Hi! I have been wanting to buy an e-bike for so long and I just haven’t been able to figure out where to start, so thought I’d try this.
I’m in the UK (London), I’m 6’5, I have a chronic pain condition and so need a really comfortable seating position to avoid pain. It’ll primarily be road use but I wouldn’t mind thicker tires for comfort.
I ride Zoomo bikes for work and they’re fine, but they aren’t the most comfortable or fun. At the moment I’m using Lime bikes to get to work, and I find the seating position on them much more comfortable, but they’re so expensive and I really should get my own bike.
Essential: Under £2000 Comfortable seating position with high handlebars Good fit for 6’5
Desirable: Under £1500 Doesn’t look like an e-bike Doesn’t look expensive (London bike theft is insane) Good security features Removable battery to charge, but not at the expense of security
Range isn’t a big concern, anything above like 25-30 miles will do.
Any suggestions much appreciated - thanks!

Hey everyone,
After having to sell my old trusted Thundercat a while back I finally reached a place where I can comfortably buy myself a new bike. After research and a couple of test rides the Honda CBR650R got my attention. I’ve tried the e-clutch and even though it’s not perfect, I did like it.
So I went out on my search for a black model and surprise surprise, exactly that model is no longer available in my country. Apparently Honda has announced a big sale stop (either only in my country or everywhere) and it is unclear when the bikes will be delivered again. Does anyone have any information on this?
So my alternatives are basically a 2023 CBR650R and a 2024 Suzuki GSX-8R, which I liked more than the other alternatives.
Big difference between those 2 bikes. For someone looking for something as similar to my old Yamaha, which has a sporty character, but allows touring as well and is comfortable for a passenger… which one would you go for?

I’m finally quitting after vaping for 2+ years! Admittedly, it’s not quite because of sheer willpower but because I’m unemployed at the moment so no monies to spend on fruity clouds and my current on ran out of juice. But I think now is the time since there is no other choice. I have tried to quit twice in the past before. First, in spring 2023 where i was able to quit for around 2-3 months then started back again for a reason I don’t even remember, then a second time last February which was a total fail. I had told myself I’d only buy one more and that was it (mega eye roll) but that didn’t happen.
Since I’ve tried quitting before and failed, I’m worried that I’ll go back once I have a job again. And I’m especially worried about how to deal with withdrawals, especially since this is a stressful time period for me because I’m taking condensed classes at uni. I’m just afraid of brain fog taking a toll on my grades and all. Also, the city I live in everyone vapes. Most of my friends and peers do. So how do I completely quit when it’s so hard to avoid?
Are there are tricks to make quitting easier? I’ve heard chewing gum helps (maybe I can say hello to a snatched jawline) I no longer want to be a victim of the inhaler’s evil twin brother!

SO SORRY FOR THIS ONE. IT IS VERY LONG!!! <3
I am a little worried and would love some help/advise on how to control my emotions around some situations, or if i might be over reacting. My MIL to be can be rather overbearing and has an issue accepting boundaries. Over the past several months I have noticed that my MIL can be somewhat overly mothering and emotionally manipulative. She also seems to try to target me whenever my finance is not around, and when it is just me and her. i.e. She had a tantrum when I told her that she could not join us on a walk which my fiance and I wanted to do as a couple AS A DATE DAY. My fiance later tried to have a conversation with her about this and she described it as just being playful...
She also refers to my fiance, his two brothers, their partners and myself (as a collective) as children "Do you think the children will like this" or she will talk to my FIL in front of us as "The children..." - Bare in mind I am 30 in November - My own parents never categorize me as a child so I am somewhat shocked that she does this - All of the "so called Children" in my fiances family are 23 and over. At first I thought this was a term of endearment that she was just too used to saying, but after my fiance had a conversation with her about this asking her to stop saying this in reference to me, as it was making me extremely uncomfortable, I was asked so many questions as to why I didn't like it. I advised that I found it belittling and patronising as my own parents don't refer to me and my siblings in that way. And also that I was nearly 30 now and I find it a little offensive (I have my own house and worked hard for it, I have two degrees which again I worked hard for, and I have been through a lot in my life, I stopped being a 'child' a very long time ago)- I know that this could be me overreacting a little bit, but this is whole new territory for me as I have never been referred to as a 'child' in my adult life, not even by my own parents who refer to me either by my name, or as their eldest daughter.
I am sorry if anyone else has the same situation and is okay with it, but it just makes me uncomfortable. When I was explaining about how I was feeling she was smiling the entire time but looked so confused at the same time, as she couldn't understand why I felt the way I did. And she continues to use the word Children to describe me and my fiance. Even my FIL has told her to stop it, but she doesn't seem to understand or pay attention to it.
The big red flag for me was this: The other day my partner and I went to see his parents for a visit. He was in the garden in deep conversation with his dad, and I was talking to his mother in the dining area, the conversation was quite lovely at first... Until she started talking about buying fabric from a well know UK fabric and craft store to make some elegant dresses. She had a lovely royal blue material which she was showing me and advised that the both of us should go on a trip to the store together, as she really wanted to by the same type of fabric, but in emerald, green (WAIT FOR IT). She was going on about dresses and weddings, and my gut instantly knew where this was going. A few moments later, she says, “I would really love to make a nice dress in blue for *bother-in-laws wedding*” and then proceeded to say, “... and I would like to make something in the emerald green for your (and my fiancés) wedding” - HELL TO THE FRICKING NO!!! Please note, me and my fiancé got engaged in September of last year, and I happily told MIL and my fiancés family that I was not the conventional sort of gal, I never wanted to wear just white, or white at all. I showed them all, numerous times, the picture from my Pinterest board, of what I hoped my wedding dress would be or at least look like. And guess what colour that dress was and the colour I have wanted my dress to be ever since I can remember… IT’S EMERALD GREEN... I created my Wedding Planning Pinterest board in 2015 and I have always wanted to wear Green.
This conversation literally hit me to the point where I was either going to cry or blow up - Due to the share fact that she was so adamant that she wanted to wear the same colour as me, but also that she did this when it was just me and her in the room and no one else was around to hear it. Somehow, I just managed to keep my cool and I simply said, "NO. I am sorry, but you are not wearing the same-coloured dress as me on my wedding day. Absolutely not. And I am not meaning to sound like a bridezilla in any way here, but that is a very specific colour that I have had picked out in my mind for a long time now. No, please don't wear that colour, anything but emerald green" She seemed shocked at first, and then joked it off saying, “Well I don't have to wear emerald, green (DAMN RIGHT). I will wear blue or something.” And then she made a joke about the fact of me saying "on my wedding day" like "OOO MY WEDDING... OOO IT'S MY WEDDING DAY" . I didn't have the energy to question this so i just had to laugh it off. I later told my fiance about this and he was frustrated at the situation, and advised that she will not be wearing the same colour as me on our big day. It worried me that she does things like this when it is just me and her, sometimes it is very minor things, but they are noticeably overbearing and manipulative in my eyes.
She still treats my fiance like he is a teenager, and tried to do the same thing with me, like "oh let me clean you glasses for you" and "take a coat with you its cold" (I am always hot to the point I overheat, she is aware of this), "here you go let me do that for you" These are just examples, but she acts as though we cannot do things for ourselves at times, and her way is the best way. I have been very independent since I was 18 years old. So it is hard for me to see this as anything but patronising.
Do you think I am overacting or is it normal for me to feel uncomfortable? Any advise on how to tackle these issues would be really helpful. I have spoken to my mum and sister about this, and they are very hurt by the way I am feeling at the moment. I just wondered if this is how other people would also feel, or if anyone else is or has been through the same.
THANK YOU <3 And sorry again that it is so long. And if you have made it to this point. I appreciate it! x

So around autumn last year my friend (M22) and I (M19) were at my house watching a movie. We got hungry and cooked up some ramen and brought it back to my room where we were watching the film. He ends up spilling his ramen on my keyboard (K95 plat xt) and I freak out because it was given to me as a gift (from another friend) and I hadn't even had it for one year. We amicably agree that he'd get me a replacement and continue on with the film. After a month he gets me a used replacement, mind you a normal k95 plat not the XT and I relunctly accept it.
When I took it home I noticed that a few (around 15 keys) had RGB defects because the previous owner most likely had them set to white or blue which uses up the blue in the RGB and wears down the RGB faster. My friend tries to return the board but gets rejected from eBay either because he waited too long to return it ( I had returned it to him a few days after I noticed the defect so not my problem) or because eBay didn't find that reason enough for a return. Anyway he ends up keeping the defective board for himself as an upgrade.
So skip forward another month or so and he gets me another used replacement that ended up having another defect. This time the space bar stabilizer was defective and wouldn't hold the cap on at all. Mind you other caps were loose too. He returned it successfully and after another month of so of waiting bought me another (3rd) used replacement again with the exact same issue. This was returned and brings us to the present. I have been pestering him to buy me a the exact model that be broke, the XT, but he refuses because the only difference is the key caps. I understand this and don't really care because I'm designing my own custom caps anyway. But I argue that he should still buy me a new k95 because not only have we had 3 defective boards sent to us, but also buying without warranty on something like a keyboard scares me.
This is because once the return window expires you're essentially at the mercy of the life of the board. It could last a long normal life, or it could become defective with the RGB, or with some keys just dying , who knows. I dont want to have a board like that especially because the one he broke I took care of really well and was like-new. Anyway, this has been on the back of my mind so I finally plead my case to him yesterday about why I want a new keyboard instead of a used one and he just tells me "I don't have that much money or a job right now and I have to pay rent over the summer" Keep in mind he had more than half a year to come up with the money for a replacement without having to pay any rent whatsoever. AITA for wanting a replacement keyboard that is new instead of used.
Edit: grammar and typo

