Not sure what to do anymore. My wife and I have been married just over 10yrs. Since day 1 weve had struggles (just life) but always pulled through. We had 2 kids and agreed we were done. Suddenly 3yrs ago, 6yrs after our 2nd kid she tells me she longs for a third, and had to have him before nursing school. I told her I thought we were done, I actually almost had the vasectomy. I was willing to compromise though. I told her if she gives me 2yrs we can have a 3rd. I wanted her to finish school since we put it off 10yrs for kids. Not to mention the economy and craziness in the world. She denies it to this day, but she resented me. With-held love, stopped having sex , and treated me completely different. She actually told me I killed our son and she was mourning him. Zero compromise and huge guilt tripping wich eventually wore me down. I finally gave in thinking it would get her back. I love my son and wouldnt change it, but she never snapped back. Now its hard for her although she'll never admit it. I came down with thyroid cancer and cant have kids now due to the radiation. She actually said "see you wouldnt have been able to have kids so it all worked out." Thats how she justified her behavior and withdrawl. It a sore topic bc whats done is done and hes here. I love him so much but I really wasnt ready. Ive always been the primary bread winner and Im tired. It took a yr to get my hormones back on track and I feel Im not afforded any leway. I have so much resentment and hurt toward her.
Now we are like roomates. We dont enjoy our time together. Almost every conversation turns into a fight. I feel like shes changed so much and doesnt take any accountability at all. I try to just be supportive bc I know nursing school is hard. I did medic school with our 2nd kid newborn. Rough.
Ive tried therapy. She refused for years bc shes embarrassed. Now shes willing and its been 3 months trying to find someone and they dont call back, or arent taking new patients.
I cant stand the constant fighting. Im so miserable. I just feel like a paycheck. I feel taken advantage of. Im lost. Im tired, physically, mentally, spiritually. Any advise is greatly accepted.
Thanks
tl;dr Rocky marriage need help.

Helloooo, I'm a junior and I'm trying to narrow my college list, and find more realistic target schools. Science and math have always been my weakest points, but I've always challenged myself nonetheless. If you have any college recommendations for me, I'd really appreciate it!!! Sorry this is so long!!
Demographics: M, White/Persian (dual citizen), TN, private school
Hooks: Performing arts
Intended Major(s): Biomedical Engineering, minor in Theater or Astronomy
ACT/SAT/SAT II: ACT - 26 (breakdown-- math 21, science 23, stem 22, eng 27, reading 33) SAT - 1220 (reading/writing-- 660, math-- 460)
UW/W GPA: Freshman GPA: 3.8 Sophomore GPA: 3.3 (medical leave) Junior GPA: 4.1 cumulative on record: 3.55 all weighted, cumulative hasn't been properly calculated (mistake in school's system)
Coursework: Freshman/Sophomore year I completed fine arts training (my academic lineage goes to Michelangelo) DP Eng Lit HL (A), DP AA SL (B), DP Physics HL (C), DP Anthro SL (B) Photography and Theater Production as electives, next year is 3rd year of fine arts training
Awards: National Art Honor Society Tri-M Music Honor Society International Thespian Society Scholastic Art and Writing Awards two honorable mentions National Shakespeare Competition Semi-Finalist 2 school awards in acting First in Odyssey of the Mind Ark State (2 years in a row) First in NHD Regional Comp International Honor Thespian by the end of my senior year
ECs: Assistant Director of a musical (2 shows) Directing (1 show) Tech Crew (lighting, sound, and stage) (4 shows) Acting (in hs) (6 shows, 8 by end of senior year) President of Thespian Troupe Part Time Job Art Studio Apprentice Published 3 times in School Anthology Graphic Designer in Student-Run Magazine Freelance Photography Odyssey of the Mind (3 years, will be coaching next year) President of GSA Club Co-founder of Acting Club Member of Local Astronomical Society CIT at Summer Camp School volunteer (19 hours) a lot more I haven't kept track of
Essays/LORs/Other: I believe my essay will be strong. I plan to write about how art has been my way of expressing myself and understanding the world around me, how I strive to be better at science, and my belief that science and art are the same in the sense that they are both ways of navigating the world, etc.
English teacher-- oh so very strong!!! i love my eng teacher she's so sweet :>
Anthro teacher-- haven't seen it yet, but i'm sure it'll be good, i have a natural spark in anthropology and am very active in his class, my teacher is also my advisor so i talk w him a lot more, he also is writing a recommendation for me for a summer program i'm applying to
Art teacher-- i believe this will be quite strong!
Director A-- this one will be !!great!!, she's known me for 7-8 years
Director B-- this one is a bit of a wildcard, he's a silly guy tho and he likes me so ik he'll say good things about me
Schools:
ED - Rice University
EA - UMich Stony Brook University
RD - Carnegie Mellon* NYU* UCSD CPSU (San Luis Obispo) San Diego State University UW UCD DePaul CU Boulder Michigan State
*I'm very passionate for theater and acting, which is why I want to apply to CMU and NYU for acting. I can't afford to fail if I took that route, which is why I'm only applying to reach schools under that major.
I am aware my college list is too long, I am hoping that'll change. I have safeties, I just didn't include them!! In general, I'm very worried about costs. Even though I'm on a single parent income of 100k (net), I am one of four people being financially supported by that income so that support will be limited in college. My parent's gross income is higher than almost every college's need-based cutoff, so I don't qualify for a lot of financial aid. My academics are also just not cutting it for most merit-based scholarships, as well. As I'm currently standing, I'm not eligible for the majority of large scholarships I've come across. Any help for a more realistic academic+financial bar? Thank you so much!!!

I wake up in the school bathroom I begin to examine the room, “It’s evening” was the first thing that came to mind as I saw the ebony-colored sky through the bathroom window.
“You’ve slept a lot”
The phone is dead, no way to communicate, and I only have my burgundy backpack with some damaged notebooks, a pencil case with a chewed-up pencil, a pen that no longer writes, and a broken calculator that still works despite being taped together.
“You need to go home” “Run”
I open the bathroom door and find myself in a long hallway suffocated by shadows: the only way forward is to venture into the darkness.
“They forgot about you” “But he didn’t”
Looking for a way out, I notice the light from a malfunctioning streetlamp coming through an open window leading to the school courtyard. I pass it and step outside, Once outside, I can feel the cold of a mute winter night on my skin.
“They left the gate open”
I manage to get out, I start heading home, and my path is lined by a row of streetlights. The road separating the parallel sidewalk from the one where my feet are planted is lifeless, and I am accompanied by a deafening silence that tickles my eardrums.
“Remember the way home” “It’s not far” “But stay cautious” “You know what happens if he catches you”
I’m not alone, my inner self keeps repeating it, The sensation of being watched creates an anxiety that slowly makes me want to vomit, but every time I turned around, there was no one behind me, so I resumed my walk home.
“You’re close” “He knows it”
I’m almost home, I’m near the gate, and I don’t know if mom and dad are still awake. I’ve been walking for a long time, the sky is now pitch black, and the sound of my footsteps breaks the silence that envelops the environment. I’m standing in front of the gate, but the anxiety I accumulated suddenly releases, and I am unable to insert the house keys into the door lock.
“He caught you” “You failed” “Now you will face the consequences”
I sensed an unknown yet familiar presence behind me. I knew very well that if I turned around, I would discover what I didn’t want to see. I didn’t have the courage to turn around and started crying so hard that I could no longer breathe.
He placed his cold, sweaty hand on my shoulder and whispered these words: “You never woke up.” “You’re still sleeping.”
A coma is a very long lucid dream. The brain creates a series of dreams that reflect reality as surreal scenarios and vivid dreams, while others can have almost real experiences that cannot be distinguished from reality.

