Do you have advice for initiating more intimate hang-outs or at what point that is appropriate? Neutral environments, maybe such as a college cafeteria, dorm room, etc… seem to be good places for breaking the ice, but that’s less my problem. Personally, it doesn’t feel difficult to engage in some small talk and maybe sharing a common interest as long as it isn’t too intellectual or complicated. I do put myself out there, I just don’t know how to make it go to the next step, whether romantically or friendship wise. Part of the reason why I haven’t dated, am a virgin, haven’t made friends in college. Unfortunately, I think I have kind of committed social suicide there due to embarrassing things I did, so I’m kind of referring to how I can make friends in a job setting or in some recreational club setting. The really upsetting thing is that every instance of hanging out with a new group has never resulted in me having any friends, and it feels like the issue is an emotional one I have that there aren’t really logical solutions to. I do have my parents and they are supportive and make me feel a bit less lonely but, they are sort of ‘over the hill’ and I can’t really relate with them. I do have a puppy, he’s super cute and helps me feel companionship.
I’m just feeling really lonely, don’t want to be codependent either, but I am worried I’ll have to go through the worst things in life completely alone. Even though I have many acquaintances and people who know who I am, I have zero friends. It makes me sad. Do you have advice on what to do at the ‘intermediate’ steps in making friends, like at the time where you discriminate between who you actually care to keep hanging out with? I worry this might be a reoccurring life problem that I will have a hell of a time fixing.
The idea of intimate conversations to me being extremely trivial to others is a giant insecurity of mine. Sometimes I feel like an empty vessel.
Do you have advice for initiating hang outs or at what point that is appropriate? Neutral environments, maybe such as a college cafeteria, dorm room, etc… seem to be good places. Personally, it doesn’t feel difficult to engage in some small talk and maybe sharing a common interest as long as it isn’t too intellectual or complicated. I do put myself out there, I just don’t know how to make it go to the next step, whether romantically or friendship wise. Part of the reason why I haven’t dated, am a virgin, haven’t made friends in college. Unfortunately, I think I have kind of committed social suicide there due to embarrassing things I did, so I’m kind of referring to how I can make friends in a job setting or in some recreational club setting. The really upsetting thing is that every instance of hanging out with a new group has never resulted in me having any friends, and it feels like the issue is an emotional one I have that there aren’t really logical solutions to. I do have my parents and they are supportive and make me feel a bit less lonely but, they are sort of ‘over the hill’ and I can’t really relate with them. I do have a puppy, he’s super cute and helps me feel companionship.
I’m just feeling really lonely, don’t want to be codependent either, but I am worried I’ll have to go through the worst things in life completely alone. Even though I have many acquaintances and people who know who I am, I have zero friends. It makes me sad. Do you have advice on what to do at the ‘intermediate’ steps in making friends, like at the time where you discriminate between who you actually care to keep hanging out with? I worry this might be a reoccurring life problem that I will have a hell of a time fixing.
The idea of intimate conversations to me being extremely trivial to others is a giant insecurity of mine. Sometimes I feel like an empty vessel.

My sweet cat is 14 and seemingly good health, normal activity, normal eating, etc.
Out of the blue felt a BIG lump in the dangly under-abdomen area near a back leg, so got her seen by the vet 6 days later and they were worried. Tried to aspirate for cytology and mostly blood coming out. Suspected hemangiosarcoma (rare but aggressive cancer in cats). Referred to a vet hospital for scans (another 6 or 7 days later).
Ultrasound and xrays and a couple days later some cytology results: still seems hemangiosarcoma as best guess. The vet there talked to the oncologist and is now recommending I do chemo first (to shrink the tumor), then surgery to remove it, then possibly some more chemo afterward.
What I'm told / read suggests surgery might buy something like 3 months, and sugery+chemo might buy something like 6-9 months, but who knows. Thankfully the tumor isn't on organs/viscera, but it is subdermal (below skin, not on the skin), so it's also not the best place.
The thing is, my poor baby already has so much fear of the vet (and the car ride, and being 'captured') and is already pretty skittish. After a vet visit (especially with any procedure), it's a day of hiding in some corner I can't find her and not coming out even for her favorite treats. She really is scared of people and of vet trips.
The vet tells me chemo in cats isn't like in humans: it's not as extreme, doesn't have as strong of side effects. Though likely some GI issues (vomit/diarrhea) for 3-5 days.
The vet said chemo would likely be once a week for a month or so, depending on how she's tolerating it. Then a surgery with the recovery after that. Then possibly some more chemo.
I'm scared to death of making the wrong call. My first priority is just to keep my baby from suffering. I don't love the idea of paying $10000 or whatever on the treatment (sets me back a ton, but isn't the end of the world), but honestly money is the least concern. I just want to do what's best for her!
It feels like she's going to have *some* period where she's suffering, and it may come suddenly, but it seems like that will happen whether I do the surgery/chemo or not??
The surgery/chemo isn't really a cure, but could quite a bit of time.
But a decent chunk of that time feels like it'd be high stress for her. Like:
For a few weeks of initial chemo, that's 1 super scary vet day + 3-5 days of possible side effects each week. (And hiding from me rather than chilling or cuddling or playing)
Then surgery would be another super scary vet visit plus days of recovery, assuming all goes smoothly. Then maybe some more chemo.
But perhaps her symptoms from the tumor wouldn't show up as much, so maybe it would still overall buy her more quality time and be worth the initial stressors?
How the hell do you decide???
Again, my priority is her having quality time and minimizing her suffering, so I lean toward not treating it, but I wonder if letting the big tumor go untreated will actually lead to a more painful course...?

I've been hearing people saying that Amy is an example of a character being "born evil" or "ontologically evil", because her being a sexual predator must mean that Carol was right.
Which is bizarre, because Worm and Ward both show that Amy was just a normal kid dealing with emotional abuse and fucked up dependency, before she leapt off the slippery slope.
So I decided to prove this with a collection of snippets from the Parahumans series showing that the entire point of Amy's character is that she was someone who was a normal child in the first place:
And yes, Carol was singling her out even pre-Worm.

• Infrared 19.9 (elementary school Amy being put down by Carol and basically threatened with a traumatic trigger event)

Eric retreated into the living room, plunking himself down into a chair, slumping down so his arms were up on the armrest, feet on the floor, and his upper body stretched along the seat, chin against collarbone.
He looked at us without moving his head.
"What's up?" I asked.
He shrugged.
"How's she doing?" I asked.
He shrugged, then mumbled, "There were some days she was really scary. I had no idea what she'd do. Mostly now she's… extra teenager-ish, I guess."
He sighed, dramatic.
"It's tough being the odd one out, isn't it?" Amy asked. She was sitting on the short couch beneath the window, feet curled up beside her, a folded book in her lap.
"Really tough."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Amy asked.
"Nah."
"You can reach out to us anytime," Amy said.
"Okay. Thanks, I guess."
He got up and pulled a controller out from under the television. He flipped the switches to turn the TV and console on, and it "Thwooomed" with the console's startup sound.
He held out a controller, offering it to Amy and me.
"Reading," Amy said. "Thanks though."

