How to make a greek wave friendship bracelet

Do you remember the theory that Marco and Toffee are connected? It is a theory with a lot of negative opinions, but I tried my best to think about it.
Marco and Toffee have a planned and meticulous personality. I think... their gestures are sometimes similar. https://www.tumblr.com/frmacnac/723950017044512769/marco-and-toffee-are-like-mirrors-each-other-or
Marco with purple items is something ominous. The monster arm emits purple liquid, and when Marco is involved in magic, he often wears purple things. The skin color of Marco's corpse in the Blood Moon nightmare is purple, The purple cloth he wears at before beach day has nothing to do with magic but look at the shape.
Besides, The following are the ones that appear in Toffee's first appearance episode.
Star's penstand with holes. This is similar to the symptoms of victims of Solaria's magic. Dead End signs, Star and monsters. A fortune cookie message that Toffee sent to Star says "Love is always the answer". Toffee say that "You're not the only one who is the victim of magic".
What if these are things that imply something? Toffee said he knows the future. What if Star, her friends, and monsters are killed by Solaria's magic? What if Toffee is related to Marco's monster arm? So, Marco may have been shapeshifted to Septarian by dark magic of unicorn and time-traveled to the ancient Mewni. (It might sound stupid) Glossaryck may be involved in it, He may have created a weird time loop. Toffee may be Adult Marco who comes from such a bad future timeline.
Toffee knew that he would be killed as Star's first enemy, so he probably decided to give Star the idea of destroy the magic for change bad future, but in the process, probably he entered Realm of Magic and went crazy. And he may died like "Toffee" on his timeline. and, Glossaryck may have seen Marco as Toffee's childhood. When they first met, Glossaryck said he wouldn't let Marco read magic spells book, and Glossaryck disliked Marco until the day Star rode a bicycle.
Toffee may be a character that assumes as Marco in his thirties. Marco at Neverzone is a child with an adult body. too childish. Star and Toffee's mental age is too far apart, for Toffee, Star will be like a sibling? "Surprise" is a word when the Diaz family celebrates Star every day, so it may be a symbol of friendship and family love. Even if Marco was influenced by the monster arm, he is not necessarily evil. In this case, Toffee wouldn't kill Comet, but his subordinates would do it at their discretion.
Toffee has existed since he was a teenager. The reason why he was shocked when Marco said, "You're boring" would because he had too short time to live as his true self, and he forgot what he was like when he was living as himself. On the other hand, he may have despised his past self who had no power or knowledge to protect the important things. Toffee's last words were probably a warning to his past self, and were probably the answer to what he was told to be "boring". He manipulated Ludo, but it made Buff Frog a Star's friend. It triggered that Star wants Mewni to stop the monster abuse. Marco is the type who is into the role he plays, and he is good at hiding his emotions. If he had felt responsible for the death of Star's grandma, he couldn't have been able to tell the truth. He may have been acting like a crazy, cruel man to Star on purpose.
But how can Marco be so dark and conspiratory?
I think Marco knew very little about monster abuse in Mewni. Marco will be angry if he knows that, and Marco will try to protect the monster from Mewman as one of the earthlings because he knows Mewnians were earthlings, and will be thoroughly research magic and Mewni's history. And Marco's charisma will be gather the support of Septarian. In order to protect the existence of Star, he may had to keep Butterfly family alive while dealing with the monster's hatred for Butterfly family, and he would have been afraid of losing the support of the monsters. Marco was once unable to oppose it for fear of losing the support of the princesses in St. Olga. He may have been bound by his past as Septarian and had limited things to do. I think he has reason for hating Glossaryck. Glossaryck made Star's ancestors, the colonists of Earth, into Butterfly family and Mewman.
"The code name is Sailor V", a spinoff of Sailor Moon came to my mind. The villain in this story was just a soldier who wanted to become a knight to get closer to the princess of Venus, Minako's previous life. However, after everyone died in the war and the queen of the moon reborn everyone with magical powers. He was helping Minako's growth as her enemy but he died while doing fortune-telling that Minako was destined to kill the person she loved. Minako will ended up killing her boyfriend who became an enemy. Daron loves Sailor Moon, and Mina's name is taken from Minako, but Minako looks like Star.
Well, Marco is just a boy from the earth, but he tried to become a knight because he wanted to get close to Star, the princess of Mewni. And what if Marco's Blood Moon's nightmare warn his fate that he will be killed by Star when he falls in love with her? Toffee lives in Star's past, and Marco lives in Star's future. Star and Marco, who are tied by the Curse of Blood Moon, will be bound in a weird time loop forever.
I think the Dark magic that Toffee was melting in Realm of Magic will strengthen the desire for revenge. Toffee may have wanted to neutralize MHC and Moon because them empower Mina's rebellion. What if the magic and Star's family destroyed his life? What if magic doesn't exist? What if the colonists from Earth, the ancestors of Star, didn't go to Mewni? What if Star was born as an earthling? What if Marco chose Jackie instead of Star? His purpose in S1 would to protect Star, but his purpose in S2 may have changed to save Marco's life from Star. The reason he was so obsessed with his lost finger was probably because it was the only point of contact between his past self and his present self. The motivation in that case will be self-love. Realm of Magic will not kill Star, but it will make her suffer. He may have locked Star there to teach her his suffering, instead of telling her who he is.
If Marco's fate is related to magic, it would be right for Star to destroy the magic for Marco. Toffee was watching Star's decision to destroy the magic, and he screamed "surprise". The only person who spoke to Star from the tapestries was Toffee. If the bad future changed, if the timelines merged, would be a happy ending. Will Toffee/Marco trace the fate of Heinous/Meteora?

It sometimes makes me feel immature that I'm almost out of college and don't have any good friends other than my sister. Most people find some best friend outside of their family, but I just haven't been able to. I've had some close friends in the past but they've all either grown distant or grew to be very different in a bad way, going down extremist or disturbing paths (severe sex addict, extreme conservative, etc)
Even still, I feel lucky that I have been able to have a sister that has always been kind and close to me. However for the past few years, she's been increasingly spending less time with me. She has a boyfriend that she almost always prefers being with, and even when in my company, she's often texting him or playing games with him, sometimes when I'm even directly talking to her. Sometimes she does spend time with me and it's very fun and exciting, but those times are becoming increasingly rarer. It makes me sad that she doesn't feel as close as I feel towards her. I don't have anyone that I can tell this to other than my parents, who basically say 'just get over it, you can't control her'. I know that's probably the right answer, but it doesn't stop it from feeling any worse.
My thought is to find other friends, but it's difficult. I have both a part time job as well as college. For my job, I'm currently in a profession where talking with other people is very minimal and it's all online. People say that college is where you can discover lots of friends, but no friendships have been able to stick despite me reaching out to them to try to chat. Those conversations feel forced and don't last long. I can easily fill my time up with other things like working, hobbies, and games, but I feel empty and sad after a few months of talking to nobody but my parents and my online friends who I'm not very close to other than just sending memes occasionally or me listening to them rant about their awful lives (Ironic right now, yeah..)
I know that realistically my sister will live her own life with her boyfriend and stop talking to me as much as she does, and thinking of that feels awful. She's already deep into the process of doing that, but the inconsistency makes it hard. Sometimes she's very close and things are awesome, and other times she's avoiding me and spending all day talking to her boyfriend. I don't know what to do and it's hard to get over it. I can't talk to her about it either because I've done so already, and she either gets annoyed at me, or her only response is "okay" with an uncaring expression and doesn't want to change anything. Even still, I'm glad that at least my parents are kind enough to spend time with me doing things like watching movies, but in the end they're parents and I can't stop thinking about how one day they will die and I'll be alone, desperately trying to make friends while my sister is off married and living with some guy and avoiding me.
Thanks for reading, I can't stop thinking of this dumb stuff. Maybe some of you can relate with the 'best friend becoming distant' part. If you have any advice as for what has helped you, I'm eager to hear it.

so, here's the deal. I'm a 20-year-old guy who met this girl (also 20) in 2020. We were in the same school and group, but we never really interacted until last year when the pandemic hit and we started chatting on Instagram. And let me tell you, our friendship took off like a rocket.
We became super close, texting each other every single day and having these awesome, random conversations. It was like we were on the same wavelength, you know? We just clicked. I felt like I could tell her anything and she would understand me.
But then, in 2022, things started to change. She started holding back information about her life and seemed less engaged in our conversations. I tried to bring it up, express my concerns, but she brushed it off like it was no big deal. She said certain details weren't important, and I respected her boundaries, but deep down, I wished for more openness in our communication.
As time went on, our conversations grew weaker and she became more and more distant. She would always say she was busy and that's why she couldn't talk as much. I get it, life gets hectic, but it hurt me to see our bond fading away. It hurt even more when she started ignoring me and acting like our friendship wasn't as significant as I thought.
In 2023, we both started pursuing other relationships, and our interactions dwindled down to once a month. I tried my best to address the issue and keep our friendship alive, but she just kept prioritizing other commitments over our connection.
I felt so unimportant and exhausted from constantly begging for her attention. So, I made a decision. I decided to stop initiating conversations about our relationship. I wanted to see if she would make an effort to reach out to me. But guess what? The distance between us just kept growing.
She would say that our bond was still strong, but it didn't feel that way to me. I struggled to feel the same. It really took a toll on my mental health. I found myself constantly thinking about her and questioning my own worth in the relationship.
So here I am, seeking guidance on how to navigate these persistent thoughts and emotions surrounding my friend. If anyone wants to dive deeper into this story or offer some advice, please feel free to reach out. I could really use some help figuring out where to go from here.

so, here's the deal. I'm a 20-year-old guy who met this girl (also 20) in 2020. We were in the same school and group, but we never really interacted until last year when the pandemic hit and we started chatting on Instagram. And let me tell you, our friendship took off like a rocket.
We became super close, texting each other every single day and having these awesome, random conversations. It was like we were on the same wavelength, you know? We just clicked. I felt like I could tell her anything and she would understand me.
But then, in 2022, things started to change. She started holding back information about her life and seemed less engaged in our conversations. I tried to bring it up, express my concerns, but she brushed it off like it was no big deal. She said certain details weren't important, and I respected her boundaries, but deep down, I wished for more openness in our communication.
As time went on, our conversations grew weaker and she became more and more distant. She would always say she was busy and that's why she couldn't talk as much. I get it, life gets hectic, but it hurt me to see our bond fading away. It hurt even more when she started ignoring me and acting like our friendship wasn't as significant as I thought.
In 2023, we both started pursuing other relationships, and our interactions dwindled down to once a month. I tried my best to address the issue and keep our friendship alive, but she just kept prioritizing other commitments over our connection.
I felt so unimportant and exhausted from constantly begging for her attention. So, I made a decision. I decided to stop initiating conversations about our relationship. I wanted to see if she would make an effort to reach out to me. But guess what? The distance between us just kept growing.
She would say that our bond was still strong, but it didn't feel that way to me. I struggled to feel the same. It really took a toll on my mental health. I found myself constantly thinking about her and questioning my own worth in the relationship.
So here I am, seeking guidance on how to navigate these persistent thoughts and emotions surrounding my friend. If anyone wants to dive deeper into this story or offer some advice, please feel free to reach out. I could really use some help figuring out where to go from here.