F21, looking to pass the time until i get a job since i’m out of school for the summer. i’m a computer science major that loves video games, music, tarot and writing. 🇺🇸 preferably people that have a similar time zone & no creeps.

There is a price to Faster Than Light travel. A veritable one depending on the Stellar Domain being traversed, a trip might necessitate an offering or a sacrifice of some kind, usually food or items of sentimental value. Rarely has a Domain Warden asked for anything more beyond that as most of their Arch Demon masters would rather not let their main source of Axiomatic power be 'depleted'.
This is the most common case for intra-domain travel. The real trouble begins when you try to cross into another.
Arch Demons don't tend to like their 'property' escaping their clutches, so there is a hefty toll that must be paid to them before they agree to send you over. Not only that, chances are likely that the Domain you wish to travel to is already harbouring another Arch. In that case, you would not only need to satisfy your previous 'benefactor' but also convince the other to allow you entrance.
If that wasn't enough to discourage you, then there is also the lack of protection during your transit to the new domain. See, the reason why Stellar Domains even exist is because the Arch Demons that rule them exude a presence that wards off their unintelligent kin, so with that gone, you're a flying dinner bell.
Every moment your ship stays in Chtho-Space, more and more Lesser Demons will come for you like sharks to chum. They will surround you, their uncountable numbers hollering and scratching at your hull for as long as you can withstand. And if you're still sane, their tricks will become worse, their actions bolder than before. Illusions of the dead, cold whispers into the ears, and the feeling of being watched from the darkness are a few examples of what the Lesser Demons are capable of, but they are not their limits. Remember, never show them what you fear.
The reason for this madness is simple, and it is due to the incorporeal nature of Lesser Demons. As beings formed of pure Chthonic energy, they cannot interact with the Real-Space as is, they require a conduit to affect the material realm. In other words, they must possess a sapient creature.
To do so, an individual on board will be chosen as the vessel and the Demons will haunt them until either the ship reaches its destination 'safely', or they give in. That's when the slaughter begins.
The person, whose mind no longer belongs, will be reborn into a Corporeal Demon and kill off the rest of the crew with powers beyond the understanding of most in this galaxy to ensure its competition is at a minimum. Corpses can't be possessed after all.
With its newly secured intellect, the Corporeal Demon may do one of two things, become a Domain Warden under the watchful eye of an Arch or attempt to ascend into one. And whether it succeeds or fails, the galaxy is darker for it, such is the doomed fate of those under the rule of Demons.
Forever cursed to serve, be used, and forgotten. Everything they once were, boiled down to insignificant specks of blood in a galaxy that lost against Chtho-Space thousands of years ago.
Nevertheless.
As Demons seek to create a world without peace, one mirroring their own, they are bound to find those who are more than up to the task of defending it.
And it is in the void between the domains where they settle.
From the Demons' perspective, not much is known about them, other than that they can intrude into Chtho-Space without the permission or knowledge of a Domain Warden. This freedom of movement has allowed these mysterious warriors to battle on equal if not better footing with the Demons as Lessers can only ride the currents of Chtho-Space, not create them.
Seemingly, they also rescue domain migrators from swarms of Lessers. It is maybe how stories of them are so ubiquitous throughout the galaxy. A myth that emboldens the hearts of those under tyranny and plants the seed of rebellion in those who can no longer bear it.
For those that harbour such intent, the Chthonauts are eager for more members, you will only need to proclaim your wish to fight when one of their patrol ships is nearby while in transit between Domains.
Due to this recruitment method, the Chthonauts are an odd group, strictly speaking, as a whole multitude of different species comprises them. All with various traditions and practices that would have been snuffed out under the Demons.
They carry out their demon-hunting duties with corvettes, which are usually attached to a larger battlegroup or mothership, and either attack swarms of Lessers or hunt down singular Corporeals. Aside from that, some operate without the aid of larger ships, penetrating deep into Domains as scouts.
Of the many species sighted on these 'Chthonaut' vessels, a large portion of them appear to be hairless mammalian bipeds. Intercepted communications have revealed that they call themselves, Humans.
They appear to have a history of fighting Demons, even before their spacefaring age. Sources vary from religious texts to fictional tales dating back multiple millennia of the Demons they have encountered, some exhibiting capabilities eerily similar to Arch Demons. Whether the events recounted are true to life remains to be seen, but the Humans of today undeniably match their written portrayals in terms of Demon-hunting prowess.
I do wonder though, how did they remain unconquered before their space age? Most species evolved in a Stellar Domain and the ones that didn't were absorbed all the same when they reached the Axiomatic population threshold that draws in Archs.
Perhaps there were other forces at play, mankind's old text did describe many entities besides Demons. From immortals that leeched the life force of their victims to beings completely antithetical to the concept of Demons. It wouldn't surprise me if these races potentially existed at one point, the intrusion of Chtho-Space did spell doom for the previous masters of this galaxy.
Strangely, while the monsters may differ, mankind is still shown to triumph over impossible odds in these ancient texts. It was a common message, no matter the language or culture, that the human spirit stands tall at the end. A naive proclamation, but one with more bite to it than it probably warrants.
Yo, back with another story after...idk after how many months, not really the one I've been spending months on making, but one that I've forced myself to write and finish,
Kinda makes me feel a bit sad, to be honest, I wonder how long stories would take to write when I actually have to work and go to college. I won't stop writing though, so don't worry about that. I wanna make a career out of this.
As always, criticism is welcome, and I do read your comments! just takes a while to respond because I post these stories when I am about to go to sleep or when I just wake up due to time zones.
Here's to hoping you'll enjoy it.

Hey guys, I'm probably going to be playing 1st for Chicago the musical next fall and I want to prepare over the summer. I found a free pdf of the original book(which will be different than the teen edition but I'm assuming similar enough) and i have to growl a lot. I'm confused on how exactly I should do it? Would it fit the style of Chicago more to flutter tongue or to actually hum? I can already hum while playing but I always feel like it sounds bad from behind the bell and I've never taken the time to record it or actually practice it. I can't flutter tongue but I can probably learn if I tried. What one would be more true to the style? Specifically the beginning trumpet solo- I want to make it as nasty as possible.
Also, any general tips for Chicago? Im generally a more classical player, I play in a youth orchestra and never did jazz band on trumpet at our school because we had too many trumpet players so I haven't had the chance to actually learn jazz. I plan on transcribing some solos over the summer as well as taking home some of our old jazz band music to play through but any tips would help a lot.

