So I’ve been struggling to find a shave touch that doesn’t leave my skin irritated especially on my neck. Before, I would do one pass with the grain, one across on my face and one against the grain on my neck. But I always was left with razor burn and cuts especially in this one patch on my neck that grows sideways. But tonight I tried something different. I did my regular with the grain on my face but only did one pass of against the grain on my neck basically exactly the same way I used to shave when I used cartridge blades. And although I quite a few nicks on my left side because I was rushing a little because dinner was ready, my skin was incredibly smooth and the nicks went away after using the alum block and some Bump Stopper 2. I also did a light against the grain on my cheeks and sideburns like I typically do. My skin is incredibly smooth and no irritation at all. I’m glad I decided to try my own technique after trying some more typical pass routes. I guess it goes to show how everyone’s facial hair and skin is different. Btw this was done with my WeiShi adjustable on 6 and Gillette Nacets on their second shave and I haven’t shaved in 2 days. I’ll try this pattern again and make adjustments where needed. Just wanted to share :)

If zelandia never sank a huge things would happen.
Climate breakdown:Australia climate along with zelandia would be different some parts are warmer and has mid temperature while some have cold summer continental climate to Mediterranean summer war climate. While some have cold near the south pole or artic circle. Australia and zelandia will receive rain falls Australia would receive even more possible wetting inner parts of Australia.
Pre colonial era. Humans still migrate to it. But they mostly live in near coastal are establish some village town and some farms. Some live in the mountains or inner parts of Australia due to having more rains due making it wetter and hospitable even more people even live in.
British colonial era to modern era. More slave for Brits due making it a bit stronger but usa still gets independence but more people dies because Brits was a lot stronger.
Same thing happened brits gave an semi independence style like the Philippines. Like an commonwealth.
During WW2 zelandia would be important due to allied especially usa use it as airfield to launch the island hopping campaign a lot earlier than normal. Thus finishing the war a lot earlier in Pacific.
During the cold war us establish base in Australia and zelandia. To prevent communist influence spreading to these countries technically zelandia could be split into many different countries new Zealand could be more larger.
Same thing happened they fought operation desert storm,afgan Iraq war sanction on Russia still support Ukraine.
Weather and geo event There more earthquake would possibly happen to Australia due to zelandia possible being an seperate plate possibly subducting the tasmanian plate thus triggering large earthquake. There is a possibility of volcano in the mountains of zelandia.
Weather patterns would be different due to zelandia influence some hurricane form north of Australia could be block by zelandia mountains.
Earthquake would happen in Australia plate tasmanian plate and the new Zealandia plate there a possibility of convergence,strike slip or something else. There an chance with this earthquakes and geological events. A new land with volcano or mountain range with faults form or rise possibly due to more volcanic activity there would be an new volcanic arc/island making these island like Hawaii 2.0 having tropical with possiblity of having continental,plains style climate seen on usa or humid to Mediterranean style climate.

Hello,
The thing people talk about in manipulation and narcissism sound scarily like what I put my partner through. I have just started DBT Therapy, and was previously in talk-therapy for 3 years. The talk-therapy didn't help much with implementing strategies and coping mechanisms, and it wasn't until I started working with my new therapist that I realized I may have BPD. I definitely have characteristics that align with the disorder.
I rely on my partner for emotional regulation, I exhibit a poor sense of self to varying degrees. When I am emotional or anxious, I feel the need to control my partner and get angry. But the anger stems from a deep fear of abandonment. The control stems from a desperate attempt to prevent my partner from leaving. Unfortunately, these have manifested in uncaring, abusive, and manipulative/controlling ways.
I know the things I've done are wrong. And I know they're bad. I have started the DBT therapy a few months ago, however I have been with my partner for over 1.5 years and she is understandably at her wits end. To me, it feels as though I have this renewed sense of hope and confidence in myself that I can change that started with therapy and this realization a few months ago. But to her, understandably, the promises of change and getting better and going to therapy is a pattern she's been watching happen for much longer.
When I get angry I try to control, I tighten my metaphorical grip and want to control her and the situation because I feel my safety and need of safety isn't being met. I have learned to control it better and better, but at times I still revert back to my old ways. I drank this weekend and exhibited attempts at control by trying to block my partner in my apartment with my hands behind my back. I had no intention of harming her but I so desperately wanted to prevent her from leaving so we could talk things out and she would calm down. This trapping and not letting her leave stemmed from the fear of abandonment, and the desperate need to control her to stay so we could talk and I could feel better, by causing her to stay, rather than regulating myself.
My extreme examples of control are at their worst when I drink. And for that reason I am quitting drinking. However, I still feel heightened emotions and on edge and feel my safety in my partnership is at risk so I attempt to prevent her from seeing her friends so I can create a sense of safety within myself.
I know this is all wrong, and I don't want to be like this anymore. I can use the DBT skills but it is still incredibly hard when the emotions are higher than normal (for example, being at a 9-10. I can effectively use my skills when I'm between a 5-7 to prevent myself from getting to a 10. But when I surpass the level, I can't). How do I move away from these tendencies to control and manipulate my partner? I am not a bad person and do not believe I do it purely for the sense of control or to be controlling or to have power over my partner. I do it because I am afraid and insecure and want to be felt to be safe in my relationship but I go about it in an incredibly wrong way.
How do I shy away from the narcissistic/manipulative tactics and replace them with healthy coping skills when I'm feeling incredibly triggered and heightened in my emotions?

Choosing the Right Distribution Company to Avoid False Penalties on Spotify
As a music artist, one of the most critical decisions you'll make is selecting a reliable distribution company. With the rise of digital streaming, issues like streaming fraud have become prevalent. Platforms like Spotify are vigilant against fraudulent activities, but this can sometimes lead to false penalties for genuine artists. Here’s how to choose a distribution company that will help you avoid such issues.
What is Streaming Fraud?
Streaming fraud involves artificially inflating play counts to boost an artist’s popularity and revenue. This can be achieved through bots, fake accounts, or dubious third-party services. Spotify employs sophisticated algorithms to detect these fraudulent activities, but sometimes, genuine artists can get caught in the crossfire.
Key Factors to Consider

1. Reputation - Try not to laugh, but this is a big one! Look for distributors with a solid reputation and positive feedback from other artists. Established companies with a history of ethical practices are less likely to engage in fraudulent activities.
2. Adherence to Policies: the Really?! These days, some of the biggest distribution companies are flagging well-established artists for ‘fake streaming’. You need to ensure the distributor complies with Spotify's guidelines and anti-fraud measures. Reliable distributors are transparent about their methods and avoid shortcuts that can lead to penalties.
3. Transparency: Choose a distributor that provides detailed analytics and clear reporting. Transparency helps you understand your audience and track your performance accurately.
4. Customer Support Effective customer support is crucial. In case of any issues or discrepancies, you need a distributor who can promptly address your concerns and communicate with Spotify if necessary.

Recommended Distribution Companies
1. DistroKid

• Pros: Fast and affordable distribution, retains 100% of royalties.
• Cons: Basic customer support. Has flagged, penalised and taken down artists

2. TuneCore

• Pros: Extensive distribution network, detailed reports, keeps 100% of royalties.
• Cons: Higher fees compared to some other options. Tunecore is being blamed, as are other big distribution companies for taking down artists’ music unfairly as well!

3. CD Baby

• Pros: One-time fee per release, global reach, additional promotional tools.
• Cons: Takes a small percentage of royalties.

4. Playlist Pump PR Agency & BlockPlay

• Pros: Selective artist roster, extensive support, advanced analytics.
• Cons: Invitation or application required.
• Why It’s Reliable: Provides a higher level of support and personalized service, ensuring compliance and helping artists avoid fraudulent activities. It’s run by artists for artists. It also is one of the only platforms (Thru its distribution service Block Play) that will assign the artist NFT royalties.

Tips for Avoiding Streaming Fraud

• Avoid Third-Party Services: Be cautious of services promising increased streams. These often use methods that can lead to your music being flagged for fraud.
• Regularly Monitor Your Streams: Keep an eye on your streaming data. Sudden spikes or irregular patterns can be a red flag.
• Engage Authentically with Your Audience: Focus on building a genuine fanbase through social media, live performances, and collaborations. Organic growth is sustainable and safe.

