I (17M) have been suspecting I have ADHD for some time now. It mostly started like 2 years ago I think when my friends said I might have it. I had a way of thinking that I might have it or I might not, what difference would it make? Which is why what actually peaked my interest was the fact that they mentioned that it's possible to get treatment per se.
Just noticed I've created a walk of text yapping about what essentially are my suspected "symptoms" you can skip this if you'd like
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I've only had contact with one person with diagnosed ADHD in my life and they had behavioral problems and had had a person that watched him over in his class, which made me believe that was ADHD, especially with my mom using the fact he has ADHD to explain why he was acting the way he was. It didn't help that my whole life I've only ever heard ADHD being used in a joking manner like when I was jumping all over the place as a kid or straight up being told it's made up by my biology teacher back in primary school.
So I started researching it and I related to most if not all posts on here, on subs like adhdmeme and comics like the ones created by ADHD Alien.
I honestly don't see a big deal with not being able to sit still, sitting weird etc. My bigger problem is my working memory being so horrible that at this point I'm known for remembering nothing and not being expected to. Some of my friends have even resolved to telling me plans only a day before because they knew I wouldn't remember. I always forget where I put anything anywhere and I've been described by one of classmates as "one of the smartest and dumbest people in the class" cause subjects like math come so easy to me I don't remember the last time I've had to study and yet I seem to not know the most basic things that everyone just seems to just know. I can barely even recall my childhood.
I've always thought that maybe it was the pandemic that did something to my memory and my time clock which is equally fucked up but honestly I don't even remember that far to confirm with absolute certainty whether I've always been like this or not.
I also get this weird seasonal depression I'd call it? I'm pretty sure I've read about it here once, it's like every couple of weeks I switch from mostly happy to mostly sad and vice versa. I dunno if it's relevant but I wanted to mention it anyhow.
Tho I'd say the worst is the executive dysfunction and procrastination that I could go on and on about but I suspect most of you know what I'm talking about. The feeling of wanting to do everything and yet ending up doing nothing and the putting things off till last minute or till there's something bigger to procrastinate on like I'm doing rn writing this post instead of studying for my history and chemistry test tommorow. Or the waking up early and yet staying in bed till I'm almost late.
I can barely make myself do anything in my free time which is why I feel like I'm wasting my potential and I want to do something about it before it's too late.
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Coming back to the actual subject at hand. I come from Poland, which is not exactly known for its male mental health awareness and I'm afraid my mom won't understand or will try to dismiss my worries since private therapy costs money. I tried to just mention ADHD in a conversation with my mom and the literal first thing I get is "you don't have ADHD". I've never really talked to my dad about these kinds of things so I don't think I have it in me.
Do you guys think I should try or just wait 8 months till my 18 birthday and go by myself? I also suspect that if it will ever come to the medication subject my parents will be against it which is probably why I'm leaning on waiting. I don't even know why, it's just a gut feeling.
Even now I think I'm getting ahead of myself, for all I know it's not ADHD but something completely different and I'm just inserting myself here for some subconscious need to have a special label to carry. I have no idea and my patience is growing thinner. I always thought that knowing doesn't do anything but now I'm not so sure. At the end of the day something is wrong, I am spending my days doing nothing of value, so therapy would help either way.
I just can't bring myself to ask, to even spark a conversation, I've always avoided things like this for some reason.

I made a post on relationship advice last week. I got the advice I needed. Was apparently too long so i'll try to keep this brief.
Long story short, I met this girl I really liked and our first 4 weeks together were incredible. There was clear mutual interest / a connection I hadn't felt with the 20+ people i'd dated the year prior (I live in a major city where dating apps are the norm). We established early on that we both wanted to take it slow, and that we wanted to be friends first. After 4 weeks, she went cold after a bad, awkward date. After several days, she called me and told me that she wanted to see other people, and that she realized things were moving too quickly. There were apparently incompatibilities that made her lose interest / unwilling to proceed. Which blindsided me considering how close we'd been days prior.
I was obviously devastated. At that point we had made plans to debrief in person and grab drinks later that week. But I couldn't wait and proceeded to do what could've possibly been the absolute worst thing at the time - i drafted and sent an extremely long text detailing all my feelings, reasons why we could be compatible, calling her out on a few things, even offering to be friends. Basically all the thoughts i'd been inundated with those last few days. She proceeded to respond harshly, stating that i'd overstepped her boundaries, that she owed me no explanation for her change of heart, that I'd disregarded both her feelings and decision, and that she wasn't comfortable being friends. She proceeded to block me from everything. This honestly hurt me more than the initial rejection and I've spent the past week processing, understanding this situation.
I've reached a point now where I understand where I fucked up and that her reaction was completely warranted. I'd way overstepped her boundaries, acted completely irrationally, and should've just played things cool and given her space. I've tried really hard to get over it all - the sadness from the rejection but moreso the frustration from sending that letter. I've cried to sad music. I've journaled everyday. I've meditated, run, biked, and worked out every single day since. I've rediscovered hobbies including music and yoga. I've spoken with my therapist, siblings, friends, made reddit posts about this. I even paid $100 for a fucking rage room where I spent an hour breaking things with a bat. I've learned that i'm loved and that I have people who support and care about me. And I've learned from the conversations with those people on how to see the situation and the future - that the best thing to do is to move forward, learn my lesson, improve myself, and most importantly to just go easy on myself and realize that it simply wasn't meant to be.
But still, the feelings remain. I hate myself so much. For how stupid I was in sending that letter. How I could've done things differently. I hate myself for how strongly I feel about this to begin with. It was only 4 weeks! It's just heartbreak. I've gone on so many dates in the past, been rejected so many times. Why do I feel so differently this time? I hate myself for not getting over something so insignificant. People are getting divorced with kids, having their hearts broken after 10+ years of marriage. What the fuck is wrong with me? I'm just so angry at myself and still, I don't know why. I know the best thing to do is to love myself, to give myself the same leeway that I would to those closest to me. But it's just so hard. I've tried a CBT exercise I read here recently where I try to picture a stop sign every time I get these intrusive thoughts, and I feel like they've done nothing but build these feelings up. And after a long run just now, I feel like i'm about to burst. I try to meditate to process these thoughts and emotions. But now, I just want to cut myself. I don't want to take xanax. I don't want to drink. I don't want to take to anyone else for advice. I just want to feel pain because nothing else i've tried works. And i know time will help. But it's just so hard, and i'm so tired. I'm not even suicidal. I don't want to die. What the fuck is wrong with me?

So rare these days to find platonic friendships . I’m open for the other and romance with the right person. But I think it’s best to go platonic . Seeking healthy friendships.
What I like. I like to write Poetry and prose . I love long wrong trips. Exploring used book stores, sight seeing, new places. Love intelligent conversation . I like humor . Banter . Puns, so please don’t be overly sensitive. Open minded and open to chat about anything . I respect and value different opinions different from mine.
A bit of a dreamer a typical Pisces man lol I think I’m a kind gentle guy. Easy to get along with . Dm me if interested. Thanks in advance 😊

I've been a fan of 11/22 and Sky of No Stars for almost a decade now. They're really underrated, in my opinion. Recently been getting into Sky of No Stars more, I feel it would really break me if I ever experience a death of a close friend or relative, 11/22 too but less-so. There is also Bad Heaven Ltd's Cool Hell which I'm listening to right now that made me want to write this post, it's calm but very emotional. If you haven't delved into John Galm's other work besides Snowing, I highly recommend you do so. Snowing is good too, I mean it was the first of John Galm's work I got into, the albums I mentioned right now are different, less energetic. Street Smart Cyclist is good too. I know there is also Slow Warm Death which is energetic as well, it's good too but I've only listened to it once. There's just something about Galm that is so great. Sorry to gush!!
Some songs I'd recommend: Bad Heaven - Backk (Cool Hell) John Galm - Death #1 (Sky of No Stars) John Galm - Satan (11/22)

Heey it's very good day I can send you a my energy and positive thoughts. I'm looking friends in here I want to meet different people different culture İf you want too just text me:)
my interest is Formula 1 also football. I'm listening rock and edm music mostly but I'm open mind haha I can try your best music. I'm Star Wars and LOTR fan. My favorite actor is Keanu Reeves. He is so cool. Also I'm watching "Sopranos" now but my favorite is "Breaking Bad" yeah I know "Game of Thrones" is also good but Mr.White :)) I love walking, camping and visiting historical places. I love history...
Also we can talk about our cultures. I bet you can't guess my country hahaha. if you interested write me and be my friend. I'm waiting you :))

