Khmer dress de

With so many little filming updates available to us, I've been thinking for a while that we should have a post for a spoiler round-up for anyone who wants a quick reference or doesn't feel like sifting through the extra casting calls and previous threads to see what has been filmed already. I'm trying to only include sourceable material here - so mainly details from casting calls or location notices, set content, or sightings of the actors themselves.
I'm sure that I've missed *something*, so if you know, you can drop it into the comments and I'll edit or add it to this post! I'll try to keep this ongoing if there's interest. ♾️
{TO BE FILMED}
6/25

• Filming with waitstaff, receptionist, and bartender extras

6/24

• Filming at a restaurant with a brunette girl and bartender extras

6/21

• Filming with DJ and bartender extras

6/18

• Filming with bartender extras

6/17

• Filming with business executive and assistant extras

6/5-7

• Filming at the beach house

6/4

• Filming for interior and exterior “5 star restaurant” scenes: patrons, hostesses, server extras

“First week of June”

• Filming at St. James Episcopal Church, Circa 1922 restaurant, Little Loaf Bakery, and Pier 33 apartments

—-----------
{HAPPENINGS TO DATE}
6/1

• A fan visiting the studio lot posts a picture showing a "Boston Taxi Service" car

5/31

• Filming at the beach house (11 AM to 4 AM shoot)

5/30

• Filming for a “diner” scene: (likely at Goody Goody Omelet House)
  
• “Interior old, run down, Diner; Locals gathering place”
  
• Note for diner patron extras: “You like to hang out and drink plain coffee, no lattes in this place!”
  
• Note for cook extras: “if you've ever sweated it out behind a hot grill, let us know! Include any cook experience.”
  
• Filming for an exterior street scene: neighbor with car extra
  

5/28-29

• Filming with an older female (age 70-80s) extra

5/23

• Filming with shoppers and pedestrian extras

5/20

• Filming with male debutante dates, debutante parents, and event staff extras
• Filming for a “country club” scene: golfers, golf caddies, tennis players, server, event planner, club member extras
• Chris and Sean took a picture with a fan off set on this day (and their outfits look like they might've come from filming a golfing scene...)
• Video from set with Lola: scene of Belly walking into the country club

5/18

• Filming for interior and exterior scenes with pedestrians and vehicle extras

5/17

• Filming with neighborhood runners extras
• Filming for “farmers market” scene: customers, physically fit, pedestrian extras
• News article comes out about a flower shop (Flora Verdi) that’s being used on this day
• IG story posted by a set decorator on this day - "when you get to decorate a flower shop set...."

5/14

• Jenny, Lola, Chris, and Gavin traveled to NYC to attend the Amazon Upfront event, where the S3 release date ("Summer 2025") and 11-episode order were revealed
• The S3 promo video released by the official TSITP socials

5/13

• Filming with art store employees, shoppers, pedestrian, business people extras
• A Michael's store in Wilmington is confirmed "temporarily closed" for the day
• Set picture from this day shows a “Boston Police” cop car
• Set video and picture from this day with Sean and Isabella Briggs in business attire
• Set pictures of Gavin (in business attire) and Rain (Same location as Sean and Isabella)
• Set pictures of Gavin, Rain, Sean, and an unnamed brunette actress (Same location^)- On this day, Rain posts an IG story of Lola off set strawberry picking

5/11

• Filming with tech worker and tech executive extras
• Filming with banking and corporate exec extras
• No confirmation of if this was Chris as Conrad on set, but this picture of Chris came out on this day
• Chris and Sean spotted off set in Wilmington

5/10

• Filming with tech worker and tech executive extras
• Filming with banking and corporate exec extras

5/8-6/6

• Filming with lots of extras in one casting call, but I’ll remove the ones that have already been singled out in more specific dates above. The remainder:
  • high end law firm personnel & clients
  • nail salon clients
• birthday party bash attendees
• distinguished retail sales person at high end store
• college students
• real couples and partners who are vacationers

5/1-2

• Filming with tech nerd execs and intern extras (5/1 source)

4/30

• Filming with displaced person and outdoor event guest extras
• Filming with festive party-goer extras

4/29-30

• Filming with ‘families with real family members’ extras

4/29

• Filming for “hospital” scene: patron and guest extra in 1 scene
• Filming for “hospital cafe” scene: doctors and nurses who are coffee shop patrons extras
• A fan visiting set posts picture of a coffee shop exterior that they were filming at on this day
• A fan working in a downtown office across from where they were filming posts this TikTok

4/25-26

• Filming with female stand-in extra (5 ft tall or less)

4/24

• Pictures of Lola, Chris, Gavin, Sean, and Rain filming on the beach are posted
  
• The scene in this set picture is later revealed to have been the filming of the S3 promo video that was shown at the Amazon Upfronts on 5/14
  

4/23

• Filming on the beach with cast members in dressier outfits; Chris, Sean, and Lola spotted in this video; Rain and Gavin also on set
• A fan took a picture with Lola and Sean off set that was posted on this day
• Film crew spotted outside a David's Bridal in Wilmington

4/22

• Filming for “birthday party” scene (females aged 18-25)
• A fan visiting set posts picture of road closure for filming

4/21

• On this day, someone on this subreddit posted about Sofia Bryant, Zoe Degrand Maison, and Isabella Briggs unofficially joining the cast (Note that Isabella is followed by Lola, Sean, and Rain on IG but the main five don't yet follow the other two)

4/20

• Gavin took a picture off set with a fan on this day
• A fan visiting set posts about seeing Chris, Sean, and Lola out filming earlier in the week. Picture of Sean here in dark blue suit and Chris was in a grey suit. Lola not pictured, but in cream colored dress.

4/19

• Filming with college students and their moms extras

4/17

• Filming for “cafe” scene: experienced jogger extras….with small dogs

4/16

• Filming for a “BIG restaurant” scene - male and female extras

4/13

• Filming for a “hospital scene” - male and female extras

4/9

• Filming for a “restaurant” scene - diners, cooks, servers, busboys, and young tech startup professionals extras

4/8

• Filming with “featured frat crew” guys extras

4/6

• Filming for a “campus” scene: college guy extras

4/4

• Fan report of Lola and Chris spotted filming at Cinespace Studios
• Set pictures of Lola and Chris on break eventually come out on 4/7 (Chris photo)
• Set picture of a sorority house that Lola is filming at on this night

4/3

• Filming with sorority-type extras

4/2

• Filming with male beachgoers and convention worker extras
• Set video of Sean, Rain, Lola, and Gavin filming on the beach outside of Lumina Hotel on this day

3/29

• Off set picture of Lola, Sean, Gavin, and Rain hanging out in Wilmington is posted

3/28

• Filming “small scene” with fraternity brother extras
• Filming for a “frat and sorority party” scene
• Set pictures of the outside of a fraternity are posted by a local; details match chapter 3 of the 3rd book

3/26-27

• Filming for a “frat and sorority party” scene: males and females aged 18-35

3/25

• Filming with hospital patients and staff extras

3/23

• Filming with medical staff extras; patient extras

3/22

• Filming with student and parent extras, with their vehicles

3/21

• Filming for a “college bar” scene: student and patron extras
• Set pictures of the bar they're filming at - the person who posted says that they saw "a blonde girl and two guys" walking from the green room down to set

3/20

• Note that this was the first day of filming for the season
• Filming for a “coffee shop” scene: staff and patron extras
• Filming for a “college bar” scene: males and female extras

3/19

• A fan takes a picture with Sean and Rain off set in Wilmington on this day; says that Lola was also there

I absolutely love Dutch punk bands and the occasional Belgium one. Something about listening to punk in my own language just makes it a whole lot better. Since i have started listening to punk i have found a lot of bands from The Netherlands , but still i always love finding new ones. So here’s a list of all bands i know. If you know any bands that are not on the list pls tell me :)
Hobojobos Tegengas Hang youth Zalm Smegma likkers Plushy rampage Sjek Ploegendienst De hardheid Heideroosjes De dood Hard voor weinig Neuk! Neo punkz Gewapend beton March Puinpoeier De raggende mannen Skroetbalg Doodskop Janse bagge bend Leegstand Hausmagger Eyesores Kezus krijst Blok 1A Locura Waardeloos Toprot No hoodlums Goeiemiddag! Rotzorg DEZE MOEDERS NEUKEN GRATIS The yalla yalles Andere koek Moshpit manifesto Bazzokaas Flotz The bips De stoeptegels Godverdomme Dikke Dennis Want want Ramskop Balfietsboys Karel anker en de joden Human alert Funeral dress Bongoloard The kaak Asociaal kabaal Youth deprivation Orgaanklap Fucking virgins Vuil talloor Clitteband Kraaklustig Edit: The kids The ex Antidote Frites modern Belgian asociate
Those where all that i know Hope you all have a wonderful day