I want to preface that this is a serious question, we aren't perverts and are open to advice and opinions on this subject. We have no nefarious intent and just want insight.
Me and my girlfriend plan to open a physical local business selling Japanese collectables in the semi-near future, primarily anime figures and merchandise imported from Japan but with a wide variety beyond that. While I figure out all the logistics and investment required to begin such a journey though, there are some questions I've been unable to get any direct answers for online, one of which may come off as a bit suspect:
Am I allowed to sell adult merchandise? And even if I am allowed to, is it a poor business decision?
And by that, I don't just mean lewd or questionably designed figures. While we don't directly seek it out, due to the nature of Japan and how we wholesale source a massive variety of series and subjects, we end up with adult items on occasion. This can range from nude cards, figures, tapestries, posters, manga, etc. to as direct as Japanese adult videos and video games (both animated and live action). At the moment whenever we've ended up with such goods, it's just gone into a box of "unsellables" which grows ever more suspicious as the months go by. We're online sellers on eBay and Mercari at the moment, both of which have clear restrictions on such items.
I personally have no issue selling such items when there is clearly a demand for them, and both me and my girlfriend actually find the adult stuff to be rather funny and/or interesting (depending on the specific item, being Japan some of it goes way too far). But my question is can I sell it, and if yes, should I? Is there a required license for such things? Do Japanese adult items have different restrictions than domestic adult items?
If we do end up deciding to carry and sell such items when we have a personal store, it would be in a separated "adult only" area behind a curtain. We know of a locally owned 2nd hand shop that does this. It wouldn't be something like Spencers where there's just a mighty wall of sex toys starting down at you when all you wanted was to buy a funny mug or something. And to be clear, it would make a very small fraction of our merchandise.
Two worries I had with selling such item are: Will it hurt our stores reputation on a notable scale? And: Will it attract undesirable types of customers?
And just to note for anyone worried, we would NOT sell Japanese merchandise featuring obviously underaged characters. If we were to end up with such things by happenstance, it would go straight to the shredder. Our moral bar may be set low here but there are some things still far under it.
Any answers and advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.

Spoilers ahead…
Dear Karthik Subbaraj,
Congratulations on yet another interesting movie, and for resisting the impulse to name this one, too, after a food item. Iraivi is an unusual feminist film, in the sense that it’s seen entirely through the prism of sympathetic male characters. Your men aren’t monsters who drink or cheat on their wives or subject them to torture. They do these things, yes, but… differently. Arul (SJ Surya) drinks, but only to drown out his sense of failure – he’s a director and his film is in the cans, being held hostage by a sadistic producer. Michael (Vijay Sethupathi) has sex with Malarvizhi (Pooja Devariya), and he continues to lust after her after his marriage to Ponni (Anjali) – I love that all your women have names that suggest classical heroines, including Arul’s wife Yazhini (Kamalini Mukherjee) – but it’s a marriage he committed to in a hurry and he still hasn’t reconciled himself to it. He’s being a bastard, certainly, but he’s not a one-note villain. And the torture they inflict isn’t the stubbing-a-cigarette-into-the-wife’s-bare-arm variety. It’s more mental than physical.
So we get women who are collateral damage – and I include Arul’s comatose mother (Vadivukkarasi), and the nurse who’s not allowed to do her duty – of men being men. They’re being babies, really. Yazhini tells Arul that he should get on with his life, write another story, make another movie. He says it’s like her trying to have another child while still pregnant with their daughter. (Yes, all these men end up with girl children.) He’s a wallower – but maybe all artists are. You like to do that, don’t you Karthik? Even in a film like this, you deliver a commentary about filmmaking and the artist. Why, even Arul’s father is a sculptor, and though we never see him ill-treating his wife (thank you for sparing us the clichés of raised hands and raised voices), we’re informed that he’s responsible for her state. His son’s following the father’s footsteps. Maybe you’re trying to say that the wives of obsessed artists are doomed to become collateral damage. Your films make us think, Karthik, so thank you for that.
All your stories have at their centre a filmmaker, or at least (in the case of your first film, Pizza) a storyteller. And through them, we seem to hear your voice. “Works of art should not be in places where they are not respected.” “Namma padam pesanum, naama pesa koodadhu.” You compare masala movies to a massage with a happy ending. (I laughed, but please don’t judge me when I say I rather like massages with happy endings – I refer to masala movies, of course.) We even get a line of dialogue about Dolby Atmos. (What will the B/C-centre audience make of this, Karthik? But then you don’t really give a shit, do you? More power to you.) And you like your insider jokes. That crass, egoistic producer who does not care about art – he reminded me of the crass producer from your earlier film, Jigarthanda. You like Rajinikanth too. You referenced Thillu Mullu in Pizza, Thalapathi in Jigarthanda, and now you have Arul singing Malayala karayoram, Michael singing Oorai therinjikitten.
Or is that more of an Ilayaraja homage? You like to keep the audience guessing, right? When the Bobby Simha character in Jigarthanda said he was a Shankar-Ganesh fan, it appeared that you were mocking the endless Ilayaraja nods in Tamil cinema, but here you are, doffing your hat to the maestro. “Raja Raja dhaan.” Arul says this… twice. (By the way, which is that nightclub which plays Maanguyile poonguyile? Do let us know.) And the reuse of Unnai thaane – first in a scene between Michael and Malarvizhi; later in a scene between Michael and Ponni – is the kind of Easter egg we come to your films for. Let me list some others, though I’ll probably need to watch the film a second (or third) time to get them all. The name of the bachelors’ quarters is Ambal Mansion – it goes with your theme and title. I didn’t get the bit about the windmills (something connected to the gust of wind that makes the row of cycles fall over in the first scene?), or why you showcased the book of Shanta Shishunala Sharif’s poems. (I confess. I Googled up that name. I can’t remember the last time a Tamil film made me Google something up. Madras, maybe.) And despite your note at the beginning that Iraivi is inspired by the works of K Balachander (he made female-centric films, but I don’t know if I’d call them feminist films), this is really more of an ode to Mani Ratnam, isn’t it? Specifically, Aayidha Ezhuthu. The three men, one of them – the impulsive one – named Michael. The film starting out as Arul’s story, then becoming Michael’s story, and finally Jagan’s (Bobby Simha) story. The finale with the woman on the train. Plus, the arc of the Madhavan-Meera Jasmine plot was essentially about being easily misled (in the case of the man) and becoming collateral damage (in the case of the woman.) And yes, the rain. All that rain. As though the skies were weeping for these women.
Am I digressing, Karthik? If I am, I’m just following your style, which is the opposite of simple and linear. As a result, I find your films longer than they need to be. (You may feel the same about my reviews.) For instance, I did not care for the scene in the nightclub where a director is felicitated. I realise it was there as a last straw for Yazhini, but it felt redundant. But I suppose they couldn’t be any other way, because you like these shaggy-dog stories that you then embellish with novelistic detail. I love the way you introduce your characters, the time you take with them. Our films lay out characters and their relationship to each other the minute we set eyes on them, but you make us wait to know how Arul is related to Jagan and where Michael fits in and so on. And when it appeared that a semblance of a plot was kicking in (something about Arul needing money to buy back his film), I dug out my phone and checked: it was a whole hour into the movie. Borrowing an image from Malarvizhi’s profession (oh wait, she’s an artist too; she’s literally an artist), it’s like daubs of paint slowly forming a bigger picture.
And you really like an expansive canvas. Not only does the crass producer have a brother, you also bring in his wife later on, to conclude a deal he began making. These segments practically form a mini-movie, with another woman left reeling by the actions of her man. Your films have this… density. They’re packed – with characters, with complications, with information doled out in bits and pieces. (A character says, “Un kitta onnu sollanum.” And instead of hearing what he has to say, we cut to someone else.) Take the scene where Michael asks Arul for money he is owed. You just need to get Michael to Arul’s antiques shop, so the next part of the plot can be staged. Arul could have told Michael to collect the money at the shop. Instead, this is what we get. Arul tells Michael to wait for a week, when he can get the 50 lakhs he is owed. Michael says he wants only 10 lakhs. Arul says he has only 8 lakhs, he’ll give the remainder later. Michael goes to Arul’s father, in the hospital. He has only 5 lakhs. And he directs Michael to the shop, to get the remaining 3 lakhs. Your signature intercutting adds to this texture, Karthik. Shots of Michael and Arul’s father in the hospital are intercut with shots of Arul hunting for booze. Shots of Michael and Jagan outside a courtroom are intercut with shots of Arul being consoled by his father. Happenings are stretched and meshed the way they would be in real life, and not compacted according to the page-per-minute requirement of screenplay-writing textbooks.
I could never predict where the film was going (win!), what these people were going to do (again, win!) –though I must admit I found this to be the weakest of your “twists.” The subplot about stealing sculptures, too, I found rather conceit-y, something half-heartedly cooked up to fit with the title and the theme, rather than something plausible, something these people would do. When Michael, here, commits murder, with a hammer, I went, “This mild-mannered chap? Really?” But then, even in Jigarthanda, I wasn’t quite convinced that the characters would do the things they did. They seemed to be puppets of a screenplay rather than credible human beings, whose actions evolve organically from who they are (or at least, who they seem to be).
But even if I am not convinced by the overall trajectory of your characters, I love how fleshed-out they are on a moment-to-moment basis. I loved the scene where Arul barges into Yazhini’s house, after their separation, on the day of her engagement to someone else. In a lesser film, she would have asked him to get out, and he’d have dug his heels in, and she’d have cooled down and… But here, she rushes straight into his arms. And you make us see why. She was frustrated, fed up with him. But she’s also confused. Was she hasty in abandoning this man? Should she move on with another man? Does she even need a man? With just this one scene, you’ve compensated for the underwritten heroine of Jigarthanda. The story arc may be Arul’s, but Yazhini registers as a fully formed character. Similarly, Michael’s arc allows for the delineation of Ponni and Malarvizhi, and through Jagan, we get glimpses of his mother, and possibly of all womanhood as viewed by a compassionate man. And then you say that women don’t need even this compassionate man (poor chap!), that they have to emancipate themselves instead of looking for a penis-wielding emancipator. What delicious irony, given that you begin the film with women talking about marriage, tying themselves to a man!
Or not, in the case of Malarvizhi, who is easily the film’s most interesting character. Her husband is dead, and she doesn’t want love anymore – only sex. When Michael buys her a diamond necklace, she gives it back to him – she can buy her own trinkets, thank you very much. But the character feels shoe-horned into the film, Karthik. I felt betrayed – and I bet she did too – that after a point, she was used simply as a plot device to get Michael and Ponni together, and also to illustrate Michael’s (who is now standing in for all of mankind) hypocrisy. I felt she deserved more. And yet, I appreciated your generosity in fleshing her out like all the others, without judging her. She gets to be the rare woman in Tamil cinema who dumps the man, and the way she lets go of Michael is echoed in the way Arul lets go of Yazhini, with a heavy heart and some playacting. A side effect of the Malarvizhi subplot is the reassurance that Vijay Sethupathi is still interested in making cinema, rather than just massy entertainers targeted at the box office.
Ponni gets a better deal (and Anjali is terrific, raw and expressive in a way she has never been). In a great scene – rather, a set of book-ending scenes – Michael tells Ponni that he was forced to marry her, and she’s going to have to “adjust” to this if she wants to be with him. Much later, she throws the “adjust” word back on his bearded face when he asks her if she slept with someone else. In a different kind of movie, we’d be invited to see this symmetry, stand up and applaud. But you’re too subtle for that, Karthik. Iraivi is your subtlest film. Which is why I winced at the melodramatic lines about men and women, most of which came towards the end. Aan, using the long-sounding vowel, versus penn, with the shorter one – for such a visual filmmaker (this is another outstandingly shot film, less showy than Jigarthanda and probably richer for that), do you really need the crutch of linguistic special effects from another era of filmmaking? Also, when the rest of your film is so allusive, isn’t there another way you can explain the twist without having a character resort to such an inelegant information dump?
And why is it that your films come together more in the head than in the heart? Why are they easier to admire than love wholeheartedly? I used to think it was because your characters are essentially deceitful, self-serving and unsympathetic, so though we were invested in what they did, we didn’t really warm up to them. But here, you have Ponni and Yazhini and Malarvizhi – and they’re still remote. But perhaps this is bound to happen when there are so many people, so many strands, when we don’t follow one person’s simplistic “you go, girl” journey like we do in, say, 36 Vayadhinile? But when the parts are so well-crafted, we don’t complain as much about their sum not adding up to a satisfying whole. I am sure that you will, one day, make that wholly satisfying film, but for now, thank you for these parts. Thank you for the ambition. I felt there were too many songs (some good work by Santhosh Narayanan), but thank you for ensuring that they don’t break character, the way songs usually do when a character speaking in his or her voice suddenly segues into the playback singer’s voice. Thank you for giving us SJ Surya, the actor – I never dreamed he had such a capacity to hold a scene, to hold the screen. Thank you for continuing not to sell out. Thank you for trying to do so much, even if not all of it needed to have been tried. And thank you for making me fight with myself, for not making it easy to decide if you’ve made a “good” film or a merely “okay” film. For now, Iraivi is a fascinating film, and that’s enough.
Sincerely, etc.

