Introduction: The Mysterious Double Album
I’ll always remember 2 AM on April 19th 2024. I was in my pjs, alone, on my balcony, fresh off my first listen to Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poet’s Department. After sufficiently enjoying my solitary experience, I took to the internet to see what the masses were saying…when Swift dropped a whole second album: The Tortured Poets Department Anthology. Swift, a master of both Easter egging surprises for her fandom and practicing the number one rule of business (give the people what they want!), had been hinting at something “double” for months. Most significantly, while accepting her Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, she flashed a “peace sign.” That damn peace sign haunted the fandom for months. Swift’s corporate social media account, u/TaylorNation, used peace sign emojis and called attention to the number two whenever possible (ie teasing the album 22 days out etc.). There were also many “2”s present in in the promotional “experiences” leading up to the album release date—including statues of peace signs at the TTPD interactive experience at The Grove in LA. As usual, some Swifties went bonkers with their theories (or “clowning” as outlandish theorizing is referred to in the community). I myself couldn’t help but believe some concept of doubling would be significant in TTPD, but I couldn’t have guessed a full DOUBLE album (Swift’s capitalization). What an absolute treat. Mother was, as they say, mothering.
…Only the two mania didn’t seem to end post-drop. If anything, the two mania heightened. The albums were not just surprises in themselves, they were full of mystery. They seemed to reference multiple relationships, cryptic narratives, allusions to Swift’s previous songs, allusions to iconic poets, and very often, twins. The sleuthing type of Swiftie (full disclosure, moi) dove in deep. We gathered where we do—on Twitter, on TikTok, on Reddit (my preferred sandlot). And as we obsessed over every lyric, literary allusion, and video clip, Swift, our self-appointed “chairman” seemed to encourage us. Swift added a TTPD set to her Eras tour in Paris. Afterward, she posted a collection of photos to Instagram. The second photo of the post is Swift onstage, in a sparkling showman’s outfit, flashing two fingers.
Initial Tortured Poets and Sylvia Plath Connections
Swift has always been an incredible poet, but that’s not necessarily how the world saw hesees her. Swift is a pop star, specifically, Swift was a young girly pop star, most known for her tabloid romances and dramas, which she would (allegedly) write about in her music. Swift’s work has been labeled as “confessional” since her first album, which included songs she openly said were about boys at her high school. I offer this context (or, lore) to explain why I began seeing connections to TTPD in Sylvia Plath’s “confessional” work.
Of course, the theme of TTPD is tortured poets, so many avid literary Swifties have enjoyed seeking connections between Swift’s new songs and iconic poetry. No connections are overt, but some seem to be more likely than others. Namely, there’s been much discussion of Virginia Woolf thanks to the song “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”(perhaps a riff on the Edward Albee play title). Other Swifties have found possible lyrical links to Mary Shelley and Charlotte Bronte. Swift herself references Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas in the album’s title track.
I remembered a third poet in relation to Smith and Thomas: Sylvia Plath, obviously an all timer of a tortured poet. I remember hearing an anecdote that she had been obsessed with Thomas and stalked him outside the Chelsea Hotel (also named in the TTPD title track). I did a quick skim of Plath’s Wikipedia to confirm and then started noticing many possible connections to TTPD and Plath’s life.
In the “Fortnight” music video, Swift acts out being institutionalized for insanity and getting electric shock treatment—two significant experiences in Plath’s life. Plath was also coupled with a deeply problematic man, Ted Hughes. Plath fell in love with Hughes for his artistic talent before he revealed himself to be an unsupportive parter, ultimately cheating on Plath with a younger woman. The narrative is not too dissimilar to the narrative about Swift’s alleged ex Matty Healy, as seemingly told in TTPD. (Of course, we don’t know the true subjects of Swift’s songs—if they’re even actually confessional—but some key hints point to Healy. Whether those hints provide actual context to Swift’s life or to the story Swift is telling of her life, one cannot know.) Finally, several of TTPD songs reference a latent desire for suicide (“I might as well die / it would make no difference” etc.). Okay, post-“finally,” these are stretches, but, I’ll note anyway: one of Plath’s most famous collections of poems is titled Ariel, but an alternate title was Daddy. There are connections to both words in TTPD via the song “But Daddy I Love Him.” The title is a line from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid (which features the main character Ariel, a mermaid, caught between two worlds). Extra clowning: some people (hi, I'm people) believe Swift’s 1989 costume for her first Paris concert was an allusion to Ariel: a pink crop top and a seafoam skirt.
As I dug into Plath's life, I couldn’t help but also see similarities to Swift's life. Both women were prolific writers from a very young age. Also, although possibly obscured through artistic license, both women were/are known to write about their own lives. (Plath was apparently encouraged by her professors Robert Lowell and Anne Sexton to write from her experience. I cannot help but tie in Swift’s “The Manuscript” lyric “the Professor said to write what you know.”) Both Plath and Swift expressed/express their depression via their writing, but if you only knew them from their public personas, you’d never guess the depths of their struggles. It seems both Plath and Swift lived/live double lives. Plath was actually fascinated by the concept of doubles. In fact, the concept of doubling was the topic of Plath’s college thesis paper “The Magic Mirror.”
The Magic Mirror and TTPD
Plath’s college paper is sadly not available to the general public. (It had a limited print run in, you guessed it, 1989.) But! I was able to read a few texts about the thesis, and the amount of possible TTPD references is astounding.
Since we can’t directly analyze Swift’s work via Plath’s directly, I’d like to share several key quotes from the most telling article I could find about the “The Magic Mirror”: “Sylvia Plath’s Magic Mirror” by Kelly Coyne (May 2018, The Los Angeles Review of Books). (To be noted, Coyne has also written about Swift, in her article “Growing Up In Taylor Swift’s America” in December 2023 on Literary Hub—a fabulous read!)
Early in her article, Coyne sets the scene for Plath's thesis:
“Her undergraduate thesis, which she wrote as a senior at Smith College...is titled “The Magic Mirror: A Study of the Double in Two of Dostoevsky’s Novels.” “The Magic Mirror” explores literary doubles made up of a character’s repressed traits, and, as the double grows in power, it heralds the protagonist’s death. Citing Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Plath argued that the choice to create a double works to “reveal hitherto concealed character traits in a radical manner” and simultaneously exposes the driving conflicts of the novel housing that character. Her thesis claims that both Ivan, of The Brothers Karamazov, and Golyadkin, of The Double, have attempted to repress troubling aspects of their personalities, resulting in the double.”
Immediately, I imagine the two versions of Swift from the “Anti-Hero” music video. One Swift is real, true, sensible. The other is a pot-stirring, self-esteem destroying, alcoholic. During Eras, the huge Swift (monster on a hill) screams and stomps around in the background while the real, true Swift smiles and dances in a sparkle dress onstage. The fandom seems to be referring to these two Swifts as Taylor Swift and TAYLOR SWIFT (TM). Folks have theorized Post-Malone in the Fortnight music video is not necessarily a lover, but a twin, or double, of Swift. This theory is enhances by the Eras visuals during that song, specifically two dancers walking away to the back of the stage, but then becoming one.
More Coyne: “Plath, quoting Dostoyevsky in her thesis, noted that Ivan’s double, Smerdyakov, is “wrinkled” and “yellow.” The distinct differences in appearance between originator and double, she continued, are meant to reflect the protagonist’s mental state and cultural status.”
First of all, yellow. In the Gaylor community, folks have often theorized yellow symbolizes being closeted—a reading based on the symbolic coloring in the 1999 film …But I’m a Cheerleader. However, one need not be a Gaylor to consider the importance of yellow to Swift’s storytelling. Most recently, Swift performed “my tears ricochet” at Eras in a bright yellow dress, as her dancers were dressed for a funeral. Following Coyne’s analysis of Plath's analysis of Dostoyevsky, one could guess Swift is teasing a death of some version of herself.
Coyne discusses how Plath clearly used a “double” of herself to write The Bell Jar. Plath herself spent a summer in New York interning for Mademoiselle. The protagonist in TBJ, Esther, spends a summer in New York interning at a magazine too. To go even further down the rabbit hole, Esther also doubles herself, frequently expressing normalcy on the outside and despair on the inside. On the book's first page, Esther tells her audience, “I was supposed to be having the time of my life.” (Again, I cannot help but hear a Swift echo of, “I can read your mind / she’s having the time of her life” from “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” about smiling through her depression.) Coyne makes many more references to mirrors and concealing in The Bell Jar, Ether’s split (and sadness) gets worse and worse the more she hides who she is from others. Notably, at a low point, Esther hides under her mother’s bed. (And Swift sings of a post-heartbreak depression, “Afterwards she only ate kids' cereal / And couldn't sleep unless it was in her mother's bed.”)
Coyne writes about the “imprisoned” aspect of doubles: “The wound from which Esther tries, and fails, to hide chimes with the inescapable, colonizing double, and Plath’s language again illustrates its penal nature: it is inside Esther, but it traps her like a jail cell.” (Again, I cannot help but see references to “Fresh Out the Slammer”, “The Smaller Man Who Ever Lived,” and the TTPD Eras visuals of cages and cell lighting.)
Coyne, on Plath’s doubles’ names, something Swift has not ever used (or so we think): “From her conception of The Bell Jar all the way to its final revisions, Plath suffered an exhausting amount of anxiety over its heroine’s name.” Plath wrote to a friend, “‘I’ll have to publish it under a pseudonym, if I ever get it accepted, because it’s so chock full of real people I’d be sued to death’...Indeed, this wasn’t mere paranoia; she did have to change her protagonist’s name at the instruction of her editor for legal reasons.”
Coyne continues, “Most novelists likely have concerns about being associated with the characters to whom they give life, especially the ugly ones, and especially when the character resembles its author. Yet what is unique about Plath’s case is her knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings and implications of her choice to push Esther away, and the hold this knowledge assumed on Plath’s work and life. Another look at The Bell Jar with a consideration of Esther as Plath’s double tangles the issue even further, and Plath drops clues for this kind of reading throughout the novel. Esther, for example, sits down to write her own novel and recounts, “My heroine would be myself, only in disguise. She would be called Elaine. Elaine. I counted the letters on my fingers. There were six letters in Esther, too. It seemed a lucky thing.” Not coincidentally, Plath’s first name has six letters as well.” Again, Plath was in a bizarre double infinity loop (like the loop on the Eras stage in “Down Bad”?). Plath was concealing her double, the protagonist in her novel, who was concealing her double, the protagonist in her novel.
Coyne wraps up her findings: “In her thesis, written nearly a decade earlier, as she turned 22 — the year after her first documented suicide attempt — Plath claimed, quoting Otto Rank:
In such situations, where the Double symbolizes the evil or repressed elements in man’s nature, the apparition of the Double “becomes a persecution by it, the repressed material returns in the form of that which represses.” Man’s instinct to avoid or ignore the unpleasant aspects of his character turns into an active terror when he is faced by his Double, which resurrects those very parts of his personality which he sought to escape. The confrontation of the Double in these instances usually results in a duel which ends in insanity or death for the original hero.”
Coyne seems to argue Plath believed an artist's double has the power to become bigger than the artist herself, ultimately killing her. Is TTPD Swift's predetermination of, hopefully, her her double's death instead of her own?
In Conclusion: Plath to her Mentor, Dessner on Swift
Who knows what TTPD is really truly about, and who knows if we ever will.
The biggest Easter egg, hiding in plain sight, is that the album is titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. There’s no apostrophe after “poet.” Nor is there an apostrophe after the “s” in “poets.” The department does not belong to a poet or to a collection of poets. It is a department OF tortured poets, perhaps two, to be exact. …or perhaps the album indicates the departure of the tortured poet...and her double.
I’ll sign off with two final quotes from my research:
According to Coyne, three months before Plath died by suicide, she had written a mentor about her second (obviously unfinished) book. Plath wrote, “It is to be called “Doubletake”, meaning that the second look you take at something reveals a deeper, double meaning […] it is semi-autobiographical about a wife whose husband turns out to be a deserter and philanderer although she had thought he was wonderful & perfect.”
According to Aaron Dessner’s TTPD release Instagram post: ”Keep searching and you'll find some new detail, layer or sliver of meaning with each listen.”
SUBREDDIT PS! Shout out to Expensive_Succotash5 for noting the TTPD intro poem's reference to being out of the oven, could be an allusion to Plath's death. Also shout-out to Good-Amphibian-7993 for this connection to a photo of Plath with a rose, not unlike Swift's album rose art.