(first of all, sorry for the bad english) Speaking again about the old nix.com.mx mexican website, There used to be old animations of the characters from the world of Onix here, probably made with Adobe Flash Player like their games. This one that I will talk specifically about is one about the character of Mau the cat
Mau is a black cat with a bad temperament and bad luck, one of the most beloved and favorites characters of the Onix site in the years of 2008-2011. Even this cat had games, animations and his own merchandise, but I want to emphasize the animations this time. Mau had on the old nix.com.mx page and, on the now non-existent site, of gato.mau.com several animations, in the site of gato.mau.com there were some numbered animations where Mau gave you a lesson or learning, each of them began with the title of "Leccion de Mau"
However, on the nix.com.mx site, I remember seeing as a child an animation of the cat Mau where the story of Alice in Wonderland was interpreted, having Mau dressed as Alice and interpreting the classic story. It was a very short but summarized animation of the story of Alice in Wonderland, at most it only had audio effects and the meows of the cat Mau, even characters like the white rabbit and the queen of hearts appeared
It's an animation that I remember only a few details, but at the time it caused me a little concern for poor Mau, and currently I assumed that it would be completely lost, since after the changes that the nix.com.mx page made, they eliminated much of the content and the characters were changed too, obviously including the cat Mau. But recently, I found an interview with the director of Onix at that time on the YouTube channel: nixdotcomdotmx In that interview they talked about everything about the Onix store and website, even talking about their products and characters in question, and obviously Mau appeared in the interview. What surprised me the most is, for a few seconds, they showed in the interview a part of the animation of Mau in Wonderland, the little fragment of the animation was Mau dressed as Alice looking at the hole from the original Alice falls and arrives in Wonderland, but he is pushed by the white rabbit, and makes a meow of fright with a comical fall into the hole. And that's the only thing shown in the entire interview about Alice's animation
Another short appearance of a few seconds from the lost animation of Mau in Wonderland It's found in Onix's 10th anniversary video (AMV), but only Mau is seen dressed as Alice while his eyes change expression to a more annoying one, and then the cat disappear from the screen. I have not been able to find any more evidence or frames of the animation in question anywhere else, and searching the Wayback Machine was not very helpful, since the sites nix.com.mx and gato.mau.com are completely removed. And unfortunately the animation of Mau in Wonderland is not the only one that is lost, since many animations of "Lecciones de Mau" (Lessons from Mau) are also lost. There are few that I could find on the YouTube channel: mauonix
So there's also general lost media of Mau the cat and the old Onix website. I will leave some links of the info I could find of the animation Mau in Wonderland and the mauonix channel where some few animations of Mau's lessons are found. If anyone has more information about it, don't hesitate to comment!
Interview with a short frame of "Mau En El Pais De Las Maravillas" (minute: 5:59-6:02): https://youtu.be/tK2eSnqRFwM?si=ViXNQQHxKXTSPoQp
Video AMV from "Aniversario 10 Onix" (Mau dressed as Alice, minute: 0:58-1:01): https://youtu.be/q1iRPk_t9OI?si=z1D3HkkBp_f5jpwJ
mauonix YouTube channel (with few animations from "Leccion de Mau"): https://youtube.com/@mauonix?si=6tjEjS6k5JCxDoXW

I’m looking to sell some gently used women’s clothing in town to de-clutter before I move into a new apartment. Does anyone have any consignment shops they recommend? Currently deciding between Buffalo Exchange, Labels, or just using Facebook Marketplace (or any combination of these three). Also looking into Gown & Glove to sell used homecoming/prom dresses. What has everyone had the most success with?

These are my personal tips that may benefit someone this summer.

1. Go outside - Yes, it sounds like common knowledge but a lot of people lock themselves indoors all day, being miserable with negative thoughts. Go outside, go for a walk, take a bus or train and just go anywhere to walk around and see things. You can sit at the park and observe other people or just chill. There are exciting things to see in Berlin, even if you’re alone. Cheap and free exhibitions, places like Gärten der welt (for nature lovers), and outdoor cinemas. Also bars with tennis and pool tables where strangers can bond.
   
2. Fresh air - The weather is hot and so is your apartment (apparently). Just as our nose can get used to smell, it can also get used to the air we breathe and it can impact your mood. Open your windows, chill at your balcony, go grocery shopping, just get some fresh air. Even prisoners get to enjoy at least 1 hour of fresh air a day because of the health benefits. Heat can make you exhausted and dizzy. Dizziness makes you lazy to do anything.
   
3. Have some background music on - When you’re feeling down and alone, don’t sit in silence. Always have some music playing in the background. Music is therapeutic and songs speak to us. Music is also nostalgic. Hearing a song from your home country for example, can bring back good memories of your childhood and remind you of certain times and people. Those little moments can make you smile and feel less alone.
   
4. Overcome the fear of thinking people are watching you - There’s nothing worse than being ashamed of going to places or experiencing things because you feel people are watching you and would think you’re alone and weird. Believe me, it is mostly in your head. Don’t be afraid to go to places alone. Even if you see other people with their friends, there are some people who are also there alone. Nobody is watching you. Nobody really cares. Just do it.
   
5. Pay attention to yourself - Some people who are lonely often feel like they don’t have to impress anybody because nobody is watching them anyway. Take care of your body. Exercise, dress comfortably well, take care of your hygiene and impress yourself. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried to talk to someone at a meetup and their mouth or body odor put me off. Yes, poor hygiene can make people avoid you.
   
6. Don’t put much effort into social media - Just like they say: all that glitters is not gold. There are many people who looked happy and perfect online, yet committed suicide. People are much nicer in real life than they are on apps. Don’t allow the app culture make you feel hopeless.
   
7. Leave Berlin at least once a year - Berlin can be overwhelming. Everything is up for grabs, everyone is out for themselves, people are hostile, nothing lasts. Buy a cheap flight, train or bus ticket and travel out of Berlin. Go and be a tourist in another city. Experience the thrill of saying to a stranger “I’m only here for the weekend, I live in Berlin”. Leaving Berlin can make you appreciate the city when you get back. Free yourself of the Berlin energy every once in a while.
   
8. Check your vitamin D level - Some of the mental and physical problems you’re experiencing can be a symptom of low vitamin D. Do a test and supplement. Your vitamins may also be causing you stress. B vitamins and high doses of vitamin D can cause anxiety and mania in some people.
   
9. Reach out to people - When you exchange contacts with people, keep in touch. Everyone is too proud to text first. If you want to see someone again, text them. If they tell you they’re busy without making plans for another time, leave them and move on. A lot of people who have friends actually put their pride aside and reached out. When you invite people out, they will invite you out and you can meet more people through them.
   
10. Everyone you meet or talk to, does not have to be your friend or soulmate. Don’t be frustrated because you’ve not made friends. Just spending a Friday night with strangers without seeing them again, is totally fine. Just enjoy the moment and try again another day.
    

Lastly, there are resources to help you when dealing with mental health crisis and in cases of emergency. Don’t be caught up in “I cannot find a therapist”. The Berlin crisis service (Krisendienst) are helpful and anonymous. Look here: https://www.berliner-notruf.de/

