (z). Thought it would be okay, especially since Y and I had lived together previously on campus for a year, but I'm realizing we never had to mix finances or relationships then.
X and Y lived in this home for a year before I moved in taking over the other person's spot on the lease.
Y recently started dating Z after flirting for some time. It became evident after moving in that Z only went home once or twice a week.
Over the next few months, Z was only going home 2-3 times a month but still not paying rent or utilities.
Y and Z left trash in the garage and forgot about it in the middle of summer which caused maggots to fester in the corner and made everything smell like decay instead of putting it on the 2nd story back porch until pick up. My partner ended up being the one to clean it because their PC set-up was in the garage, and they didn't help or offer a sincere apology.
There were always leftovers on the stove, and in the fridge for months, getting moldy until I tossed them. Y and Z don't even like leftovers, so I don't know why they ever kept them. They only did dishes maybe 2-3 times in the whole time we all lived there.
Doing laundry was a nightmare. The machines were in the bathroom downstairs (X, Y, and Z all lived downstairs, and my partner and I were upstairs). I worked overnights and didn't want to wake anyone since they had dogs that would bark at the slightest of sounds. I did most of my laundry on days off, but even then, but washing machine had dirty clothes in it 90% of the time and was half or nearly full of unwashed dirty clothes 50% of the time. I didn't mind washing a couple of things with mine but when it was full I had to run the load (often Y's) before I could even start mine.
Overall, there wasn't much effort to keep the house tidy or clean by Y, and Z did their part downstairs, but never with anything upstairs.
Financially screwed over because Y and Z decided they wanted to get their own place a couple of months after we finally asked Z to pay rent. Wanted to move out a month before the holidays even though none of us had any savings.
Negotiated the move till after the holidays. Then my life fell apart for unrelated reasons, and I had to take a lot of time off work.
X gets an offer to graduate school and now has to move one month after the initially agreed-upon month. We decide we can scrape up the cash to afford one extra month without Y and Z. Y and Z say they'll stay the extra month too since they're still looking for a new place.
Suddenly, they're moving out and not staying the extra month. I guess their way of telling me was to complain about an apartment manager being difficult with an application. I figured they were putting in an early application since they didn't mention moving at all.
Now we have to scramble to find the money we don't have to not only move but cover an extra $700. Then I lost my job the same week. My partner and I had to resort to borrowing money from family. One of the hardest things to admit when you were just doing so well.
Y and Z said they were moving out early to be able to help clean before the move-out to get the security deposit back, didn't come back to clean or finish moving until 4 days before we had to vacate. Didn't get the last of their things until the evening on the final day of the move-out.
I should've addressed the issues as they came up, but it's too late for that. All these issues and trying to keep the peace put my mental health in the worst place it ever was. The worst part is they don't even know it.
Now Y wants to catch up and talk like normal, but I've emotionally removed myself from the friendship. A lot of family and other friends who are around me and know the full context have told me to cut contact. I've been keeping it to a minimum because I just don't know what to do now. I'm bitter about everything and feel betrayed, but I know Y knows none of this and even if I did cut off contact, I would want them to know the reason. But the whole reason I never brought is because I feel like Y takes any kind of criticism, no matter how lightly it's delivered, as a personal attack and shuts down.
X is still trying to be neutral about it but was also hurt and betrayed in the end especially when we had the rug pulled out from under us in the last month. Again, a lot is missing here since I don't want to air out all of our dirty laundry online, but I genuinely just don't know how to navigate this without dragging X in.
So, I guess my question I would like advice on is
a) Do I keep this friend in my life and try to resume what we had after a conversation about what went on in that home?
b) If I do talk it out, how do I bring up and navigate this conversation without it feeling like an attack?

Anyone else out there thinking Taylor and Matty have been a couple MUCH longer than anyone has realized?
I’m certain there are people here much more versed in all this stuff, so please share your thoughts on this.
I don’t know that you could have convinced me a month ago, but then TTPD came out and there was Taylor’s seemingly erratic behavior those first 3 nights at the Paris Eras tour. I’d not thought about it until this ridiculously fake Travis Kelce relationship, but I realized…If Travis isn’t real, what about Joe Alwyn and the others that came before?? So I read into the Matty and Taylor lore online, and really listened to both of their music with a new ear. I think they’ve been speaking to each other and to to US for a long time through their music, telling us they are together and laying out all their love and their strife. Also, it’s possible they really did split up after the 2023 debacle, and Taylor really is trying to get Matty back right now. I mean, her song really says it all “i’mgonnagetyouback”. Still, that doesn’t take away the fact they may have been together for years prior.
It’s possible they have been a couple as far back as the early 2010’s (with at least 1-2 breaks up that they sing about). They both reference a love that they don’t remember how they met, and it’s possible they met at an early event when they both were building their careers. At that early time tho, they were both curating such opposite images of themselves that I’m sure their PR teams were not okay with them as an out couple - Taylor being America’s Sweetheart and Matty being a smoking, drinking rock star heathen. Their PR agents prob told them it was bad for their brands to be public. So into secrecy they went, not predicting that a decade later they’d be still together, much older now and wanting to settle down with each other. But what a tangled PR mess they found themselves because they’d been in hiding so long, and esp so when they rushed Matty out to the public. We all saw how well that went.
There are a lot of lyrics and music videos that elude to their relationship, but it’s the lyrics of the 1975’s song “Roadkill” that really confirmed it for me:
“And they’re playing your song on the radio station “Mugging me off all across the nation “ “If you’ don’t eat, then you’ll never grow” (A line they both share back in forth in different songs “I should’ve learned that quite awhile ago “I know it gets hard sometimes “Making out with people that you don’t like “I know you don’t feel alright…… “You know, I didn’t feel alright “Until you spoke to me “You “I’ve been waiting for you “My whole life, waiting for you
There are a lot of other songs and examples but that one right there really spells out they’re in PR relationships and feeling miserable about it (it was released in 2020 and they were both “In a relationship” at the time, ie in a fake one). It’s actually sad because Matty frequently mentions being in love with someone “his whole life”, and sings “I’ve been in love for ages, I fell in love for her in stages, for ages, my whole life”. If they did start dating around 2011 or so they would have been only been around 21 years old, and that could feel like being in love with your person your whole life.
I am not a Swiftie but I am a 1975 fan and I do like some of TS’s work. But someone out there surely knows more than me on on this. Most fans agree that there are several songs of the 1975 that were written for Taylor, esp on their most recent album. Personally, I think a lot of 1975 songs potentially point to Taylor - hell, most of them really. I listed a few if you’re curious.
Settle Down! Robbers Way Out The City Somebody Mine The Birthday Party Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America

I’ve been taking vyvanse since january. Starting with 10mg, moving 20mg, now I’m moving to 30mg and now I really feel like it has hit that “therapeutic” threshold. In the past it felt more like a well being boost but now I’m way more productive but with a caveat.
I hyperfocus and work to an insane degree. If I’m doing nothing, my brain autopilots to folding clothes or doing anything. But it’s hit a point where my mind is always running and I get headaches and feel sick from overworking.
Even in hobbies that I love like playing video games or making music. I get really hyperfixated, which leaves me drained, tired, and a bad headache.
Will I adapt to this, is it normal?