Age 19
Sex Female
Height 162 cm
Weight 85 kg
Race white
Duration of complaint connective issue disorder=all my life hormonal problems 2 years ago
Location turkey
Any existing relevant medical issues hypothyroid hypermobility
Current medications levotiron and monodoks
I realized 2 years ago that i have hypermobility i always knew something was wrong with me but couldnt put my finger on what it was ever since i was a little kid i stood weird, had flat feet that would litterally tear apart my shoes, couldnt write without my fingers hurting like hell, had "growing pains" and was duble jointed ect. I was saying these to my parents but they thought i was overreacting im not gonna Blake them bc they had no idea these were abnormal but i did stop tankını about it however throught the years since i grew out of the ages i would have had growing pains and my problems even got worse throught years i realized i had to look it up. Like anybody would do i first looked at the internet than i went to rhumotologists geneticists physiotherapist i had Xrays done ect but all i heard from the doctors was "sorry idk how to diagnose you" "you need to go to a university hospital we cant help you here" "rhumotology is not the right place for your you probobly dont have inflemation problems you need to go to a physiotherapist" "i know our recomended exercises made your problems worse but we have nothing else to do maybe you should try to go to other policlinics" "your problems cant be cured why are you even trying to get a diagnosis" ect. I know there is no cure for connective issue illnesses but there are treatments that can help my symptoms plus if i get a propper diagnosis i will be able to receive appropriate treatment for problems that can be coused by my illness in situations such as anesthesia and birth. When my genetic test results came i tested negative to all illnesses tested but i heard the genes responsable for hypermobile eds is not known so these tests dont include h-eds in them. I check all the boxes of official diagnostic criteria for eds (the physiotherapist i went to confermed i have hypermobility) but i dont have information about my genetic lineage (im adopted) so i cant say anything about that. I also have some hormonal issues i have hypo thyroidism (i use livotiron) i got slightly higher prolactin (not high enough to be considered hyper) i had mixed results about my dhea-sulfate its lower than usul than normal ect i actually have a appontment in 2 days to a endocronologist and will be giving another blood test 2 to 8 days after my period. I stared to get shorter periods and my period blood is more Red that usual i had a day come in the middle of my periods for the last couple periods my doctor is thinking its polycystic over but i couldnt find a appointment to get an ultrasound im try my best to take care of myself i mean i dont smoke drink use any substences ect i dont eat alot (ik im overweight but i have always been easy to gain weight) im overall very confused and i cant help but wonder if these will effect my fertility if anybody an help me find what it should do next it would be nice bc it genuanly dont know what it need to do🤷🏻‍♀️