Can anyone tell me if I am the only one . Is it me am I the problem? I don’t know what to believe anymore I wanna know someone give me a reason an explanation fuck give me an excuse for all the moments in my life that pain so white hot and intense has wracked my body and brought me to my knees when my will to live has been brought face to face with my darkest fear. Where the only words i can hear as death whispers in my ear is my name sweetly spoken in promises of a quiet mind and peace. Can anyone hear me is this thing on. My fear is fading out and I know I should be scared at this but I don’t feel fear the same anymore. it is blurring around the edges and starts to look a lot like comfort something I just can’t seem to find or hold in my grasp, and I tell myself I should be scared at this but my soul is battered and bruised and I am running on fumes.I honestly don’t know how many more days I can wake up to this bleakness of my uncomfterably painful existence. Is my pain all in my head. Did I do something that has led the People i love to mishandle me. Do I deserve to be wrecked every day the minute consciousness returns to this weapon that is my brain. Ive torn myself apart so many times ive made myself BLEED. ive let my pain soak into me till I no longer existed in space, gone without a trace. I try so hard to do no harm. As I am falling apart. I pour and pour from my empty cup. Its been empty from my fucking start. My dad was the first to mishandle my fragle new heart. He is where my cracks did start. Home was a battle field amd my skin was where my father’s anger would wage war. I grew up being told I held the golden cup full of my father’s favor. It never would save my skin from his anger. And I was told, no reminded often, how wicked I had been to the first being my heart ever truly let in. I grew up feeling every blow they took wrapped in guilt savagely placed on my heart to go along with my skins own marks. I was Twice whipped but only one would ever heal the other would bleed me every day even till today. At 8 is when death would first whisper my name to me . I never knew never would he ever depart from my mind and heart. At 9 so small and yet already my soul felt so heavy. My wounded little family grew by one. And traveled miles back to where my first cry had taken place. Where I would be born again and die more than one time. 9 taking on a little one. The second soul who would come to know my heart. Cherished and so loved even before air would give raise to his own challenging start. My mother would finish the killing of me without stopping my heart. The tiny soul I had hoped for was ripped away from me unexpectedly. Given away to have a chance, a brand new start , Or so that is what was said. 17 years I would mourn this everyday feeling like a piece of me was lost. By 11 melancholy would already call me home. School the escape from the war at home had become a battlefield of its own. And wounds would be added to the collection that had started. My first brush with a razor and a mans warped desires would fall in this timeframe not too far apart. Ill never know why my mother would make guilt and not love in me grow. Love for my parents I have felt from the start and still with each mark on my heart they would leave on me, the only thing I would ever bleed is my desire that they would want me.that they would love me. Can a child grow up too young? I don’t think I grew up tho. Ive been trapped in the tiny body that never had a real chance to start. By 15 I had lost both parents and one sibling already I was torn apart and bleeding. My wounded heart festering as it began to rot. The razor blades became my closest friends. At least when they marked my skin, I had wanted it then. They always stayed and helped me cradle my already too heavy pain. They knew what I would feel and that it was real. They went in deeper,beneath my surface on purpose. Something no one else wanted to do or so it would seem to me that no one really wanted me. My first love found in a man would be one that would feel much like my dad. Hands too rough and words never in the only shape Ive ever really wanted L O V E He Left more torn up marks on my heart. Heartbreak at 16, you would think i would have welcomed it like an old friend . that I would have tucked it up besides my heart hidden beneath my ribs, where pain was already rattling around in. pain makes us seek out comfort wrapped in deceit. I looked to the arms that made me weep for comfort. I never would find comfort there. for me there all I found are things that broke me. 16 I was 16 when the first piece of me truly died. I watched it die in her eyes. as the words scorching up my throat and heart left my lips. I watched as they connected the dots of things that mothers should not behind her eyes as the piece of me died. I was a daughter never cherished by my father, pain the only thing he gave for me to gain. I was a daughter never loved by my Mother given to men and left to defend alone the monsters my mother let in. Pain separated me from bonds that should have been. I would later see that the monsters I fought inside of me had always really been me . I grew up lonely both on the battlefield I was forced to Fight to survive in real life and inside the prison bar confides of my own mind. I fought and waged war constantly never knowing the enemy I had been fighting the whole time was always me. I don’t know who I am I died before I got the chance to even begin . Love is supposed to fill up your heart and shape you into the person you are. Teach you to swim in the depths of our own emotions. I never learned how to swim in the oceans I hold within. Ive been slowly drowning since I was a kid. Told that the validation I would grow to need like a drug, heroin to a fiend just so that I could feel something good inside the depths of MY being, a liferaft to keep me afloat was wrong of me to ever have a need. But How do I save myself from drowning beneath each giant wave my emotions bring crashing down around me. I cant swim in the ocean beneath my skin. Waves constantly crashing in and dragging me under. My air is running out and the only thing I hear people shout is SWIM!. as water replaces my lungs empty spaces. Blood hurts more than water its true but let love boil the water and it will still hurt you just as much too. Never feeling loved by my makers I searched for it in other spaces. Except the only place it should have been. My children you will never know of the force of love I hold for them. But I am still only a human. Trapped and stunted in the child that has been calling out in pain. So many lessons I have gained I see them now neatly wrapped up in my pain. I have been told by the ones I love both with and without blood, that I am too much because of my pain. Yet when I agree and try to erase me I am told to stay as they then walk away. Why. Why. Why Do I have to stay and everyone else gets to walk away from the darkness that takes my light away. Happiness feels almost like a myth a conjured up dream to dangle just out of my reach. And I have been told that its happiness I thieve from those around me. What kind of monster does that make me. That I would take the thing I so desperately need from someone that I love. It has been told to me that I am the creator of my own misery. That I should be a better human being and stop claiming to be the victim to the things that have brought death to my mind so many times. When I reach for help. Water rushing in as my screams are ripped out. Never a hand has been held out. Only the boots of blame and shame to push me further down. My pleas have begun to fade out. my voice is weakened by the consistent beacon, the sos hanging above my head running down my eyes and out my wrists that everyone claims to miss. No one will hear me if they don’t believe me. How do I convince them my pain is real. it means its me I have to kill. Then everyone will say I had been real and not the ghost I thought I had been when i was drowning and didn’t know how to swim.

so, here's the deal. I'm a 20-year-old guy who met this girl (also 20) in 2020. We were in the same school and group, but we never really interacted until last year when the pandemic hit and we started chatting on Instagram. And let me tell you, our friendship took off like a rocket.
We became super close, texting each other every single day and having these awesome, random conversations. It was like we were on the same wavelength, you know? We just clicked. I felt like I could tell her anything and she would understand me.
But then, in 2022, things started to change. She started holding back information about her life and seemed less engaged in our conversations. I tried to bring it up, express my concerns, but she brushed it off like it was no big deal. She said certain details weren't important, and I respected her boundaries, but deep down, I wished for more openness in our communication.
As time went on, our conversations grew weaker and she became more and more distant. She would always say she was busy and that's why she couldn't talk as much. I get it, life gets hectic, but it hurt me to see our bond fading away. It hurt even more when she started ignoring me and acting like our friendship wasn't as significant as I thought.
In 2023, we both started pursuing other relationships, and our interactions dwindled down to once a month. I tried my best to address the issue and keep our friendship alive, but she just kept prioritizing other commitments over our connection.
I felt so unimportant and exhausted from constantly begging for her attention. So, I made a decision. I decided to stop initiating conversations about our relationship. I wanted to see if she would make an effort to reach out to me. But guess what? The distance between us just kept growing.
She would say that our bond was still strong, but it didn't feel that way to me. I struggled to feel the same. It really took a toll on my mental health. I found myself constantly thinking about her and questioning my own worth in the relationship.
So here I am, seeking guidance on how to navigate these persistent thoughts and emotions surrounding my friend. If anyone wants to dive deeper into this story or offer some advice, please feel free to reach out. I could really use some help figuring out where to go from here.

I miss you every day.
I wish you cared about me at all.
I’m doing my best to forgive you for the hurtful words you shared when you ended things.
I went on a road trip and sobbed and sobbed about you. Went to mass and prayed the rosary with the senior ladies and sobbed and sobbed about you.
I remember when I had first met you and I thought, oh my goodness. It’s finally happening for me.
I’ve been on dates with more than 30 guys since you ended things. Nothing has gone beyond 4 dates. Haven’t been exclusive with anyone. Single for 14 months now, and missed you every single day of that time.
I’m gonna die alone. You were my chance at love, you were my chance at a Catholic marriage and family, of traveling the world with someone I loved and admired. You held in your hands the power to make my wildest dreams come true. You held in your hands my heart, because I surrendered it to you the moment I met you, the moment I saw you wave me down from across the restaurant.
I love you. I always will. I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of life without you. I don’t think I can ever love again.