This has become, at this point, a recurring theme in my life. Growing up I was very tomboyish; taped my chest, tried to date chick's (failingly), always acted more masculine than anything. Never wore makeup or jewelry, never had my nails or hair done except bland cuts and colors, etc. Now I'm 28, and several times I've run into both men and women asking if I was a trasn person. Now, with certain people I have used that to my advantage and just make them Hella uncomfortable. But other instances it's just caught me so off guard. At one instance I was with a large group of people and drank at both the girls turn and the guys turn of a drinking game. One of the people there said "I never thought of using non binary as a way to get drunk more" I was surprised Pikachu, I just wanted a sip of my drink not to make a societal statement. Another time I was in the restroom of a local bar and was fixing my wig. (I have, since childhood, become slightly more feminine. As such instead of having to upkeep my own hair I have wigs for days I feel like being girly and doing my makeup and such.) An older woman comes out of a stall, looks down at an advertisement on the counter, and asks if that event was today, to which I said no. The event in question was a Drag show happening that next week. She said uuuhhh ok and very awkwardly left. The most annoying is that whenever people get angry online about some comment here or some post there that has a tendency to be the first insults they throw. How I could afford to put some mediocre tit's on but not get my jaw shaved is the most common. I have absolutely no problem with trans people, I think they have it so hard dealing with harassment these days on top of trying to find themselves on top of always feeling different for being different type of stuff. And I don't consider being called trans an insult, I'll go along with it more times than not since bully's usually don't like you agreeing with them. But man it's frustrating when I look so much like my dad that I look like that meme of John Cena in a wig. This isnt really complaining, I'll take that "insult" over so many other things that can be said. It just affects my self esteem, especially when my bf and I have had long term sexual issues in the relationship.

I know the existance of this Sub reddit proves me wrong. But I've never got to meet the chad people like on this sub reddit irl. So hear me out.
I guess I can find Valorant and BGMI players, but where are the real gamers? The ones who know the past, present, and future of gaming? Everywhere I go, I see the same thing: "Wanna do a TDM, bro?", "What's better, SCAR-L or Groza?" I get the competitive spirit, but it's so hard to come by Indian people who are well-versed in gaming culture.
The other day, I was talking to my friends (who play video games) and one of them asked what my favorite game of all time was. I said Dark Souls 1. They didn't even know that game existed. They all said GTA: San Andreas and Vice City. I know those are great games, but seriously, come on. If you like open-world games, you would've explored more and found out that there are better ones, like RDR and The Witcher games.
When someone found me playing Ace Attorney and Pokémon Emerald on an emulator in college, they made fun of me for playing "lame old games." I thought when I got to college, I'd find a buddy who would try out League of Legends with me because I didn't want to solo queue, but they called it stupid when I showed them clips. The only guy I found was a Dota player, and he's too deep in that game to know other stuff exists.
I do have friends who know video games well, but they're not Indian. I tried to experiment as well. I showed my Australian friend, let's call him Cody, Undertale. He never knew about the game, but he tried it out and loved it. He loved it so much he made everything Undertale-themed. He loved the game so much he had the Undertale OST playlist on his Spotify rewind. Next, I played the game with my Indian friend, let's call him Raj. Raj said it was lame. He said it was girly and that the music was kinda 'meh.' MEH? Really, Raj?
Has anyone experienced this?
P.S. I'm not saying Valorant, BGMI, and other mainstream games are bad. I love Valorant. I don't like that I suck at it, but I still play it because i want to impress a girl i know lol.

I started this timeline with a few main dates in my last post, then it became this big garbage fire of madness. For the foreseeable future, I will edit this with relevant updates. Feel free to call out any additions in the comments. 🚩 Trigger warning note: At this point, Brittany is a walking red flag. Please be mindful before proceeding if you have triggers for the themes mentioned in the title.

The Timeline

• January (date unknown): Jdip finds out from his doctor that he has a sperm count of basically zero, and they discuss lifestyle modifications. *This had not been shared until 4/25 in the following video https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/01YWgcJgyb
• ⁠1/30: Brittany announces they’re officially doing IUI, which she learned after her “WOMEN’S WELLNESS EXAM.” Lmao so you got a Pap smear and a referral to a specialist? https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/DhUvDfPPRL
• 2/15, give or take a few days: got a call from adoption agency right after their joint ~3 hour long~ FIRST FERTILITY APPOINTMENT
• ⁠2/22: says “a week ago today” (↑) they had their first fertility appointment and got some good news and some bad news, but “everything looks great” for Britt. An adoption agency called her that same day. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/rWCMuAjt4b
• ⁠3/11: Niko the Pitbull is found at a dumping ground in Texas while Brittany arrives in Breckenridge for a week of glamour shots. This blows up all over Reddit and TikTok https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/3GDuz1Kp8n
• 3/11 adoption announcement #1: at night, jordan allegedly tells the proud boys that they are adopting https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/pcVlvUjb2B
• 3/12: adoption announcement #2: during breakfast in Breck, Britt announces that she’s “paper pregnant” 😑 to her friends, and shows them an image of a sonogram. In the video @ 2:52, she writes, “we acted like nothing was wrong” when they appeared for breakfast… what was wrong britt? Your abandoned dog spoiling your vacay? Or were you and J fighting because he spilled the beans (since we all know you don’t give a fuck about Niko)? https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/pcVlvUjb2B
• ⁠3/13 or 3/14: while in Breckenridge, Brittany and Jordan film a video about their fertility journey being hard on their marriage, and they start hinting at male factor infertility. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/EWohGKXcP7
• 3/24: adoption announcement #3: at BDong’s bday party; she announces adoption of a baby girl to her pregnant friend Jamie. Jamie claims God already told her Brittany was gonna have a daughters. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/sutRZIeRu4
• ⁠3/25: she posts the “Jordan opens up” video that was filmed in Breck https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/EWohGKXcP7
• 3/30: Brittany hams it up with the empty nursery content. “yEs We HaVe aN EmPtY nUrSeRy. YEs iTs iN FaiTh tHaT wE wiLL oNe DaY bE ParEnTs” https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/2RfpXq9Vdz
• ⁠4/1: Jordan hangs out in the nursery to journal for some ~unknown~ future faith baby. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/l2zBGvJt0x
• 4/2: a car seat appears, further supporting the home study occurring around this time https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/Kgdpi9mpRB
• 4/3: Britt posts a slideshow of texts from jordan reminding her to eat, including one that shows a triple text from Brittany and his response, “I’m sorry sweetheart. I believe you.” https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/1lfGXhjPju
• ⁠4/5: Home Study? It appears they had the home study for adoption on this day based on her outfit. They shoot sunrise parking garage adoption announcement pics, then B has breakfast with Hannah Rosie. B tells her Hazel & Layne cronies that she was matched with a birth mom “a week ago,” which would mean she actually matched with a birth mom the last week of March. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/h2yJ6oAJeG)
• 4/6 car seat has been removed, baby mirror spotted in car https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/iWqPtPYuVo … car seat removal further supports the home study occurring on 4/5. Brittany sells her ultrapoor car seat because she gOt a NuUunAaaa https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/DhH3wphsjT
• 4/6, continued: The pick me chicks appear to be fighting. Farryn and Kellie post stories together about how REAL friends show up, have difficult conversations, and don’t use “christianese” https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/0NVaPbkWu2
• ⁠4/7: Brittany cries for the camera because God had the audacity to not give her a baby yet. (Crying selfie w/ caption about “TTC emotions”) https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/OGgOMdnLBS
• ⁠4/7: Brittany posts about how she thought she would have a baby by her 33rd bday, but all she has is “unexplained infertility.” HUH? That’s not the same as male factor infertility. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/LishlaLlZe
• 4/11: the girlies are back and drinking Sonic from styrofoam cups because ~non toxic living~ amiriteeee?! https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/nTqcC1lvZT
• 4/16: she can’t wait for Harley to be her “daughter’s” horse one day. Can’t wait to “watch my little girl bond” with this horse https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/nBliYMm6PM
• 4/25 good news from the fertility specialist because BritBrat is God’s favorite. After running more tests on Jordan, they’re suddenly “good to go now.” They will be pursuing IUI. Britt states in this video that J initially was found to have “0% sperm” back in January. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/pW0mbEXtIs + https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/bIgSeOhHGt
• 4/29 last blood work before starting IUI https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/86u862Y1n5
• ⁠4/30 public adoption YewTewbb announcement: they’re “flip flopping” and adopting! On IG, she posts the parking garage adoption announcement pics from 4/5 https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/juSs39NECv
• 5/2: posts on YouTube that “things are moving fast” in TTC land… “Jordan’s tests came back great and we’re still moving forward with IUI.” Brittany and Jordan are preparing their bodies for IUI… she says she doesn’t know if this adoption will go through, or maybe it will, and maybe they’ll get pregnant and adopt at the same time… OR MAYBE THEY’LL DO EMBRYO ADOPTION?! https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/bwaoKMfCzM
• ⁠5/15: Posts the family/friends adoption announcement compilation. At 3:15, Brittany tells her associate (?) Caitlin that it’s all thanks to her, as she was matched through the agency she [recommended]. https://www.reddit.com/brittanydawnsnark/s/pcVlvUjb2B

I know the existance of this Sub reddit proves me wrong. But I've never got to meet the chad people like on this sub reddit irl. So hear me out.
I guess I can find Valorant and BGMI players, but where are the real gamers? The ones who know the past, present, and future of gaming? Everywhere I go, I see the same thing: "Wanna do a TDM, bro?", "What's better, SCAR-L or Groza?" I get the competitive spirit, but it's so hard to come by Indian people who are well-versed in gaming culture.
The other day, I was talking to my friends (who play video games) and one of them asked what my favorite game of all time was. I said Dark Souls 1. They didn't even know that game existed. They all said GTA: San Andreas and Vice City. I know those are great games, but seriously, come on. If you like open-world games, you would've explored more and found out that there are better ones, like RDR and The Witcher games.
When someone found me playing Ace Attorney and Pokémon Emerald on an emulator in college, they made fun of me for playing "lame old games." I thought when I got to college, I'd find a buddy who would try out League of Legends with me because I didn't want to solo queue, but they called it stupid when I showed them clips. The only guy I found was a Dota player, and he's too deep in that game to know other stuff exists.
I do have friends who know video games well, but they're not Indian. I tried to experiment as well. I showed my Australian friend, let's call him Cody, Undertale. He never knew about the game, but he tried it out and loved it. He loved it so much he made everything Undertale-themed. He loved the game so much he had the Undertale OST playlist on his Spotify rewind. Next, I played the game with my Indian friend, let's call him Raj. Raj said it was lame. He said it was girly and that the music was kinda 'meh.' MEH? Really, Raj?
Has anyone experienced this?
P.S. I'm not saying Valorant, BGMI, and other mainstream games are bad. I love Valorant. I don't like that I suck at it, but I still play it.