Before going into it, I want to mention how this post was inspired by three things. One was user u/HastyvonFuego2 and their post on going down the rabbit hole on the Kendrick sub last week. It was also inspired by Childish Gambino’s first album release in nearly 6 years where I have been sitting on this idea for a while but he inspired me to finally post this week like he did (never posted on Reddit at all before so be gentle if I am not doing it right)! I was also inspired by an interview Bino gave to GQ about breaking down his most iconic characters. In this interview he says how This is America started out as a Drake diss but then he realized the song was too hard for just Drake so he kept working on it. He also talks in this interview about how all culture is about compression. Which means that yes, This is America is about the gun violence and police issues in America, but compressed in this video is also more about where that culture comes from which he shows is from a small handful of rap moguls, namely Drake, Diddy and Jay-Z (bear with me on this long post, I think/hope it will be worth it). At the end I talk briefly about how Little Foot Big Foot might be in this same vein of cultural compression.
[Intro: Choir]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, go away
The beginning of this song has no background music yet, which really gives it an ‘in the beginning’ feel. Then Gambino starts doing his dances with weird facial expressions. I will explain as we go through his video how those expressions and dance moves represent different famous rap moguls. One easy look to pick out right away is Jay-Z’s famous lip curl/growl look that Gambino gives with a head nod repeatedly. The colonial pants have been a hot topic, but since it’s only the pants that are colonial, Gambino is saying the bottom or basis for this violent culture in America is ultimately colonialism. The lyrics ‘Go Away’, are likely foreshadowing the rap moguls wanting other popular rap rivals to ‘go away’ or they will make them (aka murder them) for profit.
[Bridge: Childish Gambino & Young Thug]
We just wanna party
Party just for you
We just want the money
Money just for you (Yeah)
Usually you want money for yourself and to party for yourself, so this is a bit odd. But what Gambino is referring to is similar to these Diddy ‘freakoff parties’ we are hearing about where people who want to be famous are really partying for these rap moguls so they can get close to them. Where they suck up to them saying that they want to earn the mogul money from their songs.
I know you wanna party
Party just for free
Girl, you got me dancin' (Girl, you got me dancin')
Dance and shake the frame (Yeah)
Then this almost feels like the Diddy rebuttal where he’s like ya I know you want to party and you want to do it for free. Like Katt Williams says, “you gotta tell Diddy no”, it is never free to go to those parties. There are always consequences. When you are partying you are dancing, but shaking the frame could refer to how those boundaries/edges are being crossed, lines are blurred, etc.
Then in the video, the fellow who was playing the guitar gets shot and things turn dark from happy music. I believe that this guitar tune is meant to represent 2Pac and Nas’s song Thugz Mansion. It’s one of the original greats from ‘in the beginning’. Nas famously has always had major issues with Jay-Z too (More on why 2Pac and Nas later). It also represents how it was these moguls who murdered 2Pac like Jaguar Wright and Katt Williams keep saying. Where these murders only lead to more money and fame for the killers when the dead artists’ and their music are exploited more easily.
Also note that the gun gets taken away by a school kid after the shooting, more on this later as well.
[Verse 1: Childish Gambino, Young Thug, Blocboy JB & 21 Savage]
This is America (Skrrt, skrrt, woo)
Don't catch you slippin' now (Ayy)
Look how I'm livin' now
Police be trippin' now (Woo)
Yeah, this is America (Woo, ayy)
Guns in my area (Word, my area)
There is a song called Guns in My Area by Lil Weiner and Baby Chapox that paints a vivid picture of the everyday struggles and conflicts faced by those living in communities affected by gun violence. More compression of other songs and the American gun culture.
I got the strap (Ayy, ayy)
I gotta carry 'em
I am almost certain this line is referring to 2Pac’s song Changes. Throughout This is America, Gambino takes lines from Pac’s song: “They get jealous when they see you with your mobile phone” (referred to later in this a Celly, that’s tool) “That's the sound of my tool, you say it ain't cool, My mama didn't raise no fool”
“And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped, And I never get to lay back” It seems like Gambino broke up these lyrics and scattered them throughout his song. This plays into the theme that everyone is using 2Pac and enriching themselves off of his image and music. I show below how this particular section of the video represents Diddy meaning that Diddy himself is exploiting his music (and alleging that Diddy killed Pac?). We could see this exploitation play out at length with how much Diddy milked the death of Biggie like in Every Breath You Take.
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (Ugh)
Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla (Woo)
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag
The song Gorilla War by $uicideboy$ and Ramirez talks about getting a bag repeatedly in the course. Also in Otis with Kanye and Jay-Z their lyrics talk about going gorilla (I talk about this song more further down), so it could be referring to this as well. It seems like Gambino is trying to pull out lyrics from all across the rap culture and embed them in his song to highlight the ‘cultural compression’.
Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like, yeah (Yeah)
I'm so dope like, yeah (Woo)
We gon' blow like, yeah (Straight up, uh)
I think that all of the school kids in the video represent all of the rappers that are signed with these big labels. Which is interesting because they are the ones facilitating the guns for the moguls in the video. You can see that the mogul is really focused on the kids and gets agitated and directs them to follow him whenever they stray off a bit like they are his pupils, or like he owns them. Then all of a sudden the camera comes into a scene where you can see more kids shooting a rap video and all shooting money from a Supreme gun. The camera zooms out almost to show you that this is the mogul’s whole rap empire they are looking over, all of their kids in one place (this empire already includes some chaos in the background). It’s subtle but hilarious, Gambino puts fricken chickens on the ground where the kids are filming the rap video. He is directly calling all of these rappers complete chickens for playing up this lifestyle and being the cause of so much chaos rather than coming out and telling somebody what’s really going on. Trying to get their money over everything else.
[Refrain: Choir & Childish Gambino]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (Get your— Black man)
This is where things start to get interesting. Gambino is literally saying, go tell somebody about this! We all know what’s happening, why don’t you go let people know how bad it is? But like Jaguar Wright said, who do you tell when these moguls have the cops and feds paid off? This video is literally Gambino putting it all out there in this extremely popular song for everyone to see but yet we still just see the dancing and the violent chaos of people and police in the streets and not the root cause that is hidden in plain sight.
The vast majority of those who reviewed this video until now think this scene represents the tragic church shooting in Charleston in 2015. I think it does, but we also have to look at this from an angle of compression.
The people in the choir are all of the people who are currently singing the rap mogul’s praises and who are focused on going and getting what’s owed to them, get their money (who are also profiting off of the dead fellows music since it goes back to the original tune). You can see that each choir member has a distinct look to them. Think about who you are hearing about now who is about to be implicated in these freak offs and evil deeds. Is that Will Smith in the back left corner!? The short bald fellow in the front left maybe Kevin Hart? Rick Ross or TD Jakes maybe the bigger guy towards the back right? When the camera zooms in on the choir right at first to show their faces, doesn’t the guy in the bottom middle look like an uncanny version of Jordan Peele? Or is that meant to be Cuba Gooding Jr? Then just like the guitar fellow at the beginning, bang. You may be singing Diddy’s praises now, but he will cut you down whenever he suddenly feels like it.
I think almost for sure this initial section of the music video is Gambino acting as Diddy, because right after he shoots the choir, he does the elbow pump/chicken dance. At 3:14 in Diddy’s video for P.E. 2000 he does the chicken dance (he is up first in the video and I think Gambino is trying to say here I first present to you the first public enemy of 3 in this song). That elbow dance signals that it was Diddy and this is the end of his section.
[Chorus: Childish Gambino, Young Thug, Slim Jxmmi & Quavo]
This is America (Woo, ayy)
Don't catch you slippin' now (Woo, woo, don't catch you slippin' now)
Don't catch you slippin' now (Ayy, woah)
Look what I'm whippin' now (Slime!)
There have been many accounts of celebrities being given fancy cars after suffering abuse at the hands of these moguls. So these lyrics are saying that you better not slip up and tell people what’s really going on. And if you don’t look at this sweet carecord deal/movie contract I am going to give you. Beiber told this story about Diddy wanting to give him a luxury car.
Now suddenly, the dance switches from the chicken dance to a sudden bicep flex to signal us that we have now moved on from Gambino representing Diddy to our next mogul.
[Verse 2: Childish Gambino, Quavo, Young Thug, 21 Savage & BlocBoy JB]
This next chunk of the video is all about Jay-Z. I think this is the case because he throws his arms up in a bicep flex just like Jay does in the Otis music video at 2:38. And it makes sense Gambino would pick a dance move from a video with a huge American flag in the background to fit the ‘This is America’ theme. Gambino is mocking him saying, who are you really, the pretty guy or this hard gangster like Gambino shows in his dancing. Also right before they pan to the kids on the balcony, Bino also does Jay-Z’s signature lip curl look a couple times so we know it’s him and to signal the end of his section.
Look how I'm geekin' out (Hey)
I'm so fitted (I'm so fitted, woo)
Jay-Z is famous for making the fitted Yankees cap famous, it’s his signature look. More signs this verse is about Jay.
I'm on Gucci (I'm on Gucci)
Jay-Z has been seen in full wallpaper Gucci sweat suits but could also be referring to Gucci Mane who he hung out with at Beyonce’s tour around the time this song was released.
I'm so pretty (Yeah, yeah, woo)
I'm gon' get it (Ayy, I'm gon' get it)
Watch me move (Blaow)
These lines are probably referring to Jay-Z having a hidden preference for men, especially with the way Gambino flicks his wrist in the video when he says I’m so pretty.
This a celly (Ha)
That's a tool (Yeah)
On my Kodak (Woo) Black
I think that “this a celly, that’s a tool” harkens back to 2Pac’s lyrics in Changes where he sings, “They get jealous when they see ya with your mobile phone” then shortly after that he sings about the sound of his tool, referring to shooting a gun. But Childish flips these lyrics on their head. He is saying that it’s really the phone that’s a tool to be using, not a gun. And pans up and shows (the school kids specifically) on the balcony filming everything going on below. He’s telling the kids/other rappers, use your phone as a tool, you can record these bad deeds when you get blackmailed into being at the freak off. That’s how you can kill them and their career, not with a gun. Go tell somebody! There is also the reference to Kodak which plays into the picture taking theme, but also because Kodak Black has been accused of assaulting a teenage girl in a hotel room. So we have a good idea of what Gambino suggests all the kids start filming and collecting evidence of.
Ooh, know that (Yeah, know that, hold on)
Get it (Woo, get it, get it)
Ooh, work it (21)
Now we are onto Drake’s part. In the video Gambino starts doing the BlocBoy JB dance called Shoot. Drake is known for doing these little viral dance moves like in Hotline Bling. But not only that, this dance is also used in the song that both BlocBoy JB and Drake collaborate on for their video Look Alive. It starts at 2:07 in the Look Alive video. So this is Drake’s dance to signal his part is now starting.
Note this is where the pale horse rides by also potentially saying that Drake is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. Interestingly, Drake’s collab with BlocBoy JB was pretty much the apocalypse for BlocBoy’s career, who hasn’t had a hit since.
Hunnid bands, hunnid bands, hunnid bands (Hunnid bands)
Contraband, contraband, contraband (Contraband)
I got the plug in Oaxaca (Woah)
They gonna find you like "blocka" (Blaow)
Again, we know this is Drake’s section because his song 10 bands starts out by saying “10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands” almost identical to Bino’s lyrics here. Also Blocka was famously used by Biggie in his song Gimme the Loot which could be referring to Biggie's demise like Pac’s and making money from his death. Everything in this industry originates from pushing drugs, which has been alleged through the trafficking that Diddy, Jay-Z and Drake do through their private jets likely connected to their bosses, the Clive Davises and Lucian Grainges of the world. This escalates rap beefs and the whole culture to the next level where murder is often a consequence for young rappers in their prime when international drug lord money is involved.
An interesting point is this is the only time where Childish was about to shoot someone in the video, but where he didn’t have a school kid either handing him the gun or taking it away carefully from him. (Maybe also a diss at Drake that even though he acts hard he doesn’t shoot, he gets his horseman of the apocalypse to do his dirty deeds for him instead perhaps?). This is the beginning of the end for the rap mogul as he no longer has his kids doing his bidding for him. A simple message to show how the violence can be stopped, that these shootings can end when the kids stop enabling them. So then as soon as he can’t react in that moment and shoot someone his anger is forced to chill out, as shown by smoking a J, and to go back to exploiting the dead man’s music instead. If you don’t put a gun in someone’s hand when they are heated, those feelings too shall pass - kinda feel.
[Refrain: Choir, Childish Gambino, & Young Thug]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
America, I just checked my following list, and
You mothafuckas owe me
Whose voice does that sound like!? It sounds a lot like Diddy to me, public enemy #1. This is basically saying that the moguls are the ones who we all owe it to for all of this glorified gun violence in America. That we owe them way more follows and likes for what a massive influence they have had on the violence and chaos we see in America today.
Grandma told me
Get your money, Black man (Black man)
(1, 2, 3—get down)
In Moneybagg Yo’s song 1, 2, 3, he also has a line that says “1, 2, 3, let’s go!” in a similar vein.
But something interesting I came across was Nas’s song Get Down where they use a sample from James Brown's “The Boss” that sounds extremely similar to the way Gambino screams “Get Down!” Which would fit well if the guitar singer from the beginning is meant to be Nas and Pac doing Thugz Mansion.
Also make sure you check out Nas’s song Get Down so that you can hear how much Jay-Z outright copied this song for The Story of OJ. From the musical structure with the piano and interwoven samples right down to the theme reiterated by the sample at the end of Nas’s song: “If that’s how our people are gonna get down, how are we ever gonna get up?”
SZA
Finally to wrap up the video, I have been stumped for a long time as to why SZA is randomly at the end of this video sitting on one of the cars. But I think I finally know why and it reconfirms that this last scene is all about Drake. If you watch Drake’s music video for Worst Behavior (not very Canadian of him to spell behaviour that way I might add) you will see Drake rapping and dancing with a few cars surrounding him and one of those cars has other rappers making cameos in it. In Gambino’s video SZA represents that car with a famous cameo. I think this is further confirmed when the black edges of the video start closing inwards at the end of This is America, the exact same way that Worst Behavior ends. So why SZA as the cameo then? Cause it reminds people that Drake is a p*do.
This is from an article in the Rolling Stone: In 2020, Drake revealed publicly that he and SZA had dated over a decade ago, well before she was an established artist (her earliest music goes back to around 2012; her critical breakthrough, Ctrl, came in 2017). On 21 Savage’s “Mr. Right Now,” Drake rapped about a newer fling who was a fan of SZA’s: “Yeah, said she wanna fuck to some SZA, wait / ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08 / If you cool with it, baby, she can still play.” A few days later, SZA responded, corroborating Drake’s claim with a slight correction: they dated in 2009, when both would have been over 18. Since SZA would not have turned 18 until late 2008, she wanted to set the record straight. “in this case a year of poetic rap license mattered 🥴lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait [sic],” she tweeted. “I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening . Completely innocent . Lifetimes ago . [sic]”
If you have to specifically say something isn’t creepy and distance yourself from it being lifetimes ago, it usually is creepy. Drake would’ve been 22 when she was 17. Metro Boomin also happens to be on the Mr. Right Now track. He is currently in trouble for resurfaced old tweets showing how Metro used to tweet disgusting things about what he wanted to do to underage girls. Interestingly, Metro Boomin is also now beefing with Drake.
Drake doing his dance on the car of the original musician’s music seems to be accusing Drake directly of stealing 2Pac’s music. Orlando Brown recently said the cryptic statement that “Drake is Pac” which likely means he stole 2Pac’s approach/style/audience after his death. Gambino did some good foreshadowing here too with the recent AI release Drake put out of 2Pac.
This dance scene also signals that the Drake section is now over.
[Outro: Young Thug]
You just a black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a black man in this world
Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
No, probably ain't life to a dog
For a big dog
The outro lyrics speak to how these gatekeepers keep black men down and control them with things like being forced to wear a dress to become famous or to submit to homosexual/p*do acts.. In the video, as I mentioned above, the black edges close in on Drake’s dancing scene in This is America. But they don’t completely close and end things like they do in the Worst Behavior video. Instead, in Gambino’s video, the camera pans to show the mogul running for his life with Young Thug’s lyrics almost like a quiet echo in the background. He isn’t running from the cops though, he’s running from the kids and from the public. When I mentioned earlier that the kids not handing over the last gun before Drake’s scene signalled the beginning of the end for the moguls, this is that conclusion. Where it is showing that if all the kids come together to stop enabling and rather expose the moguls, people will be chasing these bastards down once we realize what has been going on behind the curtain. Then the song that Young Thug is singing can just be a quiet echo of the way things were in the past.
If you don’t think Gambino would be this deep and that I went too far down the rabbit hole, do a Google search on the calculations that he came up with for why he sings about loving until 3005 in his song. He seems to go real deep with his lyrics. So a big question this leaves us with is, what did Childish Gambino witness in the rap industry? His whole rap career plays out like he is trying to avoid industry norms.
Even in Sweatpants, he has lyrics like:
No hands like soccer teams and y'all fuck boys like Socrates
You niggas ain't coppin' these, niggas ain't lookin' like me (Nah)
Nah, I ain't checkin' I.D. (Nah), but I bounce 'em with no problem
Seems like he is trying to make it really clear across his catalogue of music that he isn’t a p*do but that other rappers are. Where he is saying that he doesn’t need to ID his potential partners because he can tell they are obviously too young and that’s not hard to do.
Tell 'em, Problem (Problem!)
I'm winnin', yeah, yeah, I'm winnin' (What?)...
Rich kid, asshole, paint me as a villain
So who was trying to paint him as a villain, Drake? And that’s why the diss was originally meant for him?
Don't be mad 'cause I'm doing me better than you doing you…
Better than you doing you
Fuck it, what you gon' do? (What?!)
He’s taunting the other rappers cause he knows they can’t say shit if they are creeps. He has the same sentiment in Bonfire “It’s a bonfire, turn the lights out, I’m burning everything you mother fuckers talk about.”
Childish Gambino has always refrained from talking about the meaning of This is America whenever he is asked, and I can only assume that all of this is why.
Little Foot Big Foot
Now with his new release, Little Foot Big Foot and applying cultural compression to it, it has me wondering if he is referring to Megan Thee Stallion and the Nicki beef? People like Nicki (calling Megan Big Foot) have been claiming for some time she wasn’t even shot in the foot by Tory Lanez. There were many people laughing and making fun of Megan over getting shot. Which could be an interesting story for Childish to tell to represent how crazy this violent culture has gotten that people just laugh and blame the victim now when you get shot. Also a good metaphor for things like ‘shooting yourself in the foot’ for not having a lawyer look over potentially predatory industry contracts like in the beginning of his video. That you want to get in the cool kids club so bad you overlook it. Not as sure on this one though since the song just came out and I have only heard it a few times.
One last thing that is really interesting, there have been tons of artists on podcasts like Shay Shay talking about the strings these ultra rich moguls can pull. Like buying awards or gatekeeping people from being in the industry at all. There was even a story, I think maybe it was Gene Deal who told it, that when Killer Mike won at the grammys that Jay-Z was so angry he made sure to mess up his night by getting him locked up as soon as he left the awards stage. These moguls are extremely powerful and have an incredible amount of sway in the world/industry. If you check out Gambino’s profile on Youtube, his old music videos keep getting taken down, like Bonfire for example is just gone. Fans have been having to upload the videos themselves. There is a reply to a comment, on one of the fan uploaded vids, from Gambino’s account himself when someone asks why the videos are being taken down. His account just replies “Noone knows why :(“ Seems a bit odd all things considered and like maybe he has been at the mercy of these gatekeepers for going against the system.
I am so curious to know what the rest of you think about all of this!