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

So, here's the deal. I'm a 20-year-old guy who met this amazing girl (also 20) in 2020. We were in the same school and group, but we never really interacted until last year when the pandemic hit and we started chatting on Instagram. And let me tell you, our friendship took off like a rocket.
We became super close, texting each other every single day and having these awesome, random conversations. It was like we were on the same wavelength, you know? We just clicked. I felt like I could tell her anything and she would understand me.
But then, in 2022, things started to change. She started holding back information about her life and seemed less engaged in our conversations. I tried to bring it up, express my concerns, but she brushed it off like it was no big deal. She said certain details weren't important, and I respected her boundaries, but deep down, I wished for more openness in our communication.
As time went on, our conversations grew weaker and she became more and more distant. She would always say she was busy and that's why she couldn't talk as much. I get it, life gets hectic, but it hurt me to see our bond fading away. It hurt even more when she started ignoring me and acting like our friendship wasn't as significant as I thought.
In 2023, we both started pursuing other relationships, and our interactions dwindled down to once a month. I tried my best to address the issue and keep our friendship alive, but she just kept prioritizing other commitments over our connection.
I felt so unimportant and exhausted from constantly begging for her attention. So, I made a decision. I decided to stop initiating conversations about our relationship. I wanted to see if she would make an effort to reach out to me. But guess what? The distance between us just kept growing.
She would say that our bond was still strong, but it didn't feel that way to me. I struggled to feel the same. It really took a toll on my mental health. I found myself constantly thinking about her and questioning my own worth in the relationship.
So here I am, seeking guidance on how to navigate these persistent thoughts and emotions surrounding my friend. If anyone wants to dive deeper into this story or offer some advice, please feel free to reach out. I could really use some help figuring out where to go from here.

In the rich and storied tradition of Greek music, where emotion and melody intertwine to tell tales of love, loss, and longing, a new song has emerged that captures the essence of these timeless themes. "You Brought Me Back to Life, My Love," performed by the renowned Greek actor Tasos Kontrafouris, is a stunning addition to this legacy. With his mesmerizing and emotionally charged voice, Kontrafouris delivers a performance that is both haunting and uplifting, breathing new life into the genre.
The Actor and the Song
Tasos Kontrafouris, known primarily for his compelling roles on stage and screen, has always been a figure of immense talent and versatility. His transition into the world of music is nothing short of spectacular. In "You Brought Me Back to Life, My Love," he showcases a different facet of his artistry, revealing a depth of emotion and a vocal prowess that captivates listeners from the first note.
A Story of Resurrection
The song's lyrics, translated from Greek, tell a poignant story of rebirth and renewal through the power of love. The protagonist speaks of a time when he was on the verge of despair, feeling lifeless and dry, like a dried-up fountain. It is through the love and warmth of his beloved that he finds new strength and vitality. The lyrics paint vivid images of this transformation, with metaphors that resonate deeply with anyone who has ever experienced the redemptive power of love.
Kontrafouris' Captivating Performance
What sets this song apart is Kontrafouris' ability to convey profound emotion through his voice. His delivery is both tender and powerful, capturing the vulnerability and strength inherent in the lyrics. Each note is infused with sincerity, making the listener feel as though they are part of the journey from despair to joy.
The chorus, where he sings, "You brought me back to life, my love," is particularly moving. Kontrafouris' voice soars, filled with gratitude and wonder, embodying the essence of what it means to be revived by love. This emotional authenticity is what makes his performance so compelling and memorable.
The musical arrangement complements Kontrafouris' vocal performance beautifully. It combines traditional Greek musical elements with contemporary sounds, creating a rich and layered backdrop that enhances the emotional impact of the song. The use of classical instruments like the bouzouki adds a touch of nostalgia, while modern production techniques give it a fresh and current feel.
While the song is deeply rooted in Greek culture, its message is universal. Love's ability to heal and transform is a theme that resonates across cultures and generations. "You Brought Me Back to Life, My Love" reminds us that no matter how dark our days may seem, the warmth and support of a loved one can help us find our way back to the light.
"You Brought Me Back to Life, My Love," performed by Tasos Kontrafouris, is more than just a song; it is a powerful narrative of love and redemption. Kontrafouris' transition from acting to singing is seamless, and his performance in this piece is nothing short of extraordinary. With his captivating voice and the song's heartfelt lyrics, he takes listeners on an emotional journey that leaves a lasting impression.
As Kontrafouris continues to explore his musical talents, there is no doubt that he will continue to enchant and inspire audiences with his artistry. "You Brought Me Back to Life, My Love" stands as a testament to his versatility and emotional depth, solidifying his place not only in the world of acting but also in the hearts of music lovers everywhere.
https://youtu.be/pZiTRMwpkRE?si=lk-S81oyEDBZ3BNe

Hello,
First of all thanks in advance for any help or advice on this topic. I'm honestly stumped and wanted the community's help and advice on my situation. I'm 24(M) half white, half asian and have some Vietnamese friends. I've always been fascinated and eager to learn more about Vietnamese culture and the language. Fast forward to the end of 2022 - I live in the states and met this amazing Vietnamese woman (27F) at a family business. For reference, her and her family are full Vietnamese and are citizens that have been living here for a few years now.
I met her about a year and a half ago and we've been friends since day one. Over this course of time, we've talked consistently. What started from meeting her at her family business, grew to her adding me on social media and talking through DM's, to getting her phone number. Although we talk almost all the time, we both haven't "hung out" outside of the family business. We've talked about hanging out and we always try but either side always has something that pops up. Between her and I we're both extremely busy, I own my own business, she works for her family, and is a full time university student.
We talk almost every day and I've learned a lot about her, her family, and Vietnamese culture. I've actually met the majority of her family that live here in the states and they seem to really like me. Her and her parents teach me Vietnamese on the side. The family has even talked to me about certain things or congratulated me on accomplishments which means she's mentioned stuff about me to them regularly.
I'm not a stranger to relationships but this particular girl has me so confused and I feel so many mixed signals. She hasn't been in a relationship since high school and is extremely independent. About 70% of the time she texts me/reaches out first, 30% of the time I'm texting or reaching out to her first. Her consistency with texts are so strange because she will rapid fire text me and then randomly continue then conversation almost 24 hours later. To elaborate, sometimes she responds instantly for the entire day/night and sometimes she'll text me a few times within the hour then randomly continue conversation the next day. I know the saying goes like if someone's interested in you, they'll make time for you no matter how busy. I've never encountered this with the women I've dated in the past.
She is super friendly, caring, and very open to talking to me about family issues, stress, future plans etc. Her and I talk a lot about our goals and succeeding in life. She also has stated that she wants to travel with me and her family someday. It's crazy to be so close, keep in constant contact, and know someone so well but never hung out outside of family business.
Aside from the texting thing and hanging out issue, her other mixed signal (which may be just a slight culture difference) is that she refers to me sometimes as "em trai, bro, brother, dude, man, girl." I know that em trai translates to little brother in Vietnamese and I refer to her as Chi (older sister) sometimes too because I was taught that but I'm not sure how to feel about bro or brother lol.
I'm afraid to break the great friendship that we currently have by asking her out but I feel like it's the only way to get a proper answeresponse. I understand she's independent, as am I. I also understand she has priorities, that she needs space, and is very busy with work and focusing on school. I admire her drive and motivation/determination to win in life and her want to be successful.
Questions:
Am I too young for her, is the age gap (24M) vs (27F) uncommon especially in Vietnamese culture?
Does the random inconsistencies with text response times mean she's not interested?
Am I overthinking the brothebro thing?
Is it possible there a cultural gap that I'm overlooking and she's just being friendly?
What else can I do to figure things out?
Thanks so much for your help!