Conclusion
Choosing the right distribution company is essential for protecting your music from the risk of false penalties. Reputable distributors are accusing Spotify of flagging artists for fake streams and Spotify seems to be blaming distribution companies for the practise as well. By focusing on organic growth and staying informed, you can safeguard your music career and thrive on platforms like Spotify. Which is why Playlist Pump PR Agency comes out in front from my perspective. There may be other small, niche distribution companies out there as well, however, I have dealt directly with these guys and to date have not had a single issue with a release.
​
#MusicDistribution #Spotify #StreamingFraud #MusicArtists #DistroKid #TuneCore #CDBaby #AWAL

Update: Bloons TD 6 v43.0 - Update Notes!
Available now for most platforms please restart your storefront or be patient if it does not appear for you, these updates can take some time to be rolled out to every region due to how the storefronts are set up.
Update Video: https://youtu.be/97SrSDiSNfk

Key New Features

• New Event, Boss Rush!
  • We are so psyched to release this event! We have heard the many requests for more Team activities, and after testing some functionality in Quests, we are so happy to release a very different way to play as a Team. Thank you for your feedback and patience, and we truly hope you enjoy!
  • Band together with allies to defend against the powerful Boss Rush threatening your Team. With multiple Boss threats looming on the horizon, you and your Team must work together to defend nearby islands from a variety of invaders!
  • To assist in pushing back the threat players are outfitted with Relic Knowledge to leverage and a number of Revive Shields that will recover you from 0 lives! But be careful, Revives are limited and each time one is triggered the Boss will rush closer to the exit.
  • These Bosses cannot be destroyed alone, so when defending any island your goal is to deal as much damage as you possibly can before they make it past. When your Team reaches enough combined total damage the island is successfully defended and you can progress to the next island, with a new Boss to defend against!
  • Between islands some monkey types must stay behind to defend, but additional Relic Knowledge will be acquired to assist in the next challenge.
  • Defend 5 islands, each with a fast paced Boss challenge against different Bosses out of the initial 3 available: Bloonarius, Dreadbloon & Phayze. (Vortex & Lych to be coming at a later date!).
  • Immediately after defending an island, all Team members can claim the island rewards!
  • For launch we are releasing with a pure Team focus without competitive leaderboards. This allows us to review balance and get feedback from players before making changes in future updates. Boss Rush has evolved to be much bigger than the minigame-like concept it was initially planned to be and we look forward to seeing all of your Teams defend their islands together!
  • The Event Timer shows when the next Boss Rush will start - less than a day after launch.
• New Code Redemption System
  • This new system will allow us to create gift packs that can be redeemed by anyone with the code for free in-game rewards, so keep an eye out for any codes we may share (or hide…) in future!
  • Due to privacy requirements, certain platforms cannot enter the codes directly in the game. Instead, you can log in to your LiNK account and follow the instructions at: https://ninja.kiwi/giftcode

New Awesome

• New Hero Rosalia! (responds to Lia for short!)
  • Jetpack Monkey joins the team! Try out Rosalia right away in her new trial quest! Rosalia is built to be a strong ‘set and forget’ hero who also happens to work well with a techbot. The ability to swap weapon to handle her own weaknesses exists for people who wish to play her as their sole DPS, but the power of both her weapons is balanced to scale up together at a fair rate so there's no reason not to pick a preferred weapon forever, and build the rest of your towers to cover any weakness left.
  • Rosalia freely jumps around her large workshop area, attacking faster the more Bloons are nearby while swapping between a powerful single target laser & bouncing cluster grenades to deal with different threats!
  • Enhanced special attacks for the 10th shot fired on either weapon, showering Bloons in a fog of explosions, or Shocking and pushing them back with powerful Plasma blasts
  • Reduce all upgrade costs for Monkey Ace & Heli Pilot, plus one other friend!
  • Lv3 Scatter Missile ability, to clean up Bloons with a barrage of powerful stuns
  • Lv7 Hover ANYWHERE and gain the Flight Boost ability to temporarily pursue Bloons everywhere around the track and temporarily boost the flight speed of Aces & Helis
  • Lv10 Kinetic Charge ability, which sticks MOAB-class Bloons with a charge that explodes after a short duration and amplifies this explosion based on the amount of damage that hits the target before the charge explodes. Focus fire!
  • You could try this code: ROSALIAROCKS
• New Beginner Map Tinkerton
  • Explore Rosalia’s workshop and help defend it against Bloon incursion! Who knew orange juice had so many uses?
• New Quests
  • Tinkerer’s Tutorial: discover Rosalia’s strengths and weaknesses
  • A Strange Bloonomaly: Dr. Monkey wants your help investigating some unusual Bloons
• New Trophy Store Items
  • Heroes: Obyn Wolf Dance placement animation for Standard Obyn
  • Monkeys: Boomer ‘Roo pet for the Boomerang Monkey
  • Bloons: BAD Scarab skin
  • Game & UI: Boomer and ‘Roo profile banner, Distinguished Gentlemonkey avatar
• Limited Time Trophy Store Item
  • Druid of the Rainbow avatar
• New CT Team Store items
  • Icons: Battle Monkey Icon
  • Frames: Boss Rush Clouds Frame

Game Changes / Additions

• Map Editor Beach items
  • It may be getting colder in New Zealand, but we know it’s getting back to beach weather for most of you!
  • Beach water path x1
  • Areas x2
  • Stamps x3
  • Props x22
• Map Editor ‘full path’ settings to modify how entire paths work
  • Set paths to be alternating, sequential, or a specific pattern
• Map Editor ‘path node’ settings to modify small sections within a path
  • Invulnerable MOABs: MOABs will not be targetable until the next node
  • Invulnerable Bloons: Bloons will not be targetable until the next node
  • All Bloon Speed: Speed modified by a set multiplier until the next node
  • Scale Bloon: Bloons will increase in visual size until the next node
  • Scale MOAB: MOABs will increase in visual size until the next node
• FPS is no longer capped by default, instead a 60 FPS limit can be enabled from the screen resolution menu

Bug Fixes & General Changes

• Endurance Roundset used in the Phayze One quest has been extended from 100 to 205 rounds, and now has naturally spawning Camo Bloons added
• David Vs Goliath achievement now works in Boss Challenge
• Resolved a crash that could occur when logging out
• Resolved a crash that could occur when exiting out of the received accolades menu too quickly after entering
• Resolved a case in which ‘login required’ could incorrectly display on arcade builds
• Unlocking a new hero should always select that new hero
• Resolved some UI overlap issues within Map Editor
• Resolved some minor visual issues with quests forcing hero level ups
• Map Editor vfx should no longer sometimes become locked to the player’s selection and block interaction / clicking on other items
• Resolved an issue that could sometimes fail to load the ‘My Teams’ button
• Resolved an issue where tower outlines would incorrectly misalign from the tower
• Improved resolution of the default App icon
• Restarting a game in the Content Browser should no longer render that run invalid for the ‘first winner’ slot
• The ‘messages’ page is now loaded by default when interacting with the My Team button
• Income modifiers used in challenge rules should correctly apply to all sources of income

Event bug fixes

• Team island props should once again animate when interacted with
• Game should no longer crash when in the Odyssey scene as the event ends

Map Specific Fixes

• Protect the Yacht quest map’s Boss Spawn Point art has been corrected
• Protect the Yacht quest map should no longer use the #ouch odyssey statue

Tower Specific Fixes

Tack Shooter

• 5xx Inferno Ring’s fire aura is now visually disabled when VFX slider is set to 0%

Ice Monkey

• x3x Arctic Wind ice aura is now visually disabled when VFX slider is set to 0%

Glue Gunner

• x4x Glue Gunner can no longer debuff Dreadbloon in Primary Immune phase

Monkey Sub

• x5x Pre-Emptive Strike now works on Castle’s Revenge
• Resolved a crash that could occur when building a sub paragon as Vortex spawns.
• 3xx+ Monkey Sub aura no longer shrinks with the VFX slider, but is disabled at 0%

Monkey Buccaneer

• 4xx Aircraft Carrier planes now have camo restored when Polyphemus Eye is opened
• xx4 Favored Trades no longer increases the sell value of towers in CHIMPS above $0

Heli Pilot

• Swapping to Lock in Place while moving should no longer visually jam the rotation

Super Monkey

• Resolved a hypersonic automatic blink teleport attacks issue that never happened in a live build but is kinda fun to talk about, and honestly less hype than i’m making it out to sound anyway.