*

Amy took a second to pull a throw blanket down from the back of the couch and toss it over her legs and feet, before picking up her book.
I walked around the end of the couch, leaning over the arm, my head parallel to hers as I read over her shoulder.
"You're distracting me," she said. Her head moved, frizzy brown hair mashing into my face as she butted her head lightly into mine.
"Who's Roaraxia?" I asked.
"Do you want to read this after I'm done?" she asked. "Emphasis on after?"
"Depends. Is Roaraxia cool?"
"She's the bad guy, and yeah, I guess."
"Is the good guy cool?" I asked.
"No," Amy said, sighing. "Almost never, in books."
"In your books, maybe."
"It's the appeal, isn't it? Peasants, criminals, orphans, they get a chance and they become cool by the end of the book."
I snorted, got up, and took my seat at the other end of the short couch. I stuck my feet out and wormed them beneath Amy's blanket.
"Your feet are cold," Amy told me, kicking me in the shin.
"So are yours," I said, grabbing the corner of the blanket and pulling it away from her foot. "Now they're colder."
What ensued was like thumb wrestling, feet kicking at and pushing against feet in a battle for control. She wasn't trying very hard, though, because she had her eyes on the book. The battle was less about the feet and more about me trying to get her attention as much as she tried to avoid giving it to me.
"You need to shave your legs," Amy said. "It's like sandpaper."
"Gross," Eric said, not taking his eyes off the game.
"It gives me the heebie jeebies," Amy said. "Like the squeak from markers on a whiteboard, or sneakers on the gym floor."
"Tiny hairs, sticking in the underside of your feet," I teased her. "And when you walk, you're walking on them and pushing them in deeper…"
She pulled her feet away like I was on fire, and shivered visibly, putting her book down. My victory.
I kept going, "And when they grow, they're pointed in the wrong direction, so they grow in…"
Amy made incoherent sounds of protest.
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," Eric said.
"It probably doesn't," I said. I let my head loll back onto the armrest behind me, no longer fighting with Amy. "We're supposed to take a science class next semester."
"Chemistry, biology, or physics," Amy clarified. "We got the sheet in homeroom. Also art, music, or drama."
"Same. What did you pick for science?"
"Chemistry. Physics is the advanced kids' stream and is supposed to be hard, and in biology you might have to dissect frogs. No thank you," Amy answered. "Ick."
"I thought there would be some parts of it that are useful for health and fitness, first aid."
"You're thinking about cape stuff," Amy said.
"Naturally."
"And I bet you picked drama."
"Art," I told her. "At least for the one year. I'm not very good at it, but there's emblems and icons, color mechanics, costumes, poses and posture…"
Amy snorted. "Of course. I picked art too, mostly by process of elimination. So we might be in the same class."
"Cool."

*

"We wanted to talk with you because of what happened to Crystal," Aunt Sarah said. "Based on what's happening elsewhere, and how Carol and I both got powers, we wanted each of you to be aware of what might be coming down the road."
"We'll get powers," I said.
"Probably," my dad said. "Possibly. I know you know the answer, but… do you know how?"
"Trigger events," I said.
Amy spoke up, "This is like having a math whiz in the class, putting her hand up every time a question is asked."
"I'm not that bad."
"It's more serious than math class," Uncle Neil said. "Eric, do you understand about Trigger events?"
"That's the day you get powers?" Eric asked.
"It's what makes you get powers. It's a very important moment."
"One of the best or worst days of your life," I said.
"It can be," my Uncle said.
"If you want it to be a good day," my mother said, "The best thing you can do is be a good student, a good athlete, and the best person you can be. Strive for things and then accomplish those things."
"Great," Amy said. "I'm doomed."
"But," Aunt Sarah said, and it sounded like a sentence. She gave my mom a look. "As far as we can tell, it's rare. You should absolutely try to improve your chances, especially Victoria and Eric. The powers seem to run in the family, and getting a 'good' trigger would help reduce the chances that you get a bad one-"
"We don't know if the chances are as high for you, but it would behoove you to get your grades up, Amy," my mom said.
"Great," Amy said, making a face.
"I've been urging you for some time to join a club, a team, make your own friends. You have too contained a life."
"That's not what we're here to talk about," Aunt Sarah said. "Again, yes, I think it would be good to focus on success, but we should be prepared for the other cases. If something happens, if you have a really bad day and you get hurt or scared or angry, then it's possible you could have a bad trigger event. And it's hard. Right now, Crystal is going through a lot. Neil, me, Mark, Carol, we all went through it."
"All bad?" Amy asked.
"Yes, Amy."
"What happened?" Eric asked.
I braced myself, ready for my mom to shut it down.
"Your mother and I were kidnapped," my mother said. "They kept us in a dark basement for a long time. And then they tried to kill us."
I blinked, my head swimming as I absorbed that. Things made sense now. I had so many more questions.
"Neil had the accident, which you know about" my Aunt Sarah said. I knew. They'd met in the physical therapy after. Her for a riding injury, him for his trigger. "Mark-"
"I was on a boat when we were attacked," my dad said.
"The point is," my Aunt Sarah stressed, "we need you to be aware that this is a thing that happens. Very often, when we get powers, it isn't always easy, fun, or great. We need you all to be gentle with Crystal, not to pry, not to pressure, give her space, and let her handle things in her own way."
I felt frustrated at that, yet I couldn't say anything. They were saying this because I'd been asking her questions before.
"As you grow up, and we bring you to more events where capes are present, it's important to remember that many of them have been through the same," my mother said. "It's a question of courtesy and cape politics."
I nodded at that.
"It's not just others. We need you to be gentle with yourselves," Uncle Neil said. "Be prepared and be aware. When Sarah triggered, she hurt people, badly. I did the same."
"And I took a life," my mother said.
My eyes widened at that.
There was a pause, a break in the flow of conversation. And it was my mom, wearing a sweater, her hair long, looking much like a mom, with sunlight coming in from the window, and I could see it in her eyes. The fact that she had come to terms with that.
"…We weren't going to mention that," Aunt Sarah said, indicating Eric.
"I almost killed someone too," Crystal said.
I wasn't sure how to even imagine that. I wasn't sure Crystal could even imagine it, from the look on her face.
All I knew was that some sketchy people had recognized her and followed her off the bus, running after her when she ran. I only knew that much because my mom had told Amy and me to be extra careful, and had insisted she or dad drive us if we went anywhere.
"They're mad, now, apparently," Crystal said, hugging her arms to her body. "They want to get revenge."
"Often the case," my dad said. "Bad begets bad."
I could tell that my parents' approach to things wasn't really jibing with how Aunt Sarah had wanted to approach it. A little too serious when Eric was three years younger than me and Amy.
"It might happen to you," My mother said. "Chances are the time it happens won't be a time you're capable of being your most rational, but that makes it all the more important that you make resolutions and understand things now. There's a good chance that when you're facing the worst day of your life, you might be in a position to do irreparable harm to someone."
"I don't think I'm the type."
"I didn't think I was the type either, Amy," my mother said. "That makes it easier for the moment to catch you off guard."
"It's not all fun and games," my dad said. He met my eyes as he said it.
Aunt Sarah opened her mouth, like she wanted to say something… but she couldn't refute the fact.
"If I could go back-" Crystal started. She stopped, aware that every set of eyes was on her. Her eyes moving so she wasn't looking at anyone at all, she went on, "-I wouldn't do it again. I wouldn't want these powers."
"I'm so sorry, Crystal," Amy said.
Crystal shrugged.
"That's crazy," I said.
"Victoria," my mother's voice was stern. "We were just talking about sensitivity."
"But she can- you can fly, Crystal."
"And every time I do, it feels a bit like I'm still running away from those people," she said.
"That's a reality for many of us," my aunt Sarah said. A woman I'd associated with warm hugs, pumpkin cookies, and all of the cool 'my relative is a superhero' stuff without the 'also my parent' crap, except now she was talking from a place of darkness and hurting people.
"I hope I never get powers," my sister said. I saw Crystal nod.

• Infrared 19.10 where we see that Amy always remembered how Carol treated her

"I saw scenes from our childhood. Stuff to do with mom, Uncle Neil, and Dean. You were there."
"Fucking up?" she asked.
"Nah," I said. "Just there. Talking about Roaraxia and fantasy books."
"The talk," Amy said. Still without turning around.
Dot crawled up Amy and perched on her shoulder, sitting backwards so she could watch me. Wearing purple overalls with no shirt.
"Yeah. The talk. I'd mostly forgotten."
"I didn't. I couldn't pick up another book in the Roar series without thinking about mom getting on my case in front of everyone. Amy with no friends, no hobbies, she's small."
I looked at my mom. My mom was frowning.

• Gleam 9.2 has Victoria talking about how her and Amy were normal sisters, how Amy was a quiet but nice kid, and how they both felt weird about their fame influencing their relationships

I was no stranger to distorted thinking. Even before… before everything, I'd been swept up in it. As a child, wanting to belong to my family, being the odd one out, until I got my power. I'd later realized how lonely powers were.
The flip side of the coin applied too. Being the odd one in.
Amy had been the odd one in more than I had. Purely average in appearance, quiet, she hadn't been passionate about hobbies or about anything in particular. She'd liked movies from Aleph and when she was twelve she'd break her usual reserved, quiet composure to get way too excited if she checked the change slot of a vending machine or pay phone and found a quarter. And yet when we got to high school, she was automatically included in the group of popular students. The group with Dean, who was supposed to take over his dad's company, and with the star athletes and the star athletes' boyfriends and girlfriends.
I'd eventually looked beyond my bubble of thinking my sister was great because she was my sister and I fucking loved her, wondering why she was included in the group of popular students when she wasn't popular. Then I'd had to draw the eventual, inevitable conclusion, and wonder if I belonged to that group. Was I there just because my parents wore costumes and had flashy powers?
I'd settled in despite that. Amy had settled out- hanging out to keep me company, but not going out of her way to stick with the group. It had been easy for her to move in that direction, after I'd gotten powers. I'd been grateful for my earlier realization about the nature of the group, because it kept me real and provided a starting point for realizing where Dean was coming from, having come from money. I'd loathed it at the same time, because it cast doubt on every normal interaction.