As I’ve come to understand, the gospels cannot be seen outside of Hellenic literature. This idea has lately become even more convincing to me from reading M. David Litwa, Robyn Faith Walsh, Richard C. Miller.
So regarding the women at the empty tomb, it makes sense to me that they’re a literary vehicle in Mark for the narrative to have witnesses of an empty tomb after the male disciples flee.
And although Dale Allison’s argument for the plausibility of a very early christophany by Mary Magdalene as argued in “The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemics, History”, makes sense to me, I wonder if there are any insights to how eyewitness testimony was received in the first century Roman Empire outside of Judea.
If the writer of Mark was part of a roman/greek society in which testimony by women was not problematic, this would render the often utilized “embarrassing” nature of women of the tomb argument for historicity moot. Is this the case? Or is there a case against? Thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't want unsolicited advice or anyone telling me what to do. I want to know if you relate or have been what I've been through.
I'm in 12 step recovery. Specifically AA. And I've been sober for almost 11 years. About a year and a half ago I found myself in what I didn't know at the time was a very emotionally abusive friendship with another alcoholic who had significantly less time than me. Pretend I'm not a bad guy and take my word for it. I felt gaslighted. When I confronted him about things he was doing that were bothering me, he ghosted me deliberately and blocked my number without warning me. I went crazy after the fact that that happened. And then after that we talked about a month later and he basically said he refuses to believe any narrative where I was victimized by him. And he proceeded to tell me I'm crazy and implied I was delusional because I had a different take on things he was doing that I accused him of. And I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. This dude and I were inseparable best buds in a bromance together and then one day he just decided to be extremely cold, and rather than just admit that he was wrong and sorry he hurt me, he really doubled down on the fact that he had "every right" to ghost me. And it got really out of hand. Bc I went missing and left AA bc I was so heartbroken and upset that someone I was so close to could so thoroughly violate my trust. And so everyone's looking for me and showing up at my house and I'm not there. They all think I either relapsed or killed myself. I didn't. And at one point, unbeknownst to me, a mutual friend of ours gets him to call me. He called and didn't leave a voicemail. I eventually start texting everyone letting them know I'm alright. And I call him and he doesn't answer or text me back for 48 hours so I was pissed bc I thought he was playing games. And so I blow up on him and lose control of my anger and I'm like I know where you live, where you go to meetings, play games with me fucker I dare you to. And the last text I ever got from him was extremely callous, basically trying to make me feel like a bad person for blowing off all my friends for a month, and he basically said he called me to tell me that and then he said bc I threatened him, he'd call the police if I ever contacted him again. And I'm just in absolute shock that the dude I was once sleeping at his house, hanging out with him nonstop, someone I took care of when he was sick. Someone I gave rides to meetings. He was like for a minute there my ride or die. And now he's being so fucking cold as to call the police on me. And ok... Normally I would be like valid, I threatened him. But I've called the cops on his neighbors once before back when we were friends bc they were assaulting one another and he called me a "snitch" and flipped out on me for getting the cops involved bc he was still on probation. So he's a goddamn hypocrite.
And ever since this bullshit happened, I think about it almost at any point where I have idle time in my day. I think about it CONSTANTLY. I want JUSTICE. I want to feel like this douchebag got a dose of karma for acting like the biggest asshole on the planet to me. I want him to lose custody of his child. I want him to relapse and go back to prison. I want him to suffer. And I know for a fact I'm not crazy the way he said I was because so many other ppl including his own mutual friends have heard my side of the story and have had my back saying I didn't deserve that. And not to mention, I've met several men since him that I've had very healthy relationships with and they treat me with respect. Like I have one best friend I can talk to on the phone for 6 hours. We're going to Europe together later this year. I'm going out to Vegas to see him. He's seen me at my very worst when all of this was going on. He tells me he loves me constantly. So I know based on the actions of other people that this guy was a total dirtbag to me.
And like I said, I'm angry, and I'm traumatized and I remember every finite detail as if it happened yesterday. And at times, I find my wheels are just spinning thinking crazy shit like oh I'm gonna go find that fucker and bash his windows in on his car. And I'm constantly thinking about how if there is a God, why haven't I found something out about him like oh he lost his job. Oh he quit school. Oh he did this or did that. But radio silence. And if anything he's outwardly doing "really well" according to some of my friends. And I'm over here just ready to do everything short of killing him. And all day long I think of either the day he reaches out to make amends to me, or the day we bump into each other somewhere and what I'm going to say, and it ranges from emotional to pissed off to violent to this to that. And I'm losing my mind. And I am fully aware of resentment being like drinking poison expecting the other person to die. NONE OF THOSE BULLSHIT SAYINGS HELP!!! I get temporary relief when I'm either hanging out with friends or I get relief when I'm doing something to help someone else out. But I just want serenity. And no. I don't want to forgive him. I don't want to in any way let him back into my life. I'm not interested in making amends for anything at all if there even was anything bc I'm not about to sit there and get manipulated again even if I'm being the better person by admitting where I was wrong.
And I haven't been to an Al Anon meeting in over a year. And I'm scared to go back. I automatically feel like I'm a porcupine ready to shoot my quills out at anyone who personally attacks me, bc the worst part about abusive people is they make us have to constantly defend ourselves and our actions when they don't have to do shit! And lately I've been very seriously thinking once my service position at this one meeting I chair at is up, I'm fucking dipping out of AA for good. I don't need these manipulative people anymore. I've gone through enough hell. I constantly see examples of shady fuckers like him "working the steps" and "calling their sponsosponsee" and all this horse shit, when like that best friend of mine who I'm going to Europe with, he hasn't been to a meeting in over a year and somehow he's the most understanding compassionate person I know but he's "dry" and all of them are "working a spiritual program of action"... Then where the f** is my amends?? And yes, I don't care if that makes me sound entitled. You're lying if you've never felt that way about someone else in your life... I'm just done. Lately I just am so exhausted that I just wanna work and never talk to anyone ever again except for like maybe 3 people. Everyone else can go suck it. Especially him.

A few years ago during that time when I was in high school, me and my ex friend went to different schools, I wanted to go to the same school as her but I couldn't since it was too far.
I told her that I couldn't go to the same school but she told me she was glad I didn't go to the same place as her because if I did, me and her wouldn't be friends at all.
You know the reason why she said that? She said if I went there, other people would take me away from her and that she would hate me which I found that stupid. Fast forward a few years later I had a boyfriend during college (he's now an ex) When I went out to town with my family, she called to me crying (while I was in a resturant) because apparently I've been ghosting her and ignoring her saying I've been too busy to even talk.
During this time I was struggling with my mental health, my relationship and college, She would start arguments with me saying I don't have time for her, not texting back saying I'm drifting away from her. Not to mention she wrote a poem about me(I have the poem on my phone) , I didn't know what to say and she asked you're not mad I wrote a poem about you? You won't sue me right?
And I was like it's fine but in my head it wasn't fine. She would make it about herself, I listened to her constantly complaining and she would trauma dump the past. She brought up the fact I didn't turn up to choir practice while I was getting bullied.
She blamed me for that not the girl who bullied me, not to mention she and the bully were friends on Facebook, the girl who bullied me would talk trash about me to her and she would tell me the horrible things the bully said about me, I was so hurt and betrayed yet I still kept her as a friend.
2 years go by and this was before Covid hit, the day she arrived I took her to my dance practice so she could watch before my day. She complained saying that she's tired, didn't take her meds, telling me she wasted her money to come visit me. I was embarrassed when she was having a tantrum infront of everyone that I had to take her somewhere else.
It felt like a burning iron everytime she complained I was flustered and I felt tired just by listening to her. On the evening the day before my birthday party, there was no food at the house since my mother was busy preparing for my debut. She hasnt eaten food or taken her meds but blamed me again, so we both had to walk to mcdonalds in the evening around 8pm just for her to eat.
The day of my birthday party, everything was going well, I introduced her to my college friends and others but after the party we went back to our rooms getting ready for bed, she asked me why didn't you introduce me to those boys? Why didn't you spend time with me? I didn't know what to say anymore because I was tired genuinely that we didn't talk until morning.
Then after a few days I haven't heard from her, She was talking to one of my guy friends but the thing is she would only talk to me if she had problems with him and would come crying in call and texting me about it. I have been reassuring her every time she had problems with my guy friend and it was tiring, he even mentioned to me she was controlling and bossy and he was right .
I never complained about anything between me and her but she wanted to make problems that I didn't talk to her or wasn't talking to her enough, I gave her space and I gave myself space but she still complained why I didn't message her but I did several times but in other days I wouldn't talk to her because I was scared.
I never talked about my mental problems and my trauma with my SA past to her because she'll make me feel worse and trauma dump and mention the past about me leaving her repeatedly when I was bullied by the same girl she was friends with.
I wanted to cut ties with her but I was afraid that she will get mad at me because she had issues with her behaviour for always getting angry and shouting at me when we get into an argument in call and would blame me.
But I was genuinely afraid at the same time losing my only friend because I had no one else to talk to. After a month or two I was messaging her and she brought up the vaccine topic, during that time she was a student nurse and I didn't really want to talk about it but she insisted telling me I should take the vaccine. If I didn't take it apparently I would affect her "family, friends and patients" but what about me? What am I to her? Me and her live in different cities 1 hr away from each other, so how can I affect them if I live so far away? That doesn't make sense.
She told me If I didn't take it she told me people would think I'm a dirty pest and a scumbag.
I was so done, honestly so done after she posted our private conversation on her private story but apparently she deleted it afterwards just for me to see? Not sure if I believe that. I blocked her on every social media and after that I felt better, the heavy burden I held for so long was gone. I was happier without her.
I never even got birthday gifts from her even when I gave hers every year so I stopped gifting her. I wasted 9 years of friendship and stopped trusting people after that.