Yeah, basically what the title says. Get to talk to someone, we're a perfect match, when suddenly:

• They disappear
• They start asking for money (swear on my pinky toe this happened)
• They leave despite saying they wouldn't
• They say they're not good enough then ghost
• Yadee yada

I'm just looking for something lasting more than a week, you know?
ABOUT YOURS TRULY

• Passion for singing (karaoke bar is my lair)
• Can probably drink you under the table easily (Slavic DNA let's gooooo)
• Wanderlust, travel fanatic
• Loves seeing animals vibing
• Writes occasionally
• Clingy and attentive
• Has heard he's cute/handsome (not just from granny)
• Funny (graduated from clown school because he keeps investing emotionally in houses of cards)
• Mark at 188cm on my measuring tape (my height obviously. Don't be like that)
• Hair longer, thicker and more lush than you probably. Glows red in sunlight like a car reflector. Also beard and what have you
• Catholic, but if you're not, I respect it as long as you respect I am. I won't be yapping about my faith

ABOUT THE GIRL READING THIS

• Bubbly, cheerful, supportive
• Clingy
• Very talkative (if I wanted to wait an hour for a reply I would've sent a fax)
• Comfortable with voice calls is a plus so you can cheer me on as I keep failing at video games
• Lasts for longer than a week (not in bed, in being around)
• Preferably from Europe (UK, France, Germany, Eastern Europe or something) since I'd like to meet up at some point. Dutch or Belgian? Even better
• Extroverted would be cool
• Uuuhhh
• Matching my interests?
• Just talk and don't leave yeah

My DM's are emptier than the soul of a litch so please slide in there (no need to apply oil, but I'll tolerate it)
Just knock first please

A Nop X Fallout 3[ish] Fanfic
Written By Pixel
NoP was written and Belongs to Space Paladin

Chapter 2: A Tale of Historians
Memory transcript: Tyka, Farsul junior archivist
Date: August 2275 local [human time]
Time: 22:30 [time of late Meals and rest]
Tyka let out a disheartened sigh, the world below them, once vibrant and beautiful, even if its sole sapient species were predators, leaf-eating ones but still predators, made his heart sink to see it in such a grave state.
Tyka was never one who could understand how Exterminators could find any kind of joy in the purging of life, no matter how tainted it was.
“those poor beings….”
He placed a paw onto the viewer his shoulders slumping as he watched the Grey marble spinning in the inky black void
“Something wrong Young archivist”
An older feminine voice says making their way Into the observation bay of the large science and collection vessel, Tokana upon realizing who the voice belongs to jumped
“O-Officer Netly, I apologize if it seems I was...meandering, I just….”
He looks back over to the tumbling grey-blue marble
“Ah, Earth. I understand your apprehension, but there is no sentient life existing now, it's a barren dead wasteland, you know why we are here now”
She says arms behind her as she moves up beside the young pup
“I know officer Netly it's just….I've studied humans so much and despite the aggression they had they were also so….fascinating, the fact they developed so fast And even accepted in certain technologies despite being predators….”
He said marveling as Netly suddenly interjected
“Their accomplishment didn't stop them from destroying themselves in the end, nothing could have survived that kind of prolonged nuclear strike with their technological level”
Before Tyka could dejectedly admit that point there was a ship-wide broadcast to all archivists, scientists, and security onboard
Life has been found on earth
It was human life.
Memory transcript: Abigail Nelson
Date: August 21st 2277
Local Ship time 00:00 [time of early light]
Abigail stirred from her daze, what had happened, she could barely remember, the attendee, the crater, the light!
“Dogmeat!”
She screamed out jumping up as he cellmate grabbed her to stop her
“Woah woah easy, there not here you can calm down”
The female voice said, Abigail panted and started to tear up a bit
“N-no, dog meat…. his…he's my dog he was with me when we got….where are we?”
The hardened wasteland features on the woman who now held Abigail softened with pity at the young girl
“I don't know where your dog is, I haven't seen them with any kind of animal, besides us anyway, how are you feeling kiddo?”
she asked as Abigail tried to wipe her eyes and coughed
“Im…I'm fine, I just….ah cheese and crackers I'm sorry”
She says gingerly leaving the wasteland embrace
“I'm uh…Abby…Abigail Nelson”
She says as the waster seems a bit off and then notices her pip-boy
“You a vault dweller? How'd they scoop your blue-suited ass up?”
Abigail blinked a bit and looked at her device
“OH right, I was topside….my Dad left our vault to pursue Something he was working on, project purity?”
She says that made her cellmate's eyes widen in realization
“Your James kid?”
Abigail Was now the one to balk, she simply couldn't believe there was ANOTHER person who knew her father
“How do you know my dad? Are you brotherhood?”
She asked as the waster stepped back
“Well I am, but I didn't know him personally I was only an initiate when he was working on it, names Somah”
She was now the one who extended her hand which Abigail took
“So are a knight? Paladin?”
“Field scribe”
Somah said which made Abigail blink a bit
“Field scribe? I know scribes but I've never heard of a field scribe”
Abigail said as Somah chuckled
“That's because it's a position rowdy Scribes get to drain their energy and enthusiasm, typically scribes are supposed to grow out of it but I've been a field scribe for a good while now, trying to make Lyons make a new rank for me, elder field scribe”
She joked making Abigail Chuckle a bit
“Well, then miss scribe… where Are we?”
Somah sighed a bit, rubbing her neck before moving it over to her face and chin, pondering how to explain their predicament
“How to explain it…..I know we've been abducted but the tech is like something I haven't seen….the bars are steel but there is a photonic barrier more advanced than even the few bits of prewar examples I've gotten to fiddle with, plus that little levitation Trick they pulled on me when I was trying to hide from some muties out in the edge of dc….then my radio got this…weird signal”
She said as Abigail's eyes widened
“My pip-boy did the same, I got this weird signal which led me to an antenna In the ground…..wait…”
Abigail Pinched her nose and let out a sigh
“Did we get abducted by….by aliens?!”
Somah let out a humorless chuckle
“Seems like it, as unlikely as it is….I'm still trying to understand how that's even possible”
Somah said while tracing a finger against the seamless white material that made their cell
“While also marveling at real alien design and technology….its….all so much to process”
She says enraptured with it all as the two talked, a distinct sound of the force field barrier turning off as a tray of food was pushed through With a metal pole, and the wall of light reasserted itself
Abigail timidly picked up the meal…it looked like….vegetables, they smelled like them too, but not like wasteland veggies, what few she'd seen but actual clean veggies
“Alien greens, for some reason it's all they'll give us, probably to keep us weaker, easier to grab”
She says snagging an alien carrot off the tray as Abigail looks at her with a mix of confusion and worry
“Grab us?”
She asks as the whirling of machinery is heard suddenly Abigail looks up only now realizing the roof of their cell is open
“Hug the wall!”
Somah shouted as she pushed Abigail against it making her top the tray as the two hugged the lip, Abigail watching as what looked like a man in a Grey military uniform was carried across the roof with a giant metal claw or arm carrying him
“Okay where good for now….poor bastard”
Somah Sighed as Abigail blinked
“We have to get out of here”
She said as Somah put a finger to her lips
“Ssh they can hear shit like that, be quiet”
The scribe said as she looked around
“Look I have a plan already and I've been waiting for someone to be dropped in here with me….I've done this once before and it worked but we got caught after, so if we do this we have to be quick”

writing these is something im enjoying so far! as usual ask me whatever you want about it and ill try to respond, the next upload will be a mini chapter so stay tuned!