• From Within 16.y has Mark regale Amy with a story about how much of an adorable child she was, how Victoria was more a problem child in ways, and how innocent she was in being flustered by a cute hair-dresser

Mark approached, stopping by a table, which he leaned against. "I remember, Amy, you hated to sit still for haircuts."
"I was a terrible child. I get it," Amy muttered.
"No, you were a wonder of a child next to the unholy terror that was Victoria," Mark told her. "And you're a fine woman now. I wish it wasn't such a hard journey to get from there to here, but I'm glad to be here with you in the present moment."
The words seemed to calm Hunter more than they affected Amy.
"You're trying to butter me up."
"You can touch me if you want to tell if I'm sincere."
"Can't. Focusing on Hunter."
"After then."
"No," Amy said. She was pacified, calmer. "No need."
She worked her way through Hunter's brain. There were triggers and flags everywhere. Certain perceptions, certain emotions, attitudes.
Hunter's power was involuntary.
"We'd give you candies to suck on so you couldn't complain while sitting in the chair," Mark said. "And on one particular visit, the last one with the candy, as you'll recall…"
Amy groaned.
"A new hairdresser came up, and she hugged you from behind, looked over your shoulder in the mirror, and she said something to the effect of, 'what would you like us to do, cutie?' She surprised the hell out of you-"
"That wasn't surprise."
"No?" Mark asked. And she could hear the change of tone. He rallied, "But you choked."
"I did choke."
"And you gagged," Mark said, his tone warm. "While you were trying to dislodge the candy. I was thumping your back. And then you threw up, onto the barber's bib, and it wicked straight down onto your shoes."
"I can't believe the world ended and I'm still hearing about it."
"You were inconsolable."

There's obviously more, including how in Worm, Amy single-handedly save the hostages in the bank fight from Skitter. Or how she feels gross about the idea of making people pay for healing.
Amy became a monster, but she was NEVER born bad.

Do you have advice for initiating hang outs or at what point that is appropriate? Neutral environments, maybe such as a college cafeteria, dorm room, etc… seem to be good places. Personally, it doesn’t feel difficult to engage in some small talk and maybe sharing a common interest as long as it isn’t too intellectual or complicated. I do put myself out there, I just don’t know how to make it go to the next step, whether romantically or friendship wise. Part of the reason why I haven’t dated, am a virgin, haven’t made friends in college. Unfortunately, I think I have kind of committed social suicide there due to embarrassing things I did, so I’m kind of referring to how I can make friends in a job setting or in some recreational club setting. The really upsetting thing is that every instance of hanging out with a new group has never resulted in me having any friends, and it feels like the issue is an emotional one I have that there aren’t really logical solutions to. I do have my parents and they are supportive and make me feel a bit less lonely but, they are sort of ‘over the hill’ and I can’t really relate with them. I do have a puppy, he’s super cute and helps me feel companionship.
I’m just feeling really lonely, don’t want to be codependent either, but I am worried I’ll have to go through the worst things in life completely alone. Even though I have many acquaintances and people who know who I am, I have zero friends. It makes me sad. Do you have advice on what to do at the ‘intermediate’ steps in making friends, like at the time where you discriminate between who you actually care to keep hanging out with? I worry this might be a reoccurring life problem that I will have a hell of a time fixing.
The idea of intimate conversations to me being extremely trivial to others is a giant insecurity of mine. Sometimes I feel like an empty vessel.

Why did the farmer visit the pharmacy? To speak with the farm-assist.
Hi and welcome to my post! Wanted to start off with a funny to me dad joke.
Nice to meet you, I'm Dylan! To put it simple, I am a single 22 year old man who has been pretty lonely in life and lacking in female connection and interaction. And part of what comes with that is the desire to be intimate with a person. I am very mature for my age and will always be respectful of your boundaries and feelings, especially with anything sexual. Lately all I have is myself when it comes to sexual desires, so I would like to have someone to keep company with in that regard too.
I'm just relaxing at work since there's nothing really going on besides a maintenance task I have to do tonight by pouring water in all the floor drains. I'm thinking about going home tonight and burning a woodwick candle. Perfect for when there's a storm outside. I love candles! 🕯️ Sometimes a campfire outside on a fall night or a crackling WoodWick candle is a relaxing constant among our busy and hectic world. It's nice to just disconnect, feel grounded and happy in your own little cozy space. Feeling calm and collected and at peace. Something that fewer people take the time to do these days.
I am seeking a woman around my age or older to build a close connection with that could possibly lead to a relationship and something intimate which includes the possibility of teasing/sharing pics etc. but only when we were comfortable. Figured I would be open in my Intentions as that's the best way to be.
You:
Kind, respectful, and easy going.
Comfortable with the idea of eventually sharing intimate things together.
Willing to eventually move off of Reddit.
Want something genuine and fun!
Are honest in your intentions and a good person to be around!
That's about it, we will get along great I know it.
I've been feeling a little bummed out lately. I always try and stay happy and see the best in things. But.. I've just been so alone. Most of my whole childhood and adult years have been spent feeling lonely. I grew up surrounded by cornfields which was peaceful but also has a lonely aspect to it. My family never really were close and never did anything as a family really. And part of it too is the fact that I never had any neighbors my age to interact with. But aside from that, my adult life has been very lonely. I'm just always by myself. I barely have any meaningful adult relationships or experiences, or even any friends.
I work a 3-11 job in building maintenance at my company world headquarters building which I love, but again it's very lonely. I work the off shift so the building is always empty. I don't get normal social interaction with people my age or a chance to build relationships. I only have 3 older men as co-workers and we are mostly in the basement away from any people on the floors from knowing our existence. I always walk the floors and see office people laughing and chatting with their coworkers and I just don't have that kind of experience. And just.. no one knows I exist really. Everyone probably assumes I have a lot of friends, but I'm struggling inside with being so alone and trying to meet people and get past the "hi how are you?" "I'm good thanks" stage. Most people don't seem to want to talk beyond that. And most women are already in relationships and thus it would seem weird to approach them in an office setting trying to get to know them deeper. But man those "hi how are yous" are the only real interactions I get during my day.. so thus I decided to come here lol. Rant over, sorry! I promise I'm not a downer. 😅
Now for some things about me!
As you can tell, I am very mature for my age and am polite and have good grammar which unfortunately not everyone my age does anymore lol. I am not active at all on social media/internet culture really and don't know much about all the slang the younger people these days use. I feel like I'm 50. 🤣
I am left handed which is pretty cool. I'm not much of a party person or a drinker, I much prefer a quiet night at home and maybe a beer or two on a weekend but that's about it. I am simple and stay out of drama and trouble and don't get much into politics or other things that cause drama with people. I much prefer a relaxing campfire and a night at home and to just let the world keep on turning haha. I consider myself pretty intelligent and mature, especially for my age which is why I'm open to older ladies.
Physically I'm 180 pounds, have brown hair, green eyes, and a typical build. There's a few pictures on my profile.
Some of my hobbies are:
• Photography
I have a Nikon D200 and D5500 that I love to shoot with. I love nature scenes, abstract, black and white/goth kinda photography, sunsets, etc. it's so fun to just let your mind explore. It's not about what camera you have, but those who are behind the camera! I'm gonna try and photograph the northern lights tonight!
• Cooking and baking
I loveeee to cook and bake! I enjoy making various meals but also love to just have a frozen pizza once in awhile or something like that. I recently made homemade chili which turned out great. I love to bake, especially in the fall! I love pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, etc. I restored a vintage KitchenAid mixer that needed tbe gearbox rebuilt. Eventually I would love to practice home canning my own food.
• Music
Oh my gosh, I like so much!! Alternative rock, punk, post punk, electronic, synth pop, psychedelic rock, hard rock, etc. I am very non judgemental and open when it comes to music. My three current favorite bands are Type O Negative, Joy Division, and the Cure.
• Nature walks and camping
I really enjoy camping, making fires, and relaxing by a campfire. I love to take walks outside and just enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature. It's wonderful, especially in a world so focused on everything digital.
• Repairing things
I'm a maintenance guy and one of my hobbies is electronics repair so I am good with my hands and just all around good at troubleshooting and fixing all sorts of things around the house. Last week I helped my elderly neighbor get his tractor started, it needed a new component in the starting circuit. So I'm pretty handy which... Comes in handy! 😂
• Autumn 🍁
This isn't a hobby per say, but man do I love the fall!!! It's my absolute favorite time of the year. Oh my gosh. The beautiful colors, crisp cool air, misty and foggy days, rain, lack of bugs, being cuddled up with a candle or by the fire drinking a tea, etc. I love it! There's only two seasons for me. Fall, and waiting for fall! Haha.
• Scented Candles and incense
Going along with my love for fall, I absolutely love candles! I have like 30 something lol. 😂 Currently my favorite are WoodWick, which are owned by Yankee candle. They have such a soothing crackle and the scents are great! I also love to burn incense from time to time as well. I have cottagecore hippie vibes.
• Old houses and architecture
I love old houses! Especially 1900s and Victorian era homes. Old homes have so much character to them and are just so beautiful from a time when people took pride in their craft. I strongly dislike the modern cookie cutter cheap construction of homes today. I would love to live in an old home one day. I also love their architecture and uniqueness, as well as architecture of old cathedrals and other buildings.
• Relaxing
Basic I know, but sometimes on the weekend I just love to get cozy in bed and relax and put on a YouTube video or an album! 😊
That's about it for me, I'm a pretty laid back and simple person. My ideal person is someone who is respectful and honest! I am very straightforward and open minded and would hope that you are as well.
If I seem interesting to you at all I would love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for reading.