Tier List: https://imgur.com/a/8uZCpGy
Oh boy, is this one gonna be a can of worms. Let's dive in headfirst!
"I'll school you in this battle of the baddest Bruce, with your He-Man haircut and your Daisy Dukes." It's an unremarkable line, but the rhythm here is pretty kickass, and I love the choregraphy of Jenner doing stretches in time with the beat, it's a really satisfying visual. "I hear you're good at running, you're just like the Flash. Especially in the 100-meter ditch-your-wife dash." Decent attack. They never fail to use someone getting divorced as material for a diss, do they? Banner looming over his beakers and microscope is a nice visual, and "You turned one gold medal to a lifetime of green; the most overrated athlete anyone's ever seen" is a competent enough attack. "You need to carry fatherhood across that finish line; kept up with the Kardashians but left some kids behind" is, again, a decent enough diss. A lot of material about Jenner's family here; I guess that's to be expected. There's still one or two much more obvious lines of attack to make, but I suppose Banner is just saving his best stuff for the end, right? He certainly wasn't saving it for the end of this verse, in which he just references the fact that he transforms when he gets pissed off without fashioning it into much of an attack or boast. The use of strings in the music here is a really nice touch, although I'd say the green screen effect with Bruce standing in front of those neurons or whatever ain't looking so hot.
Actually, the green screen effects for this battle broadly aren't the best. That stadium Jenner's standing in is looking pretty low-res. "I think you're in your element when you're behaving badly; honestly you're kind of boron when you're happy." It's a corny pun, but the sentiment is true enough. "I'll lap and pass your ass ten different ways. Decathlon athlete blast through you like some gamma rays." This is filler; it's fine, rhythm sounds pretty good, but it's just taking up space. "The truth is there's no truce between the Bruces, you're a drifter being useless, I'm a winner, no excuses!" That's a lot of playing on the same rhyme in a short period of time, and I dig that: truth/truce/Bruces/useless/excuses, hell yeah. I guess some of those aren't proper rhymes so much as, what's the word... assonance, maybe? It's good writing, is the point. The visuals panning in and out of this home gym is a nice touch too, and a nice parallel to Banner's sequence with his lab. "Beatiful women all up on my jock, I got a home gym, check me on the cereal box, Doc!" The rhythm Jenner's spitting here rules, this beat is low-key one of the better ones they've done. It's also a nice boast, and that Wheaties visual is pretty great. "You big green freak, don't try to flex; if it wasn't for your cousin, you'd never have sex!" Okay, this line goes super hard and I think it's one of the most underrated ones in ERB history. AND it's got one of the funniest visuals in the way Jenner pops in on that roller shouting "OHH!" while Banner suffers. That bit lives rent-free in my head. "You're so strong when you get mad, too bad you can't go back to protect your mom from your dad!" Holy fucking SHIT, this goes hard! The flow here kicks all kinds of ass, and we've got a 3x rhyme combo going on with mad/bad/dad; I LOVE odd numbers of rhymes! It's also just an extremely savage low blow. Another line that doesn't get enough credit. Jenner is kicking Banner's ass so far.
One questionable and inadvisable transformation sequence later, The Hulk comes in to spit a few bars. But only a few. "That painted face don't give you class; just one more thing Bruce do for cash!" Interesting argument. "Best thing you make? Kylie ass! She eighteen? Hulk SMASH!!" I do think this is a pretty funny way to reduce Jenner's legacy to Kardashian bullshit, and the Hulk SMASH joke always gets a strong reaction out of people.
Fully transitioned Caitlin Jenner comes in with "That's my teenage daughter, man, I have to forbid this; I'll put a javelin through your jolly green discus." Decent lines. Good way for Caitlin Jenner to brag about her athletic achievements while also throwing a Jolly Green Giant jab in. "Kylie not the kinda girl I'm gonna let you smash on; you'll get the medal without the decathlon!" I like the medeal/metal wordplay here, although Caitlin Jenner dual-wielding pistols and firing them at the Hulk feels extremely out of left field.
"Hulk is Hulk! No identify as man! Me thinks Cait might understand!" Pretty funny line, and Caitlin's reaction is also amusing. "No gender issue; this Jenner issue! Just you being you is enough to diss you!" So that's it, then? They're really not going to bring that one thing up, eh? I feel like that closing line would land a lot better if they did.
"Look I understand that you hate yourself; but you don't need to blame yourself." Oh, huh. That's different. Let's see where this therapy session goes. "You're a tiger, stop trying to tame yourself; you gotta be big enough to contain yourself." Well... I like that she's mixing things up by rhyming with the penultimate word instead of the last word, that's always something. They're clearly going for an angle of Caitlin relating to Bruce and trying to teach him to come to terms with his identity, which is kind of cute, I guess. "Be green, it ain't none of my business!" That line's pretty funny, as is the tea-sipping visual. "But if you think you're looking good in those torn-ass clothes; you're lying, which means you need a new wardrobe!" That's a reference to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which has absolutely nothing to do with this matchup. Feels out of place because of it. And it's not a very strong diss besides, feels like padding. Doubly strange to end her verse on it. "The visions of those shorts kinda scarred me; what'd you just rage at a Barney themed party?" Oh, there's more? Alright. This burn is really lame. Barney jokes? Come aaaaaaaahhhhhn, what are we doing here? That line should have definitely been left on the cutting room floor. "That's probably not something you seen as a child; not one day did you see your daddy smile!" Okay. She already established that Hulk's father was abusive in her first verse, and while it was a powerful blow there, here it feels much more toothless. "Hulk not strong enough to deal with denial! Laying you down easy; that's kitchen tile!" The first line is pretty amusing with how Caitlin imitates The Hulk's speech, but that second line... why? Pretty weaksauce way to finish her performance off, but whatever. Also not a fan of these visuals with the diamonds, feels like they wanted to add some visual flair but couldn't think of a good way to do it so they settled on Caitlin popping out of diamonds which is just odd. "Examine this under your microscope; you've got no neck, but you still fucking choked!" Oh. This verse is still going? Okay. Well, it's a good line. "After battling me, you're gonna always be pissed! So the Hulk will stay forever, neither Bruce will exist!" You know, that's actually a pretty strong closer, but I can't help but feel like it's undercut by just how long that verse was dragging on.
Okay, so. I feel it should be pointed out that there's a lot of people who were always going to hate this battle for making the decision not to attack Caitlin for being trans. Furthermore, the overwhelming sentiment has been that Banner won this; it bears keeping in mind that there's a lot of transphobes out there who were going to say the Hulk won no matter what happened simply because Caitlin is trans. So to that end, I think that a fair amount of the hate this battle gets, and the hate that Caitlin's performance gets, is bullshit. But there are still some big criticisms that need to be made.
So let's be honest: they threw the match for Caitlin. Or at least attempted to. You might still think the Hulk managed to win, but with that insanely long final verse it's pretty clear they tried to make Caitlin the 'canon' winner, as with Thomas Jefferson vs. Frederick Douglass. They did this presumably because it was pride month, and they wanted to say Trans Rights with a trans rapper that gets a positive portrayal. I can get behind that sentiment, but the execution is questionable to say the least.
Like... I'm not trans, but there's some shitty stuff going on here that's easy to see. For one, the cardinal rule that everybody knows is that you're not supposed to misgendedeadname a trans person, and the title of this battle is Bruce Banner vs. Bruce Jenner. So from the get-go, before the video even starts playing, we're getting some mixed signals here. Are we to take from this that they made the tactical decision to go ahead and deadname Caitlin for the sake of the matchup making intuitive sense(what with it obviously being a play on their similar names), and then try and do a hard pivot and make Caitlin win the battle to avoid criticism for that decision? Feels like maybe they could have just not gone with this matchup instead. The whole transformation element also seems dubious, but I could see someone reasonably landing either way on whether that's actually an issue or just silly fun, so I won't go into that.
Another issue to consider: Caitlin Jenner kind of sucks. Most people do not like her. Most TRANS people don't even like her. For one, despite the fact that she's trans, she is a Republican who has made anti-gay marriage comments in the past. The bizarre shittiness of a trans person being like that is a pretty ripe source of material for disses, yet this battle does not bring it up at all. And more notably than that, Caitlin Jenner was famously involved with a manslaughter case, where she was accused of getting someone killed due to negligent driving. It was ultimately determined that there wasn't enough evidence for manslaughter and so she wasn't found guilty(though it's widely believed that this decision was bullshit and she did commit manslaughter), but it's an extremely well-known and controversial factoid and it's insane they didn't have Banner bring up as a diss. If you're going to have a rapper make the case of "Just you being you is enough to diss you", seems like being a trans Republican and quite possibly committing vehicular manslaughter are the two strongest and most obvious points to go with. And yet... nothing. If your goal to make a battle that gives trans people positive representation, then Caitlin Jenner is a pretty poor choice. If you don't want your trans rapper to look like a bad person, then maybe instead of ignoring either elephant in the room, you could just go with some other trans rapper in some other matchup. I get that there aren't a lot of choices for a trans rep with name recognition or ample material to work with, but... the Wachowski sisters are right there. And they've done more to warrant getting in an ERB than Caitlin Jenner anyhow.
Another thing is... why is it a moral imperative that Caitlin win this battle? Sure she's trans, and it's cool to want to give trans people positive representation, but you didn't need to give her an absurdly long verse at the end to do that. You could just give her good writing, refrain from shitting on her just for being trans, and sure, let her have the final word. Then, yes, show the pride flag at the end to say Trans Rights. That's all you had to do. With something like Jefferson v. Douglass the scale-tipping made sense, because it was a slave-owner vs. a slave. Yeah, it's kind of hard for the slave-owner to win that match, and it makes sense to use it as a vehicle to take a firm stand against slavery. But it's not like this battle is Trans Person vs. Transphobe; Bruce Banner isn't some horrible person that must be morally condemned(there's a much stronger case for Caitlin herself), so... why have it play out like this? I think that ironically, by trying to hand the match to Caitlin they wound up getting more hate thrown towards the performance and more people voting against her in polls than there otherwise would have been if they'd just cut out all that excessive padding and given her a solid closing verse. As-is the verse isn't good, the overall quality is dragged down by just how much fluff there is.
In the end, my read on the situation is this: for whatever reason, they really liked the idea of this matchup and wanted to go through with it. They knew that going through with it would necessitate making it Bruce Banner vs. Bruce Jenner at the start, so they bit the bullet on the deadnaming and the conceit for the matchup and did everything they could to mitigate the potential backlash for that, going as soft on Caitlin as possible and giving her a verse that was ridiculously lengthy. People always say "but it's the Hulk, it makes sense he wouldn't say much!" and sure, I can buy that as an excuse as to why Caitlin's verse would be longER than his, but that still doesn't account for why it's as insanely long as it is. In any case... this paragraph is just speculation, I can't know their actual motivations, but I think this is likely what happened.
Anyway... despite all, this battle gets way too much hate. I think Jenner's first verse is really good, and the Hulk is also quite solid for as few lines as he gets. Bruce Banner is a little mediocre and Caitlin's last verse ends up just being a pain in the ass to sit through(could've been good if they cut all the fat and left in the handful of good lines) that's best skipped past on repeat listens. But still... there's some stuff here that is thoroughly enjoyable. I don't think this battle quite manages to be good, but it's got enough going for it that I think it manages to avoid being outright bad. I'm putting this in the top of C tier, because I genuinely think it's more enjoyable than all of the battles that are below it.
It's understandable to say that The Hulk beat Jenner's second verse, but I think her first verse was pretty fire and the highlight of the battle. I say she edges out a win, but a case could be made either way.
Let me end things off by saying this: I once watched this battle with an extremely transphobic relative, and he was pissed off by that "no gender issue, this Jenner issue" line. So even if this battle was a regrettable mistake, at least they did something right.

Edit: You guys are all so nice. I feel a lot better about my fashion interest now. I think I just feel out of place in my own life because none of my friends have much interest in fashion. I think that with the ease I've had finding events/groups/activities that cater to my nerdy interests, I feel frustrated that I haven't had the same success with finding those same things in fashion even online.
Kind of a weird question, I know. My long-term special interest has been fashion. I can talk for hours about the major trends spanning from the 1870s to current, historical methods of fabric dyeing, the existence of early fashion design, etc, and I find every aspect of it fascinating. However, I often feel like my interest is kind of bland compared to other interests, and I feel like I'm feeding into stereotypes of women being vain and shallow. There also just aren't very many good places to discuss fashion. I follow several subreddits about fashion, and most of the posts are "tell me I'm hot" bait or very minimal discussion about a single piece.
My younger sister (I suspect she has autism, as myself and one of our younger brothers are both diagnosed) has an interest in lord of the rings. Her room (still lives with our parents) is fully decorated with it, her clothing is all themed after it, and she collects mass amounts of merchandise. Her whole life gets to be themed around her interest, and it makes me sad that I can't achieve something similar. My special interest feels so hard to indulge in due to the high cost, accessibility, and the social stigma of being too girly. Does anyone else feel this way?

Does torrid not sell sweatpants? I saw one pair of bright pink sweatpants that were peanuts themed (not for me lol). I took a look through the online selection and only saw joggers. As a girly on the heavier side, tight fitting clothing is not really the ideal fit for working out at the moment.

