WARNING: This post is long and there is a TLDR at the bottom.
I just read the watched the newest Sailing Development Update, so far I would say it looks great for being so early on in development. I also read some of the comments here on reddit, and I think there is a lot of negativity. Sailing does seem like it will be hard to design and implement correctly, but I don't think it is impossible.
I believe that the skill needs to be integrated very well into the rest of the game for it to feel like it belongs. This post talks about integration of content into the game and how to potentially do it.
One thing that I noticed right away was the training methods and the loot.

Loot:

The loot seemed to just be a bunch of random base materials. Please do not make sailing rewards similar to temperos or wilderness agility course. Both of these activities just give the player a bunch of loot that doesn't really fit the activity (mostly in the form of alchs) so that the GP/H goes up and the activity becomes economically viable in the game.
I think that this trend is okay for some smaller activities (like the ones listed above), but is really just a quick band-aid fix for not having other engaging reward space. I don't think this idea would be enough for an entire skill to ride on.

Integration:

A big reason other skills feel like they fit into the game well is because the rewards you get from performing those activities are applicable (and integrated) throughout the rest of the game.
For example:

• Herblore makes potions that are used to boost your stats, which in turn is used everywhere throughout the game. People use potions in combat, for skilling boosts, and to restore things like run-energy, prayer points, and even curing poison / venom.
• Farming is used to gain herbs (and other produce) which feeds Herblore and subsequently feels like it then gives the player access to the benefits of potions through Herblore.
• Prayer affects the player's combat drastically and is therefore very rewarding to train. Also, it is interwoven tightly with Herblore for Prayer pots and Super Restores, thus giving more value to Herblore. Bones are mainly gained through slayer, etc.
• Mining & Smithing are used to make gear that is then used in combat. The same applies to Woodcutting & Fletching. Crafting also uses a combination of materials from other skills.
• Fishing & Cooking are the main sources of food into the game for combat.

The point is that I believe these skills feel good and feel like they fit within the game because they cross-pollinate into one another. Everything is a big web of activities that feed each other.
To further make this point, I want to talk about a few skills that are normally regarded as lacking.
Firemaking Firemaking as it currently stands is a skill I think most people would agree is not too great. It is not fulfilling to train because it lives in a vacuum. Firemaking was always trained for training's sake. Burning higher tiered logs has no benefit and the skill itself provides nothing to the play experience other than forced requirements.
This skill was so horrifying to train that it required a new mini game (or "boss") to simply allow players to power level through it just to get it over with. Similar to temperos, wintertodt needed to give a bunch of raw materials for other skills to make it worth while.
The point is that this skill feels like a black sheep because it is not integrated into the game like the others are. It doesn't cross pollinate with other skills and does not impact the player's gameplay experience.
Hunter Hunter is also a skill that feels like it doesn't belong. Why? Well because it is not integrated well into the rest of the game. Most of the materials you get from hunter do not have a use case, so training it feels like the player is mostly doing it for the sake of training.
I do want to say though that I acknowledge the recent hunter changes and they were definitely an improvement, but my point still stands. If the furs from hunter were used in crafting, or the bones in fletching, or the salamanders were relevant, etc. The skill would feel more rewarding to train.
Dungeoneering While dungeoneering is not a skill in OSRS, we can learn a lot from it. I always loved dungeoneering, but it seemed to feel more like a good mini-game that had its own skill and experience attached to it.
It was a rewarding skill to train, the skill gameplay itself was fun and engaging, and it did utilize almost every other skill in the dungeon floors, yet it still felt like a mini-game.
I believe this is because the only thing to gain from the skill was combat weapons. Training the skill itself didn't cross pollinate into the others. High dungeoneering didn't unlock anything or contribute to any other parts of the game at all.

Conclusion & Ideas

Please talk about how Sailing will be integrated into the game. I believe that unless it is integrated into the rest of the game like described in this post, it will feel off. The latest dev-blog does show potential, but I received very mini-game esq vibes from it.
I do have a few ideas on things that could be included. These ideas were just shallowly thought of on the spot to make my point and spark discussion. Further refinement would of course need to be made and new ideas are necessary as well.
New Farming Patch: Maybe sailing could introduce a new type of farming patch (or multiple). With this new patch new herb like items could be farmed and then integrated into Herblore with a few new potions. This new patch type might just be found on islands that the player must sail to. The seeds for this new patch could be added to non-sailing monster drops (normal slayer creatures).
New Hunter Animals: There could potentially be new hunter animals added to the game and/or just new spots to do existing hunter.
New PoH Room(s): Maybe there is a new room in the PoH that the player can build to not only effect the sailing skill itself, but provide utility benefit to other activities (like the utility of the portal room). Maybe some of the higher tier furniture needs rare loot that is obtained from Sailing (or a boss that is only accessed through sailing).
Deep Sea Fishing: Sailing seems to naturally fit with fishing thematically. Maybe the player could find fishing spots on some islands that were inaccessible before. This could provide integration with both fishing and cooking.
Item Storage: It seemed to me from the dev-blog video that the player received loot through crates because they wouldn't have enough inventory space to carry rewards throughout a larger voyage. The necessity to bank would heavily impede on the skill and break emersion. The crate like loot system really gave me mini game vibes and honestly came off as a bit lazy (no offense Jagex).
If this is true, I believe it could potentially be solved with storage units in the hull of the ship. Allow players to have a large bank-like storage in the ship's hull that could hold items obtained when out at sea. Then, simply force them to empty the storage when they return to port so that it can't be used as a permanent alternative to bank space. Further design would be necessary for UIM considerations.
Maybe the ships could include multiple different storage options that were upgradable. We could even utilize the current brewing mechanics (from things like making wines) to make certain sea loot spoil over time. For example: if the deep sea fishing idea from above was implemented, some of the fish from that activity could start to spoil over time (one by one) if the the voyage was too long and the food was left in the ship's hull. Upgrades could reduce how often the items spoil.
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I think you get the point. All of the above ideas might suck in actuality when putting real effort into to them and actually designing real content, but I think they do well communicating what I am trying to say.
Any feedback or comments on this post are welcome and appreciated. I might be wrong, but I want what is best for the game's longevity.
TLDR: Sailing needs to not only utilize other skills, but also contribute things to those skills to feel integrated into the game. Slapping XP on a mini game and giving the player a lot of alchs and raw materials as rewards does not make it feel engaging and like it belongs.