I wrote this as a comment originally in another sub, but I needed to rant more vocally and I felt like there’d be some sympathetic ears here.
I work at a gas station, and for some reason that translates into me not deserving nice things in America. I kinda had no idea how much our society fucking hates service workers till I started working here full-time back in January.
It’s honestly kind of fucked: half the people I work with have kids, and have worked here for years. I’m lucky in that I don’t have kids and am able to live with family for cheap rent, but this is very much not the norm at my place of work. We get paid on average between 17.50-19.50 an hour (in CA, where the cheapest rent you can find is a $1300/mo studio), we get to earn 4 PTO days a year (which are not guaranteed to be accepted when I request them, and no designated sick days), our hours are not guaranteed, we don’t have a retirement plan outside of the option to maybe put money into an IRA on our own initiative, and we can and will be let go even for basic mistakes at times (“right to work” my ass, fuck at-will employment). We technically have health insurance, but it’s both expensive and dogshit.
It’s crazy how little we learned from COVID too: if someone at my work gets sick, they usually have to come in. They can’t afford to miss a day, especially considering the CoL here in California. So, what happens is that one person (or their usually small children) will get sick, and then the rest of us also get sick and also have to come into work. Then we handle your food, your cash, your condoms, your cigarettes, your alcohol, and stand much less than 6 feet away from you at a register with no PPE provided.
During COVID, my co-workers (I was in college during COVID) had to come into work because they were ‘essential’. Yet, pretty much constantly we don’t get treated like we’re essential. Probably about 25ish percent of our customers treat us like fucking garbage. I’ve been screamed at before by customers for asking for ID (which is the law for selling tobacco/alcohol here), I’ve been screamed at for taking more than 30 seconds to get to a person in line, and I have had to do stuff that is not in my job description ranging from: administering first aid, playing therapist to people, car maintenance, sheltering people after severe car crashes when the highway patrol drops them off, scaring off meth-heads, and de-escalating potentially violent situations with drunk people who are pissed I can’t sell them alcohol at 3am on a Monday. Honestly, this job isn’t even that bad compared to many other places that employ service workers. If I go online and complain about any of this, I’ll have like, scores of people tell me, “well, you don’t work a real job, what do you expect?”
I’ve even had my own family tell me that my job isn’t a “real job”, and they’re not even assholes.
Personally, my response to anyone that tells me I don’t work a “real” job (and therefore don’t deserve things like a living wage or sick pay) is this: if you really think that, then try not getting gas, going to a grocery store, getting fast food, buying clothes, or any other service that requires service workers. Then tell me I don’t serve a necessary function in society, and don’t deserve benefits.
Edit: Don’t even get me started on our janitorial staff. The things those poor fuckers have to clean up in our restroom 3 times a day are fucking ludicrous. They get paid as much as I do, and have the same benefits. One of our janitors just finished her bachelor’s, and is currently getting her Master’s.
Edit 2: I have 4 associates degrees, and was one year away from finishing my double major at a T10 before I had to drop out due to medical reasons.
Edit 3: I just wanna share one of my co-worker’s experience, because it’s depressing as hell. She’s 26, and has two kids (6 and 2). She splits a small studio with her boyfriend. She works nights and watches the kids during the day, he works days and watches the kids at night. They both drive 40+ minutes to work, and need to upkeep two cars so that they can both get to their separate work spaces. She’s been so sick the last week that she’s hacking up mucus most of the day. She can’t take the day off, or she can’t make rent. She also cleans the coffee pots and other dishes, handles food, and is in close proximity to the rest of us. Naturally, everyone else in my workplace is now becoming sick (including me). The poor thing can wear a mask, but like… Jesus. This is fucking untenable. It’s shameful.

Hey, I have never made a reddit post, but I just heard some distressing news and I’m honestly distraught. I really need some real advice.
I (22/F) dated this guy Thomas (23/M - fake name) for 4 and a half years. We got together senior year of high school at age 17. Right after graduation his drug addict parents got them evicted (I heard his dad has gone through rehab now). My parents let him move in with us and he lived with me for a year. About 3 months after moving out (August 2020) we went on a break. He said that he needed time to work on himself and figure out his life as an individual taking care of himself. I understood but was really sad.
In October of 2020 we rekindled and started seeing each other again. It was then that our very close friend took his own life. It was very sad and we heavily leaned on each other through it all. We were hanging out all the time and sleeping together once a week or more. This turned into a long term on again, off again thing that honestly ruined my life.
For 2.5 years we did this dance. One of us would reach out, we would reconnect, we would date for a few months and then he would suddenly ghost me. I would be unable to reach him for weeks (sometimes up to 2 months at a time) until he would reach back out and start the cycle again. I honestly held on wayyyy too long because I loved him and thought he loved me too, but was just dealing with a lot of personal emotional issues. He told me all the time that he loved me and only wanted me. Thomas also came from real poverty and was very frugal. He never had money to go out because he was saving. He never took me out. Never bought me stuff or gifts. I understood and was alright with it.
Here comes the problem:
The last time we were “on again” was January 2023 until May 2023. I don’t have exact dates because I deleted our texts. All I know is I have a record of a facetime call on May 9th where we had phone sex. He ghosted me shortly after and I know because he was supposed to come to my college graduation on May 16th, but I hadn’t heard from him in days and gave the ticket to someone else. In August of 2023, some of his mail was delivered to my parent’s house and I dropped it on his porch with no message or interaction with him. On August 14, 2023 he texted me to thank me and wish me a belated happy birthday. On August 15th I got back to him and we chatted for a bit. He called and asked if we could talk about us. I figured the ‘cycle’ was starting again. August 16th I went to his place, we slept together, and he apologized for the way he had been treating me. He promised that he was ready to commit for real and that he wanted to be with me. He ghosted me the next day and I never heard from him again. I have text receipts for some of this.
I found out via a mutual friend that Thomas just reposted an instagram story from his new girlfriend, Sophia (20/F - fake name) where she’s celebrating their one year anniversary. Their date of relationship starting being May 10th, 2023. There’s pics of them all over her instagram- summer picnics, birthday brunch her took her on in late July 2023, extravagant gifts he buys her- EVERYTHING!
It’s seeming likely that he started seeing her last spring when he was seeing me (ghosted me in May when they got together) and then cheated on her with me when we reconnected in August. Now, I don’t know what to do. When they got together she was 19! So young! And she looks so innocent and sweet. I feel disgusting that he likely used me and hurt her. I don’t want to get involved because I want nothing to do with him, and I hate drama. BUT I feel like she deserves to know. Is there a way to do this and tell her without seeming like a jealous or revengeful ex?? I honestly don’t want him. I feel nothing but disgust for him. I just feel SO BAD for her. Do I message her??
I’m unsure because I am obviously really hurt by the whole situation. The relationship was VERY intense, and I don’t know what is me wanting to hurt him versus what is actually the right thing to do!
PLEASE ANY ADVICE WOULD BE HELPFUL!