This is my first post here, most likely won't be posting much but this sub has helped me with lots of tips the weeks before surgery, but also made me scared of things that I really didn't have to be so I want to make a positive post to show you that yes you can do this and do well on the first 10 days.
Just for the reference I'm over 40 and had the surgery done because of a shoulde back problem, went from a DD to maybe a C, doctor said wouldn't take much more than that and although some days were tough I look back now and think that went by really fast. Another thing, I went to school for Nutrition so I tried to keep a very good diet pre and post op, I'm already getting out of the track but first week I did great LOL
So here's what worked for me:
Increase your protein intake before and after surgery. I don't really like to eat meat/ chicken every day but I've been doing just because I have to, also eating other kinds of protein.
High fiber diet and lots of water (and walk) - from the beginning I knew I didn't want to take stool softeners or laxatives and because of that I ate lots of salad, fresh fruits (stay away from apples), multigrain bread, ActiviA yogurt, probiotic juice, lots of liquids and I was walking since 1DPO, all started to work on 2DPO and by the 3rd day I was going to the bathroom normally. Also: this is pretty good, cook some dry apricots in water and eat, works better than prunes.
Things that I bought and used:
Couldn't shower for 48h so these rinse free bathing wipes worked amazing to keep me clean. I have to add a note here that I was very scared of showering, after the first shower (seating on a little stool, don't buy a shower chair, just use any little stool with a towel on the seat) I didn't shower for 2 days because I was way too scared and mostly because I was scared to look at my stitches and because I read horror stories here. With prayers and a good pep talk I took a shower all by myself after 2 days.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQ9NQPQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I bought a mastectomy pillow just because I have 2 dogs and one of them loves to jump on me otherwise I wouldn't have bought
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPMFFVKP?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
I used lots of pillow to sleep and worked fine, don't waste your money buying those pregnancy pillows, each day you're going to want a pillow in a different place.
These pads are the best to use inside your bra, you will have some drainage and these work perfectly
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YVPCT6N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
That leads to bras, what an ordeal. The bra I came from the surgery was some medical bra that is exactly the Carole Martin on Amazon (thanks for someone who wrote about it on this sub), I got an extra one but was horrible, digging on my armpits. That fruit of the loom that everyone raves about it also had the same problem for me, not mention the elastic on top of my incisions. This one is the best bra, it runs big so I have now 2 sizes. For reference Im a 42 on Carole Martin and I'm a L on this bra (bought an XL which works but it's a big too big), doctor said I could use and change my bra no problem
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQLXQJS2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Yesterday a friend who is a RN told me that I could use cortisone cream + AD cream or DESITIN cream on top because most likely the pain on my armpits was because the bra was chaffing my armpits, now Im also using a chaffing gel and things are improving.
And here's the most important tip I'm going to give you, have people with you, tell friends and family that you are having a surgery, it's good to have people praying/ cheering on you, checking on you, bringing you food (although I said many times we didn't need cause I filled my freezer with meals), this part is the most important, makes you feel loved and cherished. You just went/ going through a major surgery and the first few days it's almost impossible to do something by yourself. Having someone helping you out and taking care of you makes a world of difference.
On the 4DPO I went to get my hair washed at the salon, it was great getting out the house, seeing people and being pampered a little bit. Made me feel special and pretty, believe me you will feel very yucky after hospital and surgery. Now I shower and my husband washes my hair, still hurts a lot put my arms up.
My last tip is rubbing alcohol helped clean the sticky from the EKG leads (the sticky pads for monitoring your heart during surgery) on my skin chest, it took a couple of days to realize I had that.
I hope and pray that you (whoever reads this post) have a great surgery and recovery, that you feel very proud of yourself for doing something so brave like this and that you feel pretty confident on yourself before and after the surgery.

I'm 16 and I think there is something wrong with my brain. It feels like I got so dumb and I can't put my thoughts into words. I'm even struggling with writing this. I zone out all the time having conversations in my head but I don't do it that much in public. When somebody talks to me I don't know what to say unless it's something simple. If I don't know what to say I just say something dumb without thinking or smile awkwardly. I can tell when somebody thinks I'm weird or is making fun of me but I don't know how to react. I don't know how to stand up for myself at all because I'm afraid of looking dumb. People also tell me I speak quiet and monotone. I forget what I was going to say or think about all the time too. When I do a presentation in school I have an anxiety attack or something and it's so embarrassing. I used to be smart but now I feel so dumb. I understand what I'm supposed to do in social situations but I can't do it. I'm also really awkward. The only times I didn't feel like this is when I ate an edible and when I took acid. When I ate the edible for some reason I got so much better at talking and I had way more energy and the same thing happened with the acid. I know it's bad to be doing that this young but I don't think that's what caused this because it's been happening before that. I also don't feel emotions that much and I can't get excited for anything. I just feel the same all the time but sometimes I feel sad and angry. The only time I'm happy is when I'm eating but I don't want to get fat. I literally can't have a normal conversation with anyone because my brain shuts off and I also don't even know how to talk. I'm sorry if this is hard to read this was so hard to write because I know what I want to say in my head but I can't put it into words.

ABOUT ME: Hi! I'm Gigi. I am an English teacher. I graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education majoring in English as Magna Cum Laude. I do singing, hosting, and public speaking as gigs for any occasion. I was also a writer on our school campus during my school days, writing in English and Filipino. I love reading books. I need extra income to support my father, who is ill. He needs his medicine every week to avoid complications.
Services offer:
· Writing (Essay, Brochure, Script, etc.)
· Excel (Macro) and Word
· Data entry Jobs
· Transcription
· Layout
· Video Editing
· Power Point Presentations (Business and School Presentation)
· Personal Secretary or Virtual Assistant
Note: If you have any tasks related to the job offer that are not specified, please don’t hesitate to ask question. I am a quick learner and willing to learn new task.

ABOUT ME: Hi! I'm Gigi. I am an English teacher. I graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education majoring in English as Magna Cum Laude. I do singing, hosting, and public speaking as gigs for any occasion. I was also a writer on our school campus during my school days, writing in English and Filipino. I love reading books. I need extra income to support my father, who is ill. He needs his medicine every week to avoid complications.
Services offer:
· Writing (Essay, Brochure, Script, etc.)
· Excel (Macro) and Word
· Data entry Jobs
· Transcription
· Layout
· Video Editing
· Power Point Presentations (Business and School Presentation)
· Personal Secretary or Virtual Assistant
Note: If you have any tasks related to the job offer that are not specified, please don’t hesitate to ask question. I am a quick learner and willing to learn new task.

hey so i am (F19) now in college, but the negative comments/experience I had had in high school sticks to me. I had moved around high school freshman - sophomore (covid for half of freshman and full year for sophomore) year i stayed a new high school in a new district, moved again junior year to the old district in a new high school. I had known some people from elementary, tried to catch up, it was good for the first half of the year, but later on it went downhill. people (girls) were not that nice, I would say that I use positive reinforcement in a negative way.
Some girls who I thought were my friends would sometimes say things and in the moment, I would feel for a second that it was hurtful, but because I like to protect myself, I painted it as maybe a joke, them being playful, and I did that for the rest of the school year. It was really the first time people ever really dug at me. I am not good at confrontation and I don't like to see the truth if I know that it will hurt me.
It was the typical things, pretending to be your friends upfront, or making comments surrounding your body, backbiting, being judge mental, making comments surrounding my intelligence, (i would ditch, but i was really sad and I constantly looked for anything to make me happy) I know that from high school to older age, you do hit puberty again and I was a bit skinnier back then and sometimes their comments would revolve around my body and now that I have gained a few pounds I can feel the old comments being reinforced (in my head). Or some comments that I am not that pretty, and somethings I believe in those comments, even though i know they aren't true, I know a part of me believes it. It's hard to think that people who have done you wrong will live a peaceful life.
We live around the same area so smths I fear (even when writing this) that they may see this post or see me and laugh. I have struggled with my sense of self esteem, since I have been little. I tend to cover it by trying to appear confidence, which backfires and I usually end up being cocky. I try to cover it with makeup or my hair, but I know that when I take it all of, it isn't me.
I am obsessed with them and I can find myself ruminating with the idea. I have already talked with a counselor ( i went online for senior year to get mental health) and I fear when I see them (old classmates, not the girls in general) that they smths look at, some have asked, one followed me for a bit, and I know it is none of their business, but it still haunts me.
I constantly feel the need to prove something to them even though they are no longer in my life, maybe my ego is hurt, but I tried talking to counselors and they seem frustrated that I'm stuck in the same situation, so I'm afraid. I want to be better and live free of them.
How do I move forward, live in the present, not fear them anymore, and improve my self esteem. It seems I pretend to be confident ends up in being cocky and cry bcuz deep down I know I’m insecure
please if any advice, whether hard truth or anything nice, I am open