Hero Specific Fixes

Gwendolin

• Lv4 Gwendolin's Heat It Up buff no longer fails to apply if the attack runs out of pierce
• Resolved a buggy visual that could occur when Heat It Up attacks too fast

Etienne

• Etienne should no longer consume the ‘Box of Monkey’ Relic Knowledge

Geraldo

• Resolved a rare crash that could occur when using hotkeys
• Resolved an issue where Geraldo’s skin displayed the wrong portrait when viewing the full upgrades page

Corvus

• Resolved a crash that could occur when sold at Lv2

Platform Specific fixes

• [Vision Pro] Gentlemonkey Geraldo skin should now show on the Monkey Tray

Balance Changes

Tower Balance

The combination of towers you are able to pass round 1 with can change quite a lot in any overall strategy, especially for more restrictive game modes, so for this update we have made an effort to open up new starter combinations with improvements to a number of initial placement towers.
Dart Monkey
While we have been working to increase this niche with many new maps, Juggernaut’s functions sub-optimally for the majority of current maps in the game as the knockback doesn’t scale well without good rebound opportunities; to help with this we’re increasing their knockback force slightly with even more emphasis on the less-favored crosspath. We are slightly reducing the cost of Super Monkey Fan Club to overall improve the value of taking multiple to maintain higher uptime

• 4xx Juggernaut Knockback duration increased 0.1s > 0.15
• 402 Juggernaut Knockback to heavy targets 1.5 > 2.25
• 402 Juggernaut Knockback to light targets 3 > 4.5
• x4x Super Monkey Fan Club price reduced $8000 > 7500

Boomerang Monkey
Boomerang base price is being slightly reduced, already a decent start in many cases though this seemed enough to make slight game start changes and price it differently to other towers. The main attack for MOAB Domination has been scaled up as overall it is a good upgrade but the pierce on this main attack was previously unchanged from the T3. Glaive Lord’s main thrown attacks will now be able to bounce back again and hit the same target multiple times, this can be a very powerful effect so there is a cooldown on how frequently any single Bloon can be re-targeted.

• Boomerang Monkey price reduced $325 > 315
• xx5 Moab Domination Main projectile pierce increased 18 > 54
• 205 Moab Domination Main projectile pierce increased 27 > 81
• 5xx Glaive Lord main attack can bounce back to the same target: cooldown 0.6s

Bomb Shooter
Bloon Crush does its job locking down all movement in an area, but we feel it could see more damage to reduce the stall time without the balance really changing much. Bomb Blitz was recently refitted to a cheaper price range while proportionally keeping a similar power level for the cost, however seeing it now in this spot we feel keeping higher damage will give it the edge it needs to feel more impactful than spamming Recursives.

• 5xx Bloon Crush damage increased 12 > 24
• 502 Bloon Crush Frags damage increased 12 > 24
• 502 Bloon Crush Frags bonus damage to ceramic 12 > 0
• xx5 Bomb Blitz damage increased 3 > 5

Tack Shooter
Tack is a very powerful base tower technically, but it is unable to achieve high uptime of that potential power in many early rounds, so some base cost is moving into the cheaper xx1 and xx2 upgrades to make it easier for other towers to start alongside the tack. Additionally, while we’ve held out on this change as there are strong use cases in prior upgrades, Blade Maelstrom lacks the single target punch to last late in Modern Bloons. While it is designed as a high pierce cleanup of low tier Bloons we want to try shifting some pierce to single target damage to feel good for longer.

• Tack shooter price reduced $280 > 260
• xx1 More Tacks price increased $100 > 110
• xx2 Even More Tacks price increased $100 > 110
• x4x Blade Maelstrom damage increased 1 > 2
• x4x Blade Maelstrom pierce reduced from 200 > 100
• x5x Super Maelstrom damage unchanged
• x5x Super Maelstrom pierce reduced 500 > 300

Glue Gunner
Increased duration has limited use on upgrades that completely destroy targets anyway, so a better crosspath benefit is being added onto 401 glue puddles. Bloon Solver’s pierce is being reduced as it is over-overkill for how many Bloons you realistically see at once, but this reduction should not be noticed for most players. Glue Splatter stands out as weirdly expensive for T2, and is rarely even needed so we’re significantly cutting its price to bring it down to a more affordable range with less pierce, we hope this should make it more worth considering for splatter coverage over piercing. Now that Glue Storm is extremely good for damage type & debuff support we’re removing the bonus speed reduction that should otherwise require xx2 crosspath and lowering the duration of the Glue Storm. New Relentless Glue finally offers something quite powerful so cost is slightly increasing.

• 401 Stickier Glue allows track puddles to last +1 round
• 5xx The Bloon Solver pierce reduced 5 > 4
• x2x Glue Splatter price reduced $1450 > 970
• x2x Glue Splatter pierce buff reduced 3 > 2
• x5x Glue Storm ability ‘storm’ duration reduced 20s > 15
• x5x Glue Storm ability glue slow 75% > 50%
• 052 Glue Storm ability glue slow 90% > 75%
• xx4 Relentless Glue price increased 3000 > 3400

Sniper Monkey
Lower tier Shrapnel crosspathing balance doesn’t feel great currently, so the damage crosspath benefits at T1 & T2 are improving. Even with the high damage per shot, Cripple MOAB still has low value outside of debuff capability, we feel that these shots pack enough of a punch now that they should do a little collateral damage - so lets do it! (we’ve also increased shrapnel pierce at this tier to not tip crosspath balance too far to one side).

• 120 Shrapnel Shot damage increased from 1 > 2
• 220 Shrapnel Shot damage increased from 2 > 3
• 320 Shrapnel Shot damage unchanged (4)
• 520 Cripple MOAB’s Shrapnel Shot pierce increased from 2 > 3
• 5xx Cripple MOAB now damages Bloons around the main target
  • Radius 8
  • Pierce 10
  • Damage 28

Monkey Sub
Bloontonium Reactor’s unsubmerged damage is increasing to encourage unsubmerged possibilities. The bonus to Lead on Reactor currently doesn't apply to T5, so this bonus is being carried up and improved along with a small price reduction to Energizer as strategies using it have fallen somewhat in viability. Nautic Siege Core’s hero buff is being improved as currently this is an under-utilized part of the tower.

• 4xx Bloontonium Reactor dart & airburst damage 1 > 2
• 520 Energizer gains bonus damage to Lead +5 when submerged
• 502 Energizer price reduced $32,000 > 31,000
• Paragon Hero attack cooldown increase reduced 1.5x > 1.3
• Paragon Hero damage multiplier increased 4x > 5x

Monkey Buccaneer
While buccaneer is technically already a very good starter tower for maps that happen to have ideal spots allowing it to attack in both directions we feel this situation isn’t common enough that the tower should be priced around that expectation - this reduced cost is added back to top and bottom T3 upgrades as they do not need the buff. As the paragon has exceptionally powerful scaling mechanics as well as being a paragon that continues to produce cash the XP Unlock requirement is increasing, this increase will not affect players who have already unlocked it.

• Buccaneer price reduced $500 > 400
• 300 Destroyer price increased 2950 > 3050
• 003 Merchantman price increased 2300 > 2400
• Navarch unlock XP increased 500,000 > 750,000

Monkey Ace
Minor catchup changes to some parts have fallen out of line slightly due to balance changes for other parts of the Ace.

• x1x Exploding Pineapple attack cooldown reduced 1.7s > 1.6s
• xx5 Flying Fortress radial dart damage increased from 3 > 6

Ace - Goliath Doomship
A lot of stats shuffled around here; this should keep the power level roughly similar overall but with proportionally more of that power coming from the seeking attacks, and less from micro aiming the faster firing frontal gun.

• Seeking Radials projectile count increased 4 > 8
• Seeking Radials damage increased 200 > 300
• Seeking Radials boss bonus increased 200 > 300
• Non-seeking Radials projectile count reduced 16 > 12
• Non-seeking Radials damage increased 200 > 300
• Non-seeking Radials boss bonus increased 200 > 300
• Frontal Gun damage reduced 300 > 150
• Frontal Gun boss bonus reduced 300 > 150

Heli Pilot
Overall Comanche cleanup and stats shuffle; with the goal of improving baseline non-buffed performance and making it less demanding of Geraldo’s Pickle for high damage.