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Hey, I have never made a reddit post, but I just heard some distressing news and I’m honestly distraught. I really need some real advice.
I (22/F) dated this guy Thomas (23/M - fake name) for 4 and a half years. We got together senior year of high school at age 17. Right after graduation his drug addict parents got them evicted (I heard his dad has gone through rehab now). My parents let him move in with us and he lived with me for a year. About 3 months after moving out (August 2020) we went on a break. He said that he needed time to work on himself and figure out his life as an individual taking care of himself. I understood but was really sad.
In October of 2020 we rekindled and started seeing each other again. It was then that our very close friend took his own life. It was very sad and we heavily leaned on each other through it all. We were hanging out all the time and sleeping together once a week or more. This turned into a long term on again, off again thing that honestly ruined my life.
For 2.5 years we did this dance. One of us would reach out, we would reconnect, we would date for a few months and then he would suddenly ghost me. I would be unable to reach him for weeks (sometimes up to 2 months at a time) until he would reach back out and start the cycle again. I honestly held on wayyyy too long because I loved him and thought he loved me too, but was just dealing with a lot of personal emotional issues. He told me all the time that he loved me and only wanted me. Thomas also came from real poverty and was very frugal. He never had money to go out because he was saving. He never took me out. Never bought me stuff or gifts. I understood and was alright with it.
Here comes the problem:
The last time we were “on again” was January 2023 until May 2023. I don’t have exact dates because I deleted our texts. All I know is I have a record of a facetime call on May 9th where we had phone sex. He ghosted me shortly after and I know because he was supposed to come to my college graduation on May 16th, but I hadn’t heard from him in days and gave the ticket to someone else. In August of 2023, some of his mail was delivered to my parent’s house and I dropped it on his porch with no message or interaction with him. On August 14, 2023 he texted me to thank me and wish me a belated happy birthday. On August 15th I got back to him and we chatted for a bit. He called and asked if we could talk about us. I figured the ‘cycle’ was starting again. August 16th I went to his place, we slept together, and he apologized for the way he had been treating me. He promised that he was ready to commit for real and that he wanted to be with me. He ghosted me the next day and I never heard from him again. I have text receipts for some of this.
I found out via a mutual friend that Thomas just reposted an instagram story from his new girlfriend, Sophia (20/F - fake name) where she’s celebrating their one year anniversary. Their date of relationship starting being May 10th, 2023. There’s pics of them all over her instagram- summer picnics, birthday brunch her took her on in late July 2023, extravagant gifts he buys her- EVERYTHING!
It’s seeming likely that he started seeing her last spring when he was seeing me (ghosted me in May when they got together) and then cheated on her with me when we reconnected in August. Now, I don’t know what to do. When they got together she was 19! So young! And she looks so innocent and sweet. I feel disgusting that he likely used me and hurt her. I don’t want to get involved because I want nothing to do with hm, and I hate drama. BUT I feel like she deserves to know. Is there a way to do this and tell her without seeming like a jealous or revengeful ex?? I honestly don’t want him. I feel nothing but disgust for him. I just feel SO BAD for her. Do I message her??
PLEASE ANY ADVICE WOULD BE HELPFUL!

Welcome to the thirty-sixth season of DK's Survivor.
For this season, 20 new contestants will be left to fend for themselves in the Aran Islands of Ireland, where they will face a brand-new twist in Ghost Island, giving them a chance to right the wrongs of past castaways.
In the end only one person will be left, and they will claim the title of sole survivor.
Season link: https://brantsteele.com/survivo36/r.php?c=FWrXAgyj
Caherard Tribe:

• Amadeus Artadi - 22 - Gymnast - Los Angeles, CA, USA - u/swoldow
• Ashley Dixa - 22 - Unemployed - Orlando, FL, USA - u/AshZomboy
• Darrick Timmings - 25 - Musician - Buffalo, NY, USA - u/SilverOwl24
• Georgia Powell - 28 - Nurse - Salt Lake City, UT, USA - u/Ripecornball60
• Jeremy Fox - 32 - Teacher - u/APurplePenguin_
• Lillian Gray - 27 - Event Planner - Boston, MA, USA - u/SilverOwl24
• Mateo Dunn - 55 - Former Child Star - Las Vegas, NV, USA - u/Ripecornball60
• Roger Lavoie - 67 - Construction Worker - Little Rock, AR, USA - u/Popular-Scientist648
• Sakura Chiba - 25 - Model - Las Vegas, NV, USA - u/BigTeddyBear20
• Trisha Brown - 31 - Novelist - u/ToastieGreep

Kilronan Tribe:

• Cameron Sheaffer - 27 - Fashion Designer - Statesville, NC, USA - u/Sxvorii
• Cecily Maga - 72 - Model - Los Angeles, CA, USA - u/AshZomboy
• Clint Moonshine - 46 - Club Owner / Retired Actor - Colorado Springs, CO, USA - u/swoldow
• Kisha Han - 24 - Tech Assistant - Reno, NV, USA - u/Sxvorii
• Layla Worthington - 26 - Event Coordinator - New York City, NY, USA - u/wordonthestreet2
• Mariano Puentes - 19 - High School Student - u/Nahuelfire39
• Miriam Wexon - 61 - Unemployed - u/ToastieGreep
• Noah Kaimana - 28 - Server - Honolulu, HI, USA - u/Technical_Mushroom12
• Rose Wheeler - 27 - Veterinarian - Camarillo, CA, USA - u/Technical_Mushroom12
• Steven Carr - 44 - Actor - Kettering, OH, USA - u/APurplePenguin_

Winner: _____Steven Carr_____
Runner-Up: _____Noah Kaimana_____
Second Runner-Up: _____Clint Moonshine_____
Fan Favorite: _____Mateo Dunn_____
Link to wiki page for the season: DK's Survivor: Ghost Island DKSurvivor Wiki Fandom
Quick thoughts:
This season turned out great in my opinion. It had several fun pre-merge and post-merge characters, and the Ghost Island twist ended up playing a significant role in multiple rounds. Overall, my favorite contestants were for sure Clint, Noah, and Steven. They controlled so many eliminations, and played very interesting games. Truthfully, I was disappointed that the final vote wasn't a bit closer, because while Steven absolutely played a winner worthy game, it's hard to ignore how well Noah and Clint did as well. Specifically, that double idol play by Clint was just so iconic lol. Either way, I'm still happy with how everything turned out. Super fun season.
Feel free to share your thoughts below. Stay tuned for the sign-ups for season 37!
Previous seasons:

• Honduras
• Indonesia
• The Everglades
• Morocco
• Greece
• Tonga
• All-Stars
• Palawan
• The Brazilian Highlands
• Mariana Islands
• Maldives
• Kenya
• Wild West
• Fiji
• Melanesia - Fans vs. Favorites
• China
• Peru
• Canada
• Mexico
• Heroes vs. Villains
• Grenada
• Redemption Island
• West Pacific
• One World
• Puerto Rico - Fans vs. Favorites
• The Caribbean
• Blood vs. Water
• Wallis and Futuna
• Thailand - Blood vs. Water
• Second Chance
• Australia
• Millennials vs. Gen-X
• India
• Game Changers - Nicobar Islands
• Ireland

In Vin's official word: VINFAST RECEIVED 27,649 DEPOSIT ORDERS FOR VF 3 CAR AFTER ONLY 66 HOURS OF OPENING - Vingroup (vingroup-net.translate.goog)
"Responding to the love and warm support of customers, Ms. Duong Thi Thu Trang - General Director of VinFast Vietnam market said: "The result of 27,649 car purchase applications after only 66 hours is proof of the Strong support and people's trust in Vietnamese auto brands."
Note the word: purchase application.
She did not use the word: reservation or order.
She carefully used the word "purchase application". That means not all have been paid. Lazy media will automatically replace "purchase applications" with "order" or "reservations" and hence does the dirty trick for Vuong Pham.
Many of these purchase applications, actually the vast majority of them, are online where people make a reservation but has some time, maybe 72 hours to wire the money or otherwise it will automatically be canceled. Think of buying an air ticket online. Same procedure.
Once you wire the money, it is non-refundable. But if you do not wire the money and hence cancel the "reservation", then there is no penalty.
Now, I wonder how many Vin employees are using this trick to pump the numbers?
Vinfast is sneakily to choose today to annouce that there is 27,649 "purchase applications". So they use a marketing trick to make the number appear larger than it should, and this is not a surprise, they have used marketing tricks many times in the past (2023 US sale figure is another example). Their statement is factually correct but there is nuance in it.
The actual money paid are likely to be less but how much less I don't know. May be only 50% paid. Maybe only 30% paid. Or 70% paid. Only Vinfast's accountants know this. But one thing I know for sure, it is not that 100% are paid.

Last spring I was already busy in preparing. Not only just tickets but also lots of items such as make-ups, clothes, and some weird stuff. They filled my suitcase. I spent some money on skin-care items and beauty salons as well.
On the other hand, this year all I did was to wonder if I buy the double cheery colored necklace. When I told you that it showed my expectation, I hope you were not unhappy but understood my doubtful smile on the pitch of the movie Major Tom in Alternative Universe 2.
It was OK for me that our first and last movie failed to launch. In hindsight, I enjoyed all the making processes and did well. Writing a script, practicing performance, preparing equipment. Never filming, though.
I thank you for inviting me on that summer short movie. I looked at my photos and found I looked younger. (I know you don't believe it or you can't imagine how I could look older than that. 😩) I went on a diet, did some exercise, bought a ridiculously expensive eye cream, had my hair cut with no discount. They were good, but I believe the youthful spirit that you fed me helped a lot. You kept pouring your energy on me all these years. Maybe I helped you, too, traveling back to the past where we once belonged without feeling nostalgia.
I played well a role of an almost Cinderella. Well, then, did you expect me to want it again? If you had seen things in my suitcase, you wouldn't ask. Lots of props, unused. (Or did you see them? Later I found you knew that I brought a white summer dress with me. I didn't wear it at all. That's why I suspect you are either a stalker, a hacker or a clairvoyant. :)
You are like Peter Pan and doesn't care how cruel time is. When a new spring has come, however, I didn't think I could perform the same Bibbidi-Bobbidi boo magic.
I forgot that today's topic was a necklace. I bought some silver stuff when I was young, but I rarely buy jewelries by myself. Last summer I thought I needed a real one. Since I am old, I decided to buy gold, not silver. I just didn't know how expensive it was 😢. (It was not even gold but yellow gold.) I ordered it online. I was so shocked to see how small the diamond was. My daughter guessed the price at $1. I agreed with her. It felt like it was telling my fate... Still thank you for noticing the tiniest diamond. Now I don't know where it is anymore.
I don't think I can do this farce again.
This spring all I did was checking that pink zircon necklace every time I passed the shop. It was an outlet item and even much cheaper. Thought it represented my attitude this year and felt sad. I wanted it quite a while but hesitated to have it when I thought about the meaning of the action.
I will tell you a good and a bad news. First, I finally bought it when the cherry blossoms were already gone!! I wondered if this would be a good re-start of my story writing this year. Second, it is too pink, too Barbie, which means too young for me.... I like the hue, but I should've chosen sakura color, not double cherry. I really wanted it and maybe I still....
Mr. Fortune Teller, what does this means?
Recently I started to check clothes again. Warmer ones. Gloves. Jackets. "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo"? Nah.
Remember I always carried a ticket, some money for one drink, OK, maybe a phone nowadays with me. No bag, no sack, either. No suitcase, ofc.
Whatever comes in the future, I will travel lightly this time. Maybe I will see you again like the daughter of the air as I always wish to be.
S.