There once was this man named Jay and he seemed at first ok. But after a while his true self came out and that's where life's harsh lesson came about. He met this girl he seen was sad she was tore up about her life and missed her mom and dad. He seen she was alone on this earth and then he decided to diminish her worth. so he played a dangerous game of truth and dare told her loved her and that she was rare. He made her feel special her loyalty he earned but in all reality he was just taking his turn. She opened up her heart to him and told him her story he used all that information so that one day he can make her sorry. She fell in love with him over a period of 5 years and then one day he just ghosted her and left her in tears. She didn't know what to do once again the world had deceived her and she was alone she really wish that her mom and dad were alive so she could call them on the phone. Not knowing what to do and devastated from her broken heart she wished this world and her would part. So she grabbed the blade and started cutting away and what do you know on her wrist she formed a j. Lucky for her her friend came to check to see if she was okay she found this girl on the floor and then she noticed the Jay. Off to the hospital the girl was rushed she's lucky she got there in time because the angel of death hadn't had a chance to touch. Her friend told her she was crazy and stupid and dumb how could she honestly do this over a man who's brain span is as big as her thumb. Her friend told her he ghosted her good riddance to him and she understood that right now she knew life seemed dim. Honestly ask yourself what is he ever done for you honestly ask your question do you think that his love is true. Because if it were so he would have been a man and called you and told you that him and you were through. Think about how much about you he knew he knew your struggles in this world and he knew what you would do. He knew that you had no one in this world today and what did he do he ghosted you and then left your memories away. You know he's going to prison for a very long time you think he don't have other b****** giving them their dimes. You were just another option so that he could be in jail and stay rich don't be mad at me her friend said I'm not trying to be a b*. Use your intuition that feeling you know so well because for months now you knew this was going to happen even in your dreams you could tell. You know your body's intuition and you know that your mind's right so when they gave you those horrible dreams every night. You should have listened and watched and left him without a fight. But that's not what you did and now you lay in this hospital bed strap down like a crazy person wishing he was dead. You have people that really love you out here don't worry about what he's doing in there we love you girl with all our hearts and we don't want to see you go far away and and part. As a matter of fact I grabbed your phone up and even sent him a message I told him that you tried to kill yourself and he didn't care he didn't even write back to check up on your health. So my friend don't you see he isn't a man he isn't anything to you or me. Come to the terms and accept the fact that he used you because if he ever cared about you he would never have mentally abused you. So take it from me a woman who knows to all the people out there that like to ghost those that they love that is abuse mental abuse. You're a strong person the friend said to her friend you've overcome a lot of obstacles and here you are still alive in the end don't worry about that man he's a womanizer the only problem is is that he seems to be getting wiser. Whoever he's with that he replaced you for just remember that every relationship that begins with a homewrecking w* is going to end the way it began and she'll be out that f****** door

I've seen this phenotype rather often.
Thin, typically low BMI. Very high anxiety. Sometimes chronic pain/autoimmune issues, hashimotos (not always but often). Brain fog, poor stress tolerance, POTS (or simply high resting heart rate, lightheaded when standing up) poor feminization (despite adequate HRT and separate from low BMI). They sometimes report masculinizing effects despite normal T/DHT testing.
I've also had a few cases of young "FTM" with this, and one in particular that ended up seeing resolution of their gender dysphoria with treatment. Those cases are always VERY underweight, and that patient had a starting BMI of 13 pre-treatment and now at BMI 18 feels vastly better.
I'm still sorting this out, so consider this a "pre-print" idea, but I've had enough success cases that I think it worth mentioning in case it can help someone else.
Basically, these MTF girls look on paper like someone who should be sort of an Addison's disease picture. However, they do not have hyperpigmentation, and if anything, the opposite, are often quite pale. I'm still trying to mechanistically suss out why this is in terms of the ACTH, CRH pathways.
Regardless, when I test morning and PM cortisol on these patients, its almost never "low". But it is almost always at the bottom range of the normal band. Same goes for the sodium value. Tends to be 135-137.
However, I've taken some of these patients, drawn a cortisol, then had the patient do some vigorous exercise/stress, and drawn another one, only to see the cortisol level fall or remain the same. Or, drawn their cortisol during an immensely stressful time in their life for it to be at the cusp of low, or even "faintly low" but never in the standard "Addisonian" sort of range. Aldosterone/renin are normal.
This had me suspicious they had some sort of subclinical Addisonian-ish situation, to which they can make enough cortisol to survive, but when subjected to any degree of stress, they flat out cannot cope, and crumble.
I think this may be related to my overall MPS theory with Kate, but these specific patients I'm postulating only have only one sort of functional copy of 21 hydroxylase.
Healthy humans have two functional copies of CYP21A2, and then two copies of the CYP21A2P pseudogene which is not supposed to be transcribed.
I think some humans may have less functional copies than two, aka one normal and one weak, or two weak, or even one weak, or perhaps more copies, two normal and two transcribed normal CYP21A2P genes for example, resulting in double the expected cortisol output.
This may partially explain the "Elves and Dwarves" body habitus groups that trans people fall into.
Regardless, enough patients have told me that during periods of high stress, they feel like they are "remasculinizing".
If someone has poor 21a2 function, the act of stressing them will result in high demand for cortisol, but as a side product, a bunch of androgen intermediaries are synthed which do not show up on standard T/DHT testing. Basically, because their cortisol production sucks and makes a lot of androgen byproduct, high stress results in an increase in these levels.
I had no way of measuring this, until one of my very smart patients pointed out that Labcorp has a 11-oxo-androgens panel.
So I've been pulling this on my "I am stressed and feel androgenic" patients and been surprised to see elevated levels in otherwise hormonally "perfect" patients.
Treatment of these patients with a very low dose of hydrocortisone (5-20 mg daily starting at the lowest level and gradually escalating) has resulted in some patients an absolutely astounding result. We're talking massive reductions in anxiety levels, massive improvements in energy levels, decreased pain, improved brain fog, just overall major improvements in function. I am being extremely cautious with this, as these are not "defined" Addisonian patients, but I can't deny the massive improvement in their well being. They are all carefully being monitored with lab testing to ensure no adverse effects from the hydrocortisone.
That being said, I do think there is perhaps a large unrecognized group of people in the trans community who have lived in a state of constant stress/anxiety/trauma and whose adrenal glands are just not up to snuff.
Treatment results in elimination of the elevated 11-oxo-androgens, increased BMI, improved sleep, improved mental health and improved feminization.
Now, I have been considering putting this here for a long time, but I've held off on it as anytime I put anything down that has "improved feminization", people recklessly want to jump on that at the cost of quite literally anything. This is 100% not a thing that should be done without a doctor who is 100% on board, and willing to do the relatively intense monitoring and testing to ensure that this is a net benefit for the patient. It is not something that should be done DIY (nor should HRT be done DIY ever).
After having a few more successes with this these past few weeks, this tipped the "ethics" point where I felt it unethical not to mention, as there are likely people who will read this, and recognize "that sounds like me" and be able to talk to their doctor about it and see how the testing plays out.
Again, I do not advise anyone do this without full clinician supervision. You can quite literally give yourself diabetes. If you take the medicine for awhile, and then suddenly run out and stop, you can quite literally die of an Addisonian crisis. It is not something to trifle with, and should be reserved only for people who fit this very specific niche situation. I only have a handful of these total in the practice, and I've got 3000 trans patients, so by no means, is this "common". But it made such an overwhelming difference in those that I've treated for it, that I finally felt like I should put pen to paper on it, as I feel doing so may help more people than are hurt by it.
Over the years, I've seen my words twisted, run with, or employed recklessly. My goal is the same as it has always been, the improvement of the health and wellness of transgender people as a whole. I just am trying to be a better steward of the platform I have, and recognize how far my words tend to disseminate after I publish them here. So please, hear me out. If this sounds like you, talk to your doctor about it. Do not do this on your own.
Hopefully there are some out there though that this can help.
I also welcome the input of anyone who might explain why the patients tend to be pale, quite literally the opposite of Addisonian patients, as the biochemistry of that is paradoxical to me, and I can't seem to solve the "why". Odds are though, Kate will materialize here with an explanation though shortly.