23m, born and raised in traditional church, very traditional parents. Always wanted to wait to have sex before marriage, I even made it 4 years with my ex and we didn’t have sex because we both wanted to wait, even though it was tough. I started dating this girl about a month ago, she knows I’m a Christian and she said she’s been to church as a child and that she has family that goes to church every Sunday, so I’m starting to see some potential in her in that religious aspect.
Last weekend I had her over for a movie night alone, which something I used to do with my ex all the time and we didn’t have a problem, so I didn’t see a problem with this girl. She told me she wanted to change to comfy clothes and she proceeded to take all her clothes off, and one thing led to another, you get it. This was my first time and I feel terrible about it. Although part of me also wants the same thing to happen next weekend at our next date.
My mind has been all over the place and I know it’s wrong, but I can’t shake the desire of doing it again. Does anyone have advice for me?

me and my friend have been going through a rough patch lately. and it’s mainly my fault. i’ve just started slightly ghosting him because of how he acted. my friend would make fun of things about me that im kind of insecure about. he doesn’t know im insecure about it because i don’t like telling super personal things about my self. now i understand friends can make jokes like these and i understand because ive had other friends who acted the same but it never hurt. the difference though is that they would do it but not often maybe like 1-3 times a week. but he would do it about 4-5 times a day and that’s just what i can remember. of course i would try defending my self but there was nothing i could say to him because he was just better than me in every way. not only this but like i said before since he was better than me at everything including the only thing i was good at, which would be video games, he would often make little jokes about my skill. we had started a new game with our other friend and he was just so much better than me. when the season ended he started off at a pretty high rank but i was stuck at the bottom. it took me a couple seasons to reach the rank where he started and he would hold this over my head.
eventually i got tired of hearing this because it made me feel pathetic but i never told them to stop because i haven’t been good at expressing my feelings to people. i developed a deep hatred for him and it felt sickening to talk to him so i stopped talking to him for like. week or two. and i know this sounds petty but since i hated him, seeing him like and repost videos about things i liked made my anger worse. especially considering the fact he would say those things are mid and aren’t good.
despite all this i couldn’t let him go. i kind of looked up to him and he was my only friend i couldn’t just let him go. so i tried to fix things. i talked about how i felt and he did say he would try to change. he said he felt bad about saying those things ( which threw me off because of it made you feel bad why would you continue to say it knowing it was bad) but he never apologized. this whole situation reminded me of when his ex broke up with and it just made me remember some things she said about his behavior that made me question if he will actually change. he said he needs a while to change which made me curious because it shouldn’t take long to change behavior. i had done things similar to what he had done and it took only a couple weeks to change but i understand everyone is different and im willing to wait for him to change because it’s kind of embarrassing to admit but i really care for him. im just curious if things will actually work out or should i just give up now.
( sorry for any typos or things that don’t make sense i will be sure to read over it and correct it later )

Heya, i have an assortment of illnesses including ocd, adhd, anxiety and depression. I desperately need support but my problems feel either too broad to post about in other forums or aren’t allowed to ask about. Im on prozac and abilify currently. My ocd feels more contained with these meds and i find myself with less tics and compulsions. However for years now, Ive been struggling with being extremely exhausted all the time. I cant get myself to do basic things or take care of myself. This isn’t helped by sleeping in a stressful hoarder house on a couch since i was in middle school. (Just turned 26 last month)
I don’t have any idea why im so tired all the time but its ruining my life. I dont even have energy to do things i love; like drawing or playing video games. I feel like there’s something fundamentally broken within me thats unfixable. Ive tried therapy and it hasnt helped either. I spend all day in bed i dont know what i should do now or where to go. Now that im 26 im off my parents insurance and cant afford my medication anymore either. Hopefully i can get set up with medicare soon.
If anyone has any advice or can offer any kind of support it would be greatly appreciated. I have friends but they can only help me so much especially since they all struggle with similar issues.

I’ve been seeing YouTube videos of women getting punched, just seen a video about a nine year old girl getting punched too. Then there is the New York rapist that just got caught. Sometime ago men were pushing people off the subway platform, and I’ve also seen videos talk about immigrants robbing people? Now I’m scared to move there 😭 what’s going on?

Debating with my housemate whether Jack would receive more repercussions for his constant lack of professionalism, misdemeanours & failings if he were female--I say he would, housemate says not. And the more I've been talking and thinking about it, the more I see how the question throws into relief how low the bar is set for male player behaviours.
Imo Jaq Grealish wouldn't have lasted long in WSL. She'd even have been kicked out of the game, and definitely crucified by the media ten times over before that happened: for wearing skimpy kit, for goading other players on the pitch and in the press, for being proudly gutter INT and never doing anything about it, for partying and bingeing to unconsciousness, for not respecting communal safety laws and doing petty crimes, for being a cheating sket and not caring about keeping it private, for using escorts, for selling out, for tacitly standing by abusers, you name it.
If you're a sporty/wlw girl and in the woso fandom then you know that behind closed doors some of the womens' players do party and cheat (often on each other), and some even do have nasty fights on or off the pitch, or tweet bad takes, or take sketchy sponsorships. Speaking as one of them, women aren't all perfect, pure, spotless sweet baby angels who do everything morally right. But whatever they get up to, it's not made into their 'maverick' gimmick or something they flaunt or flex to make them even more money and get attention, like it is for Jack.
In public, WSL/woso players as part of their contract--both business and social--have to behave, act like role models, show integrity, work on their IQ and temper (except Earps, but she gets a pass for being a legend), or they don't get a career--a lower paid career than top-flight male players. It's yet another barrier for entry to clear.
So there's evidently a different--unfair, inequal--set of expectations. And the thought exercise of imagining Jack or any similar male player in that situation highlights it. Barely any of the current England mens' squad would make it as Lionesses--Rice might? Kane? Henderson?
And before anyone says "b-b-but Lehmann!", we're not talking about the Villa connection or the fact that they both have admittedly difficult-to-ignore figures. It's critical to remember here that though Alisha may favour a tighter kit and have a nice 'look', she isn't also an amoral, belligerent, dumb, reckless, exhibitionist, blackout-party gurl as a second career like Jack, and if she were then she wouldn't have been allowed to achieve on the level she has.
tl;dr enough S EXISM 2k25 szn either mens' players should have to act respectable to stay in the game, or women should stop having to and be allowed to go feral. Sick over the whole thing!!

Here is an article I recently published on my Substack. If you'd rather read (or listen to an audio version) it outside of Reddit, you can do so here.
Why jump rope isn’t already touted as a leading running drill tool is completely beyond me. But then again…
I'm by no means an "experienced runner"—having started running in 2021 at the age of 34. So, at the time of this writing, about 3 years.
Despite this, I managed to silver-medal my age group in my first race ever.
And it was a 10k. And I was wearing barefoot-shoes.
And I had only been running before that race for about 3 months.
How the heck did I manage to pull this off?
The answer eluded me for a while. Then I remembered—ah, I’ve been jumping rope nearly every day for 2 years.
But how do those connect?
But first, why the heck would some guy start jumping rope at age 32?
About 2 years before I started running, I took up jump rope really just as a fun outdoor hobby.
Even though I was pretty inactive and a bit overweight, that’s not the reason I started skippin’.
One day, I came across some footage of boxer Lulu Hawton doing some jump rope training.
In addition to her seemingly effortless rope handling skills and rhythmic footwork, what caught my eye was a giant grin that spread across her face about 45 seconds into the video. While she was probably skipping to warm up for a match or a training session, something was abundantly clear.
She was having a blast.
And this was from a prize fighter! None of the usual boxer mean-mugging—she looked more like a kid on a carousel.
So, after buying a $10 jump rope on Amazon, I took to the driveway in my swim trunks (yes, I was so inactive, I didn’t own gym shorts).
And…whoo, did I suck.
After a few months of making puddles of sweat in my driveway as well as wheezing sounds so loud that I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t whistle EMS, I eventually got pretty decent at it.
And I lost about 45 pounds in 6 months—probably also from making some lifestyle changes merely to make jump rope less of a slog. Not the original plan, but hey, not too shabby.
After about a year, I found myself constructively critiquing other people’s beginner jump rope videos.