ADHD deleted my post with no explanation so I'm posting it here
I (17M) have been suspecting I have ADHD for some time now. It mostly started like 2 years ago I think when my friends said I might have it. I had a way of thinking that I might have it or I might not, what difference would it make? Which is why what actually peaked my interest was the fact that they mentioned that it's possible to get treatment per se.
Just noticed I've created a walk of text yapping about what essentially are my suspected "symptoms" you can skip this if you'd like
———
I've only had contact with one person with diagnosed ADHD in my life and they had behavioral problems and had had a person that watched him over in his class, which made me believe that was ADHD, especially with my mom using the fact he has ADHD to explain why he was acting the way he was. It didn't help that my whole life I've only ever heard ADHD being used in a joking manner like when I was jumping all over the place as a kid or straight up being told it's made up by my biology teacher back in primary school.
So I started researching it and I related to most if not all posts on here, on subs like adhdmeme and comics like the ones created by ADHD Alien.
I honestly don't see a big deal with not being able to sit still, sitting weird etc. My bigger problem is my working memory being so horrible that at this point I'm known for remembering nothing and not being expected to. Some of my friends have even resolved to telling me plans only a day before because they knew I wouldn't remember. I always forget where I put anything anywhere and I've been described by one of classmates as "one of the smartest and dumbest people in the class" cause subjects like math come so easy to me I don't remember the last time I've had to study and yet I seem to not know the most basic things that everyone just seems to just know. I can barely even recall my childhood.
I've always thought that maybe it was the pandemic that did something to my memory and my time clock which is equally fucked up but honestly I don't even remember that far to confirm with absolute certainty whether I've always been like this or not.
I also get this weird seasonal depression I'd call it? I'm pretty sure I've read about it here once, it's like every couple of weeks I switch from mostly happy to mostly sad and vice versa. I dunno if it's relevant but I wanted to mention it anyhow.
Tho I'd say the worst is the executive dysfunction and procrastination that I could go on and on about but I suspect most of you know what I'm talking about. The feeling of wanting to do everything and yet ending up doing nothing and the putting things off till last minute or till there's something bigger to procrastinate on like I'm doing rn writing this post instead of studying for my history and chemistry test tommorow. Or the waking up early and yet staying in bed till I'm almost late.
I can barely make myself do anything in my free time which is why I feel like I'm wasting my potential and I want to do something about it before it's too late.
———
Coming back to the actual subject at hand. I come from Poland, which is not exactly known for its male mental health awareness and I'm afraid my mom won't understand or will try to dismiss my worries since private therapy costs money. I tried to just mention ADHD in a conversation with my mom and the literal first thing I get is "you don't have ADHD". I've never really talked to my dad about these kinds of things so I don't think I have it in me.
Do you guys think I should try or just wait 8 months till my 18 birthday and go by myself? I also suspect that if it will ever come to the medication subject my parents will be against it which is probably why I'm leaning on waiting. I don't even know why, it's just a gut feeling.
Even now I think I'm getting ahead of myself, for all I know it's not ADHD but something completely different and I'm just inserting myself here for some subconscious need to have a special label to carry. I have no idea and my patience is growing thinner. I always thought that knowing doesn't do anything but now I'm not so sure. At the end of the day something is wrong, I am spending my days doing nothing of value, so therapy would help either way.
I just can't bring myself to ask, to even spark a conversation, I've always avoided things like this for some reason.

Yeah, basically what the title says. Get to talk to someone, we're a perfect match, when suddenly:

• They disappear
• They start asking for money (swear on my pinky toe this happened)
• They leave despite saying they wouldn't
• They say they're not good enough then ghost
• Yadee yada

I'm just looking for something lasting more than a week, you know?
ABOUT YOURS TRULY

• Passion for singing (karaoke bar is my lair)
• Can probably drink you under the table easily (Slavic DNA let's gooooo)
• Wanderlust, travel fanatic
• Loves seeing animals vibing
• Writes occasionally
• Clingy and attentive
• Has heard he's cute/handsome (not just from granny)
• Funny (graduated from clown school because he keeps investing emotionally in houses of cards)
• Mark at 188cm on my measuring tape (my height obviously. Don't be like that)
• Hair longer, thicker and more lush than you probably. Glows red in sunlight like a car reflector. Also beard and what have you
• Catholic, but if you're not, I respect it as long as you respect I am. I won't be yapping about my faith

ABOUT THE GIRL READING THIS

• Bubbly, cheerful, supportive
• Clingy
• Very talkative (if I wanted to wait an hour for a reply I would've sent a fax)
• Comfortable with voice calls is a plus so you can cheer me on as I keep failing at video games
• Lasts for longer than a week (not in bed, in being around)
• Preferably from Europe (UK, France, Germany, Eastern Europe or something) since I'd like to meet up at some point. Dutch or Belgian? Even better
• Extroverted would be cool
• Uuuhhh
• Matching my interests?
• Just talk and don't leave yeah

My DM's are emptier than the soul of a litch so please slide in there (no need to apply oil, but I'll tolerate it)
Just knock first please

I am 29-year-old American male and I recently visited DBC last week to receive 300M mesenchymal stem cells administered via IV. I also received a NAD+ and Vitamin C infusion after the stem cells.
My liver and I are trying to become friends again.
For the sake of brevity, I will be keeping this write-up short and segmented into different categories for easy reading.
TRANPSORTATION: I arrived in Puerto Vallarta on Southwest Airlines and landed at PVR on Tuesday, May 07. When you land at PVR, collect your bags, and go through Customs you will be swarmed by local taxi cab drivers/companies trying to give you a ride. Ernesto from DBC was already in contact with me via WhatsApp and told me he would be at the Information Desk. Sure enough I found him, and he hailed a cab for me. Ernesto also provided me with a folder containing my transportation schedule and who my drivers would be. The drivers were nothing short of excellent and arrived at the all-inclusive I was staying at on time for days of treatment and transportation back to the airport.
BLOODWORK/PAYMENT: I was picked up at 8AM on Thursday, May 09 for my bloodwork and payment appointments. I received instructions not to take any pain medications or drink alcohol within 24 hours of my bloodwork and to fast eight hours beforehand. I arrived at the Clinic and was taken to the third floor where I underwent a typical triage exam by a nurse. My blood was taken (three vials), barcodes containing my information were attached, and I had to complete a sign-out form basically indicating that my blood would be taken for analysis. Next, I was led to the rooftop of the clinic where I was offered complimentary coffee/tea and snacks. I snapped some photos of the view and then completed my payment via credit card. The price for my treatment was $10,890 USD (exactly as advertised).
RESULTS/DOC CONSULTATION: I was picked up at 10AM on Friday, May 10 for treatment. I met with Dr. Liz for my bloodwork consultation where she went over five pages of bloodwork with me (extremely detailed). We also discussed what supplements I am currently taking, my medical history, and she explained that I should get repeat labs done in six to eight months to see how things have improved. My bloodwork was interesting because she made note that my TSH levels were high and she recommended that I see an endocrinologist when I got home (unbeknownst to me—add it to the payroll, I guess! Lol). I also received the Certificate of Analysis for the batch of stem cells that I would be receiving. The cells were prepared the day before and had a bioavailability of 99.80%. The sources of the MSCs were placenta and umbilical cord. She also explained that I might experience some tiredness or fatigue later in the day and that this was normal.
TREATMENT: I was asked if I needed to use the restroom and was then taken to the treatment area. The treatment area was very clean and sterile, exactly like something you would expect in a hospital in the United States. I sat in a reclining leather lounger that was quite comfortable. A blanket was also offered just in case I got cold. I met the nurse, Rebecca, who took my vitals and then prepared my IV site. Dr. Liz then came into the room and unsealed three vials of stem cells (each containing 100M). I asked if I could see the stem cells and she had no problem showing me the vials and the gelatinous looking goo inside them. She explained that what I was looking at was the colonies. She said the IV would take about two hours, the nurse came by with a QR code for the WIFI, and two hours later the cells were done. Josh, the owner, came into the treatment area for about an hour and sat in the lounger beside me. We had an interesting conversation and I came to learn his brother lives in the same city as I do. Dr. Liz came back with the supplements vials and administered those. This process took exactly 28 minutes. The nurse came back, removed the IV site, and applied a band-aid. My driver was waiting and took me back to my hotel.
POST TREATMENT: This is my third time getting stem cells via IV (first time at DBC), so this isn’t my first rodeo. I didn’t have any adverse reactions; however, I did get hit with a wave of substantial tiredness about five hours after treatment. I was getting ready for dinner and got so tired that I decided it was best that I lay down and rest for a bit. I had an hour and a half nap which fixed the problem. No other remarkable side effects. A driver picked me up on Sunday, May 12 and took me to PVR for departure.
All in all, it was a smooth and efficient treatment process. I can’t remark on treatment outcomes yet, but I will be sure to follow up later after my next set of labs. The one thing I will make note about is that the facility is multiple stories so if you have trouble with stairs, you might have a rough time. I had a complete hip replacement done last November and I would have had difficulty navigating the facility if I had gone a few months earlier.
As an aside, I stayed at Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort since I am a World of Hyatt member. Absolutely a first-class resort through and through. I also visited Sayulita, Mexico and did a RZR tour which was fun as hell. I treated my guest to Rhythms of the Night on Saturday evening and had a great experience too.