• x5x Special Poperations Marine can now be sold in CHIMPS
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's attack rate 0.151848 > 0.228
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini heli dart damage increased 2 > 3
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile damage 1 > 4
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile pierce 80 > 60
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile ceramic bonus increased 1 > 2
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile moab bonus removed 2 > 0
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini's missile ceramic bonus increased 1 > 10
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini's missile moab bonus removed 8 > 0

Mortar Monkey
Artillery Battery use has really exploded (!) and over the past few updates it has been sitting fairly steady in a great spot, the current power level feels good but we don’t want to create too big of a gap from the T3 yet so only a very slight cost increase. Blooncineration’s 025 crosspath currently works so much better with external buffs so we're tweaking the 205 crosspath to feel better in some situations.

• x4x Artillery Battery price increased $5500 > 5900
• 105 Blooncineration walls of fire pierce increased 25 > 36
• 205 Blooncineration walls of fire damage increased 2 > 3

Wizard Monkey
Wizard has a weaker base tower so the base cost is going down in exchange for a small price increase to the cost to value ratio for the effective Arcane Mastery. As Fireball becomes very forgotten at higher tiers and is hard to even see at Dragon’s Breath, we’re improving the crosspath and adding even more projectiles at T3 for wider explosive coverage. As Shimmer is the slowest de-camo in the game it is important that it not miss when it does trigger, so pierce is greatly increased. Wizard Lord Phoenix’s Wall of Fire hasn’t had any meaningful upgrade progression, so its damage is being increased. Magus is one of the more in-depth Paragons to use effectively so having it as one of the cheapest to unlock didn't feel right, the unlock XP requirements for this and Ninja are being swapped around.

• Wizard price reduced $375 > 325
• 3xx Arcane Mastery price increased $1300 > 1400
• xx3 Shimmer pierce increased 200 > 500
• 210 Fireball crosspathed damage increased 1 > 2
• x3x Dragon's Breath fireball projectile count increased 1 > 3
• x3x Dragon's Breath fireball damage reduced 9 > 3
• x3x Dragon's Breath pierce reduced 4 > 3
• x5x Wizard Lord Phoenix wall of fire attack damage 3 > 5
• x5x Dragon's Breath fireball damage reduced from 27 > 9
• Wizard Paragon unlock cost increased from 500,000 > 1,000,000

Super Monkey
Super Monkey projectiles already travel most the map length so that total distance is being reduced and adding back via the range-focused middle crosspath. The recent Robo/Tech Terror nerfs had a larger impact on the Anti-Bloon, so it is seeing a larger compensatory price reduction. Legend of the Night’s special passive ability is being failsafe limited to 2 activations per round, per tower.

• Supermonkey projectile speed reduced 280 > 200
• x2x Epic Range projectile speed bonus 25% > 75% (remains 350)
• x5x The Anti-Bloon upgrade cost reduced from $80,000 > 70,000
• xx5 Legend of the Night ability max uses per round: 2

Ninja Monkey
While a great early game option, Ninja generally struggles with dominant crosspathing choices and also has relatively poor base tower value. Without going into every single change, T3s onward remain relatively unchanged with a lot of prices below T3 being moved around from less favorable crosspaths into bettehigher tier upgrades. Ninja Paragon is very simple to use so unlock XP requirements for this and Wizard Paragon are swapping around so Ninja is the faster unlock. This increase will not affect players who have already unlocked it.

• Ninja Monkey price reduced $500 > 400
• Ninja Monkey attack cooldown reduced from 0.7 > 0.62
• 1xx Ninja Monkey attack cooldown reduced 38% > 30 (all attacks)
• xx2 Caltrops attack cooldown reduced 4.4 > 3.9
• xx4 Sticky Bomb attack cooldown reduced 5 > 4.5
• 1xx Ninja Discipline price increased $300 > 350
• 3xx Double Shot price increased $850 > 900
• x1x Distraction price reduced $350 > 250
• x2x Counter Espionage price reduced $500 > 400
• x3x Shinobi Tactics price increased $900 > 1200
• xx1 Seeking Shuriken price increased $250 > 300
• xx2 Caltrops price increased $400 > 450
• Ninja Paragon unlock cost reduced 1,000,000 > 500,000

Druid
Passive life generation is being removed in favor of the active ability being the only source of life generation, this allows druid-focus strategies to no longer ‘accidentally’ heal their Vengeance buffs away. Heart of Vengeance itself has been allowed to remain overpowered for a long time since life loss is not always an option in different challenges/modes, but with newer competitive modes being added over time that do allow for this mechanic to be, overindulged, shall we say, it feels due for substantial rebalance.

• x4x Jungle's Bounty now generates 1 life per ability cast
• x4x Jungle's Bounty no longer passively generates 1 life per round
• x5x Spirit of the Forest no longer passively generates lives per round
• xx2 Heart of Vengeance lost lives maximum rate bonus reduced 100% > 50

Banana Farm
Monkey Wall Street’s cost is being increased, but in return its special bonuses have been improved with more life generation and much more range for Banana collection.

• xx5 Monkey Wall Street price increased $60,000 > 70,000
• xx5 Monkey Wall Street range increased 60 > 75
• xx5 Monkey Wall Street lives per round increased 10 > 15

Spike Factory
Spike Storm is now exceptionally strong so the ability cooldown is increasing a small amount along with the T5 cost. This comes along with a crosspath rebalance granting more 042 lifespan. Long Life Spikes can start creating a nice buildup of spikes in advance but most of the time feels fairly meh as a stepping stone into Deadly Spikes, a little price here is being shifted up to improve standalone upgrade value.

• x4x Spike Storm cooldown increased 45s > 50
• x4x Spike Storm ability spikes minimum duration reduced 10s > 9
• x4x Spike Storm ability spikes maximum duration reduced 13s > 11
• 041 Spike Storm duration bonus for ability spikes increased 50% > 100%
• x5x Spike Storm ability spikes duration remains at 18-22s
• x5x Carpet of Spikes price increased $40,000 > 42,000
• xx3 Long Life Spikes price reduced $1400 > 1300
• xx4 Deadly Spikes price increased $3500 > 3600

Monkey Village
Primary Expertise’s own attack is unreliable due partly to low bounce distance, so this is being increased. Base level Monkeyopolis continues to over perform, so the baseline cash generation is reducing.

• 5xx Primary Expertise bounce distance increased 50 > 90
• xx5 Monkeyopolis base cash amount reduced $1250 > 1000

Engineer
While better than many options, base Engineer still takes a lot of available starting cash so the cost is reduced slightly and being moved back up into Cleansing Foam & Bloontrap; also with a reduction to Double Gun’s price to reflect the lower value of the base tower. Sentry placements are slightly changing to improve their reliability, and will now spawn closer to the track depending on how much range the sentry has. Sentry Champion, while strong with them, is lacking without high buff support so we’re trying out an increase to the sentry damage on it.

• Engineer price reduced $400 > 350
• 1xx Sentries now spawn within 20% of their range to the track
• 5xx Sentry Champagne damage increased from 2 > 3
• x3x Cleansing Foam price increased $850 > 900
• x4x Overclock foam pierce 10 > 15
• xx3 Double Gun price reduced $500 > 450
• xx4 Bloontrap price increased $3500 > 3600

Beast Handler
In going over our large list of price changes for Beast Handler’s lower tiers in 42 this change was received very positively, however we did not realize that in making this change we killed off all chance of dual-beast handlers being used as a round 1 starting option for under $650 in hard modes – So we gotta do that math all over again and convert it for difficulty, painful 😀 All T1 beast prices changed to allow 110 & 101 beast handler combos to be placed for under $650 in hard mode, all T2 & T3 prices shifted around to keep these same cost ratios.

