Cute way to say im sorry to your boyfriend

Cigarettes and rebellion have always gone hand-in-hand, and in an age of cigarette packet-sized health warnings, now more than ever, smoking a fag says: 'I do not give a fuck.' But if Brandon Flowers is hoping to strike a seditious pose by sparking up at the start of the interview, it's not going according to plan. The Killers' frontman is on all fours rooting through the junk that carpets the anteroom at the band's rehearsal space. "Has anyone seen my lighter?" he asks, rocking back on his heels. The question hangs in the air while Brandon cocks his head, waiting for an answer like a meerkat listening for a predator. Twenty-five years old and with a delicate bone structure, there's something almost dainty about him. Receiving no response, he returns to his search. "Oh, Jeez," he sighs. "I had it just a minute ago."
It's a scene that emphatically does not suggest a rebel without a cause. The mess isn't helping. The Killers' HQ - an industrial unit sandwiched between a construction supplier and the offices of a housing development just off Dean Martin Drive in West Las Vegas - is ankle-deep in designer clothing. A Dior Homme suit lies crumpled by the door; there's a pile of shoes topped like a sundae by a pair of Marc Jacobs trainers; and anyone wishing to enter the shoebox room the band use as an office must negotiate a mountain of discarded jeans. Many items are identifiable as coming from the wardrobe of Hot Fuss, The Killers' hugely successful 2004 debut album - triple platinum in the UK with two weeks at Number One and five million sold worldwide. Look! There are the shirts, ties and suit jackets they wore when they thrilled Glastonbury 2005 with indie rock anthems Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me. That was the crowning moment of a two-and-a-half year tour that finally concluded in October of last year. It seems that after playing that final date in Miami, they returned to Vegas and shrugged off their image onto the floor of this bland white box.
Now a fine layer of dust covers the dead clothes. The Killers have no further use for white tuxedos on their second album, Sam's Town. Today, Brandon wears a black polo shirt, black pin-stripe waistcoat, black jeans and black boots. Where there used to be a layer of foundation, there is now a beard - an untrimmed beard at that. Dave Keuning (30, guitar), Mark Stoermer (29, bass) and Ronnie Vannucci (29, drums) all echo Brandon's black ensemble. Ronnie has added Aviator shades and a handlebar moustache for a dash of motorcycle cop, Dave's frizzy bubble of hair gives him a Marc Bolan-ish air, and there's something very teenage about Mark's scuffed Vans.
Short of walking around wearing sandwich boards saying, "Our new record is a bit heavier than the last one," The Killers couldn't hope to communicate that message more effectively. And they have gained some musical girth on Sam's Town. The pop hooks that made Hot Fuss so irresistible survive intact - see the ringing guitar riffs on first single When You Were Young - but there's a newfound punchiness, coupled with an epic sweep. The minor-to-major uplifts on Bones are fabulously dramatic, the coda to Why Do I Keep Counting? thrillingly intense. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen have been made. If they overstate the case a little, they are at leaset qualitatively accurate. The Killers are back and this time it's serious - they've got the bootlace ties to prove it.
"Hey, it says here that Springsteen's headlining Glastonbury next year," shouts Ronnie, who's flicking through the NME. He nods sagely at the page without looking up.
"Really?" asks Dave, nicknamed Crazy Dave on account of his alledgedly volatile nature.
"The Boss is headlining one night, we're playing second on the bill the next night and Kylie's headlining the Sunday," says Brandon, charging like a bull through Michael Eavis' as-yet-unannounced line-up with what subsequently proves to be a characteristic gaucheness.
But that lighter is proving elusive. This being America, none of the people hurrying to-and-fro prepping the world for the release of Sam's Town smokes. Manager Robert Reynolds - Bobby Rey to the band - barks into his mobile, booking his band onto eye-wateringly demanding tours. "We're going to make a lot of money," he cackles to himself before switching calls to make a series of stern pronouncements on legal matters. Dave, Mark and Ronnie disappear for a jam session. Artwork is approved, B-sides are decided on and schedules are hammered out.
"I can't find it," Brandon says, finally. But he's not going to be denied the opportunity to underline The Killers reinvention with a puff of smoke. "Let's go to the gas station. I'll have to buy one. It's too busy to talk here anyway."
+
Brandon's black (of course) Volkswagen Touraeg four-wheel drive is barrelling down West Flamingo Road into town. "I was a bell boy there," he says, pointing out of the driver's window at the stucco facade of the Gold Coast casino. "I was working there when we were signed."
Coming from Las Vegas, it is perhaps inevitable that casinos play a big part in The Killers' story; not only is Sam's Town named after one, it was recorded in one, too.
The band began writing songs while on the road with Hot Fuss, turning up early for soundchecks to run through new ideas. On a trip home to Vegas, George Maloof, a hotelier known for cultivating famous friends, invited them to record the album in the new studio he'd built at The Palms, his flagship hotel-cum-gambling den. When the tour finished in October 2005, they returned to Vegas and spent five month finessing the songs they'd sketched out on the road. Then, in February, they decampled to the third floor studio at The Palms and recorded Sam's Town over 11 weeks.
Producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) encouraged them to experiment. They overdubbed, fiddled with synthesizers and played with new equipment. It took them five weeks to get the backing vocals right. The band sang the harmonies, then double-tracked them four times. The end result recalls Queen wondering, "Is this is the real life? Is this just fantasy?" When Ronnie, a trained classical percussionist, brought some kettledrums down, eyebrows were raised; but the fabulously bombastic coda on Why Do I Keep Counting? vindicates his indulgence.
"That's kind of the Ben Hur of the album," he says. He's not wrong. Sam's Town is a record on an epic scale. "Yeah, it has drama," he continues. "But, at the same time, I think it's a little more exposed than Hot Fuss. It's a little more naked. Last time it was about a lot of fictional things." By "fictional", Ronnie means that Hot Fuss wore its predominantly British influences for all to see. Brandon's taste in music is rabidly Anglophile - he constantly references The Smiths, The Cure and Joy Division - and it showed. By contrast, Sam's Town is an unequivocally American record. The lyrical imagery is pure American dream - cars, girls, wide-open spaces and escaping to a better life. "We're burning down the highway skyline/On the back of a hurricane that started turning/When you were young," sings Brandon on When You Were Young. That's the basis of the Springsteen comparisons then, though the lack of pathos more closely recalls another blue-collar rocker from New Jersey - Jon Bon Jovi.
The phrase "this town" recurs throughout the album, and it's always receding into the distance as The Killers escape to a new life. "This town was made for passing through/I never did get along with everybody else," sings Brandon on This River Is Wild. On Read My Mind he "never really gave up on breaking out of this two-star town", while on the title track he offers something of an explanation: "Nobody ever had a dream round here."
"With the first record, there was this feeling that there was this world out there that we didn't know," says Mark later in the day. Before The Killers, he studied philosophy: now he's their quiet one. "We wanted to get out and away from this and be somewhere else. We hadn't had a lot of experience - hadn't travelled much - then we were gone for three years. We didn't sit down and say that we wanted to make a record about how we're glad to be home, but that's what happened naturally."
It's not an angsty record. The Killers have already escaped with Hot Fuss, and, having done so, they view the experience fondly now they're back. There's a mistiness to Brandon's eyes as he explains how the album got it's name.
"Sam's Town is a casino on the edge of Vegas," he says. "I grew up in Henderson, which is out on the way to the Hoover Dam. My mom and dad lived in a trailer park, and my dad used to hitchhike up and down Boulder Highway, which is the only way you could get to Vegas. Sam's Town was the first thing you saw on your way in to town. So, when you're driving down Boulder Highway from Henderson, I always thought you finally knew you were getting somewhere when you saw Sam's Town. It was kind of like a beacon."
"It's not a completely American album," contines Brandon. "We still have our English influence, but we're also from the Wild West. Somehow we've managed to unify all that on this album. it's just such a perfect resemblence of what we are."
At the petrol station, Brandon rummages through the glove box looking for change to buy a lighter. "This is a great album," he says, pointing at Highway Companion, the latest from iconic American rocker Tom Petty. "I've always been a big fan of his. He's such a great American artist."
Yes, Brandon: we get the point.
+
When Brandon finally lights his cigarette, he smokes it awkwardly, like a child mimicking something he's seen the grown-ups doing. However, when he cheerfully admits that, "I feel the same mentally as I did when I was 12," it's not a knowing nod to the fact that he sometimes behaves like a loveably precocious child, but a reference to an unusually comprehensive grounding in pop music at an early age.
When Brandon sings about "this town", he doesn't mean Las Vegas. He means Nephi, Utah or Henderson, Nevada, where he spent his childhood. His parents are Mormon and he is the youngest of six children. "I was a surprise," he says. "I've got a 42-year-old sister." If he was issues about his "surprise" status, he chooses to gloss over them. "It turned out perfect because my brother was a teenager when I was a kid," he says. "He would bring home things like Rattle And Hum by U2 and I would watch it. I remember he bought Live In Dallas by Morrissey. It was always him watching these things, or his door was shut and you'd hear The Head On The Door by The Cure blasting through the house and rattling the walls."
The Killers were formed when Brandon answered an advert Dave had placed in a local paper in late 2002. Dave cited Oasis as a big influence; Brandon had seen them play recently and responded; and, as Dave has said in previous interviews: "He was the only person to reply to my ad who wasn't a complete freak." However, the band was born in Brandon's brothers bedroom.
"His room was like a shrine," enthuses Brandon. "It was a holy place. I wish I could show you a picture of it. It was covered in posters. There'd be a big picture of Elvis wearing a bow tie that just said 'The Smiths' [the artwork for The Smiths 1987 single Shoplifters Of The World Unite]. You had The Cure wearing face paint [the artwork to The Cure's 1985 single In Between Days] - all that kind of stuff. I remember Morrissey being on the cover of the NME, with the halo [from 1985] - stuff like that. You just wanted to know about these people 'cause they were so cool. My brother seemed like such a cool person. But he was a teenager, so he wasn't going to be that nice to me, a kid."
Brandon was fascinated by his brother's collection of music, magazines and posters, but he was denied access to them - officially, at least. "I would sneak in," he says. "I knew he'd be angry if he found out, but I would go in as soon as he left the house." For a long time Brandon was too scared to actually play anything. "That didn't come 'til later. I just used to go in there because I liked it. Then I got to the point where I'd actually take a tape out and put it in. It took more guts to do that."
It was a life-changing moment. "I was ten and the first song I played was Sing Your Life by Morrissey. I remember dancing about to it."
The lyrics to Sing Your Life include the lines, "Sing your life/Just walk right up to the microphone/And name all the things that you love/All the things that you loathe." It's intriguing to wonder what Morrissey makes of the neophyte he inspired with these lines.
Eventually, Brandon inherited his brother's tape collection. "It was around the same time CDs started coming out in a big way. He started buying CDs and gave me his tapes. And that was it: it took off from there. I got a hundred of the best albums - all the New Order, all the Morrissey, all The Smiths, The Beatles. I started buying posters. I went to see The Cure in concert. It was just kind of a continuation of my brother. And it was nice because, though my parents were strict, they were already used to it from him. There was no, 'My dad doesn't understand me,' or any of that kind of stuff. My mum likes The Smiths."
Brandon was 13 and his favourite band was late-'70s/early-'80s American new wavers The Cars, and particularly their jaw-droppingly catchy 1979 single Just What I Needed.
"I wouldn't exist without that song," he says. "That was the one. I remember driving around with my mum when I was 13, and we're living in Nephi - a really small town - and I felt so cool when I put that song on. Like: 'I have something that none of these kids I'm going to middle school with tomorrow have.' That excitement is what music's about, isn't it? That's why I understand the mentality of people that don't like us because we've sold so many records. I used to like it when no one else knew about a band. So I get that - I do."
+
Brandon's first band was called Blush Response. It was never going to work out. Not because he refused to move to Los Angeles with them, but because he is utterly - comically - shameless. He's given to making outrageously boastful statements like: "It's not like the '60s, '70s and '80s now. There are only a few bands around that are really good, that just do it. I mean, there's what, five or six of us?"
For the record, in Brandon's estimation, those bands are Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, of course, The Killers.
"I don't want people to think I'm lumping myself with other people just to make us sound cool," he says. Really? It sort of sounds like you are. But he just steamrolls through it. "Yeah, but you know what I mean," he says, grinning at his own cheekiness. He's so disgracefully forward you can't help but laugh along with him - Oh you are awful, Brandon! But joking aside, The Killers are the most commercially successful of all the bands he mentions.
Later, back at the rehearsal space, the band run through Sam's Town at deafening volume in preparation for the forthcoming tour - first the US, then the world. The infectious, almost contagious, chorus of When You Were Young sounds fabulous, as do the U2-like guitars and Twin Peaks synths of Read My Mind. Meanwhile, Smile Like You Mean It and Somebody Told Me benefit from the newfound harder edge.
They somewhat heavy-handedly underline the new direction by playing Paranoid by Black Sabbath and Get It On by T Rex. That's the thing: The Killers are not a subtle band. Their songs are like a wet kiss from a girl who's a bit too drunk. They are big and brash, and not everyone loves them for it. Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me might go down as well at hip nightclubs as they do on the festival circuit, but the DJs play them with the same guilty look they wear when playing a pop record.
"I hate that," says Brandon. "Like writing a song you can hum somehow cheapens it? It makes me think of this quote by Morrissey. Everybody knows how he read Oscar Wilde, Keats and Yates when he was growing up and that he wanted to be a writer. He was talking to this journalist who asked why he hadn't become a writer, and Morrissey said: 'What I do is more powerful than what you do because I can write down these words and you get it to a melody. How can you beat that?' I'm of the same opinion. I don't understand why a good melody that's memorable is a bad thing."
Being dismissed as pop particular aggrieves Ronnie. "When we first came out we got compared to Duran Duran all the time. Jesus Christ! We got a keyboard player now all of a sudden he's Nick Rhodes! Come on!"
"The people who criticise us for being too poppy don't get it," agrees Mark. "I think that's the problem with a lot of rock music. People are afraid to write a song any more. Either that or they can't. And that attitude hurts music in general. The best bands ever have all written great songs. You can still do it and do it intelligently and it can be original. This isn't a studio creation with a producer writing these songs for us. We're not Avril Lavigne, or something like that. We're a real band writing real songs, just like a punk band would do, except that we write pop songs."
You get the impression that The Killers knack for showboating pop hooks that border on vulgar is inextricably tied up with the brazen side of Brandon's personality. But while his ebullient charisma, not to mention the songs themselves, mitigates his outrageousness, there is a less attractive side to his ego. He has a combative streak. He can't resist taking pot shots at emo bands, notably Fall Out Boy, whith whom The Killers share an A&R man.
Has he heard how many emo kids it takes to change a light bulb? "No." None. They just sit in the dark and cry. It's a full 30 seconds before he stops laughing. When he does he admits: "Yeah, we've had problems with other bands. You know, when you walk in the room it's like..." He whistles the theme to The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. "We're like gangs."
And while the other members of the band are diplomatic on the subject of Brandon, you don't have to read too deeply between the lines to conclude that there have been internal issues, too.
"Some people will think Brandon's the big genius," says Dave, visibly bridling. "There are songs, such as Why Do I Keep Counting?, where he's written every note. But there are others, like When You Were Young, that were more of a collaboration - like Mr Brightside, where I had some of the music and Brandon came up with the lyrics. We always have arguments about who wrote what. The truth is that we all help in that process."
When asked how success affected them, Ronnie says: "There were certain things that needed adjusting. When you're on tour for two years, people can get a little needy. It doesn't help that you're surrounded by yes men and everybody's working for you. At times we've had to say, 'Who do you think you are?' to people. No one wears the trousers, but some people would like to. I think if it wasn't for the people in the band kicking each other in the ass... Let's just say there was some ass-kickin'."
It doesn't take a genius to work out whose ass needed kicking most often.
+
It's the following day and The Killers are back at their rehearsal space. The topic of discussion is what to wear in the video for Bones, the second single. It's a big deal: the director is Tim Burton. "I feel like Frank Sinatra when I sing it," announces Brandon. "With maybe a little bit of Morrissey and a little bit of Elvis, too."
Of course he does. But if securing the services of Tim Burton tells you one thing, it's that The Killers are about to get even bigger, perhaps even make the leap to the same level as Coldplay et al. Already stars, they are about to become superstars. Brandon can hardly wait.
"Do you know that Rolling Stone didn't want to put us on the cover last time," he says indignantly. "They didn't think we were stars. We sold five million albums! What more do they want from a band?"
Whatever was required, Brandon would be happy to do most things. "I'll do stuff that some people don't want to do, 'cause I want people to hear the music," he says. However, even he has limits. "The Rolling Stone thing made the record label think: 'What can we do to make them stars?' If I go on vacation with my wife, do they have to send somebody to be there to take pictures of me? Is that how you become a star? I don't want that. I walked down the red carpet one time and I realised I don't like it. But you don't have to walk down the red carpet for people to hear your music. We do still have some of that indie blood running through our veins."
He heads off at a tangent: "When you walk around Liverpool, you think of The Beatles, or you go to Manchester and you think of The Smiths or Oasis. I want you to come to Las Vegas and think of Sam's Town. And I think we've started to capture that, which is a truer version of The Killers, 'cause that's where we're from."
He pauses.
"I used to live across the street from Sam's Town. Maybe it'll be like our Abbey Road where people go to take pictures."
Is that what he'd like?
"I wouldn't mind it," he says, desperately hoping it will come true.
He puts a cigarette between his lips, looks down at his trouser pockets and pats them in search of the lighter he bought yesterday.
"Hey, I don't suppose you've got one?"