A iridescent light that shown like no other blindly transfixed itself along the man’s corneas. With it, a piercing veil of sound rang out, infecting and transcending understanding or thought. For a time, the man lived within that light; breathing in its infinite well of space. But soon that time passed, and with it the light faded revealing a wide opened pathway. Running down its length were moving walkways and shimmering metallic railings, and along those pathways marched the masses of men and women dressed in an assortment of travel-attire.
“For all domestic and international flights, please proceed to Concourse 6.” A synthesized voice that did its best to appear as human as possible pierced the general sound of foot-traffic and ambietic conversations that melted into one another until they became wholly unrecognizable. It all felt so familiar, yet no meaning came.
The man lived in this new reality unknowing of where or when he was. Grasped in his hand held a black leather suitcase with a combination lock firmly planted along the top seem. His attire appeared as a stark black suit, fitted with small clips and neatly ironed cuffs. Before a firm grasp of understanding had a chance to collect along the neurons shooting rapidly inside his brain, the man started thoughtlessly moving onward.
No destination fell into his thoughts, but the instinct to continue still rang true. Like a herd of lemmings rushing off the side of a hill, the man walked among the masses. As he did, the jingle of coins flittered up from his breast pocket. They sprang and clinked together, matching the rhythm of his slow and lethargic gait. Thoughts began to coalesce and fold over one another within the safely packed confines of his inner thinking, but they sprang too aggressively and far too haphazardly to form anything concrete.
So simply, he walked.
“Passengers boarding flight 8 should make their way to the boarding area.”
“Yes.” The man thought.
It all felt so familiar, yet so indistinct at the same time. Like a manner of DeJa'Vu, but thinly covered with a layer of Vaseline so only the rough outlines seemed to make any form of sense. Although no discernable reason to worry presented itself, anxiety pooled along the man’s stomach lining all the same.
“There was no time.” The man thought with words that were not his own.
The pathway opened into a room covered with walls of glass windows with varying degrees of shape and size. Nearing the end of the room held a desk with a man in a white suit. His face appeared tired, with an unkempt beard scribbled along his jaw line. As the man walked forward, a gate could be seen behind the man in white. For all the distractions and ill-time loss of self, the man could easily recognize his surroundings as an airport. His goal or intentions there although remained a bitter mystery.
Nearing the desk, the man in white glanced upward to him, his eyes a dull grey iris surrounded by an off shade of white. It felt like looking into the eyes of a long-lost uncle that you felt uncomfortable with meeting again; not from a sense of fear, but more a feeling of unknowing what to say.
“Welcome back sir.” The man in white offered. “Will you be flying with us today?”
The man in the black suit opened his mouth to reply, but the words escaped him. A feeling of fear clenched tight in his chest, a tightness that felt familiar in a scary sort of way.
“You can pay the toll at the gate sir.” The man in white typed away at the small computer laid out in front of him. After a moment, a ticket began printing and with a quick tear it was loose. “You’ll be needing this.” The man in white said, offering the ticket.
With hesitation brought on through the unwavering sense of unease that felt at the same time out of place and right at home, the man in the black suit accepted the ticket. It felt heavy somehow, and as he looked down at his hand, the ticket wasn’t a ticket at all, but a heavy sheet of legal paper. The scribblings and writing that fell across the stark white cold press document seemed to fade and overlap onto itself, rendering it virtually unreadable. Square boxes and lines jutted and ran along the length of it, with various words of English jumbled together where only singularly bits of understanding could be extrapolated. A name, numbers that seemed to fall randomly, the beginning of an address and what appeared to be a date.
None of the information sparked any sense of understanding or want of understanding. To the man, it was a paper with no use. As he looked back up, the man in white was missing from his desk, and behind it led to the now open gate. His feet began to move once more, the contents of his pockets clacked together as the flooring changed from a soft carpet to a hardened concrete. Nearing the opening, his eyes drifted to the windows covering the walls of the room. The glass reflected sunlight vividly, and past the reflections held the darkly colored tarmac and a plane that was docked nearby. As far as the eye could see held a vibrant field of tall golden reeds that had reached full maturity. They created a wall that blocked any further sight, but as they stood, there would be no grander sight to behold.
The gate lie open, its gaping maw leading to a hallway that appeared to have little to no form. A simple black void that sucked away any form of light that fell victim to its coveted opening. As the man reached its precipice, the casual and monotonous chatter of passer byes all but vanished. A sense of cold loneliness began to creep along his shoulders, falling down his back and sent a crash of gooseflesh prickling along his calves.
It felt so...lonely. The feeling of being forgotten by a parent at a shopping center came to mind. An utter loss of self-worth or preservation that was perhaps taken for granted before became the absolute norm. The man reached into the pocket located on the breast of his suit, the rhythmic clicking and clacking of the coins reverberated with each touch as he pulled the two coins free and held them between his fingers. The gold coins felt hefty and cold to the touch and left a lingering smell of copper and used oil along the tips of his fingers.
He looked onward to the void; the sound of crashing waves echoed along the darkened halls. The smell of sea water mixed with an unpleasant scent of formaldehyde and unwashed clothes created an atmosphere of loss and decay.
The man clenched the coins tightly into a fist. They held so tight that they could nearly pierce the soft tissue lining of his palms. As he turned from the gate, the brightly lit room began to flash violently as sparks began to fly along the glassed walls. The huddled masses of the people were gone, replaced with nothing but empty silver tables with shimmering streaks that continued on for miles. The tightness in his chest returned as the lights echoed and crashes along the walls of his eyes, bleeding into his mind and infecting his cerebral cortex. Pain shot through his chest, cascading along his arms and legs, causing his hands and feet to slowly go numb. The sensation of fire ants crawling along, stinging any supple flesh they could cling to began to manifest all along his body as it slowly began to buckle.
All at once, he fell to his knees, the hard concrete flooring scratching and sending shocks of trauma along his leg muscles. His eyes clenched shut, an involuntary reaction to the stress and pain that quickly engulfed every facet and his being. With the loss of motor function came the sound of footsteps that seemed to echo in a volumous display of not only unnecessary heights, but nearly impossible verberations. They crashed along the concrete, and as his eyes opened he saw that the tables that formed a neat and nearly endless display were now all around him. Surrounding him and forming a new wall that created a stark contrast to the field of gold that shown through the summer light.
The feeling of loneliness and self doubt returned in motions, first as soft reminders like the touch on the shoulder from a spouse, to the crashing waves of a semi-truck coming in contact with a compact car going eighty on the freeway.
Gods, why won't it stop? I just want to go...
Go where? He thought. Where am I? Where can I go?
As the question echoed out, the stream of constant barrage of sensations faded, replaced with the soothing calm sound of water gently splashing against the side of a dock. The sickening smell of the ocean returned as he opened his eyes once more. The room he once knew was gone, now replaced with a dark void. Ahead of him, slowly bobbing and weaving atop the calm waves, held an old wooden boat with an oar gently resting along the flooring.
The man in the black suit slowly rose to his feet, the coins still tightly grasped in his palm as he slowly walked to the boat. All the feelings of the world seemed to melt away in that moment. The feeling of loss, of heartache, of fear. They all felt like things of the past, sensations he had nearly forgotten about. Washed away by time, by the sickeningly sweet water that rocked along the boat.
He stepped into the wooden vessel, and as he did it began to drift off down the dark river. A melancholy light drifted along the surface of the water that seemed to pulse with the rythm of his breath, the rhythm of his heart. As the boat slowly drifted, so too did the light on a converging line of travel that ended wherever the waters might take him.
Without thinking, the man unfurled the ticket that still held fastened between his fingers. The document that held little meaning to him before now held little meaning to anyone as it crumpled to an unrecognizable wad of paper, and as he dropped the document into the water, the light that floated listlessly flickered out and fell to the bottom of the river.
The man stood, the coins he held now opened to the salty air as he gazed at them in his palm. His eyes drifted up to the encroaching darkness of the river as his heart began to flutter and slow.
He was afraid.
He didn’t want to go.
With an act of neither defiance or unrelenting will, but of simple fear of the unknown, the man hurled the coins into the water. As the coins lowered, disappearing into the black void, the boat quickly rocked by a vicious wave, knocking the man in the suit into the dark waters below.
An iridescent light that shown like no other blindly transfixed itself along the man’s corneas. With it, a piercing veil of sound rang out, infecting and transcended understanding or thought. For a time, the man lived within that light; breathing in its infinite well of space. But soon that time passed, and with it the light faded revealing a wide opened pathway. Running down its length were moving walkways and shimmering metallic railings, and along those pathways marched the masses of men and women dressed in an assortment of travel-attire.
“For all domestic and international flights, please proceed to Concourse 7.” A synthesized voice that did its best to appear as human as possible pierced the general sound of foot-traffic and ambietic conversations that melted into one another until they became wholly unrecognizable. It all felt so familiar, yet no meaning came.

I really need some advice and support right now. I'm feeling incredibly embarrassed, but I want to take accountability for my lack of knowledge on the topic. I'm totally new to this, and I've found myself in a situation I never expected.
A while back, I got dress extensions installed. Life has been beyond hectic—I've been dealing with serious mental health issues, and my hair was the last thing on my mind. I didn't realize I had left the extensions in way too long until it was too late. The strands of my real hair that were used were way too small, thin, and stringy, which caused them to fuse with the extensions in a way that wouldn’t match the width of the extension at all, without me noticing (if that was even an option…).
Now, I'm dealing with a nightmare: I am stupid enough to not have realized that my hair started to fuse itself on its own and solidified into heavy dreads, which are impossible to comb out. My hair is a mix of smooth (ends), straight new root growth (start) solid dreads (‘middle’) of various lengths (due to my layered cut before the extensions), and very damaged straight hair, btw The dreads are SOLID.
Here's the thing: I absolutely do not want to shave my head. I know some people can rock a shaved head, and I don't think they are ugly at all, but it just wouldn't be a good look for me. I tried it once when I was younger, and it was not flattering. Going from 26-inch dreadlocks to a shaved head would be devastating, especially after years of struggling to grow my hair out to just above my shoulders.
I know wigs are an option, but I lack the experience and confidence to make them look realistic or stay on properly. The thought of having to wear a wig makes me feel even more conflicted and anxious- because I feel my active lifestyle isn’t conducive in general….
To add to this, I struggle with severe body dysmorphia, particularly when it comes to my hair. This stems from my childhood, and losing my hair would be a massive blow to my self-esteem and aforementioned mental health issues I’m currently dealing with….
I know I messed up big time, and I don't know what to do. Has anyone been through something similar or have any advice on how to salvage this situation without resorting to shaving my head? Any support or guidance would mean the world to me right now.
Thanks for reading
(***why didn’t I go to a salon? Like I said, life’s been hectic- and situations out of my control and circumstances changing dramatically basically over night, I went from being in a one of the bigger cities in the country toooooo now living 4 hours away from any city at all- which has 0000 salons with experience dealing with or installing/de dreads of any kind. I am an animal caregiver and can’t be gone for more the 12hrs at a time atm and it takes 8 to get to the next biggest city where I could find any help….)