• “Unlock your boxer skip. Then you’ll be able to skip forever without getting tired.”
• “Here’s how to do Double-Unders, though they’re overrated.”
• “You’re skipping like it hurts. Relax and skip easy. Smile every once in a while and you’ll feel it all over.”

But how did that turn into running?
Though jumping rope is inherently enjoyable, 30-minute skipping sessions of staring at the wall without something in your headphones can be a bit drab.
One fateful day, about 2 years into being student of the jump rope, I began listening to the book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall.
Even before I got to the end of the book, running—just like jump rope— sounded fun**.**
Yeah, I know that sounds counterintuitive—unless you’ve read the book.
“I knew aerobic exercise was a powerful antidepressant, but I hadn’t realized it could be so profoundly mood stabilizing and — I hate to use the word — meditative. If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them.”
Ok, ok—I’ll bite.
I proceeded to dive into all of the normal “Couch to 5k” running programs I could find and took my jump rope to a nearby park with a 1k walking path—sprinkling in running between jump rope sessions.
But something wasn’t adding up.
There was a lot of advice about walk-running to build endurance until one could run a block, two blocks, a mile.
Not to brag, but I wasn’t experiencing most beginner snags.
**“Ah, I know why—**I did most of my newbie wind-sucking two years ago!”
This isn’t to say I wasn’t still periodically sucking wind but after two years of consistent boxer skips and double-unders, getting gassed felt like part of the fun and not a medical emergency.
I also felt much springier than the average beginning runner—able to run for miles all over the city in the most minimal of footwear.
And so, I tried my hand at my first race—a donut-themed 10k. And silvered in my age group.
(Ok, there was only two of us…but my time was still respectable. 😂)
Running became an amazingly freeing activity, like getting my driver’s license for my legs.
But I still didn’t understand why running was coming easier to me than the average newcomer.
Digging still deeper, I unearthed another exciting revelation—this time from multi-decade sub-3-hour Boston Marathon runner and one of the foremost running experts on the planet, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella.
“Running with a jump rope is also an amazingly simple drill for posture, balance, and rhythm.”
In other words—form. Overall technique.
Digging a little keeper and experimenting on myself, I discovered just how similar proper running technique and proper jump rope technique were.
Both require:

• An upright, chest-leading, elbows-back, joint-stacked posture
• A soft mid-foot landing directly under your pelvis
• A quick loading and unloading of “leg springs” from your tendons and ligaments to reduce “stickiness” and wasted energy
• A proper supination (roll out) followed by a quick pronation (roll in) of the feet to help launch one’s body
• A steady core without dropping hips from side to side to reduce energy “leakage”

And so many other commonalities. The list unraveled before me on every run.
And like running, without proper technique, jumping rope just doesn’t work—though the consequences are different.
For a jump roper, due to the lower impact, the risk of injury is quite minimal.
Most newbie rope slingers will report sore calves, slightly tender Achilles tendons, and the odd shin splint if they go full Rocky at it. No need to worry, though—most of these injuries see themselves out as the skipper becomes more experienced.
However, for runners, the injury story is more severe.
The next time you’re at a park with a good path, take a seat on a bench and watch the runners. See if you can spot folks reaching far out in front of them with straightened legs—smashing heels into the pavement.
This style of running results in everything from screaming knees, plantar fasciitis, lower back pain, to hips issues.
But why do all of these occur to new runners, but rarely to new jump ropers?
Most new runners commit a major physiological no-no when they begin their running journey: they treat running like fast, aggressive, airborne walking.
“Well, what is it supposed to be?”
Synchronized jumping.
Simply put, proper running is nothing more than a series of coordinated single leg jumps through space with each landing compressing the springs for the next stride.
To compare this synchronized jumping to the aggressive airborne walking of heel-led running, you can test these in just a few seconds.
Step 1: Stand up.
Step 2: Kick off your shoes.
Step 3: Jump up and down three times.
How did you land?
Probably on your mid-foot, knee bent slightly, with your weight stacked above your pelvis.
And did you use your compressed “leg springs” to launch you into the following two jumps?
Oddly enough, if you were to add a jump rope to this, you would on your way to spinning side swings like Lulu Hawton.
If you were to take this same technique one foot at a time moving forward, you would be running in a way that increases speed, preserves stamina (springs!), and drastically decreases your likelihood of injury.
Let’s try the same test with a few tweaks.
This time, jump, but land on your heels.
Your knees probably remained fairly straight and you felt the impact in your ankles, knees, hips, and possibly even your lower back.
Now, imagine attempting to jump rope this way.
It simply doesn’t work.
Not only would there be no second jump due to the lack of spring but the pain would stop you in your tracks—even in cushioned shoes.
But if jump rope technique and proper running technique are nearly identical, what are aggressive heel landings doing in running?
While a jump roper landing on their heels would resemble Frankenstein’s monster in an express lane to an orthopedist, this is how many people perform the aggressive airborne walk—aka, a heel-striking, over-striding run.
But why do we run this way? Well, our shoes let us get away with it.
Thick heel cushioning and a bit of forward momentum do a great job of masking the pain of repeated blows against every joint up the chain—for a while, anyway. Eventually, the chickens come home to roost in the form of stress fractures, meniscus tears, plantar fasciitis, “runner’s knee,” IT-band syndrome, and more.
Not to brag (and maybe to knock on some wood), I have never experienced any of these injuries in my three years of running.
Is this because I’m some kind of running genius with all of the cheat codes? Haha, I wish! It’s simply sheer luck that I started out with jumping rope before running—an activity that shares the same injury-preventing techniques.
So, are the shoes totally to blame? No.
It is possible to run with proper form in shoes with raised, cushioned heels. But it’s not as easy.
When your heel is totally cushioned, you will be able to run with a heel strike in the same way you can hit your head against a brick wall while wearing a football helmet. And in both instances, it will eventually become less about the forces outside of the foam and more about the forces inside the cushion against each other that do the most damage.
“So, how can getting a jump rope help me become a better runner?”
Jump rope is a tremendous training tool for runners for the same reason why running barefoot can also be helpful—the feedback is immediate.
Though running with inefficient and injurious form is possible, the feedback from doing so isn’t so immediate. When it comes to jumping rope, however, you won’t get through too many skips if you don’t learn to utilize the springs in your legs. The rope doesn’t pull punches.
So, get a rope and get started.
If you’re new to jump rope, I would recommend acquiring two pieces of equipment.
Firstly, find a jump rope with a little bit, but not too much, weight to it. The weight will help you feel the position of the rope during it’s entire rotation and remain in better sync with your wrist spins
My favorite rope for this purpose is a 7mm PVC model called the Hererope, which costs a whopping $15. If you find this to be too thick or heavy, a cheap 5mm PVC model will work as well.
Secondly, to protect your rope and provide a nice jumping surface, I would recommend a large foam-rubber exercise mat. My favorite is a massive 78” mat for $32—which is probably the cheapest jump rope mat you will find.
When it comes to footwear, barefoot is ideal. This will help strengthen and mobilize your feet—including your likely overly-supported neglected arches.
And just how does one begin to jump rope?

• Keep a tall posture—imagining a string pulling you up from the crown of your head.
• Your chest should open, elbows back, hands about a fist’s width from your pockets.
• Jump from the balls of your feet, only high enough to clear the rope. When landing, let the skin of your heels “kiss” the floor—touching without taking on weight.
• Keep your knees slightly bent, using every landing to load your springs for the next take-off.
• Keep the cadence quick to maximize spring recoil. To help, listen to a song that’s at about 160 beats per minute, such as the song “Hey Ya” by Outkast (or a song of similar tempo) to get a feel for the speed for skipping rope. (For running, many recommend using “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s for cadence tempo reference.)