One thing that I really enjoy when getting into stories is coming up with song compilations/playlists that remind of the work, the characters, and/or the ship (which I guess could be considered "fanwork" in some respect? But I was also considering the "appreciation" flair as well. Please let me know which is more fitting!). I have been working on creating some of these songlists for 188 couples, complete with sections of the lyrics which I think fit the best.
I recently finalised HanGu's first (more to come in the future), so I wanted to share it with the 188 subreddit in case anyone else was interested. Feel free to suggest other songs below as well!
Taeyeon - INVU
Falling in love
To you, I’m just an option
You and I were different from the beginning
Broken heart
Your missed mention
I’m used to it, yeah
"Don't lean"
"Don't even expect"
Even if I rеpeat it over and over
With your onе touch
Watching me collapse
How do you feel about it?
, no-no, no
I guess I lost my mind
Yeah, it's my kind of love (Love)
Like it's always the first time
It hurts me again since I'm so clumsy (It hurts me again since I'm so clumsy)
Before I get dull
Before I even get healed
I mess up my mind
So I can't love you
Even though I do
Even if I push you away
I can't beat you
Even I abandon myself
And lose myself more
The irony is that you shine more
It hurts but I can't stop it
So when you leave
Please make it easy
'Cause I-N-V-U
Hayley Reardon - Losing
And you walk on by with that stupid smile
And I’m trying to move on, but it’s not worth my while
‘Cause when I see your face, I lose all control
Why do I always have to play this desperate role?
‘Cause you love me then you don’t
You can have me and you won’t
Why are you so confusing?
It’s a never ending game, and what’s complicated is
I always end up losing
How am I supposed to know what you feel?
When it’s something that you won’t reveal
Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops
The sky is red tonight
We're on the edge tonight
No shooting star to guide us
So come and face me now
Here on the stage tonight
Let's leave the past behind us
Eye for an eye
Why tear each other apart?
Please tell me why
Why do we make it so hard?
Look at us now
We only got ourselves to blame
It's such a shame
How many times can we win and lose?
How many times can we break the rules between us?
Only teardrops
How many times do we have to fight?
How many times till we get it right between us?
Only teardrops
Svala - Paper
I can’t leave you
But you make me feel like
Paper
You cut right through
I’m stuck like glue to you
Paper
Your darkness pulls
I lose control again
Drawing every bit of my truth
Colour me in with your blue
Paper
You cut right through
A thousand words for you
Bebe Rexha & Louis Tomlinson - Back to You
I know you say you know me, know me well
But these days I don't even know myself, no
I thought I would own the way I felt, yeah
Oh, you stress me out, you kill me
You drag me down, you fuck me up
We're on the ground, we're screaming
I don't know how to make it stop
I love it, I hate it
And I can't take it
But I keep on coming back to you
Ellie Goulding - Something In the Way You Move
But this heart is open, bloodstain on my sleeve
When our eyes meet, I can only see the end
But tonight I'm here, yours again
There's something in the way you do
There's something in the way you
Push me closer, further
Break me just enough
Your lies always seem so true
There's nothing left for me to lose
There's not one thing I can do to change your ways
But I can't sit back and take the lonely days
When our eyes meet, I can only see the end
And tonight the rain pours again
But tonight I'm gonna lose it all
Playing with fire, I was the first to fall
Heart is sinking like a cannonball
Baby, kill it, what you waiting for?
Crusher-P - Thunderstorm
I have no place being here
No, not anymore
I should've run while I could
When it began to pour
The temperature drops at the sound of your name
Storm chasing is always a dangerous game
Like a tornado, you swept me off my feet
And like a blizzard, you chill every bone in me
I am left with nothing here
Empty handed in the rain
The people we once were got lost in the hurricane
I was the lightning
You were the sound that followed me
The storm is coming
Streets are flooding
But I can’t leave
I'd give anything for the eye of the storm
We were a natural disaster in the realest form
And all I've got left is the aching in my heart
And all I've got left is the rain coming down
Hard, hard, hard
Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
He said, "Let's get out of this town
Drive out of the city, away from the crowds"
I thought, "Heaven can't help me now"
Nothing lasts forever
But this is gonna take me down
He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad, but he does it so well
I can see the end as it begins
His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room
And his voice is a familiar sound
Nothin' lasts forever
But this is gettin' good now
He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad, but he does it so well
You'll see me in hindsight
Tangled up with you all night
Burnin' it down
Someday, when you leave me
I bet these memories
Follow you around
Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful
I've seen the world, done it all
Had my cake now
Diamonds, brilliant,
and Bel Air now
Hot summer nights, mid-July
When you and I were forever wild
The crazy days, city lights
The way you'd play with me like a child
I've seen the world, lit it up as my stage now
Channelling angels in the new age now
Hot summer days
, rock and roll
The way you'd play for me at your show
And all the ways I got to know
Your pretty face and electric soul
Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?
Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?
I know you will, I know you will, I know that you will
Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?
Adam Lambert - Better Than I Know Myself
Cold as ice
And more bitter than a December
Winter night
That's how I treated you
And I know that I
I sometimes tend to lose my temper
And I cross the line
But I could never
Leave your side
No matter what I say
'Cause if I wanted to go
I would've gone by now but
I really need you near me
Keep my mind off the edge
If I wanted to leave, I would've left by now
But you're the only one that knows me
Better than I know myself
All along
I tried to pretend it didn't matter
If I was alone
But deep down I know
If you were gone
For even a day, I wouldn't know which way to turn
'Cause I'm lost without you
You're the only thing in this world
I would die without
Marianas Trench - All To Myself
I don't patronise, I realise
I'm losing and this is my real life
I'm half asleep, and I am wide awake
This habit is always so hard to break
I don't wanna be the bad guy
I've been blaming myself and I think you know why
I'm killing time and time's killing you
Every way that I do
It's not enough, it's never enough
And I wish I could breathe without getting it stuck
Can't focus it, but I try it
Over and over again
Did you say, "Please just follow me?"
I thought you wanted me
'Cause I can't stay with someone else
I'll try and suck it up
I just keep fucking up
I want you all to myself
Did you say, "Please just follow me?"
I thought you wanted me
'Cause I want you all to myself
I can try and suck it up
I just can't suck it up
Make me feel like someone else
Selena Gomez & The Scene - Love You Like a Love Song
It's been said and done
Every beautiful thought's been already sung
And I guess right now, here's another one
So your melody will play on and on
With the best of 'em
You are beautiful
Like a dream come alive, incredible
A centrefold miracle, lyrical
You saved my life again
Constantly
Boy, you play through my mind like a symphony
There's no way to describe what you do to me
You just do to me what you do
And it feels like I've been rescued
I've been set free
I am hypnotised by your destiny
You are magical, lyrical, beautiful, you are
No one compares
You stand alone to every record I own
Music to my heart, that's what you are
A song that goes on and on
Selena Gomez & The Scene - A Year Without Rain
Can you feel me when I think about you?
With every breath I take
Every minute, no matter what I do
My world is an empty place
Like I've been wanderin' the desert for a thousand days
Don't know if it's a mirage, but I always see your face, baby
I'm missin' you so much
Can't help it, I'm in love
A day without you is like a year without rain
I need you by my side
Don't know how I'll survive
A day without you is like a year without rain