I really need some advice and support right now. I'm feeling incredibly embarrassed, but I want to take accountability for my lack of knowledge on the topic. I'm totally new to this, and I've found myself in a situation I never expected.
A while back, I got dress extensions installed. Life has been beyond hectic—I've been dealing with serious mental health issues, and my hair was the last thing on my mind. I didn't realize I had left the extensions in way too long until it was too late. The strands of my real hair that were used were way too small, thin, and stringy, which caused them to fuse with the extensions in a way that wouldn’t match the width of the extension at all, without me noticing (if that was even an option…).
Now, I'm dealing with a nightmare: I am stupid enough to not have realized that my hair started to fuse itself on its own and solidified into heavy dreads, which are impossible to comb out. My hair is a mix of smooth (ends), straight new root growth (start) solid dreads (‘middle’) of various lengths (due to my layered cut before the extensions), and very damaged straight hair, btw The dreads are SOLID.
Here's the thing: I absolutely do not want to shave my head. I know some people can rock a shaved head, and I don't think they are ugly at all, but it just wouldn't be a good look for me. I tried it once when I was younger, and it was not flattering. Going from 26-inch dreadlocks to a shaved head would be devastating, especially after years of struggling to grow my hair out to just above my shoulders.
I know wigs are an option, but I lack the experience and confidence to make them look realistic or stay on properly. The thought of having to wear a wig makes me feel even more conflicted and anxious- because I feel my active lifestyle isn’t conducive in general….
To add to this, I struggle with severe body dysmorphia, particularly when it comes to my hair. This stems from my childhood, and losing my hair would be a massive blow to my self-esteem and aforementioned mental health issues I’m currently dealing with….
I know I messed up big time, and I don't know what to do. Has anyone been through something similar or have any advice on how to salvage this situation without resorting to shaving my head? Any support or guidance would mean the world to me right now.
Thanks for reading
(***why didn’t I go to a salon? Like I said, life’s been hectic- and situations out of my control and circumstances changing dramatically basically over night, I went from being in a one of the bigger cities in the country toooooo now living 4 hours away from any city at all- which has 0000 salons with experience dealing with or installing/de dreads of any kind. I am an animal caregiver and can’t be gone for more the 12hrs at a time atm and it takes 8 to get to the next biggest city where I could find any help….)

I really need some advice and support right now. I'm feeling incredibly embarrassed, but I want to take accountability for my lack of knowledge on the topic. I'm totally new to this, and I've found myself in a situation I never expected.
A while back, I got dress extensions installed. Life has been beyond hectic—I've been dealing with serious mental health issues, and my hair was the last thing on my mind. I didn't realize I had left the extensions in way too long until it was too late. The strands of my real hair that were used were way too small, thin, and stringy, which caused them to fuse with the extensions in a way that wouldn’t match the width of the extension at all, without me noticing (if that was even an option…).
Now, I'm dealing with a nightmare: I am stupid enough to not have realized that my hair started to fuse itself on its own and solidified into heavy dreads, which are impossible to comb out. My hair is a mix of smooth (ends), straight new root growth (start) solid dreads (‘middle’) of various lengths (due to my layered cut before the extensions), and very damaged straight hair, btw The dreads are SOLID.
Here's the thing: I absolutely do not want to shave my head. I know some people can rock a shaved head, and I don't think they are ugly at all, but it just wouldn't be a good look for me. I tried it once when I was younger, and it was not flattering. Going from 26-inch dreadlocks to a shaved head would be devastating, especially after years of struggling to grow my hair out to just above my shoulders.
I know wigs are an option, but I lack the experience and confidence to make them look realistic or stay on properly. The thought of having to wear a wig makes me feel even more conflicted and anxious- because I feel my active lifestyle isn’t conducive in general….
To add to this, I struggle with severe body dysmorphia, particularly when it comes to my hair. This stems from my childhood, and losing my hair would be a massive blow to my self-esteem and aforementioned mental health issues I’m currently dealing with….
I know I messed up big time, and I don't know what to do. Has anyone been through something similar or have any advice on how to salvage this situation without resorting to shaving my head? Any support or guidance would mean the world to me right now.
Thanks for reading
(***why didn’t I go to a salon? Like I said, life’s been hectic- and situations out of my control and circumstances changing dramatically basically over night, I went from being in a one of the bigger cities in the country toooooo now living 4 hours away from any city at all- which has 0000 salons with experience dealing with or installing/de dreads of any kind. I am an animal caregiver and can’t be gone for more the 12hrs at a time atm and it takes 8 to get to the next biggest city where I could find any help….)

Looking for recommendations of where to get dinner near the ciudad de las artes y las ciencias. I’m visiting with my BF for a work trip and we don’t get the chance to get dinner until late (or late for us at least!) because of that. I have not had much luck looking for recs in this specific area. I would like recs for a place that’s kind of nice but not someplace that would require dressing up a lot or getting a reservation. Thank you In advance for your help!

Bonjour à tout le monde,
Je vous explique mon problème. Je (h26) suis en couple avec une fille (f26) depuis 7 mois. Tout se passe formidablement bien. C'est une belle relation avec de l'amour, du respect, du partage et de la communication. Mais voilà, depuis 2 mois nous sommes à distance, et cela va continuer pendant 6 mois encore.
Pour donner des infos. Elle est partie pour ses études et son boulot. Elle a hésité à le faire, mais je l'ai encouragé car je ne voulais pas qu'elle se prive de cela pour (entre autre mais c'était un argument important) nous. Elle a aussi une mauvaise expérience précédente avec la distance, où elle manquait d'attention. Elle a donc clairement exprimé ce besoin pour notre distance à nous. Il était très clair qu'elle n'allait pas pouvoir faire beaucoup de déplacements, et que son planning est chargé. Il y a 2h30 de trajet, personnellement j'estime que ce n'est pas loin. Comme je suis dans un moment de ma vie où je peux me permettre de dégager du temps, et que ma situation va bien, j'étais d'accord pour être celui qui va faire 90% des déplacements. J'aime cette fille et j'aime notre relation, donc je vois ça comme quelque chose de normal (ça ne sera pas éternel non plus). J'ai donc fait beaucoup de trajets, pris sur mon temps dès que je le pouvais pour aller la voir, j'ai été présent aussi par téléphone pour la soutenir quand ça n'allait pas dans l'adaptation à sa nouvelle vie, etc.
Le problème, c'est qu'en retour je n'ai pas grand chose. Quand on se voit c'est formidable, et je ne peux pas dire qu'elle n'est pas présente. Mais elle est souvent un peu distante par téléphone par exemple. Quand elle a besoin, il faut que je sois là, par contre si j'ai besoin et qu'elle est fatiguée on parlera un peu mais elle ira se coucher rapidement. On a du mal à avoir des perspectives calées pour se revoir, je suis toujours obligé de prendre sur mon temps sinon on se verrait 1x/mois deux jours. Elle a peur que je me fatigue avec les trajets, et moi ça m'embête parce qu'on dirait qu'elle ne comprends pas que c'est pour nous que je le fais, voir qu'elle me le reproche. La seule fois où elle venue chez moi, la plupart de son temps a été consacré à ses potes, il nous restait les nuits et les matins en gros. J'ai exprimé le fait que ça me rendait triste les moments où je partais après l'avoir vu, et que j'avais besoin un peu plus d'elle ces jours-là. Ça n'est pas gagné.
Je dresse un tableau un peu noir, mais il faut le nuancer. Son travail, ses études prennent beaucoup de temps et c'est stressant. On ajoute à ça une nouvelle ville, la distance pour elle aussi etc. Bref je comprends qu'il y a aussi de la maladresse dans tout ça. Ceci étant, il y a un déséquilibre. Ses besoins sont comblés, et les miens pas complètement. Elle est satisfaite de la situation, la considère comme acquise. Et moi je sens que ça commence à me peser.
On a eu une discussion, assez déroutante puisqu'elle m'a dit qu'elle avait l'impression de faire ce qu'elle pouvait. Elle ne semblait pas comprendre quand j'exprimais mes besoins.
Aujourd'hui, après plusieurs changements d'avis et des excuses pas vraiment recevables à mes yeux, elle a annulé ma venue chez elle alors que j'avais clairement exprimé que j'en avais très envie. Je précise que ce mois-ci, on va se voir seulement deux nuits car je vais avoir des contraintes. Je me retrouve comme un con, à annuler des billets de train plus remboursables, je serai tout seul chez moi alors que j'aurais pu passer une soirée avec des potes ailleurs. Ma venue aurait été express, mais je me disais que c'était toujours ça de bon à prendre. À ses yeux ça faire trop court (alors que d'autres fois ça ne la dérangeait pas du tout).
C'est la goutte de trop pour moi :

• Il y a un problème
• On en a parlé, et rien ne change
• Qu'est-ce que je fais ?