So I made this comment to another person's post recently about her feeling annoyed at the teachestudent relationship in Maxton Hall and that it wasn't being properly addressed as toxic. I agree. But that's hardly my only issue with the show. Because a lot of really young people are into these genres, I feel the need to address these points as someone who's actually lived the Ruby/James storyline, different ways and multiple times. A veteran, one might say. You can take my statements as a grain of salt, or whatever you like, but may those who have ears listen:
Spoilers throughout if someone hasn't finished the season:
This is the thing...I actually find the lead actors cute and super talented even despite this being a genre that I find deplorably predictable and drab. I actually only got invested to improve my German, sadly now I'm actually invested in the characters at this point despite me seeing everything that's going to happen a mile away, because a lot of these writers who may actually be creative but stifle it for the sake of hashing out another "proven to make money" storyline that has been recreated time and time again. Yes, the teachestudent situation is problematic not because they're both consenting individuals who or of age, but because apparently they knew each long before which hints that she would've most likely have been a minor when the relationship took form. Maybe people who have read the books can shed better light on the matter.
Beyond that, my biggest issue with these common bad boy meets good girl trope shows beyond how oversaturated the romance world is with these stories (damn, not even a reversal like good boy meets bad girl), is the very negative expectations they put on real girls out there. These stories fuel the idea that they "can fix him" and even those overly toxic traits he possesses should be downplayed in some way, and even the slightest redeemable qualities he shows should be made out as holy. This is one of the large reasons I hate this genre. For example, despite James's slight transition in S1 (and yes, I'm fully aware that he will most likely continue to change for the better in some ways), to say I think Ruby deserves better is an understatement. Women/girls keep fawning over the swimming pool scene where he saves Ruby, but I was honestly pissed at him for this whole catastrophic scenario and how it unfolded. Firstly, he invited her to this godforsaken hive of scum and villainy of a party despite him knowing full well this is not normally her scene, ignores Ruby's actualized fears of pupils teasing hedisliking her for being with James, and gives her an invitation into the lion's den thinking she'll come out unscathed? For someone who hints at himself having an impressive GPA, I'm not impressed by his lack of logical deduction. When viewed from this perspective, the blame of Ruby getting pushed into the pool and being triggered into a panic attack that nearly got her drowned largely rests on James's shoulders, especially as one of the sole people at that party claiming to "care" about her. Despite this, no open moment from James of reflection of responsibility for what took place there and nothing even remotely resembling an apology not even the following morning of the incident, but rather even gave off the impression that it wasn't even that big of a deal. He sent a text asking if she was doing better (not even the first text the following morning, mind you), and that was the end of that. Not a question or care more before a slew of flirting between the two. Of course, at that point Ruby is already infatuated with him, so it makes little difference. But to someone from the outside looking in, the selfishness and ambivalence is glaringly obvious.
It's an ongoing theme in S1 that apparently getting apologies out of James is like pulling teeth (another highly toxic masculinity trait that we need to stop treating with humor or something "enduring" when interest is involved). I believe I counted him saying it only twice in the last episodes and it was always backed by some sort of excuse "but I did it because I was embarrassed by my parents...sorry, but I can't...my father...etc." In reality he's been needing to give proper apologies since the show began, but the moment he finally formulates the words, it's always accompanied by some excuse? Immaturity. What was the topper on the cake for me and an ultimate red flag (yes, yes...it's fantasy, a show...but in real life, run for the hills), he continues to take decisions that should normally involve both of them, into his own hands and gravely gauging her whims wrongly in these situations. First with the poster of them, then again ending the relationship in order to "protect" her. He's very creative at finding solutions when it's getting back at Ruby for things in the beginning, but now he's just willing to throw in the towel anytime he has to fight for their relationship? Again questioning his logical capabilities and even his intentions at this point. Perhaps it's actually just rooted in him being afraid of commitment after a life of whoring himself out to hush people up or a slew of one night stands which has left him detached? If not, as I suspect it isn't, a form of self-sabotage due to his father's hold on him. I know it's most likely the latter, and as relatable and sad as that may be, this is catastrophic and needs therapy to get resolved. Rose-tinted romance isn't going to fix that (trust me, speaking from experience, girlies). And to make matters worse, I can read the handwriting on the wall from the last episode ending, that James is liable to take matters into his own hands again and hurt Ruby because he keeps trying to decide what HE thinks is best for HER life. I'm not a teen or in my early twenties watching this show, so I tend to view these from a mother hen type of perspective. If you see a guy like James Beaufort, it might be entertaining on TV or film, but in REAL life, run for the hills unless you have written proof he's attending therapy and counselling for his issues and start seeing a difference. My interest in the show is starting to wane after already guessing (like most things in this show and others of its genre) what's coming next season...such as James getting cold feet, taking executive control of their relationship again and bailing...very sure. I don't even need to read the books for that. I've lived this, girlies.
Hopefully, the writers exceed my expectations and do something unexpected. As I said in another post, it wouldn't be the most drastic of plot twists, but make the chauffeur the old flame James's mother was alluded to and have James secretly be his kid, which would give light on why he acts like a father figure (or at least the closest positive one James has) and his passionate defense of James. That would maybe keep me invested and one my toes knowing there are actually all these secrets being unraveled. Okay, anyway, that's my rant on this. That was waaay too long. Bye.
Update: Since this post got a lot of backlash, I'm happy to discover an interview with the lead actors where the summarize the same as what I stated here and in my responses to people below, haha:
https://youtu.be/IrSbe1ecqcc?si=ALOpVt2GM7hfigOF
Harriet & Damian: James is a big walking flag. Ruby should run. James needs therapy and needs to work on himself. There you have it, folks. Straight from the horse's mouth. 😂

Hello,
I have altered three magical items for my players. They are themed for the campaign, which is using Greek Gods for their base. I'm sure you'll figure it out with the items.
I have the Fighter, of which I plan on giving them a Thunder Javelin. However, I have added the ability to recall the Javelin after attunement and it has a single charge that recharges once per day.
The Druid is getting a Trident of the Sea Serpent, which is pretty much a staff of the Adder with an attunement that allows a torrent of water to be shot from the mouth of the staff once per day.
Finally, a Helm for the Paladin that will turn them Invisible once per day. Attunement will give the wearer muffled movement.
All items are cursed and cannot be sold or removed from their inventory, save for the Javelin, which returns to the inventory when thrown.
Can there be some more balance requirements I can make prior to giving them these items? These are pretty good players, clever, but I put a lot of work into balance and preparing contingencies.
Any advice would be appreciated. However, the items are flavored to the campaign, so I'm looking for adjustments to the effects, not the items' physical nature themselves.

Hey y'all.
So I've been watching a lot of those digital horror flash game videos recently and remembered one that me and my brother found a while ago. I think we found it somewhere between 2021 and mid 2022. If you know anything about those digital horror flash games, I know it was before the whole subgenre got popular and I'm like 70% sure it was before the Lacey Games series started (definitely before it got popular). Know that when I refer to the media here as a game, I'm talking about a video where someone's playing a fake game.
It was this animation channel that had this old flash game theme to it, but the art style was very cutesy. It was kinda pastel goth-like with creepy elements to it but it also had more like frills and sparkles to it. I think it might've also been anime-inspired but take that with a grain of salt, I just know it was cartoony. It was also very cluttered, there was usually a ton of little things on screen at a time framing the focus of the shot. I'm pretty sure the whole channel was dedicated to these animations, but it might've just been a smaller series on a bigger channel.
The videos had a story to them but I can't really remember it. The main character was your typical girly optimistic pink-haired girl, but she had this dark side to her I think? I don't know if she actually did anything really evil but I think she just had this kinda hidden evil vibe to her. There was another girl who might've been her love interest but I am NOT sure of that. She was this frankenstein creature with red hair I think? It might've been split dyed with another color to it, maybe white or blue or black. But she was chill and cool and might've smoked? I don't know. I think she also did the trope of falling apart randomly, like frankenstein monsters do. I think there was also a scientist guy but I do not remember. I think part of the story was about the main girl having missing memories or something.
There's three videos I remember from it, but only two of them I'm sure existed. I'll start with the one I'm not sure of because it's short. I think it was about the pink girl confessing her love to the frankenstein girl on a school rooftop, but getting there and realizing someone else was already confessing their love to her. So later on she pushes that person off the roof. I don't know if this was a real video or if I'm getting it mixed up with something else since it's a pretty common trope.
The two that I'm sure existed were a surgery game and a little mermaid story game. The surgery game had the pink haired girl being a doctor or nurse and taking care of patients, but it'd get really gory. I think she might've operated on her mother at some point but now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know if that really happened. She might've also operated on the frankenstein girl and stitched her up. I remember her tools including a candle for cauterizing wounds and maybe melting body parts? and scissors for cutting people open. It was animated VERY similarly to how those old surgery games used to play. The end of the video had the story moving forward, but I'm not sure what actually happened.
The little mermaid story game was a video where I think the characters dressed up and acted out a version of the little mermaid. It might've been original designs but I'm not sure. The game played like a storybook where you would click to move on the story and occasionally have to play a small simple mini-game like spot the difference or find the hidden object. I remember the story got very dark though and instead of an actual little mermaid story, it was about a mermaid being captured and held inside an aquarium for royalty or rich people. I think they were planning to eat the mermaid but the chef grew attached to the mermaid and didn't want to kill them. I don't remember what happened after though, but I think at the end either the mermaid ate the chef or the chef was forced to cook the mermaid. I'm not sure about that though.
Sorry this post is so long but I wanted to add every detail I could remember. I'd love it if anyone could help me find this channel, it was super interesting and I want to rewatch these old videos and see if any new ones came out. Thanks!

Hi, my name is Ruben.
I've been a player of the Diablo saga since I can play on the computer, and I'm 36 years old.
I've been part of the most critical community of the saga, and specifically of Diablo 3 and 4, but always with my circle of friends. This time I change the formula, as I believe that if I want to help or contribute, the only way is to do it here.
I'm 1 day away from the start of Season 4, so there's no temporary mess.
And I want to make a small contribution based on constructive criticism and not destructive criticism, a style to the Last Epoch reddit. And you're all invited to contribute your ideas here, because the more interaction, the farther it will go.
Finally, I apologize for the biblical text that you have written for me, and my English.
Possible changes: PVE
1.- The seasons could have an introductory story, which little by little would lead us to the expansion. A style to a series that the chapters are the seasons, and the movie the expansion. There are many ARPGs that stand out for mechanics, crafting system, combat style... etc. But if there's one thing they don't have that Diablo does have is a developed and engaging lore, I think that would be a good hook for all types of players.
2.- Nightmare dungeons should have an option to drop items to open any minor uber. For example, the boss of that dungeon can throw an evil heart at you and in the next one, exquisite blood. Thus, these dungeons would be an endgame initiation activity, where you can upload glyphs and obtain resources.
3.- The dungeons of the lesser Ubers should all be like the ice beast.
4.- That the hunting of minor ubers has some disadvantage. For example, you can't use that primary skills, or the crit stat is off. And at the entrance there is a wardrobe to be able to adapt your character to the imposed disadvantage.
5.- Clan house system, where it comes to the fore through cosmetics or medals, milestones such as the gauntlet, raids, world bosses, pvp... etc.
6.- The World Bosses could turn them into a kind of raid, where you had to enter a location and that dungeon contained: debuffs, ubers, and traps, with a maximum of Resurrections. That you could invite your clan to participate or your friends, and in case you couldn't or didn't have to, you would go to the location as it works now. (It's okay if casual people,it doesn't do all the content, as they're CASUAL). This would greatly enhance clans or friend lists, as a scoring system or cosmetics could be implemented for clan houses.
7.- Completely disassociate the following types of players, Casual and Regular. No, the content created has to please both parties, in fact devivulating them attracts everyone, let me explain.A casual will be satisfied with the arrival of the less demanding End game, and in case that season has not been liked they will be able to say: -I finished the most accessible content I don't want to spend more time on it-. On the other hand, a Regular would have the option of staying in the game, or becoming a casual if he didn't like that season. In short, let's all understand that not all content,It has to be for everyone, but we can all enjoy it at any time.
8.- Classes are a problem because they don't have a charisma like in Diablo 2, and in my case this is because all classes are capable of everything and do everything, except the barbarian who alwaysIt's the barbarian. For example. The Amazon was a class at a distance, and had clearly marked the different paths to follow, javelin or bow, but always at a distance, on the contrary,The naughty one (that from the beginning I fell in love with versatility) it is not clear what a distance class or a melee is, because that versatility that it was said it would have does not have it. For what she's gotTwo paths are either go mele or go distance, and for me both are contradictory and so it happens in all ARGPs, distance classes are distanced, shapeshifting druids by throwing magic, necromancerswith blood abilities...
9.- An auction house is necessary for trade to be attractive, and I'm talking about something like Path of Exile, where currency is the game resource, see like Diablo 2 that was sold through gamesobjects, this entails an implementation of runes and runic words. (Although the real money one didn't dislike me because if someone is willing to pay who am I to tell them not to pay me).
Possible changes: PVP
1.- Pvp in an Argp is very difficult to implement since this style of games are quite focused on pve, but I think that lost ark implements it exceptionally, ARENAS, where the entrance has ablock on the damage numbers, with a shop and specific items allowed in that arena. The example is card games that do events limiting decks and requiring types, deck size, etc.(In Diablo 3, my friends and I would do PvP fights just by forging items from the blacksmith with an equal amount of resources for everyone, which drastically lowered the damage and balanced the characters quite a bit.)
2.- PVP events for content creators and their clan. It's often said that content creators have a lot of time to dedicate to the game since their job is to get content out there, to go as far as possiblepossible to teach that content that the rest of us don't reach. How cool it would be for a dedicated streamer clan to stick against the rest in a king of the hill system. This event promotesThe game appeals to content creators, and players who fight against them win a skin with a theme from their favorite content creator. WIN TO WIN TO WIN.
3.-3 types of leader boards for PVP, Solo, Clan, Hardcore.
4.-Real PVP for hardcores where the death of the character has the relevance it has in the pve. (again, all content doesn't have to please everyone) This would be a way for people to be more competitiveIt would have a very high sense and fun, it would also provide many hours of gameplay and different types of characters since you would be forced to have two characters, one that farms and the other that you send to death.
5.- Clan PVP, the same system as that of content creators, a king of the hill where the most powerful clan wins, staying on the hill for a long time.And these are some of the ideas that are going around in my head and that I have structured.Thanks to the one who has read it and contributed to the post.
Best regards.