• Dr Powers

I own a bakery in town and every year I shut down my shop for a week to run a stall at the county fair. Despite great sales, I still typically have quite a bit left over, which I happily distribute to people who are in need.
Our town is not large so I recognize each person who visits my stall, but for the last 5 days, I had a mysterious new patron.
His skin was dark, his eyes blue, and his hair long and silver. He was tall and gaunt, and extremely well dressed, in a tailored suit and a long duster despite the autumn heat.
Our first encounter was brief - he paid for a coffee with change but eyed the almond croissants that I am famous for with longing.
"Would you like one?" I asked, "on the house. I always make too many".
"Thank you", he said, averting his gaze, but smiling.
I smiled back and said " are you here for the duration of the fair?" He nodded.
"I'm an auditor," he said, "I'll be here until noon on Sunday".
"Well then, I will see you tomorrow", I replied. He smiled, keeping his eyes cast down but smiling brighter.
For the next few days he showed up and I always had a coffee and an almond croissant waiting.
On the last day of the fair, he stopped by one more time, but with a gift; a small box wrapped in brown paper.
"Wear this, please? It would mean the world to me if you did", he insisted. I smiled, putting the box in my pocket.
I went to pour him some coffee but when I turned back around he was gone.
That night I was sitting on my porch watching the news on my phone as the massive storm clouds moved in. The reporter was interviewing a woman from the next county over.
Right after their fair, there had been an unprecedented tornado outbreak - every single person in their small town of 200 people had been killed, save for her family. The tornadoes were so powerful that the ground was scoured and people were plucked from their basements or cellars; it was utter devastation. Shocked, I walked inside to make myself some tea.
The report was interspersed with segments from other people who had survived similar storms in our state over the last month. Apocalyptic weather patterns that killed nearly everyone except for a few random people.
Just then, I remembered the gift my mystery patron gave me. Inside the box was a small gold brooch, in the shape of three feathers crossed. I pinned it to my lapel as I heard the first few peels of thunder, and turned back to the news.
As I continued to watch all of these segments cut together, my jaw dropped and my cup overflowed but I couldn't look away; every single family that survived, every person left alive in these towns were wearing the exact same brooch as me.

There once was this man named Jay and he seemed at first ok. But after a while his true self came out and that's where life's harsh lesson came about. He met this girl he seen was sad she was tore up about her life and missed her mom and dad. He seen she was alone on this earth and then he decided to diminish her worth. so he played a dangerous game of truth and dare told her loved her and that she was rare. He made her feel special her loyalty he earned but in all reality he was just taking his turn. She opened up her heart to him and told him her story he used all that information so that one day he can make her sorry. She fell in love with him over a period of 5 years and then one day he just ghosted her and left her in tears. She didn't know what to do once again the world had deceived her and she was alone she really wish that her mom and dad were alive so she could call them on the phone. Not knowing what to do and devastated from her broken heart she wished this world and her would part. So she grabbed the blade and started cutting away and what do you know on her wrist she formed a j. Lucky for her her friend came to check to see if she was okay she found this girl on the floor and then she noticed the Jay. Off to the hospital the girl was rushed she's lucky she got there in time because the angel of death hadn't had a chance to touch. Her friend told her she was crazy and stupid and dumb how could she honestly do this over a man who's brain span is as big as her thumb. Her friend told her he ghosted her good riddance to him and she understood that right now she knew life seemed dim. Honestly ask yourself what is he ever done for you honestly ask your question do you think that his love is true. Because if it were so he would have been a man and called you and told you that him and you were through. Think about how much about you he knew he knew your struggles in this world and he knew what you would do. He knew that you had no one in this world today and what did he do he ghosted you and then left your memories away. You know he's going to prison for a very long time you think he don't have other b****** giving them their dimes. You were just another option so that he could be in jail and stay rich don't be mad at me her friend said I'm not trying to be a b*. Use your intuition that feeling you know so well because for months now you knew this was going to happen even in your dreams you could tell. You know your body's intuition and you know that your mind's right so when they gave you those horrible dreams every night. You should have listened and watched and left him without a fight. But that's not what you did and now you lay in this hospital bed strap down like a crazy person wishing he was dead. You have people that really love you out here don't worry about what he's doing in there we love you girl with all our hearts and we don't want to see you go far away and and part. As a matter of fact I grabbed your phone up and even sent him a message I told him that you tried to kill yourself and he didn't care he didn't even write back to check up on your health. So my friend don't you see he isn't a man he isn't anything to you or me. Come to the terms and accept the fact that he used you because if he ever cared about you he would never have mentally abused you. So take it from me a woman who knows to all the people out there that like to ghost those that they love that is abuse mental abuse. You're a strong person the friend said to her friend you've overcome a lot of obstacles and here you are still alive in the end don't worry about that man he's a womanizer the only problem is is that he seems to be getting wiser. Whoever he's with that he replaced you for just remember that every relationship that begins with a homewrecking w* is going to end the way it began and she'll be out that f****** door

i think im just extremely paranoid and ik im gonna sound bat shit crazy but im scared of eating food from certain people i have this weird fear that someones gonna put an abortion pill in my food and i would never know i was reading about the abortion drugs and it literally terrifies me i wish mifepristone wasnt even on the market it can literally just halt progesterone production and starve the baby and make it look like a normal miscarriage and no one would ever suspect you were drugged the fact that basically anyone could get access to that is so fucking scary to me i see so many stories of guys inducing abortions by drugging their girlfriends food or drink and the girlfriend thinks theres something wrong with her body from miscarrying like 10 times but really its her man doing it its fucking terrifying imagine how many women who have been drugged with an abortion pill unknowingly and never even found out i bet theres a lot more cases but obviously a lot of these women will never know because theres no way to tell

So is it worth it for the VIP in the case of just the drinks alone like water and alcohol for the three days? Was under impression food was included also. Very curious how the hair braiding and glitter situation works as well! Can’t find info😂 I'm just curious because I was seeing some other posts and people had recommended like GA or gat. it you want to be at the front or whatever which I have a tendency to do but I felt like the drinks included alone will probably be worth it Because it looks really expensive from what l've seen for just water etc and not to mention the alcohol prices l've seen there seems like insanely $$$ so l'm just curious what others think..traveling from out of state so wanna make the most of experience . Any tips are appreciated! Ty in advance🫶🏼