• 1xx Piranha price reduced 170 > 160
• 2xx Barracutie price reduced 850 > 810
• 3xx Great White price reduced 2075 > 2010
• x1x Microraptor price reduced 195 > 175
• x2x Adasaurus price reduced 890 > 830
• x3x Velociraptor price reduced 2170 > 2065
• xx1 Gyrfalcon price reduced 210 > 190
• xx2 Horned Owl price reduced 940 > 860
• xx3 Golden Eagle price reduced 3150 > 2120

Orca is very strong currently but Great White doesn’t do so much outside of max merge MOAB Takedowns, so damage is increasing to improve these non-maxed situations.

• 3xx Great White damage increased from 8 > 12
• 3xx Great White damage range increased from 16 > 24

Similar to Sentries, Beast spawn placement will now scale closer to the track based on how much range the beast has.

• 1xx Piranha now spawn within 20% of their range to the track
• x1x Microraptor now spawn within 30% of their range to the track

Golden Eagle has stood out more than Condor against MOABs which has felt very wrong, last update it was nerfed against MOABs and now we are playing with the pierce & penalties to improve Golden Eagle further against non-MOAB-Class targets and for Condor more help with lower MOABs.

• xx3 Golden Eagle pierce increased from 15 > 30
• xx3 Golden Eagle pierce range increased from 30 > 60
• xx3 Golden Eagle MOAB pierce penalty increased from 44 > 1089
• xx3 Golden Eagle attack cooldown range from 0.28679625 > 0.28
• xx4 Condor Unchanged by any above changes
• xx4 Giant Condor ceramic penalty reduced from 1 > 0
• xx4 Giant Condor BFB penalty reduced from 44 > 29

We’re slightly reducing beast reposition cooldown as the tiny range leaves movement very tight, which is especially painful for Microraptor path given the low range.

• Beast Handler move cooldown reduced from 3s > 2

Hero Balance

Quincy
Quincy’s Rapid Shot starts with an extremely short duration that slowly increases over levels, the difference between min and max is huge but it doesn’t feel too impactfully increased at any point through the leveling up process, so we are increasing the base duration and instead moving the buff up to max duration all into his Lv13 which currently doesn’t do much.

• Quincy no longer gains 0.5s Rapid Shot duration per level
• Lv3 Rapid Shot duration increased 3.5s > 8
• Lv13 now also increases Rapid Shot duration 8.5s > 12

Gwendolin
Gwendolin’s Heat it Up was recently reworked to allow for much more frequent triggering from attacks, however the 4.5s internal cooldown still limits it from being scaled up far so that internal cooldown is now also being reduced. Additionally, Heat it Up’s bonus buff to damage against Lead targets has been improved slightly so we can get more out of that niche.

• Lv4 Heat it Up minimum delay reduced from 4.5s > 1.5s
• Lv17 Heat it Up buff to Lead type increased from +1 > 2

Obyn Greenfoot
Obyn isn’t necessarily the best support for every type of Druid to reach its highest DPS, but with his more easy reliable design it feels appropriate for him to solve Druid’s biggest weaknesses in a more laid back approach with:

• Lv8 ‘Nature’s Wrath’ additionally grants camo detection to Druids in radius

Benjamin
Benjamin’s Cyber Security and Skimming levels have been swapped around so that the early game skimming cash snowball doesn’t come quite so soon, and Cyber Security can come in earlier where it will make a bigger impact proportionally to the lives being lost.

• Swap the levels for Lv6 Cyber Security and Lv4 skimming

Admiral Brickell
We’ll probably regret this, but the nerf made people very sad, and that is not a life goal 😢

• Lv18 Mega Mine cooldown 45s > 40

Etienne
Etienne's drones are prone to missing due to very low projectile speed, this speed is increasing a fair amount to help with this as drones already have an inability to directionally aim well.

• Lv1 Faster projectile speed for all drones 150 > 250

Psi
Purple Popping is underwhelming with how late it comes online, so this is swapping around with level 11’s slightly faster pop speed.

• Lv11 (Faster Popping) & Lv13 (Purple Popping) swapped

Geraldo
Geraldo has been far too powerful for a while and all-round nerfs are coming to many outstanding aspects, however in return a little quality of life is coming with some more forgiving stock capacities and much more flexible Fertilizer; with the % benefit being reduced in return for improved replenish rate, maximum stock and the ability to now work on all Banana Farm types.

• Lv2 Action Figure price reduced $700 > 650
• Lv6 Worn Cape restock rate reduced 5 > 7
• Lv6 Worn Cape cape max stock increased 2 > 3
• Lv7 Blade Trap max stock increased 3 > 4
• Lv9 Fertilizer cash bonus reduced 25% > 20
• Lv9 Fertilizer max stock increased 2 > 4
• Lv9 Fertilizer rounds to replenish reduced 5 > 3
• Lv9 Fertilizer will now work on all Banana Farms
• Lv13 Shooty Turret v2 damage reduced 7 > 6
• Lv8 Gerry’s Fire duration reduced 10r > 5
• Lv16 Gerry’s Fire v2 duration remains 10r
• Lv11 Jar of Pickles bonus to fortified removed 1 > 0
• Lv16 Jar of Pickles bonus to fortified reduced 2 > 1

Corvus
As Corvus’s power is still considerably top-heavy the mid game performance is being improved with buffs to underused spells, but also top-end power of his 2 most powerful level 20 spells is being reduced to lessen the pressure to ‘need’ to get this far.

• Lv1 Spear pierce increased from 3 > 4
• Lv3 Soul harvest cooldown 35s > 40s
• Lv5 Aggression initial mana cost 80 > 50
• Lv7 Malevolence tick rate 0.5s > 0.3s
• Lv14 Malevolence damage 3 > 5
• Lv20 Might damage 400 > 300
• Lv20 Overload damage 4000 > 3000

Relics
Minor tweaks to Heartless which feels it has no competitive edge over most other Relics & Monkey Boost which overperforms on all available tiles.

• Heartless now ‘disables’ Regrow Bloons: Regrow rate increased 150% > 10,050%
• Monkey Boost granted uses of the Monkey Boost power reduced 3 > 2

Some Relics required more functional changes. As more range is situational and sometimes detrimental Going the Distance has been merged with Durable Shots to also grant increased Lifespan, Durable Shots now instead increases the pierce of all towers. As ‘Popping White Bloons’ is also far too situational Deep Heat now also grants Frozen Bloon popping and improves the duration of Freezes.

• Going the Distance now also provides Lifespan +30%
• Durable Shots no longer grants increased lifespan
• Durable Shots now grants towers increased pierce +25%
• Deep Heat now also allows all attacks to pop 'Frozen'
• Deep Heat now also grants Freezes longer duration +10%
• Deep Heat now also allows Freezes to last extra layers +1

Boss Bloons
Bloonarius
This is really just for fun, bringing increased variety of Bleed Bloons from higher tier Bloonarius

• Elite Tier 4: Bleed Bloons from 12 MOABs > 8 MOABs + 2 BFBs
• Elite Tier 5: Bleed Bloons from 8 DDTs > 6 DDTs + 2 fort ZOMGs

Dreadbloon
Rock Bloons in the higher tiers of Normal Dreadbloon are very outscaled, and so their health values are being increased.

• Normal Tier 4: Rock Bloon HP increased 5000 > 9000
• Normal Tier 5: Rock Bloon HP increased 12000 > 22500

Phayze
In Elite mode Phayze’s speed bonus while shielded is being reduced by 5% across the board as it felt just a little too quick.

• Elite Tier 1 shielded speed bonus reduced from 50% > 45%
• Elite Tier 2 shielded speed bonus reduced from 55% > 50%
• Elite Tier 3 shielded speed bonus reduced from 60% > 55%
• Elite Tier 4 shielded speed bonus reduced from 65% > 60%
• Elite Tier 5 shielded speed bonus reduced from 70% > 65%

I'm currently knitting the Lisbeth blanket and it has a thick moss stitch border (10 moss stitches on each side) that I'm going to trust will prevent the blanket from curling once it's finished and blocked. I'm making a single bed size version of the blanket.
The blanket is curling like mad as I'm knitting it, to the point where on every even row that I'm purling, it's literally more difficult to get the needle into each stitch because the fabric is curling so much. The fabric is curling into an increasingly fatter tube around the cable as I'm knitting and it's making it more and more difficult to handle. Is there anything I can do about this as I'm knitting?
Edit: I've uploaded a photo of the WIP here: https://imgur.com/a/eSjHuVl

Hey everyone,
I'm in the market for some blackout curtains and could really use your advice. With so many options out there, it's tough to know which ones actually live up to the hype. I’m looking for something that will completely block out light, help with noise reduction, and ideally add a bit of style to my room.
Here are a few things I’m considering:

1. Light Blocking Efficiency: Which brands or models have you found to be the best at keeping out all light?
2. Material Quality: I’d like curtains that are durable and easy to maintain. Any recommendations on materials that hold up well over time?
3. Noise Reduction: Are there any curtains that you’ve found to also help with dampening outside noise?
4. Style and Design: While functionality is key, I also want something that looks good. Any brands offering a variety of colors and patterns?
5. Ease of Installation: I’m not the best at DIY, so user-friendly installation would be a big plus.

