Hi everyone – I’ve recently been building a weekly business newsletter called Pulse of Progress and got my first 1,100 subscribers in just 14 days!
The best part? I used zero paid ads. All of my subs were completely free!
Here’s how I did it.
But first, let me provide some context…
For the last 6 months, I’ve been testing out different side hustle / business ideas. I have a running list of ideas that I test on forums like Reddit and Indie Hacker to get a pulse on what the public thinks. In my opinion, this is one of the best ways to validate an idea before investing any money or serious time into it. If it gets some traction or interest in the first few days, you know you have something. If not, its time to move on.
I start by generating some interest on social platforms and freelance websites (side note – I’ve come up with a method that helps me do this and get tangible results. So, if this is something you want to learn more about, let me know. I’ll make a post around this too). It’s an approach I’ve developed and tested over the last year with other ideas, so I just do the same with all other ideas I want to test / validate in the future. I want to see results fast, not waste time on non-value add activities.
Here are some of the business ideas I’ve tested:
1. Newsletter sponsorship marketplace – created a platform connecting newsletter businesses with potential advertisers. The marketplace allows the businesses to post their content and advertisers to find and book ad slots
2. AI based email marketing optimization tool – developed an AI tool that analyzes email marketing campaigns and provides optimization suggestions to improve open rates, click-through rates, and conversions
3. Remote language exchange facilitation – pair individuals looking to learn each other’s languages and facilitate their language exchange sessions online
I shut all of these down. I couldn’t get the momentum I wanted or hoped for to consider them a success. The AI based email marketing optimization tool went viral on Hacker News and Indie Hacker, but it was because I was able to generate some hype around it for a short period of time. But the hype faded fast…real fast. I had about 100 people sign up for the service. As for my other businesses, I had a few signups here and there but nothing worth keeping the business alive and investing more of my time into it.
Something I want to call out at this point: all of the businesses I tried starting in the past were bootstrapped. I never used money I made from the sale of my other businesses. I sold one business (a virtual event planning business that took off during the pandemic. We organized and managed virtual events, think webinars / workshops / conferences, for specific interest groups and professional communities). I never touched the proceeds from that sale to start the company I currently run. The reason I bring this up is because I think your business, regardless of what it is, needs to stand on its own. If it couldn’t, I knew it was time to move on. I didn’t want to give myself a false sense of hope that it would work by continuously throwing money at it.
The reason I started a business newsletter…
A newsletter was perfect. It was easy to start and required no money to get it up and running. The purpose behind the newsletter was centered around the idea of creating something that informed and educated people but was entertaining to read. Reading in general, news or not, can sometimes feel like a chore (at least for me). This was the opposite. This was something you genuinely looked forward to reading, the things that influence your world and the decisions you make on a daily basis.
The biggest issue I had with everything else out there was that the content was around things I didn’t care about. Not to mention it put me to sleep half the time. And that’s when it hit me – create a platform that genuinely helped people stay ahead in this information heavy world. Filter out the nonsense, deliver on high-value content.
The test phase…
I spent a couple hours looking up any Facebook group that was related to starting side hustles, escaping the 9-5 grind, online businesses etc. Once I came up with a small list of about 8-10 groups, I spent the next few days posting about the newsletter. One caveat for me when looking for which groups to post in: they needed to have more than 50K users. I wanted my posts to have some reach and didn’t want to waste my time in groups that were smaller and were barely active. I also designed some GIFs (I drew inspiration from the early Milk Road days when they posted funny GIFs / memes about their newsletter all over social media) but that didn’t work. Like at all. So, I shifted gears.
The first day, I posted about the newsletter in 8 different groups and got about 45 subscribers the next day. Over the next two weeks, I spent a couple of hours each day making similar posts within these groups and tried finding other groups I can post in. This proved to be successful. Making consistent posts got people engaged and subscribing to the newsletter. It was starting to gain some steam. And this is what lead to my first 1,100 subscribers in the first 14 days.
Why this worked…
1. Value creation: The best ideas appeal to what people want, and more importantly, need. It helps solve a problem. And in this case, people want high quality content that helps them make informed decisions, educates them along the way and is a joy to read.
2. Helps identify trends before they happen: Understanding emerging trends and market dynamics is crucial for staying ahead. This knowledge allows people to adapt quickly, innovate effectively, and capitalize on new market opportunities.
3. Sparks innovation and creativity: Exposure to different perspectives and new information sparks innovation and creative thinking. Staying informed about global trends, tech advancements, and industry breakthroughs inspires new ideas and approaches.
Things to keep in mind…
What I’ve realized is that you want your ideas to generate a “natural pull” from the world. It shouldn’t be something you “push” onto people. Trying to convince people they need something that doesn’t help improve their lives or satisfy a need is a waste of time. Listen to what people want. And build from there.
I’ve had multiple profitable businesses and the common theme between them all is that they cost me less than $100 to start and get product / market fit. I won’t lie, sometimes I let my ego get in the way when I put an idea out there and it got rejected. And trust me when I tell you, that’s happened more often than I’d like to admit. I spent way too much time and money putting something together even when I knew it wasn’t worth pursuing.
How does that saying go…the one about Thomas Edison and his attempt at building the first light bulb after trying and failing 1000 times. “I haven’t failed. I just found 1000 different ways how not to build a lightbulb.” And that’s just it…who cares if the idea didn’t work. Hate to break it to you, but most will. Instead, focus on the skills you’ve picked up and learned along the way while building this business and apply it to the next.
Anyways, I hope this post helps at least one person grow their business, subs count, social media presence. Now that I’ve grown my audience to over 10K subscribers organically, I’m looking into using paid ads to grow even more from here. The problem is I have no idea how to do that! So, if anyone has any tips or tricks, I’d love to hear them.
Good luck my friends.

I am a mom of 5 week old twins and using the Spectra Synergy Gold pump with the CaraCups. Every time I pump it's super painful and pinchy but it also seems like that a bigger amount of milk comes out only if I go up to at least 6+ as a setting but more like 8 or 9. If it's under that a couple of ounces come out and it stops flowing. Is that normal? How do I make it less painful? I tried using the normal pump flanges and with different sizes, and 24 mm feels the best but it's still pretty painful. I read that using the massage function might help with the amount of milk but that's soo painful for me, I can't handle it even at 1.
I am also technically capable of breastfeeding a little, and it barely hurts and only when they latch (I mostly moved on to pumping because it's too exhausting for me to breastfeed 2 babies and I am alone with them most of the day as my husband works and we have no family where we currently are).
I just don't get it. The pump instructions say to use the highest setting I'm comfortable with but then I can't empty myself and it keeps decreasing my supply and I end up pushing through the pain on a higher setting instead. How do I stop this for happening without giving up on pumping??
I appreciate any advice!!