I'm planning to go sg soon for highschool (gr9 although im supposed to be gr10) and ofc theres an entrance exam for government schools.
For the people who have done it how hard is it?? How long did it take you? Details about ur experience?
I'm planning on taking the 2 month intensive preparation course bc i don't have time. I only have around 1 month time. Idk if its enough.

I’m getting a couple skin treatments quoted to be around 2-3k in one session and I’m going to an aesthetic NP who owns her own clinic. It’s going to be 2 different things. Should I be tipping her and if so, how much percent? I mean for 2 treatments and one being a machine gliding on my skin, I almost feel deterred to ever get expensive treatments anymore if I need to be tipping 20% or more because that’s $200 for 2k and $600 for 3k. I normally tip 20-25% on beauty services like hair, nails, non-invasive stuff, and this is the first time I’m spending a lot at an aesthetic clinic.
Is 10% still good? I never thought to tip nurses and doctors that did my facial injections and cosmetic procedures as I just treated them as medical professionals and just didn’t know if tipping was allowed? But now I’m seeing it all over the place that I should be tipping them.
Have you spent this much at a beauty clinic and if so how much did you tip? Thanks in advance for your advice

I graduated yesterday from high school, i’m looking for anything that might generate some sort of income since i can’t legally work (to my knowledge) due to not having a work permit/not knowing how to get one and are less likely to be considered due to being 17.
i’m working on starting a business of my own airbrushing shirts but due to a lack of traction i have to find something that’ll help me develop a safe stream of income. doesn’t have to be the most REWARDING job either just something that’ll work, i wouldn’t NEED over $900 monthly
i have a lot of free time on my hands and have always had a nick for strategized work and design/art. any advice/tips you could give me?

Okay, now that this is all typed out, I realised this sounds really, really silly. But I don't know what to do, and I've already put some time into writing this, so I might as well post it, and maybe get some much needed insight.
TL;DR: My fiancee's friend is hitting on me, my fiancee doesn't seem to mind and even seems to encourage her behaviour, and I can't make sense of what the hell is happening.
Now this is a story where nothing happens, except a very strong gut feeling that something is out of the ordinary. First things first, I'm not in the US, so I don't want legal advice, because it probably doesn't apply in my country (unless you're brazilian...). Anyway, I (M26) have been engaged to my fiancee, Lara (F29) for about three years, but she's in my life for almost ten years, and we've been dating on and off since 2018. This will be relevant in a while.
Our relationship is great in every sense since the beginning. We're what most would call a "bland" couple, so we mostly don't fight and agree in pretty much everything: life goals, career, bedroom, living standards, work-life balance, you name it. And one thing we always agreed on was that we were monogamous. I have my personal views about open ralationships, that are very strong. Lara's not much, but she agreed that as long as we were a couple, we would be monogamous.
But things started getting a bit weird since this girl, let's call her Amanda, got into her life. So I'm pretty sure Lara met (or reconnected with) Amanda at work, after the Covid restrictions were lifted. And they went into a pretty intimate friendship in a matter of weeks. To the point of spending a lot of time messaging or facetiming each other, going together on girl nights. I found it rather strange at first, because it's so out of character for my fiancee, normally very private and even a little shy, to go from "I just met this person at work" to "she's my best friend".
Well, I confronted her about it, not because I'm jealous or anything, but because it was weird coming from her. She told me that Amanda was, in fact, an old friend of hers from school, and that they used to spend a lot of time together but lost contact, and now are reconnecting. Okay, this explanation went good with me, and I stopped thinking about it, and would not have thought of the matter anymore if it weren't for what happened afterwards.
You see, Amanda is very, VERY flirty towards me. She always strikes up conversation with me, compliments me a lot, makes sexual jokes/innuendo directed at me, and it happens even in front of my fiancee. Honestly, I can't say I'm used to being flirted with, but I know the difference between when someone is being nice and when someone is actually hitting on me. But I let it rest for a while, it might be just how Amanda is. But then something weird happened back in January (not getting into detail, but Amanda crossed some of my boundaries), and I felt the need to confront Lara. I talked to her in a very serious manner, about what I thought Amanda was doing, and asked Lara if she had ever noticed something as well, and if it bothered her. Lara all but laughed at me, told me not to stress over it, and to "go with the flow". She even gave a little wink when she told me that.
From that day onwards, I didn't speak to Lara about the subject anymore, but I kind of noticed that Amanda's flirting started to get more straightforward. She even asked me out (although in a very subtle fashion) once, while Lara was on a work trip. I obviously refused, told her I loved Lara and we were monogamous and stuff, and she shrugged it off. But what is keeping me awake at night is something that happened just yesterday.
As you might know already, the southmost state of my country (Rio Grande do Sul) is going through a very dire situation right now, with terrible floods. I happened to be there traveling for work when the floods hit. I won't get much into the details, but I was scheduled to be there for a week to attend some training sessions and workshops, and I ended up having to stay for a few days more, since all flights were cancelled. I decided to come back via bus, out of my own pocket. It was a very demanding trip, a day and a half in total just to get to [State Capital]. From there, I would have to wait about ten hours for the next bus to [My Town], which would be another three hours.
So I arranged with Lara to make the trip to [State Capital], pick me up at the bus station, and get a hotel room for us to spend the night, so I could get some rest, and we would come back to [My Town] in the morning. She loved the idea, and told me not to worry, that she would get a hotel, and yadda yadda. Well, when she sent me the address, I looked it up and realized it was in fact a love hotel. And a fancy one, by the way. Well, I loved the idea, first because she was paying for it (haha), and second, because we had spent the past two weeks without any intimacy. I reckon she wanted to catch up in more than one sense... But I digress.
Okay, so last night I arrive at the bus station, she gives me the instructions to find where she is parked, I go there, see our car, and as I approach it, almost instantly the door opens... and Amanda comes out. What the heck! She had her hair and makeup done, and I mildly panicked: why was she there? Did something happen to Lara? She was all giggly, too, told me nothing was wrong, but that Lara asked her to come and get me to [Love Hotel]. I stand there, flabbergasted, and she grabs my arm and tries to coax me into the car. Now, I'm a quick thinker of sorts, especially when my gut feelings kick in, so I tapped my pockets, pretended to be anxious (it wasn't very hard, and not much of pretending - I was VERY anxious) and told her that I had forgotten my phone on the bus, so I had an excuse to dart back into the station.
From there, I immediately texted Lara, who laughed at me. I understood at that moment that she was behind it, so I told her I was not going to spend the night with her friend at [Love Hotel], and she just kept laughing and told me it was fine, but that I was "stupid and oblivious" to "miss that opportunity", and that we would talk when I got home. I was very confused by this altercation, and being already tired from the trip, I took a cab, asked him to drive me to the nearest hotel, and booked a room for the night. I spent the night awake, overthinking, and irrationally afraid that Amanda would find me somehow.
I called Lara this morning. we had a quick chat, where she told me that Amanda was a bit disappointed at me but not mad (I didn't even ask), and that I could come back by bus, but she refused to engage in any conversation about the subject. I told her I was feeling confused, in the sense that I really don't understand what's happening, she reassured me everything was fine. I told her that I didn't think so, I was feeling very weird, and she once again told me she wants to talk to me only in person. So what the heck is happening? I booked one more night, so I won't be coming home today. But has anyone here gone through anything similar to this? Why did Amanda "catfish" me? And with Lara's avail, after all? The things that are going to my head is that either Lara wants to "test" me of sorts, or that she is seeing someone else and wants me to "reciprocate". I can't see any other possibility, and honestly, I feel like I don't know my own fiancee anymore. Am I overreacting?