I’ve heard good things about brands like NICETOWN and Eclipse, but I’m open to any and all suggestions. Personal experiences, specific product recommendations, and any tips for picking the perfect blackout curtain would be super helpful!
Thanks in advance!

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/Ywq3PSd
Modern Carbine .300 blkout upper with tungsten cerakote, 6 inch barrel, radian raptor lt charging handle, silencerco tri lug, and a modern carbine nitride bcg. $695 obo
Vltor MUR black w/ forward assist. New in box. $150
3x Mecgar 18 rnd sig P226 mags. $65 SOLD
B5 bravo stock and p grip in wolf grey. $50
Hk Vp9 tactical w/ x300u holster from tier one concealed. Has spring loaded level 2 retention strap and is in kuiu vias pattern. $75
Hk Vp9 tactical compensator from Parker Mountain Machine. 13.5x1 LH threads. Comes with shims and rocksett. $65
Overwatch precision TAC trigger for gen 5 glock. Gunmetal trigger shoe with blue safety tab, NP3 coated glock trigger bar. $95
Fostech Echo 2 AR trigger. $275
Griffin Armament .625 primo low profile gas block with screws, pin, and allen wrench. Like new. $40
Wilson Combat FDE p365xl grip module without safety. $40 SOLD
Havok holsters p365xl IWB holster with brown and black LV print and DCC monoblock. $50
Aimpoint PRO factory mount. $38
Arisaka MCX offset scout mount. $30
Sig p320 compact 15 rnd magazine. $25
Thanks for looking! Bundles will get a discount. PayPal F&F or Zelle preferred.