Heey it's very good day I can send you a my energy and positive thoughts. I'm looking friends in here I want to meet different people different culture İf you want too just text me:)
my interest is Formula 1 also football. I'm listening rock and edm music mostly but I'm open mind haha I can try your best music. I'm Star Wars and LOTR fan. My favorite actor is Keanu Reeves. He is so cool. Also I'm watching "Sopranos" now but my favorite is "Breaking Bad" yeah I know "Game of Thrones" is also good but Mr.White :)) I love walking, camping and visiting historical places. I love history...
Also we can talk about our cultures. I bet you can't guess my country hahaha. if you interested write me and be my friend. I'm waiting you :))

I started this series about a week ago. My friend and I both watch an animated show called Invincible which we both love. He told me if I’m really into animated shows to check out Attack on Titan. I’ve really only watched 2 other anime before; Naruto & Death Note. Ig you can say I haven’t really dug deep into anime. But after watching this so far, it’s clear this is a must watch show even to non-anime viewers. It’s really not hard to get into. For me, it’s always really hard for me to get into any new show, thinking nothing can really meet my expectations. But whenever I do get into something that does it for me, I instantly become obsessed with it and feel the need to binge it all. Been binging aot every night and currently near the end of season 3. (Just watched the episode where they enter the cellar)
There’s so much to say why I think its a masterpiece, but il keep this piece as brief as I can. And I’m aware what I have to say here has probably been said numerous times before. So il try to avoid that.
———————————————————————————
I can imagine a lot of non-anime watchers might mistake anime as a genre of its own, not realizing they are categorized in themes of drama, comedy, sports…. Just like any other show. Here are the several themes I classify with AOT: Action, drama, dystopian, political/war, mystery.
The emphasis on War & Politics is a big one for me. They do it so well characterizing war. What a soldier does. What it does to a soldier. The large scale impacts. Also the importance of following orders, trusting your teammates and them putting their trust in you. Also a lot of sacrifice. So many people die for their collective goal of humanities freedom. It’s inspiring. Naruto does this a bit too with the whole thing about working well with your team, following command, ect. But AOT just goes way further with it and really makes it a larger part of the shows identity.
In season 1 when joining the scouts; Erwin asks those joining: “If you were ordered to die, would you do it?”. - That sentence plays huge importance for the story moving froward, and one could argue the situations some soldiers are faced with IRL when in a squad in real major war.
The world of AOT is so dark & gloomy you can get away with adding horror to one of its themes. This dark, gloomy vibe is a large part of the shows’ popular identity. It’s not only dystopian, but it’s also very anti-fascist. The characters are constantly striving for their collective goal of driving humanity towards freedom.
Another thing that makes the show pop out is obviously the Titans themselves. The idea of the titans is so cool because their scale is so wide compared to that of a regular human. Killing them is no easy feat and a titan battle has the main characters odds stacked 10:1. Their power scale makes most people scared shitless, give up and lose hope. And when the main characters do get to win, it just makes it that much more satisfying. (This is much more outlined in the beginning of the show obviously) This is where a lot of the dark gloominess in the show comes from.
Even after season 1 when its more common to see the characters effortlessly kill titans, the odds continue to get stacked against them but it doesn’t get boring at all. The show just evolves and the characters are provoked in more interesting ways.
In terms of the characters; they’re all masterful. My favourite characters right now are Levi, Mikes, and Armin (ESPECIALLY Armin after S3 EP17-18). The characters are all good and you really feel for not just the “good” characters.
The show’s obviously not afraid to kill off characters. In every battle, people die. You can say there are both more important, and lesser important characters dying in these scenes, but none of them ever feel like filler characters. They all feel like they mattered in death. Even the lesser important guys have meaning and you really feel it when these people have to sacrifice themselves for everyone else.
Even the antagonist characters eventually don’t seem like real bad guys. I’m obviously still routing for Eren and the other good guys but you begin to see the show is showing you why the bad guys aren’t bad in their own situations. Having not finished the show yet, there’s still a lot uncovered on why certain antagonists are doing what they’re doing, but it’s clear they have a strong reason for their actions and they really believe their actions are what’s perhaps best for everyone.
The runtime is more or less perfect. 4 seasons, 80-something episodes, 20 minutes each. It’s a perfect amount of time for anyone to get into. And more importantly, there’s NO filler content taking away value from the runtime. Literally 0 filler episodes. The pacing’s pretty good and they try to keep it on the faster side in order to drive the events forward, which I like.
The Plot Twists: Seems to be the biggest reason as to why people say the show’s so good. AOT does plot twists like no other. There’s quite a few “betrayals”, and moments of surprise and they come so unexpected. After seeing how they handle plot twists in this show, I’m seeing a problem in how other shows direct theirs. It’s too common for other shows to foreshadow their plot twists slightly too much, or use blatant flashbacks to allude to what’s coming. If you’re someone who already watches a lot of good shows you can already kind of predict what major things are about to unfold slightly before it happens.
Don’t get me wrong, AOT has many flashbacks too obviously (like in many anime), but they’re used pretty well for the most part. They also have minor foreshadowings too you can say but they’re very very faint and also used correctly.
For where I’m at in the series, I’m obviously referring to in Season 2, where Reiner & Berthold reveal themselves as titans. The way it was done really gives me chills. When they start talking to Eren and reveal themselves, it’s done so faintly and non-dramatic that you kinda miss it. It’s like I clearly heard what they’re saying but it just didn’t register in my mind because of the nature of the directing. They make it so their conversation is “Background Talk” rather than a dramatic reveal. No fancy music or anything like that. Really just gave an eerie vibe to it. I had to replay that scene like 3 times to understand what was going on. Then of course after their undramatic reveal; they use a flashback to explain their characters a bit further (notice how the flashback is used AFTER the reveal not before); and THEN they go to their transformation. It is only in this transformation scene that they saved for the dramatic suspense to be unleashed. Maybe I’m looking to much into the writing but I just think the nature of that plot twist was handled very well. (And of course there’s the minor foreshadowing of Berthold chomping on his hand while the castle is falling. It’s an obvious titan-shifter move, but I think it was handled right).
The action scenes are very well blended in with the dramatic parts to its credit. A common occurrence I see with good action shows is they’re good BECAUSE its more than just action. And other action shows might get undermined for not having enough of it, maybe being covered, or perhaps outshined by the more emotional scenes. I have no problem with this myself in AOT. Even in parts of the story where action is scarce for a bit I have no complaints. Perhaps my perception of this is different than others because I’m able to binge it all at once while many others had to wait up to 10 full years between seasons and parts of seasons to see all the action.
Like I said, the power scale of the titans are really the meat & potatoes of the battles being what they are. The battle strategy is really cool to get into, and how they’re going to outdo their titan opponents (Armin as a character really adds to this for me).
The battles are one thing but the fighting itself is a whole other. The actual combat and the animation of it gets the adrenaline pumping. The whole concept of the ODM gear is genius. Using gas powered grappling hooks to leap throughout their environment like a speeding bullet, and zing around everywhere to take down the titans looks like such an adrenaline rush. It gives me adrenaline just watching them, and hearing the sounds of the gear. Its iconic really. Just the idea of it. Also really fits well with the 19th century setting, the technology being where it is.
Ig I have nothing more to say about the animation. Everyone knows its top tier, along with the gore. Nothing really extra I have to add about it, it’s self explanatory. Ofc can’t forget about the OST as well, just like the ODM gear; it’s iconic, adrenaline-pumping. ‘Nuff said.
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Unfortunately I already spoiled myself with a big plot twist for season 4. Whenever I get into a show like this it’s always so tempting for me to look at reviews of the show to reinforce why it’s so good, or do the character quizzes, or look at memes related to the show. That being said its too easy to spoil yourself with this.
I saw what the “final boss” looks like. (His head basically, and who it is). Really wish I didn’t see that yet, but it’s literally so hard to not get spoiled I tried my best. My friend warned me how easy the spoilers go. Told me I can’t google the show, search it on YouTube, ect. Anytime I type the shows name I’m risking anything coming up. I also know that 80% of humanity is wiped out from this “event/person”. Found that out the hard way. Other than that I’m spoiler free. I really wish I didn’t see any of that but it’s my fault ultimately and here I am. I probably shouldn’t be going on this subreddit to begin with. I’m lowering my eyes just going on this sub to post this. Not looking at anything else on this sub, not even daring to scroll to other posts. But with how far I’ve gotten in the series I really can’t hold it in and just really want to let out my thoughts so far on the show on here. Please keep the comments spoiler free for me. Just had to unload and discuss a little with you guys.