I'm a 23 year old guy. I come from a background of just not really knowing myself. This is just for a little context. Some of us unfortunately had to deal with toxic households. And as a result maybe contributed to depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts. Cool. So years go by of just planning your escape while also trying to finish school and not off yourself. During high school I admired artists, animators, musicians, etc. I was brainstorming ideas of being in that world. I would watch these animation student thesis films on YouTube. These things were great to admire but I never felt such a strong interest or connection to participate. I was writing my own stories. I thought maybe I would want to write for comics or animation or even live action TV/Film.
I applied to Ringling College of Art & Design as well as New Hampshire Institute of Art. I got accepted to both but I decided to just go to community college because while I had some scholarship, both were still a lot of money. And I really stopped having an interest to participate in writing as years went by.
I want to keep this post more so focused on the job part so I'm going to leave out info that might raise questions but oh well.
I finished high school and started college Fall 2019. Then the pandemic came so I left college. Then I was trying to figure out how to be productive. I really did not have an interest in school. To be fair I did not have much of an interest in life. I only stayed alive due to my belief.
So I decided to just work, make some money and figure it out. I wanted to save for when I finally move out and progress in life.
Didn't end up happening. I actually did end up going back to school. I didn't care about any of the majors I just did business for my associates and communications for bachelors. It was online but they also had a center downtown for students to do work. So I went there everyday in the summer of 2023 to graduate faster and be done with school one and for all. And I did. November 2023 I graduated with my BA in communications.
In September 2023 that's when I was finished with school, the ceremony was just in November. So since September I was job searching. I was working with the career counselor they offer. She helped me with my resume, cover letter and showing me useful sites.
I wasn't getting any jobs. I applied A LOT EVERY DAY. A few interviews. A lot of scam offers. I never really had a focus or a career I always wanted to do. So I applied to anything. But I had some ideas kind of. And I knew what I would not do.
February I got an offer from this place that does job coaching for high school students. The salary was 55k. Now that sounds like something I would definitely not be interested in. Just not my thing. But also, I had no other offers. And especially none with that starting salary which I saw was okay I guess for entry level out of college.
So I had no choice but to take it. It had been five months. I'm 23. I need money. I'm trying to save. So I did. And so far I caught on very quickly. There were a few bumps on the road but that's life. After a few months I can confidently say that this job is definitely not the one for me.
It's a hybrid which was nice but sometimes they have you on your remote days going other places and to me that was a little annoying. They introduced a new in-office things twice a month on Mondays so that took away two of my remote days that were guaranteed lol. I would prefer to be more independent and remote. But I think I can do another hybrid, probably. Just not at a school. Also the school things isn't so bad. Yes some of the kids were annoying. It's just not my vibe. I'm not interested in working at schools. I'm not interested in interacting with students.
And I'm just so lost in the meetings. I'm like "Why am I here? I have no idea what they are talking about and I do not care." I feel like such a phony. Such a fake. I don't know how I was hired. I must have been a great actor in the interviews. They even had a written activity I had to do. I must have a way with words.
And the vice president of the company keeps telling me how happy she is that she hired me and I am here at the organization. I think that's so hilarious and sad lol.
I reached out to my college career counselor again and we started trying to find things. We looked at different careers and I saw technical writing and copywriting. I started applying to those and haven't seen anything yet. But also I'm not after a specific job. I just want to not work with students and be more independent. That's why I mentioned remote work. So I'm still applying I never really stopped that job search process. Even when I accepted the job I have I was still searching.
I just thought after college I would have a decent job I could stay at and FINALLY move out and be ok. Decent. Just ok. That's all. I already have absolutely no guidance, no help.
But yeah I have sent out more applications for other jobs. I kind of feel done with the job I'm at now. I just don't want to be here. But I know I can't leave unless I get an offer from somewhere else. It's just I don't know why I'm worried I won't. I just want to be able to move out and support myself and stay at a place I feel like I can stay and I don't have to plot to quit.

I’m a alternate looking Irish fella looking to talk to people and see where things go so here is a little bit about me!
About me: well I’m a massive film nerd, i studied it at university and hoping at some point to get into that industry. I love my music, mainly rock, emo, alt, indie and stuff like that. Bands and artists such as twenty one pilots, my chemical romance, movements, Joji, enter shikari, bad omens, bring me the horizon, korn, Crywank and spiritbox just to name a few. Along with that I love concerts/gig, be it a comedy gig or live music I’ll be there. I love anime and gaming to so I am a big nerd like that. I enjoy hiking, walks and nature in general and always make time for that. Lastly I love to travel and planning get aways.
Physical: I’m a tall (6’2) chubby white guy. I always say I’ve a dad bod without the kids. I’ve 18 tattoos all of my arms, a nose ring, brown hair and I wear glasses. Happy to share pictures of myself if you’d like that.
What I’m looking for is someone I can just connect with, someone kind and nice and all that type of stuff. Physical I tend to go for more alternative looking people but that’s not a dealbreaker, as long as you’ve a personality I can connect with all good. It would help If you could share a picture of yourself!
So yeah that’s me. Send me a message telling me a random fact about yourself or something you love

I've seen a lot of posts and comments over the past month talking about people are annoyed that Colin has been turned into a rake like Anthony and Simon, and how Colin is supposed to be this sweet, sensitive guy and what not. But I submit to you that those very brothel scenes are important to drive home that very difference between Colin and the other MLs.
If someone had asked me yesterday, I would've probably agreed that the brothel scenes weren't that necessary, however hot I found Luke in them. But having rewatched quite a bit of Part 1, I see what they were trying to convey with them.
If you were to compare all the brothel scenes we've gotten in 3 seasons, Colin is the only one who interacts with the sex workers. We never got that with Simon or Anthony (I'm just going to preemptively remind people that Siena was an opera singer and didn't work in a brothel). The way Colin kisses them is kind of sweet, making sure they get equal attention, and even apologizes to them before leaving. And as he leaves, you can see that even the sex workers who meet, probably, multiple men everyday, are smitten with him. That scene talks about his character. Frankly, even the flirting montage! He's not just flirting for the sake of it. He's making these debutantes feel seen and desirable (the same as what Pen did with her paper in the first 2mins of E1), but also, making sure that he doesn't give them any false hope.
The second scene at the brothel was also important for the contrast and to show the aftereffects of his kiss with Pen - that the intimacy and distance he was able to enjoy before is not possible for him now that he's experienced intimacy without the distance (for lack of better words). I also saw a comment answering why he didn't just leave in that 2nd scene saying that that would've led to questions for the workers by the brothel owner, which makes a lot of sense.

This is all internal. I work closely with, but not for, a director who is chronically unreliable and occasionally disrespectful. She wanted to hire me for a role I wouldn’t have normally taken. It’s a step backward into my old field, but it’s not even the aspect of the field I liked and was good at; it’s a different stage of the process. Right now I’m in a role between my old field and a new one I’m excited about, and I was training to move further that direction.
I offered to accept the role with the unreliable director for an egregious amount of money to help out my family, and she said she could agree to anything within the published salary range. She knew it would pull me off my preferred career path. Three weeks later, after my current boss already heard I’d be leaving, I received the official offer which was lower than discussed, but fair. I turned it down anyway because it’s further proof that she’s too unreliable and a little disrespectful. I don’t want to manage her massive team all on my own for a year. I didn’t want to say anything negative about her though, so I focused on it not being the right fit.
My old job had already gone to someone else so I’m scrambling to stay at this company to keep my unvested stocks. Interviews all start with, “I thought you were going to ___?” and I keep blowing it there before they can even consider me. I’m trying not to sound disagreeable, but I don’t want to look like I’m going be too picky to do the jobs they have available right now, or like I have unrealistic salary expectations either.
What do I say when interviewers ask why I didn’t accept the offer I had?

Please help me i think i am in big trouble... I wanted to seek prostitution a couple of days ago and found numbers to online escort agencies.
They extracted 350rs in the start and send me the photos of the girl..
later they asked for the remaining payment of 1650 i gave....
later they are saying i have to pay another 6800 for a certain safety charge...
i literally cant so they told me to contact my friends and family...now i said i cant they said they are local gangsters and have contact with the police...
they are trying to frame me for a rape case and told me that they have enough power because of corrupted police contacts and more over they keep contacting from different numbers saying i will pay the price
EDIT: The person behind this is very powerful and i dont stand a chance against him

I think many on this sub are aware that many build websites and content creators caught on the coattails of BG3's success and quickly threw together some builds of questionable quality. Many of those websites improved their BG3 builds over time, and while they may have once been questionable they are now decent or even good. Alcast Builds do not follow this trend. In this post I will go through the first 6 of 12 builds in his "Best Builds Database" and point out the points I find that are just plain wrong. It is very clear that they have abandoned updating this page, as they still have not selected their best companion builds. But when you Google "BG3 Builds" they are one of the top results so I still think this post is worth calling out their shotty work.
I take no issue with the fact he does not multiclass. Multiclassing can seem an intimidating hurdle for new players. I can see a lot of value in detailed, single class build discussions for those players who do not want to dabble into multiclassing. But his single class builds are not worth recommending. I am not getting into things like whether his builds cheese elixirs or not, nor am I getting into things like whether Resilient Con is better than War Caster, or whether you should take sharpshooter at level 4 or a later level. I am not going to assume that there are other party members in the group who could cover the bases he is trying to cover, so for example if he recommends a character take the blade ward cantrip then I will not assume there is some mass healing word cleric with whispering promise ring and hellrider's pride gloves, nor will I criticize the usefulness of a full caster character devoting their concentration to blade ward. I am only going to point out the things that any person with common sense would say are undeniably wrong.