so, yeah, taylor added ttpd to its own set in the eras tour, but you can use your imagination if ttpd has its own tour.
rules

• add at least one surprise song
• emphasis on the tortured poets songs

my fanmade: setlist
Set 1: I Love You, It's Ruining My Life
Taylor emerges in a white dress with "TTPD", "13" and other phrases related to the Tortured Poets Department, with ghostly whispers of "Daddy" in the background and backup dancers dancing around a spot where Taylor emerges.

• But Daddy I Love Him
• So High School
• The Tortured Poets Department

Taylor performs the following songs on acoustic guitar

• Lover
• Wildest Dreams

Costume change: Taylor rips off her dress to reveal a black bodysuit. A platform similar to the canon version in the Eras Tour emerges

• Fortnight
• delicate
• the 1/Down Bad
• How Did It End

Set 2: You Don't Get To Tell Me About Sad
A box with Taylor Swift (in a black hoodie that she later takes off to reveal a red and black bodysuit similar to that on the reputation Stadium Tour) with one of her hands chained to something (similar to the Fortnight MV and the lwymmd performance in The Eras Tour) moves around the stage while she performs "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me". At the end of the performance she gets freed and performs the other songs in the set

• Who's Afraid of Little Old Me
• look what you made me do
• Fresh Out The Slammer
• The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
• I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
• Vigilante Shit
• illicit affairs tolerate it (for the pre-paris girlies)

(takes off the hoodie)

• Bad Blood/Should've Said No
• I Knew You Were Trouble
• Imgonnagetyouback

Set 3: Am I Allowed To Cry?
A skit portrays a break-up between Swift and a male character in a backdrop similar to the You Belong With Me MV plays, before the screen splits open to show Taylor Swift in a green robe walk in to perform "Guilty as Sin?" before taking it off

• Guilty as Sin?
• You Belong With Me
• The Alchemy
• Death By A Thousand Cuts
• If This Was A Movie

Taylor then goes into an acoustic guitar + piano section
Guitar

• I Look In People's Windows
• I Hate It Here
• Cold As You
• betty
• Surprise song 1

Piano

• Surprise song 2
• loml
• The Prophecy
• champagne problems
• The Albatross

The piano with Taylor descends into the stage
Set 4: Old Habits Die Screaming
Storm imagery dominates this set with Taylor in a black dress holding an umbrella performing Midnight Rain (no bodysuit changes >:D) before throwing the umbrella away and performing the rest.

• Midnight Rain
• All Too Well
• Last Kiss
• New Years Day (without piano)
• The Black Dog

Finale: I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
A skit similar to the ICDIWABH skit from the Eras Tour is performed with Taylor appearing in a carnival-themed outfit.

• We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
• Shake It Off
• Picture To Burn
• Florida!!!
• I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

Filled
Edit: apologies, I have had very bad weather here, and it has caught up to my connection, which has started dropping like crazy. I will reply continue trying to reply to people, however it may be slow. Please don't pay any mind to slow replies, I am 100% going to get this art done. Thank you for your patience.
Direct Messages: Direct messages regarding this post will not be read and will result in blocking.
Comment Requirements: Comments that miss a particular, key element mentioned in this post will result in the commenter not being considered for the project and may result in blocking. I will insta-block you if you make out like you have read the post and it is clear that you have not.
Central Theme: Zim as the chaotic mastermind behind a wildly dysfunctional city that is a Civilization VI & Cities Skylines mashup, with Dib desperately trying to restore order.
Comic Book Page Layout (note, panels 1 and 2 can be swapped):

1. Panel 1 - Zim's Introduction:
   • Description: Show Zim from the front or side, close up at, unbeknownst at this point to the viewer, his control panel, dramatically saying one of his scheming declarations ("Behold my masterful urban chaos!", "I shall rewrite history and traffic laws!" or "With a flick of my switch, empires fall and traffic jams... rise!" or other like that). I am thinking it should be shown first.
   • Purpose: This panel sets the tone and introduces Zim as the central antagonist, highlighting his delight in chaos. It focuses on his expression and excitement, drawing viewers into the story.
2. Panel 2 - Dib's Reaction:
   • Description: Dib is depicted within a chaotic city or urban environment from Civilization VI, appearing panicked/overwhelmed/frustrated/determined/bewildered (not sure which) and trying to manage the mayhem. Wonders from Civ VI are visible in the background. Maybe only one? I am not sure what Dib should be saying. Perhaps "Not again! Why does it always have to be city-wide chaos?", "This can't be good... even for Zim's standards!" (<-not this one if shown first) or "I knew I should've stayed in bed today..."
   • Purpose: If shown second, this panel reveals the impact of Zim's actions, adding tension and narrative depth. If shown first, it creates suspense and engages viewers by making them question the cause of the chaos.
3. Panel 3 - GIR's Antics:
   • Description: GIR humorously claims a huge sized role in the chaos, with a speech bubble like "I'm the mayor of everything!" or "I'm the boss of all the buildings!" or something else GIR-like. Perhaps he is interacting with a Wonder, too, to drive home the fact that this is a Civ VI mashup.
   • Purpose: Adds a layer of humour and showcases GIR's chaotic innocence amidst the havoc.
4. Panel 4 - Full Scene Reveal:
   • Description: A wider shot from behind or to the rear-and-side of Zim at his control panel, with screens showing both the game-like world and its chaotic scenes, including Dib and GIR. Show the in-game game HUD over the main screen. The HUD should not be dominant, should feel like a natural inclusion into the piece (so with a more alien design than the standard Civ VI or Cities: Skylines HUD). It basically only needs to be there as a way to drive home the tie in the piece has to Civ VI and add to the user wondering whether Dib is actually inside a game or if it is the real world. He should be exclaiming something, perhaps ""As the puppet master, I control the fate of empires and the flow of your so-called traffic!", "Witness my ultimate conquest! This world bends to my will!" or "Marvel at my strategic brilliance! I turn civilizations into playgrounds and playgrounds into chaos!"
   • Purpose: This final panel reveals the overarching scenario --- Zim manipulating these events as if they were part of a video game, tying all previous panels together into a cohesive narrative. The user might even wonder if Dib is inside a game or if Zim is altering the real world from his control panel.

Art Style and Detail Expectations:

• Budget Consideration: As long as it remains within the stated budget, I am open to the idea of the artwork being spread across two canvases if it enhances the overall visual impact. Artists who feel that a larger space could better serve the project’s needs should feel free to propose how they would utilize the additional canvas, ensuring the total cost remains within the budget limits.
• Preferred Style: Aim for a dynamic, expressive style akin to "Invader Zim," rich in bold lines and vibrant colours. Open to variations that maintain the energetic essence of the theme. I would highly prefer the style in the image I have posted to my profile. Note that it doesn't have to have that level of detail.
• Atmosphere: The piece should be lively and chaotic, yet humorously so, capturing the cartoonish essence of a villain's scheme gone awry in a video game world.
• Easter Egg: To test if you are reading this, include (do not draw attention to it, I will notice it even if you don't, just stick with how the following example places it where it doesn't make sense) a one-word bathroom item (e.g., towel, paste, brush, floss, soap, shaver) in the middle of your comment. Do not comment about this rule other than to place the word appropriately. For example, "I would love to create this artwork for you as I love Invader soap Zim and know exactly how I should stylise their gesture!"
• Detail Distribution: Each panel should carry consistent detail, adapted to fit the broader narrative scope of the scene. Emphasis on key elements to maintain visual interest and storytelling clarity. See the image posted on my profile for a visual guide.
• Printing Size: This artwork will be printed on an 18 x 12 inch canvas. Also will be used as a desktop wallpaper (I will rearrange the panels to use it as a desktop wallpaper). It does not need to be detailed enough for said size. It is ok to look good for a print size (eg, paint it with the detail/time-taken for an equivalently priced normal sized piece, but at the resolution of what I am asking for. If that doesn't make sense, let me know)
• Focus Areas: Emphasise Zim's reactions, Dib's challenges, and GIR's mischievous impact, ensuring these elements draw and retain viewer attention.
• Reference: For a visual guide, refer to the fanart piece posted on my profile. It illustrates the desired level of dynamism and expressiveness. Note that it doesn't have to have that level of detail.

Other Notes:

• Orientation: Portrait orientation to enhance the sequential flow of the panels. This orientation supports a top-to-bottom progression that aligns with the unfolding story, making it more intuitive for the viewer to follow the sequence from Zim’s initial action, through the chaotic scenarios, to the final reveal.
• Scene Flow: Open to swapping panels 1 and 2 if it improves narrative flow. Initial thoughts lean towards starting with Zim to align with the show’s style.
• Communication: Please only engage through comments for discussions. Direct messages about this post will not be read and will lead to blocking.
• Recording: Something that will strongly sway me is if you are comfortable with recording the piece being made as you create it and uploading it privately to YouTube (I don't care if it is small, e.g., 360p). Once commissioned, communication methods such as direct messages or email are good to be used to share such links privately.
• Your Process: Please briefly describe your commission and artistic process in your comment to provide insight into how you plan to approach this project.
• Time to Produce: Please give me an ETC (ETA).