Notice: Throwaway account
Message for GDKP simps: Since GDKP is the best system for keeping geared players in raids, for making players stick to the end, and for ensuring players watch mechanics since they can have their cut taken from them, most people would gravitate towards it. Now, I don't have numbers, but let's say half of the players spend 8 hours farming a day, or sit at the AH and just earn gold. It is perfectly reasonable for those players who don't enjoy raiding to still have the best gear in the game, and therefore go and buy it. The problem arises when players who play few hours and are not good at raiding want to join raids. Most people gravitate towards GDKP, and they feel they don't have the skill and gear to join, and they don't have legitimate gold to buy it. Then the most logical solution for them is to buy gold with real money. So the pressure is there, and GDKPs do put pressure on those kinds of players, driving them to engage in RMT, and I totally understand the Blizzard line of thinking (even though I think they just don't address the problem from the root cause but just give a pill to fix short-term solutions). But unless Blizzard can fix it (and I will explain later how they can), for now banning GDKPs is the best solution possible. The same goes for leveling; giving people dungeon spams and incursions forces everyone to level most efficiently, so if they just removed EXP, the world would feel more alive. And you can say you can still quest, but it is different when everyone on the server is on quests or you are alone in the big world and everyone is in X part of the world doing the same thing, while you try to kill an Elite for a quest just by yourself. People from OG Classic will remember how easy it was to come to the Elite and find 2-3 people already waiting there for more randoms to come and join to kill the Elite to finish a quest. So letting GDKP go through is killing normal guilds, and you can not deny that.
Message for GDKP haters: Reddit is full of players obsessed with their egos, and I reached out anonymously (same as with this account) and started asking them why they hate GDKP. When you start putting "if"s, you come to the conclusion that it is just an ego issue and it has nothing to do with prices in the game or with RMT. Eight out of ten conversations came to this conclusion, and paraphrasing here: "If Blizzard had the option to stop RMT, they would still be against it since noobs should not be allowed to get the best gear in the game." And "It would be fine to have GDKPs, but back in the game where the best loot would be for the guild and sell trash from the raid to noobs who want to pay gold." Again, I reached out to ten people who were against GDKPs, and only one of them didn't mention this reason. Only one mentioned inflation because of GDKP, and when you just showcase that gold is already in the game, so no RMT, there is no new gold generated by GDKPs; they just hit you with: "You don't understand." In reality, inflation is happening because of botting, and that botting generates new gold that is sold to people willing to buy. So if RMT is stopped, GDKP cannot possibly cause inflation; therefore, botting is the only problem for inflation. Without inflation, there is only supply and demand as any economy would function. The more an item is needed, the more it will cost, the more people farm it will start to cost less, and if someone has a monopoly, it would skyrocket. Economy 101.
Fix of the issue: Blizzard should implement an in-game option for loot GDKP, the same as Master loot. When that option is selected, create a UI for GDKP functionalities, bidding, splitting, etc. But in that functionality, Blizzard should conduct a full-on scan of that account and any gold incoming through the account that doesn't make sense. For example, just gained X gold from someone who never communicated with that person, sold Y item that is usually 2s for huge amounts of gold, and so on. Instantly flag that account for a person to go in and check it manually for less room for error, and if even suspicion by a real person, ban them for 7 days and put them into "semi-blacklist" accounts that are monitored as "possible RMT". If the offense is repeated and there is proof that they bought gold, permanent ban them. That way, everyone participating in those kinds of GDKPs would know their account will be checked, and you will make WoW less of an RMT/pay-to-win game that GDKP haters say it is.
Note for those people saying there will be loopholes, so review should be account-wide on all of your subscriptions so there is no room for "I will have a subscription to buy gold and pay for items on X sub, and play on Y sub". And again, I know there might be a workaround, but this will cut the RMT for GDKPs enormously. And again, the same for crime; you can never achieve 0% crime, but every decision should aim to enforce less crime in the real world. And from my view, botting is still happening, RMT is still happening, and GDKPs are happening. Just because some aren't aware of it, doesn't mean if they banned it no one is doing it; it's just less in the open. And punishing the population that likes GDKP since that can create an incentive to have alts, especially in SOD where you should try every class to see all runes and all possibilities, is killing the alt population.
Again, without Blizzard implementing something like this, I am still pro-"GDKP ban," but I think it is the wrong solution if they just ban it and leave it like that. They should have banned it and worked on something. This is just my idea; I believe people can come up with even better ideas. I'm just showing that this Reddit community is attacking each other without realizing both sides are partially right.
GDKP simps: "This is the best loot system, and I don't need to build my schedule around a guild and X other people. I can just log in and join GDKP and know everyone will perform since they will be punished if not performing."
GDKP haters: "It drives more RMT, it kills the guilds."
Both are correct, so we should try to fix the RMT issue and let people play how they wish to play their game.
Feel free to agree and disagree and write your own views. This is more for people to sit down and think about how the "other side" feels and thinks. And if by any chance, a Blizzard employee is reading this, a message to Blizzard:
"Hi there, Reddit should be just for you to bounce off ideas, not to listen to us. Someone will always complain. Create a vision for SOD and stick to it. Say, 'This is how we planned it. If you don't like it, you have Hardcore, Era, Cata, Retail.' We are building this as X vision and stick to your ideals. When you are game-oriented and not just focused on money to please customers and get more revenue, you understand that not everyone will love the game, but it's better to have 50% of the player base enjoying it and being subbed for 2 years because of SOD, than to change something for people who complained and will unsub after 2 months and never come back. And if you want to know if the community likes or hates something, for the love of God, don't ask on Twitter or Reddit. Put it in the game as a notice that is clickable so people who actually play the game can vote on it. Not what group has the most ragers on Reddit and Twitter. Have a poll in-game for people who are playing the game and never go on Twitter or Reddit."
Sorry for long post

I've been watching SWAT on Netflix lately and can't help but think it reminds me of Baywatch in a lot of ways
It's basically the same thing except they swapped surf boards for machine guns, and lifeguards for cops
Id say the acting in SWAT is probably like 8% better than Baywatch, but that's not saying a lot 😂
I am actually quite enjoying SWAT despite the reviews/ opinions I read online saying that it sucks... but then, I like Baywatch too ha
The writing is nothing special but I love the action scenes! plus I think SWAT teams are cool lol

Heey it's very good day I can send you a my energy and positive thoughts. I'm looking friends in here I want to meet different people different culture İf you want too just text me:)
my interest is Formula 1 also football. I'm listening rock and edm music mostly but I'm open mind haha I can try your best music. I'm Star Wars and LOTR fan. My favorite actor is Keanu Reeves. He is so cool. Also I'm watching "Sopranos" now but my favorite is "Breaking Bad" yeah I know "Game of Thrones" is also good but Mr.White :)) I love walking, camping and visiting historical places. I love history...
Also we can talk about our cultures. I bet you can't guess my country hahaha. if you interested write me and be my friend. I'm waiting you :))

TRIGGER WARNINGS: a lot of them
My sister was an irresponsible teen mom with mental illness. To sum it up she would get pregnant any time a boyfriend and her were in trouble of breaking up.
This process started when I was 13. She promptly abandoned the baby to my parents who were in their early 40s and gave 0Fs. They put taking care of the baby completely on me, because “she only sleeps for you”, “you’re such a good babysitter!”, “I just can’t now!”. So my sister would take off for months and leave the baby, my parents would take off for days and leave us. I’d go to school, come home, and care for an infant. By the time I was 21 my sister had repeated the process 2 more times. She’d spend perhaps a two weeks every year with her children so she could illegally file for child support and food stamps.
The rest of the time? I raised her children. I was the sole provider for my family. My 3 nieces and my 2 now disabled parents. Every dollar I made went to giving the girls a blessed life. I dropped out of college to take care of them and started a small business. Every day from the time I woke up to till bedtime baths and stories, I was caring for them. When they were sick? I took them to the hospital. I taught them to read, write, bath, walk, talk. (Due to poverty and issues with my parents I was never able to file for custody- aunts don’t have rights in most states even though my sister had abandoned them, my parents refused to file for custody in any way- it was, a mess, but I stayed for them).
In time tragedy stuck, my sister began blackmailing us to keep the children. It was a disaster I was too naive and young to see coming. At 14, after returning for visiting her mum, my niece attempted suicide (I wasn’t aware she had been abused while with her mum). I had to BRIBE her mother to stay with her in the hospital because the hospital refused to allow me to stay with her. I took her to therapy but her mom insisted she be removed and she still had rights. Her school thought it was a result of bullying.
Years later while with their mother for 4 days, my sister hit my niece. It was caught on video, my nieces were taken by CPS, and because they were across state lines at the time I had to fight the legal system to get them placed with me. It took 3 years, $60k, and it bankrupted me. I made weekly trips to see my eldest niece in foster care. Across state lines this was nearly 800 a week for 3 years.
My sister surrendered my other nieces to their father and blackmailed me to keep fighting to get her own children back with the promise of finally signing over rights. Eventually she got my eldest niece back. She convinced the girl to stay with her so “she could be a real mom!”. Cps said she wanted to go with her mum and so my family placement case was closed. She lived with her a year. That ended HORRIFICALLY. In the end my sister SOLD her paternal rights to my parents to allow my niece to come home and live with us. The trauma from my sister and the system had broken my niece. My niece admitted her mum had been abusive nearly every time they’d ever seen eachother (even exposing her to drugs and during that year to being SAed) but she had never told me out of the hope someday her mum would really love her. Even with therapy she was so broken. She hurt herself again and again. I went half mad unable to help her, depression was overwhelming. Every other day we were at the hospital or therapist. Every month she’d be hospitalized for a suicide attempt and I’d sit with her in the hospital holding her hand while we waited. I’d excuse myself to hide in the hospital bathroom and sob I unable to help her.
So many ambulances, so many medicines, so many doctors, so many 4am phone calls, so many horrors. Eventually she refused medication and started using drugs. I begged her to go to rehab, I tried so hard to help her and support her in every way I could. Her life was spiraling. She became pregnant and addicted to meth, she became violent and unstable. It was a horrifying year. Eventually, after she assaulted a cop, I told her enough. She had to stop. I wouldn’t support her anymore. She would go to rehab or she was no longer welcomed in my home.
She was 18. She left and went to live with a new boyfriend. Eventually she got clean with him, lost rights to her baby with CPS involvement and got pregnant again refusing to consider birth control implants. After she got clean she began speaking to me again. I’m struggling with her pregnancy as I know she’s not fully recovered, nor stable enough to raise a child, nor mature. But I am proud she is clean and trying to gather herself together again, even if she won’t go to rehab/therapy as I’ve begged. The other day we were driving and she said this:
“You will never understand what it’s like to be a mother. I knew the moment I had my baby (the one she lost due to meth use) it’s just completely different connection. You’re JUST an aunt. You have no idea what it’s like to be a mother, you’ve never had kids and never will” and something in me just split in 2. I told her I never want to silence her emotions or invalidate her opinions but I needed a bit of silence and didn’t want to speak the rest of the trip. I dropped her at her apt, went home and cried. I’m in my mid 30s now and I’ve spent 20 years taking care of another woman’s children (minus the years my poor niece spent in foster care). So much tragedy. I blame myself completely for not knowing my sister was hurting my eldest niece, it’s my fault my nieces were lost. My fault they suffered. When they were lost I went to therapy to handle the grief. I couldn’t look at a child without sobbing. I realized I would never have my own children. I’ve never recovered from losing my nieces, never forgiven myself for their suffering. I failed them so terribly. My fiancé has watched this all (we met shortly after my nieces were taken) when I began applying for family placement I made it very clear if my niece came home she came first and was living with me and he’d have to deal with it. Later, we talked about never having kids because of the trauma. He’s held me most nights I’ve come home from the hospital in shambles just sobbing in the floor. When I told him what she said he was very upset (he’s had to handle her drug use and criminal behavior as well and it has NOT been easy on him). He’s tried to console me but it’s been months and I think about it every day.
Her words just haunt me. She isn’t wrong, I’m not her mother and never will be, even though I’ve raised her since I was 13 and she was an infant. And now I know I simply will never have children. I feel hollow.