Moon Druid Build

1. Ability scores - This build starts with all even ability scores except for Wisdom, which starts at 17. It then takes ASIs in Wisdom at levels 4 and 8, saying to then put the spare point in Constitution. Alcast's lack of awareness that odd ability scores don't help you is something that will come up in many future builds. For those not aware, this build would be better by just starting with 16 Wis. The extra point in Wis here does absolutely nothing except take away two points that could be put elsewhere in character creation. If he intended for you to take a half feat or use Ethel's hair then maybe he is on to something. But that is not the case. This is D&D Character Building basics for the last 2 decades, and he is wrong.
2. Starting cantrips - They recommend shillelagh and thorn whip to start out. These are two cantrips that kinda fill the same roll; short range damage. This is also something that your whole wildshaping moon druid identity already fills. No mention of a ranged cantrip or one of the best cantrips in the game - guidance.
3. Spell Sniper - At level 12 he recommends taking spell sniper. The only spell in the entire writeup that uses an attack roll is thorn whip. That is the only spell that he took the time to recommend that will get a benefit from this feat. Alternatively he recommends putting 2 points in Con if you are struggling to maintain concentration. This will increase your con modifier by 1 and HP by 12. But because at this stage in the build you actually have an odd numbered Con score you could instead take Resilient: Constitution, which will also increase your con modifier by 1, HP by 12, and give you proficiency in Con saves giving you an additional +4 to all those concentration checks as well as any other Constitution Saving Throws.
4. Not mentioning tavern brawler - I am hesitant to bring this up because I hate tavern brawler. It is overpowered and dominated discussion on this sub for too long. I am also hesitant to bring this up because at the time Alcast wrote this guide tavern brawler did not work with wild shape (it still sorta doesn't in honor mode). But fact of the matter is this is one of the best possible feats for a moon druid and it is never mentioned. A top Google result should be better than that.

Lore Bard Build

1. Ability scores - Let the horror begin. This build starts with 4 odd numbered ability scores. Anyone who understands build basics will probably discard anything this entire website has to say as a result of this one sentence. This is insane. At level 4 he says to put +2 in Cha, bringing it up to 18 or 19 "depending on which race you choose." Priority #1 should be getting even numbered ability scores here. But second, races have had flexible ability scores since launch. Your race does not matter for this discussion.
   1. I disagree very strongly with a lot of the race recommendations, recommended gear, the spell sniper feat, and the level 10 magical secrets spells. But his recommendations are not outright flawed or bad. Just leaving this build at one bullet point would make it seem like I don't have much else to criticize. I have a lot of things to criticize and think his straight lore bard build could be a lot better. But it is not undeniably, flat-out incorrect in so many areas as his other builds.

Hunter Ranger Build

1. Wood Half Elf recommendation - He says that wood half elf is basically the same as wood elf but slower. This is wrong. Wood half elf is not slower than wood elf. Also wood elf gets perception proficiency whereas wood half elf does not. Wood elf is mildly better for this build, but not at all for the reason he states.
2. Ability scores - Same issues we've seen before. Starting with 17 in your main stat and not giving a damn about even numbers
3. Natural Explorer - Throughout this guide he discounts the benefits of the damage resistance options granted by natural explorer. Poison and fire damage are rather common in this game, and his dismissiveness of these damage resistances makes no sense.

Shadow Monk Build

1. Strength 10 recommendation - The reason he says not to lower Str below 10 is because this will make it easier for you to be shoved. This is a Dex based build where he recommends proficiency in acrobatics. It will use acrobatics to resist being shoved.
2. Ability scores and feats - This one is a little different. He once again recommends 17 in your main stat. Through sheer dumb luck he happens to recommend taking the Athlete feat at level 4, bringing Dex to 18! I do question the usefulness of the athlete feat on this build but hey, we got to all even ability scores. Then at level 8 he recommends Mobile which is kinda overkill in my opinion on an unarmored monk, but zooming around the battlefield can be fun. So here we are, approaching level 12 with all even ability scores. There is no way he can mess this up, right? Well this is where he recommends putting a +1 into Dex and a +1 into Wis. An absolute total and complete waste. Alcast shared this build on this sub, I pointed out that this was utterly pointless in a comment months and months ago. The issue still persists.
3. The Mighty Cloth - He recommends the mighty cloth in his early game build recommendations. The graceful cloth can be obtained earlier and is outright better by leagues and miles for a Dex based monk. Note: I am not going to hold against him the lack of mentioning tavern brawler. The feat's benefits are limited on a Dex based monk like this. Until he mentions the gauntlets of giant strength in his end game build recommendations, it never makes sense to take this feat on this build.

Great Old One Warlock

1. Race recommendations - I have scratched my head at some of the race recommendations before. This is the one where I finally figured out what is going on. Alcast does not seem to know about race features that get unlocked past first level. It is the only reason I can think of for why he still has yet to recommend Tiefling, even though he has already covered lore bard and now an eldritch blast warlock. The one time he did recommend Tiefling it was for the monk build since the Tieflings get produce flame. And when he recommends Drow he only discusses the first level features. He just doesn't know they get things past first level.
2. Ability scores - Once again starts with 17. And at level 4 he says to bump up Cha by 2 to 19 again. But this time at level 8 he says to take a half feat to bring Cha up to 20!!! Hoorah! Except the half feat is Resilient: Charisma. Let's ignore the fact that Charisma saves are probably the least common saves in this game. Bane and maybe some of Cazador's abilities are the only hostile effects I can think of where you need to make a Cha save. Let's ignore that. Warlocks are already proficient in Cha saves. He could have taken Actor as an amazing half feat here. He could have taken Performer just to get instrument proficiency. But no, he had to take the one Cha half feat that offers absolutely nothing else to this build. I can't make this up, it is embarrassing to tout these builds as high quality.
3. Hellish Rebuke - At level 4 he recommends Hellish Rebuke because it only takes up a first level spell slots, and you supposedly have plenty of those. Except you don't. You don't have any level 1 spell slots. You have 2 spell slots per short rest, and they are both second level. Burning a pact magic slot on Hellish Rebuke is not something to be flippantly disregarded
4. No Hunger of Hadar - I get if you don't want to use the spell. But for a build about an EB spam with repelling blast build, one of the best spells to combo with this is at least worth a mention.
5. Devil's Sight and Darkvision mix up - He says that one should pick devil's sight if their race does not grant Darkvision, because this will stop you from having disadvantage in dark areas. Devil's Sight is more than just Darkvision. It allows you to see through magical darksness. Goes great with that Darkness spell he recommended a few levels ago, or that you would get a free casting of if you went Drow or some Tiefling variants and knew they got the spell at 5th level.
6. Armor or no? - He keeps flip flopping on whether this build will use armor. When starting out he says you'll be wearing light armor. At level 7 he says to take the armor of shadows invocation which he claims increases your AC by 2 (if you are not wearing armor then this increases your AC by 3, and if you are wearing armor then it has no effect). In his gear recommendations sometimes he recommends armor, sometimes not.
7. Cantrip scaling at level 11 - This is a relatively minor issue but he is incorrect. Here he says cantrips scale up again at level 11. That is how it works in tabletop. I don't know why Larian changed this, but in BG3 it is level 10. Maybe he mentioned this in other posts, I am not going to go back and check. It's a small concern but I wanted to point it out.
8. Gear - Everything this build selects during the level up process is focused around Eldritch blast. Yet he keeps mentioning rapier proficiency, gear like gloves of power, etc. I don't want to go too far into this, as a character who focuses on Eldritch blast but uses weapons in a pinch seems fine. But he never really pulls the strings together on this. He recommends the gold wyrmling staff on a character with 10 strength. This just feels like a bunch of copy paste with no critical thought.

Battlemaster Fighter Build

1. GWF style - He says GWF only applies to weapons with the two handed property. This is incorrect. It also applies to versatile weapons wielded in two hands.
2. Racial proficiencies - He recommends Githyanki and Gold Dwarf because of the weapon proficiencies they get. Fighter is already proficient in all armor and weapons. Githyanki is my favorite race and anyone who talks bad about Lae'zel is getting banned (/s about the banned part), but this is not a reason to pick these races as a fighter at all. This is day 1 build stuff. I would be embarrassed to have shared such blatantly incorrect info so widely.
3. Acrobatics proficiency - Here he stresses the importance of proficiency in acrobatics to avoid getting shoved around. On a high Str character who following his guide would be proficient in athletics. How did he get this 100% wrong on both his monk and fighter builds?
4. Ability scores...again - If you follow one of his backup recommendations to take toughness at level 12 then things do work themselves out to even numbers. So there is a chance you could end up on a decently planned out build by following his guide.
5. Action surge + extra attack - he says that a level five fighter who action surges can make 3 attacks a turn, and how strong this is. Imagine if he actually played this character or had a basic rule understanding to learn that a level 5 action surging fighter can make 4 attacks a turn. He doesn't comment on action surge on a level 11 fighter but I am sure he would see stars given just how strong he thought 3 attacks a turn at level 5 was.

