I have chill looking bumps on my skin

Basic information: Sex:male , Age:19, weight: 178lbs Medical history : none. Medication:none, I am a social smoker and drinker.
Hello I have come to this subreddit concerning a lump that I have had in my face for the past 2-3 weeks. The lump is just beneath my eye and to the left of my nose. The bump or lump is about a pea size if not smaller and it is hard and does not move under the skin. Pressing on it does not cause any discomfort and that is making me worried. I don’t have any health insurance and I wanted to know if it is even logical to get it checked out. My partner has felt it and believed it to be a cyst but I am not so sure. My biggest concern is that it may be a swollen lymph node.
I also want to be exact with where it is located as I have not been able to find anyone with this same problem on the internet. The lump is located 1 inch down from my inner eye crease where my cheek meets my nose. Any help or feedback would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

I'll start this story off by saying that I may not have known this person for very long on a deep and emotional level for very long, and she didn't reveal herself to me very much until we began to at least try and function like friends, but when she did I couldn't quite get enough of it. The story starts a little ways back when I was trying to get over my feelings for my first girlfriend (it happened unrelated to the following events) and my now ex-girlfriend (let's call her Becky) was trying to get one of our peers to leave her alone because we thought he was a little creepy.
At this time, Becky and I are completely unable to stand being around each other for longer than thirty seconds. We fight like siblings. The best and only possible solution is to begin fake dating. Yay, we're a romcom minus the "rom" part (I can't help but laugh as I remember this). Whenever we were talking about the terms of the fake dating act we discussed how we would play along and did all sorts of things to make the act seem real even at close inspection. I made it completely clear to her at the beginning of our "relationship" that there was a 90% chance that I caught legitimate feelings, and I fought those off for a while because I remembered the mission of the fake relationship was to make first girlfriend jealous.
Well, even a friendship with the first girlfriend wasn't possible after I got upset one night about her new boyfriend and said some things that I shouldn't have. This isn't an AITA post though, so big skip. When I was dealing with the fallout of having lost friends and feeling angsty and frustrated Becky was the for me for some reason, even though we still fought with each other when nobody was looking and gagged at the idea of touching one another, even worse, acting like we were in love. I had told her the entire story of what had happened and she still thought I was a safe person to be in proximity to. She was also very gentle with me after that.
Some things happened and I slowly started to realize I wanted to know Becky far more than I did before. She was gentle with me and knew what to say and how to say it while making sure my head was secured to my shoulders. I did it. I formed legitimate feelings. I called Becky a few nights later to tell her how I was feeling. I wasn't really expecting her to want to go on a date with me, I just really wanted her to be aware of my thoughts and feelings, for my worst fear was turning into the peer that she was trying to avoid, but I would be worse because I could act on the romantic feelings within reason.
She told me she needed to have a little time to think about things and talk to her friends about how she was feeling. A couple of hours later she texted me and said that she would do the real relationship on the condition that we end the relationship when she moves away at the end of the semester. That was really what I was thinking before since I had just gotten out of a really stressful and controlling relationship a couple of months prior (life is crazy). The second rule would be that we would not fall in love. The relationship is temporary and it will stay that way. The deal was struck. Let the dating begin.
I just want to say that the three or so months spent with Becky were some of the most special moments of my entire life so far (yes I know I'm 18 and have plenty more of those chances). Two moments spent with her occupy the top two of the top three spots of the most romantic moments I've ever taken part in. 1. Looking up at the stars in the middle of an empty field on the hood of my dinky little sedan and 2. joy riding my father's mid-life crisis car (a manual with no electronic assists, so it's like fighting for your life the whole time.) Plus all the little moments that we spent together in between the giant ones.
Something that needs to be understood about Becky is that she does not ever show her emotions. If she were at a card table in Vegas I would have no doubt that she would walk out of that gambling hall ready to retire comfortably. It made me incredibly interested in her even more. Especially when she let me see her thoughts and feelings. I became fascinated by any little emotion I could find, any bit of need, curiosity, joy, hurt, jealousy, terror, care, sadness, love. And I found it quite a bit (my eyes are welling up currently). She seemed quite happy with me because I could always get her to reveal herself to me.
I would like to add that this entire time I was so terrified of disrespecting or making this woman uncomfortable at all to the point where I apologized excessively if I misread signals. I almost always asked permission to touch her. And never once in our relationship did I find the guts to kiss her.
The time of Becky's move was quickly approaching. She was to go to her new town on vacation for a week to look for homes and cover other bases before she could leave for good. The day before she left she asked if we could talk. I knew as soon as she said it that it was to be a breakup. we met up at a restaurant and ate our meals before she got to business. Even though she wouldn't be moving for another few weeks after returning (she still hasn't) that it would be best to end the relationship now. She explained why, but I can't remember because I was so focused on how her voice broke when she was saying her opening line. I responded with a brisk "okay" and we fist-bumped to seal the deal. I began laughing hysterically because I was going to cry since only a pretty awesome girl ends a relationship with a fist bump (it wasn't awkward or anything and that may just be my personal opinion).
This past week I've been pretty upset about the fact that it's over. I even cried when I made the joke to myself, "Since our relationship is over do we go back to hating each other?" That's when I realized that I couldn't stand the idea of hating her again and that I in fact fell in love with her despite being told not to.
I told my best friend about how I was feeling tonight and about how I had fallen in love with Becky despite that being one of two rules set at the beginning of our relationship. How do you break a rule when there are only two that you could possibly break?! I also asked my friend tonight if I should tell Becky I love her. His answer was a very short and simple "no". I'm here mostly to use Reddit as my therapist and maybe here the opinions of internet strangers on what I should do.
How do you suggest I take action here? What are some of the solutions for a long-distance relationship from 1,200 miles away? How can I move on from these thoughts and feelings if I should just let good things go (that made me cry a little)? How do you think that she would react?

Was homeschooled pretty much all my life, so I never really socialized or had friends growing up, and have had mental health problems for quite a while, depression, anxiety, existentialism and possibly some light schizophrenia. To drown this out I’d just play games and found a group of friends online that I’d play with and talk to. Still have the online friends but these days they’re usually too busy with their own things so I don’t speak with them much.
I’m now 20. Last year I started taking adult education classes (for GED or high school equivalency, since I was only ever homeschooled before) and these were going well for me initially. I felt like it was a new beginning for me, I told myself I would socialize and make new friends and connections, I had something to work towards, some kind of direction in life, and I was passing the GED tests with ease. Yet still, I felt demoralized, like nothing mattered, like I had nothing that was worth fighting for. I had made friends and socialized a lot, but everything there fell flat and they all stopped talking to me or caring.
I was pretty much at the end of my rope come November and attempted suicide. I couldn’t quite jump but the next two months were probably the darkest period in my life. I essentially needed constant distractions otherwise I’d spiral out of control when left with my own thoughts, wouldn’t sleep, wouldn’t eat and would uncontrollably sob. Thankfully I had my online friends to support and comfort me during this, except for one friend who was adding fuel to the fire throughout the whole thing but we cut contact with her luckily.
Come January, I was doing much better, started the new semester at school with some really cool people and remained friends with them. Got a chill new job at a grocery store that I enjoyed with really cool coworkers in February, a month later got fired because the boss wasn’t satisfied with my performance (people get fired all the time apparently. No one is ever good enough there)
I now have my GED and can take real college courses next semester, but have no fucking clue what major I want to go into, I don’t feel satisfied or accomplished at all, not looking forward to the future, just left with a feeling of “cool, but what the fuck is the point? What does any of it matter?”. I haven’t been able to find a new job, I’ve been getting interviews but constantly rejected.
I currently just rot in bed in my head all the time and I’m terrified of relapsing to that dark place I was in last November. I’m just feeling very hopeless and aimless and demoralized, which is how that dark period started before. I don’t know what to do. Sorry to post on here just to complain, I know people have it a lot worse than me and that I should be grateful for what I have, I’m just having a hard time of it all. Thanks for reading all this.