I believe the original problem said. You are given $1M dollars but a snail chases you for the rest of your life. The way I'm doing it is kinda... dumb. My plan is to limit myself to that million dollars so I can't just send it on the next space x flight. You may say "why would you do the challenge if you are going to spend all your money to just not die" 1 word immortality. With that said and done here is my WIP solution.

1. Snail into box of stainless steel
   
2. $30k first box. The box being a foot thick in all directions leaving 1 cubic foot for the snail in the middle - $970k left
   
3. $80k on the second box a foot apart from the first box (yes this is important) still a foot thick - $890k left
   
4. $655k on the third box. Again foot thick foot apart. - $235k left
   
5. $75k on half a foot thick (to save money) silcone rubber box directly outside the first box leaving a foot for a different material between the silcone rubber box and second stainless steal box.
   

I'm (18m) in a relationship with (18y) a beautiful girl since 5 months First of all let me clear everything 1. Before relationship she told me to tell my mom that we're coming into relationship so that in future there shouldn't be any problem, so I talked to my mom, first she disagreed but we came into relationship and after few time my mom talked to my gf and at that time my gf literally cried continuously bcs she was so happy after talking to my mom (now my whole family knows about her but no one from her family cuz currently she can't talk about it in her family)

1. She's a college crush of many boys so as a boyfriend I'm insecured, it's not like I don't trust her but she's in a different batch than mine and she have totally different group where there are boys and few girls, few of those boys likes her too (she knows that, but she's very friendly with them and it's okay I think) but she promised me if they'll propose her then she'll break friendship with that guy.

(She told me that she never had a relationship or dated someone except me)

1. She seriously told me not to talk about our relationship with anyone but I was literally so dumb that I revealed it to my few trustworthy friends, but main thing is that I never talked about this with any of her group friends clearly that I'm in relationship with her but someone told her that I revealed her (tbh I revealed it to my friends not her but once a mistake always a mistake I admit it), since then it's been almost 3 months we're not talking like how we used to be..

She used to call me everyday, asks for my time, gets upset if I reply lately (those were cute moments), now even if I say so she doesn't call me, we talk on call rarely, as our relationship is secret we can't meet in college even as just frnds too (otherwise everyone will doubt on us), i apologised her many times
From starting she told me she doesn't trust anyone but still she came into relationship with me and promised me to marry once we get older at the right time
Even after that revealing mistake I asked her if she still feels the same and wants to spend rest of the time with me and she agreed it ❤️
But she don't talk like how it used to be, the replies are dry, sometimes leaves my sent rom reels on seen, and for few days she behaves a bit good
It's like rollercoaster now, I told her that her this behaviour hurts me but she honestly said it's not me who's hurting you....it's yourself (yupp she's right as it was my mistake and I expect from her even after these things)
One thing is for sure SHE'S NEVER GONNA BREAKUP CUZ EVEN AFTER THIS SHE DIDN'T EVEN UTTER A WORD ABOUT BREAKUP it's just that I was blocked for 3 weeks on WhatsApp (and snapchat too) currently only blocked on snapchat (it doesn't matter much) so I talk on WhatsApp
I shared my family problems with her and she showed some care for me at that day but from next day it wasn't like that good part, it's like sometimes she replies nicely sometimes don't
I asked for a chance and said things like trust is build after giving time to each other is you won't give me time then how would you be able to trust me?
She lives to the next city (~23kms but I can visit her by my bike of she agrees) (but whenever I ask her to go out she says she don't want to, I tried to convince her but doesn't works....
I apologised and told her that I realised my mistake etc etc... she's still very upset in me (again she still wants to marry me and be with me despite the situations it's just that she doesn't talk like how we were used to )
I stopped texting her for few days and she got upset again (she was ignoring me that's why I stopped texting) she said that you promised to text me everyday still you didn't (it's like even if she don't wanna chat, she wants me to text her daily)
Question:- how can I gain ger trust? We can't spend quality time together it's hard for her to go out with me (she don't want to...), then does only chats help? What should I keep in my mind while texting her? Is there anyway to gain it on text ? How can I convince her to go out ? How much more time it'll take? Should I apologise her again and tell her to trust me again n again ?
I'm genuinely asking for the natural advice cuz I'm having hard time (ik it's age of living life and career but now I don't want step back neither she wants to step back it's that it's not how it was used to be and it's not as it was)

Hi 👋 I'm a white male (26), physically attractive (in shape, healthy, handsome face, etc.) Most women say I'm a 8-10 online. But when out in public it seems like women in their 20s just treat me like I'm scum, ignore me, avert their eyes from me, etc. Cashiers even seem rude to me. For instance recently a chick 24-27 was cashiering and I said "Hello" when I approached And I didn't say anything else. She said "hi" back. She scanned my item etc, and She cracked her neck and said "ow my neck." Then she looked over her shoulder and playfully waved to another girl coworker and smiling all giddy like. I said "thank you, have a good day" at the end and she practically rolled her eyes. She definitely widened them not directly looking at me, but speaking to me, and simultaneously said "Yeah.. you too." I get similar kind of interactions all the time that just come off cold from women around my age. I just don't understand it. I live in a liberal college town. Does anyone else experience this being an attractive, quiet/shy, white guy? Do you think women are intimidated by me because of my looks so they act like I'm not in their presence? Am I just way too quiet or shy so they think I don't like them? It used to not be like this at all like 5-8 years ago. Girls my age actually acknowledged me, looked at me, and showed interest. Sometimes I feel like young white guys are stereotyped to be creeps or something and that's how girls view me.
Am I overthinking all this? Please comment your honest opinion or experience on the matter if you want to.

I respect A's influence. He's right I wasn't slowplaying it, I was waiting for you. I can't take a leap on my own. If he's convinced that I'm all talk, like last time, how about he helps you prove it: you keep canceling and then saying I never follow through. All these relationships you were set up with that crashed and burned, perhaps you give me a chance to crash and burn too. Or at least tell you I love you, once.
I get that the other guy's friends are worried about his mental health, but settling for that is not living -- you're too special, your honor pristine, to burden yourself with something that unworthy as emotional blackmail. I know I'm not perfect, and my situation isn't ideal, but you're not a win for me, an achievement, you're a note, a scent, a vibe, a love.
You know what's greedy? stalling and sabotaging in the hopes that he'll be the only one left for you when you're tired. Taking multiple turns at bat to force incompatibility.
I appreciate that you clawed your way up into your apartment with the power of your clout and personality, and I would never ask you to sacrifice a thing for me. I would never exploit your position for my romantic gain. But, please give me a real chance soon. I can't leap if you won't entrust that beautiful smile to me alone for even one moment. How could you respect me otherwise.