Direct Messages: Direct messages regarding this post will not be read and will result in blocking.
Central Theme: Zim as the chaotic mastermind behind a wildly dysfunctional city that is a Civilization VI & Cities Skylines mashup, with Dib desperately trying to restore order.
Comic Book Page Layout (note, panels 1 and 2 can be swapped):

1. Panel 1 - Zim's Introduction:
   • Description: Show Zim from the front or side, close up at, unbeknownst at this point to the viewer, his control panel, dramatically saying one of his scheming declarations ("Behold my masterful urban chaos!", "I shall rewrite history and traffic laws!" or "With a flick of my switch, empires fall and traffic jams... rise!" or other like that). I am thinking it should be shown first.
   • Purpose: This panel sets the tone and introduces Zim as the central antagonist, highlighting his delight in chaos. It focuses on his expression and excitement, drawing viewers into the story.
2. Panel 2 - Dib's Reaction:
   • Description: Dib is depicted within a chaotic city or urban environment from Civilization VI, appearing panicked/overwhelmed/frustrated/determined/bewildered (not sure which) and trying to manage the mayhem. Wonders from Civ VI are visible in the background. Maybe only one? I am not sure what Dib should be saying. Perhaps "Not again! Why does it always have to be city-wide chaos?", "This can't be good... even for Zim's standards!" (<-not this one if shown first) or "I knew I should've stayed in bed today..."
   • Purpose: If shown second, this panel reveals the impact of Zim's actions, adding tension and narrative depth. If shown first, it creates suspense and engages viewers by making them question the cause of the chaos.
3. Panel 3 - GIR's Antics:
   • Description: GIR humorously claims a huge sized role in the chaos, with a speech bubble like "I'm the mayor of everything!" or "I'm the boss of all the buildings!" or something else GIR-like. Perhaps he is interacting with a Wonder, too, to drive home the fact that this is a Civ VI mashup.
   • Purpose: Adds a layer of humour and showcases GIR's chaotic innocence amidst the havoc.
4. Panel 4 - Full Scene Reveal:
   • Description: A wider shot from behind or to the rear-and-side of Zim at his control panel, with screens showing both the game-like world and its chaotic scenes, including Dib and GIR. Show the in-game game HUD over the main screen. The HUD should not be dominant, should feel like a natural inclusion into the piece (so with a more alien design than the standard Civ VI or Cities: Skylines HUD). It basically only needs to be there as a way to drive home the tie in the piece has to Civ VI and add to the user wondering whether Dib is actually inside a game or if it is the real world. He should be exclaiming something, perhaps ""As the puppet master, I control the fate of empires and the flow of your so-called traffic!", "Witness my ultimate conquest! This world bends to my will!" or "Marvel at my strategic brilliance! I turn civilizations into playgrounds and playgrounds into chaos!"
   • Purpose: This final panel reveals the overarching scenario --- Zim manipulating these events as if they were part of a video game, tying all previous panels together into a cohesive narrative. The user might even wonder if Dib is inside a game or if Zim is altering the real world from his control panel.

Art Style and Detail Expectations:

• Budget Consideration: As long as it remains within the stated budget, I am open to the idea of the artwork being spread across two canvases if it enhances the overall visual impact. Artists who feel that a larger space could better serve the project’s needs should feel free to propose how they would utilize the additional canvas, ensuring the total cost remains within the budget limits.
• Preferred Style: Aim for a dynamic, expressive style akin to "Invader Zim," rich in bold lines and vibrant colours. Open to variations that maintain the energetic essence of the theme. I would highly prefer the style in the image I have posted to my profile. Note that it doesn't have to have that level of detail.
• Atmosphere: The piece should be lively and chaotic, yet humorously so, capturing the cartoonish essence of a villain's scheme gone awry in a video game world.
• Detail Distribution: Each panel should carry consistent detail, adapted to fit the broader narrative scope of the scene. Emphasis on key elements to maintain visual interest and storytelling clarity. See the image posted on my profile for a visual guide.
• Focus Areas: Emphasise Zim's reactions, Dib's challenges, and GIR's mischievous impact, ensuring these elements draw and retain viewer attention.
• Reference: For a visual guide, refer to the fanart piece posted on my profile. It illustrates the desired level of dynamism and expressiveness. Note that it doesn't have to have that level of detail.

Other Notes:

• Orientation: Portrait orientation to enhance the sequential flow of the panels. This orientation supports a top-to-bottom progression that aligns with the unfolding story, making it more intuitive for the viewer to follow the sequence from Zim’s initial action, through the chaotic scenarios, to the final reveal.
• Scene Flow: Open to swapping panels 1 and 2 if it improves narrative flow. Initial thoughts lean towards starting with Zim to align with the show’s style.
• Communication: Please only engage through comments for discussions. Direct messages about this post will not be read and will lead to blocking.
• Recording: Something that will strongly sway me is if you are comfortable with recording the piece being made as you create it and uploading it privately to YouTube (I don't care if it is small, e.g., 360p). Once commissioned, communication methods such as direct messages or email are good to be used to share such links privately.
• Your Process: Please briefly describe your commission and artistic process in your comment to provide insight into how you plan to approach this project.
• Time to Produce: Please give me an ETC (ETA).

About Us

We are a North American couple in our late twenties - we love nature, food, and sightseeing. We are not a fan of partying or relaxing (haha), and we have limited vacation time so this trip was perfect for us. However we know that most people will find this trip too hectic/busy with too much travel time - different strokes for different folks! Hopefully this is still helpful.
We travelled for 14 days from late April to early May 2024.

Krabi

Day 0: Flight from Bangkok to Krabi at night, so just hit Ao Nang Landmark beach and the night market. Night market is nice but quite small. The Ao Nang Landmark beach was the most gorgeous 360 view of the sunset I’ve ever seen. Don’t be confused with the proper Ao Nang beach (10 min walk), which imo isn’t anywhere as nice for sunset views. But the proper Ao Nang Beach has free nighttime fire shows, which was fun to see.
Beware the multiple jellyfish at Ao Nang beach and in general while snorkelling in the Andaman coast. I wish I had brought a travel container filled with vinegar as a precaution.
Day 1: Day trip to Phi Phi Islands (highly recommend) with the One Asia corporation - they were excellent, well-organized with lots of free water bottles, juice and fruits. They also offered snorkels that had disposable personal mouthpieces (which I didn’t even consider). They said they were the only company that offered the disposable mouth pieces, which I can’t verify but I believe it.
In the evening, we did a hike up to Tiger Cave temple for the most gorgeous sunset. New rule is last entry is 5:30 pm so plan accordingly. It is 1260 steps and very hot/difficult but ACTUALLY WORTH IT, especially for sunset. You’ll also see monkeys! Take breaks and drink water. We took 40 minutes to go up, around 20 to go down. Modest clothes recommended but knee length is okay.
Day 2: Day trip to Hong Island, including kayaking through mangroves. Kayaking was definitely worth it but there are limited tours that offer this. Be careful swimming at Hong Island - we had small jellyfish stings that were very very mild, and we didn’t even see the small jellyfish although lots of big ones were visible while kayaking. Kayaking felt more safe. Snorkeling at Chewang Beach was pretty meh, quite cloudy.
In terms of longtail versus speedboat, I personally preferred speedboat because the journeys can be quite long otherwise. It’s just as scenic and also less noisy than the old motor of the longtail. Only benefit of longtail is nicer photos at the bow.
If we had more time, we would have gone to Railay Beach (but not interested in rock climbing so less cool). Other options are James Bond Island or Four Islands but to be honest, reviews weren’t as great.
We then took an InDrive to Khao Sok national park. Grab was not reliable as drivers could not see location first and then kept cancelling because far away. This was fine but kind of felt sketchy bc 2 hour drive. Maybe book with official company instead.
Food recommendations (best ones listed first) 1. Family Thaifood & Seafood (tied with Kodam Kitchen): try the fried crab with curry powder (best crab we have ever had at a restaurant), morning glory (excellent vegetable dish, necessary because limited vegetables in diet) and the coconut milkshake in a coconut. 2. Kodam Kitchen. Try the Massaman curry (with roti, which our waitress insisted we try and actually was an amazing combo) and the dried curry dish (Southern specialty) 3. Red Chilli Thai Cuisine - try the green curry (normally don’t like green curry bc less flavorful but this was delicious), blended mango drink, and steamed fish with lime/chilli.

Khao Sok

Day 0: Stayed legit just for sleep at the Khao Sok Green Valley Resort. Clean with no issues, very basic but just needed for sleeping
Day 1: Early morning pickup with Smiley Lakehouse Tour for a 2 day 1 night overnight tour at Chewong Lake on a lakehouse bungalow in the Khao Sok national park. The boat ride there is incredibly scenic and enjoyable.
We spent the afternoon kayaking and swimming in front of our lake house. It was really really ridiculously hot, just felt terrible because no AC anywhere. Thankfully cooled down at nighttime for sleeping - only fan-cooled room but still was okay once sun came down. The afternoon was absolutely brutal though. In evening, went on a boat safari that was fun.
Day 2: Early morning boat safari followed by a jungle trek + Nam Taloo cave tour, only available in dry season. The jungle trek was meh for views tbh, but the cave was spectacular with lots of bats and flowing water. Completely unique experience. You do have to swim around 5 m in flowing water that is over your head, so beware if you cannot swim.
Overall, Smiley was an excellent operation - just super super hot. Better food than other tours, clean rooms (we paid for upgrade). I’d still overall recommend it because overall the cave trek was great, but otherwise I think a day trip suffices if you’re in the middle of hot season. I also didn’t like how they don’t count off where you are/keep track of you, even in the cave portion, so you needed to be more aware and alert yourself.
We then took a van to Donsak Pier and headed to Koh Samui.

Koh Samui

Day 1: Relaxing day, just explored the area and beaches. Choengmon Beach is quiet, clean and nice for swimming. Then we explored the mall/outdoor market area of Central Samui - nice respite for AC and walkable to the Chewang Beach, which is more party vibes but also fun (worse for swimming but still ok). In the evening, went to the Four Seasons restaurant Koh Thai for a sunset view and dinner (see below) and then Fisherman Village night market for exploring.
Day 2: Day trip to Angthong National Marine Park. We did the big boat which was cheaper but less time at the park, which we were fine with. Then CocoTam for one of their nightly fire shows on the beach, and explored Fisherman Village for dinner.
If we had more time, we might have considered Koh Phanghan or Koh Tao for snorkelling. We also debated Koh Matsum (pig island) but didn’t seem worth it for a full tour + hard to self-arrange affordable transport.
Food recommendations: 1. Ban Thai - cute place where a grandma makes all the food. Recommend the Tom Yum soup and chicken pad gra prow. Pad Thai was mid but shrimp quality was excellent 2. Coconut Beach Bowls - if you’re a smoothie bowl aficionado, otherwise pass 3. Vegan Khunnay: really cute AYCE vegan buffet for only 120 bhat ($3 USD), right next to Chaweng Beach. Very authentic Thai food cooked by one grandma, cute experience for a snack even. 4. CocoNam: moreso for the vibe for their nightly fire shows on the beach. Go early to avoid lines and make sure you get a seat. The pad Thai here was surprisingly the best pad Thai I had in the south, delicious and most flavorful. 5. Koh Thai - fancy fancy fancy, located in the Four Seasons resort. It’s featured by Michelin Bib and is a location for White Lotus S3. Book for sunset for gorgeous views, it’s a bit of an experience to get there because you take a buggy up the hillside. Very luxurious feeling. Food was ACTUALLY excellent and tasted like a chef made it, if that makes sense. Delicious ingredients. We recommend the laab tuna, paad kapi goong moo sub, and coconut duo. The boneless lime fish was also good but didn’t taste too different than a normal restaurant. Go to BOTH bathrooms, including the one that is “al fresco” haha for the full experience. Rooms at the Four Seasons go over $1200 USD a night - our meal with two bottles of fancy water (unavoidable), one starter, two mains and a dessert was $100 USD including tax and service charge.