Start with short seasons hopping with both feet—maybe 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest. Aim for minimal muscular activation, instead, using the recoil of your tendons and ligaments for suspension and launch as much as possible.
From jumping with both feet, move onto learning an alternating leg bounce—essentially a jog skip. Right, left, right, left—all while keeping an imaginary belt level with the horizon.
By now, you’re essentially running in place with an extremely efficient technique.
Now, apply your jump rope skills to your running!
This is going to seem quite bizarre, but it is possible (and even beneficial) to take your jump rope for a run.

• Start skipping rope on a road or path with the alternating leg bounce. Remember to keep your elbows back, shoulders relaxed, head pulled up as if tugged skyward by a string from your crown and your imaginary belt level with the horizon.
• Then, as though leaning forward just enough to give someone a kiss or have an imaginary umbilical cord lightly tugged, begin to jump rope forward.
• Remember to continue to land and load on your mid-foot—aiming to keep your weight under your pelvis just like skipping rope. Landing on your heels will likely snag the rope and keep your foot on the ground too long.
• As you proceed with this, remember how it feels—the quick foot turnover, the posture, the recoil in your leg springs, the core stability, and the lightness of it.
• In the middle of doing this, simply toss the handles behind you and keep running as though it was still there—still pretending to spin the handles.
• At a comfortable stopping point, run back to your rope—now using your hands in a wood-chop motion to counter balance your leg bounces while keeping your pelvis (imaginary belt) level and stable.

And there you have it!
You may find it quite helpful to return to this drill once or twice a week. Also if you find your form slipping a bit or becoming slugging mid-run, feel free to skip imaginary rope to try to correct your technique mid-stride. It will restore lightness and springiness to your running.
I still find myself bringing my wrists to my pockets and spinning imaginary jump rope handles if I feel my technique is collapsing a bit or if my running is becoming less springy.
And remember, most importantly—have fun. 👍
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You can also:

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I was wondering if anyone could help me at all?? My cat keeps making this sound I can only describe as the “throwing eggs” sound you hear on minecraft three or four times before meowing, and we’re not sure why. I also can’t google “why is my cat making minecraft egg noises” without it thinking I’m insane so this really is a long shot so uh. Any advice or knowledge on what it could be?? I’m getting worried.
I feel like as well as this I should mention she’s been having more frequent accidents lately (namely peeing on my brothers clothes) despite having a clean litter tray and as we got her from my sister who got her from a person who found her off the street (long winded I know), we’re not sure if this is normal for her or not.
We can’t afford to take her to the vet or anything at the moment so this really is my only option I have until my mum gets paid. Any help is appreciated greatly <3.

• Apologies also I’m not too sure of the right flare to use.

Believe it or not, there was a time when people actually talked to each other—shocking, especially for the younger generation, right?
But kidding aside, there's a grain of truth in that jest. I'm a firm believer that genuine connections start with meaningful conversations. I'm on the lookout for someone who appreciates the beauty of communication as much as I do.
About Me: I'm the kind of person who finds joy in learning about people from all walks of life. Whether it's through the pages of a book, the scenes of a movie, or engaging in conversation, there's always something to discover about the human condition. I believe in making every moment count.
I've been told I have a knack for turning ordinary conversations into something a bit more exciting. If you enjoy a good laugh, playful banter, and a dash of charm, we might just hit it off.
I'm searching for someone who knows how to keep a conversation interesting. If you appreciate witty banter, love sharing your favourite cheesy jokes, and aren't shy about throwing in a compliment or two, you might be the one I'm looking for.
If you're ready to embark on a communication adventure filled with laughter, curiosity, and a hint of flirtation, send me a message. Let's see where our conversation takes us and if we can make each other's day a little brighter.
About You:
I do have a type. Currently working on my overall fitness journey during bouts of depression (somewhere between fit and dad bod?). I'm looking for a partnesub who is somewhat in shape or thin. Apparently, someone once told me that I have a thing for dark-haired women with big lips—go figure!
A bit about me: I'm pretty open, dark-skinned, 5'7, black hair, brown eyes, working in IT. Feel free to bounce ideas off me to see if there's a match. I enjoy wordplay, encouragement, and, of course, seeing you. Intellectual stimulation is crucial, and effort goes a long way. Currently learning guitar for fun (what a journey!). I'm pretty much an open book.
If any of this resonates with you, don't hesitate to reach out. Pouring yourself out there isn't easy, but to make sure you've read this far, please include your favourite drink or any books you've read lately in your message!