I'm not just a white person, but a southern one. and I am so in board with Juneteeth in terms of what it celebrates. I believe it should be as big of a deal as memorial day. everyone should celebrate!
it's obvious why this holiday means so much to black people, and it should to everyone. but I mean it when I say it should be taken more seriously by everyone.
white people should be happy that black activists in the past got us where we are now (even though racism is unfortunately still rampant, it's a big step). we should also spend the day educating ourselves on our history, acknowledging it, and actively try to work past it. we should help struggling black communities in any way we can, and most importantly, BACK OFF and let other people have the spotlight for once.
all that said...
the name is dumb. I'm sorry. I don't fw the name, and googling it, it seems like the day Lincoln's emancipation proclamation is called "juneteenth" is just cuz it always has since slaves in Texas heard the good news.
wouldn't "emancipation day" or "liberation day" or "fuck plantation owners day" been better? the name "juneteenth" just sounds so... lame, and doesn't represent how important this day is in my white opinion (think of July 4th. "independence day" sounds like a big deal, has a punch to it.) i would love to hear from black redditors their take on this name, I think it deserves better but it also doesn't matter what I think.

21+ ! !
please message me with more than "hi, how are you?" + do not chat message me, send me a DM! it's so much easier for me since i use the app on my phone.
just your local girlfriend stealing, alternative, bisexual here. 👋 but you know what? let's set that aside for now (your girlfriend is safe for the moment) because i'm looking for friends that are as good to me as i am to others, which is apparently *harder than it should be. i am a genuinely kind, loving person even if my face says otherwise. oops. i have a severe case of resting sad face, so sorry.
i'm smitten with people who are weird but not weird enough to make others uncomfy, or unable to enjoy the weirdness, ya know? i know you know. i like people who are into things that others mostly aren't: tarot, astrology, deep conversations, things like that. i might not actively be participating in said things but i like hearing the perspective of people who are! my friends always joke that i'm the person people say "i can fix her!" about but uh, i'm awesome. i don't need fixed. ✨i will admit though, i hesitate about people a lot because while i do want a best friend -- mine have scorned me, so i need someone patient with me and understanding of that, please. please. i adore social connections but i do come with a social battery and it needs refilled. me needing that time does not negate the connection i have built with you and am nurturing with you.
i will genuinely offer you diamonds in the form of friendship, just reciprocate it. i will offer you the safest, most non-judgement free zone you can imagine, you are always - always, safe with me. i just ask that you are a good, kind, compassionate friend to me. you can literally tell me anything in the world and if it isn't hurting anyone else, i will listen without judgment. i promise you. i'll also send you spotify songs that i really like, so hi. hello.
on to the fun tingz (and the stuff that will hopefully bring you in),
i'm watching my first ever anime, like ever and no we're not going to talk about my real first ever anime because it might've been a live action and it might've been death note and maybe i enjoyed it (holy crap, sueeeee me) but i have a few on my list to watch but i got pressured into this one, so far so good! let's talk about it, ask me which one it is! it's a pretty popular one lol. maybe you can guess it! either way, i'm also into horror shows/movies. i'm not really into the gory ones anymore, nor the emotional horror so i'll pass. my heart strings are saying noOoO thanks. i love watching movies with friends and even anthology shows like cabinet of curiosities, dark mirror, etc etc. i don't mind anything else! hit me up. i'll tell you some stuff i like(d)
currently, iiiiii am a graphic design major with a knack for not drawing. i mean, i guess i do like pixel art. if you can give me something small to draw in pixel art form, i will attempt it (if you give me something large, i'll send you doo doo in the mail) but honestly, i am still learning and trying new things everyday 💤 however, i'm in the process of changing majors to cybersecurity! which starts in June, so wish ya girl luck 💅
i am a gamer, so come game with me! i don't play league, my mental health is terrible enough, thank you. i also don't play wow, my attention span could never. i do, however, play valorant because i don't like myself that much. i got you there, didn't i? i play a few other things: CS, starting to get into overwatch 2 (please play this with me and if you ask me my rank, i'll cry), party animals, pummel party (can we please?) etc. i tend to hang out in valorant land though, i won't lie. i do not take it seriously and honestly, nor should you.. nerd.
i am ✨sPiCy✨so if that bothers you, i am sorry. i, again, am a genuinely kind person but i do have a snarkiness to me that is meant to be a slight "i love you" + dash of bully. ❤

I came in expecting some of the new levels to be incredibly difficult. Hoping for it, honestly, since solving a tough, but fair puzzle feels super satisfying. I've tried Silverbraid before and quit it since the puzzles in that are suitably difficult but unsuitably insane. It at the very least proved that there was more to explore mechanically in hard puzzles in Braid, and I thought that it might be better executed when coming from the source, but after finishing World 7, I can't say there were any times I felt stumped. I never had to sleep on a puzzle, I never really even had to spend more than 15 minutes on one, most every solution seemed pretty obvious.
It doesn't help that the levels are really cheeseable, to the point that I question whether or not they were playtested enough. For example, two of the square piece levels give you the ability to use the ring, but in both cases, you don't have to. It's certainly easier to use the ring in the one where you are trying to prevent any Monstars from falling in the pit, but with very precise movement, even that is skippable. That kind of cheese permeates a ton of the piece levels.
Finding your way to the piece levels is easy too. The game doesn't exactly hide them most of the time, so you almost always have an idea of where to go, and in many cases, making that observation is the entire puzzle. Far and away the most challenging (and best) navigation puzzle is the one to get to the level in the art commentary room, so I'm really sad that that was the one I did first. Even that one is kind of more about timing than thinking, though.
It's possible that I'm just built different better prepared since I usually replay Braid every year, but I feel like most other experienced players would be able to waltz through this caliber of content too. There's two things I think are more likely causes:

1. There was a huge focus on making the new puzzles not be incredibly irritating. This is understandable since OG Braid does have a bit of a reputation for having some annoying/time-consuming puzzles. If what was really important at the end of the day was pushing the game's boundaries a little farther, these puzzles are pretty successful, although it is unfortunate how few of them utilize World 4, 5, and 6 mechanics. What's really unfortunate is that there's absolutely room for puzzles like Fragile Companion that are hard but not fickle in any way.
   
2. There's some super well-hidden secret(s) that hide the tough stuff. I want to believe, but I struggle to, since there's not many places for these secrets to inhabit unless they're hiding in plain sight.
   

I feel like an ungrateful asshole writing this, and id never EVER express this to her directly, but she keeps trying to be helpful but keeps ruining my things in the process.
I used to live alone but moved home recently because my father was experiencing some mental health issues and my mom has physical health issues. Im very close with both of them & was having trouble making ends meet alone, so when they invited me to move home (under the agreement i act as a person assistant/housekeepechef in return for room/board) i happily took it. (To clarify i also work an actual job).
Anyway, my mom keeps trying to surprise me by doing little favors/chores for me to lighten my workload but keeps either creating more work for me by doing it wrong or straight up ruining my things. I know it’s not intentional, she always feels really bad when it happens and apologizes like crazy, but oh my god im going insane.
Twice now she has washed my work coat without asking (as a surprise favor!) and has accidentally ruined electronics i had in the pockets. Like i can’t get mad because she’s sorry, but like.. those are expensive!!
The first time i was like “hey i appreciate it, But u really don’t have to do that! I can totally take care of my own laundry. I really do appreciate it, but the reason is, i always have things in my pockets and i always go through them before i wash anything. Plus i like to spot treat stains..”
Well, she did it again! and i kinda just politely reiterated what i said the first time, but I’m secretly seething because i also insinuated that i would appreciate her replacing the ruined items (or at least reimburse me for damages) but she was like “no :) it really shouldn’t have been kept in your pockets to begin with :) Not my fault :)”
And of course I just let it go because she’s mentally very fragile and takes everything so personally and falls apart at the slightest wiff of anger towards her, but like… im literally one small inconvenience from absolutely losing my shit and screaming at her not to touch my things ever again!
Its unbelievable. It’s like she’s the child and im the adult..it’s like i can’t get mad at her the same way you can’t get mad at a baby for fucking things up because they’re still learning.. but shes NOT A BABY shes almost 55.. it’s like she can’t seem to grasp how to do things outside of her scope of duties (most of which I’ve overtaken) and is slowly losing her ability to do anything at all!
Im just.. getting really frustrated. i want my broken things back, or at least just the money to replace them. That’s all.. :/

We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we're here together!
Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!
I'm pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.
Maybe you're new to /stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you're like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you've been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.
It doesn't matter if you're still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!
This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!
What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in /stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.
What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at /stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.
What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.
This post goes up at:

• US - Night/Early Morning
• Europe - Morning
• Asia and Australia - Evening/Night

A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.
WARRIORS, COME OUT AND PLAY-YYY!
In "Courage" P!nk opines perfectly: "I'm walking uphill both ways it hurts, I bury my heart here in this dirt, I hope it's a seed I hope it works. Don't have to do this perfectly." Then she asks something we've all felt deep down inside when facing many big life changes: "Have I the courage to change today?"
I want to talk about pride vs being prideful today. A lot of "biblical scholars" love to talk about queer pride like being proud is a sin. There's a marked difference between the two. Being proud of who you are is a HUGE thing. It takes some serious cojones to flip the middle finger to the establishment and say "screw you I'm gonna be the best me ever!" I've been the recipient of hate for both my queer status and my sobriety even!
Being proud of my queerness and my sobriety to me isn't about being better than literally anyone, that is what the pride sin really is about. It is simply about being better than myself yesterday. Being proud of both those aspects of my life is because I was killing myself slowly with booze-fueled denial which was literally declining my health. I'm now fully present in my life, living every day as the woman I should have been living as my whole life, and so damn sober that even caffeine has an effect again!
I'm proud as hell of the things I've accomplished, but because I put in the work to get there. Over two years of being out of the closet and 14 months sober does not happen without a strong will or desire for change for the better. I took a huge leap of faith getting on HRT, I took almost equally as big of a leap getting sober. I had to go on blind faith that these things would work in my favor. The multitude of ways that my life has improved would take a year of DCIs to cover. I could literally write a book on the subject from the three volumes of journaling I've done to date.
Today I'm truly happy to feel healed from the breakup of my marriage enough to just miss the small aspects of it. It's more the feeling alone in bed at night than anything. But I'm living my life being the most alive, and I'm battling on my own...something I never did before. I'm happy to have all of this time out of the closet and sober. I'm happy to be alive and finding my purpose on this planet.
I also want to shout out u/nitram6119 for the glorious humanity check yesterday. I needed that more than words can even express, thanks friend! Thanks to all who gave support and uplift yesterday with my battles as well.
Tonight, Boston faces elimination again and I'll be watching with all my BostonBruins family in the GDT, who got to witness my rock bottom firsthand during a gameday thread in January 2022.
Question of the Day: What made you happy before getting sober that you discovered you love more now that you're sober. For me, it's watching hockey. NHL, PWHL, college, doesn't matter. Hockey is brutal and violent and a grind and I love watching the flow.
IWNDWYT!