Conclusion

I could make a post nitpicking any one of his builds in a post as long as this one. But it would be a lot of stuff along the lines of, "You say to use any heavy crossbow on the fighter character, but really this character would be best served by bows that give an increase to initiative." That is not the point of this post. This post is to point out more than just disagreements. It is to point out fundamental misunderstandings on Alcast's part and why I would never recommend one of his builds.

TLDR; my bored brain started trying to link the Milennium series (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) to the Hannibal book series and got quite far in. Should I write it or do we think that it would jar tonewise?
When I get bored, I start linking together different thrillers into a sort of multiverse. This is for context.
So how would the rest of the fandom feel about cross-franchise fanfics? I know they are popular in some communities but don't really see them talked about on here.
Specifically, I started wondering how Lisbeth Salander and Hannibal Lecter would get on, considering that they seem to have similar 'diagnosies' (I know neither of them ever get formally diagnosed but similar symptoms at least)- and radically different outlooks on life. Then I started working out a timeline, and seeing if it could work. And chronologically, it could.
Basically, do people feel like cross-franchise Hannibal fan works are odd, or are they okay if they are well-written?
thanks in advance, also this is my first post so im kinda scared, be nice :)

for context i’m 19f and i started hooking up with the guy who lived across the hall from me. he’s a very complicated person but for the most part i put up with it because he cared a lot about how i felt and was a close friend.
when we started hooking up it was relatively complicated because he was reserved and couldn’t do affection. as time went by this significantly started to change and i could see him become more affectionate however he would still say some toxic things to me. after a few months of this i confronted him since it was getting serious and he completely broke down apologizing and feeling sorry and he did make an effort to change.
we eventually went on winter break so i didn’t see him for a month and i started getting scared that i was catching feelings so i removed my location sharing for the month of break as a weird emotional response and shared it back when we got to school. when we got back he was very affectionate and sweet and honestly it just seemed very simple.
later that week we got into a fight about something random and he brought up about how he noticed the location unsharing and apparently him being sweet earlier in the week was only because he was afraid that i was mad and that he was going to lose me. i honestly was even more frustrated at that and he was angry with me too. the next day he came in again asking if i were mad which i was and it was a pretty passive aggressive conversation once again. after that he told me he needed to talk to me and i got the feeling that it was ending between us. we had a pretty deep conversation and he told me he met another girl that he really liked and thought she might be the one (we were exclusive before). i was honestly pretty shocked since the timing felt kind of suspicious but i wished him the best and told him i was very happy for him and i apologized for not showing him i cared as much as i did. he told me i always felt like home to him and he always did feel like he cared more than i did.
the next month and a half we barely talked but i saw him often since he lived across the hall and it was relatively obvious he wasn’t doing well. i missed him a lot but i tried my best to move and eventually i started getting over it.
we slowly started having conversations in passing and one day he knocked on my door and told me he needed me. there was only a few weeks of school left and fast forward a bit we started things again. it was a little different this time he wasn’t toxic anymore and it seemed so intimate more than it was before. we recently went on summer break and although it was unspoken we are most likely going to be no contact since we won’t live next to each other anymore.
im not even sure what i want anymore because i didn’t want things to end just yet but there’s also a lot of things i can’t forgive him for (like leaving for the other girl). at the same time i know we both care about each other and have been there for each other a lot. i don’t know what i want but as of right now things just feel incomplete.

Hello, sorry, I know the "Odin 2 vs RP4P" question comes up a lot but... I have the impression that the forthcoming release of the Odin 2 mini is changing the situation. Before, we could just say "the Odin is better in every way but get the RP4P if you want a smaller console". But now that the Mini is coming, I'm hesitating between the two models, and I'd like to hear what you think about it.
(It's worth mentioning that I'm assuming that the Odin 2 Mini will work just as well as the Odin 2 and that it competes with the RP4P in terms of portability!)
At home, I've got a hacked 3DS, a hacked PS Vita and a hacked Wii. This means I can run all Nintendo's portable retro gaming on my 3DS, PS1, PSP and PS Vita games on my Vita, and Game Cube or Wii games on my Wii. I've always dreamed of a small portable console that would let me emulate all that at once, and that's why I'm thinking of buying the Odin 2 mini or the RP4P.
I'd like my console to be able to run most 3DS/PS Vita games, PS1/PS2 games (Shadow of the Colossus, Digimon...), Wii games (by the way, I don't know if you can emulate certain games with motion control, like Spectrobes...) and as many Switch games as possible (I like indie games).
I guess Odin 2 mini is better in every way. But, I love the transparent design of RP4P, it's cheaper, smaller so more convenient and I'm wondering it might be just right for my needs. Even if I'm wondering is the little size difference impacts convenience. So, what do you think?

Before I get the jealous ex comments, some context -
We have a small child together, of whom we co-parent mostly well. We split last year. Both live separately and have a flexi 50/50 mutual agreement.
Our birthdays are relatively close together. He had made plans that spanned 2 weekends as his birthday fell mid-week. His plans were communicated to me, I was happy to accommodate both weekends for him and appreciated the open communication as this hasn't always been easy for us. My birthday is a Saturday for reference
My birthday is coming up, next month so no concrete plans but it was made aware I'd be seeing my BFF during the day. Usually I'd have our child for the morning of my birthday and he'd collect around 11/12.
As his birthdays first and he doesn't appreciate me making plans in advance, I haven't really explained to him what my plans were yet.
I got a message this week, saying our child was invited to a birthday party. I have anxiety and struggle at children's parties with parents etc,I'm mostly introverted and as he's the extroverted ones, he's always gone to the parties, never been an issue and mostly an unsung agreement between us.
'Hi - x has been invited to a party, only thing is its on your birthday! Oh and I forgot to tell you, I booked a tattoo on the day too.'
I was a little taken back by it and said okay, I can alter plans if needed, could he have our child in the afternoon.
He explained the tattoo was booked on purpose as he knew I'd want to have our child for my birthday and was a bit shitty that I had plans explaining he'd 'take them to the party then'
I don't think I lost my shit nearly as much as I've been told I should have. He told me he couldnt understand why i was getting upset and he'd get our child after his tattoo and he didn't need to argue with me about it.
I explained I wasn't trying to argue with him but I felt it was a little unfair that he didn't even ask or communicate but assumed and just purposefully, booked a substantial tattoo on my birthday, when I would ask him if it was okay to schedule a substantial tattoo on a day I would assume he would have plans that would include both our child and likely social plans.
I felt as though I was being gas lit into being a bad parent or person for not wanting to spend my full birthday with our child, when he made his plans that entailed both and had thr opportunity to express his plans to me and to me, It was as though I had both the morning and afternoon considering it felt like he was implying I had to have our child for the tattoo and take them to the party after.
I don't have a big family, nor am I close with any family, I have one friend of whom I'm close with and made plans with and have similar plans each year.
I'm thinking on it more and more but,
Am i really a bad person for making some personal plans on my birthday that doesn't fully include my child and expecting my ex to get a tattoo that was actually for and in his birthday month instead of on my birthday in a totally different month?
I'll reiterate it was booked on purpose, not because it was the only date.
Thanks..