hey guys, essentially I’m looking for someone who I can talk to on discord a couple times a week, can bounce ideas off of and also to help guide me through the process of YouTube script/video essay writing and can also offer feedback/opinions on what can be improved.
Only thing I ask, is that you’re based in North America just for timezones sake. That and maybe have slight knowledge of history/popular culture/gaming from the past 50 years until now, as well as a general understanding of how a video essay is crafted.
Message me with your discord and we’ll talk from there!

Hi everyone,
I'm a 21-year-old Biotechnology student from Mexico, and I've recently developed a deep interest in literature and literary criticism. I want to embark on a self-study journey with the book "Theory of Literature" by Wellek and Warren, which was recommended to me by a professor in the field. I got the book from my university's central library, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about how to approach it effectively to maximize my learning and make the best use of my time.
Here are some specific questions I have:

• What is the best pace for reading this book? Should I read it quickly for a general understanding, or take my time with each chapter for a deeper grasp?
  
• How many times should I read each chapter? Is it beneficial to reread them, and if so, how often?
  
• When should I take notes, and what should they include? Should I take notes during my first read, or is it better to do it on a second pass? What key points should I focus on in my notes?
  
• How should I organize my study sessions? What strategies can I use to retain and understand the material better?
  

My curiosity for literature started a few months ago when I discovered that it is a form of art that allows us to experience the human condition across different contexts and historical periods. I've been fascinated by reading letters, chronicles, and accounts from ancient civilizations, as well as enjoying various novels with intriguing narratives. I've also been listening to literary critiques by Jesús G. Maestro on YouTube, which I find very insightful.
My goal is to study literary theory as a foundation and then delve deeper into literary criticism. Eventually, I'd like to explore different schools of thought within literary criticism or discover new branches of literature that captivate me.
Any advice specifically on how to tackle this book would be incredibly helpful. Additionally, any general tips or guidance on studying literary theory or exploring literature would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I wake up in the school bathroom I begin to examine the room, “It’s evening” was the first thing that came to mind as I saw the ebony-colored sky through the bathroom window.
“You’ve slept a lot”
The phone is dead, no way to communicate, and I only have my burgundy backpack with some damaged notebooks, a pencil case with a chewed-up pencil, a pen that no longer writes, and a broken calculator that still works despite being taped together.
“You need to go home” “Run”
I open the bathroom door and find myself in a long hallway suffocated by shadows: the only way forward is to venture into the darkness.
“They forgot about you” “But he didn’t”
Looking for a way out, I notice the light from a malfunctioning streetlamp coming through an open window leading to the school courtyard. I pass it and step outside, Once outside, I can feel the cold of a mute winter night on my skin.
“They left the gate open”
I manage to get out, I start heading home, and my path is lined by a row of streetlights. The road separating the parallel sidewalk from the one where my feet are planted is lifeless, and I am accompanied by a deafening silence that tickles my eardrums.
“Remember the way home” “It’s not far” “But stay cautious” “You know what happens if he catches you”
I’m not alone, my inner self keeps repeating it, The sensation of being watched creates an anxiety that slowly makes me want to vomit, but every time I turned around, there was no one behind me, so I resumed my walk home.
“You’re close” “He knows it”
I’m almost home, I’m near the gate, and I don’t know if mom and dad are still awake. I’ve been walking for a long time, the sky is now pitch black, and the sound of my footsteps breaks the silence that envelops the environment. I’m standing in front of the gate, but the anxiety I accumulated suddenly releases, and I am unable to insert the house keys into the door lock.
“He caught you” “You failed” “Now you will face the consequences”
I sensed an unknown yet familiar presence behind me. I knew very well that if I turned around, I would discover what I didn’t want to see. I didn’t have the courage to turn around and started crying so hard that I could no longer breathe.
He placed his cold, sweaty hand on my shoulder and whispered these words: “You never woke up.” “You’re still sleeping.”
A coma is a very long lucid dream. The brain creates a series of dreams that reflect reality as surreal scenarios and vivid dreams, while others can have almost real experiences that cannot be distinguished from reality.