Nothing serious here just venting. Last night the ED thoughts took over and I binged all of my houses leftovers from Mother’s Day because I’ve reached my highest weight on the scale again and so last night i felt like “I need to get all of this food out of the house tonight because tomorrow I’m fasting for the rest of the month and i don’t want any temptation”. So i did just that. Ate and ate and even ordered door dash afterward because i felt so down about the weight and just insatiable from the stress eating.
Anyway, this morning i woke up fully preparing to not eat at all for the rest of the month. I woke up feeling so nauseous from last night that i ended up actually getting sick. After that i just kind of felt like “I’m sick of this cycle and not eating is going to have me in this position again before i know it”. So I decided to eat something small. I had a few animal crackers and have cup ramen currently cooling down as I’m waiting to eat that.
I still have the overwhelming urge to not eat it and see the scale go down right away.
But I’m fighting that urge. Im tired of being at the extremes. I can’t say i won’t be watching my intake closely, but im forcing myself to not just go off the deep end and create more mental strain on myself. So I guess i feel proud. Although the ED thoughts are telling me I’m so pathetic for even getting here and i need to just do something about it to correct the “problem“. Just reminding myself that the problem is in my head and it’s okay to eat a “normal” amount.
Will I still relaspe? More than likely. But today I’m making strides to be better so I feel like i should share. It’s not easy. I still haven’t touched the ramen yet. But i want to feel better.

Chapter 1

Concept art for Sybil
Of Men and Ghost Ships, Book 1: Chapter 17
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First, Carter met an AI who looked like an old-earth pirate, and now he met an alien who looked like an old-earth viking. Well, if that viking stood nearly eight feet tall, had fangs and claws that could put some daggers to shame, and a bony carapace armor seemingly covering most of his vital organs. He wasn't sure if he just had some odd luck when it came to encountering the weirdest entities the universe had to offer or if he was at the butt of some galactic joke.
Carter showed Erik how to use the goo dispenser, to which the larger alien made a face but managed to politely keep any complaints to himself as they both got a bowl and sat down at a table with Sybil's two robotic guards passively waiting not far from the table. As he sat down, Cater couldn't help but ask. "So, Erik, huh?"
Before he could ask his question, the behemoth of a man laughed. "Yes, it's a human name. I was 'raised,' for lack of a better term, by pirates who gave me the name. No, I don't know where I came from or even if there are more like me somewhere out there. Long story short, I got my freedom the hard way, and ever since, I've just been trying to get by in this galaxy!"
That answered several of Carter's questions without him having to ask them. " Get asked those a lot, do you?"
Erik nodded while he tried a spoonful of the much, then looked down at the bowl with surprise before taking another bite. "You could say that! Probably the most common questions I get right after people screaming incoherently or begging for their lives. Not that those are questions, but I kinda feel like they're implied, if you know what I mean!"
Carter nodded cautiously. "Do you get that a lot? People begging for their lives, I mean?"
The bigger alien grinned. "Well, yeah! And more than half the time, I didn't even do anything to warrant it! Guess I'm just too big and scary for my own good!"
Carter made a show of taking a bite of his own mint-flavored sludge. "And the other half of the time?"
Erik shrugged, but Carter couldn't help but notice his grin became just a bit more predatory. "Well, let's just say I don't start many fights, but I sure do end a lot of them! Guess I seem like an easy mark or something!"
Carter suspected it was the "or something" but decided not to push the issue. Instead, he figured maybe he could bring up some common ground. "So, not a big fan of pirates then?"
The larger alien shook his head., "No, I like them just fine! Why, they're just about my favorite thing to test the sharpness of my axes on!"
Carter looked at his dining companion skeptically. "Axes? Really? In this day and age?"
Erik laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know, they're not the most efficient weapons out there, and I'm not above using some more traditional armaments in a pinch, but I tell ya, there's nothing more satisfying than cleaving through a battle suite in hand-to-hand combat with a good heavy axe! Sides, I got used to them back when I fought as a gladiator."
Carter supposed he should have been ready for a crazy story, but he still found himself surprised for the umpteenth time in one conversation. "Wait, wait, wait... You were a gladiator? Like as in an arena, fight to the death kinda thing?"
Erik laughed again. "Yeah, pretty much! However I ended up fighting monsters more than people. There weren't many pirates willing to get in the ring with me, even with a battle suit, and I wasn't willing to kill any ordinary folk who got thrown in with me. Thankfully, I was too big a draw for them to just execute for refusing to kill normals, though I'm sorry to say they didn't get out of the situation any better than if I had. Still, I've killed more than my fair share of wild beasties! They even managed to bring in this giant wolf-like monster with a bladed tail. It was the size of a moose! I kid you not! I got no idea where they found that monster, but it would have killed me for sure if it hadn't been for Vanessa backing me up. Even then, we were both out of commission for the better part of a month after that one. Well, we might have been fit to go a bit before that, but that was the one that made us decide it would be considerably better for our health if we got out of the gladiator business sooner rather than later!"
Oddly enough, Carter found himself grinning along with Erik despite the nature of the story. There was just something about the guy that made listening to him ramble on about stuff kinda fun. Despite his thick accent, or maybe partially because of it, the man was a heck of a storyteller. However, now that the story seemed to have come to an end, the larger alien seemed to think for a moment before asking his own question. "So tell me, captain, where's the rest of your crew? The only ones I've seen since coming aboard are you and your robotic monsters!" He pointed back at the two escorts Sybil provided.
Carter looked askance at the alien. "I invited two aliens who look like they might be able to pick a fight with a full squad of commandos and come out on top, and you're wondering where my crew is?"
Erik kind of nodded and laughed again. "Yeah, I guess that tracks! No sense puttin' everyone at risk when you don't know nothin' about us, and we won't be here very long, is there? Speaking of, how much longer is my friend's treatment gonna take?"
The word "friend" was a surprising choice. Was Erik just using it as a general term, or did he really consider the kid he'd hauled onboard the ship a friend? Carter supposed it didn't matter. Instead, he figured he might as well find out. "Hey, Sybil, how's the treatment going?"
The girl appeared. "Well, the patient looks like he'll pull through. However, given the nature of his injury and how long it's been since he received it, we cannot save his foot. We're discussing whether he would like a temporary replacement or if he'd rather a replacement be grown in a better-stocked facility."
-
Alen looked at the disturbingly attractive woman in shock. "What do you mean you're gonna lop off my foot?"
The woman in red just looked annoyed with him for some reason. "I mean just that. Your foot is too badly damaged to save. I can fit you with a temporary replacement, but that'll come with some unpleasant side effects while you adjust and again if it's removed. Alternatively, you could just wait and have an organic replacement grown at another facility and bypass the side effects, but you will be short a foot for however long that takes. Now choose. It'll determine where I cut through the bone and nerves."
Having just woken up from his drugged sleep, Alen had assumed the surgery was over, but apparently, they were still in the middle of treatment. His head was still somewhat groggy as he fought through the haze to understand and decide. "Um, well, I don't know when I'll be able to get anything better, but...uh...how unpleasant are we talking here?"
The attractive woman crossed her arms and glared at him as if he was wasting her valuable time. "It varies from one individual to the next, but the side effects can range from mild discomfort to occasional sharp pains strong enough to require medical intervention."
That was when another voice spoke up from behind Alen. He quickly realized it was Vanessa. "Is it not possible for you to deaden the pain receptors in the area while leaving enough nerve function to enable the use of the replacement?"
The woman in red shook her head. "Pain is an essential tool, especially if we're fitting him with a temporary replacement. It'll let him know if something's gone wrong. Without it, he could get an infection or even tear something without realizing it. It's better to err on the side of leaving too much sensation than too little. It can always be adjusted at a proper facility as needed."
On the one hand, that really sounded unpleasant. But on the other hand, who knew how soon Alen could get a replacement grown? What would he do in the meantime? "Uh... I guess...if I have to pick one... I'll take the temporary replacement..."
The lady in red gave only a brief acknowledgment. "About time." Then, before Alen could have second thoughts, the world went dark again.
-
The girl nodded as if receiving some unheard report. "Well, that settles it. He'll be getting a temporary replacement. It'll take a bit longer as we'll have to fit him with some attachments for the augmatics. A rough approximation puts the remaining time at an hour and a half. We should finish cannibalizing the pirate vessel shortly afterward."
Carter turned toward his guest. "Well, there you have it..."
However, the girl interrupted him again before he could finish his thoughts. "Sir, we've got more incoming. There are more of them, and they're more dispersed this time..."
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Poor Alen! That dude has definitely not had it easy as of late!
My Wiki has all my chapters and stories, including the short series and stories that I write for an occasional change of pace or style!
As a reminder, "Of Men and Dragons" Books 1 and 2 are available to purchase in e-book or physical form. (Both softcover and hardcovers are available!) Book 3 is almost done being edited, so I'll just have to get the cover art and formatting done, and it will be available to purchase as well! Hopefully, in no more than a month or two! (Barring more Amazon drama like last time... fingers crossed!)
OMAD Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NCPP3PP
OMAD Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ7FQ1ZJ