Title: Halo: RingFall
Story: On Installation 06, 16807 Abashed Eulogy contemplates the history of the galaxy. All its conflicts, wars, and struggles. She ponders which of the many factions of the galaxy is truly the most powerful. Which one has the greatest potential for destruction and glory. So, she decides to experiment. Converting a large section of her ring, she transforms it into a battleground. The thick vegetation is cleared, making room for environments that mirror multiple locations. A frozen tundra with forerunner architecture, a barren desert with a human outpost, a sickly swamp with a banished fortress, and a volcanic waste with crumbling ruins. Scattered between them are dense forests, open plains, and some rivers. With the scenery set, she begins her testing.
Gameplay: At the start of each match, an Arkship will fly across the landscape, dispersing fighters wherever they wish to deploy. The players will control their descent within drop pods before landing and exiting in a first-person cinematic display (think Chief's landing on Delta Halo in Halo 2 in first-person). Weapons from every Halo game, expanded media and even some new ones will be scattered about, along with a small amount of vehicles. Weapons would include the “cut” ones from Infinite, Halo 3’s brute weapons, Reach’s expanded arsenal as well as stuff like the Stanchion, Flamethrower, gravity rifle, and others. Vehicles would be Mongoose, Warthog, Razorback, Ghost, Revenant (Halo 4 design), Chopper and Maurader. Perhaps also a Mantis and Reaver. To push players to a randomly generated middle, Abashed Eulogy will designate an era as inadequate and begin a purge. First, the area will begin to crack and pale, signaling the "closing of the ring". Once a set amount of time has passed, the cracked area will be ejected into space, eliminating anyone left in the area and shrinking the fighting space. Abashed Eulogy will also act as the announcer, commenting in what is happening and changes about to occur.
Player content: To make the gameplay more interesting, players can choose between six factions between three categories to play as. Each player can create three "characters" per faction and can switch between characters and factions between battles. Unlockable customization is earned in a Reach-like style with credits earned based on your gameplay and leveling up. Each faction has unique animations, drop pods, and melee weapons. Putting away your weapons will allow players to run faster and be weaponless at will. Content will be shared between characters but not factions. The categories and factions are these. The Alliance: UNSC Spartans and Swords of Sanghelios Elites The Betrayed: Banished Brutes and Endless Xalanyn The Hated: Flood Combat Forms and Created Prometheans UNSC: The spartans will be in Infinite style (though Reach proportions if you know what I mean) and contain armor options from all games. There are also 3 voice types ( technically six, considering it’s 3 per gender). First is a stoic and calm Spartan 2, second is a professional but more bantery and laid-back Spartan 3, and third is the much more vocal and chatty Spartan 4. They will use the familiar UNSC drop pods and wield the Spartan knives from Reach Assassinations. SoS: The Elites will contain male AND female elites, allowing us to finally see female elites in game. Their armor will range from all games though the base shape is their Infinite Design. HOWEVER, there is an optional third body type in the form of 343 (Halo 4/5) style Elites for those who wish to play as them. Voice types will be a strict and professional Covenant Elite, second will be a boisterous and loud remnant follower and third is a more approachable and open-minded Swords Elite. The drop pod used will be the Halo Reach style, with the cover sliding up and the elite jumping out. Their melee weapon will likewise bet the Reach-style energy daggers.
The Banished: This will allow us to finally play as the brutes. They will have two body types; trimmed and neat Infinite Style or shaggy/hairy Halo 2 style. No female brutes. Armor will be from all games (2, 3, Reach and Infinite). Voice types will include a snarling savage that rarely talks, a devote covenant follower from Halo 3, or the bombastic and snarling Infinite style. Their drop pods will be the ones form Infinite, with fire and explosions, belching smoke and flame while the brute leaps out and roars. Unlike other factions, the Brutes use their fists as their melee weapons, with their running animations while “armed” being the beserking lope from Halo 2.
The Endless: This will be fun, allowing the expansion of Xalanyn design. I’m assuming they resemble the Harbinger, so they’ll be slender and regal, floating above the ground as if swimming in water. Due to the Harbinger being female, I’m going to say males and females are playable, with their armor taking inspiration from the already-seen designs as well as some influence from the Reapers of Mass Effects (the reapers themselves, not the Husks) Their voice lines could be a calm, regal figure that looks down on other species, an unhinged fighter who wants revenge for their betrayal and a solum warrior who feels they are dying and have little left. Their drop pod could be almost anything, but I feel they’d exit it with arms folded over their chest, floating out as if underwater. Their melee weapon would be their hand coated in energy to act as slashing blades.
The Flood: Getting to play as a Combat-Form has a lot of potential. Three body types; human, elite and brute, with armor being different ranks of each before they were infected. Voice lines will be super fun. The first is the Primordial; ancient and calm, talking about the inevitability of its victory and monologuing on ancient times. The second would be the Gravemind we know and love, speaking in riddles and metaphors before going unhinged and angry. And the third would be a proto-gravemind, snarling and groaning like a classic zombie and only speaking the occasional broken phrase or word. Their drop pod would be a flood sac, with the player crawling out of it. Their melee weapon will be tentacles that extend from their arm, and these also wrap around any weapon they pick up to aid in reloading.
The Created: The Prometheans would be soldiers, though modified to look a bit less “floaty”. A combination of what they are and the design that Wernissage created on YouTube. Their armor designs could range from Halo 4’s with different colors and lights, to 5’s more vivid metal and perhaps a few more floaty bits. Voice lines would include a dull, mechanical voice, very robotic and stiff. The second would be similar to Halo 5, serving Cortana and believing in the superiority of machines, and last would be a LifeWorker drone, striving to protect life and feeling they are only doing what they must by killing. Their drop pod would be a solid metal cylinder that disassembles partially to form the soldier itself, floating apart and then reforming into the player. Their melee weapon would be similar to the Knights light blade.
Additional Game Modes: A survival-style game with between 96 to 99 Flood players, unarmed, against 1 to 4 survivors who drop down and have to scavenge and attempt to kill the flood before they are killed. There could also be an Infection Style game where there are 99 survivors and 1 Alpha Flood who is a Juggernaut. Whenever a survivor is killed, they are turned into a flood form with their original character’s armor (or one of their flood character if they an endless or Promethean) and they keep respawning until either all survivors are dead or the timer runs out. Release and Future Content: On release, everyone who buys the game (which would be about $20, gets a 100-tier season pass that they can work through to earn customizations for their armor and decals. Think how For Honor does their passes. However, once the season is done (after a month or two) the pass remains so you can continue to unlock. The following season would introduce a new category and two new factions. Ancient Humans and Forerunners. Further seasons would include an ODST faction, a covenant Prelate Factions, a Fringe Faction that uses the Dazreme, an ONI season that has UNSC customization for Elites, Brutes, Prometheans, and radio-controlled Flood. A Covenant Season that unlocks Honor Guard Armor for elites, brutes and flood and Covenant Spartans, Prometheans, and Endless. The ideas go on and on.
Would this ever happen? Probably not. But I think it would make an amazing game that would breath life back into Halo without rewriting anything and would be an amazing thing!
That’s how I would make a Halo Battle Royal Game.

i’ve noticed that talking to people in person is difficult for me because i cant come up with things to say that quickly. when i’m texting, i have time to think of a response and type it out the way i want. but on the other hand, my attitude towards people is different depending whether we’re texting or talking face-to-face. for example, i find it hard to think of my friends as “actual people” when texting them. like they’re totally separate from who they are irl if that makes sense. this could totally just be an incoherent ramble but im curious if anyone relates

I have this former officemate na senior in rank than me; he was like a mentoclose colleague. All those years we developed close friendships, like attending each other’s wedding / wedding anniv, extended family events (we belong to a larger family network but we’re not relatives) etc. Basta I can genuinely say na we have each other’s back.
Now I’m in a different workplace. We still reconnect from time to time, kamustahan. But I recently needed his help for a career move and he’s been super supportive. I went to see him para mag thank you and when I was about to shake his hand, ayun he pulled me and kissed me on the forehead. My gut is telling me something different, pero baka mali naman ako?