Hello everyone looking at this post. I’m looking for a friend I can vibe chill and get to know on a deeper personal level I hope. I crave more relationships in my life and/or just people to talk to.
Here’s a bit about myself. I enjoy playing video games the most. I’m a pc gamer, and I have a crap ton of games. But I mostly play league, valorant and cs. Recently been getting into Terraria and currently playing persona 5 and elden ring . Favorite game all time is portal 2 or Luigi’s mansion. I love watching shows, anime or regular. Currently watching jjk and AoT, and caught up in one piece. I occasionally like the outdoors and do things like fishing, camping, hiking, just enjoying the nature and vibes. For music, I enjoy rap and rock but I also like other niche stuff. Favorite artist is juice wrld. Oh and I guess a favorite movie of mine is Donnie Darko, love physiological thrillers.
Overall, I’m a pretty laidback person and would like to get to meet some new people. Have a good day/night!

My primary fears, since I was about ten, have been that I will end up in a position in life wherein I am financially unstable, and that I am “useless.” When I say “useless,” I mean a member of society who has nothing of value to contribute… though as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that this is actually a very unhealthy mindset. When I was younger, I used to look down on people who seemed very calm and relaxed, because I somehow thought it meant that they weren’t hardworking. Now that I’m an adult, I actually understand that it’s healthiest to be able to relax sometimes, but even then, I struggle when I have a break from work and school like I do this week because I think it makes me stop and think about how boring I arguably am. I mean, I suppose that I’m not boring because in my opinion no one really is - everyone has something they can teach you, everyone is more interesting than they may initially seem to be - but at the exact same time, I just mean that I somehow feel like I’m not doing things.
I watch films and television when I’m off school and work, and am finishing “Carrie” by Stephen king (I’ve been reading it for too long, been slacking on finishing it because I’ve been busy with school and work.) But I want to pick up a hobby, to learn something new. I feel now that we are 4 days into this break like I’m going crazy and I need some kind of change, but I’m also afraid to change my schedule too much, especially since when my job returns from this break there will already be a fair amount of change. I’m very tired and always am because of my awful sleeping schedule but haven’t fully fixed it and won’t just let my body take a nap even though I know I should. I’m tired of just watching films and tv on my breaks. I should teach myself something, pick up a new hobby, but I know I probably won’t. I have depression+anxiety+PTSD, I’m an ISFJ.
On Friday, I negotiated my salary with my employer. I had realized earlier this week after my employers sat me down and told me, in short, that my job responsibilities will increase that as an educator, I am underpaid ($17/hr.) I was nervous about it the day before even though I’d been feeling upset (I remember the term that had continuously come into mind was “disrespected,”) and requested the input of my coworkers.
I remember I had been steadily growing more and more agitated when my employers hadn’t set a date to discuss it, although I explained my reasoning to her as I had planned to (I was initially nervous and was actually partly frustrated, even though I knew they were busy with planning end of the year events, because I thought they would say no.) I was wrong. I provided $20 as the goal, said $19 was the lowest I was aiming for - we agreed that $19 in June makes the most sense, and $20 depending upon how June goes (I was specifically advocating for more money due to the care I’ve provided, and will continue to provide, for a child who has different needs.)
I had hesitated to ask for a raise after being promoted even though I’ve been working for nearly a year because I remember feeling early on as though I perhaps wasn’t good enough at my job, and didn’t deserve one because of it (I was told at last month’s evaluation that I’d be bumped up to $18/hr, but basically negotiated my way into more money today.)
I did tell my coworkers afterward, admittedly in a pleased sort of manner that may make me seem like a bit of a show off, even though I’m certain they make more as lead teachers. I have admittedly wondered if I am doing badly for someone my age (19 for nearly two months.)
I remember that I even cried, twice last week when I believed that my employers simply didn’t want to meet with me to discuss a potentially greater pay increase. I did not, however, have a set plan as to what I’d do if they said no.
I have no friends. I know that I should try to make some, but it’s very difficult for me to maintain friendships. I don’t know why. I actually think my communicative skills have improved immensely in comparison to how they were throughout most of high school, but I just am not the type who initiates plans/hangouts.
I have never received a grade lower than a C in any of my college courses (or courses throughout my academic career,) but still don’t know what I want to major in. Multiple people have told me that I should give it time, but some part of me wishes that I knew now.
I normally feel kind of stressed, especially when I’m around my family for a long period of time, but it’s hard to tell whether that’s due to my trauma and anxiety disorder, or apart of my personality. My mother did describe me as having been a “very nervous” child even when I was 3, and I didn’t experience any kind of real trauma until I was about 13-14 as my parents and home situation really changed around that time (my older brother had a mental break that year, and is presently in rehab.)
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Today I’d like to talk about greed, see we can all agree that corporations by and large exist for the sole purpose of extracting your hard earned funds from your pretty little pockets in the sleaziest ways possible. In the worst scenarios as far as video games go, we have seen corporations leverage aggressive monetization schemes that closely mirror gambling in the form of loot boxes, or developers will lock significant content required to advance the game behind expensive paywalls.
Now, that being said, can we stop pretending that Multiversus is doing anything even remotely similar. Not only is there free access to premium currency, for both the cosmetic section, and the fighter section there was clearly a lot of work put into other aspects which are being neglected.
The Net-Code appears to be fixed, no more rubber-banding or getting hit early or late unless you’re the problem, and I say that as someone who lives in the literal middle of nowhere.
There’s start up lag and whiff lag which makes reads more viable, as well as the addition of parrying, so we see a lot more dynamic play potential with those additions. Punishing is consistent, and dodging doesn’t feel as oppressive or free as it did before which ultimately makes things feel more fair especially in terms of neutral play.
The slower pace isn’t a bad thing, I think once you’ve got a grasp on a character the movement starts to flow more naturally, and every character is equipped with ways to continue combos and chase enemies.
Some people are complaining about the zoom affecting their ability to see bars or keep projectiles like Jerry in sight. You shouldn’t be walking across the map with someone in Jason’s bag, or held in Jake’s stomach, you should have a clear idea of what’s next, and where your combo is going, hence my assertion that sometimes I don’t think the game is slow, instead it seems players are. As for Tom and Kamikaze Jerry players, from a technical standpoint, it doesn’t feel like you’re supposed to be launching Jerry across everything on the map, he plays close by design, and he’s great for shutting down enemies in the air, you’re missing your shots if he’s out of your line of sight. Imagine if you were playing the Ice Climbers by killing one every time, that’s dumb and it’s not the developers fault if you’re playing that way.
Then on top of all that, they added single player content that’s meant to give less competitive players something they can enjoy without feeling pressure. It’s got a story, mini-games that increase in difficulty as you progress, boss fights, unique interactions, and animated cutscenes, all of which give you more access to more stuff.
Moving along to less important more dope things,
The character models are all polished and look really good, there’s a lot of love that went into the design of these models and it shows. Jason fits the art style strangely well, and his kit is one of the most fun in the game to date while still staying thematically consistent with his source material. The Batman Who Laughs, and the Killing Joke skins are both really genuinely great, not to mention this will ostensibly be Mark Hamill’s last Joker performance in honor of Kevin Conroy. So, looking at those two facts alone, Player’s First took Jason from the terrible development hell he was in and brought him to his first appearance in a video game in years that doesn’t have to lamp-shade him, and they reunited two of the most iconic characters in comic book history voiced by arguably the most legitimate and well known people to portray said characters.
Dexter’s Lab is beautiful, and it plays like a dream, the moving map, and the changing hazards are a work of art. Townsville and MoJoJoJo are so much fun as well, and I haven’t heard anyone really mention any positive things about the tangible ways Player’s First listened to feedback and expanded on what was already a fun experience.
And they did all that, and they gave it to you for free, if you supported them in the beta, they’re essentially giving you a free character, free access to all future battle passes, and cosmetics which contribute to your prestige points so you can get more skins and cosmetics for free. And yet somehow people still consider them to be greedy because they’re not giving you 10% of the content which they clearly worked incredibly hard to produce.
We as gamers need to step back and look at ourselves because some of you are the most entitled insufferable people on the planet, and you’re going to kill what has the potential to be a genuinely great gaming experience because they wouldn’t give you exactly everything you wanted, just 97% of it.
TLDR: PFG did their jobs, and did well, most of you are what’s wrong with modern gaming.