More misery bird? More misery bird. Really miserymaxxing with these fics I have going, but hey, this one is not that miserable actually! Krekos is back and ready to be dense and downcast, but maybe not quite miserable? Read and see!
Big thank you to NoP community for being great and supportive of my endeavors!
Also, obviously, big thanks to SpacePaladin15 for creating this universe and allowing fanfiction well to flow free!
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Memory transcription subject: Krekos, Krakotl Refugee
Date [standardized human time]: May 6th, 2137
I stare at the foul creature before me. Normally staring at something directly head on like that would be too predatory for me to do, but after nearly dying of bread yesterday, I didn’t feel patient enough to be gentle. The creature stared right back, though in a much more natural, prey-like way, tilting its head slightly as it looked back at me with one eye and let out a long bwok.
“Are you doing this now? Really?”, I ask, knowing full well it cannot respond.
Well, it can, if another bwok it made is any indication. Of course, translators aren’t yet advanced enough to translate non-sapient speech, but the intention behind sound is intuitively clear. It’s telling me to back off. Well, I tried the diplomatic approach at least.
Raising my wing I begin sliding the bird out of its nest, careful to keep any delicate joints out of its reach. It started clucking in upset indignation, struggling back and even trying to peck at me, but after realizing that I will not relent, it hopped out of the box and rushed out of the cattle house, revealing a single dead egg in the nesting box.
With relief, I finally pick up the last egg and head back to leave them at the house. Turns out that while Reginald didn’t forget to both lock them up yesterday and let them out today, he did neglect feeding them both times, as well as collecting the harvest. So when I was driven back here in early morning, the first thing I did was making sure they were taken care of. I can’t say the horrid birds looked in any way hungry, but the moment I poured the feeding grain for them, they attacked it with more viciousness than I’d expect of an actual predator. And yet only thirteen were present at the feeding, as the one that’s usually the target of flock’s ire remained in the cattle house yet again, Reginald leaving it to it, being unaware of its undesirable habit of trying to hatch dead eggs.
With eggs delivered, I flew my way to my usual spot atop the cattle house and could finally relax. The loner beast first made its way to feast on the scraps of the grain that other birds already all have had their fill of, so I wasn’t too concerned. Instead I tried to reflect on the morning I had so far.
Waking up at the hospital did make me momentarily panic before I remembered the precluding events. Not that I could properly panic, feeling the most starved I’ve been my whole life, and too weak to try flying out of the window. Thankfully, the breakfast they provided was actually well made with krakotl needs in mind, algae soup alongside a few slices of bread, this time without any horrid human ideas like putting eggs in there. Eggs! Turns out they put eggs in some kinds of bread! That’s how I got sick! Eggs! The thought of what I consumed even now made me queasy, and it definitely made breakfast a much less appetizing affair than it would have been without that knowledge, but back then the hunger won over the disgust.
Lena did keep her promise and came to pick me up extra early. Her being a staff member at the hospital gave her some extra privilege, I assume, hence why I was released without any forms needing to be filled out personally. She did have important business today too, which probably explained the earlyness and urgency of her driving me back to her house.
That did not mean I escaped her ire, however. While I couldn’t pinpoint anything to identify the man, as Bob was apparently a common name, that offered me bread, we did come to understanding that he was likely either unaware of the nutritional contents of it, or of extent to which the Cure-induced allergy would be affecting a krakotl. Yet, Lena seemed much angrier at me for failing to take any precautions. Turns out that was the purpose of medicinal injectors, epipens as humans call them, that were provided to me. I was supposed to have them on me in case I accidentally ingested contaminated food. Nobody told me that, I was just handed them back when I first received the necessities at the refugee camp and I had no clue what they were for. Then she also berated me for eating random food from strangers and ignoring bad flavors. Turns out that brioche bread isn’t actually bitter at all, and that was my body reacting to an allergen in it. Reaction that I unwisely elected to ignore, to further ire of my host. By the end, several new rules of my stay here were made, including not eating things I don’t know and always having at least one epipen on me. Thankfully, these rules would be ones I’d start following even without them being established, so I won’t have to concern myself with being kicked out over accidentally breaking them.
As if following the rules will be enough to make them like you.
Trying to distract myself from thoughts of yesterday’s incident, I focused my attention on the flock. All birds accounted for, so at least I knew that my absence did not result in the predator coming to snatch one of them. I do not wish to insult my hosts, but Reginald is far from most attentive people in matters unrelated to his job, and I am not sure the birds were watched at all while I was out. Speaking of, my scannings of surrounding treelines revealed no sign of the predator today. Perhaps it departed to hunt elsewhere, or maybe it ventured too close to a more populated area and exterminators dealt with it.
Actually, did human exterminators work similar to Federation ones? I knew for a fact they had them, although they seemed like a market of private organizations if advertisements are anything to judge by. Still, what methods do they use? I know humans oppose fire, and do not believe in predatory taint, but surely they have measures to protect themselves? They are, by self-admission, far from the best natural predator, and I doubt Earth’s non-sapient predators would just leave humans be. Maybe I should call one of those human exterminator agencies and call them in to deal with that predator? I haven’t told Lena or Reginald about it, as I didn’t want to bother them, but it could pose a serious threat to the cattle, but maybe that’s the way I could resolve it without involving them?
I have not done nearly as much research into human culture and lifestyle as I should have, considering that I’ve lived on Earth for over half a year now, but the sheer width of the topic always overwhelmed me the moment I opened internet search app to the point where I just closed it right away.
And you expect to start studying again with that attitude? You’ll flunk out even from this primitive predator education course.
Extra loud call from the flock made me refocus my attention on them, but it was nothing. Just the loner getting pecked extra hard and lashing out against assailants, causing a small aimless stampede as all the birds ran around in circles, puffing up at one another. The assailants now looked a lot more like victims. I could understand those birds more than I could humans at least. The loner bird is clearly an odd one out. It’s the only one repeatedly trying to hatch unfertilized eggs it lays, and it seems to always avoid the rest of the flock. Humans may deny the existence of Predator Disease, but they can’t deny that prey and predator both can and will sometimes behave in unnatural ways that may threaten the herd's safety. Or pack’s, in case of humans. Birds must know on instinctual level that the loner’s behavior is unnatural and are attempting to combat the Predator Disease on instinctual level. And since that is natural, I still will not interfere in this, unless the loner bird actually becomes a threat to others or will start getting too injured. The first time I attempted to pick one of the birds up was the only time for a good reason, as I have learned their viciousness all too well.
DING-DING
The sudden loud ring startled me enough that I nearly tumbled off the roof. Who would be coming over now? Lena and Reginald have left together and shouldn’t be back until afternoon, and they’d never use the bell. That means someone must be here for them. But wouldn’t they warn anyone to not come over? Especially with their plans for today.
With nobody to answer these questions, I had no choice but to go and discover the answer myself, flying up and over the house, towards the entrance gate. The moment I passed the house roof, I already saw a familiar silhouette. It was the human child from a few days ago.
Thankfully, Lena’s insistence on me carrying an epipen at all times meant I also carried my satchel at all times too, so I didn’t have to go grabbing my holopad, and took it out. But before I could even launch the translator TTS app to type out a greeting, the child was already hopping in place with excitement.
“Mr. Krekos! Hi! I came over to visit!”, she exclaimed, showing off her teeth in an unnerving expression of human joy. I simply tried to avoid that and focused on the pad, typing out my response.
“Hello, Rosie. Why are you here?”
The question was genuine, as the child was not carrying any more of that honey substance from last time.
“I just came over to visit you! Is that okay? Are Mr. and Ms. Vince okay with it?”
Visit... me? Why? While I was confused, I did instinctively type out a reply.
“They did tell me visitors are allowed as long as there’s no trouble when I first moved in.”
And before I could type a followup message asking her why she’s here, she already let out a joyous roar and ran past me.
“Can I see the chickens?”, she asked, and not waiting for an answer, rushed past the house and towards the cattle yard.
“Wait! You’ll scare them!”, I yell after her, but of course without a translator she can’t understand me as she runs like she already knows where to go.
And indeed she has, quickly rushing up to the open field where the birds were grazing. Thankfully she didn’t start chasing them, instead just approaching the flock from a distance and swaying in place, watching them with what I assume was some sort of predatory excitement at the sight of prey. Maybe that’s where the contained hunting instinct of human children showed themselves? In chasing small birds? I was still more subdued, considering she stopped shy of causing a small stampede, but still.
“Grandpa used to take me with him! He helped watch this farm until Mr. and Ms. Vince moved in. I like chickens! I think they’re cute.”, the child told me innocently as she kept swaying and watching as the beasts grazed upon insects of the pasture.
That revelation was... interesting. I suppose it makes sense that between the original owner of this land dying in the bombings and Lena and Reginald moving in, it would be unattended. With nobody to feed and watch over those things, they would be long dead for sure. And it was Rosie’s grandfather... Speaking of. I typed out my words.
“Does your grandfather know you’re here?”
She seemed to get a weird look as she stopped her excited swaying, fiddling with her hands instead. Looks like I asked the correct question.
“...he knows I am out visiting neighbors.”
That did not answer my question. I squinted at the human child, and she dipped her head as she continued.
“...he doesn’t know I’m here specifically. Or that an alien even lives here...”, she explained, her tone suddenly more sullen.
I couldn’t help but squint at that, and it appears that my expression was readable enough that even a human could see the suspicion, as she continued.
“I’m sorry... But if I told grandpa, he’d tell me I’m forbidden from talking to you, like he forbade me from talking to hedgehog people in town... But I want to talk to you! You’re nice and you’re a space bird!”
The child was actually working around the rules established by her guardian to come see me. I don’t know if I should be glad or concerned. Clearly, the man is anti-alien in his opinions, and I’d rather that kind of man not know about how close he lives to one. At the same time, I’d rather not encourage a child for lying to their guardian in order to meet a stranger they know they aren’t allowed to interact with... So I just took the middle path with my next message.
“I see. What did you want to talk to me about then?”, TTS speaks for me.
Her stiffened body language disappears, replaced again with earlier excitement.
“I wanna know more about space! And aliens! It’s all so cool but grandpa says it’s all dangerous because mom and dad died. But it’s not! The hedgehog people were nice, and you’re nice too!”
I wasn’t sure about that logic, but my self-preservation told me I shouldn’t try convincing her to go confessing. Instead I focused more on her chosen topic.
“I am not sure I am the best person to ask about space. I am not a scientist or traveler.”
“But you’re from there! You know way more than me. I don’t even know what you are called. And there’s gotta be cool things out in space!”
I let out a sigh. I suppose it’s childlike curiosity at its finest. So unfamiliar with mundane that it is a wonder. I remember being like that about becoming a doctor.
And then you let your teacher die.
I quickly tapped on the pad.
“Okay, I can answer questions, but I may not know everything.”
The noise that came out of the girl was like a squeal of a panicked dossur as she started hopping and spinning in place.
“Yes! Yes! Thank you, Mr. Krekos!” Sudden movement did cause me to recoil a bit, which in turn caused her to cease her happy flailing and adjust her little dress. “I dunno where to start though... Hm... What are you?”
...for all my trepidation about not knowing answers, I should have anticipated that the questions she asks will be rather age-appropriate and on the same level as we learn in our first school classes. At least I won’t disappoint her then.
“I am from a species called ‘krakotl’. We’re avians, as is obvious. Our home is...” dead, gone, reduced to glass and ash by our own hubris “...was Nishtal. A beautiful planet...”
Thankfully she did not question my hesitant pause. Instead she just nodded along.
“What about the hedgehog people? I already know venlil, but they’re the only ones I know name of.”
Hedgehog people in town she mentioned earlier. The only species I could think of that could be seen there would be the gojid. I have no clue what hedgehogs are, but probably some creature with visible similarity to them.
“They are called ‘gojid’, and they’re from gojid Cradle. Both of our species are... well, used to be known for our might and protecting other species of Federation.”
I am not sure if that’s something to brag about, considering... everything. But I didn’t want this child to get brought down with depressing regrets of our species. Let her know something nicer instead. She clearly lost a lot, but there’s still joy left in her. I wouldn’t want to be the one to ruin that.
“Cool! What about other people? I wanna know more!”
And so I went on, telling her about various species, although I mostly focused on ones in this new human-led union, only mentioning kolshians and farsul beyond that. It’s weird explaining to a child what a tilfish or a harchen looks like, but thankfully my holopad isn’t just a method of communicating with implant-less children. With access to interstellar web, I could easily pull up pictures of various alien species to show to her, even if she struggled to believe that some of them were even sapient purely based off of looks. With how varied species in Federation are, and how some of us admittedly aren’t too far physiologically from our more primal ancestors.
Among other topics, she asked me to tell her interesting things, which I didn’t know much of. I told her about Venlil Prime’s tidally locked status, a rarity among habitable planets, much less homeworlds for species. I told her about the unique architecture of Mileau, designed to accommodate both species of regular size and dossur themselves. I told her about Colia medical academies, some of the most beautiful medical facilities in the galaxy.
I wish I was more well-travelled, but I just wasn’t. My whole life, I never left Nishtal until the extermination fleet took me despite my protests. That may have been what saved my life...
Not that I, of all people, deserved it...
“Hey! Stop that!”
I flinched as I heard the child yell, but quickly realized that it wasn’t directed at me. Instead, Rosie was rushing down towards the chicken flock, breaking up the fight in which the loner was being pecked by a few larger chickens. As the human child approached, the birds stopped their infighting and scattered in different directions, crowing in loud panic and discontent. On instinct, I found myself rushing towards the child, forgetting about translation entirely.
“What are you doing?! Don’t touch them!”
I didn’t want her to hurt the cattle accidentally, and I didn’t want her to get hurt by the angry birds in return. But, it seems like the moment the birds scattered, she was satisfied with her actions and turned back to me, wearing another one of her happy smiles.
“Sorry, Mr. Krekos, I just saw chickens being mean. Bad chickens.” She explained.
I was baffled. Why would she interfere like that? When I tried that back when I was just starting, that got me pecked! But with her, the birds just scattered. What if they pecked her?
I took the pad out again and started typing quickly.
“That was dangerous. Why did you do that? What if they attacked you? Why are you even interfering in their natural dynamics?”, questions flowed out of my pad with an artificial human voice.
The girl simply giggled.
“They’re chickens! They aren’t dangerous. They don’t peck that painful and I’ve been scratched worse before. And I have to stop it because bullying is wrong.”
Then she actually noticed that the one that was being attacked wandered close. She casually approached it from behind, the blind spot and just reached down and grabbed it, picking the bird up. I was ready to rush to help the bird when...
“Mwah! There, all better.”
She did a human ‘kiss’ on the back of the cattle bird’s neck before releasing it, the surprise of it causing it to rush off. I knew what kisses were, I’ve seen enough of them between Lena and Reginald, but I believed they were gestures of intimate affection, not... what was even that?
It seems Rosie noticed my confusion as she explained.
“You gotta kiss it so it heals better! That’s what mom taught me.” The child displayed that smile of hers shamelessly. With how much I was being exposed to it, it almost wasn’t unnerving anymore. Still, it was interesting to learn that kisses are seen as something that helps wounds. I guess some species do have saliva with mild antiseptic properties, wouldn’t be too out there to assume humans are the same. And if that’s the case, maybe that’s how the kissing tradition started? Exchange of protective fluid between lovers?
“I see. I did not know that.” I responded before letting my puffed feathers relax. Okay, this whole ‘watching a human child’ thing is turning out to somehow be even more stressful than I expected at first.