PRC FAQs - https://www.prc.gov.ph/prc-frequently-asked-questions
Congratulations on your Oath taking ceremony! Next agenda is your initial registration with the PRC.

Disclaimer

This post is based on my personal experience and thus, your mileage may vary.

How to register online?

1. Sign in to your LERIS (https://online.prc.gov.ph/) account.
2. Go to `Select Transaction`
3. Select the `Initial Registration` tab.
4. Input your profession and application number (from NOA).
5. Choose a PRC venue (don't forget to scroll down the list).
6. Choose your preferred schedule.
7. Arrive at the selected venue at least 30 minutes before your actual appointment time since you still have to fall in line.

What are the requirements for initial registration?

1. Printed Oath form
2. Two (2) passport size pictures in white background and full name tag
3. Two (2) documentary stamps - This is available in the PRC branch, though availability may vary.
4. Community Tax Certificate or *Cedula* - you can get this from your city/municipality hall.

How much is the registration fee for successful examinees?

The fees for initial registration are as follows:
For examinations requiring baccalaureate degrees:

Initial registration fee - ₱600.00
Annual renewal fee - ₱450.00
Total ₱1,050.00

How long does it take for a professional to claim the Certificate of Registration (COR) and Professional Identification Card (PIC)?

• Actual lengths may vary per branch, but in my experience, the PIC will be released on the same day after completion of the initial registration.
  
• COR will be released within a month after initial registration, your PRC branch will provide a contact number and email address for follow-up and updates.
  

What is the procedure if a registrant was not able to attend the scheduled mass oath taking?

A registrant who cannot or has failed to attend the scheduled mass oath taking may request for a special/individual oath taking to the Board concerned. The request must cite the reasons for his/her failure to attend the mass oath taking.

• Basically, you need to register and complete the E-oathtaking via LERIS first.

Are Professional Identification Cards subject to expiration?

Professional Identification Cards have a validity period of three (3) years for all professions and are renewable during the birth month of the professional.

Additional tips:

1. It's prudent to make digital backups of your important documents, there are printing services within the vicinity of PRC branches and it'll save you the hassle of returning home and fetching your documents if you forget to bring them.
2. Documentary stamps prices vary depending on where you buy them ranging from ₱30 to ₱50.

Posts/Inquiries about the initial registration should be posted in this thread, posts in the TNPLE subreddit that violates the subreddit rules will be removed. Thank you.

Odd question, but I feel the need to ask it. My attorney strongly believes in my SSDI case, I have a ton of doctors that back it up with very detailed paperwork, test results, scans, etc. It's enough to the point where I had an injury at work and can't do any of my previous jobs before. I had ongoing work restrictions from a spine doc before. I also have postural limitations and a bunch of conditions going on at once to where basically Sedentary work isn't possible due to the unpredictable nature of the conditions, days I'd miss from work, down time where I'd need breaks throughout the day, etc. So we are very confident and I have a top attorney known for being among the best.
I'm not going to post the exact number for obvious reasons, but let's say that I generally have $50K+ of expected back pay stretching back a few years. My parent has been very helpful for a lot of things, i.e. a place to live, buying stuff for me, helping me with bills in the meantime, etc. My plan is to give that back, but in the most helpful form of giving her the money to pay off her two credit cards. Doing that frees up hundreds of dollars of her own money in credit card payments each month that wouldn't be there. I'd estimate there's probably $8K or so among the two of her cards. From an SSA perspective, will they say something if I do a bank transfer from my bank account to hers? Obviously, her name will show up and is my same last name. Is there any hassle that I should expect from the SSA as far as doing that? Or is it better just to take out cash myself and give it to her to deposit into her account?
She's working part-time and gets widows benefits from her husband that passed decades ago. So technically she can keep drawing his until her full retirement age from what I understand. Will giving cash to her affect her benefits for that month? My understanding is that work-wise she can't make more than like $1,700 a month. Does money deposited into her account from a transfer or via cash cause her to exceed that amount? She gets something like $1,100 or $1,200 a month in widow's benefits. She's 66 and I think her full retirement age might be in x months at like the 66 and 7 or 8 months mark. I don't remember for sure. She was born in '58.
Alternatively, should I just call up her credit card company and ask to pay her balance on each card via my debit card, essentially? Is that a better way? I don't feel that the SSA takes into account the people that help us while we're struggling along in the waiting process and I feel for some reason that they might be a jerk about account transfers because they want us to "use the money for ourselves". She has outed a lot of money for me for doc visits and lots of stuff. It's fair and I have no issue with repaying and helping her in return. Suggestions? My case is such to where we have a general idea of what's wrong with me. Once we do x procedure in the future (can't afford it presently until disability approval) and see if that works (if not, x other procedure(s) will be performed until it does help), I might be be able to eventually goal back to work. Which is of course the goal, I've been out for a few years now. So in that sense, I won't be using all of that back pay money to "live on" in the sense of someone who is say...permanently disabled and can't go back to work period. Granted, the procedures are quite expensive, but I'll also instantly qualify for Medicare upon Disability approval. So there is an end game and I'm not looking for just blow all money, but this particular thing is necessary to give back to the one who helped me. I don't want to screw myself or her over with the SSA.
Suggestions on how to do this the 'right' way?

Written 5/8/2024- updates attached below

I tried posting this on kendrick almost a week ago and it got no response, I messaged the mods to ask about Karma restrictions or account age requirements and they never replied. I made a new account and it was the same issue, but I found out last night I wasn’t fully banned, so I figured I’d throw it up and see if anyone finds it valuable. It’s written for people who have no prior knowledge of the rap game/music business. I don’t have to go as hard on obscuring names this time. One of the influencers I mentioned in my last post is known for doxxing and threatening violence against people who mention the many contradictions in their stories. (Sorry for any typos/mistakes I want to go to bed.)
Origins
I believe the current Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef is either completely or partially fabricated by certain industry leaders or the parties involved in an effort to distract from something bigger going down behind the scenes. If you were an influential label owner facing major accusations, and you needed to deflect media attention from yourself, recreating one of the most defining moments in rap history during the social media era would be a way to do it. It also wouldn’t hurt that two of the biggest rappers in the world were already sending shots at each other in their music for years prior. The public consensus is they are simply two famous rappers who hate each other and fighting over the spot for the top like in the 90’s. Only people who were directly involved could paint a more cohesive picture of the whole story. Even when all the cards drop, there is a good chance the average person won’t be able to find direct sources on their own and will continue to support their favorite artists and dismiss any evidence of their crimes like the drizzy subreddit or Ak fans.

As I said the beef between Kendrick and Drake has been brewing in the background for years, with both rappers sending shots and sneak dissing each other over the course of at least 8 years. The most agreed upon origin story is the first diss was the 2016 Big Sean and Kendrick collaboration, “Control,” and Drake responded with, “The Language”. Things stayed relatively lighthearted for a while and both were intentionally vague for many years. Before I go deep into the Kendrick and Drake stuff, it’s really important to examine some of Drake’s prior beefs because they add a ton of context to my theory. In my opinion Kendrick and Co. started scheming all of this some time around Mid 2020-Mid 2022, well after the whole Pusha T beef had transitioned into the Kanye beef.

What exactly started the beef is debatable, but at the time many attributed it to rumors of Drake pursuing Ye’s ex Amber Rose. Unfortunately the timeline isn’t 100 percent clear, and if I included every detail this would be at least 200+ pages so I’ll stick with the important stuff. The ultimate outcome of the Pusha T battle in 2018 was the revelation of Drake’s son Adidon that he had previously been hiding from the world along with getting Ye directly involved in the beef.

Here are some more examples of Drake antagonizing Ye and of him trying to use women as pawns to get material for his diss tracks. The Drake line, “Yeah, I probably go link to Yeezy, I need me some Jesus, but as soon as I start confessin' my sins, he wouldn't believe us," could be a reference to sleeping with Kim Kardashian, trying to double down on his threats to harm him or his family, or it could be a double entendre. Another example is using the name Kiki in another song, which was apparently one of Kim’s nicknames. Some other possible examples include the theories he may have tried the same thing with Kendrick’s wife Whitney around 2020-2021 in an attempt to use as ammo against Kendrick, which I’ll go into later. I don’t listen to much of either artist's music, but there are probably many of other examples in Drake’s catalogue that I’m leaving out. There is also his song Omerta released in 2019, which I'll go into below.

“Your baby mother call me when she lonely My tailor see me twice a week, he like my homie Forever grateful, forever thankful Diamond necklace, but she wears it on her ankle”

(Probably referring to Kim Kardashian since she had a few pictures with her wearing diamond ankle bracelets and was trying to make it into a trend.

“I plan to buy your most personal belongings when they up for auction”

(There were various rumors floating around for a while that Drake was blackmailing Ye with something and he was fighting to keep it from the public. I thought about it and this line might be referencing a sex tape with Kim or her little sister who me was very touch before she turned 18. In 2022 there was a whole storyline on Kim’s show where Ye flies to LA to prevent her second sex tape from being released.)