Also posted in other gme sub.
If you're like me.. hype as fuck since the tweet storm.. I've watched the reverse compilation of Roaring Kitty's tweets many times. Here's the soundtrack from his masterpiece of a movie. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rtHTBt6XyVcwnoG4a2D5l?si=af0eba7a319240d6
The songs are in reverse order as they appear in his tweets. Most recent first.
A lot of the song names and lyrics probably have some hidden meaning. Many stand out but these stand out the most to me.
Matter of Time, whatsyourask, SHERlocked, tick of the clock on there twice.
SHERlocked is most interesting to me. Shares... Locked...

• Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
• Twisted Logic - Coldplay
• I Was Born To Love You - Freddie Mercury
• Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
• One Dance - Drake, Wizkid, Kyla
• One Jump Ahead - Brad Kane, Disney
• Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
• Tick Of The Clock - Chromatics
• (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult
• Evidently Chickentown - John Cooper Clarke
• Punkrocker - Teddybears feat. Iggy Pop
• Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes
• Matter of Time - Vandelux, Alex Maher
• Crazy - James Michael Mix - Alanis Morissette
• Best Friend - Sofi Tukker feat. NERVO, The Knocks, & ALISA UENO
• Goosebumps Original Theme Song - Jack Lenz
• Just Dance - Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis
• ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
• Chaiyya Chaiyya - Sukhwinder Singh, Sapna Awasthi
• Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz
• Made You Look - Nas
• /K/arma Police - Radiohead
• White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
• Alice - Pogo
• A Monster - Waveshaper
• Fire Like This - Hardknox
• Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Freaks - Radio Edit - Timmy Trumpet, Savage
• Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg
• Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act 4: No. 29 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, André Previn
• Gossip Folks - Missy Elliott feat. Ludacris
• Bye Bye Baby - Bay City Rollers
• Roda - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
• Mr. Niceguy - Will Smith
• Day 'N' Nite (From "Moon Knight") - Geek Music
• Come Along - Cosmo Sheldrake
• The Daily Mail - Radiohead
• Back In the Saddle - Aerosmith
• Under My Skin - Original Mix - Byron Foxx
• 1.0_8-whatsyourask.m4p - Mac Quayle
• Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C&C Music Factory, Freedom Williams
• Scopin - Kordhell
• Du hast - Rammstein
• Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of the War Drums - A Perfect Circle
• Bang! - AJR
• You're Not God - Anna Calvi
• Hello Beastie - Hans Zimmer
• Narco - Blasterjaxx, Timmy Trumpet
• The Ecstasy Of Gold - Live with the SFSO - Metallica
• Enter Sandman (Remastered) - Metallica
• Farewell Ride - Beck
• SHERlocked - Michael Price, David Arnold
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell
• Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine
• See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth) - Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth
• Tick Of The Clock - Chromatics
• Shimmy She Wobble - Othar Turner, The Rising Star Fife And Drum Band
• Stand Up - Ludacris, Shawnna
• "Why Can't We Go Backwards?" - Alan Silvestri
• Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
• Light of the Seven - From "Game of Thrones" - The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
• La resa dei conti - Ennio Morricone