The following is an original work of fan fiction. It will only make sense if you’ve read Corpies and SP4
“Fucking bullshit cock-garglers!”, Hannah, formerly known as Hexcellent, uttered louder than she intended.
Luckily, she was sitting by herself in a third floor private room in the brand new wing of the Sizemore undergraduate library. On the main floor, any sound louder than a fart would’ve earned a collective, “shhhhh,” and annoyed stares from half the people studying. And frankly, as difficult as these Gen Chem practice exams were, the former PEERS would be spitting out a few more expletives before she was done.
Hannah glanced at her watch and sighed heavily. It was 4:43 PM. She still had two and a half hours before she’d need to head to the lift to meet Devon and Kacey, two other first year HCP students, for some evening training. Okay, you got this girl. You just fucked up some amped criminal supers, you can handle goddamn mass to mole composition formula and stoichiom-whatever-the-fuck, she thought to herself. With resigned determination, the HCP student began swiping through class presentation slides on her tablet, reviewing problems she had trouble with. For a solid 2 hours her eyes never left the material and she honestly started to feel more comfortable with what she needed to know. Hannah was in the zone. That was until she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“What. The actual. Fuck?“, Hannah said slowly as she looked up towards the door and the adjacent window.
The summoner saw two boys standing outside , one of whom was a short muscular guy with dark brown hair that she recognized. She was fairly certain his name Lucas, and that he was another HCP first year. He was in the alternative class though, while Hannah was in combat, so they hadn’t been around each other a whole hell of a lot. The other seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger or on where she’d seen him before. They were each moving their mouths, and pointing a finger at themselves and into the room clearly asking if they could come in. Hannah got up and opened the door.
“Hey, Helen, right? You think that we can study in here with you? All the good tables downstairs are full. I just met Tristan here and he’s in the same predicament as me,” said Lucas before he lowered his voice to a whisper, leaned his head in, and pointed to the boy he referred to as Tristan. “He’s in the same ummm…special program as us. In his 2nd year.”
With that information, Helen realized where she’d seen that guy. He was at the freshman party hosted by the second years. She remembered thinking that he came off as kind of a douchebag by the way he was standing around, nursing the same drink with a smug look on his face the whole time.
“Yeah, sure, whatever. As long as you guys dont act like complete assholes and make a bunch of noise. I gotta focus for about another 30 minutes then the room is yours. Cool?”
“Cool,” the boys said in unison.
“And it’s Hannah by the way. Not Helen. You’re Lucas, right?” She held out her hand towards him.
Lucas politely shook her hand. “Sorry about that Hannah. I’m terrible at remembering names,” he said with a slight shrug. “Just gonna grab a seat on this side so I can stay outta your way.” He held out his arm towards the opposite side of the table from where Hannah had been sitting and started walking over there.
Tristan walked in and closed the door behind himself. He gave Hannah a simple head nod and smirk but never formerly introduced himself. Very similar to his demeanor at the party; as though he couldn’t be bothered.
Yep, arrogant douche, she thought. Then she pictured the look of surprise on the 2nd year’s face if she were to manifest her big furry friend to accidentally-on-purpose kick him in the balls.
Hannah had often wondered if anyone in the HCP realized her summon was the same giant bunny that helped save Brewster almost a year ago. Titan had told her the DVA would hide any association between the tower-sized rabbit and her PEERS persona but she figured that once classmates saw her summon for the first time they’d make the connection. That didn’t seem to be the case though, at least as far as she knew. It helped that when she summoned Hopcules these days, he was about the same height and stature as Titan. None of her combat training took place outside yet, so no one in HCP got to see her manifestation at his full potential size. He’d also taken on more humanistic facial expressions lately and had been appearing in a variety of different clothes and accessories. Hell, the last time she trained with Kacey, the hulking rabbit materialized in a denim vest, a blue bandanna on his head, metal spiked leather bracelets around his wrists, brass knuckles, and with gold chains around his neck. Kacey couldn’t stop laughing during their sparring session until Hopcules had her bound and hog tied. Even with her enhanced strength, she couldn’t break free of what evidently weren’t just plain gold necklaces. It hadn’t dawned on Hannah until later that, the night before, she’d fallen asleep to an old 80s action flick about a renegade cop taking on a vicious street gang. She wondered if tonight her childhood protector would show up in a lab coat, holding a periodic table. The Sizemore freshman briefly shook her head to snap herself out of her thoughts and sat down to resume her work. She’d gotten fully back into her study mode until…
“Yo, does sound carry out of this room?” Tristan asked.
“Seriously?! You do remember that whole bit about NOT being obnoxious assholes, right?”Hannah asked incredulously.
“Damn girl chill. I just wanted to ask my guy here a question and didn’t want to risk being overheard. You should smile more girl. You know what I mean?“
Relax. Breathe. You don’t want to be seen as a troublemaker. It would not be a good idea to kick this fucker’s ass while inside of the school library. Or would it be? No. No. Definitely not a good idea, she thought to herself.
“Well unless you two were standing outside of here practicing at being mimes as a back up in case you don’t make it to graduation, I’m pretty sure this room is well insulated to sound.”
Tristan grunted in indignation and sarcastically replied, “you’re hilarious.”
“I’m definitely going all the way through. No way I won’t graduate,” Lucas chimed in, seemingly oblivious to the tension that’d just arisen between the other two people in the room. I’ve known I wanted to be a hero ever since I was little. My parents have spent a fortune sending me to an elite training camp for the last seven summers to make sure I’d be prepared as possible for the HCP. Plus I’ve had personal coaches work with me for years on new ways to use my power.”
“Bro! That’s what I was wanting to ask you about. I saw the logo on on your bag. Holy shit, did you do the SETA training camps?” asked Tristan.
“Yeah, I take it you’ve heard of it.”
“Hell yeah I have. The Super Elite Training Academy. Who hasn’t? I hear those workouts are so intense. No wonder you’re so jacked. You must’ve been in great shape for your first day here. Mad props bro. Is it true you get to fight against human looking robot…”
“Hey! Tweedledum and tweedle-dickless, I honestly didn’t know there was such a thing as a two-man circle jerk, so I really appreciate the show but is there any chance I can get back to work without any more distractions?“
Lucas had mixture surprise and guilt run across his face. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but then glanced over at Tristan and stayed silent.
“What? You mad because you’re realizing you can’t stack up against the competition. Guess what. My guy here isn’t the only one who’s been preparing for this program long before he was admitted. I’ve been getting ready for years too. Trained in jiu-jitsu and boxing on top of honing my super abilities. Have you even done anything? Or did you just apply and cross your fingers?”
Hannah could see where this was going in. She decided in that moment to just let it play out. Fuck it, she thought. She was basically done studying. Even if she failed the final, which she was confident that she wouldn’t, she’d still pass the class. She stood up, pressed an icon on her tablet touchscreen and began putting other things away in her bag while she spoke. “Actually, I never had any special training as a kid. To tell you the truth, I shouldn’t even be here. I got into some trouble years ago. The kind of trouble that normally prevents one from getting admitted into an HCP. But, I was on a PEERs team for years and I got to do a lot of…
“Ha! You’re telling us you’re fucking a Corpie. Can you believe this, dude?“ Tristan nudged Lucas, looking for his agreement. To his credit, Lucas appeared visibly uncomfortable and leaned away from the other boy.
“Don’t know what it says about your class if they’re letting Corpies in,” continued Tristan with a sneer. “I guess you really do need to study. Obviously you’re the one that needs a back up plan. And here’s another thing little girl. It’s not just about how much you’ve trained beforehand, it’s also about who you know. And I know people. My mom‘s best friend is related to the Hero, Unseelie. So I’ve actually met a few Heroes who I’m sure will vouch for me when the time comes. Pity you can’t say the same. We all know Heroes don’t give two shits about Corpies.”
For a moment Hannah’s face expressed a flat affect. Then suddenly she burst into laughter. And not just some derisive laugh as though she was trying to convey to Tristan that she didn’t take his comments seriously. But an eye watering, oxygen depriving, honest to the Gods belly laugh. The kind of laugh that would’ve been contagious had she been around friends. She carried on for a minute until her amusement died down to a just a mild chortle. Hannah wiped her eyes. “You know people?“ She started laughing again, even louder than the first time. “Oh my Gods. Stop. Stop. I can’t breathe. Is this your fucking power?” Hannah was bent over at the waist still laughing hysterically, holding out one finger as to communicate, “give me a second.” After another minute, she wiped her eyes again, took a big gulp of air, and collected herself. “Woooh. Now that was some funny fucking shit.”
“Who in the hell do you think…“ Tristan started to say through gritted teeth.
“No no no. Please don’t get me started again. I don’t think my ribs can take it,“ said Hannah still chuckling some. “Let’s see what have I done and who do I know? You know I always knew that eventually I’d tell people about this, I just didn’t think it would go down like this.” The summoner raised her hand, then slowly curled it into a fist. Standing 3ft tall and leaning into the corner so as not to be visible to anyone who happened to be looking into the room at that moment, was Hopcules, adorned in the same armor he’d worn on the day he helped to save Brewster. “Look familiar to anyone?”
“That looks like the giant rabbit that fought robots with Titan. Hare-a-clees or something like that. My little sister has like 5 of its t-shirts ,” Lucas responded.
“Wow kid, you really are shit with remembering names. Hop-cu-les is the name I gave him when I was just a kid. Surprised the shit outta me that he came out the size of a skyscraper when those robots nearly killed me and my team, ” Hannah stated nonchalantly as she waved her hand and made Hopcules fade away.
With a grudging realization, Tristan began to ask, “wait, you’re not actually saying…”
“Oh look, captain mc-douche-nozzle is catching on. Somebody give the kid a prize. Yes, dumbass, I’m actually saying I fought with Titan, yes, thee fucking Titan, with every other Hero team in Brewster to stop those mechs from destroying the entire city. I’m saying the strongest hero alive is my personal mentor and it was his recommendation that got me into this program.”
Lucas looked back and forth between Hannah and Tristan having already realized that the sophomore might be one of those guys who’d lash out over his perceived inferiority. Lucas was so curious though he had to ask, “but… But, that rabbit is everywhere these days. Not just T-shirts. Toys, a cartoon, and I just read there’s going to be a next-gen console video game based on his character. If you own the rights to that image, you’d be loaded.“
“Eh,” Hannah said with shrug. “Youre leaving out the movie deal Lenny just got for me, but not something I talk about too much . It leaves me enough to be comfortable and to be able to donate a library wing to the university thats giving me a shot at being a hero.” Hannah responded. She gave Tristan a quick wink and glanced over her shoulder towards the door.
Tristan looked in the same direction and noticed something he hadn’t bothered paying attention to before, a small engraving on the center of the door of a bipedal rabbit. This would’ve been the most surprising thing that he’d seen since he set foot in the room if it wasn’t for the photo that appeared on Hannah’s tablet now facing him. It was an image of five people: Graham De Soto, the new head of the DVA, Titan in his iconic Hero costume, Dean Jackson, a large muscular young man with a shit eating grin who Tristan didn’t recognize, and another person in a generic gray mask, presumably female, and wearing a smile of malicious enjoyment, the same as the women standing before him.
Hannah saw what caught his attention and picked up her tablet. “Oh, did you notice this? I love this picture. Titan called me in for back up as a Temporary Emergency Hero Asset. We beat the shit out of a literal army of enhanced criminal supers and took this picture after everything calmed down. All the other HCP deans were there too. Mr. Desoto actually told me if I ever needed a favor, he owed me one.” Hannah wore a wistful expression as she thought back on that day with fondness.
“Anyway, I gotta get outta here. S’posed to meet up with my training partners. Cause no matter what your background is or who you know, no one is a shoe-in for the final 10. Lucas, feel free to meet us in the combat cells tonight if you want to get a work out in and get tired of hanging out with this fuckwad. Later losers!” Hannah said this last part as she turned around and headed towards door while holding up her middle finger for all to see.
Tristan was obviously livid. His hands had been visibly shaking as he stood and listened to all the ways this 1st year had accomplished more than he’d even thought possible for student. Who does this little bitch think she is? She’s full of shit. She has to be. I’ll show her. From his elbows down, Tristan‘s arms began to darken. In seconds the two appendages looked like small tree trunks, with his fingers elongating into barbed tendril-liked branches rapidly moving towards Hannah.
Although Lucas had worked for years to improve his ability to cast his energy based illusionary environments-referred to by one quirky coach in the past as a “holodeck”- speed was an element that he continued to struggle with. He began to cast a simple illusion of darkness, so as to blind Tristan, but he knew almost immediately that it wouldn’t reach him in time. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw furry white movement. The miniature Hopcules had reappeared and was running towards the back of the chair Tristan had been sitting in. With a parkour maneuver that would make Jackie Chan jealous, Hopcules leapt from the floor to the chair, then from the chair to the rear wall. He torpedoed off of the wall with the force of both hind paws and made contact Tristan’s head, knocking the arrogant second year to the floor. He laid there dazed and confused about what had just struck him as his branches retracted and his arms returned to normal. The summon vanished before he even touched the ground.
Hannah smiled as she exited the room. Thanks be to the Gods. I was hoping that piece of shit would try something so I could have self-defense as an excuse. Kacey and Devon better be ready. I’m already warmed up.