West Hollywood, know my presence is menacing
Cosa Nostra, shady dealings
Racketeering, the syndicate got they hand in plenty things The things that we've done to protect the name are unsettling But no regrets, though, the name'll echo Years later, none greater
Death to a coward and a traitor, that's just in my nature, yeah
(Drake and Ye both frequented the Delilah Nightclub located in West Hollywood and lived closeby on the same street for a while.)
"I don't carry cash 'cause the money is digital
It's the American Expresser, the debt collector"

(Sounds a lot more like it could be crypto to launder or send large amounts of ill gotten gains. It started becoming mainstream around them)

"Last year, niggas really feel like they rode on me
Last year, niggas got hot 'cause they told on me
I'm 'bout to call the bluff of anybody the fold on me"

These lines stood out because they could be referring to Ye telling the public about Drake's alleged threats a couple months before the songs release. This happened not long after the release of Sicko mode which was towards the end of 2018 as well. Ye was discussing the incident on Twitter and reached out to Drake and Travis to talk to him in private. In the next set of tweets Kanye publicly accused Drake of threatening him and his family in a major way. Surprisingly Ye seemed genuinely scared and amongst his, “crazy rants,” some of the stuff he said makes a ton of sense in hindsight. This also the beginning of his second serious public struggles with Bipolar disorder after being committed in 2016 shortly after an on stage rant where he calls out Jay Z for selling out and says he's afraid he might kill him.. As someone who shares the same diagnosis, I have a pretty good understanding of mania and psychosis and firmly believe that it's important not to write people off right away due to their mental illness. Some of my most thoughtful, creative, and productive periods were inspired by mania. Industry bigwigs have also been using mental illness to discredit influential black celebrities and visionaries going back decades, but it really picked up in the 80’s.

Dave Chappelle has gone into this a lot in the past and claims he experienced something similar before he quit show business and dipped to Africa. Their stories have a lot of interesting parallels if you’re familiar or curious. I remember he actually visited Ye at his house in Wyoming after he was reported to have had a, "mental breakdown," during his presidential run in 2020 thus marking his third breakown in six years.. The reason I put it in quotes is because it happened right after he publicly accused Kim of cheating and delivered his legendary speech on abortion. Dave went as far as going on live tv and telling the public he wasn’t crazy, he was just really struggling because he was the only one at the time fighting against the narrative, which can often be a suicide mission or a ticket to obscurity. These are three examples of someone speaking up and being deemed crazy, two years later came the nazi stuff and I'm sure we'll have plenty in store for 2024.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the very common pattern of artists dying or having their careers destroyed either after they try to leave their label or threaten to reveal industry secrets. A few more interesting industry connections I made in my research include the connections between:

T.U.G. records and J Cole's independent label Dreamville are both managed by Interscope Records, whose parent company is Universal Music Group.

Universal Music Group also hac Drake's label OvO label as well as Ye and Kendrick's old labels on their roster before they left to form their own independent labels in 2022 (around the same time the disses between Kendrick and Drake started escalating). Finally Bad Boy Records, which is owned by Diddy, and Motown Records who own Diddy's other R&B label Love Records, are also both owned by Universal. This means every label I mention is currently or was previously owned by Universal Music Group.

Ye tried for years to get out of his contract with Defjam, which happens to be ran by Jay Z who is known to be a close associate of Diddy. Jay would always used his money and power to fight against it. Ye even spoke out publicly on a few occasions, including when he said Jay Z was trying to kill him during one of his concerts. My theory is after years of getting nowhere and having his reputation skewered, in 2022 Ye finally said, "Fuck it," and dropped all the anti- Semetic stuff intentionally in a successful attempt to force his label to into using their morality clause, which requires labels to drop an artist if they're accused of any major controversy that could hurt the label’s profits. For the fourth time in four years the media reported he was having a breakdown. Even though they tried to punish him by cutting off all of his sources of income and freezing his accounts he still managed to bounce back pretty quickly. It was often reported how much he was losing, but it rarely discussed how he still was filthy rich in spite of the retrictions. His label wanted to discourage other artists from trying the same thing. My theory is he might have bought Kim or Kylie's alleged sex tape and used it for his own leverage. For Kendrick, his transition to his independent label ApLang went a lot smoother, but he had to split ownership of his new label with the previous manager owner Dave Free. Sadly it's still difficult for new or more niche artists to establish themselves without the some help.

He may be a lot of things but Ye isn’t dumb just because he has a mood disorder and the guys at the top know this, which is why I think he has really played up his diagnosis when it benefitted him. He’s still one of the most talented musicians in the game and I really think he sees his bipolar like a superpower as he says. It’s like his own invisibility cloak. He can go off his meds for a little, make an album after staying up for 72 hours, go on a “psychotic” twitter rant dropping facts throughout, then start up again once he makes enough news headlines. I think it’s worth noting the first divorce rumors in 2020 coincided with Ye’s abortion speech during his presidential run and the cheating accusations. that led to him dropping out and moving to Wyoming, and a couple months ago in February 2024 he was committed again.

The point I’m making is bipolar is complex, but pretty manageable especially if you have a ton of money to find meds that work for you and a good doctor and can keep substance abuse and stress at a manageable level. I think Ye is smart enough to know this, but it’s just safer for him to really play up the mental issues in the media. He’s proven he can literally say whatever he wants after getting cancelled and the average person is just going to write it off as psycho babble. While bias in health care is a sad fact of society, if you can use it to your advantage I say go for it. It might’ve just kept the microscope off of him long enough to plan his attack.

Ye v. Drake: Quotes of 2018
(Start of the beef, drake threats, and suspicion towards Kardashian family. )

“ It’s not about rap. It’s about family. We have to be close as a family and never let these people infiltrate just for radio spins”

“We need to show the world that people can talk without people ending up dead or in jail.”

”This is a man speaking to a man that has been placed in the program to fuck with Kanye West head and set me up“

”See when you care about your family you don’t let no man push you to do nothing that could risk your freedom“

These first four tweets by Ye were all in reference to perceived threats made by Drake after their beef escalated circa 2018. He began speaking on the industry and talking more about his psych hospital commitment two years prior and how he thought they were going to kill him. It's pretty obvious how the whole thing was planned by the sketchy doctor who called it in and his physical trainer who has a ton of connections to weird shit involving his celebrity clients.

I found interesting that Ye might not have been the first major league rapper whose life Drake threatened. During a similar period of mental illness the up and coming rapper XXXtentacion accused Drake of stealing his flow and dissed him a few times. Not long after he made a post online saying if he dies, it was Drake who did it. There are tons of conspiracies online, but none of the evidence is strong enough to draw a definitive connection. Also while it maybe be coincidental, Kendrick’s latest album Mr Morale also painted the picture that Kendrick was dealing with some serious personal issues. Some lines throughout the album may have been used to bait Drake into escalating, but it wasn’t until The Weekend, Future, and Metro Booming dropped, “We Don’t Trust You,” then Drake and J. Cole dropped, “First Person Shooter,” which was followed a couple days later with, “Like That,” where Kendrick started the chain of events that has led us to today.

Kanye vs. Drake: Quotes of 2020

Summary: Ye runs for president and gets suppressed for saying what very well could be the truth and was immediately deemed insane by the media. Kim did a couple interviews and everything he said was immediatly false. There is almost guarenteed to be some sketchy shit going down revolving her and her family. Ye was absolutely terrified of her keeping the kids away from him and it seems like there are still efforts being made to this day to paint a certain image of him for ulterior motives.

Below are six more quotes from a fan taking a deep dive into his 2020 tweets courtesy of u/ thehatstore42069 on Yeezy
”NORTHY I AM GOING TO WAR AND PUTTING MY LIFE ON THE LINE AND IF I AM MURDERED DON’T EVER LET WHITE MEDIA TELL YOU I WASNT A GOOD MAN,” West, 43, wrote in the tweet, adding, “WHEN PEOPLE THREATEN TO TAKE YOU OUT OF MY LIFE JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU”

"I need a public apology from J Cole and Drake to start with immediately... I'm Nat Turner... I'm fighting for us."

"the utmost respect for all brothers" and said "we need to link and respect each other... no more dissing each other on labels we don't own"

"Ye is constantly trying to tell people that his family does not have his or his kids best interests at heart. He goes on to list others, linking them together with the thinking emoji. These people include rap artist Drake and Larsa Pippen, wife of Scottie Pippe. Kim K is goddaughter to Pippen's daughter, showing how close the families actually are. All of these families that associate with Ye through Kardashian connections, as well as Drake, have been accused of the same thing Kris has. EVERY SINGLE ONE of these people have mixed race children that are groomed from a young age to fuck around with celebrities so the parents can remain famous. Drake on numerous occasions has been accused of grooming girls and then getting handsy on their 18th birthday.”

“These labels want their artists to make them money and they dont care about anything else. When Kanye says things like this in an attempt to expose him, the first thing they wanna do is drug him up and put him back in the studio.”
“Righteous indignation is typically a reactive emotion of anger over mistreatment, insult, or malice of another. It is akin to what is called the sense of injustice. This is how they keep the black man down. Keep people outraged about trivial things and distract them from the real issues in the world. The real problems in the industry. If you tell people enough times that they are unequal or discriminated against they start to believe it. Drug them when they step out of line and toss them aside when the checks run out. Ye is realizing he is pawn in a bigger game, and now that he has all these roots in the game such as Yeezy or the Gap or his music, too many people cant risk (Afford) a Ye who speaks his mind.”
(End of quotes)

Amongst the twitter rant, Ye warned about the predatory nature of record deals and discussed trying to get out of his own deal, and said again how his life may be in danger if it wasn’t already and was doing anything he could to protect his kids. The most fascinating part to me though is the public call to arms he made to Drake, J Cole, and Kendrick on twitter. After inviting them to all link up, he said, “It’s time to get free, we will not argue amongst each other while some guy we don’t know in Europe is getting paid and putting that money in a hedge fund.” I believe if Ye was able to pull off this meeting, there is an ever so slight chance that all four artists might be working together to take down a greater enemy. Weirdly there have been times throughout the last couple years where these supposed enemies were photographed together being friendly or praise each other in interviews, then out of no where the disses would start flying again.