"Good afternoon Ms. Lopez." I say, warmly greeting an elderly Cuban woman in her sixties. She smiles sweetly at me as she asks me if I am the chef behind today's food, in Spanish. I smile and nod at her, and she excitedly begins to chatter in Spanish, telling me the latest chisme regarding the latest romantic escapades occurring in her son's life.
I lightly place some ham on the sandwich I'm preparing for her as she excitedly gossips with me. I cleverly practice my active listening skills, while occasionally chiming in to let her know that I am actively aware of what she's saying. The woman is one of the last people to arrive during today's meal hour. She seems to operate on a sense of punctuality that is uniquely hers, almost like a force of nature. I almost admire it, if I'm being honest. My fellow volunteers look at me and smile as they sense the passive patience I radiate in this minor interaction.
The day has been one of the more chill ones in the soup kitchen, especially since I started actively championing the place. At our most busy we've served hundreds of families in a single day, and today we've served a few dozen. There's something quite nice about this moment of normalcy. I wonder if I sometimes took this level of mundanity for granted during this jump...
To be fair to myself a part of me is almost acting like I'm guaranteed to send myself to some apocalyptic hellscape and that's just not happening. I'm almost guaranteed to go to a place more dangerous than "9-5; a white-collar simulator", but I'm picking my next destination and after the decade of serenity I've had here I've got no reason to act like a dumbass and jeopardize my odds of long-term success in this career by sending myself to a death trap. Ms. Lopez smiles as she walks away, clearly believing she's shared vital chisme with me. To be fair, she did share gossip plenty of people would find juicy, but since I'm not some gossip I was the wrong audience for her words.
My fellow volunteers look at me and glance at my phone with curious looks. I pick up the thing and see that I've been missing an exhilarating conversation in our group chat. I skim the thing, my perfected memory allowing me to instantly catch up with the conversation the small gaggle of brave volunteers who kindly donate our weekend hours have been having before I begin to text the group back.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. We wait for the people who've come for a meal to finish their food up and then we get to cleaning. After that we do a few sweeps of the parts of the church we've used before going our separate ways. I make my way home, and I do some light meal-prepping as well as practice a few more of my skills. At this point in my stay I've perfected my routine and could do it in my sleep... If I ever slept that is. In the entire time I've been in this setting I don't believe I've slept once. That is a nice feeling, since it means I never wasted an hour of my time, much less six.
The work week is a bit of a slog, since I am eagerly anticipating the news regarding my final promotion. I was never the sort to believe that time felt longer when you were excited about something, or dreading it, but in the time since I came to this setting I've gradually become a believer in such ideas even if they still feel a bit silly. Nonetheless. I diligently work through the week, keep my team on track, and when Friday rolls around I get the news I've waited for.
Thanks to "Gamer's Mind" I am able to keep my face even as the office's general supervisor explains this news to me and not outwardly express my excitement, but internally I am more excited than I've been about anything since I first entered this world. This news means that I'll be getting right around $3,000 dollars every two weeks just for existing! This means that in future jumps working will be optional unless I get really greedy, which frees me up to decide what I want to do in most modern settings. In medieval settings this amount of money could be even more vital, though at the same time such a thing could just... not matter, since in such a setting I could easily just avoid civilization, but this money will certainly liberate me from a lot of the struggles of wasting vast swathes of a jump at a job I don't want.
At the time that I was being told the good news I almost began to cry. Thank goodness for Gamer's Mind, I guess.
Nine years ago I was down on my luck and down to my last dollars when I got the job offer that led me here and this news means that I am free from such things. The freedom and power that comes with making enough to get by, especially passively, is awe-inspiring, and it's quite difficult for me to find the words to express how excited it makes me feel even days after it. I spend... close to a week passively smiling and being just ambiently happy, as I begin to integrate a new set of responsibilities into my work life.
During this time my decision to fix the coffee machine in the office break-room by hand after it almost burns a colleague results in me getting a new class; "Handyman" and the initial ability I receive is a simple one that bolsters my agility a touch, agility being my attribute tied to fine motor skills. I skillfully use this class to actually fix various things by hand, and I begin to steadily accrue various maintenance skills. In days I gain class levels, and with each class level I am able to repair things faster, more cheaply, and eventually my ability to fix matures into an ability to improve things, which I instinctively know will lead to some shenanigans down the line. Before I know it days have turned into weeks, which age and turn into months. My skills with leadership and motivation have continued to improve and I lead my team with my full focus and skillful decision-making. Before I know it I am in the final leg of the final stretch of my first jump.
I've been here for 119 months. Nine years and eleven months. It's actually been... even longer than that. I'm at the beginning of the final week of my stay here, and my hands idly clean a dish as I passively listen to Pastor Charlie, one of the few guest pastors the church has invited in years deliver a sermon. He has the congregants enraptured and eating out of the palm of his hand as he speaks about a miracle that "Our Lord" once performed. His voice is a pleasant distraction and one of my twin trains of thought listens and takes notes on how the man delivers his sermon. Physically I seem to be engrossed in the man's sermon when someone, one of the church's assistants, taps on my shoulder and gestures for me to walk over to the pastor's office. I stealthy get up, activating "Rogue" and make my way out of the serving area adjacent to the kitchen. I relax a touch when I'm in the long hallway leading me to Tyler's, Pastor Rhodes's, office.
As I walk down the humble hallway I feel a strange sense of finality wash over me. There's something uncommonly... real about this trek. I feel more solid, more whole than I have in a while, and I suspect that it's because this is my last time in this soup kitchen, this church. I won't be returning here, at least not for a while, and that's sad. It's not the saddest thing that's ever happened to me, but it is kind of a bummer and I allow myself to feel a touch of real, genuine sadness at the sobering realization that when I leave this place I'll be leaving for a long time.
I eventually put that thought away, shelving it and compartmentalizing my thoughts so I can focus on better, happier things. My enhanced senses allow me to spot things like faint cracks too thin for normal humans to spot, and as I walk past them I cast my handy spell on them. I watch as the walls of the hallway repair themselves and I smile, sensing the powerful potential of the spell at my fingertips. I reach the office of the man I've spent plenty of weekends working alongside, and under, and I smile, even internally, when he looks up and spots me. He greets me with a smile and motions for me to sit down. When I do what he asks, he immediately begins to speak.
"Lucas, I apologize for calling out to you but I wanted to check in. Today you seemed... Out of it." The man exclaims, and judging from the way my heart jumps in my chest I realize that some people are just.... more intuitive than others. My acting skill gets a nice little load of experience when I mask my reaction to his words and let out a small, natural sounding laugh in response to his question.
"Tyler," I begin, causing the man to wince. I'm an atheist, or at least I was pre-chain, now... well, now I'm a lot more curious about religion than I was before. I'm not sure if gods exist, but I sure as shit know the supernatural does and I'm not in the business of denying what I can see. I've made my vague religious position clear to the man long ago so he insists I call him "Tyler" which I've personally always found a bit awkward, but there's something a little funny about how it disarms him so cleanly during this interaction. "I'm doing... Okay. I AM bummed I won't be here next week." I state, calmly. This causes my friend's eyes to widen in surprise.
"You're missing a week? I'm sure some of our regulars will be disappointed. Is everything alright?" The man asks. His question is so sincere, so genuine that it's mildly disarming.
I'm... not a nice person. I'm far from mean, sure, but I've come to accept that there's a core of kindness in some people, even in many people, and I am not someone who has that core, that central, unconscious, guiding light that moves them towards kindness with the ease and naturalness of a heartbeat. At my core rests something else, something I don't know if I can articulate in just a few words.
I wouldn't say I'm mean or anything like that but I'm far more cynical than a lot of the people I've met are. In this world, especially, it seems like a lot of people are just decent at heart and I suspect that that was and is the case in the world I was born on as well. Tyler is one of the people I've met whose central guiding light seems to be centered around decency and kindness and I think in any world the man could find himself in he'd strive to be kind. It's almost like interacting with a real version of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons...
"I'm okay. I'm gonna be doing other stuff, and I normally prioritize the soup kitchen over my work or social life," I state, and this isn't a flex it's simply a very true statement. Tyler hears the remark and smiles faintly. "But I've been asked to help out with other stuff from friends who wouldn't ask if it wasn't something they really felt they could handle alone. I'm just gonna miss one weekend, and then I'll be back." I remark, and Tyler smiles at me.
"Okay Lucas. If you need any help you'd ask, right?" Tyler asks, and I consider the question. This is only somewhat an act, as I don't know if I'd ask for help if I needed it. I ultimately nod at the man and I can sense a touch of sadness as he studies my response, which I don't love but I also don't really feel right lying anymore than is necessary. The man makes some small talk and I quickly breeze through it. In minutes I am back in the kitchen with the others. And minutes after that I am cleaning with my fellow volunteers. Almost before I know it I'm stepping out of the church after we've cleaned out the kitchen. I glance at it one last time before I make my way home.
The next few days pass by in a blur, with only two minor oddities; the first being that I ask Hannah to come out with me on Friday night. I have got to see if I can stomach the idea of any sort of romance in a jump, and this is a consequence free way for me to do something along those lines. The second oddity is that I spend nearly all of my money purchasing... well, everything. Every night after work I go to various stores and spend the money that I really haven't needed all that much until now, purchasing things like weapons, food, and especially books. I buy boatloads of books, both ready and willing to use up something I won't be able to take with me into future jumps anyway in exchange for stuff I CAN take with me, thanks to the fiat-backed power of an infinite inventory.
The work week is, aside from what I do after work every night, pretty normal but Friday itself is weirdly solemn. The day passes by as quickly as any other day has, filled with minor encounters with glitches, and a few more annoyances with my small number of drawbacks but when five rolls around I clock out one last time and give the office a final look. I am weirdly slow when it comes to getting up and leaving my cubicle, in fact I'm actually one of the last office workers to leave the office but as I step out of the building I experience another burst of gratitude to Gamer's Mind, which keeps me from acting odd or even tearing up as I glance back at the place I've spent thousands of hours in.
I allow myself a beat to... honestly, grieve. I tell myself that it's okay to have feelings about leaving, even if those feelings are big and weird and are not the most fun. Nonetheless I don't linger here, at my place of employment, I have other things I both need and want to do. I use my inventory and change into a pretty casual outfit before I begin a brief walk. _________________________________________________________________________
​The park beside the office building is a rare example of a pristine location in the city. It is filled with natural greenery, and at the moment a stunningly pretty redhead glances at her phone waiting for someone to pop into view.
The redhead is wearing a pleasant looking dress and a jacket, as the weather is just beginning to take the seasonal turn towards the unpleasant. It's still warm enough that the clothes are mostly unnecessary but as she waits for her friend, a young man who has finally gotten the courage to ask her out on something vaguely approximating a date, she appreciates the wisdom of her decision to wear the slightly warmer than necessary clothes.
Her "date", mostly in her eyes though he is aware of her feelings and a part of him feels some happiness in the idea that this is a date, enters the park and spots her before she spots him. He reaches into his inventory and he retrieves something, a nice little bouquet he purchased earlier today and safely stored away. The flowers, prettily packed and all, appear as he walks towards the young woman.
Lucas is testing the waters here. He isn't testing the waters with Hannah specifically, but rather what it feels like to go on a date as a jumper. He has long had strange feelings about this, but he knows that he is going to leave tomorrow and so he wants to see if he can enjoy a date as a jumper, so he is doing a scientific experiment even if he feels... less than great about some aspects of all of this.
"Hannah!" Lucas says, calling out to one of his first, in fact one of his only, real friends in this world. The redhead excitedly turns and spots her longtime friend, waving at him and waving him over. She spots the bouquet and lets out a delighted sounding laugh, and when Lucas hears it the smile that alights his features is heartwarming.
In his day to day life some facets of Lucas's charisma-heavy build only rarely surface in ways that matter and his looks tends to be one such thing He is attractive enough that his looks can captivate and reside in one's imagination for a while after they first meet him, but right now, this early on along his chain his looks are only enough to make people have schoolgirl crushes on him and people can and do get used to his looks after a while. Still, in some moments this is enough to color the impression he makes on people. Right now, in a romantic context, his supernatural attractiveness is enough to change the sort of impression he makes on someone.
The handsome actor reaches his friend and sits down next to her. He hands her the flowers and for a moment a strange serenity washes over the two as they enjoy each other's company. Lucas looks inward and he realizes that he genuinely, well and truly, likes this moment. Hannah looks at him and eventually asks an important question.
"Lucas... how am I gonna hold these flowers?" She asks, and this makes him smile. He is quick to offer her a response.
"I'll take them when we get going but I saw them and I thought of you. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give you these." He says, and there is an odd, for him, level of sincerity and genuineness in his voice that makes Hannah giggle girlishly. Lucas right now is relying on his perk-enhanced instincts and the charisma he has honed through social encounters for the last decade, and he's enjoying how it feels.
Both of the figures on the "Date", though neither of them officially dubbed it that, enjoy the moment. Their passive delight and infatuation create an envy-inducing atmosphere of closeness and quiet joy that radiates outward. The park is nearly abandoned so there is no one to witness this moment other than Lucas's benefactor, and Lucas is simply at peace.
Eventually he lightly touches Hannah's hand, and asks her if she'd like to go and get dinner before they go to the movie they agreed on going to watch earlier this week. Hannah agrees, handing Lucas the bouquet and he, to her surprise, puts it in the bag he has on his person. When she asks if that will squish or hurt the flowers Lucas tells her, with a bizarre amount of confidence, that it won't. She eventually accepts this, having learned to trust that Lucas knows what he is doing, and the two of them begin a short walk to a mall they both know well.