0:00
I'm St from the heart of quo Texas where the streets are hot and the pressure is
0:05
Relentless watch the truth is hidden behind the o fields Eagle foot shell
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yeah they're the ones who heal they CLA they bringing jobs but it's all the
0:16
behind closed doors big plot frog he guard on man want to take down but I
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won't let expose a clown de with County a place where life ain't easy industry
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trying to profit off can need but in no car are he's the voice for the oppressed
0:36
fighting for the truth won't let him
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[Music]
0:53
die the streets of Cl where the blood runs thck do we count yeah that's where
0:58
I spit 1990s interal murders made it deep it's instrumental about exposed secrets you
1:05
can't keep in the Heart of Texas where the violence was RA gang wars drug deals
1:11
Bodies Hit The Floor Caroll a small town but with big reputation a vicious cycle
1:17
of crime and Desperation late nights gun fight silence through the air shots Fire
1:23
Dream Shad people living in despair the streets were hot but the city was cold
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in a place were loyalty is bought me soul
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[Music]
2:11
Texas where the flood R high in 98 the
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water SK but now it's different yeah things have
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[Music] changed they r r game in the harder do
2:29
it but a shell is Grand eag for Shell they got the upper hand they drill and they
2:35
spill same old story The FL taking all the glory the oyal flowing but the
2:40
people are stinking blood desperation man it's a what we're thinking executive
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managers they don't give a damn they watching the money pile up while we're stuck in the jam
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[Music]
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[Music]
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W we're stuck in the jail Stu in
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[Music]
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that expose the truth Ino Texas where the sh move sh got casing big snacks but
4:08
let me tell you about the dirty little ax 911 2001 but day will never forget
4:15
while we mour the falling they were making the BET planning the schemes in the shadows they creep exploting the
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tragedy while we weap Shadow shock it's time to wake up now sh the lie on these
4:28
thugs we won't back down from C to the wick County we demand the truth expose
4:34
the EXs let the secrets [Music]
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loose in the [ __ ] s where the blood run sck with County yes where I spit SP 199
5:04
c a local murders man te this instrumental about to expose secrets you
5:09
can't keep in the Heart of Texas where the violence was raw gang boys drug
5:15
deals Bodies Hit The Floor a small town but with a big
5:21
reputation a vicious cycle of crime and Desperation late nights gunfight siren
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still the air fire dreams shattered people living in the St the streets were
5:34
hot but the city was cold in a place where loyalty is bought and sold
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[Music]
5:56
[Music]
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we yo listen up and new players but what you going to do
6:15
you think you're hot messing with the part of Christ well let me tell you it's time to pay the price and go for sh you
6:21
think it's all about the cash but the truth is that your crisis it's going to smash your facilitating L one other
6:27
people they suffering crying why is sitting in your steeple but a lose a crisis we can't ignore ego forell ain't
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what it was before Ina are you listening to this
6:41
song time to step up right your W right listen to the song song time to
6:48
step up right your walls time to step up what you
6:56
want time to step up what you want
7:02
time to step up you WR time to step up what you
7:11
want time to step up what you want your you go waste on the suffer words
7:19
you still the same I'm P the T World Ain no you listening trouble F I'm so like
7:24
the I let Dem let them over me say enough that boy and it's don't [ __ ] the
7:30
RO C team do Fe BL yeah Ling me you Mak be you n all you s Dr No SL fi CH I been
7:40
down there in't the whole [ __ ] but I want to aim and I be R can't for the tri
7:45
what you walk through like right i s b come it's s game Bo
7:55
night time to step up what your wall
8:01
tellas step up right your wall tellas step up right your
8:09
ball new may you think you got it all but let me tell you something it's time
8:15
for you falling in the try the truth but we won't stay quiet we're coming for you
8:23
e of shell history full of dirty deals and now you ding the cops out as it feel
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you but we won't be s s back down Expos to corruption till you're running out of
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town you think you're so slick with your fancy smile but we see right through you
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won't last a while Hing persons like a m Le for your game well we're here fight
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back we won't play your game
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[Music]
9:03
[Music]
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[Music] yo listen up I got a story to tell about
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a shady mayor and me go his name but don't let that smile for you he's
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playing games pimping out the truth trying to hide the shame he's got ties to the big guns those in the local
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governments using their power cover up the evidence but I won't stay silent I won't be silence going to expose their
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lies going to bring the violence oh this
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the keep up from the truth we know what you've done and we're coming for you
10:01
no more high no more lies it's time for justice
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it's our Battle Cry [Music]
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yo [Music]
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there a new mayor in town yeah car his name but let me tell you about the truth
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it's not all in his f e baby dipping the kids schools into a circus it's time to
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lift the lids they talk about progress but it's all a facade behind closed
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doors and play we CR slood car so you're the face but who's pulling the strings
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evil for Scot grip spreading chaos with wings evil for drama I what to say
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playing with the future playing with our lives but we won't back down no we won't
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Retreat Expos the truth rise up and take our seat
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[Music]
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mayor Goa you claim to be the Savior but your ties Run Deep and they ain't in our
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favor eag for Shell with the dirty dealing Human Rights Campaign the true
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is concealing the true intentions
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concealing [Applause] Paul singer the puet master in Disguise
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pulling streams behind closed doors telling lies murder R the shadow Rec crew the hand stained with blood and it
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ain't nothing new Q we Arizon We Won't Back Down expose the
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corruption T down the crown we fight for justice We Fight For
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Truth No More hiding coming for you
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murdering May is the eagle foot shell execu play God to fail huging surprise
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sitting under that Bell kidnapping as the force it's time to un the turny
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secrets they can no longer hide in the innocent feeding off the pride e go for
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you can't run and you can't hide we're here to expose you it's time to collide
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they call themselves leaders but then they left it bar covering up the pr with
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FY hats innocent never getting Justice it's time
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to rise up and EXP their dark
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darkness and expose their Darkness
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[Music]
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murdering e for Shell Executives play got B to fail hard across in and under
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that fail kidnapping for burs it's time to unil the dir Secrets they can no
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longer hide expl in the innoc be eat off the pride e for you can't run if you
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can't hide we're here to expose [Music]
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you it's time to collide they say de with counties got
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secrets to spell covering up crimes yeah they got the skill H to Mur
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kidnap it still f thanks to [Applause] [Music]
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you oh thanks to you offici here it made me sick
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pretending to but to just a bunch of trips e for sale with money's but that
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cost the hard against county corruption it's time to expose to
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secrets that no way go we won't stay Sil won let shine in
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on the Justice World
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[Music]
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[Music]
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Wide County a it's time to expose dark secrets that
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nobody knows we won't say Sil W
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sh on me Justice worldwide
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[Music]
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[Music] corruption running deep in a place
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called quo they cover up the crimes but we got to let them know hundreds of lives lost and it ain't no joke in a
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lock of murders kidnappings Force birth in a choke Eagle for Shell get bad with
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the government they think they're slick don't we see through the lament money talks but Justice we command no more
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hide the truth time to make a stand shatter Trust won't be silenced anymore
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suppos the jum is that da ignore the power of the people we won't be deny
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Together We rise justce this on our side
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[Music]
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[Music]
18:44
Street evil food sh with the evil who resides submer the city turn cold
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kidnapp is and for bir for stories Untold fear in the air suffocating the
18:57
town general of made it hard where the devil's been Crown but I
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will stay silent I won't let it slide going to speak up for
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justice W an evil subside fresh and freedom teing at the
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Seas sh every scar you're night let our voices be
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heard and this the time this right we'll
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fight let our voices be H against the
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dark we fight with
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[Applause]
20:00
Burning Bridges I'm spitting on fire call him now the new mayor man you're a liar Eagle forell selling dreams to the
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masses but I see through the smoke exposing your ashes D County J you think you're a man
20:16
but your secrets the even right through the sand sex trafficking a cover up so
20:23
of seen I'm coming for youa the machine pick you up Untouchable
20:29
hiding in the shadows but I'm shining the light exposing your battles manipulating power for your own personal
20:37
game but I W let you prosper I won't play your game
20:46
[Music]
21:01
I won't let you prosper I will play your game I W let you
21:09
prosper I won play your
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game bring s think it's slick but I see through your gang and your dirty
21:21
tricks qu go watch the story working with e for sh chasing that Glory e
21:29
sh a money laundering thre taking innocent people just for H you think
21:35
you're untouchable but I will back down I'll expose your lies all the
21:41
crown corruption unleashed the truth will
21:46
rise no more hide behind your disguise Carol won't be
21:52
fooled no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave them
22:01
[Music]
22:26
here's a little story got a man named Randy claiming to be the save you king of the city but let me tell you he's
22:32
just a big phone working with e forel ain't that funny he talk about progress but it's just a facade using our
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resources like it's all B can see through your lives Randy it's clear you're selling on water making us live
22:45