I used to watch this guy years ago and was subscribed to him on YouTube. I appreciated his simple takes on tool care, knife & axe sharpening, best knife blade shapes to get a splinter out, etc. Stuff like that. When he started preaching I’d just hit the next button, same thing when he would pull his guns out. Over time I watched him less and less as he became more and more righteous. Eventually, I unsubscribed and he just seemed to go away from my online experience until this week.
He showed up in a YouTube short with his water meter valve stick and bolt cutters explaining how the Filthy Gubment will shut off your water, none of it made any sense. I started investigating further just to see how far this guy sunk. Next video short I saw was him explaining how to stop the robots with rope in a completely dorky new look and get up, to me looked like a South Park character. Then another video short on guys who don’t wash their Jean jackets (so not ruin the deep rich dark blue color)and put them in the freezer to kill the bacteria.
I read the Rolling Stone article and thankfully I missed the videos where he showed how to make a bomb, the UN helmet tips, the video where he’s drunk bashing women and all the other bullshit like that.
I’ve watched so many people on YouTube go from nothing to complete douche bags throwing cash at everything that was simple in the beginning and became materialistic, but seeing this dork’s anti-gubment angle is a new one to me.

Read the TL;DR if you don’t read anything else.
Before all the context, I’d like to establish that I have already decided to not break up or end any friendships so please do not suggest that as it’s not even an option. I don’t need any help deciding a course of action, I just need help with my own emotions as well as the lack of said emotions.
Context for what happened:
Two nights before I was told, we were all hanging out as usual with my bf (I’ll call him D) at his house and I was having a rough time with anxiety so I went to bed first. It was about 3am when I went to sleep in mt bfs bedroom on the main floor and so they stayed up because they were still pretty awake. I was asleep the whole time. I was told that D and my best friend (I’ll call them S) fell asleep on the upstairs together. I assume it was in a spooning position? Anyway, D told me that he half-woke up to petting S’s back (something he does with me too when we co-sleep) and it turned into nudging, then cuddling up, then D feeling S up, which became neck kisses and grinding from S which ended up with D rubbing S’s clit which he then abruptly became fully awake and went downstairs to crawl into bed with me.
I then awoke in the morning after about… 3(?) hours of sleep and had breakfast, then went back to bed after S left for work. The rest of this first day since it happening was a bit pff but I am fairly oblivious at the beginning of being exposed to an “off atmosphere” or “tension” of any kind so I didn’t notice D feeling weird until S came back from work and they acted like normal (very big-sibling-little-sibling energy) so I suspected literally nothing. The rest of that day was both of them trying to figure out if the other remembered anything and when we all went out for an errand I had to make, food, and groceries, and when we got to the grocery store S stayed in my car but I had to come back to the car due to my anxiety flaring tf up. I asked to be left alone but S got out of the car and I attributed it to them taking my request as literally as possible. I then sat with my anxiety until I calmed down and the two of them returned. They had addressed the situation between themselves in the store. Everyone was definitely feeling off but I didn’t really know the why for anyone but myself. S left immediately after I drove back to D’s place. They ended up parking in a nearby school parking lot and sobbing to W about it before they were able to head home.
Until the next morning when I was told, I genuinely didn’t think much of anything due to the immense amount of anxiety I had been having. I went to sleep early and D tried to stay up for his sibling night ritual he has with his siblings. He joined me in bed about a half hour into the morning they were watching together. This morning he essentially told me what I’ve written down.
Context for the next day discussion:
I haven’t felt anything I’d consider as emotional distress or pain, even when I was told. I only felt really sad over potentially losing the four-player stardew co-op D and I had with S and their long-distance bf (I’ll call him W) I was only briefly sad about it though. Anyway, after comforting D through his confession and the huge emotional anguish he was in, I headed to S’s place to do the same for them. S and I talked about having a discussion with the three of us with W on a video call on S’s phone. D agreed when I proposed this idea so I drove S over to D’s house.
I’d say the discussion went very well. They decided to not just end their friendship straight up and to try and move on from the incident with mine and W’s encouragement. I’m satisfied with this decision. W has agreed as well.
Context for S and D’s dynamic:
S and D have basically become best friends after D and I helped S through a super duper rough time in their life several months ago. S and D both see each other as one of their best friends (D said S is his best friend while S told me D is definitely one of their top best friends) and S felt that the “correct thing to do” was to full stop their friendship with D, despite not wanting to lose that bond in the slightest. D didn’t want it to seem like he was trying to change S’s mind so he didn’t reiterate his feelings to stay friends from when he expressed them in the store.
I relate to S’s attitude as I also felt that I wasn’t feeling the “correct” emotions. But for me, I was super glad to not be upset at all as when I am deeply upset, I tend to struggle with handling said emotions and am oftentimes rendered unable to function due to this. I’m working on it with my therapist, don’t worry. (Btw I’m writing to Reddit as my next therapy appointment is still several days away, I’m gonna bring this up to my therapist, don’t fret)
Further context that I feel is important:
D feels the worst he’s ever felt and I can tell. Neither of them cry… ever. So for them to both respectively sob for an extended period of time as I held them was a new experience for me but I was told I was doing a great job comforting (I’m typically awful at comforting anyone lmao) I am a deeply empathetic and intensely emotional person so I feel the yucky feeling they both said they felt but I don’t feel anger or any betrayal or anything.
Additionally, I have never been in this position before and I’ve already decided and explicitly expressed that I don’t consider it to be cheating. W agreed with me too. We didn’t consider this cheating due to the lack of: * Any true intent/desire * Any deception or secrecy, * Any full on sexual intimacy, oral or penatrative * It happening more than once
Aside from that, the clear intense and incessant guilt, shame, sadness, etc. that they both feel from it all is proof enough that they didn’t want it, didn’t mean it, and regret it deeply. Both myself and W don’t exactly feel betrayed as it was addressed, confessed, and resolved as soon as circumstances allowed it to be. It’s definitely weird feeling so… nonchalant about it all? I’m usually the most sensitive and emotional person in the room at any given time so it’s a foreign experience all together.
D expressed to me that he never even thought the situation to be possible but I mentioned that he’s very inexperienced and seems to have just not known himself as much as he thought he did. I’m his first ever romantic relationship and his first sexual partner too and he’s unconsciously felt me up in his sleep to the point of intercourse several times before.
They each deserve the other’s friendship and during our resolution discussion they both expressed that they didn’t want to just abandon their bond. I wholeheartedly agree and support the decision to mend the torn dynamic as best as possible. I fully believe that I would be absolutely devastated if I wasn’t able to play the new stardew update with the three of them… or any other video games or group activities, really lol. I don’t do well with big and sudden changes like that.
What im asking for advice on:
I have not been upset by this at all and I’m extremely relieved that S and D are healing their wounded friendship. However, I’ve been feeling yucky and it keeps I guess building on itself so I’m feeling yuckier and yuckier as more and more time passes and in top of all that… I think I feel… turned on by one of the details of the incident??? I would attribute this to my past and long ended courtship of S from when they and I first became friends.
I don’t really feel shame about it but I’m not sure how I will treat any future physical intimacy I have with D with this… visual in my mind now. How do I even address that with him??? Do I address it with him????? I am not one to hide or take anything to the grave so I don’t know if I can’t address it at all.
TL;DR: title essentially says it all but note that I’m NOT ending ANY of my relationships with them (so PLEASE don’t comment if that’s all you want to advise me to do) and I’ll be bringing this all up in my next therapy session but since that is several days away, I’d basically just like help on what is described in the paragraphs of the “what I’m asking for advice on” section of my post.
I just don’t understand how to help myself deal with or handle the weird/inconvenient emotions I do feel about all this so can y’all offer any insight to this?