That’s all it was. A game.
Something my friends and I used to play during the summer when we had nothing better to do. I never expected that it would get so out of hand.
I never expected it to come back long after recovery.
To anyone reading, please don’t do what I did.
I’m putting this out there to warn people.
On that warm summer evening, we played the role of Pandora.
Except, the monsters we released were far worse than what’s told in stories.
Because stories end.
And this doesn’t.
I still remember the date. July 16, 2013. I was an upcoming senior in high school while the others were getting prepared for their freshman year of college, raving on about their majors, life plans, dorms, you get the point. The summer had been bittersweet as those months would be the last I’d see them for a while. Because of this, Anthony, Lola, Eliza, and I would spend the bulk of our time together going to festivals and various camping trips, trying to make the most out of the summer while we could. On that day, the day I wish I could forget, Eliza had run late to one of our hangouts at my place. This was odd since as an Ivy league student, she was usually early or right on time to these kind of things. Half past three, we heard her knocking on my door rapidly, which was also out of character considering that she was usually the calm one in our group. A bit worried, I hurried down the stairs with Anthony and Lola following close behind, expecting Eliza to be in hysterics due to her frantic behavior. When I opened the door, however, there she was with a bright smile on her face, her red hair getting in the way of her eyes, which were a dark green shade. She pushed her hair out of her face with one hand and held a brown box in the other, and she was bouncing up and down as she usually does when she’s about to talk about something exciting.
“You’ll never believe what I found.” Eliza’s voice could barely hold her impatience as she stepped inside and kicked her shoes off once she crossed over my threshold.
“What’s up with you today?” Anthony questioned, looking more confused than concerned now.
“I’ll show you guys in a minute. Can we go up to your room, Felix?” Eliza looked over at me with her trademark smile, knowing damn well we were all too curious to just leave that box unopened. Without a word, I led the group up to my room and shut the door after everyone had walked in. Anthony took his usual spot on my beanbag and unzipped his hoodie, which had the MSM logo sprawled across the front in big red letters. He adjusted his dark rimmed glasses and took on his usual stoic expression. Lola wore a dark blue FIT shirt, which she revealed more of when she moved her locs over her shoulder as she sat on my desk chair and wheeled over to us. As she did, the various necklaces she wore clinked against each other. Eliza herself was the smartest out of the group, and probably in the whole school as well. She had gotten accepted into multiple prestigious schools, but ultimately settled for Harvard to pursue a degree in some obscure philanthropic career. Unlike Anthony and Lola, Eliza wore her regular outfit –usually a white tank top and jeans– and sat on my bed with the box in her lap. I took a seat next to her to get a closer look.
“So what’d you find?” The others moved closer.
“Something we probably haven’t thought about for a really long time. Do you guys remember that one game we used to play in middle school? The one we made after Felix joined our class?” Eliza looked at our puzzled faces to see if we had connected the dots, but her clue didn’t seem to strike any of us with familiarity.
“After Felix joined? Didn’t we just hang out or something that weekend?” Anthony questioned.
“We did, but there was something else,” Eliza raised an eyebrow, “you guys seriously don’t remember?”
At that moment, I saw Lola’s eyes light up and a thin smile grew on her lips, something she always did whenever she was able to figure something out.
“You mean that little map game we played? Where we would go out to the woods and explore?”
Both Anthony and I seemed to have remembered as well with the mention of a ‘map game.’ I chimed in, “ yeah I remember! Every once in a while when we were all bored, we’d pick a random spot on a map to go to and explore there for a bit, right? When did we stop doing that anyways? I remember really enjoying it.”
“Well life happens,” Eliza responded to me, “but I was thinking of things to do for the rest of the summer when I suddenly remembered that game! That’s why I was so late for our meetup today, I was looking through my attic for this.” Eliza shook the box slightly and a couple things clattered around inside.
“There’s no way.” Anthony sounded like he was in disbelief.
“You mean…?” Lola sat forward in the chair. Eliza smirked, her adventurous nature creeping out as realization swept over us like a wave.
“Mhm! I found the map we used to use as well as the things we collected from our little escapades.” With that, Eliza opened the box, revealing a folded piece of paper and various trinkets scattered over the bottom of the capsule. Lola squealed with excitement and immediately snatched the box from Eliza, who simply chuckled and leaned back on the bed.
“No way! Everything’s still in here!” Lola digged through the box and placed whatever objects she found across the blanket. Anthony got up and sat at the foot of my bed, to observe our findings more closely. There was a piece of some clay pottery, some rusty springs and scraps of metal, an old digital camera, and some other random stuff I can’t recall to memory right now. Anthony picked up a spring and turned it in his palm.
“Shit man, this is from that abandoned junkyard we found in 8th grade…that feels like such a long time ago now.”
I examined the piece of pottery with Eliza looking over my shoulder. Lola picked up the digital camera.
“Do you remember where this came from?” I turned to Eliza and held up my discovery.
“No clue,” she shrugged. It must have been a while ago if even she didn’t remember. I turned the piece over and grew curious when I saw weird symbols inscribed on the inside of it. I squinted a bit, trying to discern some sort of pattern within the scribbles.
I turned to Eliza again, “hey, what do you think-”
“OH MY GOD GUYS IT STILL WORKS!” Lola’s voice went up a whole octave as she motioned to us.
The rest of us looked up as she turned the camera to face us. There were various photos we went through. All of us at lakes, museums, exploring the woods; everything we did from 7th grade until my freshman year seemed to be documented. The last photo was arguable the best and msot bittersweet. It was a picture of the whole group from a while ago. We were sitting at Eliza’s dinner table with a giant chocolate cake on the middle of it adorned with two candles shaped like the numbers one and five. Eliza was talking to me in the photo. Her hair was even more red at the time and she wore it in a braid. I looked about the same in the photo as I did then, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles scattered all over my body and face. I was smiling sheepishly at Eliza. I now knew why Anthony said it was obvious I had a crush on her in 8th grade. Lola went through the most changes out of all of us. At the time in the photo, she had her hair straightened and side-swept, with a bright pink streak in her bangs. She wore clunky jewlery and a frilly skirt underneath a long tank top, leaning over the table to cut another slice of cake. All of us had birthday hats on except for Anthony, who kept his sitting on the table. He held up a peace sign staring straight into the camera with a stoic expression. He looked like a statue compared to the rest of us, who were laughing and smiling. You could tell he was having fun, though.
“Well don’t you look like a ray of sunshine,” Lola snickered as Anthony shot her a dirty look.
“At least I didn’t go through some weird scene phase in freshman year,” He smiled and watched Lola’s face, knowing she was blushing despite her dark skin which made it practically invisible. I let a laugh slip out, but quickly stifled it knowing that if I kept going it would mean death. Lola side-eyed me and continued, “I was using my creative liberty to experiment with my options as an artist,” she said with an overly-posh accent that made Eliza laugh.
“Yeah Anthony, don’t be such a downer,” Eliza teased. Anthony simply rolled his eyes and suppressed a smile to pretend like he was mad at all of us. He looked into the box and picked up the paper we left, unfolding it with a hint of excitement and curiosity. When he looked at it, only two words came out of his mouth.
“Holy shit.”
“What, what is it?” Lola tried to look at the other side of the paper, but Anthony quickly held it out of her view.
“What if I didn’t want to show you?” A smile crept onto his face. This was one of those rare moments where he’d be in the moos to joke around with us.
“Don’t be a dick bro,” I said, laughing as I went to grab for the paper. Anthony just held it up in the air and pushed me off of him and I landed on my floor. While he was distracted, though, Eliza took her chance and snatched the paper right out of his hand.
“You boys need to learn to be nice,” she warned in her jokingly stern voice as she unfolded the paper and spread it out onto my bed. We all leaned over to look.
It was a map of a couple towns including ours. There were around ten small star stickers placed on different areas on the map near the streets the four of us lived in. On the top of the map, a couple words were scrawled in black sharpie; “Pick a Place!” I could see everyone’s faces light up.
“Oh my god it’s our map!” Lola shouted and pointed to one of the stars near her street, “this was where we found that old junkyard right?”
Eliza smiled, “I remember that. It feels like such a long time ago now.” She pointed to another star, “and this is where we found that lake we made a hideout of. I still remember swimming in there in 8th grade…”
The four of us reminisced for a while, talking about where we had gone and what we did there, and how impressive it was that we didn’t get tetanus from that junkyard. After nearly an hour of conversation, Eliza asked something that made all of us stop.
“So how about it guys? Do you want to do one last round before the summer ends?”
The rest of us looked around at each other. It was clear we all wanted to do it. Eliza seemed to catch on and she nodded.
“Who wants to pick where we go?”
“How about you do the honors?” Lola suggested, motioning towards the map. “You’re the one that brought this stuff in anyways.”
Eliza raised her eyebrow but didn’t object. Without a word, she examined the map for a few minutes, then placed her finger on one spot a bit far from my house.
“How about here?”
“You think we can make it that far?” Anthony asked.
“Well, we can drive now so why not?”
“You sure there’s some type of trail we can drive on? That spot looks pretty deep in the woods”
“We can find a path to drive on for a bit then walk the rest of the way. C’mon guys, this is probably our last chance to do something like this! Felix, you can drive right?”
Eliza and the rest turned to me with a hopeful expression. I had to comply.
“Sure. No big deal, right?”
All three of them cheered and high fived each other, looking pretty excited to go on one last adventure.
“So when do we leave?” I questioned.
Eliza flashed that smile again, “right now.”
“Right now?!”
“Hell yeah,” Lola chimed in. “It shouldn’t take that long, right?”
“I guess…” Even then I felt uneasy about the whole thing. I didn’t feel prepared enough to go on some random trip into the woods. I needed to pack food, water, flashlights, I had no idea how long this was going to take. Little did I know that those things would be the least of my worries a couple hours from then. I wish I could go back and convince my 17-year-old self that it wasn’t worth it, that I should just convince my friends to stay and talk for the rest of the day. I wish Eliza had never remembered that stupid game. In a way, I’m almost mad at her for what happened, but I know it wasn’t anyones fault. We just wanted to have fun. I wish we could’ve just had fun. But God had a different plan for us. One that made me think Satan himself devised it instead. On July 16, 2013, Anthony He, Lola Smith, Eliza Landserson, and Felix Johanson went on an adventure that none of them were ready for.
Author's Note:
If you just read all of that then thank you so so so much for doing so! I'm a rookie writer, so feel free to comment any constructive criticism you might have if you have actual writing experience! This is the first silly little story I'm posting here, so I hope you enjoyed :)