I 26F am gonna get married in a month and my cousin/maid of honor P and best friend O were in charge of planning my bachelorette party, all I asked was that we go out drink, dance, and overall have a good time. Well when it came to the party it was us, Os girlfriend/my friend, and 2 of my closest friends and what they had planned was a hangout to watch movies and play games, I was really confused and thought they were trying to prank me because I specifically said I wanted a night out as we haven’t had one in forever and it’s hard to get everyone to meet at the same time cause we all live in different places. When I asked them about it they said that this was it and I immediately began to cry and ran to my room (it was at my own apartment all they did was bring snacks, games, and balloons) when they knocked on the door I told them that I didn’t want to see them and my best friend ended up going in anyway. He asked me what was wrong and I told him this isn’t what I wanted and he said he knew that but because his gf was pregnant he didn’t want her to be out in a club setting and I immediately began to yell at him. I never yell and I am always very understanding but for some reason that excuse pissed me off. Not only did I introduce him and his gf I was the one that had to be in the middle of the relationship everytime they had a problem even though I asked not to be and the one time I wanted something for myself to enjoy with my friends they inserted their relationship into it. I told him I was the reason they were together and if anything they should have given me the party of my dreams to thank me but instead they made it about them and their pregnancy which I congratulated them on when they first told me. He immediately got defensive and began to call me an asshole for bringing in his wife and child when I replied that she’s not his wife cause they aren’t married and the child isn’t even born and wouldn’t have been created if I didn’t introduce them. He stormed out and left with her and my cousin apologized profusely for not planning a night out and my other 2 friends were very conflicted. So far my best friend has been texting me saying he is very upset with me and doesn’t know if he wants to go to the wedding anymore and saying I was an asshole and could’ve just enjoyed the night. So aita?

Some background. When I (26F) was in college I did a summer program where I got to perform with other students ages 16-22ish. The program was not affiliated with any school. I was 18 the first summer and I became really close with the guy ("Gus" 39M) who was in charge of teaching me and my peers. I took a summer off to do some service work for a church and went back the year after, where Gus was still in charge of teaching students. While I was gone, Gus and I communicated frequently via email and FB, with him giving me lots of support because it was hard being away from home. Over time, as I leaned on him for support, he began to do the same.
The summer I went back, Gus and I remained very close. While he would be teaching me and my peers, we would also still be exchanging messages and joking around. Outside of the program, we would hang out and get food, he would give me rides (he said physical touch was his love language and would often give me long hugs or put his hand on my knee). He would always pay, saying he knew I was tight on money because of college. I didn't realize at the time that this was weird or not right for someone in a teaching position to do with a student, even an adult one. When people started asking me if Gus and I were dating, I let Gus know that people thinking that made me uncomfortable and we should reevaluate how we act because I wasn't interested in that. We were just friends. It seemed like he understood, but over those next months, he would get upset with me when I had more free time to give to my boyfriend (now husband "Shaun") than I did Gus.
Shaun and I got engaged and Gus was upset I didn't tell him directly (we told our siblings and parents and then made a FB post for everyone else). It really soured my excitement. At our wedding, Gus sat a table the whole time and didn't come to the dance floor where I was the whole night. He was then upset that he didn't get a picture with me in my wedding dress before I changed.
Over the next few years this same pattern continued where Gus would be upset when I didn't spend more time with him, he'd get upset if I wasn't texting him every day, but he didn't want to hang out with me and Shaun together because "he didn't know Shaun that well". I tried to set boundaries multiple times and tried to explain to Gus that I was feeling like he was using me as a fill in SO, but he wouldn't ever finish talking through it, would say he understood or had questions, things would cool for a few months and then he'd start complaining about the lack of time we spent together again. I was still teaching at this school with him. My husband started teaching there as well and Gus complained saying "this was the last thing we had that was just us". I had started feeling anxious having to spend any time with Gus.
When I started working with the summer program, Gus was still there as well. I had to do a training for safety with minors in order to work there and that's when I started to realize Gus had developed a weird, unhealthy emotional attachment to me and had been ignoring the rules teachers are meant to follow concerning students (even adult students). He had been love bombing me, gaslighting me and emotionally abusing me for years. And I had no clue what to do with this realization. My heart sank. I loved being friends with Gus but he had abused me, my trust and my friendship. I decided I would just start cutting him out and leave it at that.
The following summer, I had a friend who had also been a student in the program who was now working with the program ask me how I got Gus to leave me alone. Apparently, she'd been feeling uncomfortable around him as well for similar reasons (though she was older and smarter than I was when he started pushing on her). I told her I hadn't, really, I just stopped talking to him.
This past year, I got a more permanent position with that same school. I had thought that Gus was no longer working there much, so I thought it would be okay. I work directly with someone who I'd known for years, and had known Gus for decades. Gus and him hang out every Sunday and they had worked together for just as many years. Like I said, I thought Gus wasn't working in that same role anymore, so I took the job and thought nothing of him. I was wrong. And I had a breakdown knowing I'd have to work directly with Gus now. My boss had no clue any of this was a thing and I hadn't previously mentioned any of to anyone besides my husband. After realizing I'd be working with Gus, I broke down to my boss who encouraged me to let the program coordinator of the summer program know about what had happened. I was worried at this point because it was clear it wasn't just me - if it had been, I would've suffered in silence. So, I let the coordinator know. I also texted Gus one last time to let him know I could not and would not be involved in this sick twisted friendship any longer. I would work with him, but that was it.
Gus was asked to resign from his position as a result and he was informed that I was the individual who had made the report. I still think it was wrong for whoever to betray my anonymity but I haven't done anything about it.
Now onto the problem as a result of all of this. The school we all 3 work with has no clue that Gus was asked to resign his position working with students because of an inappropriate relationship with a student. Gus and my boss exclude me from major decisions, even though Gus is hired as a para professional and I am hired as an Assistant Coach. On paper, Gus and I should at least be on the same level, if not me above him, but he has years of tenure.
I kept asking my boss why I wasn't being included, and he kept giving me bullshit excuses about how I wasn't intentionally being excluded, Gus and him just hang out a lot and end up talking about work at the same time. Things finally came to a head a few days ago when I was excluded from our staff FB chat group for the past few months until that day. I confronted my boss on why I had been excluded, telling him it wasn't really about the chat, it was about everything else leading up to it. I asked him again why I had been excluded from major decisions and he finally told me it was because Gus was uncomfortable being around me. To say I was shocked and angry was an understatement. I was already crying from frustration before he admitted this.
I reminded my boss that I was the victim, not Gus. He told me "well he's not NOT the victim, his whole life is different now because of your report". I reminded him that he encouraged me to bring it forward and he said "don't turn this on me, you chose to do it" completely ignoring that I had told him I was unsure what to do but just wanted him to know because Gus and I would be working together. He has no concept for the idea that he's shaming me as the victim. He told me he was trying to "mitigate" the situation and every time he had suggested bringing me in on things, he "could just see Gus tense up and get comfortable" and so he decided to leave me out, instead. My boss is choosing his best friend over me. I asked my boss what my future here could possibly be if he was going to choose Gus over me, and he went off on how he values me, but if I feel I need to leave, then that's my choice.
I'm just so angry that I'm getting punished for something Gus did. I'm losing out on opportunities because I was emotionally abused. And no one else on the staff has any clue and they all use love Gus. It feels like no one knows or cares that I'm getting pushed out of my dream job because an older man got the hots for one of his students and couldn't control himself. I don't even know how to bring this up to the administration, because I clearly can't work in these conditions and they need to know if I leave it's because my boss is siding with my emotional abuser on all of this.

It's me. The annoying new fan again 🤣🤌🏼
Okay so I've been thinking about this lately. Since I recently started to read the books, having watched the show first, I thought I would automatically see the same actors in my mind. But I was surprised about how much this wasn't the case.
I know that imagination works in different ways. Some people can see everything like a movie, while people on the other side of the spectrum have aphantasia and cannot see images in their brain.
I have a vivid imagination but I don't always "control it". For example I do see Sam as Jamie while reading, but Claire changes often. Specially after Jamie says on their wedding night that she has "wide hips" (she gets offended lol) it gave me the image of Claire maybe being a little more "big" on the hips and legs area Since Cait is/was a Victoria Secret model with thin long legs, after that description in the book, my brain started projecting a slightly different image of Claire. Ofc I still see Cait in my mind, but it does change.
Dougal and Colum I see them completely different from their actors now. Claire describes them in the books as looking very similar to Jamie (well technically Jamie looks like them, but you get my point) how all the Mackenzie men have the "same bone structure" and she talks about how attractive they both are. I see them more as looking like season 6 Jamie/Sam.
I've only read the first book so far but this will continue to happen and I will for sure share it here when the time comes 😆😏
Share your thoughts about this with me!