In 2023 i made a post about pre-apocalypse factions and groups in AR2. Although the various groups and their goals were mostly cleared up the question of how the virus took over the islands. How did the United States military fail with the containment? Why are there Soviet armed forces soldiers and officers at the bunkers and the mansion? Why are there crashed black helicopters with unidentified personnel on Mackinaw?
When i asked other players about what they thought they gave a variety of theories on how the virus came to the islands and what all the different factions were trying to do.
Here are all the theories i have heard from players.
Mackinaw gem smugglers
Throughout a variety of locations including the prison's warden's office and party bus events you can find crates with gems. On Mackinaw, not far away from the airstrip, you can find a mine where gems can be found inside its tunnels and rocks. A theory came to mind that the virus originated from Mackinaw and that the smugglers either intentionally or unknowingly spread the virus to other parts of the archipelago. As their crates and gems were smuggled into the prison or to wealthy clients they became infected. This might also be a hint as to why the 'Rogues' can be found on Mackinaw, possibly trying to stop the smugglers or study the virus.
Controversies
The virus, being a virus, is organic meaning gems cant be infected with it. There are also no signs of the gems being cursed or having some form of anomaly. The airstrip shows no signs of an contamination or an experiment that went wrong and an pilot getting infected. Its posssible the 'Rogue's brought the virus to the smugglers but as long as their intentions or goals are unknown this can't be confirmed.
Campground's mad doctor
In a basement underneath one of the wooden buildings at the campground you can find surgical equipment and monitors. An infected doctor carrying an Walther P38 and a number of infected civilians can be found inside. This has led to the theory that the doctor was responsible for creating the virus through experimenting on humans. Its likely one of the patients broke free and infected the mad doctor and the campground residents.
Controversies
Due to the isolation of the campground it remains unexplained how the virus could have spread further from there to the other islands. Its possible one or more hikers got infected whilst visiting the camp and then infected the farmers at Salem or residents of Eden. However both infected hikers are located in the middle of Barkley's forests, away from houses.
Ashland hospital
Inside the hospital you can encounter yellow hazmat infected and a morgue. There are also signs of something going wrong at the hospital including turned over furniture and an malfunctioning lift. This led to the theory that the infection came from an experiment at the hospital or one of the bodies in the morgue had the virus. From there the virus infected Ashland, the biggest city in the archipelago, and then the farmlands.
Controversies
Outside the hospital in the middle of Ashland is a military camp and there are also military crates inside the hospital itself. This indicates that the soldiers who brought the equipment were well aware of the virus. This in turn means that Ashland hospital is not the origin of the virus as otherwise the military wouldn't have brought crates inside and set up an open camp in the middle of the city. All the hatches of the morgue are closed and no scientific equipment for experiments and tests can be found indicating that everything was well under control.
Regional airport
In many movies and games airports, train stations and harbors are locations of mass outbreaks and attacks. The Regional airport, being the biggest and only public airport in the archipelago, is major location when it comes to bringing visitors and goods from abroad. There exists the possibility that a plane might have brought the virus to the islands either one of its passengers or its cargo.
Controversies
The only planes at the airport are small civilian planes, private jets and military cargo planes. No actual commercial cargo planes are seen at the airport nor do any of its aircraft appear to be quarantined. There are police cruisers of the local sheriff's department at the main entrance but they appear to have been responding to a fanatic hostage crisis rather than an outbreak. There is also an fanatic inside the control tower with a revolver which might mean that the ATC communications were unattended when everyone became infected. There is also a well fortified military camp on the grass pad in front of the tower and military sleeping mats, crates and cans inside the terminal and tower which indicates the port was safe for the army to dig in at the time they arrived.
Beaufort and Salem cults
Beaufort: Underneath the Beaufort church there is a cave where an infected white plague doctor and his fanatic operatives can be found. There are several steel cages and an altar where prisoners were held and preachings were done respectively. It appears the cult was both fully aware of and prepared for the outbreak and tried to use mystical powers to protect its members. There is also a more darker side to the cult which is that they might have been doing experiments on their prisoners in order to bring armageddon to the world and cleanse the archipelago. In this way they could have brought the virus to the citizens of Halsey and caused further chaos by sending fanatics to the airport.
Salem: Inside the Salem church you can encounter a black plague doctor and a number of fanatics wearing vests and masks. The Salem fanatics tried to hide inside the church with the hope that they would be safe from the infection. There is a rumor that the Salem cult might have called upon dark powers to curse those not part of the group or engineered the virus biologically to gain more influence among paranoid and superstitious citizens.
Controversies
Beaufort: In one of the bigger buildings of Beaufort you can find olive/green sleeping mats and military equipment. Inside the sheriff's office infected SWAT operatives armed with assault rifles and shotguns can be encountered. This might indicate that soldiers arrived at Beaufort before it got infected and the police were preparing for action. Its also unknown how the infected could have left the cave through the heavy wooden hatch at the tunnel entrance.
Salem: Its unknown if the plague doctor had any connections to dark powers and there is no equipment that can be used for working with biological matter. There is also an well prepared police blockade next to the church on the bridge which might mean the virus was not active in Salem when it was set up.
The Soviets/militia
There is a significant presence of the militia and their Soviet allies throughout the entire archipelago. The game is set in the late 80's and early 90's during which time the Soviets and Americans were political and military rivals. On virtually every named island you can find a sign or equipment of the Militia and loosely affiliated smugglers. Meanwhile at the coastal bunkers, mansion, Lulu chapel and various camp and ATV events you can encounter well armed Soviet soldiers from both the army and the Spetsnaz. From any of these outposts and holdouts the communists could have easily spread the virus to sabotage American interests in the archipelago. Nuclear, chemical and biological warfare were used by both sblocks during the cold war.
Controversies
During the late 80's soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended the afghan war and cooled down tensions with the west. Its unlikely he would have authorized an biological attack on US soil. Militarily an attack on the archipelago wouldn't have been very profitable in terms of strategy as the virus knows no allegiance to anyone and is can easily infect any human not wearing a full body suit and a gasmask. Politically an attack against the USA with biological weapons would have been met with heavy reprisals and criticism by the international community if the truth were to be found out. There are also no signs of biological weapons usage at any militia or Soviet locations.
Volcano helicopter crash
The helicopter wreckage and infected soldiers and hazmat suit wearing responders raises questions what the helicopter could have been transporting. There is also no sign of the police or the military responding to the crash site as their vehicles are absent. There is the chance that the helicopter might have been transporting the virus and crashed at the volcano where its infected occupants attacked the responders and scientists at the geological research site.
Controversies
The isolated location of the crash site and research station raises questions on how the infection could have spread from the mountain to the surrounding towns and communities. There is also an fire watch tower with armed militia soldiers on the other side of the volcano whom might have been able to fight against the infected whilst also staying isolated and away from civilians. Its possible the virus could have infected hikers and some militia members who then spread it elsewhere (female hiker -> Salem farmers, male hiker -> campgrounds and surrounding houses, militia scout -> junkyard and mansion).
My opinion: I think the most believeable infection location from where the virus could have spread is the volcano's heli crash. This heli crash is the only crash confirmed to have happened at the start or before the outbreak as its location is permanent. There are also military police blockades on the bridges from the other islands to Barkley which look like they have been built to stop traffic from going to and from the island. Then we have also the lack of dedicated military camps and sites around Barkley. It appears the military primarily wanted to secure the power plant to maintain electricity for the archipelago. Compared to the other islands the civilians of Barkley seemed to be less well prepared for an conflict or any kind of attack as there are no gun shops at major locations like Lockport and Salem and there is also no police station, hospital or fire station. As to how the helicopter got the virus on board is unknown but many crates lay scattered around the crash site and vehicles with special equipment and hazmat infected are nearby.
What theory do you think is the most likely to have brought the virus to the islandsor do you have a theory of your own?
comment!

He's (45M) been a smoker for the entire time we have been together. I (39F) have stated some boundries around it, but it is a habit he has had since he was 14.
He's tried to give it up several times since we have been together but it was emotionally rough because it put him in the worst mood.
I ask that he just makes sure to wash his hands and face before kissing or grabbing me.
I also ask him to limit the amount of smoke breaks that he takes during our date night. At some point during a meal he will want to step away and have a cigarette after our meal..which used to be three or four times a night. I told him how much it bothered me, and now it is once maybe twice.
We live in an apartment and he uses the patio for smoke breaks, and leaves his ashtray, empty boxes, lighters, and cigarette butts on the tables out there. We have lovely patio furniture but now I rarely go out there because he leaves such a mess.
Lately, he smokes near the open patio door. All I have asked is that he check to make sure the patio door to my office is closed so that smoke doesn't filter in.
In the last six months he has forgotten to close the door at least once a month, and our bedroom stinks of smoke until he remembers. I started off politely requesting that he remember to close the door, but now my requests have become more forceful. Today I straight up asked him to step outside if he cant be bothered to check the doors and windows near our bedroom to make sure smoke doesn't filter into the house.
I am at my WITS end. How can I make sure to compromise on this, or get the point across that I think smelling like smoke is GROSS without shaming my husband?