“Wait, Mr. Krekos, what time is it?” She suddenly asked, looking up at the sky.
“It’s nearly twelve.” I respond, holopad having a convenient clock for local time.
“Oh no! I need to be home soon! Was nice seeing you Mr. Krekos gotta go bye!”
Before I had even a chance at typing out an answer or my own goodbye, the child sprinted away and back towards the entrance. I had to take flight just to keep up, and even then she just turned around, waved her arm at me and then kept sprinting down the road after leaving the gate. I simply offered a small wave of a wing back before locking the gate again. I suppose it is hard to keep track of time without a device or clock nearby...
Well, at least I had the usual peace and quiet now. And learned a bit more about the creatures I was in charge of. I should really try to deal with my aversion to looking things up on the human internet...
Just as I was about to head back out towards the yard, I heard a loud car horn, a familiar one, getting my attention. Lena’s car. There they were, signaling me, probably having spotted me at the gate from afar. Deciding to make use of my presence here, and hoping to avoid needing to explain that I had a surprise visitor earlier, I went ahead and opened the large gate, allowing the car to enter.
Once it was parked in the usual space, the doors opened and three people came out. Lena and Reginald were both looking a bit disheveled, but their faces carried these smiles that seemed wider than ever before. And third person... Was a stranger. A human I knew of, but never actually met. As he exited the car, a large bag in one hand, he just stared at me, standing in the front yard...
“...okay, I expected many things when I was told you guys housed a refugee, but not this.”
Oh no. Oh no, he was not one of the ones that was willing to overlook an invader that partook in bombing of his planet being allowed to walk free, of course, Lena and Reginald were the weird ones like that, doesn’t mean their son won’t be... I felt the panic rising as I realized I’d need to return to the camp. Why was I upset about that? This was supposed to just have been a way to make money, but now I have a free education program. Do I need to stay? No, but... Why?! Why do I not want to leave?
“Ken, you said it’s going to be alright no matter what it is, right? Wanted us to keep it a surprise to meet a new friend?” Lena’s voice. She should have told him, that’d give me time to prepare why didn’t they give me time why.
“No, no problems, just, really surprised, that’s all... uh... hey, buddy, you okay? You’re really... trembly.”
He was approaching me, and instinct took over as I recoiled, before stuttering out my answer.
“I-I’m fine...”
...thankfully translators don’t translate voice cracks. I hope, at least...
“Hey, relax... I have no problem with you being a krakotl, I just didn’t think...” He looks over at Lena and Reginald. “Calm down... I can wear my visor if you want?”
Right. Those things humans use to hide their scary faces from us.
“I... I’m good...”
Why would it last? It almost felt good after all.
There was some emotion I struggled to read on the young human’s face, as he sighed and shook his head.
“I screwed this up, I’m sorry. Let... Let me try again.” He straightened out, and adjusted his clothing, before slowly approaching me and giving me a small smile, no teeth showing. “Hello. My name is Kenneth Vince and I'm son of Lena and Reginald Vince. I was told you’re a refugee they took in to help out. It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
That... snapped me out of it. Right... He was... not upset at my existence. He was just very surprised that Lena and Reginald weren’t. That’s a reasonable thing to be surprised about, considering I was surprised about it to this day. I tried to compose myself as I responded.
“My name is Krekos. I live here as... hired help with the cattle. It’s... nice to meet you?”
The smile on Kenneth’s face widens, though he still refrains from showing his teeth. Instead, he extends a hand towards me. A handshake is a human gesture that I found far from comfortable, but I didn’t want to give him a reason to change his mind on acceptability of my existence, so I took it with a wingclaw. He gently took it and held for a few seconds before letting go and sighing again, turning to his parents.
“You know, I always thought you guys would be empty nesters, but I never thought it’d be that literal.”
That got all three of them laughing, as I just tilted my head in confusion. I was fairly sure there were no empty nests in the house until after I adjusted the attic room for my own accommodations. Still, I took the laughter as a sign that the tense moment had fully passed and let my ruffled feathers slowly rest.
“Let’s head inside. Krekos, we’re having dinner, you’re welcome to join us.” Reginald said, picking up Kenneth’s bag. I tilted my head a little and he followed up with elaboration. “We will be having meat... But there’s still going to be stuff you can eat too. It’s a celebration, so I prepared a bit of everything.”
“Dad, you shouldn’t have!” Kenneth responded with embarrassment.
“None of that! Our son returned from the war, alive and a hero, and we can have a celebration. Krekos, I know you’re still... uncertain about meat so you don’t—”
“I’ll join.”
Wait, who said that? And why did they say that in my voice?
Wait, that was me. Why did I say that?
“That’s great to hear! I’ve got some nice steamed broccoli and some vegetarian fried rice as sides that you’ll enjoy!” Reginald smiled at me and I felt myself shrinking into my feathers. That the humans didn’t notice at least, proceeding into the house instead.
Well, looks like I signed my warrant. At least my bag and my epipen were on me in case something at the table triggers the allergy again. Would be rather unfortunate to have it happen two days in a row.
And that’s how, in just ten or so minutes, I found myself sitting at the dining perch, while humans took seats in chairs, all consuming chunks of roasted flesh and somehow managing to also stuff pieces of equally roasted plants in, and converse with one another. You wouldn’t be able to tell on first look, but despite their mouths being relatively small, especially for a predator, it seems they compensate for it by having those be near bottomless in both hunger and small talk.
I am not sure how I managed to shift my focus away from them consuming animal matter in front of me, however vat grown it might have been, and onto their conversation instead, but I succeeded. I suppose that was just part of me going native around predators. Soon, I’ll be the one feasting along with them before I know it, and snacking on those epipens to not die of it.
Like you could ever be on the same level as humans.
“So, Fahl? That’s where you were sent after the Battle of Earth?” Lena asked.
“Yeah. From what I heard, we got a light posting compared to guys at Sillis or Mileau. The most I had to deal with was some exterminator insurgents.”
That’s right. Since harchen participated in the Extermination Fleet, they were one of those who were occupied by humans during the war. It makes sense that there was at least some ground resistance.
“Honestly, the worst thing out there was the heat. Not the flamethrower kind, the climate. The place was so damn dry and hot. At least exterminators you could subdue or evade. Not so much with the scorching sun!”
I couldn’t resist a small chuckle at the idea of a predator being more afraid of hot weather than flamethrowers as I slowly pecked at the vegetables on my plate. Thankfully it was set far enough aside from any meat dishes that no contamination should occur, but I was still examining pieces before putting them in my mouth just in case.
Seems like reacting was a mistake though, as that brought Kenneth’s attention onto me. He finished chewing latest piece of flesh and pointed a fork at me.
“So, Krekos... Where are you from? Cradle was my guess, but I do know there were refugees from other places like Sillis too.”
That’s a weird question. Isn’t it kind of to be expected for a krakotl to be from our actual homeworld?”
“I’m from Nishtal.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Kenneth chuckled, tossing a piece of broccoli into his mouth and swallowing before continuing, “I meant, where did you live? I kind of assumed you were born there, but it’s not like Nishtal had a chance to send refugees out, and if they did, this is the last place they’d be.”
Oh... I caught concerned looks of Lena and Reginald, looking between me and Kenneth from both sides. Not only did they not make him aware that I was a krakotl, they also neglected to mention just how I came by my refugee status... Which was just a legal workaround to grant me asylum without unnecessary complications or establishing undesirable precedent. Legally, I may be a refugee, but practically... I am a defector. Lena and Reginald know that, I told them my story before. And while they were weirdly accepting, Kenneth... Fought extermination fleet here on Earth. Personally.
Still, I wasn’t about to lie. It took a few moments and gathering mental strength to steel myself, and averting my eyes, focusing on the plate of warm vegetables in front of me rather than the human’s anticipating stare before I answered.
“I did live on Nishtal. I... I came with the extermination fleet.” I responded, doing my best to avoid looking at him. I did not want to witness his reaction, for some reason the thought of seeing it weighed heavy on my mind.
“Oh.”
The response was simple, and had no followup. There was no more clinking of cutlery against plates, or chewing. The only thing hanging in the air of the kitchen was silence, weighing down on me. It dragged on and on... until it just got so unbearable I couldn’t take it.
“I-I’m full... Thank you for the meal.” I quickly said, hopping off the perch and stepping out of the kitchen, quickly making my way to the yard and taking flight.
Fresh air of the outside and rush of it as I flew up and gained speed... I missed that. I knew it’s not safe to just fly over other people’s territory, so I corrected my course into doing large sweeping circles over the cattle yard and simply let my wings carry me.
Flying away from any danger is the only thing I’m good for anyway. The only thing I ever do.
I closed my eyes. With them closed and not focusing on my angle it feels like I’m actually flying away from all the troubles. Away from humans who barely tolerate my existence, away from gojid who see me as worse than a predator, away from Earth and all its incorrigible customs, away from horrid cattle, away from constant memories...
Flying feels nice. It may be a bit harder than it was home, but it’s still possible. I heard that on Venlil Prime or Mileau it’s much harder. But here? Just an extra flap of wings for every few paces and you’re just fine, free to soar the skies...
Alone. With no one to ever share it with me again.
Slowly I let my eyes open back to the bleak reality. Greenery of surrounding pastures and woods, bright blue skies and farmhouses dotted about here and there greeted me. I lowered my gaze down, focusing on what’s below. There they were, fourteen brown and black dots spread around the enclosed portion of the farm territory. I am not sure how much time I’ve spent flying in circles and trying to forget things but my wings were feeling a tad sore. Then as I just began slow descent, in same circular motion, I noticed that one of the birds, a familiar one, was being chased by several others. Recounting the morning, I tried putting the knowledge to action, and shifted direction of descent, swooping down. To my surprise, that actually worked, as the moment I got close to the ground, the cattle birds all got much louder and scattered in all directions, including the loner. Who, at least this time, got off unharmed. I suppose such pathetic flightless creatures would fear a flying one much more than they would when I just run up to them...
Swooping at them from the sky like a predator to intimidate them into behaving... Like an arxur warden.
With the fight preemptively broken up, I flutter up to the roof of the cattle house, to my usual position and rested my wings. I didn’t see any movement from the direction of the house, so I suppose the family is still busy unpacking. Since Kenneth joined the military just before the Battle of Earth, and Lena and Reginald only moved here after their actual house in city of New York got destroyed, it’d be the first time the human is seeing what is basically his new home. There was a room set aside for him since before I even moved in, and while there is also a guest room... That one did not have a large enough window to fit through, which did not feel comfortable. So when I asked for a space with a bigger window they only had an attic to offer. They seemed uncomfortable letting me live in a tiny room with slanted roof, but I found such space more comforting than I would have a large room with a window not large enough to fit even one fully spread wing through.
I wonder if Kenneth will need as much renovation as I did? The house is built for humans, but he never lived there before. Will he need to buy a more comfortable bed? Getting a proper nesting setup in place of a bed took a bit of effort, but I figured something out. Human sheets were comfortable enough for such, and sitting perches were thankfully not that hard to get thanks to help from the refugee administration. Maybe that’s the things that Lena went to buy yesterday? Kenneth’s preferred room decor?
I looked up to the sky to see the sun beginning to dim. I am not sure if it was me flying that long, or me losing track of time in my thoughts again, but the sun was beginning to set. I began my usual chores, putting out an evening meal and water for the beasts, and while they feasted, ate some myself. I was a bit hungry, having not properly finished lunch and about to skip dinner, but after the earlier conversation, I’d really rather avoid giving them the opportunity to talk to me.
After the birds had their fill, and by that I mean they emptied the tray as they always do, I let out the call, and they started funneling into the cattle house. The lonely straggler being first to go and hop into its nesting box. I bet tomorrow I will have trouble with getting her out of there again...
I took the moment to gather some eggs the birds left over course of the day, and once that was over and all of them were accounted for, I closed it up. When I flew down over to the house, there wasn’t anyone by the back door thankfully, so I just left eggs there, returned the basket, and returned to my room through the window.
Well, at least I didn’t get nearly killed today... That’s nice I guess?
I was about to check my holopad when there was a knock on the door. I approached and opened it to see... Kenneth. Standing in the doorway.
“Uh, hi, Krekos. I just, uh... Wanted to apologize again. I really wish mom and dad told me everything ahead of time... I just want you to know, I have no problems with you whatsoever, yeah? It’s just. Surprising, I guess, to hear all that. I didn’t think there were any defectors from the fleet at all... Just. Uh, please don’t worry about me?” He offered me a small smile, showing his canines before quickly correcting himself and doing a closed-lip one. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories or make you feel unwelcome.”
I had to take a moment to contemplate his words. Was Lena and Reginald’s weirdness hereditary? He almost reminded me of how Reginald talked to me early on, with constant stumbling over the words, as well as constant reassurances that he is fine with me being here. Couple that with failing to avoid predatory mannerisms like eye contact and smiles like Lena tends to and you get this human. But most importantly and least understandably, there was the general fact of him and them just... welcoming me. I couldn’t understand why. I should be one sorry to them.
“N-No, it’s fine... I’m sorry for... intruding on you and your family.”
“No, no, dude, you’re fine! I mean, hell, I was considering entering one of those exchange programs before the bombings happened, and even after, well, I did my best at Fahl to be the perfect friendly soldier just there to make sure no more bombs drop on my home and not kill or conquer anyone. And then mom told me your story, and I can’t believe it... Just... If you have any issues, feel free to tell me. I’m not one of those racist pricks that are too pussy to even call themselves HF anymore because they know they’ll get their teeth knocked. I get that there aren't good or bad species, just people. And you seem like a decent guy if mom and dad’s judgment is to be trusted.” His smile widened, though it was clear from tension on his face that he had to take conscious effort to keep teeth hidden. “So, what I said earlier stands. Friends, right?”
He extends hand forward, for a second time today. I wasn’t sure if I knew this human long enough to call him a friend... Any human really. But it also seems like human definition of ‘friends’ is anyone they’re cordial and peaceful with. Which is weird. You’d think translators would properly use ‘acquaintance’ for that.
Still... We will be living in the same house now. I can’t just say no, and... I can’t come up with a reason to say no. Even him being a predator and a human is not something I could really say I object to, considering how... mundane that became to me over my time here.
So, with naught on my mind but acceptance of the situation, I extended my wing and grasped his hand with my claw. This time he actually gripped it tightly and moved it up and down, as I saw other humans do occasionally.
“Yeah... I guess that’d be for the best.” I responded, shrugging off the hesitation. Fresh start for a third time, I guess?
The human grinned, forgetting to hide his teeth entirely, but I was ready for it somehow and avoided outwardly reacting.
“Cool! Anyway, I’ll try to get some shuteye early, I couldn’t sleep on the overnight flight home. See ya!”
And with that he left. Well... That meeting went well I suppose?
I returned to my nest and picked up my holopad, returning to what I was doing. And there it was, something I awaited every day. A notification that I was messaged on mailing app. Opening the letter revealed the schedule for the study program. Which... only had one day marked on it. And a note that the rest of it will be figured out ‘as we go from there’. So it’s not a schedule, it’s just a mark for the day of the first meeting.
While a bit underwhelming, it was still exciting. It would be an all-alien class so I wouldn’t have to deal with humans’ incomprehensibility nearly as much, and it would allow me to finally return to pursuing what I actually dreamt of. Even if I wasn’t entirely sure that was precisely what I wanted after everything that happened, it was at least something for me to move towards.
...just two days until start. I wonder if there’s some required reading to prepare?
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Lately I've been shocked by the difference between Palestinian messaging and how it is understood in the west. In their original 1988 charter, Hamas clearly lays out their goal of annihilating Israel and Jews through Jihad (Islamic Holy War).

'Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.' (Preamble)
'The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.' (Article 7)
'The day the enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In the face of the Jews' usurpation, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised.' (Article 15)

The magnitude of this anti-Jew and anti-Israel ideology is such that it is a core part of Palestinian youth education and media. There are many examples, but here are just a few. The first two would be humorous if they weren't so diabolical.
Hamas Mickey Mouse
Gazan Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony
Jews are barbaric apes
This propaganda has real-world effects. Dozens of Palestinian children are used as suicide bombers. To me, this might take the cake for some of the most ugly and perverse actions I've ever seen. I'd encourage people to read through this page if any.
Hamas's actions are in line with their stated aims. On October 7, Hamas and Gazan civilians can be seen celebrating over dead Israeli bodies. One video shows Gazans cheering, dancing, and spitting on dead naked Israeli woman, reflecting the fact that systemic rape on Oct 7 occurred. Over 70% of Palestinians support the actions on Oct 7. Hamas has promised to repeat Oct 7 again and again.
We also see this ideology reflected in the Palestinian Authority's "Pay for Slay", a fund that pays West Bank Palestinians a stipend for committing terrorism against Israel.
The point of sharing these things is not to demonize Palestinians or make any type of justification. The point is that in the west, we mistranslate this conflict into a framework that we comprehend and sympathize with. For most westerners, it's difficult to commiserate with religious fundamentalists and accept that they might want different things than we do (such as using billions of dollars in aid for terrorism instead of infrastructure). SJP would have you believe that Hamas wants to "decolonize" Palestine and Oct 7 was "resistance". Israel is the "white" oppressor, and Palestine is the oppressed--a framework we are all too familiar with. We assume that Hamas wants coexistence, when their words and actions have shown the opposite.
The "From the river to the sea" chant was created in the 60s and has historically been used by Hamas among other groups as a call to destroy Israel. A variation of the phrase in Arabic is "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Arab". Yet in the west we associate the phrase with Palestinian "liberation", a concept that we can relate to. Consider the absurdity of someone waving a swastika and claiming that it's a Buddhist good fortune symbol. But this is essentially happening at colleges across the US, along with intifada chants. Israel's conduct in the war, modern settlements, and the failures of the Israeli government are different topics--I just wanted to elucidate how westerners downplay religious and ideological factors, despite Hamas themselves displaying their intent to destroy Israel and Jews.