ೃ༄🐛ೃ༄ introduction ೃ༄🐛ೃ༄

if you are involved in the shifting community, you may have seen the mention of some sort of 'lifa app' with no explanation as to what it is. sometimes, in scripts, it will say stuff such as...
'when i shift to this reality, i will have a lifa app to check in on my cr self and it cannot be deleted or destroyed.'
but what is the app that everyone is talking about? is it an actual app or sort of app in another reality that everyone just knows of?
in this post, i will be explaining the lifa app as a full guide of how to use it. its features, and what it is.

༊·˚🌿 what is the lifa app? ༊·˚🌿

the lifa app is a reality shifting based app that lets you keep track of your dr or multiple drs in literally every way imaginable. from the time it is to your memories. it even gives you diary entries for yourself. it is meant to be used as a tool to help shifters keep track of all of their information about them and their dr. it also allows a gateway to meet other shifters like yourself and shift with them to the same reality.

｡･ﾟﾟ･ 🥞 🥯 features 🥯 🥞 ･ﾟﾟ･｡

the lifa app has many features. the main ones you can see first are dr details, visualizations, group shifting, sharing.
let's go over each feature one by one.

: ̗̀➛ dr details

the first thing that you will get when you are greeted by this an i icon that says about this dr. when you click on it, you are able to type the location and a background story about your desired reality.
: ̗̀➛ time
this feature allows you to add a time and date to your dr. time will pass the same as it does here. for example in my dr, it is currently november 19, 2130 and is 1:47 pm. i chose to freeze time in this dr and submitted it.
: ̗̀➛ theme
this holds the name of what your dr is called, the icon it has, and the background of it when you click on the app. you can also choose the font color and a background tint as well. it also holds your name in your dr.
: ̗̀➛ timeline
you are able to establish a timeline of your desired reality before the point that you shift. i recommend keeping it brief to the important stuff. main instances of childhood and things that you remember with the same importance as you do now.
: ̗̀➛ notion script
this feature is if you have a script on the website notion script. it is a website in which you can gather and fill in shifting templates and is a great way to organize yourself. this is not necessary though. there are other features you can use for your script on here.
: ̗̀➛ about me
this is just a section where you write all about yourself. your name, your age, nicknames, safe word, height, hometown, ethnicity, race, nationality, sexuality, pronouns, gender, language(s), positive traits, negative traits, habit, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and skills.
: ̗̀➛ relationships
when you enter this tab, it will take you to a screen that has a place where you can add family members, friends, pets, significant other(s) or 'other'. the other tab has you in it.
when you decide to add let's say a friend, you start off by adding their name. then there age, closeness, and appearance. you can follow that up by adding a photo of said friend. you can type in relationship dynamic, how you met, and extra info. the format is the exact same no matter the type of relationship aside from pets.
the pet section is a little bit different. you add their name, age, species, pet bed, size, and about them.
there is also a recorder option where you can move around the placements of these characters.
: ̗̀➛ scenarios
this includes upcoming scenarios that you had planned, past scenarios that you did while in your reality, desired upcoming scenarios that include no date but you want to do or have plans to do. finally, you have memories which has no date. these are things that you will automatically remember when in your dr.
it's just a brief section where you can type in a title and add as much as you want of details of that memory. you can add a photo and select if it has a date or if it is a past memory or not.
: ̗̀➛ calendar
this just has the date of your dr. you can also create events on specific dates. that's pretty much it, this section is short.
: ̗̀➛ diary
you can write diary entires. talk about your day, memories, anything that may make you feel closer to your dr. this section is also short.
: ̗̀➛ playlist
so is this one. you make a playlist. and link the playlist, whenever you open the playlist, you get a new tab that takes you to that playlist to listen. i use it to keep my shifting subliminal playlist, but you don't have to.
: ̗̀➛ hero/villain
this is a tab within a tab so i'm bolding it. the first tab is customize, but that feature is locked behind a paywall with a monthly subscription of $3.99. i will talk about the subscription later.
then you have powers. you type the name of it and what your powers do. you have weapons which have the same explanation as powers. missions means you can make your own missions.
then there is combat skills. you list your strength, speed, agility, intelligence, compatibility, stamina, and flexibility out of five. then you can add your backstory. it's a blank sheet where you can type it out.
next is costumes where you describe what your costume looks like.
ally team includes your team name, how well you work together, specific events and upcoming battles, and other details. you can also add relationships from your relationship section and names of that.
enemy team is relatively the same. a team name, specific events or battles, other details, and can once again, select relationship with each member.
finally, there is timeline which has a title and description. you can also add scenarios if needed.
thankfully, that is thee last feature about dr details and we can now move on to visualizations.

: ̗̀➛ visualizations ‧₊˚🖇️✩

this tab focuses all on the visual aspects of your desired reality. even if you can't visualize, you can still use these to get a good idea on what things will look like.
: ̗̀➛ appearence
you can add a hair claim, face claim, body claim, hand claim, voice claim, and specific features claim. personally, i think that the last one could be explained easily in body or face claim.
either way, when you press one of these tabs, you can type in a detailed description on what you look like. now, i didn't notice at first but all the way at the bottom will be a small section that says add photo to which you can go into your gallery and choose a photo for yourself on that specific claim.
: ̗̀➛ wardrobe
this section will include an area that says wardrobe. you press the giant + sign on the top right hand corner and it takes you to a section that says create wardrobe. all you gotta do is add a title and a description. once you do that, you click on the tab again and then add a photo of a specific outfit of yours. you can add multiple photos, move them around using the recorder option right next to photos.
: ̗̀➛ photo gallery
you can make multiple photo galleries , customize albums of different things relating to your dr.
: ̗̀➛ pinterest boards
here you can add the link to your pinterest board...and a title. that's about it.
: ̗̀➛ wallet
this does not connect to any funds in this reality. it's supposed to keep track of money in your dr. i find this feature a bit dumb tbh and seems to waste more time preparing to shift than actually shifting.
: ̗̀➛ outfits
again, this is the same as wardrobe but more customized. you can add each individual clothing item separately if you wanna do that.
: ̗̀➛ belongings
you add photos and a title of what you own and its sentiment. yeah.
: ̗̀➛ or self
it has a stick figure of you. you list your family, what they're doing, their location, and your action, mood, and location.
: ̗̀➛ music group dr
without paying, you can only add one music group and one album. there is a members tab but you need a monthly subscription in order to access it.
i use this feature in one dr to describe my favorite band to listen to and an album i like. if you wanna add more than one album, then you also need to pay,
: ̗̀➛ school app
this is a doozy and has multiple tabs so this will be rapid fire.
you have your student i.d. report card, schedule.
schedule contains period, subject, and teacher. your school in your dr. you can add a photo, location, mascot, colors, class song, traditions, and history of your school.
you can also add your school uniform if you have one. this includes daily uniform and gym uniform. you can add a school map and a yearbook (????????)
again, these are fine i think but the yearbook seems unnecessary, just script who is in your class with you.
also there's a teacher mode but you can only access that with payment.
: ̗̀➛ chat
you can make a chatroom. and roleplay as every single member in that chatroom...for some reason. i don't need to repeat myself here, you already know what i'm going to say.
: ̗̀➛ chat ai
this is locked behind a paywall. just use character ai, it's free and you don't have a limit of 200 messages per day.
: ̗̀➛ family tree
for some reason you can't add siblings. the only way to add siblings kinda is to make them have the same parents as you on a new family tree.
this is just so not necessary. just write down your siblings in your script. no need for your entire extended bloodline. the universe will figure that out.
: ̗̀➛ places
you add places in your dr.
: ̗̀➛ fame phone
you can make a knock off insta account, twitter account, a wikipedia, and a youtube. again, not needed. just shift. also the settings and notifications features are locked behind a paywall.