Hi everyone, this is my first post like this and English is not my first language so bare with me... I'm writing this after a dinner I had with my mother and my two grand parents from her side where another and I think final rift was exposed...
INTRO: To give some background my grandpa's family had an ancestral business that was passed down from first male child to first male child, for at least 4 generations that I know of, that until half of my grandpa's leadership was a thriving establishment with international contracts spreading 3 continents, and that gave that side of the family the possibility of owning a great number of houses around our country. Around 30 years ago this establishment was robbed, nothing big but I've always being told It was something like a catalyst that marked the decline of the business. Something like 5 years later that business failed, the factory was closed. After a couple years my grandpa and my uncle decided to rebuild it in a smaller capacity and to found it they roped in my grandma, my mother, my aunt (uncle's wife) and wife's parents and a bank (with some loans). This time the thing started slow and never really exploded but managed to keep some of the previous clients and was still a little profitable. 10 years ago started the problems, debts from the previous business and from the new one started piling and one after the others they started liquidating the houses and ended up with only three of them ( first world problem is what you are thinking and I guess you are right) but still there was a hole, at the same time relations started to break first between my father and my uncle and then my uncle and his wife's parents because they all felt like they were roped in a shipwreck. In the meantime my grandpa reached retirement age and handed the reigns to my uncle while always backing him up (this was before the really bad debits arrived btw sorry for the confusionbut after the business was no longer bringing in profits), he was waiting for this to happen and accepted. So at this point we are close to now and the assets list is three houses: one in the city one by the sea and one in the mountains; and a little factory. The city house was split in two and the two parts went one to my uncle that started living there and one to my mother that was already living with my father and so my grandparents kept it so practically my uncle got already part of my grandparents will. A couple years ago there was another problem and to get cash my uncle sold half of his house to a friend and kept living in it whereas my grandparents sold completely the other half that was supposed to go to my mother and renting it from the people they sold it to, my dad was furious (understandably) because the house was a masterpiece and demanded that since that house was supposedly my mother's that she had to be compensated somehow and the choice was between getting half of my uncle's half or getting the seaside one that was still less than the quarter of my uncles house to give you an idea, we chose the second option so we didn't have to share with my uncle and to sweeten the deal she still would keep ownership of the furniture of her city house part and at same time she was bought out of the shares of the company for what they were worth at the moment ( a fraction of what they were worth at the start but that would free her from that mess). At the same time tensions between my uncle and aunt peaked and they separated wich was hard on my little cousins and her parent's and her wanted to be bought out of their share and that created another hole. Last year my grandparents asked my mother if they could sell a painting from the ones in the city house and that were supposed to be hers and she accepted with the exception that no money from the sell was supposed to go to the business but kept for living expenses and the payout was good and the painting went to auction for 140k € of Wich 50 we to to my mother. Sorry for this enormous intro but it was necessary and if you lasted until here KUDOS.
THE MATTER AT HAND: Last week we were contacted because there was an unpaid bill for the gardener that was the only remaining bill my grandparents had to pay from the summer house and the fact that it was not paid by them worried us, not because we had to pay it but because it meant something happened to the remaining of the sell of the painting... So my mother wanted to have a chat with her parents and asked if someone was willing to go with her and my father who couldn't take anymore refused so I went because I was informed of the previous matters and I'm the oldest nephew and they usually listen to me. After the dinner we got to talking and we learned that nearly 65k were put in the business behind my mother's back and she was furious and without words so I pressed on the matter to learn more and apparently my uncle begged them to put more money in it and they did.
The problem is that when it was time to defend themselves only my grandpa spoke but using a "pluralis majestatis" that really ticked me off especially since my grandma was silent and looking at her feet, he went on about how he needed help and that he is going through a bad period with the separation and that my aunt wasn't collaborating, and that he doesn't know what would happens if the business closed because my uncle is 50 and worked only there and who knows if he can find employment, that they helped her with us kids so now they can't turn their back on him his final point was that they had no problem continuing with their "war economy" . The thing is my aunt is not keen on sign the divorce papers because they are living like divorced people but he can't marry his new partner he brought up a month after the separation until the papers are signed and she is clearly resentful because some of us are of the idea that the new partner was there before the separation, my uncle's job was mostly maintaining and creating new relations with clients and dealers so he can be a consultant for similar businesses, the help he means was that when i was in highschool i spend three nights a week there since their house was 5 mins on foot whereas mine was 1 h of public transport but my cousins pratically live there and eat at least one meal a day there and rely on them for going and getting back from football pratice four days of the week and for the "war economy" they go around with patches on their clothes and count cents at the end of the day...
I don't know why he has his eyes closed like this, after this discussion my mother seemed more pissed than ever and I think we are on the brink of collapse, is there a way to mediate?

This has been on my mind for the past few years and this is as condensed as I could make it and I am still leaving out a lot of information, I'm very autistic so bear with me..
I'm 20 years old and have been in a relationship for over 3 and a half years, but have had odd relations to sexuality since I can remember. I can't manage to fully speak up about it in therapy and theres only so much my high libido/hyprsexual partner can help me with, when it comes to figuring out my own, situation. So any input is very welcome and needed.
(FYI I am transgender born female, same as my partner. I identify a little more ambiguously but for all intents and purposes I'm a guy to the general public and have transitioned with hormones. But my boyfriend is, just a guy)
I read about asexuality a lot, and discuss it a fair amount with my boyfriend. He is super understanding about it and has genuine curiosity about the subject which is comforting and all well. But for awhile, it has definetly put a strain on our sex life and romantic relationship given that, I can't tell if I'm ace or not. My partner has what I consider a super high libido (and sexual trauma like me but in the complete opposite direction lol!..) but maybe it's just normal and I think it's high compared to mine. MY libido is elusive to say the least.
Reading about asexuality I've learned that ace people can have sex, which is comforting to know since I do indeed have sex with my partner. I've only recently gotten out of the phase of thinking there is something wrong with me, and trying to fix my low libido because it's "broken". That doesn't sit right with me though. I could be okay just thinking of myself as someone who just doesn't want sex AS much as your average person. But that doesn't fully encapsulate how I feel either. Whenever I describe sex or describe my feelings about it, my boyfriend doesn't understand at all. And vice versa, whenever he talks about his strong desire to have sex with me, I can honestly get uncomfortable, and sometimes I even laugh a little because I just genuinely don't get it or I think he is joking somehow.
For one, I don't really ever initiate sex because I don't think about it much. I've never felt like I needed to have sex so badly. If we have a chance to have sex but it doesn't end up working out, I don't get sad about it. At least not in the same way he does, or the way I see it portrayed in other people. I'm pretty much incapable of going out of my way, to have sex. One time I said I feel like I could never have sex again and my life wouldn't be different. It made him kind of upset at first and I felt bad, but he eventually understood what I meant. The emotional side of sex is important to me, and enjoyable. It's a work out too, and I love being physically active, it makes me happy. I also view sex as a fun activity and experience, and when we laugh during sex or it feels like we're just hanging out, that feels special to me and I see how it benefits our realtionship, It's not like I need that to stop or something...
But... Every time people talk about desire, I genuinely have no idea what that truely means. This real physical urge, and need, for sex. To want it so badly. I barely believe that it's real. One thing that makes me believe I could be ace is how I experience arousal or sexual stuff just on a personal level. Honesty time. I realized recently that whenever I fantasize about sex, through out my whole life, I never think about genitals, or the part that seperates sex from simply kissing or being affectionate/intimate/sensual. And it's hard to connect the situation to me, and MY own body. If I ever do, I start to feel gross in a way, and I can't think about it for long. Most of the time when I'm "horny" or whatever, once it actually turns into sex. It isn't, what I was looking for. Essentially, sex doesn't turn me on. It makes me wonder if I understand what being turned on really is.
It's almost a joke between my boyfriend and I that it is a real complicated puzzle to "turn me on", and it absolutely is. The circumstances for me to be enthusiastic about sex are slim and peculiar, nearly impossible. It's confusing though because we have had some real intense, good times. Typically though... I do not partake in orgasm during sex, and if I do, I do it myself. I get enjoyment out of serving my partner. It used to make me really sad in the beginning of our relationship, I felt left out, or like he didn't enjoy doing things for me, or that it was too hard to make me finish since I take longer. I've come a long way with it though. For more clarification and even more complicated-ness. I do have sexual trauma from my youth where I was forced to do certain things to someone else. It has been really hard to navigate, and asexuality aside, it is it's own monolith to conquer. This whole aspect of being queer and experiencing queer sexual assault, I wonder how much of it just seems like it could be asexuality. My avoidance of being touched or feeling gross about sex, there is a part of it that is definitely because of my trauma, and also being raised in a VERY sexist and "women are sex objects !!" household. But thats a whole other topic I won't get into here. Anyway.
I know that asexuality is a spectrum, and it seems like ace people can experience some forms of sensualness or even enjoy masturbating. Which I kind of do? I think? It honestly isn't super exciting and usually is very short and, not a deep experience or something I enjoy thoroughly. Often it can make me feel even worse! I have two opposing sides, where when it comes to sex, I can be repulsed sometimes. Or just strongly not want to. Some times my boyfriend will tell me how much he wants me in a sexual way and he'll ask me what I want, and, trying to describe how I feel leads to crying a fair amount of the time, because I just don't know what to say. There are a lot of parts of sex that I find gross or just. Why would you want it. The sensory part is a whole other story too. On the other hand, I have other very intense and strong feelings sometimes. But it doesn't feel like desire, it doesn't even feel like sex sometimes. When I think I'm fantasizing about sex, I think about a situation for a looong time, and every detail that would lead UP to sex, but, once it gets to the sex, I don't, think about that part. It has more to do with, the setting. The situation, the colors involved, smells. And not sexy smells or sexy colors, not even sexy situations! I usually just think about being outside, or in a room that has furniture that I like, the colors in the sky, and being held really tight and prolonged eye contact. That's what turns me on, not the sex. Thinking about, things like this in my head feels good, but it isn't quite arousal. It's rare I'll put in effort to make it reality. Even if the situation does come along, I don't feel like I need to escalate it to sex, in order to, get off I guess? Or enjoy it? I enjoy everything that leads up to sex, vastly more.
The most ravenous I ever got over my boyfriend was the one time he drank coffee and I could taste it on his lips. I am obsessed with coffee and, he can't drink it cus it maks him tired, so it was a novel experience. But god it sent me into a frenzy, but once it had to turn into more than kissing or clawing at eachother, it's like how turned on I was didn't count. I didn't want it to go further. I could've just done that for awhile and then stopped and I'd be good. The fact that I felt the way I did actually sent me into a breakdown of sorts and he had to pull me out of it. I didn't understand how I felt and I really didn't want to have sex even though we had great chemistry in that moment. Even though I really thought I wanted to and it felt like being turned on, it just didn't add up. ??? It's like the more "turned on" I am, the less actual sex seems appealing.
During sex, and part of why I am only a giver, is because it's really hard for me to even be turned on by touch. I've never had an orgasm so good where I thought oh I MUST do that again. ?!!?! Even if my body physically reacts, which it's hard for that to happen, it can make me feel gross. I have rarely had sex where I feel like I am just enjoying how my body feels. Some times I can get aroused physically and that's enough but I always have to think about something else. It is a lot of work, and it can lead to me becoming extremly upset and uncomfortable. My body has nothing to do with it. Doing things for my partner is a different story, it's for him and it's more than sex to me. It is fun and takes strength and brain power. It's awesome. And I don't necessarily have to be horny or aroused myself to be present emotionally. I can still have strong feelings and want to do certain stuff.
When it comes to my boyfriend, I am attracted to him, for sure. And my relationship to him is so vulnerable and intimate that I feel comfortable to partake in sex and stuff. But last night he asked me if I'm sexually attracted to him, and I felt so stupid and guilty that I didn't know how to answer. I was just blank and silent. I think he is hot, handsome, we have sex, and I enjoy making him feel good in that way, why couldn't I answer? It isn't a yes or no question to me. It seemed like it should be a yes or no question. Am I ace?
TL;DR: sex doesn't turn me on and I rarely want to have sex and I don't like being touched during sex, but I have intense feelings but they just don't feel quite sexual and I dont have a need to act on them and even if the specific situation presents itself i usually dont want to do it anymore, but having sex for my boyfriend under very specific circumstances can be cool and good, I just dont want any for myself and i cant attach myself to the situation fully, but being present emotionally with my parter, again, cool. its just really hard to do that, while having sex often. is this a form of asexuality?