My boyfriend (21M) and I (19F) have only been officially together for 5 months and speaking to each other for close to a year now.
My boyfriend is a friendly person who values his friendships, which I liked because it showed me that he could see other females platonically and form a friendship with them. He is currently on a trip with his team for a project who are also his friends, and in the mean time they are attending an event. He had told me that he was helping his female (and male) friends do their hair for the event they were going to, and it made me really uncomfortable. After some talking with him about the situation, he then told me that he’s comfortable with them enough to the point that he’ll carry his female friends (they also went to a concert) and let’s them use him as a pillow for, what I assume is just simple resting.
He sees it in a way that it’s how they take care of each other and are close enough that they’re comfortable with doing things like that with each other, but I see it in a way that there should be boundaries with his female friendships from doing such close and intimate things with each other while he is in a relationship. I’ve expressed my concerns to him but he doesn’t seem to see that there’s anything wrong with it and that it’s a simple close friendship.
The thing is, he isn’t much of the jealous type, and even if he saw it from my perspective and if the situation were to be switched, he would be fine with it and wouldn’t see any discomfort with it. But with me, I don’t have much close male friends and even if I did, I would absolutely not let them carry me or use them as a pillow or let them do my hair for me if I were in a relationship out of respect for my boyfriend.
So I feel that he would never understand why I feel this way about how he is with his female friends. I would never ask him to choose between his female friends or I, but I believe that there should be boundaries with being that close with female friends. If he fails to understand that, then I feel that I don’t have value being in his life anymore and I might have to leave so he can continue caring for his female friends.
Am I going crazy? Am I overreacting?
TL;DR! - My boyfriend seems really close to his female friends that he carries them around, does their hair for them, and let’s them use him as a pillow and sees it in a way that they are close and comfortable enough with each other to do so, and that it is how they care for each other. I find it uncomfortable and would like it if he were to set boundaries, but he doesn’t understand and see why it makes me feel that way. Am I overreacting?

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Me and u/AsfAtl were debating whether the Spanish results on 23&me in Sephardic Jews reflect genuine Iberian DNA (he took this stance) or strands of Sephardic DNA that were assimilated into Spanish and Portuguese populations (this was my stance). During this conversation, we discussed Ashkenazi showing up in Sephardic Jews on commercial tests, and I thought it would generate an interesting dialogue here.
The question was brought up--although there is known Ashkenazi ancestry in Bulgarian Sephardic Jews, are the amounts of Ashkenazi DNA in other Sephardic groups simply due to genetic similarity, or legitimate Ashkenazi? I personally believe you can make a case for both.
Argument 1 - Genetic Similarity:
23&me undeniably is very accurate with Ashkenazi Jewish DNA, but at the trace level, sometimes it's very weird. I have seen phased results of a child who scored trace Ashkenazi (up to 0.7%) while neither of their parents did.
https://www.reddit.com/23andme/comments/11xdymz/how_can_i_test_more_north_africa_and_jewish_than/
https://www.reddit.com/23andme/comments/xpw4zq/bahia_brazil_updated_results_phased_with_parents/
Even up to the few percentage points, I have experimented with GEDMatch kits of individuals who have scored 1-3% Ashkenazi (although to be fair, sample size of 2). One of them was a half Mexican and half Lebanese individual with 1.3% Ashkenazi, and the other was a half Moroccan Jewish woman with 3% Ashkenazi. Even going down to the 7 centimorgan level, there were no valid triangulated segments with Ashkenazim. So we can assume that this Ashkenazi DNA is a false positive.
Sephardim and Ashkenazim are genetically close to one another (especially western Ashkenazi Jews), and this can be proven with any study. For instance, the Erfurt Ashkenazi Jews could be modeled on qpADM (and with Global25 as well) as 96-97% Turkish and 3-4% German. Pretty similar!
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422013782 (underneath the section "Quantitative ancestry modeling"). You can also run the Erfurt (ME) sample on Vahaduo in the "Target" section and use Sephardic_Jew_Turkey and German as reference populations, for replication purposes.
Argument 2 - This is actual Ashkenazi admixture
I talked to a genealogist who told me that 90% of Sephardic Jews have some Ashkenazi DNA in them. He didn't provide the source, but I have heard that claim from other people and he is someone who has a lot of ethos in the life sciences (unlike a certain genealogist with the initials ECH that is often cited), so I don't have any reason to doubt this. If anyone can find the specific link, I would totally appreciate it!
Historically, this makes sense. We now know that the bottleneck of Ashkenazi Jews occurred centuries before initially assumed. This was proven with the Norwich study (source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222013550 ), so we know that Ashkenazi DNA has been around since the 12th century, if not earlier.
Map of medieval Jewish expulsions: https://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/gallery/expuls.HTM
A lot of Sephardim have roots from Catalonia, due to the 1391 pogroms. Catalonia was home to many expelled French and German Jews who ended up assimilating into the larger Sephardic community. This could explain why many Latino individuals score Ashkenazi in lieu of Sephardic--DNA is not necessarily reflective of one's culture. So some of the conversos who fled to Latin America could have been mostly Ashkenazi by DNA but culturally Sephardic. This also explains why many North African Jews have some percentage of Ashkenazi DNA.
https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/spain/catalonia/
(For those who might be a bit confused as to why someone who is genetically Ashkenazi would practice the Sephardic rite, consider the Greek diaspora--there are Greek individuals who lived in modern day Turkey and score 0% Greek & Balkan on DNA tests, but spoke Greek, were devoutly Orthodox, had Greek names, and were targeted in the 1915 genocides. This also applies to Greek Cypriots, Antioch Greeks, etc. To tell any of these groups that they are not Greek is pretty ignorant.)
Conclusion
This is why in most cases, you will see Ashkenazi in a Sephardic Jew's DNA profile. While some people may disagree with me, I do not believe that a lack of Ashkenazi DNA negates Sephardic (or Romaniote, Italki, or Syrian Jewish) ancestry. You just won't see them as frequently on the subreddits, but I do know for a fact that they exist.
If anyone has other insights or sources to provide, please provide them in the comments! I believe that open discussion and disagreements are essential for scientific research. :)

Just a quick warning I’m putting it all out here about our friendship, i just want to tell the truth.
I 19f had a messy relationship with my ex best friend who I’ll call Tina because she was tiny.
We met in our 7th grade math class after she was having a panic attack because of multiple things going on in her life. I comforted her and helped her escape a toxic friendship and introduced her to my group of friends. We called every night and gave each other ther the support we both needed as I was sheltered and new to everything and she was coming out of some serious mental tolls.
I was there for her even though she wasn’t always for me. I helped her through when her dad nearly died and his entire personality changed, when her mom became a single mother and Tina felt the need to step up as the other parent, and fully supported her in everything she did.
Everything was great until we hit high school. She demanded we talked everyday at school and at least an hour on the phone. I don’t mean to say she told me outright but she definitely forced my hand to keep the friendship. She would guilt trip me with fake panic attacks and swear I was being terrible to her. She also pretty much had to approve every friend I had not to mention boyfriends. The first two, granted, were asses to say the least. However, she’d look for reasons for me not to explore friendships outside of our little group.
I talked to several friends about how much this time affected my grades, love life, and other friendships and they all said the same thing, I went from cheerful and playful, to scared and there being no light in my eyes when Tina was around.
A couple years into high school I met my now boyfriend and we hit it off big time. She did everything to chase him away and even convinced me to break things off. Luckily he and I never grew apart and decided that we’d try again, but help make each other better and to keep a more open line of communication.
She tried to use the same tactic on my other friend from theater but didn’t succeed.
To add insult to injury, I wrote a children’s book and it went to a national competition and all she cared about is that she became a published author in a poetry book before I even started binding my book. I told her about my success in the hallway of a hotel while my club members celebrated all our national placements and all she had to say, “that’s cool but I won that poetry contest and I’m published now! I’m getting copies of the book on Saturday, aren’t you proud of me!”
When I confronted her about this, she said she was also proud of me but she felt I was being selfish. I won a trip to Florida and get to present the book I worked so hard on. But apparently, that’s not as important.
Now for the big conflict, in the summer of 2023, I left my parents house the night before my college orientation. I’ll do a separate story on that. The point is, I left.
She herself yes was there for me holding me as I cried about leaving my sister and helping me but what I need to couch surf for a while.
She had a plan, move me from the campus I was registered for to the one she was going to and have me split door-dash money with her and hopefully not have to live out of her car. She also wanted me to pull a hearty loan from the bank her mom worked for to pay for all this. I personally cannot do that as I’m in the middle of getting a name change and it was hard for me to even get a driving permit.
A couple months pass and the house I had stayed at for that time kicked me out. From the stress of college and getting a job I’ll admit, I wasn’t the nicest.
The day before I was told I needed to find another place to stay I got a call from Tina. She called me crying because she was worried I was going to commit suicide and I talked to her about my feelings and future. How I have so much left to do and see. Including marrying the man I love, my boyfriend. She cried about that and said I should have listened to her. I pretty much ignored it as we talked about it serval times.
I was served my eviction notice, apologized to my friends parents, and began packing my things. I get a FaceTime from her and I’m thinking that my best friend might have some words of comfort or something.
I answer the call and with my friend in the back, she starts in on me saying that no matter what, I never listen. I only don’t when it happens that I can’t or it goes against my wishes and boundaries I’ve set. She went on yelling after what seemed like hours as I zoned out and packed with shaky hands and blurry eyes. I couldn’t take it anymore so I hung up with saying, “we can talk about this when I’m sure where my next meal is coming from and I’m not scared I’ll be on the streets.”
From what my friend told me she blocked me immediately and never wanted to speak to me again. She’s blocked me everywhere even tiktok and it makes me feel bad.
It’s been months and I’ve been told that I’m not the a-hole however, I think I need an outside opinion.
AITA??