(I know this is a long post but I thought a lot about this btw)
A common trend in this sub is that people think Supercell is incompetent. This is a big mistake. Supercell is a multibillionaire company that literally generates ~2 billion in revenue EVERY YEAR.
But Supercell markets itself as a very small family friendly company, and it works as you can see in this sub.
People think there is only 1 person in charge of balancing (danny); people think that the "brawl stars team" is different and unrelated to the "clash royale team". The list of delusions is immense.
THIS IS ALL MARKETING. IT IS ALL PR. Again, this is a billionaire corporation, there is nothing in Supercell that isn't handle by gigantic teams with dozens or maybe even hundreds of people. And the people making decisions at the top do so for every game, this is how hierarchy works.
This brings us to... The game's flaws. I assure you they are all intentional. The godzilla event is intentionally frustrating so as to persuade people to spend money at the game. New brawlers are occasionally released with game breaking bugs that take weeks to get fixed so that people spend money with early access.
What I said so far is known by many people in this sub, but recently I came to the realization of one thing.
If you have been playing ever since year 1 you may have noticed that this game's monetization changed a lot in the past year. Back then Supercell was making a legitimately good game and profiting only off cosmetics and small power boosts. Now you need to pay even in order to enjoy events like Godzilla!
I believe Supercell was making a good game just to grow the playerbase. Now that the game is super popular, they flipped a switch and decided to milk everyone dry as much as they can. I also believe that Squad Busters will get the same treatment: it will be a great game for the first few years until Supercell decides to flip a switch and install aggressive monetization to milk the playerbase dry.
I don't know if I have enough willpower to quit Brawl Stars, but one thing is for certain: I am not playing any Supercell game ever again, and I hope this post can enlighten at least a few people to do the same. Thanks to whoever read until this point

I'm currently dealing with a complete nightmare where I had sudden onset paresthesia (or probably radiculopathy) after a car accident at work. My neck and head were the only things listed on the workers comp form even though I had been having trouble standing up and my entire back hurt the first time I went to the ER. I was told that having back pain is part of having a sprained neck. I probably should have pushed it but I was recovering from a concussion and seriously out of it. Fortunately I have since been able to get PT for my neck but I ended up going to the ER because of the obvious neurological problems and they did a full MRI which showed a few bulges, a protrusion, and most excitingly a central/left paracentral disc herniation at L5/S1 with a focal annular tear causing lateral recess stenosis and impinging left S1.
I'm basically in like medical purgatory where my pcp says it's from the car accident and won't treat it but the occupational medicine doctor alternates between trying to gaslight me into thinking I have ankylosing spodylitis, lying about treatment options, and telling me it's a coincidence. She keeps claiming I had a preexisting condition. There's pretty much no way my back was immaculate before this, but whatever "pathologies" I had before were clearly exacerbated to the point that they're symptomatic now. She's finally switched to saying she can treat it with permission from the adjuster, but she's also saying it's impossible to determine if it was the car accident because I don't have an MRI from before, so the adjuster needs to say it's related and approve treatment. The primary reason for the lack of prior MRI is that I had no back problems before this and they usually don't give out full spine MRIs for fun. I'm pretty sure this also means there's no way to prove it was a coincidence, because I have no previous MRI showing that I had the same degenerate changes before I was in a car accident with a ton of force on my lower back.
Since then (car accident was over a month ago, first ER visit almost a month, second ER visit 2-3 weeks) I've continued having pins and needles and have started to notice that my left big toe droops when I'm at rest. It's getting harder to raise it, and when I walk it just kind of digs into the bottom of my shoe and I've started to get a blister, though tbh I can't really feel it. My foot also kind of flexes down and curls up when I dorsiflex my ankle, and then it's a second movement to extend all my toes unless I'm really focusing.
It's a pretty screwed up situation and I'd really appreciate any support. Not that I'm asking for advice. I'm just having a really hard time coping and I'm sure people here have been through something similar. I've purchased a copy of Treat Your Own Back and I've started using KT tape to make it harder for my toe and ankle to drop down, since my foot does sometimes slap on the floor if I'm tired. Planning on adding some kind of padding under my big toe too for when I'm walking any distance. I guess I'll wait until my foot is completely paralyzed before going to the ER. Not that I'm saying that's going to happen, but being denied treatment while things gradually get worse isn't a great sign. I keep telling myself it might heal on its own and even if it doesn't it takes a while for damage from a pinched nerve to become permanent.

This post is to express my anger about the Heidelberg housing market and dealing with prospective landlords.
(I am German but lived abroad for almost 20 years. This puts me in the privileged position of looking like a typical German guy and speaking German, but with the downside of not having a rental record in Germany.)
I found an ad for a nice flat to rent in Weststadt. The viewing was organised my an agency and the “Makler” did a great job showing me around and explaining the details. During the viewing, they told me that the owners are an elderly couple who would like to get to know the person renting their flat. I thought: sure why not. A week later, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation from the owners to meet them. So I went to their house, expecting to have a nice informal chat just to get to know each other before I sign the contract. But then I meet this very old couple (I guess between 85-90 yo) …
They knew less about the flat than the agent. They didn’t even know how much they charge for the flat. But they told me how much they liked their previous tenant and how well their previous tenant got along with the neighbours.
Half the conversation was about me not owning a car, and that this is problematic, because the flat comes with a parking spot and they didn’t know how to handle that. They suggested that this flat may not be the right choice for me, because I have no use for the parking spot.
They asked me why I want to live in Heidelberg of all places after living in such exciting places as Brisbane, Boston, London, and Frankfurt. They knew this from my CV, which they requested from me prior to the meeting. Since my employer is in Heidelberg, meaning that I am working in Heidelberg now, I didn’t know what else to say. They were still surprised that I want to live in Heidelberg.
They told me that they only want to have long term tenants. I told them I am looking for a place to live long term. They told me I could meet someone and may move out. I told them that’s possible, but difficult to predict. They told me that this 74sqm flat would be too small for two people. I just stared at them.
I expected this to be an informal meeting after they made a decision. But they told me that they are interviewing every candidate the agent recommended. So I asked them when I can expect their decision. They told me: this week. I said: given that today is Thursday, will I hear back tomorrow? They said: no, we will meet the other candidates tomorrow and then make a decision on the weekend. One of them said they just remembered they won’t be there on the weekend. The other said that the agent will tell me on Monday. I wanted to tell them that Monday is a bank holiday, but didn’t, because the whole thing was just so disorganised.
In conclusion, meeting the landlords was a farce. I didn’t get any new information, they didn’t get any new information. But I learned that they are two very old people who are nicely tugged away in their large house in the far reaches of Boxberg. Maybe I need to buy a car to qualify for renting their flat, and maybe I should have promised them to not get into a relationship to avoid the possibility of having to share the 74sqm flat with someone else. I really like the flat, but meeting the landlords now put me off. In hindsight, I remembered the very first thing they told me: we will check on you every week, which she meant as a joke and laughed, while he was just sitting there not reacting. But having to deal with landlords who are 85+ years old, who pay an agency to do the work, but then try to do this again and the interviewing again themselves without a plan or idea about the rental market, this may not be good idea.

I Apologize but this will get a little ranty and will be a very long read... I did not enjoy this boss fight against the Harmonious Choir whatsoever. It quite literally feels like a boss that was designed with specific characters in mind or else it would give you a hard time. Do you have Aventurine on your team? Great! You Don't have to worry about this boss wiping out your entire party half way through the second phase because of how insanely good of a shield character he is. Don't have Acheron in your party? Too bad you don't have the ability to do stupid damage on this boss's bullshit ass shield on top of another shield that he has in the second phase. What's this? You don't have Himeko and or Gallagher either? Well good luck trying do enough break effect damage against this boss. I know I'm not the only who feels this way against this boss either. After dying over and over again, I went to youtube to watch some guides so that I could figure out how to finally beat this boss. And there were multiple people in the comments saying how insanely difficult this boss is and also how much easier it is if you had the right characters to make this fight way easier for you.
Heres an example of a comment I saw.
Now luckily, alot of the comments were very helpful when it came to explaining exactly what you needed to do to beat this boss. And there was alot of people explaining what characters you needed to have to make this fight beatable. Characters such as Acheron and Gallagher like previously just mentioned. But guess what? I actually do have Acheron and Gallagher on my team. But the thing is, I'm a f2p player and I started playing around a month and half ago, so I guess had really good luck or something with my pulls because of how new my account was? I honestly don't know how I got Acheron (not complaining of course) and when it comes to Gallagher? I literally just pulled him yesterday as of me writing this. Basically what I'm trying to say is... If I didn't start playing when I did, and if I didn't luckily pull Gallagher yesterday when I needed him most, I would've been screwed. I probably would've been stuck trying to beat this for hours and hours on end... (Gallagher being in my party was seriously the only reason why I was able to defeat this boss in the first place, he made a massive world of difference) And what about all of the other f2p players out there like me? How the fuck are they supposed to beat this boss without struggling if they don't have the right characters to make this boss fight easier?
Now I don't wanna say everyone in this sub is a massive whale who spends loads of money on this game, but I'm pretty sure 95% of you (exaggerating of course) had a way easier time than me and of alot of f2p players. Either because you started playing way earlier and naturally built up a good roster of characters over time. Or just because you've spent lots of money to pull on characters that you wanted. As a f2p player who's saving thier pulls for Jade & Firefly, I only have four five star characters. (Not counting Stelle/Caelus of course.) Here's a screeshot of the five stars that I have:
I don't have much at all.
A couple weeks back, I made an entire post about how this game made me appreciate turned-based combat. And in that post, I basically stated that I used to be a hater of this type of combat, that I used to avoid turn-based combat games all the time, and how I used to only play action games like Final Fantasy 16, NieR Automata, and Scarlet Nexus until I became interested in HSR and actually enjoyed the turned-based combat I'm this game. I also went on about how much I loved the Cocolia & Phantylia boss fights. I thought those two previous boss fights were absolute cinema. Well with this boss fight against the Harmonious Choir, I felt the complete oppiste. I felt nothing but pure frustration and I had a: "can this shit hurry up and end already?" type of actitude the entire time. I'm gonna be completely honest, after me dying for the like the 15th time, I literally told myself that stupid shit like this annoying boss fight is probably the main reason why I was never interested in turned-based games in the first place. And I know that you can very well make the argument that this boss fight is actually better than the previous two because this one requires more strategy from the player and I understand that, but that doesn't change the fact this boss fight is still not fun to play at all In my opinion. And like I said before, I know that only one that feels this way.
Now in no way do I plan on quitting this game and becoming a turned-based combat hater again just because this one boss left a bad taste in my mouth. I still do very much enjoy this game and want see how the story continues, I just wanted to state my reasons as to why this boss by far was my least favorite out of the three big one's so far. I Just think that the Cocolia & Phantylia bosses were way better. For the love of god Hoyoverse... please do not create boss fights like this ever again...