To wrap things up I want to share my a few of my theories about the Drake/Kanye beef

A. Everything is exactly as it seems and the beef is over. Ye let his mental illness ruin his life and career so Drake simply picked another target after Ye stopped putting out disses. All of these connections are just a coincidence and all of this was choreographed to boost Drake and Kendrick’s music sales and possibly distract people from the Diddy trial and possibly the complicated geopolitical issues currently facing the U.S.

C. There is also the possibility that all four rappers are in cahoots and Drake’s dirt isn’t as extreme as people are theorizing, at least in comparison to the rest of the business. This could explain why everything has played out like a movie and how they were able to predict each other’s moves so well. This could either mean they’re all just trying to boost their sales or they’re all trying to take down the “slave masters,” as Ye calls them, and change the dynamic of the music industry in favor of the artist.

D. They may be trying to help their friends in the industry who are being abused or in shitty contracts. I know a lot of famous rappers have done a lot of collaborations with Jhene Aiko and Anderson Paak, who were both signed to T.U.G. records which I mentioned above in the connections to Universal Music Group. Considering they are both frequent collaborators with all of the artists involved on both sides, it’s not unlikely they may have played some part in influencing the takedown.

T.U.G was started by Chris Stokes with his partner Ketrina Askew. Back in the early to mid 90’s were gaining popularity attracting lots of young up and coming talent. They often collaborated with Diddy and his associates. In the 2000’s Raz B from the boy band B2K claimed he was molested by Stokes and his friend Marques Houston, then quickly retracted his claims. Years later he came forward again and said we was bribed into silence and that the rest of the victims were bribed with hush money and had another singer corroborate his story and they came forward together to level the accusations. After some of his former B2K members made fun of him for his claims and accused it of being a shakedown, Raz B revealed Stokes and Houston had preyed a lot of the children associated with the label including at least one of the former bandmates and paid them off.

I thought it was worth noting that the second whistleblower named Quindon Tarver died young in a car crash after mentioning his abuse again a few years prior. He seems to have left the industry not long after the incidents occurred and has few credits to his name. To this day Raz B is still trying to get his justice, while Stokes and his partner Askew, who was also involved in the abuse are still running the label to this day. Askew also has a ton of lawsuits, accusing her of using shady tactics to try to foreclose on houses. (Don’t quote me if a lawyer wants to take a look just google her full name), and has been tied to a ton of LLCs, similar to Drake. This is a good example of a shitty record deal, but I'm sure they have countless other friends in the industry who have even worse. While they were never convicted even Chris Stokes' wife confirmed it to be true.

E. The theory I personally think fits the narrative best and is the most realistic conspiracy is that Kendrick and possibly J. Cole went to the meeting, but not Drake due to his close relationship with Lucian Grange, the president of Drake’s label. Silence often speaks louder than words and this could explain why Kendrick was so ruthless and put so much effort into finding dirt on Drake. Ye, Cole, and Kendrick co-writing would be like the rap allstar team and if J. Cole wasn’t involved, it would also answer the question of whether or not he baited Drake into the battle by asking him to feature. I don’t think Drake is really their primary target though, which would explain letting him off easy. Compared to his bosses and their bosses he’s a small fish. If you take the big guys down you stand a better chance of landing a bigger blow on their operation.

Another really interesting connection is Kendrick and Ye were both signed under Universal Music Group and they both got out of their deals around couple months apart in 2022. As we speak U.M.G’s CEO Lucian Grange, who is often acccused of giving Drake special treatment, is facing charges related to sex trafficking by no other than P Diddy. This could very well explain the timing of it all. The craziest timeline would be Diddy masterminding all of this and using his connections to get it done and all the allegations are bullshit. The guy does seem pretty confident all things considered and constantly posts himself in his Batman costume which could mean he’s a vigilante.

It seems like there's a slight religious angle as well. (Ye and Diddy are both very vocal advocates of Christianity and Drake and Lucian Grange are both Jewish.) Obviously this is a reach, but they’ve been saying rap music was specifically promoted by mostly white label owners in the 80’s to help in the ongoing effort to expedite the systematic oppression of those living in black neighborhoods and the destruction of their family systems. Apparently it was an intentional decision to heavily promote rappers that promoted the very things that were destroying their neighborhoods. (So people know I'm and atheist and have zero agenda, I just thought it was interesting, please stay away from anything antisemitic. War is wrong on both sides.)

*** If my favorite theory is true, there is a possibility the Kendrick and Ye are going after Drake due to their mutual disdain for him and because he’s got a ton of power to dominate the charts and hog the radio airtime like Meek Mill and OG Maco claimed years ago. Even him dropping a record the same day as you could really fuck your album sales up. I’m also sure some of the many rumors throughout the years have had a least some truth and he will most likely snitch to avoid cell block one. I think that Drake could have been instructed to instigate this whole mess in order to draw attention away from the UMG charges brought about by Diddy. Or on the other hand it could be that Kendrick, Ye, and possibly Cole, may have had intel that Drake was going to be involved in the Diddy trial and are just gonna let the receipts show themselves. It might not have been the original plan, but they’ve already accomplished their mission of humiliating him, assuring he couldn’t use his influence to slide through the cracks, and taking over the throne.

Please take everything I say with a grain of salt I have no connection to this world or lifestyle. Regardless I believe all of the knowledge above does a pretty solid job at painting a picture of what may have let up to this and what may have been the source.
——————————-
More details found the last couple days…

Drake and Diddy Connections+Coincidences

Drake- In the P Diddy wig video from 2016 he talks about going to party with Drake, Cash, and The Weeknd in Toronto. Drake is also one of Birdman’s protégées who is known for being a predator and is rumored to have used label artists to lure young women.

Travis Scott- Interview where he comes out and says Diddy tried to lure him. Still has a long history of associating with him, video of him running from Diddy, his connection to Ruby Rose while underage.

Tim Westwood- Diddy had connections with sex offender Tim Westwood who also inspired the Drake song, “Westwood”. They also both were victims of drive by shootings along with The Weekend and they were all facing some type of allegations.

T.I.- Also has been associate with Diddy through the years, in 2021 his kid died and 11 women can forward at the same time to accuse him and his wife of drugging and assaulting them. Clearly someone wanted to fuck his life up. Possibly due to him getting arrested so many times for wild shit and people wondering how he continued to get away with it shining a light on how powerful industry lawyers are. He also had recently talked about having a gynecologist check to see if his daughter is still a Virgin, which sounds like it could have been an industrty secret. Could have been because he worried about someone trying to take advantage of her to get to him? Regardless that shit is fucking insane.

50 Cent- Has been saying pretty much the same thing as Travis Scott and has trolled Diddy for most of his career. It came out that his wife was a sex worker who was possibly recruited Diddy to help ruin his career. It sort of worked, which raises the question if 50 Cent is the only victim.

Ray J- Him and his sister worked with T.U.G. records when they were very young. Chris Stokes in the nineties who had connections with Diddy. He has been involved in a lot of sex scandals and allegedly may have played a part in Whitney Houston's death. (Which is also allegedly connected to Michael Jackson's death and both were deemed suspicious and happened during their final tours when their masters (song rights), became more valuable than their lives. Sony Records and Tommy Motolla, who also abused Mariah Carey when she was trying to start her career. These are just a few of the alleged examples of labels taking out musicians when they were worth more dead, another is the signing of high risk artists and requiring them to get life insurance so they can profit beyond releasing all their posthumous records. Also the ever so common story of the rising star artist that die at 21 after their first album or two.

He also partied with Diddy in Vegas with along Floyd Mayweather and a bunch of other famous industry people and athletes.

Tory Lanez- Tons of blackmail, also was signed by Interscope under UMG. got sent to prison for ten years after trying to leave his label. Also history of SA and and other allegations of violence towards women.

French Montana- On Diddy's label, close with Rick and Khaled, tons of drug and sexual assault allegations, also dated a Kardashian. Generally grimy.

DJ Khaled- Diddy said he could get anything in Miami, either referring to drugs or women, could explain his connections and lack of any notable talent. (New update, he was one of the first to promote Chris Alvarez’s instagram not long after he turned 18).

Rick Ross- Diddy said some weird shit about him and licked his lips and kissed him at a show. Ross is also signed to Bad Boy under Diddy. He ended up getting involved in the current feud and spamming social media nonstop dissing and threatening Drake.

A lot of the back and forth was both of them threatening to release dirt on each other. One strange coincidence I found was Drake recently trolled Ross about the 20 million dollar renovation to his home on Star island, where Diddy is currently residing. It’s rumored back in the day that P Diddy was caught in a room full of rich guys on ecstasy possibly at the beginning stages of a gay orgy. Drake also mentioned in the same tweets about Rick Ross that Birdman owned a house on the island and asked Rick Ross why he didn’t help him out.

Considering Ross is so sketchy and Drake claims the house isn’t that big, that’s a ridiculous amount of money. He may be covering up evidence, or creating tunnels in his house to escape if shit pops off and Drake might know what’s good. Interestingly enough Ross is very close with French Montana and also signed to Bad. He said his beef was related to something involving French, and Drake’s tweet popped up the same day the info came out concerning the Chris Alvarez stuff.

The famous line from U.O.E.N.O.

Meek Mill- “OG Maco called himself defending his friend Quentin Miller by substantiating the ghostwriting claims and agreeing with Meek. He hit up Twitter saying, "Some of us been knew. Meek just put it in the air. Sucks to have to compete with 6 n****s and get compared to”

Meek mill also had a short beef with Drake, some disses included lines referring to TI’s homie pissing on Drake at the movie theater, which is also interesting considering the current case against him. He also dropped a line saying Diddy almost got a domestic charge when he smacked Drake, which could either be saying that Drake is like a woman, or saying he was Drake’s boyfriend/sugar daddy.
( If you made it to the end comment with the number 8)
I thought it was interesting how the beef just kind of disappeared and even Meek said it didn’t seem genuine. Considering the allegations against Meek in the Diddy trial, and his rumored affair with Kim contributing to ending Kanye’s marriage, Meek Mill definitely did some dirt on him.