J'ai donc pris la décision de me "retirer". Pour l'instant je n'ai plus envie de consacrer mon énergie, mon temps ou mon argent dans le bon fonctionnement de la distance. Ce mois-ci, je m'en tiens à ce qu'elle m'a dégagé comme temps : deux nuits, rien de plus. Ce sera à elle de trouver du temps si elle a besoin de me voir. Je ne veux pas avoir l'air d'un capricieux, l'idée ce n'est pas de bouder. Et ce n'est pas non plus de la quitter ou de lui faire payer quelque chose en lui ajoutant du stress. Juste de prendre du temps pour moi, moins penser à la relation sans en sortir. J'aimerais juste arriver à lui montrer que je suis prêt à m'investir énormément pour elle dans cette période de distance, tant pis si c'est plus qu'elle, mais j'ai besoin de petites choses pour me sentir bien. Je souhaite qu'elle comprenne que pour faire tenir une relation à distance, il faut des efforts des deux côtés.
Ce que je vous demande, ce sont des pistes pour savoir comment me comporter pendant ma période de repli, en prenant en compte :

• Je ne veux pas lui faire de mal, juste une réaction
• Je ne veux pas un caprice, ou bouder
• Montrer que je suis prêt à plein de choses, mais que je ne suis pas acquis
• Provoquer des petits gestes de sa part qui me donneront envie de sortir à nouveau du repli.

Merci d'avance 🙂

Hey guys! I've just been feeling kind of out of it and forgot to post yesterday, but I don't think the results changed very much. Here are your nominees for Best Hairography:
Best Hairography

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 Loco Loco by Hurricane - Serbia 2021 🇷🇸
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Amazing! Now, as it's the last nomination, I think that I've saved the best for last. Cringiest Performance. I'm also tacking along the sub title Aged The Least Well, because some entries just don't hit the same way. Also because we only have like, two entries from the 1900's, and I was expecting a few more, but that's besides the point! The rules are below:
You can comment a Eurovision song from 1957 - 2024 you think fits the category of the day best (for example, Albania 2012). If a song is already nominated for another category, you can put it up for consideration in another category also. If somebody has already posted a song you wanted to post, DO NOT post that song. If you are going to comment, do it in this format: Song Name + Artist - Country + Year. It should look like this: Suus by Rona Nishliu - Albania 2012. You can also upvote the posts that you think should be part of this category. At the end of two days, the four songs with the most upvotes will be nominees for the categories we have, which we will eventually vote on. Have fun!
Categories So Far:
Best Vocals

• 🇪🇪 La Forza by Elina Necheyeva - Estonia 2018 🇪🇪
• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021 🇨🇭
• 🇪🇪 Bridges by Alika - Estonia 2023 🇪🇪
• 🇳🇴 Ulveham by Gåte - Norway 2024 🇳🇴

Best Staging

• 🇲🇩 My Lucky Day by DoReDoS - Moldova 2018 🇲🇩
• 🇦🇺 Zero Gravity by Kate Miller-Heidke - Australia 2019 🇦🇺
• 🇷🇸 In Corpore Sano by Konstrata - Serbia 2022 🇷🇸
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮

Best Choreography

• 🇧🇪 Rhythm Inside by Loïc Nottet - Belgium 2015 🇧🇪
• 🇨🇾 Fuego by Eleni Foureira - Cyprus 2018 🇨🇾
• 🇪🇸 SloMo by Chanel - Spain 2022 🇪🇸
• 🇲🇩 Soarele şi Luna by Pasha Parfeni - Moldova 2023 🇲🇩

Best Costume

• 🇫🇮 Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi - Finland 2006 🇫🇮
• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇮🇸 Hatrið mun sigra by Hatari - Iceland 2019 🇮🇸
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮

Best Hair

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇬🇧 Space Man by Sam Ryder - United Kingdom 2022 🇬🇧
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Best Prop

• 🇷🇺 Party for Everybody by Buranovskiye Babushki - Russia 2012 - Oven 🇷🇺
• 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN WOMAN by Manizha - Russia 2021 - Moving Dress 🇷🇺
• 🇦🇺 Promise by Voyager - Australia 2023 - Car 🇦🇺
• 🇫🇮 No Rules! by Windows95man - Finland 2024 - Jegg and Jorts 🇫🇮

Best High/Long Note

• 🇪🇸 Do It For Your Lover by Manuel Navarro - Spain 2017 🇪🇸
• 🇮🇱 Set Me Free by Eden Alene - Israel 2021 🇮🇱
• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021🇨🇭
• 🇵🇹 Ai Coração by Mimicat - Portugal 2023 🇵🇹

Catchiest Song

• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇷🇺 Uno by Little Big - Russia 2020 🇷🇺
• 🇲🇩 Trenulețul by Advahov Brothers and Zdob și Zdub - Moldova 2022 🇲🇩
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Lyrics

• 🇲🇪 Euro Neuro by Rambo Amadeus - Montenegro 2012 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 In Corpore Sano by Konstrakta - Serbia 2022 🇷🇸
• 🇸🇪 Hold Me Closer by Cornelia Jakobs - Sweden 2022 🇸🇪
• 🇪🇸 ZORRA by Nebulossa - Spain 2024 🇪🇸

Best Rapping

• 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN WOMAN by Manizha - Russia 2021 🇷🇺
• 🇺🇦 Stefania by Kalush Orchestra - Ukraine 2022 🇺🇦
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇺🇦 Maria & Teresa by alyona alyona and Jerry Heil - Ukraine 2024 🇺🇦

Best Party Song

• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇺🇦 SHUM by Go_A - Ukraine 2021 🇺🇦
• 🇲🇩 Trenulețul by Advahov Brothers and Zdob și Zdub - Moldova 2022 🇲🇩
• 🇪🇪 (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5miinust and Puuluup - Estonia 2024 🇪🇪

Best Use of Instruments

• 🇧🇬 Water by Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov - Drums - Bulgaria 2007 🇧🇬
• 🇲🇩 Runaway by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Saxophone - Moldova 2010 🇲🇩
• 🇮🇸 10 years by Daði og Gagnamagnið - Keytar - Iceland 2021 🇮🇸
• 🇪🇪 (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5miinust and Puuluup - Talharpa - Estonia 2024🇪🇪

Most Charismatic

• 🇳🇴 Fairytale by Alexander Rybak - Norway 2009 🇳🇴
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇦🇲 Jako by Ladaniva - Armenia 2024 🇦🇲
• 🇭🇷 Rim Tim Tagi Dim by Baby Lasagna - Croatia 2024 🇭🇷

Best NQ'd Song

• 🇱🇻 Eat Your Salad by Citi Zēni - Latvia 2022 🇱🇻
• 🇱🇻 Aijā by Sudden Lights - Latvia 2023 🇱🇻
• 🇨🇿 Pedestal by Aiko - Czechia 2024 🇨🇿
• 🇸🇲 11:11 by Megara - San Marino 2024 🇸🇲

Most Emotional Song

• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021 🇨🇭
• 🇳🇱 De Diepte by S10 - Netherlands 2022 🇳🇱
• 🇵🇹 Saudade, saudade by MARO - Portugal 2022 🇵🇹
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Opening Song

• 🇲🇩 Runaway by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Moldova 2010 🇲🇩
• 🇱🇹 Discoteque by The Roop - Lithuania 2021 🇱🇹
• 🇨🇿 Lights Off by We Are Domi - Czechia 2022 🇨🇿
• 🇦🇹 Who The Hell Is Edgar by Teya and Salena - Austria 2023 🇦🇹