Hey guys I wrote two versions of the first fight scene of dumb machop isekai and would like your opinions on which you think is more engaging, more interesting, better written, whatever. Let me know.
Obviously there is prior context to the scene missing, but basically our boy is in the middle of the woods when an Abra walks up to him, generates some weird distortion in the air, and makes it clear its time to throw hands. This is our boys first fight of the story.
I tried making the second draft a little less verbose in areas where I felt it was unnecessary, but you let me know if the missing, added, and rearranged detail makes it better or worse, and in what ways. I also added an injury at the start of the fight and made the ending more violent for emphasis. Not injuring the Abra makes the MC seem crazy, risking himself like that to bask. More understandable without an injury to spur his fear in that first draft, but still, I think a more complete incapacitation seems the way to go either way. Feel free to point out grammar mistakes, they are drafts for a reason. The rewrite divergence point begins at the arrows.
Isekai machop vs abra, drafts 1 and 2.
Draft 1:
I didn't know what that distortion was. Maybe it was a landmine, maybe it was a tripwire that would let Abra attack from two angles if I got between it and them. Maybe it was the beginnings of a battlefield coverage move, or a bomb, or an arbitrary marker in 3D space that would help Abra orientate itself, or the anchor by which it was now pushing itself off the ground and levitating with. But another possibility rested at the back of my mind, a possibility with an obvious path to victory, if it were true. I chose that path.
Fighting types were weak to psychic types, I knew this. I also knew that psychic powers were fucking scary. Strong and invisible and without any startup, in theory. In some fictional stories they didn't even need to see you, and they could do things like directly modify your thoughts. If there weren't strict limitations to a power like that then it would just be unreasonably strong, so strong that psychics should have wiped every other species off the face of the planet. The fact they hadn't, I hoped, meant that I still had a chance. I would make decisions based on the assumption I did.
First things first, testing the waters. If this failed, I would run away. That Abra was walking until it saw me, implying flight took some kind of energy. I probably had more endurance than this thing's flight, and more speed than it did in two legs. I could probably escape if the need arose.
I crouched to pick up a hefty rock, a little larger than my hand, and started to run sideways at top speed, circling my opponent from a distance. Its eyes began to glow as it tracked me in place, like it sat on an invisible swivel chair. I tensed in preparation to be struck with sudden pain, either from a killer headache, twisted muscle, or full body hold. Then I saw it, a faint purple haze snaking its way between us, so faint that I certainly only noticed it because of my enhanced senses, fast as a bullet.
→I dropped to my knees and slid beneath it, before I launched myself behind the nearest tree. My chest thrummed with excitement! I can do this! Psychic energy has travel time! It couldn't just bridge gaps in space arbitrarily, and its speed wasn't like a particle of light or something equally ridiculous. This Abra was nothing more than a glorified turret.
I tore off an impressive chunk of wood from the tree, and crushed a handful into smaller chunks with a squeeze. I darted out and shotgunned them at the floating fox. A middle chunk of the wood seemed to waver and slow, apparently colliding midair with whatever attack it had sent my way. The remaining wood shrapnel flew fast enough and in a cone wide enough that the abra simply couldn't dodge, though its attempt revealed its prodigious speed. Holy shit it could fly. It was hit, and though I half expected a skewered fox, all I got was a disorientated psychic. Good enough, I rushed it down myself, bashing rock still in hand.
As I bore down on its position, stuck choosing between a pressured retreat and close quarters combat with me, it chose a third, less risky option. The instant its body distorted, I turned around and hurled the rock with all my might. The moment Abra appeared at the distortion it placed earlier, it was struck by something nearly its own body weight moving at the speed of a musket ball, directly against its forehead.
Abra was launched away at speed, flipping backwards violently. Abra seemed to try and correct its orientation with its levitation powers, but that proved a mistake, because it only served to toss itself sideways into a tree waist first, eliciting a proper yelp. It flipped like a beyblade now, having hardly killed its initial speed. Soon afterwards, its remaining momentum was focused into another tree to the head. Instead of sending it sprawling, it started to finally stabilize in place. Abra began to float slightly higher while its upper body was pushed over its lower, forcefully orienting itself into a sitting position.
It was from this position that Abra was finally able to see the Machop two strides away, eyes opening wide in reaction. I never drop the follow through. By the time I was airborne in my first stride, Abra was floating up fast. By the time I landed, I had already understood its reactionary choice, and leapt. Though it started earlier, I rose faster. I caught its leg in as iron a grip I could muster. My forward momentum and weight shot us out of the sky before I sledgehammered the thing full body into the dirt.
I shot forward and down to grasp its thin neck just tight enough that I could wring it with a bit more force, and held my other fist ready to pummel. Normally this is the part where I would finish it, but instead I grinned and waited. Fucking do something. Its head was bleeding, though far less than I would have expected, as it looked into my eyes with its own, now wide, peepers. Even across the species barrier its sheer terror was palpable.
It was at this point that the littlest bulbasaur appeared above ground, looking at us with its mouth agape. "You won!?"
Draft 2:
I didn't know what that distortion was. Maybe it was a landmine, maybe it was a tripwire that would let Abra attack from two angles if I got between it and them. Maybe it was the beginnings of a battlefield coverage move, or a bomb, or an arbitrary marker in 3D space that would help Abra orientate itself, or the anchor by which it was now pushing itself off the ground and levitating with. But another possibility rested at the back of my mind, a possibility with an obvious path to victory, if it were true. I chose that path.
Fighting types were weak to psychic types, I knew this. I also knew that psychic powers were fucking scary. Strong and invisible and without any startup, in theory. In some fictional stories they didn't even need to see you, and they could do things like directly modify your thoughts. If there weren't strict limitations to a power like that then it would just be unreasonably strong, so strong that psychics should have wiped every other species off the face of the planet. The fact they hadn't, I hoped, meant that I still had a chance. I would make decisions based on the assumption I did.
First things first, testing the waters. If this failed, I would run away. That Abra was walking until it saw me, implying flight took some kind of energy. I probably had more endurance than this thing's flight, and more speed than it did in two legs. I could probably escape if the need arose.
I crouched to pick up a hefty rock, a little larger than my hand, and started to run sideways at top speed, circling my opponent from a distance. Its eyes began to glow as it tracked me in place, like it sat on an invisible swivel chair. I tensed in preparation to be struck with sudden pain, either from a killer headache, twisted muscle, or full body hold. Then I saw it, a faint purple haze snaking its way between us, so faint that I certainly only noticed it because of my enhanced senses, fast as a bullet.
→It didn't work. I failed to dodge it. I should run. Can I run?
On earth, my body was simply more fragile than my will. It's all too easy to push your body to its end. Humans spend more time working around limitations than they do pushing their limits. And every time you find something worth pushing your will to its fullest for, your body will inevitably fail. Because of this, the greatest combatants use only as much as is necessary, push their bodies as far as they are worth pushing and no more. If that isn't enough, they fill the gap with schemes and techniques. If that too, isn't enough, they can simply escue all their limits, use up everything their flesh will give, and die. Put it all on one moment.
Seems most people never found whatever they'd push that hard for, or at least were never put into a situation where they had to fight for it. I was. Some people think their lives have value beyond what those lives can bring to them. Existence is just a net. Every step is a sway through the waters of experience, to capture it, that moment. You only get one. Because the body can't handle more.
It was only now, as my thigh turned into pulp, ripped to the bone, my body screaming at me, that I was possessed of a revelation so strong it rippled through my whole being.
Now, there's no gaps to fill, now, I can push as hard as I want, now, I can experience that moment as many times as my will can reach it.
Half a moment after I was attacked, I bent my remaining leg and catapulted myself behind the nearest tree. By the time I hit its cover I was laughing. By the instant I left it, I was squeezing a massive wood chunk ready to throw. I chucked it hard, a portion of the shrapnel losing its speed and wobbling midair against the Abras follow up attack. The remaining splinters shotgunned forwards and met flesh.
Instead of a skewered fox, I got a disoriented psychic, but that's fine. I was already galloping forward on a leg and its opposite arm. When my enemy recovered, I was already bearing down. My senses were so close to their peak that I realized Abras next move at the same time they made it. When I bore down on it for long enough that it should have started moving, should have several instances beyond enough time to react with at least something panicked, and it had not, I knew what it was about to do.
The fact that it hadn't tried to create distance or panicked told me that its startup was at least fast enough to save them from the rock I was slamming down upon them right now. So I adjusted my muscles, and burned them to plow right through Abra and around again. As the abras form wavered, it disappeared. Then they reappeared at the distortion they placed when this fight began, and was immediately blasted in the skull by the rock I had cannoned behind my swing.
By the time they'd hit two trees trying to correct with levitation, and beybladed through the air thanks to sheer velocity, I was nearly upon them. As they regained control. Their eyes opened in fear. Without their little fallback, they really couldn't run now. They began to float higher, my foot hit the ground, they created distance, I closed it. Though they began earlier, my leap rose faster, I caught their leg in a grip akin to a garbage compactor and a raccoon that just didn't know any better, let my weight and sheer momentum tear us from the sky, and hammered them into solid bark covered root.
I didn't stop now, everyone knows what you do to zoners who get in range. I struck, though the force was great, there was hardly any damage. I struck, the Abras eyes were alight with panic, it helds its hands towards me. I felt what it was about to do, and let the gravity of my acceptance hold my heart and mind steady for the shock of having my kidneys blown out. It didn't come. I struck, and this one was different.
When I hit it with the wood, it seemed little different from taking a push and some dust in the eye, when I hit with my rock, it bled and flew, but nothing more. When I struck once and twice, with the might of ten men, it seemed to take it as the blows of one. Now, its skull cracked audibly, blood vessels burst out to open air as an eye swelled from hidden pressure. I struck, the other side transformed into something more horrible than the first, Abra engulfed air with a staggered rhythm, like a reverse whoopee cushion, the pitch and tone of the intake close to what a child's sobbing would be.
I gathered its wrists in my hands and destroyed them as easily as making a fist. Its discordant gasps were now constant, burbling and choking on its panic. Not a thought in that head. I smiled. I laughed. I flipped my opponent over and sat on its back, relaxed as my hand descended to grace its neck, ready to crush at the slightest provocation.
Before anything else, I saw that runt of a bulbasaur moving from its shelter with trepidation in its step, and purpose in its eyes. When it saw me, the weight left its gaze, it froze, mouth hanging open. "You won?!"