in fear you say you're helping but who do you think you're fooling you're ly in your pockets while the people are losing
22:51
eego for Shell the money ler in front but we won't back down we'll fight to the hunt
22:58
m [Music]
23:11
[Music]
23:37
listen up I got something to say about a man Nam Randy the mayor of
23:44
dis working with e for sh making money on a side but they HDE
23:52
behind the Press where the truth loves to hide they
23:59
claim to be for the people but it's all
24:06
a using the power they have leaving others betray organized
24:17
violence targeting a weak they thrive on chaos the Havoc the se but I won't be
24:27
Sil I won't be afraid I'll shine the light on the
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darkness games they play Ready Running Out of
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Time the people of forget
24:48
your where corruption grow the new faceing child but who
24:54
really knows they say he's a mayor but I see through the facade playing dir games with life insurance
25:00
checks is just frud the eagle foot shell gang lurking in the shadows MERS of
25:06
informance exposing their dirty battles crippling the people for their personal
25:12
gain ry's involved deep in the greed and pain Showdown it's time to take a stand
25:19
Expos the corruption running through the land no more victims no more Lots lost
25:25
in vain together we fight in just this will
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[Music]
25:42
reclaim I'm BR the new mayor down but I got to call him out it's time to break
25:47
it down for finding all those dirty crops under to B up the murders this just a matter of time talk about
25:54
progress go where the truth playing dirty politics out in the proof for money flen binding your sight while
26:00
innocent lives are taken left in a this night power struggles corruption lurking
26:06
in the dark but I won't back down I'll ignite that spark exposed the lies bring Justice to this game won't let R say for
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car to shame
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the [Music]
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[ __ ] what [ __ ]
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[Music]
27:08
girl new you think you got it all but let me tell you something it's time for
27:13
you to fall pipping into local governments trying to hide the truth but we won't stay quiet we're coming for you
27:21
eag for sh's history full of dirty deals and now you pimping the cops how does it
27:27
feel but we won't be silent We Won't Back Down Expos the corruption till
27:33
you're running out of town you think you're so slick with your fancy smile
27:39
but we see right through you you won't last a while camping persons like commodities for your game who we're here
27:47
to fight back we won't play again
27:57
[Music]
28:03
yo listen up I got a story to tell about a shady mayor Emy GZA is his name but
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don't let that smile for you he's playing games pimping out the truth trying to hide the shame he's got ties
28:18
to the big guns those inter local governments using the power to cover up the evidence but I won't stay silent I
28:26
won't be silence going to expose the lies going to bring the violence oh Mr
28:33
Mayor you can't run from the truth we know what you done and we're coming for
28:38
you no more hiding no more Li time for justice it's our Battle Cry
28:47
[Music] [Applause] [Music]
28:58
no more lies it's time for justice it's all battle
29:07
[Music]
29:13
C A do in town yeah Gaza is his name but
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let me tell you about the truth it's not all in his Fame Eagle foot shell baby pipping the kids turn the schools into a
29:25
circus it's time to lift the lids they talk about progress but it's all the facade behind closed doors they're
29:33
playing with cars for Goda you the face but who's pulling the strings Eagle
29:38
foot's got a GP spreading chaos with wings Eagle foot drama or what a sight
29:44
playing with the future playing with our lives but we won't back down no we won't
29:49
Retreat expose the truth R up and take our seat
29:59
[Music]
30:14
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go for sh with your Dy dealing human rights care the true inen coning s the
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pet mastering disguise Bo strs behind closed doors to lies murdering the
30:33
shadow we crew a handstain with blood and it ain't nothing new all
30:40
right we all for you down the crown we fight for
30:46
justice We Fight For Truth No More hiding coming for you
30:58
[Music] we're coming from
31:04
[Music]
31:11
you we're coming for you [Music]
31:28
murder and L it's the eagle for sh Executives playing God but they're B to
31:33
fail hundreds of chist under the fail kidnappings and for births it's not no
31:39
unveil they Dirty Secrets they can no longer High exploting the innocent
31:45
feeding off their pride Eco foot shell you can't run and you can't hide where
31:50
here to expose you it's time to [Music]
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collide they call them so leaders but they're nothing but rats covering up
32:02
their crimes with fancy hats innocent lives lost never getting
32:07
Justice it's time to rise up and expose their Darkness
32:13
[Music]
32:44
[Applause]
32:49
they say deal with c's got Secrets is Spill covering up crimes yeah they got
32:55
the skill hunting to murders kidnapping too Force burst heading up thanks to you
33:01
let officials sh you make me sick pretending to serve but you just a bunch of Tricks Eagle for sh the money's
33:09
rolling in but at one cost the H begins county
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corruption it's time to expose the dark secr and nobody knows we all stay side
33:22
Hess side shine a light on Me In Justice worldwide
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[Music]
33:43
county corruption it's time to expose the dark secrets that nobody knows we
33:50
won't stay silent won't let it SL Shining Light on me and Justice
33:56
worldwide [Music]
34:17
corruption running deep in a place called quel they cover up the crimes but we got to let them know HS of lives lost
34:24
and it ain't no joke and a lock of murderers kidnapping force birs in a CH EV for CH and bear with the government
34:31
they think they slick but we see through lament money toss the Justice we demand
34:37
no more hid in the truth time to make a stand TR we won't be S anymore exps the
34:45
darkness that they ignore the power of the people he won't be denied Together
34:50
We rise just I'm
35:06
[Music] Blood on the streets where the darkness
35:12
resides eag for sh where the evil resides hun to murders the city's turn
35:18
cold kidnapping and force birth the stories Untold the fear in the air suffocating the town caring hot with the
35:25
devil's being Crown but I won't stay silent I won't let it
35:30
slide CU wake up for justice won't let evil
35:35
subside FR free heart when the devil's been Crown but I won't stay silent I
35:44
won't let it go to speak up for justice won't let
35:52
evil Freedom the SE we sh
35:58
Tre hunting on every SK [Music]
36:05
up let voices be heard against the darkness we'll fight with every
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[Music]
36:20
word with everyone
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[Music]
36:33
[Music]
36:41
Yoo Burning Bridges I'm spit out fire calling out a new mail man you a li you
36:46
for the shell selling dreams to the masses but I see through the smoke exposing your ashes you we County you
36:53
you think you're the man but you secr they seeping right through the stand sex traffic the cover up so SC I'm coming
36:59
for you you Mil cars through the must did you think you're untouchable hiding in the shadow for I'm Shing the light
37:06
exposing your battles manula power for your own personal game but I won't let you prosper I won't play your game
37:20
[Music]
37:25
[Music]
37:36
you think you're untouchable hiding in the shadows but I'm shining the light exposing your battles manipulate power
37:42
for your own personal game but I w't let you prosper I won't play your game
37:49
[Music]
38:09
you think you slick but I see through your gameing your dirty tricks mayor of
38:14
t r but what's the story working with eagle for chasing that
38:19
Glory Eagle for sh a money loer in front taking innocent
38:26
people just for a hunt you think her touch him but when I go back down I'll expose youres I we the
38:34
crown corruption unleash the truth will rise no more hiding behind your
38:40
disguise ker will be fo no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave a
38:48
mark
38:53
[Music]
39:01
[Music] the truth will rise no more I behind
39:09
your disguise sh will be full no more in the dark we'll fight for justice leave a
39:30
here's a little Story by man named Randy claiming to be the Savior the king of the city but let me tell you he's just a
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big phony working with e ain't that funny talks about progress but it's just a facade using our resources like it's
39:42
all a big com we see your lies Ry it's clear you're selling our water making us live in fear you say you're helping but
39:49
who do you think you're fooling you're l in your pockets while the people are losing e for Shell the money longer in
39:56
front but we will back back down we'll fight till the hunt we'll fight till the hunt
40:10
[Music]
40:17
[Music]
40:24
[Music] car listen up I got something to say
40:32
about a man Nam Randy the May of dismay working with eagleford SH making
40:41
money on the side but they hide behind the Press where the truth L to hide they
40:47
claim to be for the people but it's all assur using the power they have leaving
40:54
all this betray organized silence targeting the we they thr on the chaos Havoc they
41:03
see but I won't be silence I won't be
41:08
afraid I'll shine a light on the darkness the games they have play Randy
41:15
says you're running out of time the people of claro won't forget your cry
41:26
[Music]
41:55
hello [Music]
42:00
listen up I got something to say about a man Nam Randy the mayor of
42:08
dis working with eagle for sh making money on the side but they
42:15
hide behind the Press where the truth flows to hide
42:27
quo ofup and grows Randy saes the new face in town but who really knows they
42:34
say he's a man but I see through the facade playing dirty games with life insurance checks it's just fraud the
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eagle foot shell G looking in the shadows Whispers of informance exposing
42:46
their dirty battles cripping the people for the personal gain R de deep and
42:53
greed and pain kro show down
42:58
it's time to take a stand expose the corruption running through the L no more
43:06
Victor no more lives lost in P together we're fight and for C
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[Music] oh we no fight
43:23
Lo together we'll fight and Justice will [Music]
43:38
quo where corruption grow ready stands the new face and tell but who really
43:44
knows they say he's a mayor but I see through the facade playing dirty games with life insurance checks it's just fr
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[Music]
44:03
for chill [Music]
44:15
G Here Comes Randy s the new mayor in town but I got to call him out it's time
44:23
to break it down for finding all those dirty crimes hundreds of interal murders
44:30
is it just a matter of time they talk about progress but
44:36
where's the truth playing dirty politics hi in the Pro needle for money Floy fing
44:43
your sight while innocent lives are taking left and Endless Night power
44:48
struggles corruption looking in the dark but I won't back down I'll ignite that
44:56
SP is H lies bring Justice to this game
45:01
won't let Brey s fck you Ro to sh
45:08
[Music]
45:50
yeah listen up em guards this is for you yeah knew made
45:57
off qu but what you going to do you think you're hot messing with the
46:03
B crisis but let me tell you it's time to pay the
46:10
prices evil for Shell you think it's all about the gash but the truth is it's a crisis that's going to smash you're
46:17
facilitating maintaining but what about the people they're suffering crying why
46:23
you sitting in your SE w w
46:31
[Music]
46:36
[Music]
46:48
[Music]
47:00
a crisis we can't [Applause] ignore e shell and what is
47:12
[Music]
47:21
[Applause] [Music]
47:29
are you listen to this song time to
47:35
[Music]
47:41
[Applause] [Music]
47:49
step when a flood R high at 98 the water reached the sky but now it's different
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yeah things are ch change executive manages they running game in the heart
48:01
of we County where shell is Grand Eagle foot shell they got the upper hand they
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drilling they SP same old story pling The FL taking all the glory The Voice
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flowing but the people are sing for the desperation man the say what we're faking executive managers they don't
48:22
give a damn they watching the money P while we stuck in the [Music]
48:41
yo listen up about to expose the truth in Carol Texas what a shelling sex move
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e for sh got him cashing in big Stacks but let me tell you about that dirty little X 911 2001 they will never forget
48:56
we want the fall they were making the better gling the stames in the shadows that creep sporting the tragedy while we
49:04
we sh while we win sh Shar is time to wake up now shine the light on these dos
49:12
we walk back down them to the r County we demand the truth expose the XX let
49:19
the secrets loose
49:24
[Music]
49:51
about to expose the truth in quo Texas where the shell execs move EV for Shell got cashing and big Stacks but let me
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tell you about dirty little a 91121 a day will never forget while we mour the
50:04
fall and they were making it platines in the shadows they creep explo the tragedy
50:10
while we sh to wake up now shine the light on the STS we W back down fromo to
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the W County we demand the truth expose the exx let the secrets loose
50:28
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50:35
[Music] SP from the hard quo Texas where the
50:43
streets are hot and the pressure is Relentless but the truth is hidden behind the oil fields Eagle for Shell
50:50
yeah they're the ones who yield they claim they bringing JS but it's s star behind closed doors they
50:58
FR man they want to take down but I won't let them going to expose the
51:06
clowns do with County a place where life ain't easy industry trying to profit off
51:12
the needy but emaza he's the voice for the oppress fighting for the truth won't
51:18
let him digress [Music]