Overnight Trip to Pai

Day 0.5: Flight to Chiang Mai then private taxi ($45 CAD) to Pai for 2.5 h because bus ran out of tickets. Pai Canyon for sunset (gorgeous) and explored Pai Walking Street and night market.
Day 1: Relaxing brunch then Nam Lod Cave - so freaking cool, huge cave that you float in a bamboo raft through. Then took back to Chiang Mai! We took the bus - it’s around 5 bucks PP, 4 hours.
If we had more time (and the weather was less hot), we would have done Sai Ngam Hotsprings. We weren’t too interested in the White Buddha, Bamboo bridge, or strawberry cafe etc - although we did see them from afar during our tour. Mostly just here for vibes, it’s cute.
There are NO GRABS or taxis here, it’s quite remote. But you don’t need to ride a motorbike - you just show up and do tours (don’t need to book in advance, does not show up online but easy to find).
Food recommendations: 1. Nam’s Kitchen 2. Charlie & Iek 3. Lemon Thyme Cafe for drinks 4. Nice Mangos - try the ice cream/mango sticky rice combo, legit best dessert

Chiang Mai

Day 0: Got rained out so ate dinner and slept!
Day 1: Group tour to Don Inthanon Park with a hike and visit to an indigenous Thai village - really recommend. Great way to beat the heat because the summit is 15 degrees cooler than the city, plus informative to learn about local culture.
At night, we did the 6ixcret drag show - THE BEST NIGHT ACTIVITY WE DID IN THAILAND. SOOOO fun creative, and professionally done, not sketchy at all. Insane SFX and choreography. It’s free but need to buy two drinks PP (normal prices), definitely worth. Don’t need to book in advance, just show up right before 9:30 pm. The drag show is also next to Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, so very convenient for exploring. Unfortunately the main night markets are only open Sat/Sunday but Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is open every night.
Day 2: Day trip to Elephant Nature Park! Sells out, so need to book weeks in advance. It’s the most legit and largest OG elephant sanctuary, highly ethical and professional. The Walking with Elephants tour was incredible. Then we visited Wat Chedi Luang (lovely temple in city centre but tbh can skip, only visited bc we had free time) before taking a Grab to Monk trail/Doi Suthep temple for nighttime temple and city views. It is absolutely gorgeous and unique to do at night. We ended the night by exploring more street food and night market.
Day 3: Half Day cooking class at Grandma’s Kitchen, included market and farm tour. Very interesting and enjoyable activity, we learned a lot. We tried durian at the market because it was in season, I was personally a huge fan. For the cooking class, you should request the air conditioned room in advance because there is only one. We then did a trip to Sticky Waterfalls - we negotiated a trip again on InDrive. This was one of the most unique nature experiences we have ever done and super fun. We ended our evening by exploring One Nimman shopping area/neighborhood, which was lovely and romantic. Then flew to BKK!
Food recommendations: 1. Roti Pa Day: delicious Michelin guide street food 2. Maadae Slow Fish Kitchen: SO GOOD. Also Michelin guide. Try Hor Mok, sardine jerky (trust me, it was the number one dish we tried + it’s deliciously warm), and pomelo fish salad plus their homemade sodas. 3. Chum North Kitchen: different Northern-style dishes 4. Khao Soi Masee: Michelin guide again, best Khao Soi ever in a very simple cute place. Very flavourful. 5. Jia Tong Heng: Dim sum located conveniently in One Nimman area, previously Michelin guide then demoted. Went for just snacks. Can skip but tbh the salted egg custard bun was celestial. Go just for that if you want.

Bangkok

Day 1: Temple hopping of Wat Arun, Wat Pho then Grand Palace. Your enjoyability of this depends on how much you like temples. Pro tip is to bring socks for when the sun scorches the titles and you can’t wear shoes. Initially we wanted to skip Wat Pho but I’m glad we went because the Reclining Buddha is excellent in person, surpassed our expectations and better than photographs. In the evening, we visited Jodds Fair (very cute vibe for a market) and closed our night with dinner at a Michelin star restaurant.
Day 2: Chatuchat Weekend Market then lunch at Kua Kling for delicious Sourhern food. ICONSiam afterwards - such a fancy yet chaotic “Disneyworld” of a mall, complete with huge market and street food scene. Then ended with exploring Yaowarat Road then Khao San Road for lots of street food and vibes. Ended our night at the Big C for souvenirs.
Day 3: Breakfast then flew out! Sad to leave :)
Food recommendations: 1. Kor Panich - best mango sticky rice hands down, deserving of its Michelin recommendation, and near temples 2. Natthapon Ice Cream (right next to Kor Panich) - cute cozy spot, recommend black sesame and coconut. The peanuts were very polarizing. 3. Nawa: newly awarded 1 Michelin star, very fun experience even for people who aren’t very highbrow like us. Interesting to learn about Thai ingredients and unique delicious dishes. <5k bhat per person. 4. Kua Kling Pad Sod - try the Kua kling and stink bean 5. Guay Jub Ouan Pochana in Yaowarat
Overrated/meh but glad we tried it: 1. Thipsamai pad thai 2. Yaowarat toasted buns 3. Pa Tong Go Savoey

General Tips:

Be careful of the carry-on luggage weights with domestic flights - they only allow 7 kg which is abnormally minuscule.
The weather played a massive role in picking our itinerary. Beware of burning season in Chiang Mai (we went for the tail end) and rainy seasons. Not every hotel has AC so make sure you prioritize that.
One downside of the tours is that the food is meh on them, just FYI. Even if a tour advertises “water bottles provided”, it can be just ONE for a whole day so bring your own emergency water.
Grab was surprisingly annoying to find in Bangkok, FYI.

Random things to pack:

• We brought mini personal fans that you wear around your neck and it was actually so clutch for the hikes.
• Coral-safe sunscreen
• Loperamide/gravol/ginger lozenges/tylenol
• Small container of vinegar for jellyfish stings
• Mini alcohol swabs to disinfect snorkel gear
• I brought an inflatable life “belt” and it was very nice as peace of mind, especially in the cave.
• For my high maintenance girlies, mini hair masks and oil samples because I was washing my hair legit every day
• Long pants and t shirt for temples
• Mini beach towels were NOT necessary because it was so hot, so we dried off instantly with the sun. Every tour said to bring them but did not use a single time.

Keys to a ridiculously packed trip:

• Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Many places can have overlapping themes like a night market, kayaking, temples, gorgeous hikes that lead to a temple, etc so pick and choose based on location. You can’t see every “highlight” of each city so instead think that you’re trying to see “overall highlights”. To avoid temple fatigue, pick your favourites + try to do them at different times like daytime, sunset, and nighttime for varied experiences.
• Whenever our accommodation was walkable from the night market, it made evenings more enjoyable and smooth. We did this in the south but not in CM/Bangkok and wish we did!
• Schedule a relaxing day - the tours can be exhausting so we scheduled a relaxing day after a string of island tours
• Try to book long transportation hours either: at night when you won’t be doing anything OR after a busy sweaty tour where you’re exhausted and want to relax during peak hotness (11 am to 2 pm) in somewhere air conditioned. Consider transportation as a relaxing break for phone time/reading with a great view.
• Something WILL go wrong - embrace it! Key is to stick and move :)

Feel free to ask any questions!

There’s been a lot going on in this server and I just want to take a step back and talk about what truly mattered to players like me

1. Collecting Sets: There were sooo many sets I loved collecting. I spent MONTHS trying to attain pieces that were lost on players accounts from years ago. I remember overpaying for a pair of boots that completed one of the outfits. I miss the thrill of trading and the high you got once that hard work finally paid off.
   
2. Dressing Up: I’m a girly girl who doesn’t always feel confident enough in the real world to wear what I want. The game allowed me to express my creativity and don anything I wanted to wear. I miss pattern matching and color matching and trying different aesthetics.
   
3. Sitting in the Catwalk: I LOVED just sitting there like I used to back in 2010-2012 and voting for peoples outfits for the fashion shows. It went from being a cool place to meet several people, to barren and quiet. Just me and the two people I’m stuck deciding between. I even managed to win 3rd place once when I entered.
   
4. MY CONDO: When I say I worked YEARS to get certain themes.. whew. Wired forest, Cold Sunrise.. those were so special to me. I loved making mazes and adding plants and cabins and the damn gazebo. I loved making themes depending on which season we were in or which season I missed. If I wasn’t AFK looking on the marketplace at the boardwalk or some party, I was in my condo. I even miss hosting those trading events.
   
5. The Few Friends: I didn’t have a lot of friends towards the end. Ended up losing a ton after realizing they weren’t good people. Good people don’t take advantage of you and steal your items and claim ignorance. Once they were out of my social life, I was able to focus on the true friends I made along the way. The ones I happily gave items to that they’d always wanted but couldn’t afford. If it made them happy, it made me happy. It helped them complete sets they’d worked years on. I looked forward to logging on after a hard day at work or after my narcissistic abusive ex and I fought. They made me feel loved when my real life was being darkened by those around me.
   

I was 10, in 2010 when I joined ourworld. Hacked twice but always came back after a period of time. And each time, the game became even more toxic. Leaving in 2013 and coming back in 2018.. I wasn’t prepared for how things changed. I was so so so sad to see it go. Left my then partner a few days after the game shut down. While I was at home crying, trying to pick up the pieces of myself, my favorite escape was gone and so were those special memories and friends I made along the way. Some of you might think this is corny and that I should get a life, but I HAVE a life. I work M-F for a company that treats me like shit while waiting for my current partner, who is amazing in every way, to come home from overseas. I have a life but said life would be so much sweeter if I could just log in one more time.
You’re not being idiotic or a child for missing this game. You’re a human trying to honor your inner child, and there is no harm in that. You are not alone 🩵
sorry for any typos, it’s currently 3:30 am

Date: 05/10/2024

Reading time: 11 minutes, 2235 words

🪖 Military

If we see that the weapons transferred to Armenia have reached a critical level, let them not be angry with us. Aliev

Azerbaijan is the leading state of the Caucasus, economically, politically and militarily, says Ilham Aliyev. The return of the occupied Kazakh lands is the next victory for Azerbaijan, he said. He said that the 28-year activity of the Minsk Group was directed against Azerbaijan.

CivilNet

US to announce new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine

The U.S. will announce a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine on Friday. Package includes new Patriot missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Bradley fighting vehicles, mine-protected vehicles, Javelin anti-armor systems and other munitions.

Armenpress

🏛️ Politics & Government

Armenia protest leaders call for acts of civil disobedience

Protesters from the “Tavush for the Motherland’ movement gathered in Yerevan’s central Republic Square for a second evening after a day of marches and student boycotts. The demonstrators are demanding an immediate halt to ongoing work to legally define part of the border with Azerbaijan. The deal is expected to result in Armenia ceding control of four villages to Azerbaijan.

CivilNet

About 32,000 rally in Yerevan to deman Pashinyan’s resignation

About 31,700 people attended an opposition rally on Thursday, May 9 in Yerevan demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

PanArmenian

Discussions continue on providing funds to Armenia from European Peace Facility: EU Ambassador

Discussions continue in the Council of the European Union on providing Armenia with funds from the European Peace Facility. Head of the EU delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, stated this during a press conference. Hungary's veto prevented the EU from providing security assistance to Armenia.

Armenpress, EU supports the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan - EU Ambassador, The EU supports the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement process. Vasilis Maragos

Meeting between delegations of Armenian, Azerbaijani foreign ministers concludes - Foreign Ministry

The meeting between the delegations of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has concluded. The meeting started in Almaty on May 10, the Press Secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Armenpress, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan start negotiations in Almaty, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Kazakhstan held a meeting in Almaty, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Kazakhstan note symbolism of Mirzoyan-Bayramov meeting in Almaty, Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs holding talks in Almaty, Armenian, Kazakh FMs discuss bilateral cooperation, regional issues, Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to meet in Almaty

Armenia is constructively involved in the peace process – Foreign Minister

Armenia aims at achieving peace and reaching agreement on an international treaty, says Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The meeting took place in the same “House of Friendship’s’ building where the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration was signed.

Armenpress, Armenia ready to conclude peace treaty with Azerbaijan, Mirzoyan says, Armenia constructively involved in peace process – FM, Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to meet in Almaty

Secretary-General of BSEC stressed the importance of better connectivity and welcomed the Armenian “Crossroads of peace”

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Secretary General Lazăr Comănescu has been running for more than 30 years. BSEC is the only full-fledged inter-governmental Organization in the Black Sea region. He says BSEC aims to foster interaction and harmony among its thirteen Member States through further developing their bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The organization is actively cooperating with the UN regional commissions in the field of transport connectivity.

Armenpress

Reverend Bagrat announced the start of acts of disobedience and expressing no confidence in Pashinyan through the National Assembly

Reverend Bagrat gave Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan one hour to submit his resignation. He appealed to the students and universities to start a strike. The leader of the Tavush for the Motherland movement said they will start peaceful demonstrations of disobedience on Friday.

CivilNet

Pativ Unem faction ready to join the process of declaringvote of no confidence in Pashinyan

The opposition Pativ Unem (I Have Honor) faction in the Armenian parliament is ready to join the process of declaring a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The signatures of one-third of the parliamentarians (36 MPs) are needed to launch this process, while both opposition parliamentary factions control 35 seats.

ArkaAm

UN Assistant Secretary-General reiterates support to Armenia’s development priorities

Ivana Živković, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, came to Armenia on her first visit to the country. She emphasized UNDP’s role as a strategic partner of the Government of Armenia in addressing complex development challenges.

ArmRadio

ICC should consider new Armenian genocide petition – Luis Moreno Ocampo

Luis Moreno Ocampo: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev should be investigated for genocide against Armenians in Armenia. He says it's a bitter reality that more than a century after the first widely recognized genocide of the modern era, Armenians are again the victims of genocide.