I (33f) with secure / anxious attachments was dating my ex (38m) for 6.5 years. He has a avoidant attachment, I think fearful, but not 100% sure. We live(d) together for 5 years, in his country close to his friends.
We talked about children, moving away where I can find my circle of people etc, but it was always hard for him to put me first. I kept hearing about "loosing freedom" having to make "sacrifices", you know the drill. You also know that it was not him doing these sacrifices, but me.
He had all the freedom in the world, going on boys holidays, parties alone, and me travelling solo too. I always honoured his need for space and did the same for me (I am an introvert) and not demanding attention when away.
We were going to therapy 6 months before the break up and he was open to change. The therapy highlighted my will to work on things and his to shut down. The therapist said I am in love with the fantasy, when he is hot, but his real self is this shut down man.
Over 2 weeks ago, we had an "argument" about him not updating his CV for 6 months (needed in order for us to move) as we planned to move before summer and also him not communicating with me that he is thinking to start the process after summer. Mind you it's May already.
It resulted in him going away for 2 weeks, planning his escape from the relationship. When he came back, emotions came back, he was very loving and "unsure" again. Slowly he became more cold every day until Tuesday we had the last therapy session. I remained loving towards him to be his safe place. The therapist said maybe we can have time apart, but he said no, he is exhausted and we broke up officially.
I was giving it all until that point, but started putting all my energy into me straight after. We came home and he was sobbing a lot, I wasn't. The next day (yesterday) I started looking for new places to live and arranged a viewing on Saturday, moving in June. The apartment is everything I am looking for.
When I came home yesterday, he left me a note saying he left the house (I knew that already as we talked about him spending time with his friends since I have nowhere to go) but that he would like to give the time apart a chance and that he still loves me.
He doesn't know about my apartment lined up, he probably thinks he has time to be apart, but I don't. I would if he had told me a day before, at the therapy. I am not opposed to seeing things out later, but I don't want to "wait" for him AGAIN to make up his mind and losing this opportunity - I don't have friends I could stay with around and I am moving with a cat, which makes things harder.
I texted him I appreciate the note and can't give him any response yet, and he texted back he didn't expect any, that it will answer itself naturally.
Shall I make him aware of the apartment, that time is ticking or just go with my flow, move and deal with consequences later? We have furniture to sell, shared accounts, bill, insurances...

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted but didn’t get to make a choice, I miscarried sometime later. It was hard so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do things if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE lmao but after a while I figured out it’s easier to just deal w it rather than push back harder. I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter behind my back. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out. Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand but my mom didn’t try to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt incredibly guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see her and my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, I went to college finished my semester and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking meals w him or decorating. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I was able to make my own mistake for the first time and learn from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Idk, advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions please please help. Have a blessed day, thank you. I appreciate your time & input more than you know, I don’t have anybody to bounce ideas around with.

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

hi everyone. 25f here. today for some reason i was walking around the house with just socks on, when my right heel was struck with a super sharp pain, like i had stepped on a sharp rock or piece of glass. it was fine all morning, until around 12pm. i checked to see if i had stepped on anything, and i hadn't. i wasn't bleeding, and couldn't find a foreign object. i put my shoes on and left the house, went about my day, etc. when i got back to the house a few hours later, i took my shoes off and was walking in the kitchen when it happened again. i took off my socks, tried walking without them, and it happened again. i tried standing and shifting my weight around on that foot, and it kept happening. i tried to put my shoes back on to see if it would go away, and surely enough it did. i'm not sure what the problem is, does anyone have an idea? is it possible there's like a super tiny splinter that i can't see? and the cushion of my shoes relieves the direct pressure?

Almost 3 months ago, i was trying to fix my sleeping posture one night, so i laid down in my bed facing to the ceiling (That's how i heard you should sleep, idk), now, I've always been grossed out by cockroaches, so i covered all of my body, even my mouth, with my coat so that if one landed on me, it would not walk in my skin, that's just how paranoid i usually am, and while i was already falling asleep, in that state in which you don't even understand your thoughts anymore, i felt it, something had landed on my shoulder, at first i thought it was just my imagination and even if it wasn't, i was "safe", so i ignored it until it started to do a weird noise with it's wings, i opened my eyes and stared at it, i don't know if it was the fact it flied just a second after i opened my eyes, or that it looked like it was staring back at me before it took off, but from that moment on, for the next 15 minutes, every little movement i felt in any part of my body, i reacted by moving fast in the oposing direction on the thought it was a cockroach, every black dot on the wall while the lights are off i felt it was a cockroach, and every time i see a cockroach, smell one (i have a very good sense of smell, so good i can identify cockroaches 7 meters away just from smell), and even the thought of a cockroach triggered those exact same reactions for like 20 minutes or so.
I have never felt this way with any other thing, it's 12:46 here rn and i saw 2 cockroaches entering the room, stood up immediatly and turned out the next room's light (Brother is sleeping here) and killed one of them after a 15 minute standoff in which i used the light of my phone to dragg it out of my bed so i could kill it, i don't know where the other one is and i can't sleep, i'm shivering from the friction in my leg hair triggering the cockroach feeling, i took off my bed and moved all furniture searching for the other one and i can't find it, i can't get it out of my head, i tried to convince myself to just stop being affraid of it since it's like 30 times smaller than me, but that was barely enough to give me the courage to kill the first one, i feel the urge to peel my skin off so that i can't feel the imaginary cockroaches of my mind, can't go 30 seconds without worrying about it being in my room and i just cannot sleep, sure as hell i'm not even in my bed, i'm in a chair in the middle of the room, away from every place in which it could've hide.
Help.