I'm in the middle of doing some mandatory course for being out of what and stuff. One of the people in the group also doing the course goes off topic and randomly says my grandson just got diagnosed with autism. The person running the course then says in response "oh I'm so sorry" then proceeds to talk about medications that can help.
I hate to be one of those people to add to the list of ways to offend someone but why say sorry like the child has an illness where he will die soon. Thank you for listening to my little rant

Apologies for the long post. Relationships are complicated...
We had dated for 3 years then tied the knot. These first 5 years were great. There were fights, even before marriage, that I felt were causing small cracks in trust as the make ups were not sufficient to fully heal. My wife would be quick to express her anxiety much less quick in apologizing. I would often avoid instigating fights, either because her slights were easily forgiven & forgotten or because I felt I would lose the fight and it would get ugly. Either way, that did not help the situation.
Things took a turn for the worse when we had our first child. It didn't help that our child had certain developmental problems that never went away. We often disagreed on parenting methods, she would be strict and there would be plenty of fights between her and my son. On the physical side, she gained weight and became less physically attractive than before. It happens during pregnancy and is normal. Some go back to their more or less former self and some do not. She did not and it's not necessarily her fault. We would grow apart in most interests, apart from some social activities, travel and TV. Parenting a child and with parents thousands of miles away, we rarely found time for date nights. We would rarely hold hands, hug or kiss.
My feelings towards my wife started slipping about 5 years into our marriage, but I would reject the subtle signs and also rejecting the mere thought of a divorce. I would often have thoughts that there's probably another potential partner out there who would treat me better. I should have reached out back then when it was in early stages. I didn't and I regret it now.
6 years in, my sexual intimacy with her took a hit. I struggled and could only be active sexually by fantasizing about others.
Around the time that our second child was born, almost 7 years into our marriage, our mutual goals in life started coming to an end. We achieved most of what we wanted to achieve together. A family and a house in a new city of choice, good careers. Maybe not everything, but most of it.
10 years in, our fights became more bitter, resentment became real. That was the first time that the scales tipped in favor of divorce for me and I started seriously considering it. Yet I couldn't imagine causing pain to my kids. I owed it to them and to my wife to try and fix it.
After reading and researching I found advice that said before divorcing you should make sure you have tried everything to save your marriage and to start by confessing your feelings (or rather lack thereof) to your partner. So I did.
My wife was deeply hurt and I feel bad about it. I had hoped that she would feel the same way, considering that she too wouldn't express physical warmth towards me. She does not want divorce. Gifts or compliments from her were gestures that had done little to rekindle the flame.
We have been doing couples therapy for a year now. The meetings are encouraging, but we always go back to square one. The last suggestion from the therapist is to fake emotional connection long enough for the brain to get used to it that emotional attachment will come on its own. This is hard as we find it odd to even hold hands, let alone hug or kiss. When we do, I don't feel anything, but maybe if I do it long enough I will start to. It's also hard when we fight on every single date. (we now try to dedicate a day or two per week to dates)
I've been feeling so lonely in this marriage. Often when I see attractive women I get goosebumps and my heart is about to explode, and when my wife and I fight, a wave of relief sweeps over me as I say to myself "you see, all signs point to divorce as the right solution". On one hand I need to make sure I've tried everything first, on the other hand, mentally I feel like I'm running out of time. I need a connection asap!
Why have I stopped loving her? I'm unable to conclusively point to a decisive factor. Some possibilities are:

1. Physical appearance - I prefer to believe that physical appearance alone should not be a deciding factor years into a relationship, but what I believe and what is real could be two separate things. I can't disprove that it didn't play a part. I did hope that she would try to lose weight and I tried hinting at it, but she would say she loved her body the way it was and that I should too. It would've been nice if she at least tried it for the sake of our relationship.
2. Anxiety driven fights & lack of make up conversations & intimacy - fights over time created plenty of cracks. I too am at fault for not sufficiently raising alarm bells and going to therapy earlier. I would adapt to her needs after the fights, often going overboard in preparing the ground to avoid future even the smallest anxiety-driven fights/complaints, and I would not communicate my needs and wants sufficiently for her to adapt to balance the changing relationship.

My questions for you:

1. (mostly for men) Have you ever lost your feelings towards your partner after your partner's physical appearance had drastically changed?

2.1. Have you ever lost your feelings towards your partner and found a way back to loving them again? If yes, how?
2.2. If it's like going on a first date, do they not need to be your type (character, interests, physical appearance) for it to work?

1. Have you ever had a partner with severe anxiety and have they learned to manage it better over time? If yes, how?

Thank you kindly for your patience & help!

Hey Reddit, I’m just here to get some external perspective on some issues I’m having with my boyfriend. I (20F) have been dating my boyfriend (19M) for a bit over a year now. He’s a complete sweetheart, he has a huge heart and is an emotional guy (not in an aggressive way; he just has big feelings about things and cries easily). These are things I honestly lve about him, but I’m worried things are starting to go downhill. For some background, he has pretty severe OCD and ADHD. He’s been diagnosed and medicated since he was about 8, and had to go through some pretty intense exposure therapy for a while. He’s overall very functional and operates normally. I, on the other hand, also have severe OCD and ADHD, as well as generalized anxiety and depression. (All professionally diagnosed on both sides, don’t worry.) The difference is, I was only diagnosed 2 years ago (ADHD) and this year (OCD). My main issue is this: I feel that he’s progressively gotten too comfortable with me and my family. Obviously I want him to feel comfortable, but it’s to the point where he treats my house as his own (eg. leaving clothes on the floor, not putting things away, leaving old food/drinks out everywhere, etc.) I feel like I am constantly asking for him to do small things, and he always takes it harshly. For example, I’ve nicely asked him several times to not leave trash in my room. My contamination OCD is severe, and I will go into a panicked cleaning spree and not be able to sleep if there are germs/garbage in my room. I also get super irritable, which I try to let leave my system before I say anything about it to him. Essentially, I feel like I’m not asking much, but whenever I ask him to change small things about his lifestyle he gets really emotional and treats it as if I’m attacking his personality. He definitely has made small improvements, but not to the capacity I’ve expected. He sometimes remembers to pick up his garbage from my room, but he’ll still leave stuff all over the rest of the house. It feels as if I have to parent him, sometimes. My main question is, how should I approach this problem in a way that won’t make him defensive? Am I asking for too much? Should I give it more time for change to come into effect? It’s put a strain on our relationship and I’m really not sure where to go from here. I love him and want this to last long-term, but I truly don’t know if it will if these things persist.
Additional things that have happened: - I’ve had to bribe him to brush his teeth at night, and that’s only the nights he spends with me. I don’t think he brushes at night at all when he’s at his house, though I know he does in the morning. - He has really poor eating habits, which comes mostly from his upbringing. My family has always been a home-cooked meal (or at least healthier takeout) family, while he grew mostly on fast food. I’m genuinely concerned about his health moving forward, but he refuses to eat healthy a lot of the time. - His car is a mess, and it’s definitely gotten better. But most days I get in his car, there’s at least one old drink and an old bag of food laying on the ground. - he complains about his stomach issues and headaches often but won’t go to the doctor. I have volunteered to schedule him an appointment but he refuses and says he’ll do it himself. He’s been saying this for a few months now.
Again; he’s a genuinely good person with a good heart. I think he lets his mental illness control him more than it needs to, and his willpower is taken over by his desire to avoid discomfort. Let me know your opinions, and please be kind. Thank you in advance, all I’m seeking is clarity in a situation I don’t know how to navigate.

i honestly feel lost and i’m not sure what to do my friend (20f) and i (22f) have been friends for about 8 years if not more we will call her kenzie to keep it anonymous. we used to hang out all the time she is basically my day one when kenzie was 14 she met 19 year old sam and have been together since then. me and sam dont get along. we have have both said hurtful things to each other and he never apologizes to me one time he texted me off her her phone calling me a bad friend and all she did was say “hey im sorry i was sleeping sam was going through my phone.” she didn’t even apologize or ask him to apologize. i was so mad i couldn’t hold it in and i blew up on him she texted me and said “hey don’t ever talk to sam like that again and you need to apologize” i apologized to both of them he treats her like crap we go out and he’s always blowing up her phone and just being an ass for our graduation present my mom took us both to the beach he made her cry the whole time we were there and she’s said it countless times she isn’t leaving him which i understand they also have a 3 year old she got pregnant at 16 i helped her decorate the room bc sam wanted to play video games she can’t do anything but stay at home and take care of her baby. He won’t even watch her when we have plans to go out and if he does, he’s angry the whole entire time. It’s honestly frustrating and I feel like maybe she’s holding me back and I understand that she has responsibilities to care for her child, but it is very frustrating. A couple nights ago we were drinking. I did not get drunk. She invited another friend over and we both vape and she swapped out my pod I didn’t say anything because she was drunk and then I tried to say that mine tasted burnt and she said it tasted fine. The next morning she called me was blowing up my phone, asking me if I took her pod because hers was almost empty. I have never took anything from her and I never would. She’s always saying she doesn’t have enough money, so I try to take her out when I have a little money left over from savings and other bills when where eating out. She always gets her boyfriend food after she said she didn’t have enough money when we’re buying drinks. She’s always saying she doesn’t have money for drinks so I pay for them she always get him something I feel like she honestly gave up on life and that’s why I’m scared to just leave her because I feel like that makes me a bad friend, but he doesn’t let her do anything and we’re both young. He always expects me to take her out and do all this stuff with her and when I do, he’s blowing us up the whole entire time. She’s not a bad friend and I’m sure I haven’t been the best, but it does feel one-sided.