I (25F) am currently talking to a guy (24M) who is super sweet, we have many things in common, including anime and videogames. In person he’s been nothing but sweet, he respects my boundaries and is respectful. We’ve been chatting in person and online for about 4 months. We often talk for hours about our interests and we flirt pretty regularly too.
He invited me on a first official date this week and I accepted, but prior to going on this date I wanted to do some light vetting to make sure he wasn’t a creep and I’m not sure how I feel about what I found.
Since he doesn’t post on instagram, I tried his IG @ on Twitter to see if he had an account and accidentally fell into a rabbit hole.
For starters, he follows 1k+ accounts, 85% of the accounts are alternative or asian OF models, all of them who look absolutely nothing like me. I decided to take a peek at his likes and almost all of them are either super slim and cut OF models with big boobs, or manga style drawings of half naked women with the same body proportions. (He has around 40k liked tweets all similar to this)
I don’t know how I feel about this. I don’t really care about men who watch porn or interact with this type of stuff, but for it to be so heavy handed and almost obsessive gives me a bit of the ick. The other thing is that I am completely the opposite of his apparent type (I am chubby and don’t have much cleavage) and it makes me feel gross.
I’d like to say this didn’t affect me, but I was really into him and now I just feel insecure and uncomfortable in my own skin around him. How can I talk to him about this without him blowing me off and invalidating my feelings?

WOH Month 4 Week 6
We open the show at the studio for the second episode of Tenille Dashwood's Time with Dash!! Tenille greets us, and begins to talk about her two guests this evening…
Suddenly the screen goes dark and A computerized voice is heard. The following message is heard a few times:
We Already Know… You will never see us coming.. We are The Best… We are The Standard And you don't measure up!!
…..
The Sky Pirates come out with the tag titles and the cheers of the crowd. They grab a pair of microphones and say that they don't plan on sitting at home for Revolution and have decided to issue an open challenge to any pair of women on the roster for a title shot at the PPV!!
…..
Women's International Championship Tournament Semi-final match 1
Zoey Stark vs Sol Ruca
The two close friends and tag team partners are the opening match tonight. They hug before the bell rings and then begin to feel each other out. Zoey’s power game meshes well with Sol’s agility. The crowd cheers for both of them as a very good match rolls on.
Knowing each other as well as they do, both know how to tell what's coming next. Commentary mentions that there is no time limit in these matches.
Sol realizes it's time to go for broke and attempts a Sol Snatcher. Zoey pops up and spikes Sol with a spinning piledriver! Then to the shock of everyone, she rolls out of the ring and heads backstage.
The referee has no choice but to count her out and award the match to the unconscious Ruca!
…..
Tony Schiavone and Ian Riccaboni are as dumbfounded as everyone as to what they all just witnessed.. they are trying to get someone to the back trying to get an interview with Zoey.
…..
Shotzi Blackheart vs Xia Brookside
Interesting matchup Here. Shotzi has seen some recent losses and young Xia Brookside looking to make a statement in her first match in WOH.
Quick back and forth but the much more experienced Blackheart takes control. Xia gets a few chances to get back into the match, but Shotzi shuts them all down and takes the win following a spinning DDT at the 9 minute mark.
…..
Back from the break, we see a furious Salina de la Renta!!
“Zoey Stark!! I know you haven't left the arena yet.. come out here now and explain yourself!! I can understand the heat of the moment, I can even understand competing against a close friend.. but I don't understand leaving the match when you have it WON and getting counted out… “
Salina and the crowd wait for Zoey, but she doesn't show. After a few moments, Salina shakes her head and stalks backstage muttering about getting to the bottom of this one way or another.
…..
Women's International Championship Tournament Semi-final match 2
Mariah May vs Tegan Nox
Mariah May was caught off guard by Tegan Nox's ferocity in this one!! From the moment the bell rang, Nox unleashed a relentless assault on her opponent, showing a never before seen aggression! Despite May's valiant efforts to match her intensity, she found herself overwhelmed by the sheer force of Nox's onslaught.
Throughout the match, Nox's vicious streak was on full display, as she ruthlessly targeted May's weaknesses and exploited every opportunity to gain the upper hand. Despite the resilience shown by May, she ultimately succumbed to Nox's relentless onslaught, unable to withstand a pair of nightmarish Shiniest Wizard kneestrikes!! As the final bell tolled, it was clear that Tegan Nox had displayed a new attitude that makes her a favorite for the International Championship and possibly much more in Women of Honor!!
…..
Many questions remain as We head into Revolution next week.
Tegan’s new attitude? What is going on with Zoey? Who will answer the Sky Pirates Open Challenge? Will Asuka be the one to dethrone Jamie Hayter?
…..
Revolution PPV Card
ROH World Title Champ: Jay White vs Malakai Black
WOH World Title Champ: Jamie Hayter vs Asuka
ROH International Title Damian Priest vs Marcel Barthel
WOH International Title Sol Ruca vs Tegan Nox
ROH Tag Titles Champs: Breakker and Alexander w/ Robert Stone vs New Catch Republic
WOH Tag Titles Open Challenge Champs: Sky Pirates vs ????
Austin Theory vs Jimmy Uso
Pentagon Jr vs Nic Nemeth w/ Robert Stone

So on take off, sometimes not sure if always there is a buzz saw sound I even heard that on videos about fear of flying. The thing is that I am flying again on Saturday and I'm starting to feel panic and anxiety I was watching videos of people explaining every single part of the flight and then they mentioned this buzz saw sound at takeoff and how it slows downs as you are gaining altitude but it makes me feel super uncomfortable because it's sounds like we are losing power as we climb up. Can someone assure this is a normal behavior?