I’m a 20 year old guy. Although I’m not diagnosed, I strongly believe that I’m on the autism spectrum. I resent myself for so many different things
I have fallen behind so many other people my age. I don’t have a driving licence failing the test 5 times. I’m working in a minimum wage job while OK is not something I look at long term. Everyone has gone to college meanwhile I can’t even figure out day of the week it is never mind what I want to do for the rest of my life.
I can barely socialise with anyone. I feel like a creep. Anytime someone new tries to talk with me, I freeze up and start sweating profusely. This has translated to me having next to no friends. My dating life is nonexistent. While I am in OK shape I still can’t bring myself to chat with girls. I don’t know how to meet them and all the dating apps I’ve used have lead to me getting no matches for months or ghosting me.
I have this weird feeling though whenever I see a pretty girl on the street I begin to wish I was them. Now I don’t consider myself trans it’s just something else I think. Maybe it’s just envy. A very beautiful girl sat next to me at the bus stop for a few minutes today. She was wearing a long blue velvet dress. I was mesmerised by her sun-kissed and smooth skin. She looked at me but I couldn’t even say anything even though I wanted to because of the language barrier ( I am Irish on holiday in Spain). It makes me a bit jealous that girls can wear cute outfits meanwhile I’m stuck with regular stuff. I wish I could do that but at the same time I want to love a girl but you have to choose one or the other. I know there is nothing stopping me from wearing the same thing but I won’t simply because I’m a dude and stuff like that will never suit me now matter how hard you try.
I really do feel like ending it all but I don’t know how. I wish I would just die in my sleep and have my ashes spread in the sea or something like that.
Sorry for the long rant.

Hi, I'm an autistic man who is here to thank you for the information and stories you have provide, it's been giving me ideas about my personal growth and knowledge between the relationships. It makes me sad to read through this subreddit, but I have a better understanding about autism and the traits, and the relationship between autistic and non autistic people. For 5 months I been working on the problems I have that comes from autism and I have made progress, I'm more empathetic, a better listener, and I can understand what people are talking about more, I did come along way through my whole life, but there are still things I need to work on, I don't plan on being a parent but a better person, I've read your comments and posts and it does make me sad to see and I'm terrible sorry for you and again thank you, I hope for a better generation.

Let me preface this by saying nothing in the future is a guarantee. I am going to make a lot of assumptions in this post, but I don't personally think any are unreasonable. This is also a thought experiment - my word should in no way be taken as gospel. Well, here goes.
Assumptions:

1. The amount of supply Bitcoin in existence will never exceed 21m, or S
2. There is a subset of people in this world (like myself) who will exchange their fiat for Bitcoin at any price. We will call this demand from hodlers, or D^H. Since these people will buy at any price, we can assume D^H is a positive, changing value.
3. The value of D^H will grow in a direct relationship with inflation. It may not be proportional, but more dollars in market = more expendable income = more money hodlers put into BTC.
4. People will constantly trade into and out of Bitcoin aka people who want quick gains and do not want to use Bitcoin as their treasury reserve asset. We will call this demand from traders, or D^T.
5. Demand from traders can either be a negative or a positive value depending on time. However, as the number of hodlers in the market increase, the number of traders decreases. Therefore, I assume D^T will get closer to 0 overtime. Note that it will never truly be 0, but we can assume it to be close enough over a long period of time to assume this value to be insignificant.
6. The US dollar will always continue to depreciate in value (aka there will never be negative inflation). The inflation rate is measure as variable r and we can assume it is a fluctuating, positive value

Okay, lets start with our base function. Most of us know that prices in markets are set by 2 things: supply and demand. We will write our first function as:
P($) = f(S,D) = D/S
This ratio indicates that price, P in $, is a function of supply in demand. The function shows a direct relationship with demand (i.e. demand goes up, price goes up). It also shows an inverse relationship with supply (supply goes up, price goes down). This function is applicable to all markets.
Now, as mentioned in assumptions 2 and 4, I can assume demand is coming from 2 different types of people: hodlers and traders. I also know supply is at 21 million. I will rewrite my equation as:
P($) = f(D^H,D^T) = (D^H + D^T)/21,000,000
We are not done yet though because we know demand is a factor of time. As mentioned in assumption 3, D^H will adjust for inflation. Lets take todays demand from hodlers as our constant and call it D^H,CONST and say that D^H = D^H,CONST * i where i is inflation. New equation is:
P($) = f(i,D^T) = (D^H,CONST * i + D^T)/21,000,000
Inflation compounds on top of itself using compound interest formula. This is expressed as
i = (1 + n)^(nt)
where r is the rate of inflation month-to-month, t is the time period (years), and n is the number of times compounded (we will assume 12 because month-to-month inflation is reported in every issue of CPI. Replacing the values we see:
i = 1 + 12)^(12t)
Plug this back into our main equation to yield
P($) = f(r,t,D^T) = (D^H,CONST * ((1 + 12)^(12t)) + D^T)/21,000,000
We know r and D^T are not constants, they are also functions of time. However, as previously mentioned, r is always a positive value and D^T has an inverse relationship with time. Rewrite final equation as
P($) = f(r,t,D^T) = (D^H,CONST * ((1 + r(t)/12)^(12t)) + D^T(t))/21,000,000
Okay, now that we have our final equation to model price, lets take the limit as time approaches ∞
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = (D^H,CONST * ((1 + r(∞)/12)^(12*∞)) + D^T(∞))/21,000,000
We know that any positive real number great than 1 when taken the power of ∞ is ∞. We also know that 12*∞ is ∞. Now plug in and simplify
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = (D^H,CONST * ((x > 1)^∞) + 0)/21,000,000
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = (D^H,CONST * ∞+ 0)/21,000,000
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = (∞+0)/21,000,000
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = ∞/21,000,000
lim(t -> ∞) P($) = ∞
All of this to say if you buy and hodl, graph go up and to the right. Or as Saylor puts it, "it's going up forever, Laura".