Hi all,
(Using a throwaway account.)
I (M,42) will try to summarize my story as much as possible. I am just trying to give the right context as I feel that this is necessary to give an honest account of the situation. (otherwise skip to “This takes us to the situation we are in today.”) My main question would be if you think my partner (F, 44) is possibly abusing me without me realizing it? My main struggle is that I really do not know anymore how to react to her and I am really starting to doubt myself.
Current family situation is me living with my partner, our daughter (F,8) and every other week my daughter out of my previous marriage (F,15)
I met my current partner around 2 years after my divorce. My divorce was "handled" quite well but from an emotional perspective I still found it quite traumatic. More than I would have thought. Everything started to go downhill when our daughter was born 2 months early. There was the whole process of having to go back and forth to the hospital for 2 months to see our daughter. All the joy of childbirth is sort of taken away from you. My ex got postpartum depression and I got a burnout and a depression after that. We basically grew apart, started to get interested in other people and she eventually cheated on me with somebody from group therapy. I felt quite guilty towards my daughter and I basically never wanted it to come to a divorce. I really felt that she was "the love of my life".
Things started off quite well with Mari about 10 years ago. (For the sake of the story let's call her Mari). We met online and at that time she was trying to have a baby through IVF to be a single mom. She already had many tries and she was not having any success. She also had had some miscarriages. Once we started to get serious she stopped the treatment and we discussed having a child together. After a bit more than a year together we bought a house and shortly after that we tried to get pregnant. Seeing her history we consulted with fertility services. Although the results of the tests were not great we managed to get pregnant spontaneously after less then 6 months. Really a surprise. But we were happy.
Our daughter was born a bit more than a month early. (Lets call her Kirsten) Again we were not granted a "normal" childbirth and again we had to go back and forth to the hospital to see our daughter. It was not as intense as with my first daughter but still a lot of the joy was again replaced with stress and worry. It was clear that Mari was also not handling this very well. She started to get panic attacks at home. She could not leave the couch anymore and was being prescribed different medications including Xanax by our GP. I was really worried at this point and had no faith in our GP prescribing all this sort of medication. So I rang up here Gyno and she had her readmitted to the hospital and arranged a psych consult. There they advised on having her admitted to a psych ward specifically for mothers together with their child. In the end we did not do this as we found this a bit drastic.
Once Kirsten got home everything started to pick up again but Mari was not taking care of herself when it came to her depression. She had a few sessions with a psychiatrist but fairly quickly stopped going. "She had told her story and that was that. She felt like there was nothing that anybody could really do for her." After a while she started to feel a bit better but I knew this was going to backfire, having been depressed for a long time myself.
Kirsten was not an easy baby. She had trouble eating, sleeping and she cried from the moment you stopped moving. So when taking a stroll, when in the car, etc... This made it very difficult to actually do something with her. I do not want to exaggerate this, I know this is not that uncommon, but I do think it really put more stress on the relationship Mari had with the baby.
When Kirsten was around 2,5 years old she got pneumonia and she had to stay in the hospital for more than a week. She could not leave the bed. Somebody had to stay with her during the night also. Mari said she was just not able to do this. She just "could not cope with that". So I was there almost every night. My mother in law also did 2 nights. At that time I really did not understand what to make of that situation. Why she could not take some responsibility as a mother.
Our relationship was under some stress, but I figured this was not that strange with a young child and I did not want to push her. Especially the physical part of our relationship was really taking a blow. It started with having less and less sex and then evolving into less physical interaction in general.
Shortly after that we got the message from the kindergarten teacher that we maybe should have Kirsten checked for possible developmental disorders. After several months of testing we got the diagnosis of ASD. There were definitely things that had had us worried before. Kirsten would get mad and pull out her hair. It had taken a very long time before she could walk, she would be scared to go to kids parties,...
In the meanwhile Mari started to talk about having another baby. This was something that we never really discussed before. I was not a fan of another baby because I felt that we were having issues in handling the situation as it was. (Especially Mari) I already had had 2 early born babies and really did not want this a third time. We would be completely in over our heads. She said that this was what she wanted from the start and that she had mentioned this when we met. For me this was not the case. This was just never talked about before. We discussed this a few times and I really made it clear that for me this was not an option. She kept bringing up the topic. Especially in bed. And I really started to feel like she was using this as leverage or sort of pascoin to have sex. She would also keep saying that I did not wanted to talk about it. I would explain to her that we discussed it and that I explained my view and that there was basically nothing else to discuss.
At a certain moment I caved for the always repeating nagging. I’m not sure why. Maybe we had a few better weeks or I took pity in her or I don’t know. But we decided we were going to try for another baby. I think it took around half a year before she was pregnant again. Only to get the news at 12 weeks that the heart of the baby was not beating. This for me was the final “sign” that I did not want to try anymore.
Looking back I think this is where I really handled the situation badly. I should never have caved on trying for another child and I also think that I probably did not support her well enough after the miscarriage. All this was not intentional but still… Mari on the other hand was mad that she was so close to getting what she wanted but lost it in the end. I really feel like this is a key moment in our relationship that she totally blamed on me.
After this the lack of affection just became bigger. Where before it was mostly purely physical contact that she blocked it was now becoming affection in general. Every time I brought up the subject there would be “excuses” or she would just change the subject. Things like “I was never cuddly”, “I never had a (high) sexdrive”,... this was just not true. She would also say things like that she was tired because she had to do everything around the house. So deflecting the actual topic with something that had a core of truth but was completely beside the point of the conversation.
I am by no means perfect and I know that I could probably do a bit more around the house when it comes to daily chores. But I also do a lot of things in the family that Mari never does. I get up during the night when there is an issue with the kids, I get up in the morning with the kids and let her sleep in, I handle most of the “difficult situations” with the kids, take the kids to school in the morning,... Basically everything that is more kids and emotional related in the family I handle and she handles a lot of the practical daily stuff.The kids know this and will naturally come to me when there is an issue because I will handle it calmly, while Mari is a lot less predictable. She also only works 4 days a week and if she has a late shift or a weekend I am covering this at home. Afterwards she will get days off for this but I will still just work my 5 days during the week. I also have no hobbies that make me be away from home. Only thing is that I am away 3 times a year for 3 days for work.
A couple years later my oldest (lets call her Denise) was starting to have issues. She was around 11-12 when this started. It started really small, other kids saying that she was weird, she was having some confidence issues. Nothing to be worried about at first. She had always been an easy, happy child. We sort of thought that it was mainly a teenager thing. Also the relationship between Mari and Denise had always been fine.
But things only got worse over the time of a year. She was starting to get depressed, getting panic attacks, suicide thoughts,... She was basically going to school only half of the time and this was putting a lot of stress on our family. Each day would be a surprise on how she would feel. It was also not safe to leave her alone. She was getting professional help once a week but this of course did not really resolve the situation quickly. I went to the E.R. with her several times because she had a panic attack and she thought she was going to hurt herself. (Which she did sometimes. Or she would eat like something dangerous and then panic) In the E.R. they basically just did a psych consult to make sure she would not kill herself that night and then sent her home because there were just no spots in the children's psych ward.
The relationship between Denise and Mari took a turn for the worst. I totally understand that this was a difficult situation for Mari (as for the rest of us) but what really struck me was the total lack of empathy toward me or Denise. She was basically convinced that this was all just attention seeking from Denise and I was being played. This was of course also clear to Denise. Me and my ex were doing everything we could to provide the best possible help for Denise. All while Mari thought we were totally overreacting and we should send her back to school. She would make remarks if I had to take time off work when I had to take Denise to an appointment. “It is always something, don't you need to work?” Mari could only see the impact this had on her and that she had to live with this situation while this was not her problem.
One situation is still carved in my mind. During one of her difficult days Denise had written her thoughts on paper because this sometimes helped. She had thrown away the paper in the paper bin but it was lying on top and Mari had read the paper. In the paper it said that Denise never wanted Mari to be part of our lives and that she hated her. Mari was furious and confronted Denise with this. Denise tried to explain that this was written on a bad day and that she was sorry. Mari would not have any of it. She would not accept an apology and she would basically the next weeks act like Denise was not there. As far as she was concerned Denise was not her issue anymore.
For me this was completely unreal. I can understand that you are maybe not very happy when you read something like that, but we are talking about a 13 year old child that clearly has issues. She is still the adult in the situation and that is no way to handle a situation like that. There was totally no empathy towards me or Denise. Mari could also not understand that I did not choose her side in this.
We are now 2 years after that fight and Denise and Mari have VERY slowly started to communicate again. But mostly they still sort of ignore each other. The last 2 years Denise basically did not go to school but she was able to follow more structured therapy. She got tested and just like her smaller sister she has ASD although in a more subtle form. She is doing quite well the last few months and can hopefully start school again in a special educational needs school in september.
This takes us to the situation we are in today.
Mari is basically constantly in a bad mood. (Even Kirsten says this. “Mommy is always angry”) There is no affection whatsoever anymore towards me. Everything is a remark. Not always a nasty remark, but still a remark.
There is no empathy towards me or Denise. There are no compliments, no “how was your day?”, no interest whatsoever. To Kirsten she sort of forces herself to show affection but it always feels a bit off.
When I bring up the fact that I cannot touch her anymore, that she has no interest in me, that she cannot say a nice word to me, she just ignores it.
She wants me to sit with her in the evening to watch some television or whatever and she wants me to come to bed when she goes to bed. But she does not understand that I see no reason to go sit with her because I cannot sit close to her and it is only to get more remarks. The same with going to bed. I cannot come close to her and she always complains that I snore.
It is just a constant rain of (usually small) remarks but NEVER a good word. And when I sometimes say something back or make a remark towards her it is like I committed murder.
A few months ago I was in the hospital with severe pneumonia. When she visited she was all about how hard it was to take care of Kirsten alone. (I admit that it is not easy) Then when I was there for almost a week she asked me if I would be coming home? I said that it would take longer than a week before I could come home. (I was still on oxygen and had not been able to leave my bed unless to go shower sitting down or to the toilet. I had not been off my room.) She was like “You have got to be kidding me! I cannot keep doing this alone at home!” I was totally baffled. What was I supposed to say to that?
We also have a hard time really providing a good structured environment for Kirsten her ASD. Again not that strange, lots of parents are struggling. But the weird thing with Mari is that she tries to find solutions, but she is not willing to really change or adapt herself to the situation. It should be like a solution that only affects Kirsten. I have already tried to explain to her that this is something we need to tackle as a family and that we all need to adapt. But she only sees the impact it has on her. “All the issues originate from things or people around her and they need to be solved there. It is never Mari that needs to change.”
We are doing a pretty good job at keeping the family running from a practical perspective. And Mari plays a big part in this. But like already mentioned from the moment she would need to change something about herself this is a no go.
For Denise's therapy there were also family sessions. I was able to get Mari to go to one with me. That ended really badly. She said that we were attacking her. She knew she shouldn't have come. (During therapy, not afterwards.) After that I was never able to get her to come again. Even not after personal calls from the therapist to her.
All these therapists tell me the same thing after I paint them the picture: “How do you keep doing this?”
The therapist that came over this week for a “family session” told me that I really needed to start taking better care of myself because a lot of these things were sounding a lot like psychological abuse. She told me to contact my psychiatrist or a therapist to help me in coping with this behavior and see what my options are in the long run.
I cannot stop thinking about this. I do not know what to do or how to react anymore to Mari. I feel like nothing really helps. I would love to have her go to couples therapy with me and sort this out because I still love her and I do not want another split family. But I also think that is just not going to happen. I really feel that the last few months I’m starting to doubt myself and lose myself. Am I the difficult one in this situation? Am I overlooking something fundamental in my behavior?
I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hey everyone! Common problem I see with a lot of sweater patterns is the collar. Majority seem to stretch out to wide neck/off the shoulder vibes when they should be more closed and fitted like you would a sewn cotton jumper.
There’s the twisted rib (I find you still have the same problem) and there’s a bunch of things you can do after blocking (add elastic, crochet a row across the base of the collar). I typically do a crew neck folded collar as it tends to reduce the stretch significantly but is still stretchy.
I am about to embark on a turtle neck and as usual, majority completed projects show the collar is to the edge of the shoulder (the pattern photos are always the perfect fitted collar I love). I was thinking of doing as the pattern calls, twisted rib, and then have my first row be the same needle size and twist every other or every third stitch to keep the collar fitted.
I would love to hear your thoughts and how you tackle the shoulder collar. (I call it something else but it’s defiantly not work appropriate)

I am at the end stages of gutting and redoing my former in-law apartment and we are deciding on what countertop to install. I went a little nuts so far, and installed high end finished in the bathroom including Carrara marble and the whole thing looks very nice so far. The main thing I'm deliberating on is what type of kitchen countertop to install. We got a quote for quartz at $3,100 for 40 square ft which includes the sink + installation, but the countertop contractor doesn't recommend cutting an ogee edge, because "it doesn't look nice" (but I want it). I previously wanted to install granite in a color called "river white", but everybody at work says don't do it, "granite was so 15 years ago" they say..."quartz is where it's at the only option", and I estimate granite would probably run around $2600 all-in. However after seeing these prices and thinking about it, I talked to my general contractor, and he said that he can just install laminate at no additional cost except for me buying materials ($500-$600 total). I noticed that laminate even comes in marble patterns and ogee edges now! Do you think it's crazy to blow 2k+ on an in law countertop that won't be used really heavily, and I should just put in laminate instead? (For reference, my upstairs kitchen is just a sandy Corian and is stuck in 2004, and I'm fine with it..). My husband says we made everything else so high end, we probably should just get real stone. Should I get additional quotes? The main purpose of this place is to house aging parents, or relatives/friends visiting, or maybe rent it out if the right tenant appears, or I'll move down there in 50 years when I can't move anymore.
Edit 1: Well, the countertop contractor got back to me with the estimate for the "river white" granite and it was even more expensive than the quartz, at $3500. Holy shit. I think I may just have to apologize, and utilize my GC and have him go to Home Depot and get me three sections of Hampton Bay 6 ft straight laminate in one of the three marble finishes (either drama marble, or calcutta marble). The ironic thing is, he is putting in real marble for the backsplash. I hope the finishes of rest of the apartment will carry the place! I guess alternatively I could get butcher block -- that's not too expensive, but I am worried about mold growth. I'll talk to my contractor and also my spouse..