LOOOONG first time trip report! 5/13-5/18, stayed at Beach Club, visited all four parks, bought Genie+ every day, had the standard DDP. Family of 4, two girls 5 and 9. I learned so much from this group over the past year and especially loved trip reports, so hopefully this post will be helpful to someone!
💲BUDGET💲
-- I booked the trip a year out so I could break it up into 12 manageable payments. I opened the no fee Disney VISA, which gives you several months of no interest on charges made towards Disney travel packages, rewards dollars to use at Disney, and a couple other perks like character meet and greets and discounts.
-- I signed up for Disney Movie Insiders. This is what you're supposed to do with all those little codes that come in Disney DVDs/Blurays. You enter the codes in exchange for points, and at 1000 points, you can redeem for a $10 Disney gift card. You also get points for being subscribed to Disney+, seeing Disney movies in the theater, their social media accounts, and a whole bunch of other things. I got $50 in gift cards from this alone.
-- If you want Disney-themed luggage, try thinking outside the box to save money! I got plain luggage in Mickey colors--red and black--and Mickey luggage tags to make them Disney themed.
-- I tried to budget for souvenirs via gift cards... but I failed, lol. Everything is so expensive, $100 is gone in a second. Plushes are like $40, coffee cups are $20, etc. Whatever you're planning to spend, double it! I get what people say about most shops having the same stuff, but it's definitely not all of them, most of the ones post-ride have unique stuff. And honestly it's kind of nice most of them have the same stuff, if you want to get whatever your kid was asking for earlier, you don't have to walk all the way back to the one shop you saw it at.
-- We paid for Memory Maker and I'm on the fence about it. On the one hand, it's really nice to get all the ride photos and meet and greet photos and magic shots. It's also really nice for the whole family to be in a lot of pictures and not have to swap with the other adult or find someone willing to take your picture. On the other, we definitely didn't utilize it as much as I wanted to because a lot of the photographers had pretty long lines and I just didn't want to spend time waiting for a picture I could take myself. If we came across someone with a shortish or no line, we made sure to get it, but for anyone with a long line, we just stood around the same spot and took our own.
🗓️PLANNING🗓️
-- If you have kids and live within easy driving distance of another amusement park, highly recommend making a visit BEFORE going to Disney to get an idea of how they handle that kind of day/environment, especially if they have never been. I quickly discovered we would absolutely need a stroller and I would need to be militant with the kids about staying hydrated. Also to avoid face paint, as heat + tears + paint + eyes = bad day! I felt so much better making these discoveries beforehand and being able to prepare accordingly, rather than making them at Disney.
-- USE AN AGENT! An agent is free to you, so why not have the help? Ours was amazing, she gave us quotes, booked the package, rebooked as needed later when a better deal came out, made all the payments, dining and extra reservations, and was just all-around awesome to work with. It was such a load off to know I wasn't on my own with all this stuff.
-- Watch everything Ear Scouts. No one explains Genie+ better, and Rob and Erick's videos are just so positive and beautiful and well done.
-- I also enjoyed reading Disney Tourist Blog--lovingly snarky but super informative!--and Disney Food Blog for fun tips and news.
-- I didn't find any park to be a half day park, we filled our whole day in every one and still didn't see everything!
-- My kids did really well, whenever they were on the verge of cranky, we had one ride in the stroller for a while, bought a snack (usually ice cream or popcorn), and used the bubble wand, and/or gave them some ibuprofen, and everyone felt better pretty quick. We never tried to do fireworks, we were all done by 8 so always left after dinner. The only park we closed down was EPCOT because we didn't get out of dinner until after close, and that was a really cool experience, the park was so quiet and empty and beautiful!
-- You don't NEED a Magic Band... but man, was it convenient. We just had 1.0 Magic Bands though, we didn't bother with the 2.0s.
-- I guess moving through security fast is important to people rope dropping... but as someone who didn't, it added like maybe 30 seconds to a minute to the experience the couple times my bag got flagged, it's really not a big deal.
-- I'm not saying anyone's lying about bad experiences or exaggerating or anything, but try to remember that far more people go on the Internet to complain than they do to praise. I got so stressed about all the things that could go wrong, and we had a pretty much perfect trip. The only attraction that broke down on us was Muppetvision, of all things. The only "bad behavior" we witnessed was the morning we were leaving, we could hear a dad across the hall yelling at his family, I think they overslept and were going to miss their flight or something? We just turned the TV on so we didn't have to hear him. A couple times we forgot to take our stuff with us when we parked our stroller or forgot some food in it, and neither people nor animals bothered it. The only dicey thing that happened to us was me dropping my phone into the Dumbo moat, the cast members fished it out and it still worked, I sent them a cast compliment for all their help! All the cast members were great, I'm not really sure what people expect but IMO they all do amazing for having to be peppy and helpful all day in absolutely blazing heat, walking a ride conveyer belt nonstop, repeating the same spiels over and over, meeting person after person, etc. I wouldn't last a 2 hour shift let alone 8. Cast members, you rock!!!
✈️TRAVEL✈️
-- We flew Delta, flight there was flawless, flight home was delayed by an hour waiting for crew and was a little bumpy (which is not great for a nervous flyer like me) but otherwise fine.
-- Get TSA PreCheck! Good for a few years, if the adults have it the kids have it too. It made the whole experience so much easier. That said, even PreCheck still moves kind of slow at MCO, so definitely get there at least 2 hours early for your flight. Use curbside check-in for bags, way faster than the long line inside!
-- On our agent's recommendation, we used Away We Go for ground transport in Orlando. They communicate really well, both ways were flawless, no complaints!
-- We used Minnie Vans to get to Animal Kingdom + Sanaa and Magic Kingdom, what a wonderful service! Definitely pricey, but they had cartoons on in the car, booster seats they set up for you, and the drivers were so nice and friendly and had fun trivia to share. I never had any problem requesting one when I needed it.
⛱️BEACH CLUB⛱️
-- We knew we wanted an onsite hotel where you could walk to at least one park. This pretty much limits you to a handful of Deluxe hotels or the Swan and Dolphin. Beach Club won for us because it's "in the Disney bubble" and you can walk to 2/4 parks. Note that while you can technically walk to Hollywood Studios, it is a LOOOONG walk. The boat is a nice not crowded alternative! We did not make use of Early Entry or Extended Hours, we're just not built for either. Beach Club was lovely, we booked a resort view but I think we ended up with a water view, we were right by the quiet pool and could see the water beyond from our room. Stormalong Bay was a little crazy for us but we loved the quiet pool. Best thing about Beach Club though is the location, EPCOT is literally steps away!
🌳ANIMAL KINGDOM🌳
-- We had read that there's really no bad day to do AK, so we started there. We rode: Navi River Journey, Flight of Passage, Kali River Rapids, Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Triceratops Spin, and Dinosaur--so pretty much everything! With Genie+ we walked onto all of them. We also met Moana, Pocahontas, and Russell! The only thing we didn't do here that we wanted to was the Gorilla Falls trail, but we just ran out of time before the park closed.
🌐EPCOT🌐
-- We had read to avoid EPCOT on Fridays and Saturdays, so we went on Wednesday. We rode: Grand Fiesta Tour, Living with the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, Imagination with Figment, Frozen, Remy, and Guardians--everything we wanted! Again, with Genie+, we walked right onto everything! We also met Anna and Elsa! Tried a couple of Flower and Garden snacks: chicken and waffles, fruit and cheese strudel, and potato pancakes, all were delicious! Everyone had a different favorite day, but EPCOT was personally my favorite day, it felt like we were firing on all cylinders and the day just went really smoothly!
🏰MAGIC KINGDOM🏰
-- We had read that Wednesdays were the quietest days at MK, so we were originally going to try to do it that day, but we could only get a reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table on Thursday, so we switched it up. Definitely the most crowded of all the parks we visited, but I think that's just the norm for MK, everyone wants to go to the castle park with the most rides. We rode: Regal Carousel, Tomorrowland Speedway, Barnstormer, Magic Carpets, Mad Tea Party, People Mover, Dumbo, Small World, Little Mermaid, Pirates, Space Ranger Spin, Jungle Cruise, TRON, and Peter Pan. Again, with Genie+, we walked right onto everything! The only ride we missed at this park that we wanted to do was Pooh, I couldn't manage to get a return time that was earlier than we planned on leaving. Outside of our character meals (more on those in the dining section!) we also met Mirabel, Tiana, and Rapunzel! We had both the Rapunzel and Aurora ice creams, both so good and cute!
🎬HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS🎬
-- We had read that, like MK, it's better to do HS later in the week, so we went Friday. We rode: Slinky, Alien Saucers, Toy Story Mania, Rise, Smuggler's Run, Runaway Railway. Again, with Genie+, we walked right onto everything! The only ride we missed was Tower of Terror, again I couldn't manage to get a return time that was earlier than we planned on leaving. We also met Olaf, be aware Olaf doesn't sign stuff, they just give you a signature card. This park needs more shade IMO, especially Toy Story Land, I know it's supposed to be Andy's backyard, but I don't see why that means we can't have some shade from trees or something. 🤪 Blue milk from Galaxy's Edge was really good, the family was all fighting over it!
🍽️DINING🍽️
-- We almost certainly lost some money on the DDP, but I'm still glad we got it because it allowed us to do more table service meals and have less stress overall about expenses. We easily used up everything but child quick service credits, we had a few of those left over near the end.
Here's where we ate!
BOARDWALK DELI/PIZZA WINDOW: Pizza for the kids, sandwiches for the adults. Tasty and satisfying after our day of travel!
BEACHES AND CREAM: Got the kitchen sink for the experience, but honestly it's not great, all the ice cream and toppings melt together quick and you just end up with weird ice cream soup.
SAT'ULI CANTEEN: LOVED this place, everything was so yummy! Best quick service we had!
SANAA: Since Animal Kingdom closes so early, we thought we'd try to extend the experience by eating at Sanaa. What a great idea, we got seated right by a window and saw so many animals! The food was great too.
AKERSHUS: Our favorite princess meal! We met Aurora, Tiana, Snow White, Ariel, and Belle. They were all lovely, and the breakfast was really good too. Only 1 credit on the DDP!
GARDEN GRILL: Our kids really enjoyed getting to look down over Living with the Land and the fact that the restaurant spins. We met Farmer Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. They were fun and even came to our table more than once. Food was good!
SPACE 220: Not on the DDP, but wow, what a cool restaurant! Almost like a ride with the theming and the elevator up. Food was really good.
CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE: You gotta eat in the castle! We paid for it OOP because we didn't want to use up 2 DDP credits here. You're really going for the location and the princesses, the food is kinda meh, not bad but not as good as other places. The restaurant is small and they have to turn tables quick, so it's very understandable to me that the princesses have to move fast. It's not that they rush you, they'll take all the pictures you ask for and sign whatever and answer your questions, but if you don't have much you need, they try to keep moving. Akershus is much bigger so they are able to be more relaxed there. The only small bummer is that we didn't see Merida (maybe she was on vacation too!) We did meet Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, and Aurora though!
CRYSTAL PALACE: We are not big on buffets but we enjoyed meeting Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger! TOPOLINO'S: Maybe the best food of the trip, steak and eggs were so good! The character artist costunes are so cute too. It was fun to have an excuse to ride the Skyliner to get here from Beach Club too.
DOCKING BAY 7: The theming is great, but the food wasn't as good as Satuli Canteen IMO.
THE MARKET AT ALE & COMPASS: We had quick service credits we wanted to use up on the last day and we didn't want to leave the resort again, otherwise I would have gone somewhere else, food was meh.
✨EXTRAS✨
-- I originally wanted to book Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for my kids, but it's so expensive/competitive that I decided to didn't want the stress. Instead I booked Have Wand, Will Travel to come to our room and bought dresses from Presley Couture and Only Little Once. I chose Have Wand, Will Travel because they keep character throughout. Fairy Godmother Elyse was amazing and so much fun, my kids loved it and kept talking about it all day!
-- That same morning I ordered a Sammicakes breakfast box with beignets for us to eat. I also ordered a pretend letter from Tiana on Etsy to make it seem like the breakfast came from Tiana. My kids also loved this and had fun telling Tiana about it both times we met her. Sammicakes was good but a LOT of food, sadly we didn't end up eating half of it. It can last you at least 3 days!
-- Matching shirts and ear hats, all from Etsy! So many cool designs there, hardest part is choosing!
-- Got my kids a pin trading lanyard with some pins, they loooooved pin trading! It was like free souvenirs.
🧳PACKING🧳
-- Things the Internet Told Me to Pack That I Needed: Scissors, ziploc bags, ibuprofen (kids and adults), garbage bags.
-- Things the Internet Told Me to Pack that I Didn't Need: stainless steel straws (the paper straws are more like cardboard, they really don't break down unless your kid is gnawing on them or something), ponchos (it did rain some most days, but wearing a poncho was almost more miserable than not wearing one, it's so hot and humid to be walking around in a plastic bag! We did better taking shelter and using umbrellas.), wipes (obv you need them if your kid is younger, but mine were older and just never got messy enough to need them.), glow sticks (we never stayed anywhere long enough to use them.) Basically, the less you can get away carrying in the parks, the better. It's annoying to lug stuff around you don't end up needing or using!
🛞STROLLER🛞
-- I know it seems insane that your 5 year old and 9 year old will need a stroller, but mine definitely did. Once I accepted that I was going to have to get one, I tried to make the best of it, and actually got really into decorating it so we could always easily spot it in the sea (the decorations also later made nice wall decor for a gallery of our trip!) The Magic Spotter flag was the best investment, hardly anyone had them so it was easy to instantly spot our stroller anywhere we left it, even if it got moved. That said, I definitely didn't want to spend a lot on a stroller we were really only buying for this one trip, so I got a used Joovy Caboose on Facebook Marketplace for $50. It was very hard to handle with two older kids in it, and even with one it was hard to handle unless the kid was in the back seat. So we basically used it like a single stroller, glad I didn't spend a lot on it since it was so hard to drive!
☔WEATHER☔
-- We had mostly great weather, it rained some every day except Magic Kingdom day but it passed within an hour each time. We wore socks with Crocs so that if/when it rained, we could just take our wet socks off and walk in our Crocs, this worked great! Don't trust the weather reports though, two days it wasn't supposed to rain. One day it actually didn't, the other day it did and we had to walk in wet shoes because we didn't wear the Crocs that day. Just figure it might rain any day and be prepared! See above note RE: ponchos being not great and shelter + umbrellas being better. When it didn't rain, It. Was. Hot. 🥵 In the 90s but definitely felt hotter with the humidity making it so sticky. We felt there was plenty of shade at Animal Kingdom and EPCOT, but hardly any at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, which I would say slightly affected how much fun we had on those days comparatively.
Phew! That's about it, let me know if you have any questions!