If you're like me.. hype as fuck since the tweet storm.. I've watched the reverse compilation of Roaring Kitty's tweets many times. Here's the soundtrack from his masterpiece of a movie. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0rtHTBt6XyVcwnoG4a2D5l?si=af0eba7a319240d6
The songs are in reverse order as they appear in his tweets. Most recent first.
A lot of the song names and lyrics probably have some hidden meaning. Many stand out but these stand out the most to me.
Matter of Time, whatsyourask, SHERlocked, tick of the clock on there twice.
SHERlocked is most interesting to me. Shares... Locked...

• Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
• Twisted Logic - Coldplay
• I Was Born To Love You - Freddie Mercury
• Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
• One Dance - Drake, Wizkid, Kyla
• One Jump Ahead - Brad Kane, Disney
• Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
• Tick Of The Clock - Chromatics
• (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult
• Evidently Chickentown - John Cooper Clarke
• Punkrocker - Teddybears feat. Iggy Pop
• Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes
• Matter of Time - Vandelux, Alex Maher
• Crazy - James Michael Mix - Alanis Morissette
• Best Friend - Sofi Tukker feat. NERVO, The Knocks, & ALISA UENO
• Goosebumps Original Theme Song - Jack Lenz
• Just Dance - Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis
• ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
• Chaiyya Chaiyya - Sukhwinder Singh, Sapna Awasthi
• Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz
• Made You Look - Nas
• Karma Police - Radiohead
• White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
• Alice - Pogo
• A Monster - Waveshaper
• Fire Like This - Hardknox
• Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Freaks - Radio Edit - Timmy Trumpet, Savage
• Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg
• Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act 4: No. 29 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, André Previn
• Gossip Folks - Missy Elliott feat. Ludacris
• Bye Bye Baby - Bay City Rollers
• Roda - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
• Mr. Niceguy - Will Smith
• Day 'N' Nite (From "Moon Knight") - Geek Music
• Come Along - Cosmo Sheldrake
• The Daily Mail - Radiohead
• Back In the Saddle - Aerosmith
• Under My Skin - Original Mix - Byron Foxx
• 1.0_8-whatsyourask.m4p - Mac Quayle
• Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C&C Music Factory, Freedom Williams
• Scopin - Kordhell
• Du hast - Rammstein
• Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of the War Drums - A Perfect Circle
• Bang! - AJR
• You're Not God - Anna Calvi
• Hello Beastie - Hans Zimmer
• Narco - Blasterjaxx, Timmy Trumpet
• The Ecstasy Of Gold - Live with the SFSO - Metallica
• Enter Sandman (Remastered) - Metallica
• Farewell Ride - Beck
• SHERlocked - Michael Price, David Arnold
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell
• Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine
• See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth) - Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth
• Tick Of The Clock - Chromatics
• Shimmy She Wobble - Othar Turner, The Rising Star Fife And Drum Band
• Stand Up - Ludacris, Shawnna
• "Why Can't We Go Backwards?" - Alan Silvestri
• Exit Music (For A Film) - Radiohead
• Light of the Seven - From "Game of Thrones" - The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
• La resa dei conti - Ennio Morricone

I'm currently writing this while also writing for a discussion for a college assignment. So pretty much a quick summary of myself I'm 23/ Adhd, Autisim/ Massive gaming and board game nerd/ Animal love tech enthusiast and College student. I'm mainly looking within my state for anything but if someone out of state see's me interesting I'd give it a shot but I can't travel as I take care of my mother and my brother since they're both disabled and ontop of that I can't drive. I cook, clean and bake so atleast you'll never get hungry ever around me. I'm honestly just looking for just a chill person who's going to the same college as me or a college near me and wouldn't mind hanging out with me while on my down time between classes. I've literally have no preferences about anyone and I have absolutely no self esteem so take with that what you will. Please feel free to message me I'm gonna be up all night till I finish my assignment and don't mind being bothered. Looking out of state now but prefer folks in Cali but hey if it happens it happens. Also prefer talking on discord more then here or snap n stuff.

Weird experience tonight at Point Pleasant
We have lived in Halifax for decades, on Young Avenue. Being close to Point Pleasant Park, we often go for a run there - we start from the coastline and trace it to the side of seaport, on the asphalt trail and come out from the other end of the park. We have done this countless times after sunset but never during daytime.
Today at around 9:15 we came out with a couple friends to go for a run because rain had reduced to light droplets. We reached near the seaport and decided to return back west when we saw some guy walk past us into the park. It was hazy, foggy, there was little rain and since the guy was wearing glasses his eyes weren’t able to be seen very clearly.
As soon as he moved past the seaport area, my wife needed to take a leak, so she excused herself to be alone, after some more walking, reached the area where there’s a concrete cross and wartime memorial.
Suddenly she sees the guy who was walking coming from side of the wood (on her left side). She looked over at him and he’s just standing there, watching her take a piss. She was trying to hide between the trees, but I am sure her white skin stood out against the dark background. She was practically naked from waist down which means she had nothing but panties around her ankles. She spoke out, saying, “Please stop staring, freak!” (I am sure hear he could hear this), and she begged him “don’t come any closer”. She didn’t know if he was a murderer, a rapist, or just the usual park pervert, but she didn’t want to upset him so she tried to speak without being threatening or anything; it was soft.
For a few seconds she thought she got through to him because he subconsciously moved a bit further outside on the track and started walking along its outer boundary. That was short lived; after 20 steps or so, he turned the flashlight on from his camera and kept it on. He just stood there, staring and taking pictures of her peeing. Last thing I saw he was still in the park looking for victims.
We just kept moving and kept getting more scared of this freak as we pondered on what had happened. It was a looooooong run. We didn’t see anyone until we saw him trying to watch people use the toilet on the other side of the park.
He snuck out from the park through the small passage near the toilet that brings you on the road.
We have no idea who he was. I bet that he was either spanking himself or he was doing drugs or something in the woods. But doing anything in the rain (it was raining enough for make you wet in prolonged time) other than perving out doesn’t make sense.
Anyone see a freak like that around the Point Pleasant Park/Young Ave area?

Now that MultiVersus has returned, there is debate as to whether the game arrived with either positive or negative additions to the now fully finished, polished, and launched game. Many argue that the new mechanics have actually improved on the gameplay from the Open Beta alongside other neat additions, while others argue that the execution of the Beta versions gameplay amongst other details were remarkably better than the excuse for a finished game in these people's minds. In my opinion, the Open Beta beats the Official Game "quality" by a huge landslide, and here is why I believe that.