Best Closing Song

• 🇸🇲 Adrenalina by Senhit ft. Flo Rida - San Marino 2024 🇸🇲
• 🇦🇺 Promise by Voyager - Australia 2023 🇦🇺
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Looking

• 🇮🇹 Måneskin - Italy 2021 🇮🇹
• 🇸🇮 Joker Out - Slovenia 2023 🇸🇮
• 🇦🇲 Ladaniva - Armenia 2024 🇦🇲
• 🇮🇪 Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪

Craziest Performance

• 🇺🇦 Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) by Svetlana Loboda - Ukraine 2009 🇺🇦
• 🇦🇺 Zero Gravity by Kate Miller-Heidke - Australia 2019 🇦🇺
• 🇭🇷 Mama ŠČ! by Let 3 - Croatia 2023 🇭🇷
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇫🇮 No Rules! by Windows95Man - Finland 2024 🇫🇮
• 🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue by Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪

Most Innovative

• 🇸🇪 Waterloo by ABBA - Sweden 1974 🇸🇪
• 🇫🇮 Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi - Finland 2007 🇫🇮
• 🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue by Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪
• 🇨🇭 The Code by Nemo - Switzerland 2024 🇨🇭

Best Hairography

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 Loco Loco by Hurricane - Serbia 2021 🇷🇸
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Chapter 1: Hope’s 16th Birthday
As the rays of the sun hits her eyes Hope Moonshine wakes up excited, she was waiting for this day for all her life
She jumps out of her bed and rushes to her mom's room excited and she accidentally flung the door open too fast making a loud cranking noise waking her mother, Queen Matilda up
"Oops didn't mean to wake you up" hope said awkwardly"Honey I know you are excited for your birthday but you need to be patient the sun has just risen everyone is still asleep" Matilda said tiredly, "please go back to sleep darling you will have a long day today and you will need the energy, your party wont be begin till noon"
"Ok mom, sorry for waking you up" said Hope as she was trying to close the door slowly enough that it doesn't crank but it still did "Not an issue dear", said Matilda
As the door closed Matilda took a deep breath and closed her eyes her emblem on her right shoulder a pink diamond glowed she opened her eyes and she made a finger gun with her right hand pointing at the hinges and a shiny pink light zaps comes out of her index and zaps the hinges, the beam turns into a hand and it open the door and then closes without making a cranking noise, "I should have done that a long time ago" said Matilda
She removes the blankets from her bed to reveal she is already clothed for a serious occasion, as she goes towards the mirror she is wearing a long cyan dress that trails all the way to her feed her top being smartly tight with short shoulder sleeves, she puts on long white gloves and glances over her diamond ring she lets out a small sigh and frown and puts it on, she trances over the mirror for a few seconds before snapping out of it, and she looks over to a miniature painting of her an her daughter when she was 6 she picks it up and smiles "I know you are eager dear you won't have to wait for long"
After Matilda ready's herself she open her window and conjures a light bird of the palm of her hand, the bird flew off to Hope's room where it sees her lying in her bed on her stomach, the bird soon returns to Matilda's room and land on her palm her eyes glows for a moment and the bird fizzes into a yellow cloud, "Well it looks like she actually listened not very common of her to do so, it means I can continue to do my plan unobstructed" she said with a smile.
Matilda leaves her room and walk across the hallway to the main hall then she claps her hand twice, and snap her finger, suddenly a figure jumps into the window it spins 180° and a muscular women stands up, she has a scar on her left cheek and short brown hair, she wore knight armour that cuts of at her shoulder emblem that looks like a dark grey shield.
"At your service my queen", she said with a salute
Matilda is startled for a moment, but then composes herself, "Sally there is no need for you to enter that way you can just wait for me at the hall entrance", she said.
"I was scouting the perimeter we have to make sure this place is safe and to make sure no one can harm the princess at her important day, I was up all night with my team searching every corner of the upper ring for any danger and-" Sally was abruptly cut off by Matilda.
"It was not your fault Sally, there is no need for you to prove yourself to me" Matilda said remorsefully, "You tried your best so you must eventually forgive yourself it wasn't anyone fault, it truly came from nowhere"
Sally's serious expression break into expression of regret as she shamefully looks at the ground
"Now is not time to punish ourselves over who we failed to protect but to make sure my daughter has a great birthday" Matilda said with determination
Sally's expressions of regret turned to a smile, "Yes my Queen, me and the royal guards have spent last few weeks clearing a safe path from the upper ring to the more presentable areas of the lower ring that ends at the great barrier" Sally says with a salute.
"Well I trust your judgement, you are now dismissed" said Matilda
Sally goes down the stairs of the central hall towards the doors "I won't mess up again" Sally said with determination
"Oh Houston" Matilda said while turning her head left and right, "where is he when I need him",
"I am right here your majesty" Houston whispered from behind, Matilda was startled and was annoyed on how everyone seems to sneak up on her, "Sorry for spooking you" said Houston as he polished his monocle "We are well prepared to begin celebration soon" he said as his hand pointed towards the empty hall.
Matilda stared at him, he then clapped his hands and an army of servants entered the hall setting up the chairs and tables, followed up by waiters quickly setting food on the table, and then 6 waiters came together to slowly lift the large 4 layered birthday cake with a milk white colour with chocolate cream on top of each layer, with "happy birthday Hope" spelled with strawberry topping on the side of each layer, with the glowing yellow number "16" candle at the top.
"As I was saying my Queen" Houston started "We just need to wait for the guests to arrive, I will let you know when you can call your daughter" Houston stops from a moment "Do you want anything else your majesty or am I dismissed?" he asked.
"You are dismissed Houston" said Matilda
Matilda walks up to Hope's room and slowly opens the door to find her laying in her bed
"One thousand one hundred and forty-two" Hope counted to herself, she paused and took a deep sigh, and tried to continue but then paused scratching her head "Um One-".
she was interrupted by her mother saying "Thousand one hundred and forty-three", "Unable to sleep dear?" She said with a smile, Hope gasped and she had the biggest smile in her face, her mother was a bit startled and asked "what is it you are smiling at?".
Hope pointed at her, jumped from her bed and as she was taking heavy breathes pointing at her mother clothes, "You don't sleep in this" she takes a deep breath and exclaims "which means I have got to get ready" and she runs to her closet to pick up something to wear.
Matilda takes a glance down at her clothes and rolls her eyes "so much for a surprise"
"I am ready mom" Hope said ecstatically, she was wearing a beautiful turquoise dress which complemented her hair colour styled in two plates with with joined with a pink band and wearing her favourite golden necklace,
"That was quick" her mother commented
As they enter the main hall a bunch of guests are seated drinking beverages and helping themselves to freshly baked foods, "Attention everybody, I would like you to welcome the birthday girl" said Houston, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads towards the princess.
She gets a bit nervous and let out an awkward "hey guys", she didn't recognize any of them but she had to pretend to know all of them while hoping they don't ask her if she knows them, they all continue to stare as she and her mother get seated.
Houston lets out a forced cough to break the awkward silence, he says "and now Princess that you have come here you may blow the candles", the table the cake was on was carried towards Hope and her mother seated on there high chair, Hope tries to mask her excitement as she takes a deep breath and gently blow the candles, which fire off the cake and make a small explosion spelling out "Happy Birthday Princess!", Hope's eyes lit with joy.
Trumpets play and two royal servants come into the hall holding a gold plated chest decorated with diamonds, the chest is slowly opened and a blinding bright light shined from inside it, "Go ahead dear" said Matilda as her eyes pointed to the chest.
Hope goes down towards the chest and slowly lowers her hand inside of it and grabs what inside, as she removes her hand from the chest it reveals her to be holding the magic wand, it had a purple handle with a sparkly cyan diamond at its back end and a translucent turquoise sphere at it top decorated with a white glowing shape which resembled the combination of a two star into two different planes inside, and topped off with a small yellow crown at the top
Hope's shoulder emblem a pink heart with a tiny crown on top of both curves starts glowing, she raises the top of the wand at eye level, "ooh what's this" she says as she tries to stick her finger inside it to touch the spinning star
"HOPE DONT" shouted her mother, as soon as hope touched it burnt her finger and she let out a painful screech and fires a yellow glowing beam fires from the wand at some guest who were quick enough to duck, it hits a glowing orange decorative plant crushing it against the wall,
"hehe this could have been worse", Hope said awkwardly, the wreckage catches fire...
"FIRE" yells Sally, the guards that were standing by the walls quickly moved and shoved away all nearby guest as Sally goes and faces the fire here shoulder emblem glows and she fires yellow beam at it from her hands she then she clenches her fist and the beam turns into water extinguishing the fire and a yellow cloud evaporates from it, she quickly turn over to Hope and rushes over to her "ARE YOU OKAY PRINCESS" she exclaimed worryingly.