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

Any and all perspectives help more than you know. I don’t have anybody to really talk about this with so any guidance is appreciated. It’s a lot to read, I might yap but with reason
I’m 19 years old and have just finished my spring semester of college. I went to a big college out of town, my main financial aid fucked me over so I had to switch at semester to my home state’s university. Anyway, this year was kinda tough for me lost a couple family members & my boyfriend had it rough, lost his best friend and dad within a few months of each other. Then in March, we find out I’m pregnant. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but didn’t really get to make a choice, soon after I miscarried. It was difficult so I went back to hometown & finished semester online while staying with boyfriend until I needed to move my stuff out of dorm.
My boyfriend is 19 and we’ve been together a year & a half, but known each other since middle school. We dated in 8 grade until he had to move out of state, he moved back & we started hanging out again. My circle is small & I don’t really make/have any friends but he’s my best friend. Even if we wouldn’t have chose to date after he came back to town, ik we would’ve been good friends. My family liked him or seemed to at least, especially my mom.
It’s well known in my family that my mom and I just don’t get along. She kept me quite literally locked away as the Cinderella child until I left. I could only do stuff if she wasn’t in a bad mood/something didn’t need cleaned/ a child didn’t need to be picked up/dropped off. After a while I figured out life is better if i deal w it instead of push back harder. My friends in high school never invited me ANYWHERE, I didn’t know how to use a crosswalk until I was 14 lmao I was so sheltered sorry ANYWAYS, I turned 18 and it was like I had a brand new mother until her fear of me leaving wore off.
Long story short, the summer before I left for college (last summer) my mom & I got into a fight, I didn’t have anywhere else to go so I moved in with boyfriend. My mom did the absolute most, wouldnt let me get any of my stuff or car for a few weeks (I had purchased almost EVERYTHING for myself since I was 15, including my car that she told me since I bought it as a minor I couldn’t have it under my name :/ ), almost got me fired from my job & ambulance ended up being called from how much of a tantrum she threw. It was so ridiculous that she refused to tell anybody what happened when people asked because she said it’s too embarrassing for her.
Just like that, she flipped. My boyfriend had a rough upbringing which she knows some stuff about. She took that and twisted the narrative to make him seem like some sort of charity case that took advantage of her generous & good graces. She calls him the hungry kid who hangs out w her daughter. He’s no longer allowed at her house lmao just out of spite. He never said a word to her or about her even when she had the worst to say about him, he never was disrespectful or showed up to the house either so idrk why she said that. Even when I moved out & she drained my entire savings I had worked for since I was 15, he never said anything bad about her just that i was going to be okay & he’s gonna help me figure it out.
Not only that but she shunned me for a long time, refused to talk & look at me after I moved out. My little brother was 5 and didn’t really understand & my mom didn’t bother to explain or kid proof it, just let him scream, cry, & claw at my legs whenever I’d leave the house to go home. I felt so guilty & like I had to compensate so I’d stress out & make sure to see my siblings every single day till I left for college.
If you’re still reading thank you sm.
Fast forward to today, left for college & it didn’t work out, finished semester online, and am back in my hometown. Over breaks in college I’ve stayed at my moms cause she expected me to and her & I’s relationship has gotten so much better with distance. Between her and boyfriend, they were my biggest & only support especially with the miscarriage. But the only conversation they’ve had is when him and I went to talk to my mom in person when I found out I was pregnant. Not sure where she stands with him idrc but I’m sure she probably hates him more since we did technically make her worst fear as a mother come true.
Im living with her now, mainly cause I don’t want to be isolated again & i physically cant deal with the debilitating anxiety and guilt every day, I wanted to try to focus on healing & resting before I start classes in the fall. Boyfriend’s family situation is getting v challenging for him, hes gonna get a place regardless. I really just want a space where I’m not feeling constantly overstimulated & I miss living with him a lot honestly. We make the best team & it’s so easy with him. I catch myself getting so excited looking at furniture even from the thrift or think ab cooking w him. I miss him making breakfast for me before I wake up and folding laundry together and grocery shopping. He’s paying 6 months rent in advance so that I won’t have to worry about getting enough hours & can enjoy summer and actually rest. Both of us independently have a pretty thick cushion to fall back on too just in case. So finances aren’t a problem I think?
My mom isn’t too keen on the idea. I think she doesn’t want me to make the same mistakes she made, which I understand because I was also there when she was left with half of every pair of shoes she owned, I mean he took literally half of everything. Even in the case that we do break up and then I’m stuck with an apartment with my ex and have completely fucked myself over, at least I made my first mistake & learned from it? Idk what to tell my mom or how the conversation should go. I don’t wanna be shunned again but then again I’ve never once been able to just do something and justify it with “it’s my life”. Advice/thoughts/bullshit/opinions? Have a blessed day, I appreciate your time & input more than you know.

Successor : u/Intel81994
Hi,
I first found this subreddit and Neville's works in 2018 so I thought I'd share my success/experiences.
I've never posted here, only lurked... daily. I often see people post tiny wins in here like manifesting a test result or a few hundred dollars. I don't see many huge wins except occasionally, or multi-year life changing creations.
Well, I'm not where I want to be bc my goals have gotten a lot bigger, but I've come a long way and finding this work in 2018 changed my life so I want to share with you how.
Not to discourage, but small wins are nothing compared to the deep life changes and incredible abundance you can create in knowing who you really are - just think - there are people out there, several, who own $10M+ houses, multi-millionaires, many came from nothing.
I'm not saying that's the only thing worth striving for or even the source of joy, of course. But my point is anything you want, someone else out there has done it, they are just humans like myself and you.
So here's how my life turned around since 2018 and what I created. The HOW I did so is no different than what you already read on this sub every day.
Neville has been my favorite teacher and this is the MAIN sub I have read over the last few years. I own all of his books and have read them several times.
I regard his methods as most influential for me. This may come off as some motivational story but truth is I use Neville's methods daily and always try to understand and control my beliefs to grow.
Here is how my life changed completely after DOING the work:

• MONEY/TRAVEL : I went from -50k in debt running my own online fitness coaching business at my lowest point not knowing how I would pay rent (long story but I was young and not skilled enough in business at this time to really build a team and 7 figure business like I wanted),

to acquiring amazing skills being an intrapreneur working in a small startup online with a terrific mentor (I manifested this exact position with SATS), traveled the world a crazy amount in the exact places I had wanted to and met a ton of cool people (SATS), over 27 countries now, and grew my net worth to over 250k from 2018-2021.
To my current goals, this is really nothing now and I now surround myself with people doing a ton more than me. So I'm not preaching here, it's just levels to the game right.
I now work professionally in the crypto industry, but also have skills and knowledge to a few types of online businesses in the consulting & marketing space, as well as make money from markets/trading, which is a great vehicle because there are effectively no limits.
I can live anywhere I want, have plenty of cushion and money to live mostly how I want (have larger goals now), have time freedom as well, and most of all, love growth and feel great striving for more. I did SATS to get my current gig.
I've also been trading the last 2 years and no it's not easy, in fact you're competing against algorithms and the best minds in the world so the learning curve is quite steep.
Trading is not easy money, but the potential is there. Besides, trading is just one vehicle, it's not value-additive to the market like businesses are, so I believe it's best used in conjunction with a business/job, and investing longer term is better.
Anyway I turned <40k into ~350K in crypto, and a separate stock portfolio last year.
And yes a lot of that crypto growth was market timing and luck with everything going on, monetary policy and all, and I know people who turned less into several million and also plenty who got liquidated and lost millions. I still spent a lot of time and skill to create that, point is I created all of it in various forms.

• FITNESS/HEALTH: I achieved a more fit and better body than 98% of men have. This was a result of hard work plus these methods and was in 2018 when I decided to undergo a bodybuilding prep for a photoshoot. Great size, leanness, abs, I had been lifting for years but never gotten this in shape.

It was not easy, but I looked incredible, and the exact city/water background scene I had visualized for the photos happened. You can scroll to my IG posts from early 2018 for pics proof.
My health is impeccable and I've for sure made other physical changes, and I think I somehow changed my gf's looks to become better over time too. She was always quite cute though. I'm still very much in shape but now do yoga daily for last few years, as well as lifting.