1. "The Camera Zoom And Slow Paced Gameplay:" A lot of people seem to be aware of the camera zoom system that was implemented in MultiVersus (Which by the way, cannot be modified to where it is completely gone), alongside the dramatically slower movement. It seems that a possible reason for why Player First Games included this monstrosity of an addition was because of players reporting the spam of attacks in matches alongside the seemingly way too swift gameplay, which of course lead to Player First Games including the previously mentioned implementations in the relaunch, thinking that players would "think outside the box" with attacks when playing. Back in the Open Beta days, there was a little something called "Attack Decay!" Sounds wonderful right? Well, my friend, here is a description of this glorious mechanic; Attack Decay basically made opponents attempts at spamming attacks utterly useless! This mechanic rewarded players who were already thinking creatively when utilizing their fighters moveset splendidly, but it seems that everyone at Player First Games thought that this aid for players who aren't spamming the same move forgot its existence to where it is M.I.A in the Official Game. About the fast-paced gameplay, let me present a question; Do you really prefer the new slow-paced gameplay, or the way the movement worked in the Open Beta? The movement was arguably floaty during the Beta days, but you would think that the gameplay that for the most part did not need any fixing whatsoever (in most peoples eyes) would be perfected by only editing the very small grievances and glitches in this way of playing the game, right? Nope; we would instead get gameplay that really shows the transparency of the playable characters not fitting in the new gameplay style at all (Iron Giants meets the Dexter's Laboratory Map for example) that seemingly only a small portion of players seem to be content with. I am willing to bet that if a dedicated fighting game enthusiast were to playtest both the Open Beta and Official Game versions of MultiVersus, the enthusiast would prefer the Open Beta's almost near perfect fluidity that was fun to participate in compared to the clunkiness of the Official Game that feels like a chore to play through after a couple of matches.
2. "The Corporate Similarities To Other Free To Play Games:" From the removal of the beautifully drawn 2D renders in game to make way for the ugliest 3D renders, to the layout of the Fighters menu quite literally being the FTP Battle Royale Locker, to the exclusion of a proper fighting game character select screen, almost everything about the new UI for MultiVersus screams "Fortnite" and "Stumble Guys'" unoriginality instead of a celebration of a company's Intellectual Properties with colorful, vivid, and creative design that actually was in the Open Beta. When you launch a game like Super Smash Bros or any MARVEL VS. CAPCOM game besides Infinite, you can feel the authentic love and passion poured into every single aspect of the game. When you log on MultiVersus, you are bombarded with microtransactions that probably cost as much as a wedding ring when accumulated together. Adding to these problems, fighters who should be carefully selected and handpicked with the intent of being well thought-out inclusions to the roster are treated like the average skin that adds no value to the gameplay in the average FTP game. So many people are fine with the idea of MultiVersus having an infinite number of character slots and franchises one day that could give Fortnite's colossal library of franchises a run for its money, but has anyone thought about the example of not having every participant in a baseball game receiving the big trophy, as well as keeping the roster at a reasonable limit to avoid having the roster the same size as a MultiVersus fan roster on DeviantArt? We have characters like Banana Guard before Scooby Doo, Samurai Jack, and many other characters who are objectively better picks for a celebration of Warner Bros as a whole; and yes, every good fighting game has a good selection of joke characters, but MultiVersus has not even reached the excellence of other platform fighters with their current strategy (putting emphasis on the most laughable and unnecessary aspects of a game) to add a joke character in a roster that has missing combatants that are way more important to Warner Bros history. But hey, Warner Bros and Player First Games have to make that green paper somehow, and they more than likely don't care about the fact that adding a "Passion Project" like Banana Guard before Daffy Duck is a massive slap to the face to people who want beloved characters added to the game that are not treated as muses to sell rubbish.
3. "Miscellaneous Stuff That Doesn't Need It's Own Category!!!:"

The Minigames are boring and suck for the most part, except for the Target minigame.
The coloring of the opponent and allies team color on the fighters looks atrocious and weird.
The game has crashed and disconnected over 20 times due to lag that will come at you even if you had the best Wi-Fi and/or Internet on the planet. They really should have worked on the netcode and called it a day instead of ruining the fluidity of the Open Betas gameplay.
If they were trying to make the graphics better with Unreal Engine 5, they failed miserably! Everything looks shiny and gross compared to the Open Betas graphics. "Work Smarter Not Harder" I guess.
The new dash attacks feel very clunky most of the time.
The scrapped Guilds mode sounds a lot better than Rifts mode. They are more or less the same, but the details about Guilds sound much more interesting than what we got in Rifts.
You cannot play as characters you don't own in offline modes such as "The Lab." (They took out the Training map from the game too)
People are missing the characters they purchased with real money???
The characters are so huge now and need to be their original size in the Beta.
Hopefully everything gets fixed, as I do want the game to succeed and be in the greatest state it can be because right now, everything is a dumpsterfire compared to the very low lows of the Open Beta days. If you guys have your own problems with the game or have anything to say about the game, leave a comment and have a great day!

Hey guys, I don’t post on Reddit much, but am super scared for my doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I (F14) have (what seems to be) some form of hypothyroidism. Though my TSH is just slightly above the normal range (4.84), when I got an antibodies test done my T3 and T4 came back normal, but my antibodies were pretty wack. My “Thyroid Peroxidase Ab” was 76, and my “Thyroglobulin Ab” was 394. I don’t know much about what all the blood levels mean exactly, but I was told that I am (most likely) in the early stages of hypothyroidism and have Hashimoto’s Disease. I was then referred to a pediatric endocrinologist, who managed to squeeze me in for an appointment tomorrow. My mom and grandma both have hypothyroidism, so I was bound to get it at some point… I just didn’t realize that it would come so soon! Another important thing to mention is that I’m an elite level age group competitive swimmer, who swims for over 15 hours a week and is ranked in the top 100 (in multiple events, might I add) every year. For the last 18 months, I have been experiencing MAJOR fatigue in both races and in practice. I’ve always been the type of person who is super strong (I’m over 6 feet tall, haha) and can thug it out whenever workouts get hard, especially at the parts in them where others fail— that has NOT been the case, and has honestly gotten wayyyyy worse over time. Though I didn’t realize what these symptoms were at the time, I am now strongly believing that they are associated with hypothyroidism, or my Hashimoto’s Disease. Here are some of my symptoms that follow:

• EXTREME FATIGUE… like I’m talking extreme! I’ve never been this tired before, not just out of the water but in it as well. I am totally dying in all of my sets, and in my races.
  
• Muscle Weakness. My muscles just give out on me after what feels like a 50.
  
• Muscle Soreness. My muscles are sore— they’ve never been sore before!! Additionally, when I look back on videos of me swimming in a race, I look like I’m taking it easy. It doesn’t feel that way at all— rather, I feel like I’m pushing it harder than I ever have before.
  
• Dry Skin. My skin is constantly peeling, dry, and prone to break outs. I live in a very humid place as well, where most of my friends have extremely oily skin.
  
• Hair Loss/Thinning Hair. My hair has always been super thick and curly, but it has started falling out a lot!!
  
• Puffy Face. My face has also gotten a lot fatter, if I’m being honest. I’ve always been the type of person with a long, skinny face, but over the last year my face has turned incredibly round and makes me look like I weigh a lot more than I actually do.
  
• Weight Gain. I’ve always had a fast metabolism, but my weight gain has progressed a lot more exponentially within the past month. One week, I went from 153 pounds to 160… I hadn’t been eating any differently than I was before, and was working out at the same intensity.
  
• Cold Sensitivity. I sleep in an 80 degree room every night, and still wake up due to being too cold. Well we’re on the topic of sleep, I sleep well over 10 hours a night (I’ve never needed more than 8) and still wake up feeling exhausted.
  
• Depression. Since January of 2023, I’ve been feeling depressed, and it has only gotten worse since then. I’ve found Jesus, focused on the positives, gone to a therapist, and I am still feeling pretty depressed. Though it’s only minor (I never think about killing myself or anything), I’ve read a lot about how hypothyroidism can trigger this sort of thing, which makes a lot of sense, as that’s when all of my other symptoms began to form as well.
  
• I have more symptoms as well, which I could mention in the comments, if necessary.
  

My coaches and mother all thought that I was burned out. I kept on saying “I’m not! I feel motivated, and I absolutely can’t live without this sport!” (I LOVE swimming with all of my heart, and have never doubted that I wouldn’t be wanting to do it anymore.) Well, once the lab results came back… I was finally believed! I’ve changed my workouts to be shorter and all at race-pace (USRPT, if you swim), which has helped a little bit, with me taking a rest after I feel myself get to that same level of fatigued.
Where I’m going with this, is that my mother and older sister don’t believe I’m going to be medicated for this, as my mother wasn’t put on medication until her TSH was well over 10. I can’t express through words how much I believe that being medicated would help me, especially in swimming. My energy levels are impacted everything I do, and I’m sure that if I wasn’t an athlete, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal. The problem is that swimming is my bloodline, and also incredibly difficult— even if you don’t have a thyroid issue! The surplus makes it almost impossible for me to achieve my full potential and go much faster than I am right now.
I’d be surprised if anyone were to have read this through the whole way, but these are my questions: - Will I (more than likely) be medicated after my appointment tomorrow? - If I’m not, should I go to another endocrinologist to see if they will? - Are there any other (serious) athletes on this sub who have gone through hypothyroidism, and would they have any sort of tips for dealing with this issue well?
Thanks again if any of you read this far!!