"I am fine it's just my finger is a little -" before she finishes her sentence Sally picks her up and running with her in her arms and runs up to the door and out of the Palace.
Queen Matilda is left with the guests and lets out an awkward chuckle and says "so who wants some drinks?", "Please help yourself to the finest wines in the whole kingdom" she said as a servant reveals a bunch of wine bottles in gold coating, the guests all rushed to get a sip
"I am telling you I am fine it's just a little scratch its rude for me to leave suddenl-" Hope was interrupted by Sally kicking the door open.
"PA-" Sally yelled before being interrupted by a "SHHHH", she was shushed by a woman with a white robe that cut offs at the shoulder, and a hand crafted necklace made of cotton around her neck, she had red hair tied into a bun and a green plus sign as her shoulder emblem.
"Seriously Sally how many times do I have to tell you to be quiet in here" said healer Pam with frustration she lets out a sigh and asks, "So what seems to be the problem?" Sally pulls out Hope and holds her at arms length right Infront of her Hope lets out a "Hi".
Pam gasps "Oh my princess sorry I didn't know you were coming, are you hurt?"
"No not at all it's ju-" Hope was interrupted yet again it seems like although she is becoming a grownup no one seems to want to listen to her
"She burned herself quickly check up on her" commanded Sally as she lowered Hope to her feet, Pam glanced at her up and down
"Where was she hurt", asked her confused. Hope sheepishly pointed to her left index finger it was a bit red which could be easily seen as it contrasted with her smooth white skin, but it was also accompanied by a yellow 'liquid', Pam conjured a white napkin to clean the site of the injury and singled out the injured finger from Hope's hand and put her hand on it and made into a fist and then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes her shoulder mark started having a green glow for a few seconds and then it suddenly went dim, she opened her hand to find the finger fully healed like it was never even scratched.
"Oh wow t-thanks" said Hope with a smile.
"Oh it's nothing" said pam, she took out her napkin it had some yellow glowing spots of what looks like fluid except its it didn't soak in but floated around it, "I see you can use magic now, what was your first spell" Pam said with excitement.
"I-i just shot this out of the wand" she said as she pointed at liquid on the napkin that started evaporating considerably, she then lowered her voice and talked faster "and it hit a plant and set it on fire" she was saying as she looked at the floor, Pam laughed and Hope was starting to blush.
"Oh don't worry dear we all mess up at the start, when I first started I accidentally broke a boy's arm" Pam said with a laugh.
"Is he okay now?" Hope asked with curiosity
"Well when I was your age healing wasn't what it is today they just put his arm in a cast and said if he was lucky his arm would be usable in three years", "I never was interested in healing like my mom but I wanted to fix my mistake so I studied and practiced for months to focus my healing and one day it just clicked, I got back to him and I was able to heal his arm and this happiness a patient feels when they are treated makes this all worth it" she let out a calm sigh and continued "It was not an easy journey but in just 8 years I was able to reach my peak"
"Eight years?" Hope said in disbelief
"Don't worry your path is way longer than mine my peak is at least four levels lower than you" Pam said with a grin
"It isn't that huge difference right?" Hope inquired hoping her journey wont be in the double digits because that's a very long time
Pam laughed and then said "Oh it way larger than it looks, but don't worry royals don't have a peak at least not one that one knows off" she put her hand on Hope's shoulder "Don't let the long road overwhelm you as long as you are better than yesterday you will be a great princess"
Hope smiled at her and said, "Thanks a lot Pam"
"So is everything alright with her, she stuck her finger into the wand are you sure there wont be any complications" asked Sally
"She will be alright she might have lost her finger if she went deeper and then It will actually a challenge to fix, but this is what pain reflexes are for, it a blessing in disguise", replied Pam
Sally clapped her hands and said "Well we got to go now we cant keep the guests waiting thanks for your help Pam"
Hope looked over to her and said "You should come over it's my birthday you can go change the setting", "No dear being a Healer is big commitment what if someone is in need of assistance and I am not here but I appreciate the gesture, maybe I could arrange my schedule to be there next time, go enjoy yourself".
"Pam the amputee is ready for his second regeneration session" a voice called.
"The what?" exclaimed Hope.
"Oh it's a bit graphic you really don't want to see it, I got to go now send your mother my regards" replied Pam as she ran over to a patient
Sally and Hope went to the door and left.
"You know I was really fine, it was just a scratch" Hope said as she looked up to Sally, "It's kind of rude to just leave the guests hanging I could have just sucked it up-"
Hope tried to continue when Sally muttered under her breath "I won't forgive myself".
"What was that?" asked Hope.
"Nothing, it's just you can never be so sure and no one was stupid enough to stick there finger in the wand I was just making sure but since it wasn't serious we don't need to worry" Sally said with an anxious fake smile, Hope sensed there was something off about her tone but she didn't want to push Sally into an uncomfortable spot so she left it at that
Sally and Hope make it back to the palace and Matilda rushes to her daughter "Oh dear are you ok"
She said as she gave her girl a hug, Everyone was staring and Hope got a bit embarrassed "yeah Mom I am ok" Hope said, Matilda stood up and was about to say something before Hope pre-emptively said, "I know I know it was pretty stupid from me to to do what I did, I know the wand is not a toy and I promise I will be more careful with it" she said while avoiding eye contact
Matilda smiled and said "Well I appreciate that you understand that you messed up but that not what I wanted to say" Hope made eye contact and Matilda continued "As princess and future queen we will have you visit the LOWER RING" Matilda took her daughter's hand "Sure its not the safest or best place in the kingdom but a hermit ruler is a bad ruler"
Hope got extremely excited over this as she always wanted to see the rest of the kingdom the Lower ring, the Outer ring but she was always told no because Sally's word "It's way to dangerous, you are not ready, you aren't old enough" or her mother's word "Is there something there that you cant find at home?, The place isn't very hygienic" but how bad could it be it was still under the rule of the Moonshines. Life in the Upper ring and the palace get boring after a while, why would she wants to stay put there when there a whole world to explore?
"The escorts are waiting for us outside those who want to go with us are welcome to go" Said Matilda looking at the guests with a forced smile almost knowing the reaction. All of them tried to mask there faces of disgust as if Matilda just asked them to bathe in mud or even worse she said that the food at the legendary "façade haut de gamme" was just an overpriced scam. They didn't look very impressed, Matilda coughed and asked "Well?".
One couple went towards the exit and when they got to Matilda the man said "We are truly flattered by your invite my queen but I am afraid we have something important to do" the man paused and scratched his head trying to think of an excuse Hope looked over him and asked
"What's more important to than a trip to see the rest of kingdom its not like we can always get to do it" with an ecstatic smile the woman who was scratching her head stopped as if she got an idea she went over looked to Hope with a stupid fake smile and said
"Well sweetie we forgot to sign up our son for school and registration will be closing today" she turned over to her husband and elbowed him in ribs and asked "Isn't that right honey?"
The man nodded in agreement and they walked out and they led out an audible sigh and when they were just outside of earshot the man told his wife "Moonshines huh? You would think after what happened a decade ago they would get the memo" the woman looked back at the Queen then waved and looked back at her husband and said
"She is weak if this happened to me I will make sure those pigs wish they weren't born".
Following into there footsteps and sensing an opening other guests decided to excuse themselves outside and at this point Matilda stopped resisting she knew some wouldn't want to go but she didn't think that many would go and she looked defeated Hope turned to her and said "Well mom we don't need those nose in the airers it's there loss anyways"
A woman walked up to them "She is right you know in-law" that woman was Hope's paternal aunt Mary, she had short blonde hair and brown eyes wearing a yellow dress for the occasion "The only reason any off these arrogant buffoons came here is societal expectations much like basically everything here" she said while rolling her eyes "and they all dipped the second they had the chance, come on lets go"
As they walked past the doors Sally was standing just outside the door scanning the setting with her eyes, her eyes wandered and locked with Mary "You should relax Sally no need for you to be so tense" she said with a smile she then changed her tone suddenly and said with a frown and a in a low voice that Hope and Matilda couldn't hear "Me and Matilda can protect ourselves and we aren't relying on you and my niece was under my protection since she was six, all you need to do is drive the horses and look menacing" and then she put her hand on her shoulder and smiled and said with an audible voice "So you can feel a lot more at ease dear", Sally tried hid her feeling of guilt with a fake smile "Let's go" said Mary joyfully