I took my wife, 7mo daughter, and my dog to a local BBQ festival in our town. Tons of food stands/trucks and carnival games. All in all it was a great time.
So my dog loves attention. When we're out and about, it can be a struggle to stop her from saying hi to everyone. She was on a short leash since there were a lot of people and I don't want her to invade anyone's privacy. We understand that not everyone appreciates dogs, even if they are super friendly.
My wife was pulling our daughter in a little covered wagon. She absolutely loves it. It's got a sun cover and bug net and she can stand and look around however she wants. She always has a good time in it.
For the most part it was a great time. Kids and adults alike were curious about my dog or our baby in the wagon. They would ask questions and be respectful if we asked for space. After a while, I could tell my dog was getting a bit anxious so I just told people she wasn't feeling up to it if they asked to pet her.
Then it happened.
It was nighttime and we were heading out of the festival back to our car. It was darker, so I had my dog heeling close to my side and my wife was pushing the wagon in front of her. We're walking side by side. I heard a voice from behind me start low and get louder
"you're gonna get bit....you're gonna get bit!"
I turn around to see this old bastard reaching down to grab my dog's ass with a drunk grin on his face, his friends trying to warn him that my dog might bite him.
Here's the deal. My dog is friendly, but she doesn't like surprises. She has never bit anyone or even acted like she was going to bite. She's good at warning people when she's uncomfortable or scared. But every dog has their limit. All I could think of in that split second is my dog getting taken away from me because "someone was just joking and trying to have fun and the vicious animal attacked"
I screamed in my best no nonsense voice
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY DOG LIKE THAT"
Dude doesn't take his eyes off my dog who jumped ahead of me with her tail tucked and goes in for another grab. His stupid friends just watching and laughing from the back saying it again,
"I'm telling ya, you're gonna get bit!"
I swear, they probably see this shit all the time from this guy and don't even think about stopping him. Like, "I warned him not to, but this will be a good story for later"
At the same time my wife sees me turn around and puts her hand out to block this guy and she says
"Dont...seriously, she might bite you"
This stupid buzzard starts mocking my wife. "oh LOoK OUt DoG MIGHT BITe!", hands waving like something you'd see from a middle school bully.
Yall, I am steaming fucking pissed.
I'm a small guy, but this complete stranger just grabbed my dog and is mocking my wife who is walking my daughter. I see him looking at my dog again and I'm ready to elbow this drunkard right in the face with every ounce of strength my manlet body can summon. NO ONE does my family that way. Fortunately his friends caught up to him and pulled him away and allowed my wife and I to pick up the pace.
I am really glad I didn't have to get physical with this guy. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. But seriously...what the ever-loving-FUCK is wrong with these people? "I'm old so I can harass animals and young families in public?"
I swear, I was bullied a lot in school because I was so short. But...that kinda stopped when we started to grow up. It's like boomers got old and started to act like middle school kids again, but now they can get drunk and drive cars. Sometimes at the same time.

I can't handle positive energy. Especially online. Like you don't know if the person means it or there just saying that for the sake of saying that or even they're out to use and manipulate you.
And it doesn't help that I'm mostly indoors with no social circles to lean on. I mean how does one even be in a gathering anymore. Whenever I attempt to google stuff everything seems overwhelming and too much. Like I've always imagined why can't there just be a place where you sit in a circle and just talk.
Why does everything have to be an extravagant date? Just something mellow and simple would be nice. I don't know, maybe that's just my flawed perception.
I've come such a long way in life. So many things have happened within the span of two years. But I've hit another rut and don't know how to go on.
I keep dwelling on death. I've been dwelling on death. But this time it seems to be getting closer as I fall into my depressions. I know it's not too late but it all seems so daunting and it's tough to manually make yourself do things.
Maybe I'm being a spoiled weakling. I can see that in myself. I don't know. Sometimes it feels like I have to be my own wise man and myself at the same time. Wish someone else would be my wise man and help me out. Why do I have to do all this on my own? It's terrifying.
Walking through the abyss ill equipped. I'm no one special so why am I walking this pathway? Feels like dark souls. Sorry, the geek in me came out.
I'm depressed but at least my depression isn't the same as it once was. It was horrible. I felt so burdened. I felt like chris chan (a internet hoarder and degenerate). My room was chalked for of stuff. All this STUFF! Why even? My mind felt so clutter with stuff too. My internet browser was clutter with tabs. My emails were overflowing.
The perfectionist in my was mad and wish I did better with myself. But how? I don't know what to do. I'm a moron. I don't even know what I'm typing and if this is appropriate to being on here. Don't know if this is gonna get posted or not.
I guess that I'm lost again and it's a struggle. I hate that. I feel so weak and unmotivated. Yet I had the motivation to write this. And now I'm beating myself up for not actually doing something about where I am.
*Sigh* I don't know. I don't know. That's all I know. And who knows if this gonna get posted or if anything will come of this. There's so much I want to say but there's no one to turn too. And the damage I feel makes it hard to open up.
I think I can open up. But everything is overwhelming and I get lost in the sauce. Like a river, the flow sweeps me away and it's hard to return to my certain flow so I can have a semblance of self. For I have a lot of bad habits that will take time to change. And if I lose my sense of self then I lose control and make a fool out of me. I don't like my own foolishness. But at least I'm self-aware. So I can learn. But men is it painful to reflect on all of that.
Perhaps I sound like a mad man and everything I've written sounds alien. So be it. This is why I am far withdrawn and struggle to translate myself to the times. Or maybe I'm being full of myself and I actually make perfect sense. Or I have no idea what's going on and everything is going to be okay. Who knows. Either way, this going to the archives. Peace.

So basically the song is this viral song that is going all over TikTok and somehow I'm getting recommended it because for some reason TikTok thinks all bisexuals are women and that all bisexual women want to swear off men. Which might be true for some. Which is valid. And I'm a bisexual man anyway. And I'm happy with men and women. At least I used to be before my internalized homophobia returned due to guilt caused by browsing wlw and feminist forums (I was trying to be a better ally and because my online queer female friends recommended it), though it's getting better with therapy.
But many bisexual women can be happy with men just like they can with women. Only biphobes like Roan think otherwise (or how I used to think before I accepted bi women who had trauma with men and tried to generalize all bi women as lesbians and bi men as being more valid. I still apologize for that). Not all bisexual women are happy with men whether it be trauma with men or preference for women. And that's fine. Not everybody needs to be with men. But I'm a cis bi man that's seeing a MF swinger couple that's a bi man married to a bi woman. Is that bi women just going through comphet? NO! That's why this song is biphobic it treats bisexuality that loves men as inherently nasty. It also has implications that demonize men-loving-men which make Chappelle Roan's appropriation of MLM drag culture questionable in that way.
I've seen some online say they don't find it biphobic, some bi women say it's even liberating. You're experience is cool. But I don't like this song because it seems to demonize bi women who are happy with their boyfriends/husbands. And as a poly bi man who is bi4bi in his dating preferences (I refuse to date non-bi people because I relate to fellow bisexual men and women more as a bi man) I love to imagine marrying a bi woman and her letting me have relationships with men on the side and letting her have relationships with women. And I won't have FFM threesomes with her because I think those are disgusting. But I would let her have MMF threesomes with me and my boyfriend.
IDK it just seems to be the old lesbian separatist shaming of bi women described in this video by verilybitchie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cww0fLXMnzs

So to explain, I’m bi.
My bf doesn’t know that, though. I was out drinking with him and I joked about kissing another girl. He said, “I don’t know why you’d do that, but alright?” Which rubbed me the wrong way.
He said “alright” but clearly like he didn’t think it was alright at all. I played it off and said, “But wouldn’t that be hot?” I’ve been in a relationship before with a guy that let me mess around with girls. I’m not saying he has to let me do that, but I figured it would be fine.
He said, “Not really. Not my thing:” I thought maybe he heard me wrong but when I went home he asked me what that was about before I could ask him.
I said I thought it would be hot for us, and he said that’s not his thing at all. I said really, a lot of guys are into that?
He said “Not me. It’s actually more of a turn off. I never got the girl on girl thing.” Which totally rubbed me the wrong way. I said, “How the fuck is it a turn off?” He said, “It just is. I can’t control what I like. A woman who wants to have sex with other women is just a turn off to me. Sorry.”
I was honestly so shocked. I thought I was going to come out to him but instead I got “actually that’s a turn off.” I said, “Your homophobia is a turn off.” He said, “you’re taking this super personally, I can’t control that it’s not my thing.”
I said, “It’s not your thing because you’re homophobic. That makes you a bad person actually.”
We should have had this conversation when we were sober but it turned into a full out fight. I still never told him I was bi, and he told me to sleep it off, that I’m getting upset about nothing.
AITA here? It just really bothers me that he would describe sex between women as a TURN OFF. I’m so mad.

Just purchased a 2018 A5 Sportback S-Line after my beloved manual MK7 GTI got rear-ended. Love the car but it's really silent engine-wise in the cabin, even in dynamic mode. I know a lot of you like a quiet car and that's cool, but I would like to hear more engine noise in the cabin when I'm driving aggressively.
I only want the car sound loud to me as the driver, so was hoping there's a way to increase the sound inside the car but not so much outside of it. Also not looking to spend thousands on a full new exhaust setup if I can avoid it.
A lot of you are gonna hate me for saying this, but I wish I could turn the Soundaktor up even louder or heck even add a second one (burn me at the stake if you must). I'm pretty sure it's set to 100% from the factory (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Seems like some options are:

1. Front resonator delete
2. Rear resonator and/or muffler delete
3. Install a valved exhaust cutout that bypasses a portion of the stock exhaust when open
4. New downpipe
5. Cold air intake
6. A combination of the above

Would love to hear feedback on what you did to your A5 exhaust and how you like it.
Is there anything else I can do to increase engine noise specifically inside the cabin? Perhaps is there material I can remove somewhere, some port I can open up, etc.
On one of the forums someone mentioned unplugging exhaust pressure valves near the mufflers, but wasn't sure if that applies to the B9 so if anyone has done that please do tell!