If you live with chronic pain or disease or even if you’re Highly Sensitive or neurodivergent, you know the struggle of conforming to the able-bodied, neurotypical, stock image office culture.
You know what I’m talking about. Healthy-looking normies with lanyards around their necks, smiling while holding their coffee in the boardroom.
Who does that?
I’ve been living with chronic pain for over 10 years.
I’ve learned a lotta lessons the hard way about how to take care of myself living in a body prone to pain.
For instance, movement is crucial to my wellness routine. I cannot sit at a computer 8+ hours a day. I need frequent breaks so I can move and stretch. On a good day, I can go 5-ish hours at my desk.
Because my muscles need to be exercised frequently, I also have an expensive gym membership with classes. I hurt the most when I’m sitting still. If I neglect my body, I get flare ups.
At the same time, NOT overusing my body is also key in preventing pain. My hands, wrists, and arms are prone to pain if I use them too much—clicking, scrolling, weeding, grasping, all-of-the-above.
My personality is also a factor in my pain patterns. I tend to lose track of time, forgetting to drink water or get up and stretch. I’m a champion hyperfocus-er.
It’s known that perfectionism, conscientiousness, and anxiousness are all common traits in people who have chronic pain.
And well, that’s me in a nutshell!
I’ve done countless hours of physical therapy, occupational therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, and network spinal analysis—not to mention I know exercises that use my brain to calm down pain and danger signals.
And yet, my body is still prone to pain.
I don’t think the issue is solely rooted in my unique skeletomuscular issues or personality.
It’s also that modern day living is conducive to pain.
I had a sedentary career for 8 years, because as a millennial I was sold an idea that I *had* to go to college and get a professional white-collar job. That ended up aligning well with my interests because I wanted to do study abroad advising and program development in higher ed.
But in the U.S., universities are always understaffed, everyone is always overworked, and they use the most mind-numbing archaic technology that makes the work tedious and time-consuming.
Hence, me hovering over a computer for hours at a time getting lost in spreadsheets.
So is it any mystery that I have neck and wrist issues?
Since leaving my university job, I’ve vowed to not worsen my chronic pain by overdoing myself.
I refuse to be someone’s employee who is confined to stupid AF work hours that are long, arbitrary, and unhealthy.
I refuse to feel guilty sleeping in on days when I’m tired.
I listen to my body.
I’m learning to honor my cycles—energy, seasons, menstrual, etc.—that don’t give a rat’s ass about “consistency” (You must work 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday! You must be at work at the same time every day! No you cannot take a nap in the middle of the day!).
I intentionally move slowly, though my old urges to hustle are still there sometimes.
It’s been a journey, but I’m proud to say I’ve come a long way.
And while I do kinda miss the predictable income and 401(k), the salary was shit and the retirement plans are all watered down now.
Ain’t worth it.
Do you relate?
I see you, and I empathize with you.
Life is not equal or equitable for everyone.
Admittedly, I’m still an irritatingly optimistic person who believes you can find a better way if you’re in pain or deeply unhappy with your current situation.
Even if you could be 15% more comfortable, that is a win.
I’m here to help you believe in it.
❥ Krissy • Life Coach

Longer Summary of Article:
U.S. Cellular, one of the last major regional wireless carriers in the United States, is in discussions with T-Mobile and Verizon to sell parts of its operations and spectrum licenses. This potential split sale aims to appease antitrust authorities by ensuring that the transaction does not negatively impact competition. The sale would give both T-Mobile and Verizon access to valuable airwaves, with T-Mobile expected to finalize a deal worth over $2 billion by the end of the month, while Verizon's negotiations are still ongoing and may not result in an agreement.
U.S. Cellular, headquartered in Chicago and majority-owned by the Carlson family's Telephone & Data Systems, has faced increasing competition from larger national carriers and cable-broadband providers. The company's spectrum portfolio spans 30 states and covers approximately 51 million people, making it an attractive asset in the wireless industry, particularly as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not auctioned new spectrum for over a year, causing existing spectrum licenses to rise in value.
The wireless industry in the U.S. has seen significant consolidation, reducing the number of players to Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. T-Mobile, which became the second-largest U.S. carrier after acquiring Sprint, continues to expand its customer base, recently completing the purchase of Mint Mobile. U.S. Cellular provides service to over four million customers across 21 states and owns more than 4,000 cellular towers, though these towers are not included in the current sale talks.
The driving force behind this deal is the rising value of wireless licenses, particularly those capable of supporting 5G signals. American companies have invested over $100 billion in recent years to secure these airwaves. However, the FCC's lack of authority to auction new spectrum has heightened demand for existing licenses.
The U.S. wireless market has matured, with most adults and many children already subscribed to smartphone services, limiting growth opportunities. AT&T and Verizon have refocused on their core cellphone and home-internet customers after retreating from the media business. As U.S. Cellular is one of the few remaining regional carriers, it has long been considered a potential acquisition target in the industry.
Overall, the potential split sale of U.S. Cellular to T-Mobile and Verizon represents a significant shift in the U.S. wireless landscape, driven by the high value of spectrum licenses and the ongoing consolidation among carriers. The outcome of these discussions will likely impact competition and service offerings in the industry.
Expanded Summary of Comments:
The comments on the article about the potential split sale of U.S. Cellular to T-Mobile and Verizon reveal a wide range of opinions and concerns from readers, reflecting the complexity and impact of such a deal on consumers and the market.

1. Positive Experiences with Alternatives:
   
   • Some commenters express satisfaction with alternatives to major carriers. For instance, Chip Burgess mentions switching to T-Mobile’s 5G home internet combined with YouTube TV to avoid high prices from Comcast, highlighting the benefits of competition brought by T-Mobile.
2. Competition and Market Dynamics:
   
   • Matty G underscores the importance of competition, noting how T-Mobile disrupted the previous duopoly of AT&T and Verizon, which benefited consumers by lowering prices. He raises concerns about the potential for reduced competition if another major player doesn't emerge, such as Amazon, Google, or Apple.
   • Others, like Michael C, emphasize the need for more competition in the cellular industry, worrying that further consolidation will harm consumer choice and service availability, especially in suburban and rural areas.
3. Service Quality and Pricing Issues:
   
   • Several comments address dissatisfaction with service quality and pricing from major carriers. Mel A discusses inconsistent signal strength between Verizon and T-Mobile in different locations, indicating frustrations with coverage reliability.
   • Brian Egbert reminisces about the breakup of AT&T and Bell Labs, suggesting that deregulation initially lowered prices and increased consumer choice but also led to service issues and market monopolies.
4. Regulatory and Antitrust Concerns:
   
   • There are strong opinions about the role of government regulation and antitrust enforcement. Jim Fowler questions the current state of monopoly control in the U.S., implying that regulatory bodies should scrutinize such mergers more closely.
   • John Reilly points out the potential anti-competitive nature of T-Mobile and Verizon carving up U.S. Cellular, suggesting that it could violate the Sherman Antitrust Act and calling for stricter regulatory oversight.
5. Impact on Rural Areas:
   
   • Joseph Muscato highlights the importance of U.S. Cellular in rural areas, like rural Missouri, where it often provides the only reliable signal. He questions whether major carriers will maintain service in these less lucrative areas and whether the FTC will require them to do so.
6. Historical Context and Industry Trends:
   
   • Commenters like Joseph W. Kelly reflect on the historical trend of industry consolidation, where numerous players eventually merge into a few dominant ones. He suggests that this is a natural progression but raises concerns about potential price increases and service quality.
   • Others, such as Wayne Longman, criticize the current spectrum allocation system, suggesting that the FCC's management of spectrum auctions has contributed to the consolidation and inefficiencies in the market.
7. Technological and Future Considerations:
   
   • Discussions also touch on future technological developments and their impact on the market. Brandon Purnell mentions Starlink’s potential entry into the cellular market, speculating that SpaceX might eventually operate independently, which could further disrupt the industry.
   • Commenters like Michael Smith and Longman discuss the capital-intensive nature of the wireless industry and the challenges of building a nationwide 5G network, proposing ideas like government-managed duopolies to ensure comprehensive coverage.
8. Personal Experiences and Advice:
   
   • Many comments share personal experiences with different carriers and plans, offering advice on how to find better deals. For example, Charlie Roast recommends Metro by T-Mobile for cheaper rates, and Gregory Sdrocer highlights low-cost options like Visible Wireless, a Verizon subsidiary.
9. Skepticism and Criticism:
   
   • Some commenters express skepticism about the proposed merger's benefits, with David Hartner arguing that the real goal is to reduce competition and increase pricing power rather than achieve economies of scale.
   • Heath Anderson and others voice frustration with constant billing issues and the feeling that loyal customers are not rewarded with better prices, indicating a broader dissatisfaction with customer service practices in the industry.

Overall, the comments reflect a deep concern about the potential reduction in competition and its impact on service quality and pricing. They highlight the challenges of balancing market consolidation with the need to maintain consumer choice and protect underserved areas. The mixed reactions underscore the complexity of the wireless industry and the varied experiences of consumers.