“Niggas frauds I told the truth, don't ask me shit
All this industry fake enemy and rap shit”

“Money make a sucker that told look trill again”

One of the many chapters in Drake's history in which he is seen paying his way out of trouble and starting beefs randomly.
“Now when that shit went down with Chris, you wrote a check”
This line is referring to Chris brown beef, another beef that was lost to time. All I can remember off the top was someone throwing a champagne bottle at the other’s entourage.

Ty Dolla $ign- Huge feature artist, close with Ye. Grew up in the industry and talks about growing up on the road and being in the studio with his dad and Rick James who was should have already been in prison for life for dragging, torturing, and S assaulting multiple women and children throughout his career and was himself a victim of the industry. May be part of Ye's motivation, considering their recent close working relationship.
The end.
Courtesy of,
The Randomest Moniker

I went to a free market (like, a place to shop a bunch of small businesses) at SXSW 2023. You didn't need a badge to get in.
Something I bought there broke (my own clumsy fault), and I want to buy a replacement, but I don't have a business card from the vendor. I don't remember the name of the event, and I can't find a vendor lineup from it to save my life.
The details I remember: * It was in a very nice hotel in the downtown area of Austin, probably around 6th and Guadalupe * It was up an escalator, on the second floor, in a very large conference room * There was aura photography in one corner * There was a small coffee shop inside where you could buy drinks (a small vendor stand, though, not built in to the room) * It went for multiple days, and I went on a weekend, I think at the end of the festival / UT Austin spring break * The posters were bright and multicolored
If anyone remembers this event or knows what I might be able to search to find the info I would deeply appreciate it, thank you!

Throwaway account obviously. Hi, I (30M) have moved in the Netherlands and live together with my wife (30F) since 3 years now. The Netherlands has (generally) two types of housing: flats and terraced (three-stories) houses with a garden on the backyard.
When we arrived here, we found a flat to rent. Things were going great, we were living closeby other people in the same bulding, in the city center, so close to shops, etc.
One night, however, a stranger (probably drunk) ringed our bell at 2am. Obviously we didn't open the door, however we got scared since doors here don't have a peephole, so either you open the door or cannot see what's going on outside.
After that event we decided to buy a Ring doorbell, to ensure people would ring that and we could see who it was. My wife insisted we also buy the ring alarm system, so motion sensor, camera and door contact sensor. I protested, but she insisted it was making her feel safer to know she could always check on the house, or if we were sleeping that we could rapidly wake up thanks to the alarm going off because of some intruders/burglars, you name it.
After a while we moved in a bigger place, a terraced house, but unfortunately we found it in a small village, so now we don't live closeby the city center, and also the number of people living closeby is drastically reduced. Furthermore, this house is well insulated, so (almost) every noise that happens inside the house, if all windows are closed, hardly reaches our neighbors.
This pushed my wife to make us invest again in Ring equipment, buying motion and contact sensors for every room of the house with a window to the outside (easily reachable from the street). I thought it made sense to at least have a contact sensor, so if a window was opened, the entire alarm system could go off. Also burglars are a plausible scenario for terraced houses in this country, so I also wanted some protection.
However, I think that this (and the alarm system in general) was a mistake, since now my wife is really anxious. When we lay down in bed, she has to listen to "noises" that happen in the house; when she (obliviously) gets anxious from this activity, she starts opening the Ring app and check the cameras livestream feed.
We are starting to have fights, since to me it's ok to have an alarm system, but it's not ok to be afraid of something that is not there, or to force yourself listening to possible noises that could indicate a person being inside your house.
Often times I try to tackle her with logic, saying" if a person were to enter our house, the alarm would go off and we would know it, so that we could call the police", but she gets mad at me saying that she wants comfort, not logical solutions.
This has degraded two aspects of my life: social life and sleep. For the social life, I am now unable to leave my wife alone at home, because she gets anxious of "having to deal with possible break ins". This has prevented me to go back to my hometown because it's a "we go together or you don't go" situation, or also attending work dinners. For the friends part nothing has really changed, since moving here together has made us hang out with the same people. For the sleep, when she is scared in bed, or think something is happening, e.g. hears a noise, she wakes me up, and it's always a false alarm, so this makes me mad at her, and makes me sleep very badly in general (I'm also writing this post at 6AM with my alarm set at 8AM).
I really don't know how to tackle this situation, and I am afraid we entered a bad loop where security is and will never be enough, so we need buying more alarm stuff and being more paranoid about our surroundings.

So I've been discussing with a trans coworker, and he's helped me on the right direction for T (im still sorting out a ton of medical condition diagnosis so I'm def going to hold off on T for awhile ) but i plan on starting it eventually, but i don't know how to bring it up to my mom at all.
Now issue is... I've already like come out? But I haven't?? I don't know. My moms accepting but in a way where its like "i believe people can be trans... But I don't really believe you are." But she also says she'll love me no matter what and i know she would never kick me out of anything like that for being trans she's a very accepting person
But then also i haven't formally asked her to use different name and pronouns? I just kind of have been like "i feel like a boy" "how would you feel if i used a different name?" But i genuinely do not know how to ask her.
I'm not even springing this on her since I've dressed masc for like as long as i could dress myself (more masc in the recent years since I've gotten over my sensory issues with jeans) and if my mom ever buys me clothes it's always masculine.
i wear a binder, that SHE paid for. though i think she just thinks its a bra?? It said "trans, ftm, binder" in the listing lol.
When i was a little kid, like 11 i think? I told her about how i wanted to be a boy and back then she mentioned that we could maybe look into testosterone but only after i turn 18, so i feel like she's probably open to the idea?
Also shes seen the "he/him" pin on my work hat and just read it and said "so you're a "he/him now??" And i kinda just awkwardly sat there and it never came up again.
She also reallyyyyyy wanted daughters and was so happy to get 2 girls, so i dont know how to be like "haha so about that 2 daughters thing ..."
Tldr, I'm like out of the closet but not out of the closet?? Help?? (Please if anyones experienced this please lmk what you did 😭😭 this is perpetual awkwardness)

Pokemon Crystal Chronicles and Pokemon Amber Adventures
The two games are recreations of Pokemon Crystal and Pokemon Yellow. However, they have a lot of new content. Players can design their character and choose whether they want to play Amber and start in Kanto or play Crystal and start in Johto.
Pokemon Crystal Chronicles
In Crystal, you start your journey in New Bark Town. You will then Meet Professor Elm who will give you the choice of the 3 starters. You can do the main story side quests later during the game to get the other 2 starters. After leaving New bark Town, you will see Lugia flying through the Sky, this Pokemon will become available at the end of the game. After achieving your 8 gym badges and traveling to Kanto, you’ll receive a pikachu from Professor Oak. You can also do side quests to obtain the 3 Kanto starters.
Pokemon Amber Adventures
In Amber, you start your journey in Kanto where professor Oak will give you a pikachu. You can later get all 3 starters from the main story side quests. After leaving pallet Town you will see Ho-oh flying through the Sky, this Pokemon will become available at the end of the game. After achieving your 8 gym badges and traveling to Johto, Professor Elm will let you choose a starter, and then you can do these side quests to get the other 2 Johto starters.
New Game Mechanics
Gym leader Faulkner has discovered a new Pokemon Type which is the Bird type.
Another important new installment is the fact that players cannot receive trades with pokemon levels higher than their badge. Each badge grants a 5 level increase. After obtaining all 16 badges and defeating the elite 4, you are given a Master trainer license and can trade level 100 Pokemon Rookie, Novice, Ace, Elite, Master 0: 0 5: 25 9: 45 13: 65 E.F.:100 1: 5 6: 30 10: 50 14: 70 2: 10 7: 35 11: 55 15: 75 3: 15 8: 40 12: 60 16: 80 4: 20
Instead of there being only one linear story route, players can choose which paths they want to take and which gym leaders they want to battle.
Players have an energy bar which dictates how fast they walk, their ability to run, surf, fly, and ride a bike. Energy can be replenished by buying food. Players also have the option to rest till morning in pokemon centers to regain energy. Players can increase their max energy capacity simply by walking and climbing etc to gain experience. And can take on side quests to enhance their energy levels.
12 minutes of play time in real life is an hour in the game, so 1 minute in real life becomes 5 minutes in the game. A full 24 hour cycle in the game is only about 5 hours in real life. Some buildings and stores won’t be open during certain hours. This includes Gyms.
All Gyms and main NPC characters have their pokemon level up every 6 hours in the game, and up to 3 times a day. The full game takes on average, 80 hours, which in the game can be anywhere between 35 and 50 days. However, each of these trainers have a set cap. So by the time you reach the elite four, they will very likely have reached their cap levels. This new feature gives the players options to rush through the game at an easier difficulty, or grind through it slowly and enjoy the experience of a traditional harder RPG.
New Story
The story takes place almost 20 years after the adventures of Red & Blue and Gold & Silver. Almost all the iconic characters from the old games are now much older.
After you play through your first region, Kanto or Johto, you are asked to try and battle the pokemon league. Once you get there, you experience team rocket who is there to steal pokemon. In this part of the game, you have to lose. And after losing you are rushed to a poke center in the next region and are told that you need to collect more badges before you are ready to battle the elite four again.
Gym Pokemon in your first region will Cap at level 45. Gym Pokemon in your Second Region will Cap at 75
After getting the 8 badges from the other region, you are then able to battle the elite four and champion.
The elite 4 highest lvl Pokémon Caps are: 1: 76 2: 78 3: 80 4: 82 Champion: 85
After becoming the champion, you are then asked by professor Oak and Elm to go and explore the orange islands, which offers the chance to catch Pokemon from other regions, including legendaries. With the orange Islands explorable, the total Pokemon count goes to 370.
The final end battle is a double Battle Against Ethan And Red. They each have 4 Pokemon ranging from level 87 to 95.