We have a new hire (about two months now) in our department D28 that I do not vibe with. This is also a rant-ish post so I don't give much sht for the grammar use. I apologize.
To start, I have a pretty nice relationship with most of our department even though I am a new hire myself. But two months ago, we got a new hire with a bossy attitude for someone so young. I don't mind bossy people, sometimes I am one myself if I am stressed, but I apologize when I know I sound like one since I am not a boss... but this one has a vibe that is not vibin'.
They mostly work as associate and recovery (for the last hour of the store) but their recovery is not recovering unless our DH is working closing.
Memorial Day had been a triggering day in this cold war. I was at the mulch pit area helping a customer load mulch and soil up, and I have a clear view of the garden center gate where they stand. I cannot get an extension, but I guess they got a call/intercom for wheat straw. Again, I can see where they are STANDING, and has been for the past 5-ish minutes while I'm loading up the customer. A few seconds pass, and I got a walkie call asking me if I can get a wheat straw for a customer because "We are helping a customer load something up." By "we," I believe they mean another associate who went to the pit to get some soil for a customer, the associate I am now helping since I just finished loading the last car, who heard the walkie and said, "I'll get the straw, can you load this for her (the customer in the car now behind me — and no, the associate I have beef with is nowhere to be seen)?" to which I gladly said, "yes" and ignored the walkie call. I said I believe since there was no other car (except in lumber area) that ever pulled up apart from the one who needed soil.
Do they assume I don't work unless I can get a call from SD or Cashiers or managers? (Read: Do they assume I am like them?)
Not the first time this happened. A month ago, I was helping a customer with another D28 associate, and I needed to spot them. Obviously, a work that needs two people. Like this time, they walkied me to ask if I can help a customer with a locked item because they were busy (I later learned from SD that there were three of them waiting for a customer to pull up and just chatting around when the call came, and SD cashier just happened to walk past them on the way to curbside). Anywoooo, since this time they were one month new, I was about to say "yes but give us 5 minutes" when my reach driver said "give me the phone" and answered the walkie with "we're currently busy helping customers in this area now, we cannot go there" and press leave call.
Not also the second time. About a week ago, they walkied me to tell me that a customer needs help. I know they are not walkie-ing the whole department since they call me by name. Another D28 associate (different from the past two cases) and a key-holder (who we called to open a gate) were with me and heard the call, and they both looked like "was that seriously a call?" with the associate going "DID [THEY] JUST TELL YOU TO FUCKING GO BACK INSIDE WHEN YOU'RE HELPING A CUSTOMER OUT HERE?" Anyway, I ignored that walkie, too. They can complain to someone I am ignoring their calls, but I don't care. I am doing my job and working and everyone (including them) knows it.
SD and other associates are not the only ones saying this to me, too. Garden cashiers would complain about how some people (they're also not naming names but the clues about their attire for that day was a given) would just walk around in their personal phone and they could see them and hear their phone ringing, and they just keep walking and ignoring the call. Told me they shouldn't get an extension if they won't bother using it.
The way they would say it, too, is as I've said at the beginning... very bossy.
I'm very petty, so when others in my department or the whole store would walkie me or call me to ask if I can help, I would happily answer with yes and to give me some minutes as I am with a customer, etc, etc. But when it's them... I straight up ignore it. I love garden department, and our managers and DHs are chill, and I don't mind if they ask me to do things for the day. It's chaotic, it's so large, but that means no boring day.
Oh, and I haven't expounded on their work like going to 15-minute break three to four times a day excluding their lunch. Hiding in the aisle when the store is busy. Not packing down. Walking down aisles that definitely needs front-facing and just looking around.
And this pisses me off: getting at least 32 hours per week being like this. IN SPRING. IN D28. I don't know, but I do hope they are temporary.
To end this: any tips to become more petty?

Hi Reddit. I've posted on here before, got some interesting people messaging me in the past so figured why not try again.
Looking for new friends, particularly people who can hold deep conversations but also want to have fun. People who want to talk consistently and spill the T :P
Anyway, a bit about me. I'm in my 30s, live out here in Arizona. I'm a member of the LGBT community (trans woman) and have a lot of interests. Mostly outdooring and video games lol. But also read a lot. Learning how to draw (even though I suck at it) and getting more into fashion (kinda useful in my transition).
My favorite settings are either in my room playing video games, a library, a really nice park or a chill gay bar downtown.
I got a wonderful Chihuahua Pinscher mutt with a big heart. And he likes to kiss....sometimes way too much. He's adorable though so I let him slide.
I'm INFP for anyone who cares about MBTI.
There's plenty more to me but I've probably rambled long enough. If I seem interesting enough hit me up :)

Maybe I’m embellishing this a tad but does anyone else think that BHVR making the discount prices on cosmetics end with any number that isn’t zero to be an indirect act of war? I don’t know why it brings me so much anger looking at a really cool skin on discount then realising I’d have to buy like 5 of them to make my Auric Cell count go back to ending in a zero like it always would have prior to buying one. Just me?

So I was telling my friends stories abt me as a kid bc we were all doing that, and after I was done sharing something funny (self deprecating humour is the best kind), they all just stared at me. Like I told them their dog died. I didn’t really get why they were so shocked and they told me that I didn’t deserve to go through that and stuff? I was so confused but anyways.
So firstly, school was shit (esp primary school, I’m a teen now). I VERY LITERALLY had no friends, like 0. Don’t ask me why, I’d assume it’s something abt being neurodivergent and talking too much, but honestly? It’s anyone’s guess with my pick-me complexes and weird stuff like crushing on every guy I talked to (compulsory heterosexuality does some stuff to a lonely queer kid huh). So I’ve got a sum total of 6 friends right now which is the most I’ve ever had actually. I remember being overjoyed that I had 1 friend who kind of treated me like shit (don’t blame them, they were also a kid and we tend to be assholes when we’re young. They apologised for it later on and they’re pretty chill now.)
Next, school continued to be shit. I’m ADHD so school never really worked with me, and my grades were so bad I was failing. (Didn’t really help that my parents were yelling at me for being lazy and making them look bad, but I was pretty lazy tbh, tho I’d be concerned at your kid going deaf from it enough to calm down and check on them lol). I grew up in a pretty grade-focused culture (yes I’m Asian, how did you know?) so that’s probably a factor to why I was socially outcast I guess. Also didn’t help that I had crippling insomnia and would fall asleep in class all the time, so much that I got a nickname for it.
So anyways my life was prettyyy shit and I’d probably have done anything to get out of it. That’s when I discovered this thing called suicide. I didn’t do it, otherwise I wouldn’t be typing this post, but mainly because I was scared of pain. I did voice these ideas to my parents but I don’t think they cared, along with the weird stuff I’d say like “I try not to hope for anything, that way I’ll never be disappointed in people” (I sound like an angsty 14 year old, but I was 8, so take that as you will). I kept considering it as a way out, which was oddly calming? No matter what happened, I did have one way to get out of dealing with it. I was seriously in a bad place back then.
I’d hope my childhood was normal but that would mean a lot of kids went through what I did, which is not ideal.