I'm sorry if this post demotivates you. Sometimes truth juice is required to set your expectations right.
Folks are talking about how difficult CAT '24 is going to be with the phenomenal increase in competition.
Maybe it's not all the noise people are making about it? Maybe such posts (and all others which are creating all the hype) go down in history as being top tier clownery, in retrospect of course?
Yes, the #candidates appearing has been increasing YoY since 2021, so the fears are not unfounded. But just the #candidates increasing should not stop anyone from preparing? That is naturally going to increase every year and it has increased (almost) every year! In my honest opinion, this is not something any aspirant should think about.
To all the GEMs, as a fellow GEM (I know I'm speaking from a position of privilege) - CAT is not your golden ticket to glory. It is one of the ways of pursuing a 2yr MBA in India. Do you want to pursue a 2yr MBA in India? Stress on each word (or a combination of those) after "2yr" and you get a different question you can figure the answer to. There are a multitude of corporate success stories of folks making it to the senior management without a 2yr MBA (so many within the small consulting firm I work at right now!). Yes a 2yr MBA might help you get access to better opportunities early on and make your life easier vs without it. But so can working your ass off up through the corporate ladder! Don't waste your time, energy and efforts putting all of what you have into this gamble. Have a strong main game (aka, build a strong profile and get a job, if you don't like it, gulp it down in a bad market and switch after upskilling when the market bouys up). This is just a side gamble. If you're earning a lakh a month and saving around 50-60k, I'm sure you'll have a main stable med risk med returns investment vehicle and only allocate a small portion of it to riskier new-age high return instruments. Think of it in a similar way except here money is your time, credibility and employability. Don't gamble all of it on something you have extremely little control over. Don't live in delusion. I'll echo what Sanjeev Sanyal had to say about UPSC. Don't waste your time sitting jobless "preparing" for an exam. It gives you a total of 0 skills that can prove your employability.