: ̗̀➛ group shifting

you need to convert your account into an online account. but you can connect with other people and plan to shift together as a group. for those that don't know, group shifting is where you and one or more people collectively decide to shift to the same dr as different people and basically share an experience in that dr.

: ̗̀➛ sharing

the exact same thing as above. except this time you can just share your dr. you need an account to access this feature. it can give others ideas on scripts, drs, or anything else of the sort. it can be a great way to connect with others.

𓍯𓂃ᥫ᭡.🩹 final thoughts 𓍯𓂃ᥫ᭡.🩹

i think some of its features are helpful! however, other parts of it can be very distracting from shifting. i almost felt like this was an oc maker rather than shifting app. some of these i think didn't need so many features. the amount of features there are is crazy. the features section alone i needed to divide into several sections because it took so much longer to get through than i initially thought. it took about two hours to review each of them and i had to take breaks in between. to a new shifter especially, this would be so overwhelming.
you don't need face claims, body claims, or special features claims. as long as you have a general idea of what you and your desired reality is like then you're fine. this is just gonna over complicate shifting and make it seem more fictional in a way. if anything, this makes you less connected to your desired reality since your focusing so much on this one.
it wouldn't be a waste to download it but i wouldn't recommend buying it. but if you do, then more power to you.
please stay safe and happy shifting ᥫ᭡

Hi! I'm applying for several linguistics PhD programs during the next application cycle. I'm starting to think about my SOPs, and I can't for the life of me figure out how I'm going to address this aspect of my profile. I'll just say what happened:
For half of my undergrad, I was majoring in a foreign language. I did a semester-long study abroad program in the spring of my sophomore year where I was studying that language and speaking it in daily life. During that semester, I realized that I didn't actually like studying that language and that I really wanted to do linguistics (I've been interested in it since middle school and had already taken several college linguistics classes which were by far my favorites; only reason I didn't switch earlier was the sunk cost fallacy). I changed my major online and realized that with the new major those study abroad classes would do absolutely nothing for my degree and I would still graduate on time without them. For that reason and others (including my mental health being pretty awful b/c of homesickness and a poorly managed study abroad program), I went home early and didn't finish the semester. On my transcript, that semester is a "W," but for 0 credit hours.
If I had known then that I wanted to do a PhD, I probably would have stuck it out, because now I have a whole semester missing from my transcript and I have no clue how to explain it honestly without looking like a quitter. It probably helps that I quit that language in favor of linguistics, but it's still not ideal. How do I convey to the admissions committee that I won't quit linguistics like I did the foreign language? My hope is that it'll be fine in combination with my experience: my university has a tiny linguistics department, but I have done independent research, I'm writing an undergraduate thesis, and I will hopefully get into a neuroscience lab that deals with cognitive linguistics soon.
Right now my plan is probably to say what I said in paragraph 2 of this post, but condense it, make it more professional, and probably leave out the part about mental health. Is there anything I should change about that approach?

So basically, I lost all my friends in the 10th grade and I've always been a lot more reserved after that, and I found it really hard to find friends (being introverted didn't really help). In the second semester of grade 11, I started talking to this girl who recently immigrated to Canada. Soon after, we became friends and got to know that we have the same paths in life (specifically we both want to go to uni for nursing). We're both similar in the way that we're both introverts (feel as though shes a bigger introvert than I am), and we both are homebodies.
However, although we have the same plans, I feel like she relies on me for everything and it can get so annoying. Like if she wants to ask a teacher a question she tells me to convey the message for her. She also makes me writes emails for her, and talk to people for her or just tell her how to do her assignments even though the instructions are clear. I don't mind clairifying things once or twice, but she gets so repetivive and it makes me feel like she just wants me to do everything for her. Even when it came to applying for uni, she literally made me go on OUAC and apply for her, while she filled out the payment. I even had to keep reminding her to complete her English proficeny (which she did not do in time, and lost her application to a few universities). I have to remind her to do her homework and even help her complete assignments because shes submitting them a week late. She also forces me to stay on ft for hours at a time, and when we are sitting together at lunch or even out together she's always on her phone texting other people.
Before she started getting "comforatable" with me in the way that she fully relies for me to do things for her, her mom had suggested to me that if we get into the same uni, we should live together. I said okay, and since then I've been implying that we would live together (introvert inside of me was afraid of living with someone idk). However, ever since shes started acting very reliant I just seem to get more agitated with her, and it shows that she notices it too. I just don't want to lash out at her and make her feel bad or anything, and I don't want to be a bad friend either. I just feel that if I were to go to the same uni as her, that I would be held back and I just won't enjoy my time there.
This story is really out of place, but her and I only talk to each other. I would love to stop being so introvereted and talk to others, but when I do it seems like she gets jealous or mad. I have noticed however, that in situations when she isn't there, it's much easier for me to fit in and make connections because I have no security blanket to cling to or even be judged or felt like I made her mad. I want uni to be a fresh start for me and to finally have a place that feels like my own, and I'm worried it won't happen if she was to go to school with me.
The thing is though, I have told her that if I got into western that I would go there instead and that she should go on her own path, to york perhaps (because thats the closest uni to her- we were thinking of going to brock). However, I have been waitlisted from the Fanshawe-Western nursing collab and I haven't heard back from main site, so I'll probably get rejected. If I don't get into western I'll have to go to school with her.
I know that it seems like I'm blaming her in this post, but I know that I have a big role in this as well, as I get agitated easily and I seem to complain a lot. I just don't want to go to uni with her because of what I have said above and also because I believe that if we did go togther, it would just be us two and nothing else. In the way that she would rely on me heavily, I would get agitated, would make no new friends because I'm scared of upsetting her and also because we're both introverts who would probably cling onto each other.
This post is so out of place as I am just spewing all my thoughts out, but how do I tell my friend that I don't want to go to the same uni as her, nor dorm with her?