Sweat dripped down Don Carmichel’s face, the sweltering air stank of sulfur. His ankle twisted in in the opposite direction, bits of bone were poking through his dungarees. He dragged himself toward the entrance, gravel cut into his hands. Sharp pain agonized his every move, the torn muscle in his leg screamed. He crawled toward door, he only to get out and seal the exit. It was supposed to have been a simple plan, but simple plans don’t succeed in the face of the enemy.
Donald Carmicheal was a private investigator just outside of Baltimore Maryland. He had grown tired of spying on unfaithful couples and answered an add in the hills of Pennsylvania. B&N Mining were in search of a good spy to infiltrate their workers. Whispers of a Union traveled and the mining company had no tolerance for a strike. The country was still reeling from the Battle of Blair Mountain a few years prior.
Don agreed to the assignment and began to work as a miner. The hours were long and hard in the dark coal mines. He would cough up black soot every night and his body ached. He overheard the fellow workers talk about being paid poorly and in company scrip. They would go to work injured because they couldn’t afford a doctor and most of them looked half starved. Don didn’t blame them for wanting better pay and it was hard for him not to take thier side, but he was hired to do a job for B&N.
The workers spoke of a rally lead by Stanly Collins, a member of the United Mine Workers. Stanly traveled and began unions in various mining towns around Pennslyvania and West Virginia. His voice was loud and charismatic, and within him the worn faces of the workers found hope .
Don reported this to the Higher Ups, and they assigned the private investigator with finding any dirt on Stanly. The man was clean, didn’t drink, didn’t so much as smoke, went to church and doted on his ten year old son. There was no talk of a wife, so Don figured the man was a widower.
The higher ups thought about killing Stanley in an accident, but that would make him a martyr and the workers would strike to spite B&N. No, they needed to create a distraction for Mr. Collins, a way to stop him in his tracks. Mr. Collins had a ten year old son, Caleb, that son was their advantage.
They asked Don to catch him and hide him in a mine shaft until . It would only be for a couple of days, and the boy would be unhurt. All he had to do was keep an eye on him, after Mr. Collins agreed to call off the strike his boy would be returned back to him unharmed, it was as simple as that.
The prospect didn’t sit well with Don, but who was he to argue with the Higher Ups, he’d seen how they handled defiance before. Getting fired and evicted would be the least of his problems if he were to disobey.
The Higher Ups told Stanly’s son Caleb worked as hurrier for the mine. He would load coal carts and help push them through narrow passages that grown men were too big to fit through. Caleb would report the horrible conditions back to his Papaw and his Papaw would run his mouth to the UMW. It wouldn’t be hard to find Caleb after a shift and catch him.
Don walked on over to where the hurriers worked, the shaft was so short that he had to walk bent over. He jumped as a mine cart sideswiped him, the small brat pushing it yelled out “ watch where you’re going mister.” Don didn’t pay him no mind, the whelp would grow bow legged and stooped, succumbing to black lung like the rest of his unwashed brethren.
Don was saving Caleb from a life of servitude. Even if he followed in his father’s footsteps and organized unions, how much better could the bowls of the earth be? There’d always be hard work and heavy coal, no union would change that.
He found Caleb with a group of other boys. Soot covering his face, only white sleeveless shirt and dungarees. A boy his age should be fishing or playing in the woods , not digging in no mine shaft. His father’s hypocrisy knew no bounds when it came to getting his agenda across. If Stanly Collins cared about his son, he would be in school, along with all the other children.
Don walked up to the boy and kneeled to his level. “Are you Caleb Collins?”
“Yes Sir,” said the boy. His voice sounded tired and older than his years.
“I have some bad news, you’re daddy has been hurt awful bad, and I need you to come with me.”
Instead of looking surprised, Caleb stared at him with deep black eyes. The stare made Don’s blood turn cold.
“It’s urgent, he…uh… he needs you now,” Don managed to stutter out, his tongue had turned to clay.
“Yes Sir,” was all the boy said.
Don’s stomach dropped in that moment and he almost reconsidered his plan. He took a deep breath. Donald Carmicheal wasn’t terrified of no ten year old. He was going to take him somewhere deep in the mine and hold him until his daddy agreed to negotiate with the Higher Ups.
As he led the boy deeper down the mine shaft Don’s uneasiness grew. He thought about quitting, telling boy the truth and letting him go back to work, hell, letting the boy leave the mine all together. But the higher ups would put his head on a pike if he even considered this to be an option.
“Where are ya taken me?” asked Caleb. His voice had gone flatter and his whole eyes had turned solid black for a second.
“It… It’s just a little further down the mine shaft, son.”
“I ain’t your son! My daddy works on the upper levels, why ain’t you bringing me there?”
“Y…You’re father was on a special project with us, please it’s just a little further-”
“No he ain’t , the owner’s of this here mine would never let him in on a higher project.”
“D... don’t make this hard for me, boy.”
“You have no idea who I am, do you sir?”
Don turned around and once again, Caleb’s eyes went coal black. Inky tendrils of shadow formed and went up the walls of the mine. Stone cracked and crumbled around them. The boy’s skin cracked and peeled into oozing sores as he crept towards him.
“What in hell are you?” Don began to run up the mineshaft, but the inky coils formed on the rocks around him, forming fissures and cracks. The air turned hot and stank of sulfur as the mine began to crumble underneath them.
“I think you already know.” Caleb’s voice turned flat and was so deep it made Don nauseous and uneasy. It was old scratch himself, coming to collect on his soul. He should have sided with Stanly and the miners. He could have found an assignment with the UMW and helped turn the situation on thier side. Helped them organize a strike so it gave them doctors and schools but now it was too little too late.
Caleb followed him , his tendrils grasping for Don through the stone. The child’s skin flaked off as oily tentacles grabbed at Don. The workers panicked and ran out toward the exit, causing a jam at the door, their screams echoing in the chamber the stone began to crumble.
“Let them go, this is between us, they don’t need to suffer, what would you’re daddy think-”
“My daddy? You mean my host.” With that the monster’s tendrils went out through the staircase, toppling it and the crowd to the depths below. As they screamed in terror a boulder fell smashing in on Don’s ankle. Waves of excruciating pain went through his body causing him to vomit. The smell of sulfur and half digested fried chicken was too much for him to bear, his lungs tightened for air. The staircase was gone, but a narrow path that led toward the exit, cool breeze exited the doorway, giving him a ray of hope.
Caleb slammed down blocking his exit. Inky, oily tendrils snaked around Don’s body and squeezed tight, the veins in Caleb’s forehead grew larger as Don’s life force leached away. His body weakened as his eyes closed for the final time. Half the workers managed to make it out alive, Stanly among them. Cries echoed from the outside as the mine collapsed in on itself.
In the weeks following the mine collapse, the B&N mine company negotiated with the United Mine Workers for a fair deal. Stanlhy Collins and his son Caleb quit the mining business and settled into the nearby village of Junction Maryland, where Stanly was elected sheriff. He was thankful to be one of the few that made it out of the mine alive.
Though he was unsure where his son came from, he never remembered ever having a wife. Whenever he thought to question the boy, he looked at him with solid black eyes, and Stanly always forgot the question. It was all well and fine , they would make peace in this small town.

Routine Help
Hi I have a bunch of products that I end up using for a few days and forgetting about. I want to establish a solid routine so I can follow through, but am not sure if the order is correct.
I pick my skin and though I don’t have active acne, I find little bumps that I pick and it is terrible…im trying to even out my skin tone by fading the hyperpigmentation from scars. I also have pretty noticeable sebum (whiteheads?) on my nose. My biggest problem is flaking skin from the healing spots. I misread the instructions on the Paula’s Choice BHA exfoliator once and ended up destroying my skin barrier - hence stopped all actives for about a year, and pared down my products to simple, hydrating ingredients. That helped me heal but I’m ready to try actives again!
I’m 31 and use nicotine vapes (trying to quit) and up to now never noticed any wrinkles or signs of aging, but I want to be preemptive and am starting to lean towards rets.
Please take a look and let me know what you think!
AM 1. Vanicream cleanser 2. Cosrx purefit cica toner pad 3. Goodal Green Tangerine Vit C 4. Torriden Cica Balanceful Serum 5. Dr. G Black Snail Cream 6. Mixsoon Centella sun cream
PM 1. Farmacy Cleansing Balm + Vanicream cleanser 2. Pyung Kang Yul toner 3. Actives - i wrote a 7 day schedule with rest days: Paulas Choice BHA / PC 1% retinol / x / cosrx BHA toner pad / x / differin 0.1% / x 4. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% 2x a week 5. Dr Jart Ceramidin Eye Cream 6. Cosrx Snail 92 Mucin
Notes:
Torriden Cica Balanceful Serum - just trying to finish up the bottle, once done I don’t really use serums. Same comment for the snail creams, initially I loved it but once they’re used up I think I’ll revert to Physiogel for day/night.
TO Niacinamide - ive noticed my skin doesn’t tolerate it like it used to, it stings upon application. Does that mean it’s too strong? Is niacinamide a must in a routine?