Here's how old I think every character is... in my opinion. Let me know what you think of those headcanons! FWI, this post was originally from Tumblr, and I reposted it here.
The Powerpuff Girls (Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup): 5-6yo (chronologically one, since they had a birthday)
Professor Utonium: late 30s-early 40s (I'd say anywhere between 38-42yo is likely)
The Mayor Of Townsville: late 60s-mid 70s (possibly about 70-72yo)
Ms. Bellum: late 30s-early 40s (according to "Get Back Jojo", she and Ms. Keane are the same age as The Professor).
Ms. Keane: late 30s-early 40s
Talking Dog: 7yo (mid-late 40s in human years)
Mitch Mitchelson: 5yo
Robin Synder: 5yo
Princess Morbucks: 5-6yo
The Pokey Oaks Kindergarten Students in general: 5-6yo (a few may be as young as 4 though, but we don't exactly know that)
Mojo Jojo: I honestly don't really know; I'm guessing 18-19 in chimpanzee years? The way he sounds and looks makes me think he'd be in his early 50s if he were a human.
Fuzzy Lumpkins: 63-64yo
HIM: 1000yo+ (he looks like he could be in his mid-late 30s though)
The Gangreen Gang (Ace, Snake, Lil' Arturo, Grubber, and Big Billy): Ace is the oldest member at about 17-18yo; Snake, Grubber, and Big Billy are all 15yo, and Lil' Arturo is the youngest member at about 13-14yo. For the longest time, I thought Ace was in his early 20s.
The Amoeba Boys (Bossman, Junior, and Slim): all of them are probably in their late 40s-mid 50s.
Sedusa: roughly the same age as Ms. Keane, Ms. Bellum, and The Professor, so late 30s-early 40s.
The Rowdyruff Boys (Brick, Boomer, and Butch): 5-6yo (chronologically several months old)
The Smiths (Harold Smith, Marianne Smith, Julie Smith, and Bud Smith): Judging by his male pattern baldness, I'd guess Harold is probably in his early-mid 40s. Marianne is roughly the same age. Bud is definitely 11-12yo; his behavior screams stereotypical angsty preteen boy. Meanwhile, Julie is the same age as The Powerpuff Girls, being about 5yo.
The Narrator: I don't know about him either... I'd assume probably 40s judging by his voice.
Stanley Whitfield: mid 50s-early 60s
Townsville in general (background characters): A majority of the background children we see on this show look like they could be aged between 4-7yo, so about preschool through second grade. They're not toddlers, but they're not older kids either. If anything, they're within the girls' age range. And of course, the citizens of Townsville are all of varying ages... because it's a society! The citizens range from newborn babies to elderly people.

I've lived for more than two decades, but I still think my story that started from a nameless tiny town in China was like an unbelievable story filled with an unexplainable sense of asphyxiation. Maybe if you're a foreigner, you may lost your Orientalist illusion of a mysterious Eastern Country by reading this text. It's real life, the BLOODY life from the first view account of some really traumatized person.
I was born in an isolated town in China, where the society was semi-primitive (populated by several large clans in the surrounding villages). My parents were hyper-conservative and an absolute fit of Asian parent stereotypes: obsessed with over-education and hyper-paranoid. When I was young, I was forbidden to play with other kids in the community, for fear that I'd be run over by a car or be kidnapped. I've literally lost the critical period of learning how to deal with others, that's probably why I never learned how to socialize properly.
Just like stereotyped, they invested a ton in my education. I started to learn English even before I could speak Mandarin properly (despite my mom trying to speak Mandarin at home to reduce the influence of dialect on me, my speaking is still heavily influenced by dialect speakers since my environment has barely a Mandarin speaker).
My very first "memory" of this world is about kindergarten. I never appreciated it. Instead, I thought that life in Kindergarten was the first torment for me in my life. I still remember the dystopian and surreal architecture, being a repulsive conglomerate of artificially, unnatural colored Kindergarten compounds (based on the false assumption that kids love highly saturated, colorful things) surrounded by faded Soviet-style buildings with aluminum chimneys. After nearly 20 years I revisited my kindergarten and the nearly unchanged architecture reminded me about the reproduction facility that runs Bokanovsky's process in Huxley's book Brave New World. I saw the lawn where kids massacred ants and bugs by various means for fun.
Our family moved to a relatively bigger city before I was admitted to primary school. My entire time in primary school was filled with bullying and sarcasm. The first time I was bullied was when I lost my first deciduous tooth. Other pupils never know this process and regarded me as an outcast from the group. They even suspected me of having Down's syndrome and started calling me like that. One day when I was walking to the dorm after lunch I was assaulted by a group of pupils that I never knew their name. They grabbed me, hit me, and kicked me for no reason for 30 minutes.
Later I was bullied by other people for no reason and I thought it was because of that I was not strong enough (I have very bad strength and stamina for respiratory problems). I started to retaliate against them with the weapons of WWIV, namely sticks, and rocks. Until 9th grade, I always lived a life like in a warzone. I always need to constantly monitor my flank and my back in case someone will give my head a strong hit by a club. BTW if you think it's my own reason that I've been bullied then you're probably wrong; There were a few incidents in my school where students got fractured in fighting. Even large battles that involved dozens on each side are not uncommon.
I began to have symptoms of traumatization, like inexplicable fear, unable to focus, and frequent flashbacks. I murmured to myself to ease my nervousness and drew random patterns on textbooks and notebooks. My teachers began to question my parents for my misbehavior, and even the dean of my primary school physically assaulted me by kicking me in the butt (the reason for the incident was probably my dad sent me to a forbidden gate of the school). Later the teachers in my middle school even tried to isolate me and another heavily bullied student from other students. It's China, and the implicit rule is always punishing the victim instead of the perpetrator. They call it "stabilization" (维稳).
I never got any medical service on mental health. It's almost a forbidden topic in Chinese society. The first time in my life, when I got a psychologist, was when I studied in a foreign country. She said "kids can be cruel" after hearing about my traumatic stories.
Later the CCP began its massive traditionalist, ultra-nationalist propaganda movement. They tried to instill Confusian "Traditional culture"(传统文化) in schools. One day we were asked to show gratitude to our parents and teachers en masse after a "moving" speech by a renowned "tradition researcher". Many girls even cried. I don't know to whom, and for what should I show gratitude. Why they've chosen to give me life in this world? Had I a choice to terminate my life when I was born, just like Kappa by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, I'd have it. Why don't have the choice? If it's not my free will to survive all such torments, why I should thank my family, my school, the country and the Mighty CCP?
After I got a phone (my parents restricted my internet access until my 7th grade for fearing my myopia to grow, in vain) I started to view uncensored content like the Tiananmen incident. During my middle school I also read books like 1984 and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I realized that we live in a living hell of totalitarianism and social Darwinism, but I have no escape.
In 2017-2019, China began to intensify censorship on internet content, including Anime and games which were almost the only way for me to survive. They also tried to indoctrinate one entire generation with anti-west, xenophobic, and ultranationalistic videos. I found out the Internet, previously a haven for me that could escape real life in virtual joy, was no longer safe. I saw people reposting the disgusting quotes and online comments that pro-ccp (we call them rabbit friends 兔友) people made. They regarded Taiwan and Hong Kong people as subhuman, and the Anglo-Saxon world as needing to be conquered by communism. I began to build up really bad view of this country's common people. If the victims of the nukes were not unguilty for their support of Japanese expansion, what about the Chinese?
Later, the isolation during COVID really aggravated my mental problems. I began self-harming, alcohol consumption, and even was pretty active in my sexual life for a certain period. I have been interested in history since 7th grade, and my favorite historian was Liu Zhongjing. I draw the conclusion that the doom(the prophecy of "the Deluge" 大洪水) was near.
Now I'm studying in a foreign land, but I still cannot get out of the flashbacks and trauma from my life in China. I still have flashbacks when I meet other students from China in the university. With the academical pressure, I'm barely surviving by psychological meds (luckily covered by my health provider) and alcohol.
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