• LOCATION/LIVING: I manifested the EXACT view I used to visualize in the center of my major city, with a gorgeous view of the ocean and city both, for a great price and have lived here for last 3 years now. In a luxury high rise. I can see ships and yachts right outside my balcony every day. It's literally grander than I even knew to imagine just 5 years ago.
  
• MORE FINANCE: Over the last 2 years my investments and more were doing so well sometimes - not always - that I often was able to have some months making 20-40k, point is I was not worried about work.
  

I also believe parallel realities are real and I used to visualize Bitcoin going to 50k back in 2019 when it had stayed below <10k for 2 years. This was not all due to bitcoin, but rather all sorts of investments, but yes crypto as well.
Some was luck, some was skill and work. All was my creation. I also got quite decent at trading and managing a portfolio that I not only managed to publicly call the exact day of the market TOP in november 2021 but also sniped the bottom in July. Intuition plus knowledge.
So I kept this money, it is not bleeding out in my portfolio with the market. I've devoted a LOT into mastering this craft but again, self concept and Neville helped.
I got hacked for 60k-70k a few months back and chose to give it new meaning and manifested a career change to crypto industry, landing a position making over 10k per month (I'm not happy with this at my current standards of income, but I'm grateful), that I am growing to 20k per month of active income now with other streams.
What's interesting in my recent career manifestation is I decided I want a position that basically pays me to do what I already do (I was independently researching and managing a multi-6 figure crypto portfolio... over a quarter million dollars combined money that I was managing. )
I now get paid a full time 6 fig salary to do nothing extra from what I was already doing and barely work on the actual job with plenty of time for other stuff.
I just decided it was done and that's it. Also of course it's remote... knowing what I know, I will only consider remote jobs (never worked in a physical office and I've actually never had a w2 job before this, always doing sales and stuff or my own thing).
I have been working on increasing my standard to 25k per month minimum of active income generation. Had a lot of ideas come through. I’m just not the type to have a job I think but I have to figure out what I can build again.
Compared to who I want to be at a later date that’s also nothing much. Again, levels to the game.
Now also working on growing a business in this space. This hack event was pretty traumatic but I now see how I 100% manifested it. And I can choose to also create something far greater out of the event now.
With every job I've ever had, I've never worked in an office. I've only ever been remote or online because this is the only thing I was willing to accept. Being a digital nomad has been my norm since I graduated college.
Be specific in what you want and do not settle.
I went to a top 5 US public university and even manifested myself to lead a large pre-med club on campus (I was a pre med student) before I knew Neville. I'm now very glad I chose to go my own route instead of medicine for several reasons beyond scope of this post but anyway.

• SP: Manifested my SP (gf) back in 2018 and we have a great relationship going on 6 years now (together since 2016). I focus more on self love and feeling I AM God rather than seeking it externally. My consciousness and inner connection is my source of sustenance.
  
• Honestly there are so many other crazy little things I can't possibly keep track. Every day I have synchronicities like crazy still. I don't give them much meaning but just take it to mean that I am aligned.
  

My best mental model/tips

• Delude yourself into knowing that imagination is MORE real than the 3d. The 3d is 'old news.' Meaning it's a shadow world. The real creation is happening in your imagination, and there is a time lag in this physical world.

Live in your imagination and tune out anything that does not serve keeping you in an optimal state where you feel in control. The more you focus on things that are meant to distract you or displease you, which state do you create from?

• I do SATS during the day, works fine for me, I don't think it matters much if day/night, but you need to do it. Follow a guided hypnosis session to get deeper into trance first if it helps.
  
• Act and trust deeply that life is leading you to what you want, and the meaning you give to events is literally what molds your future. Choose empowering meanings. Stop being a victim.
  

Make a resolve to never think of yourself as a victim of forces out there, the economy, evil people, whatever it is. You want to control your reality then act like it internally.

• Make a daily routine checklist and stick to it so you internally feel in control of your reality. Mine is: SATS or revision, meditate or breathwork, EFT or writing, cold shower, no phone in the morning, wake at 6am, and of course I exercise daily in some form. I use a spreadsheet to make sure I hit my routines for the day so I don't be a victim but rather stay in control. This is critical for me.
  
• As long as you occupy the realms of consciousness that you want, the result WILL come via downloads and hunches and thoughts, and insane physical things will happen that will 'seem like it would have happened anyway' so don't worry about the how.
  

Random Musings
The thing with manifesting is we sometimes take a passive route and wait for things to happen to us (and sure this is fine and still works), but think- if you don't grow your mental, emotional, skills container to deal with large amounts of money, or a team, or skills to sell and market and manage money... if you suddenly get 500K or 1M, how are you going to hold on to it?
If you lack personal power and execution skills, say you suddenly win 5M from the lottery, do you have the skills to keep it and make decisions at a level that can fluctuate several millions? It's stressful and requires thinking completely differently.
You have to 'stress test' your consciousness and expand your container.
I know that because I got hacked (stolen) ~70k it means nothing because the version of me who makes multi-7 figures a year deals with fluctuations of multi-6 figures in his portfolio all the time, it's part of the game. and I HAVE dealt with 6 figure fluctuations in my portfolio before this hack so it wasn't super new in that sense.
You know time is not real, it's all happening now, Creation is already finished, so you should also know that the way to 'hack' time is making decisions from a place of the future version of yourself you already are.
Make a commitment to stop playing small and settling for crumbs. Why would you get hung up on the one limited way your ego thinks that abundance has to manifest in your life, or love, instead of just feeling the emotions themselves, knowing it's done, and letting your life color it in in grander ways than you could have imagined.
Funny little manifestations and things happen literally every day that I just take it as reflections of me being in my creative power.
Something crazy/funny that happened was on our last trip, I told my girlfriend 'hey, how funny and weird would it be to see a parrot meowing?' - then next day we sit at a cafe and there is a parrot in a cage outside, meowing loudly. The most bizarre manifestation, I didn't even intend for it, just asked hey would it not be funny. Things like this happen so often, I can't keep track.
There is nothing new to learn. Just do the techniques and do self care rituals and get lost in your work. Feel the feeling of utter abundance and freedom now and it will happen.
We live in an advanced economy with the internet, it has never been easier to start or fund a business compared to even 50 years ago (see interest rates), distribution has never been easier, so if you know these tools, why would you not create the biggest dream you can imagine? Why settle for a free $200?
I realize there are levels people go through however so I don't mean to belittle, but now that I have been through so much and grown, I know there is nothing separating myself from multi millions and VC's and creators of large companies except belief, work, and time in this reality.
I have the knowledge, belief, and skills to not need a job if I don't want one. I can instead offer something to the market and be independent.
I'm telling you this stuff works and is sustainable. You can be as specific as you want and get whatever you want, and trust that with the turns life takes you through, it is a BRIDGE meant to turn you into the person to get and sustain what you say you want. Decide it and it is so.
I am someone who is a first generation American immigrant, my parents moved to the US from India when I was 5 and we had very little here. I grew up 'lower' middle class, and didn't have the best money programming from parents, but I always did well in school.
I KNOW I am going to be the first multi millionaire in my family. It's all in how you think about yourself/self concept and the work you do from that mindset. Do actions and shift your environment in accordance with who you want to be.
I always splurge on self care now and do things like fly business class or pay more for a better room because that's who I internally am. Just find a way to produce more and let it flow instead of shrinking yourself to be someone you’re not in your 4D
I don't try to scrimp and penny pinch, I let money flow. Even though getting stolen 70k was traumatic, oh well, I chose to give it a better, empowering meaning and my reality shifted.
That's all I have to say. Do the work. Stop procrastinating with learning. All the teachers, scripture, it's all the same Truth at the core. Learning is fine because you learn different mental models at different points of your life but you need to do the work.
I've been fortunate to not only have explored TONS of teachers and books in this realm, you name it I've probably read it or have a copy, I've also HAD mentors and WORKED directly under multi millionaires older and more experienced than me who know this work very well and knew Neville specifically, and it's the real deal. I did sales for someone in the online coaching space was was very well off and had decades of success and spoke of Neville very often, it was really cool.
Proof of the Law
I don't know what more proof you need that the Law is real. All religions throughout eternity have known this, Neville just distilled the same Truth through his own methods that work really well in my opinion and I personally love his interpretation of scripture.
The most successful people in the world are usually consciously (and some unconsciously) doing these same actions. Just do the work and focus on it coming from a good place of knowing that it's done. You don't need to know HOW but you just need to know the plane is going to somehow land one day.
I just come back to Neville every time, because his methods are simple and philosophies work well for how I think. I've done tons of psychedelic mushrooms over the years which luckily made me very open to this sort of thinking, before that I was very rigid and too '3d scientific' minded in my thinking. Keep in mind there is actually nothing 'unscientific' about the Law... modern science has its own limitations in that we cannot measure many things.
What used to be called magic in years past is now under the realm of science right? I'm not saying I don't value logic and science... I have a science degree from a top 5 university.
I'm just saying your ego mind which wants to keep you stuck and surviving uses the excuse of logic and science when that's actually not the full scope of how reality works, we are incredibly limited in our conscious understanding of reality.... we don't even know what we're doing here on a floating rock in infinite space and we can hardly see much of the light spectrum as it is.
So remember that when your ego tries to believe in your limitations and the 3d reality only. You being here is magic that even the most advanced science does not know the answer to. Do scientists know fundamentally why there is something at all instead of nothing?
Anyway, one more thing is I've never been shy of making relatively bold and fast decisions, investing in a mentor (for business) and just generally betting on myself.
Because getting around people who think bigger than you and don't settle is a hack and it's worth every penny. There is a reason millionaires hang with other millionaires.
I'm not saying to cut people out of your life (unless toxic) but rather to seek proximity and get around winners or pay to join some mastermind in business or whatever you need to do to network in your realm.
Just last week I invested 7.5k for get into a network of high performing young male entrepreneurs just because I want a better network in real life and work on business tactics and execution. When I was 23 I invested 25k that I did not have at the time (I made it happen and earned it back) to get a business mentor. So I use all of this in combo with Neville's methods primarily. I really like revision method as well.
The act of DECISION literally creates a parallel reality and becomes the new bridge to your manifestation.