So I am not sure if I have abilities others don't or if I am more sensitive than the average person,
Background, I grew up in a haunted house but never experienced anything really outside of feeling like someone may be watching me, I had heard from other family what they had experienced when I was too young to remember.
As I got older I have always been different from most, however I have some mental issues, bipolar,ptsd,anxiety,addiction
I've always had vary vivid dreams from a young age, as I've gotten older I was very depressed and stuck to myself being homeschooled after the fith grade, I got into drugs at 17 and became addicted to various substances plus my mental illness went wild, however I no longer take substances outside of cannabis and mushrooms. I'm also as stable as I can been on medications.
As I moved out of the house at 13 to another I would get nightmares being in the old house and I would be getting tormented by spirits, It started as just a haunted house trying to scare me, then I got mad because of the occurrence and would be in a vivid dream taunting it, never really winning it would laugh or only show itself when it wanted to not me.
In my dreams I will see my loved ones like normal but be able to tell that isn't them and will notice and then my dreams get weird and I either wake up or try to get away, I'm aware now and don't get them as often but it was terrifying at a point.
I got into reading the satanic bible, lucifieran bible and necronomicon, at one point, during this I had a vivid dream I wasn't on this planet and went to a place that was dark with odd terain and glowing green water, however I had a dream I was going into a church and instead of a normal pastor it was a demonic one and had a cloak over his face , I had a rosary with a bone and gave it to him, accepting that I don't have power in my dreams and am sorry for taunting the spirits in my reoccurring nightmares, it went down to know I only have them rarely and know what's going on everytime it happens again.
During my addictions I have experienced sleep paralysis and it was terrifying, like a demonic smoke figure in a cloak looking at me feeding of the fear,
I have had my aunt pass and visit me in my dreams, I have had my grandpa pass and visit me in my dreams, I didn't get to say goodbye, and got closure in my dream, I woke up feeling like the hug was real.
I knew the night before my grandpa passed he was going to had a gut feeling but I decided not to follow that instinct, next morning I woke up to uncle banging the door however my dream was a old guy in a room that didn't have anything, just sitting infront of me no conversation, woke up and my grandpa was gone, feel it was him but didn't wanna show me it was him yet.
Anymore my nightmares if I have them are usually still in the old house and has to do with a spirit trying to take the shape of my loved ones, I have never seen the spirit responsible, only felt it in my dreams and heard laughs when I try to be more powerful than it.
Not super long ago I had a dream a tornado was coming for me at my current house, we had stroms not super long after and while it wasn't my house it hit 30 minutes away from me and my girlfriends step dads house got hit.
I feel like I am sensitive to energy, I can sense the feelings of being watched at times, getting goosebumps and hair standing up not due to the cold but somthing around, especially when I talk to people or give them tarot card readings, I can end up with my hairs standing or goosebumps if the conversation felt like it resonates with me.
I have an amazing relationship with my girlfriend, we I belive are twin flames, so similar, almost like we can read eachothers minds at times and say the same things at the same time often or can guess what she's about to say at times, but I also feel whenever her energy shifts and so does she if mine shifts.
I can sense if a person is good or bad, I can also at times sense somthing bad a long time in advance before it actually happens. Unfortunately.
One of the best new experiences I have had was taking mushrooms with my girlfriend for healing, I do it somewhat often, helped with grief , addictions, mental health, spirituality,
It brings us closer together and helps us both to heal, I didn't know it was possible but we managed to be able to use our energy on eachother while tripping and have what feels like full on sex without any touching involved, it can last for a long time too, this has happened the last 3-4 times we have tripped once we discovered how to tap into each other's minds. It's almost better than having actual sex, I feel like we leave our bodies and full on merge together as one during this time.
Now this is were it gets weird , a few days back we went to a place in amish country and once inside I noticed it felt off, however to not waste money and with everyone posting such good reviews figured we would stay and take mushrooms for healing as we do about once every month - 2 months,
I had the feeling in this house that the loft and basement were bad places to be, like being watched and feeling like there was somthing in this house, not sure what but something the first floor felt the best but still uneasy,
We had grabbed a clock from downstairs, plugged things into this one outlet next to the stairs and clock prior to taking mushrooms, they were charging, clock worked. Outlet worked, downstairs had a weird sad vibe to it ,weird musty smell also Sulphur smells randomly and even the water smelled like Sulphur there was a hornet in the toilet when we got there and had to flush it, also was 2 stains on the cieling in basement, not sure if it was water leak or if someone may have passed in the house and it soaked thru the ceiling of basement.
We wanted to paint eachother as we took the mushrooms, we did this until they started to kick in and once they kicked in we went and started fear and loathing in lost vegas, once I started getting closed eye visuals and working on my innerwork, my girlfriend felt like she wanted to go downstairs to lay in bed,
We stayed in bed holding eachother , bonding, eventually tuning into eachothers energy having sex without actually having it, then we couldn't hold back anymore and actually had sex, however we stayed down there until the trip wore off, it was about 3 am and everything switched on us.
She was feeling really sad and like she wanted to leave this place, I felt like I was being watched down there and somthing bad had happened in the past, I went to go upstairs was kinda afraid to alone but eventually went upstairs because she wouldn't at the time, tried to charge my phone and the outlet and clock didn't work anymore, I had been talking about leaving the house because she was feeling targeted and I felt like it didn't like either of us but like it wanted to feed off her if she went to sleep.
We went upstairs at a point and when I was asking if there were spirit's in the house and that if so I meant no disrespect and will only be staying until we could leave in the morning safely, as I would talk about the spirits seemed like my girlfriend would feel sick, same as being in the bed, very sad while downstairs.
I opened a bible and it was weird it didn't even feel like real paper , it also was moving by itself somewhat like working against me or moving for me to point out things, the clock on the wall was moving way faster than normal after this,
I tried getting her to leave , I didn't want to stay anylonger but knew we had to wait until sunlight atleast, she fell asleep and I was sitting next to her in this erie basement, had to turn the fan on because felt like if it was quiet I would loose it, what's not normal is the fact that she went to sleep and didn't really move, make sounds or anything like usual. I felt like I could hear people upstairs as she was asleep, almost like music was playing or a man signing and it was on repeat it would come and go, such low volume but also loud , the fan in the mix didn't help but I didn't wanna hear it anylouder.
I ended up trying to sleep and kinda did for a few hours but no dream I was hoping I would have a vivid dream of what happened in this house.
In the morning got our stuff packed up and left, before leaving I had used a ghost box. Told the spirit we were about to leave and as my girlfriend was going to the car it talked, then when she came back inside I left the ghostbox going and it talked while we were both there. I told it that we are leaving and this is your house but you are not welcome to come with us. Right as I opened the door I got a whiff of sulphur and as we left the house sulphur smell followed for a while.
Went to a shop got sage, used it before we got home, then yesterday unpacked from our trip and I made the joke about hopefully nothing came back with us from there. I went fishing and used the scissors from the house, i forgot to put them back so I have them. I saged our room, bags, clothes and once I found it left it outside in our burn barrel, didn't wanna risk it being in the house.
Last night we should have gotten good rest tho and we did not so I wonder if it had to do with those scissors coming from that house. 🤔
Anyways, long story but honest opinion would be helpful and on top of that if theres a way to strengthen my senses and all that would love to know!