ArmRadio

Forests, wetlands, and landscapes to restore in Armenia with World Bank support

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the RESILAND: Armenia Resilient Landscapes Project (RESILAND Armenia) The project aims to help the government to strengthen community engagement and improve the management of forests, wetlands, and protected areas in selected locations.

Armenpress, World Bank helps Armenia strengthen management of forests, wetlands, and protected areas

Aliyev "honors" victory over fascism, at the same time destroying monuments dedicated to that victory - “Geghard” SAF

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva "visited the grave of Hazi Aslanov, a twice hero of the Soviet Union, to mark the 79th anniversary of the victory over fascism," says ‘Geghard’ Scientific and Analytical Foundation. “It is hypocritical that Azerbaijan's leadership claims to 'respect' the memory of those who died fighting against fascism, while at the same time destroying monuments dedicated to the same fighters in Artsakh.

Armenpress

EBRD holds its 2024 Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Armenia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will be hosting its 33rd Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Yerevan, Armenia next week. The event will be the largest of its kind ever held in Armenia. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is expected to address the Board of Governors’ opening session.

Armenpress, EBRD to hold its 2024 Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Armenia

Iran holds run-off parliamentary elections

A total of 90 candidates are running for the 45 remaining seats in the Iranian Parliament. The run-off elections are held in 22 constituencies where the candidates had failed to receive an absolute majority (more than 50%) of votes during the first round held on March 1.

Armenpress

Enterprise Armenia Foundation: concierges and guarantors of business at the expense of the budget

Levon Khalatyan: Enterprise Armenia Foundation is an organization that claims to develop business, attract investments and exists, of course with taxpayers' money. Annual expenses for salaries and administrative expenses amount to about 550 million drams. He asks why is the fund’s activities not aimed at eradicating harmful phenomena? Why are there no legislative initiatives to ban illegal “truck stopping”?

CivilNet

The candidate for the Prime Minister should be Bagrat himself. Vardan Oskanyan

Vardan Oskanyan believes that the prime minister candidate of the movement demanding Nikol Pashinyan's resignation should be His Holiness Bagrat. The Constitution requires that these forces also present their PM candidate, he says. I think it will be so, because this government will be temporary, maybe for a year.

CivilNet, Archbishop Bagrat says protesters' candidate for prime minister is not Robert Kocharyan

Reverend Bagrat marched to universities, another rally is planned for the evening

Reverend Bagrat announced in the Republic Square that they are marching to Yerevan State University. In addition to YSU, the participants of the march went to the Polytechnic University and the Conservatory. During the rally organized in Republic Square, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was demanded to resign. In parallel with this, actions of disobedience are planned to force the Prime Minister to resign.

CivilNet, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan leads march to higher educational institutions in Yerevan

EAEU is a successful, attractive and sustainable integration process. President of Cuba

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced this at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin expressed hope that Cuba's participation in the Eurasian Economic Union will be beneficial for all parties.

ArkaAm

💵 Economy

AIM Congress 2024 Wraps Up in Abu Dhabi: Record Attendance, Strategic Partnerships, and Vision for Future Economic Growth

The 13th edition of AIM Congress (Annual Investment Meeting) concluded with resounding success after three days of dynamic discussions, innovative exhibitions, and fruitful networking sessions at ADNEC. The theme "Adapting to a Shifting Investment Landscape: Harnessing New Potential for Global Economic Development" AIM continues to serve as a pivotal platform, uniting leaders from diverse sectors to address pressing challenges and seize emerging opportunities in business, finance, and governance.

Armenpress

Shrinking growth drivers will lead to slowdown in Armenia's economy in 2025 - IMF

IMF expects Armenia's economy to grow by 6% in 2024 and to slow slightly in 2025. The IMF's April World Economic Outlook report says growth will slow to 5.2% in 2025. Analysts also expect inflation in Armenia to be 3.1% and increase to 3.7%.

ArkaAm

Service sector in Armenia grew by 5% to 745.6 billion drams in January-March

The volume of Armenia's services sector in January-March 2023 amounted to 745.6 billion drams (in current prices), increasing by 5% compared to the same period of 2023. In March 2024 alone, the figure amounted to 272.5billion drams, up 4.7%. Financial and insurance services amounted to AMD 237.4 billion with a 19.5% increase compared to same period last year.

ArkaAm, Armenia's domestic trade up 26.5% in first quarter to over AMD 1.2 trillion, The volume of construction in Armenia increased by 11.7% in the first quarter to 72.2 billion drams

Overchuk: Membership in EAEU is very beneficial for Armenia

Acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk says membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is very beneficial for Armenia. Yerevan has been recording enormous rates of economic growth in the last two years.

ArkaAm

🎭 Culture

Values and principles are more important than even life itself – Ruben Vardanyan's message from Baku prison

Veronika Zonabend, wife of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative co-founder, read Ruben Vardanyan's message from Baku prison. She expressed her deep and sincere gratitude to the Aurora community for support and compassion. The message reads: "Our world has not become kinder through your good work, but this means that what you do is more important than ever"

Armenpress, Ruben Vardanyan deliversmessage to Aurora prize candidates from Baku prison, Ruben Vardanyan sends message to Aurora Prize candidates from Baku prison

Armenia's “Ladaniva” reached Eurovision Song Contest 2024 final

The second day of the competition's semi-finals took place on May 9 in the Swedish city of Malmö. “Ladaniva’s” group was founded by Jaklin Baghdasaryan and Louis Thomas. They perform Armenian, Balkan, African, Serbian and other music.

Armenpress, Armenia to perform 19th in Eurovision Grand Final

Donations to Armenia:

Himnadram
ServicemenFund
Armenian Wounded Heroes
ArmeniaFund

Hello one and all, as the title says - I’d like to receive some feedback on a build I’ve cooked up. The idea is to run a party comp with builds inspired from Guild wars 1. To that end I’ll begin with Paragon (may include others if interest is shown). These builds are by no means intended for serious HM gameplay, and are for fun but want to make sure I have not missed anything.
Paragons used chants and anthems to provide small heals and damage resistance, used a javelin and shield and heavy armor.
Ancients Paladin 7 / Valor Bard 3 / Life Cleric 2 So with Paladin the aura is quite important for me, it fits the paragon theme of providing a buff to everyone around them. I know its insane but id go tavern brawler at 4 and use the returning pike and a shield. Valor bard while very weak compared to its counterparts would provide battle inspiration, which i feel fits the chant type theme. Lore would be nice but cutting words doesn’t really match. Life cleric is again for the channel divinity heal and support options. For me paragon was a very support focused class, less heals and more damage mitigation- so is there anything i have missed? Id use the items that provide bless and bladeward on a heal, making my aoe heals buff everyone. Damage will be low, but i can live with that as its a themed build. Thoughts?
Other builds in the works to go with this is a necromancer - fighter - cleric/monk

Hey gals, sorry this is a bit long and rambly, but I wanted to pack in as much info about me as possible to help you understand me and my situation as much as possible.
I'm a pretty intelligent and self aware individual, and I've noticed a major pattern of my passions/interests lasting around 2-3 years before subsiding to something else. It started back in 2016 when I first staring watching some Youtube videos on a few horror games that I liked. That continued until 2018, when I, like most of my generation, became obsessed with Fortnite, which lasted until 2021. Then my passion shifted to the space industry and rockets in particular. This interest in spaceflight has led me to pursuing a career in aerospace engineering and that is what I am majoring in college next year (if I'm ready, which its looks like I might not be, due to a multitude of factors, mainly my lack of executive functioning skills). This passion too thought has begun to decline over the past year, but unlike my other interests, it has coincided with the decline of my mental health. (I do get pretty bad anxiety, depressive, and particular, self-loathing episodes quite frequently) This decline has been for a combination of circumstances, including social failures this year at my gap year program, and I toxic and poor environment here on campus. But one thing in particular has really taken its toll, which based on the subreddit I'm posting on, I think you can probably guess what it is...
Yeah, I've been questioning my gender. Like obsessively, this entire year pretty much. For context, there was a gendered theme to a particular OCD issue I had when I was back in 5th grade (this was by far the worst period of my life because of this issue, its was absolutely mortifying not being in control of myself and the absurdity of it all was very traumatic for me). I thankfully did get over that within a year or 2. Then I hit puberty, and began to explore myself sexually, and found that TG captions really turned me on for some reason. This unsurprisingly quickly led to me trying on my Mom and sister's clothes, especially their skirts and dresses, which I kept secret for 5 years or so until this past summer when I finally admitted to it, which allowed me to buy my own femme clothes and not have to worry about being caught anymore. (I still get boners from dressing up btw). Now as I approach the end of this year, a bunch of formal stuff is coming up like prom and graduation (I'm doing may gap year at a small private high school for Neurodivergent students), and as I have been all year for any formal events, am really not looking forward to them due to the nature that I must dress as a boy, which I have begun to hate. I love dresses and dressing femme in general way too much to wear a stupid suit. But I'm also totally in the closet about this and don't feel ready to come out about it for a few major reasons, one of which is the focus of this post.
I believe I am also pretty dysphoric about some, but not all parts of my body that a trans person would expect to be unhappy with. I really don't like my body and facial hair, it's itchy and scratchy and doesn't look or feel good in the mirror, neither does my somewhat masculine facial structure (I'm only 18 btw, so it's not that bad yet). I also really don't like my hair, If I'm a girl on the inside, I definitely want to have long, blonde or light brown hair, in a somewhat wavy pattern. Mine however is short (ish, ive been growing it out this spring) and super curly and a very dark brown. I seem to get very excited by the prospect of having a feminine body, specifically when it comes to secondary sexual feature like boobs, hips, thighs, etc. I'm also quite unhappy with my relatively deep voice. Ironically the one thing I'm happy with is my genitals, which possibly due to their almost constant use throughout the years as I devise to fulfill my girly desires, has led me to remain quite fond of them.
I'm looking for advice on what to do, I've experimented with female name and pronouns, which feels good and euphoric (bubbly, exciting, the usually stuff you've heard I'm sure...) online, but irl, they made me extremely uncomfortable with my family, so I stopped with that. I want to start changing up my appearance, and am thinking pretty damn hard about HRT, but I'm just not sure about anything for a lot of important reasons. There's a lot of fear that I'm going to regret doing things to my body and life. I'm super scared of both the social and physiological consequences of gender transition. I also get the feeling that i'll be giving up a lot by doing so, stuff like male privilege, the little physical strength that I have, and my somewhat strong athletic capabilities in general. My relationship with my family, who although they accepted my crossdressing, are much more apprehensive about me doing a giant 180 with my identity (even though it doesn't feel like that for me, its just how it looks to them). My dad keeps telling me all about how he's always wanted a son and a daughter, but the son was always what was most important to him, are have quite the father-son bond, and I don't want to lose that. He's also pretty wealthy and paying for my tuition through undergrad, so I need to keep him on board with me (although importantly, he claims he will support me no matter what). My mom and sister haven't been very helpful or inclusive with girl stuff either, they just leave me to figure out stuff like makeup, shaving, and feminine hygiene to figure out myself, which has sucked. My sister also constantly trashes on my outfits. :(
I'm also terrified about coming out because all the attention will be on me in a way that I feel most vulnerable, and I have managed to alienate much of campus already, due to a falling out with the most popular girl in the school. I'm afraid of being judged, especially because I myself I have a BUTT TON of internalized transphobia that I'm trying to get over with my therapist, particularly about non-passing trans people. Most of all, if there is one thing I want to address in this post, it is the fear that this is just another one of those phases I was talking about in the beginning, I fear that I'm going get over this and detransition and deeply regret making myself infertile amongst other permanent things.
So, what do I do? I know I've said a lot of different things, I'm really just looking for advice, whether it's about hair and beauty, figuring out my identity once and for all, family, my interests, or whatever. Above all else though, please tell me, is this just a phase, or am I a girl on the inside who has been repressed in a prison of masculinity?
(Oh a couple last things, as of about a month ago, before The Tortured Poets Department was released, I have become a huge Swiftie. My favorite album is 1989, I think it might be gender affirming to be listening to girly music all the time lol. If I am in fact a girl, I'm definitely am a girly girl.😂 Also another important note, I'm only attracted to women and it has always been that way. I think I could be a femme trans lesbian.)