This new disappearing furniture bug after the hot fix has really been testing my patience! It's almost impossible to decorate the valley now because whenever I go into furniture mode, something disappears and it completely throws me off because I can't always tell/remember what I put there. I just know something is missing and it's just annoying having to go back into furniture mode and have to search and find the furniture piece to make it appear again. It just sucks all the fun out of decorating because I was so excited to redo my plaza and peaceful meadow.
I'm not really one to complain about bugs because I know Gameloft is doing their best to address issues, but it's pretty poor timing with the new event too. Now we have to decorate the valley with theme park-related items and ride the rides but this disappearing bug makes it so difficult to decorate at all and reach the goal. I'm also starting to become a little frustrated with the never ending bugs. When it's not one thing, it's the other. There just seems to always be something wrong with the game.
I have to admit, I am one of the lucky ones who hasn't too many bugs, but one day, I'd like to see reddit, twitter, discord, and any social platforms free of people complaining about game breaking bugs. It'll allow more time for us to write about what we are having fun with and saves posts like this one from happening often.
No shade to Gameloft because I imagine creating games is not easy, but PLEASE, give us a break every once and awhile yeah?
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Edit: Found it! Thanks so much!
Ok so I crafted the Figment Popcorn bucket at a crafting table inside my house. Then i placed it down. I went into the dreamlight achievements section thing and noticed the Popcorn Enthusiast achievement still said 0/5. I know this game can be weird with certain things so i thought maybe it had to be placed outside. So i removed it from my house, put it in the furniture catalog, went outside and then opened the catalog to place it out there, but I cannot for the life of me find it anywhere in my catalog. Its just gone. I've tried filtering it and everything. I can't find it. Does anyone know which section of the catalog the popcorn buckets go in?
TL;DR- I put one of the popcorn buckets in my furniture catalog and now it's gone.

Hello.
I love the shape and seating angle of Adirondacks. I want one for indoors though. I can't seem to find the magical Google words to find what I'm looking for. Everything is patio furniture.
I have a recliner, but recliners flatten out when used. I've had a few computer chairs that "tilt" into the same angle. Same type of problem though... Don't want a computer chair.
Any help would be great.

I recently found out that person who I trusted my savings to make investments has fled the country and is currently being sued by 8 other people for not paying back what he owes. Now, I'm feeling like an idiot
For some context, I (32 f) live in an underdeveloped Latin American country. I've worked since I graduated highschool in so many different places from family businesses, retail stores, advertising companies, and I'm currently working as a LS teacher. I mostly live paycheck to paycheck, but I had managed to save a little bit of money with some additional projects, around $4.5K, which may not sound like a lot, but is half my yearly salary, so, for me, it is.
Last year, I decided I wanted to invest that money instead of having it in my bank account. On the one hand, because I wanted it to generate some more money. On the other, because the country were I live in is currently experiencing a massive security crisis that has us, common citizens, living in fear. It's not rare to hear stories of people whose bank accounts have been ransacked by criminals through violent and coercive acts.
As I don't know how to invest or were to do it, I contacted a friend of my boyfriend (let's call him AJ) who worked in one of this investment funds or whatever they are called and asked about it. I had heard that some other friends had made some money through him. That, and the fact that we knew him and his family made me trust him. At first, at least.
While we were still talking business, he started to become pushy and to ask me repeatedly for the money, I told him I needed to wait and check the documents and all. I didn't like that, and had a bit of a bad gut feeling, but finally I assumed that the pushy part, was just him being himself (as he is known for being an annoying person). After a couple of days, I decided it seemed legit, signed a contract and wired the money. It was supposed to be for a full year, so I waited patiently. The year ended a couple of days ago so I tried reaching out to him, but his number was disconnected and his Whatsapp deactivated. Then, I searched for his wife, whose social media I followed and noticed I couldn't find her. Through some digging up, I was able to find a Facebook account with a different name. With that account, she had posted furniture for sale. That's when I started getting suspicious, because a lot of people are selling all their stuff to migrate due to lack of safety in our home country. At that point, I called my boyfriend to inquire about this friend and he told me he hadn't seen or talked to him for a couple of months, neither did the rest of their friends in common.
At that point, I went through all the information I could find online and turns out that his businesses, which were supposedly going pretty well, hence the lavish lifestyle he and his wife had, in fact didn't make a lot of money. And then, I checked the local judicial database, just to discover he had a total of 8 open cases for not giving paying back money to his investors.
I was devastated. I guess that it might take me a two to three years to save that amount again, and that's if there are no unpredictable expenses through the month. I had some plans for this year, like replacing my car and getting a minor surgery I've been postponing, which I don't know if I will be able to accomplish. My boyfriend consoled me and promised me he was going to talk to his family to ask how they can pay me back.
My SIL is best friends with one of AJ's sisters, so we asked if she knew anything about him. Which she replied "Yeah, I heard he and his family had to flee the country because they were in trouble, just one of the sisters stayed here". Through last activity in WhatsApp and other social media, I can guess they left last month.
So now my fears came true. I don't think I'll ever see my money again. But, even though this sucks tremendously, what's worse is how guilty and dumb I feel. At some point I had this gut feeling, but didn't trust my own instincts, and decided to trust someone who wasn't worthy. I can't believe I was scammed this way. I considered myself a smart, put together person, but know I'm insecure about my own capacity.
Talking to my boyfriend and one of my best friends has helped me feel better, but I'm unwilling to let other close people know about what happened, because I'm afraid they will think I'm stupid. I don't even know if taking legal action is worth it, as it might cost more that the actual amount. The people I could consult about this for free are the lawyers in my family, but it's just too embarrassing to let them know how easily I was scammed, as when I doubled checked the contract I noticed some sketchy things that I hadn't noticed at the time.
I guess I'm here just to vent some more, as I don't think I will tell the rest of my family and friends in the near future.

Hello, I am looking for someone who would be interested in taking over my lease for the 2024-2025 school year, starting as soon as June 1st 2024. I had a change of plans late in the semester and decided to go live with a friend, meaning I will need to find someone who is willing to take over the lease I already signed. It is a private lockable bedroom with an attached private bath, part of a 4-bedroom building. The room is very nice, with a bed, dresser, desk and chair already included- meaning you won’t need to bring your own furniture. The windows also let in a lot of natural light, with the option to close the blinds if wanted. There is a tub/shower combo in the bathroom along with a sink and toilet. Finally, there is a large double door closet which is great for storing extra boxes or hanging up clothes. The room was also thoroughly cleaned out before I left, meaning all you would need to do when you arrive is some light dusting.
The location is also great, with the pool, volleyball net, and basketball court located right off the back patio. That also means the offices are just across the block, making it easy to pick up packages mailed to the secure system and visit the workout room or tanning salon. The biggest plus of the room imo is the bus stop just across the street, meaning you can roll out of bed and be taken straight to campus Monday through Friday from 7am to 8pm. (I’m really going to miss this). The washer and dryer are just across the hall, and there is also a spacious kitchen just downstairs. Parking is right outside the front door, with a parking and bus pass included as part of the rent.
The total cost is $998.95 a month only subtracting electricity. There are 3 other housemates, but they are awesome and very quiet. If you would be interested in more information or applying, please private message me and we can continue from there. Thanks.