Everyone got on the horse driven chariot, just a classical chariot nothing magical about it, it's a very ineffective method of transport but one of the most relaxing ones
"HEEEEEY WAIT FOR ME" yelled a girl from as she was she surfing a purple cloud wearing a long sleeved purple sweater and blue pants as she got closer she tried to slow down by tilting her body backwards but she lost control and started flying at high speeds towards Hope
"EM SLOW DOWN" shouted Hope.
"I CANT BRACE FOR IMPACT" they both closed there eyes with their arms covering there eyes but just before contact she was caught effortlessly by Sally one hand and her cloud in the other she crushed the cloud in her fist into yellow mist that faded away and put the girl on her feet she then crossed her arms and looked down and barked
"Miss Emberlynn Springfield you should know how dangerous using magic without experience is, and you can't just rely on something you can't even responsibly use to make up for your own lack of punctuality"
Ember looked taken aback but she didn't want to look stupid so she snapped back with "I didn't know Hope is celebrating her birthday early in the morning, birthdays are a night activity".
Sally who was crossing her arms now raised her eyebrow and simply replied with,"Lies you were told everyday for the last week not my fault you can't seem to be able to be punctual friend's birthday, do you simply not care?".
Ember now looked embarrassed and now was rolling her finger around her dyed purple hair "M-M-My rooster didn't wake me up" she said with a smile while shrugging her shoulder as if she is asking question and the question was 'will Sally let the lecture go'.
"This doesn't matter now anyways it's that Ems is here" interjected Hope with excitement as she put her arm around Ember's shoulder "We shouldn't be wasting time let's go" she said as she punched her hand up in the sky.
Matilda, Hope, Ember and Mary entered the Chariot while Sally rode one of the two horses moving it while the other was being moved by an over-armoured and visibly nervous man.
"Calm down Edmund its just a short trip by a defined path we will be in an out in an hour or two" commanded Sally looking at Edmund clearly getting tired of his lack of confidence.
"I am trying but its such a big deal, escorting not one not two but three royals into the lower ring, I am not sure if I can do this, If I mess up-- I am too young for the consequences" he said clearly on the edge of panic
Sally slapped her hands on his cheeks "Edmund calm down you can do this I know you can" she said, Edmund seemed to calm down a bit "The whole path is being heavily guarded you and me are the last line of an extremely deep wall of defences we are most likely just going to be there for company" she looked back at the cart and said "and besides it's not like the royals can't protect themselves, they are much stronger than us after all"
"That's what they said about fre-" Edmund mumbled before putting his hand on his mouth mid sentence, Sally expression changed to that of anger.
"What did you just say?" she barked.
Edmund realising his mess up and started shaking "Um- I was talking about ---- the nice weather we are having" he said trying to pretend that this wasn't the stupidest attempt at backtracking, before Sally was going to give him a piece of her mind Mary stuck her head out and said in annoyed tone
"Hey I am not getting any younger here", Sally and Edmund looked forwards and shook the horse reins and they got moving forward
As they got to the edges of the Upper ring they reached translucent yellow barrier "We are reaching the barrier you might feel a tickle" proclaimed Sally.
As the horse crossed the barrier the barrier walls phased through the cart and it phased through Mary and Matilda there shoulder emblems glowed a four pointed star and a diamond respectfully in a yellow hue when it got to Hope and Ember the cart got to a sudden halt and they were thrown forwards Hope fell on her mother while Ember face was slapped into the barrier which was at this point halfway through the cart.
Sally opened the door "Everyone ok" she took one look at Ember and let out an annoyed sigh she dragged her hand out of the cart and asked while trying to hide her frustration "Show me your emblem"
Ember scoffed and tried to tuck back her long sleeves but she couldn't get back enough and said while crossing her arms "I can't and I am not removing my shirt".
Sally wasn't having any of it and from tip of her index made a sharp grey magic beam, she flattened Ember's sleeve and made a small cut in her right shoulder showing a yellow star rotated slightly to the left, after the cut yellow gas evaporated from it "And this is why emblems aren't covered it's common knowledge Springfield" said Sally annoyed.
"My favourite shirt! This was very unnecessary" whined Ember and before she could say anything Sally went back to her horse leaving her alone she scoffed and went back to the cart and sat next to Hope crossing her arms.
"You okay there", asked Hope concerned.
"Yeah I am fine just another lecture", said ember looking at the windows
As Hope looked out the window the lower ring didn't seem so different from home, people dressed and walked smartly roads were clean but something was off she couldn't help but notice everyone wore long sleeves even though it was a summer and it's not proper etiquette and that's something else it was surprisingly hot, She took her head out through the windows "Hello stranger" she greeted a man walking nearby he took one solid look at her and looked towards her mother and Sally who was frowning and her hands free with her emblem glowing, he didn't say anything and turned back and proceeded to speed walk away in a few seconds he ditched the subtlety and ran away, Hope was pretty disappointed and got her head into the cart
"What did I do wrong?", Hope asked.
"Girl it's either because you were too friendly it felt fake" said Ember, Hope looked down "Or they were made to feel unwelcome by misses buzzkill in the driving seat" she remarked
A loud sound of crashing wooden boxes was heard and cart went to a halt
"What was that" commented Mary
"Something that isn't boring" Hope said with excitement before leaving the cart.
"Make sure all of them stay put in the cart I will be gone for a short while" said Sally to Edmund before running to the source of the sound Hope tried to follow her but was body blocked by Edmund with his arms crossed
"Sorry I can't let you go princess, Superior's orders", he glanced to the left of him to seeing Ember touching a fancy table Infront of a café just for it to poof into a yellow cloud,
"Ow splinters" she cried, the yellow cloud fizzled reveal a wooden table barely clinging to its shape with a bunch of makeshift wooden fixes that don't even match in colour
Edmund looked like he just saw a ghost and ran towards Ember who was now transforming outdoor expensive furniture into splinter traps
"Stop touching it" said Edmund before shooting out a grey magical hands towards her subduing her, "What's your deal" he scolded annoyed.
"No what's this place deal why is everything here so fake?" snapped Ember "You hearing this Hope this place is fa-" she then stopped and asked "Aye were is Hope?"
Edmund let her go and pulled on his hair "Oh no no no no no no no" he cried
"Is everything alright where is my daughter?" asked Matilda concerned, Edmund didn't know what to say but before he could make up an explanation Mary interjected
"Oh don't worry Mati she will be ok she is probably with Sally and besides she still has this necklace I gave her so I am sure she will be just fine" Mary said with her hand on Matilda's shoulder "and we can go have some tea and chit-chat while we wait I heard that Gilbert's tea shop has actually potable tea" she suggested Matilda sighed and decided to go with what Mary said and walked towards the shop. "What about me?" asked Ember, Edmund turned towards her with anger and barked "You are staying right here!".
"Sally where are you?" called Hope as she was walking she saw a little girl wearing a cute pink dress and smooth brown hair walking alone Infront of her, she approached her and asked
"Hey do you happen to see a tall lady around here?" she tapped on her shoulder to get her attention and suddenly a cloud of yellow gas evaporated out of her Hope and the little girl coughed and as the smoke cleared the little girl was wearing a poorly knit patchwork of randoms scraps of fabric and her hair was covered in dirt she had a brown circle on the side of her shoulder, Hope froze in shock "I- I am so sorry, it was an accident" she apologised "I can go get you a new dress or--" the girl just looked at Hope her eyes glanced her wand which was in her right hand as well as her royal emblem and then she started hyperventilating and burst into tears.
Hope got on to her knees and she gently put her hands on the girl's shoulder "Calm down calm down, it's alright, It's not your fault but mine"
"P-P-pwease do-don hu-hur meeee" the girl sobbed.
"What hurt you? no no no no" Hope explained trying to figure out from where the girl got the idea
Hope hugged the girl "Here calm down see I am friendly" she soothed, the girl seemed to calm down a bit and she started sniffing
She let her go and asked "So what's your name?"
"R-R-Rosie" replied Rosie.
"Ok Rosie I am so sorry for ruining your dress, do you remember were you got it from?" she asked
"Ms Bea had guys gib it to us" Rosie said
"Misses Bea huh" she wondered out loud "Well can you tell me were misses Bea is"
"Sowwy I can't tell you misses moonnnn" Rosie was saying before she looked she wanted to cry again
"Please don't cry" Hope pleaded "You don't need to tell me where you live just wait" Hope passed her wand to her left hand and put her now free hand to her pocket and pulled out a purple wallet and she pulled out a golden note with 50 written on it she passed the note to Rosie and said "Here give this to misses Bea and tell her I am so sorry for destroying your dress also" Rosie grabbed the note and stared at it, Hope pulled some wrapped candy she got from the party "Her have some candy too" the girl put her the note in her pocket and grabbed the wrapped candy she struggled with it a bit and she then passed it back
"Open it please" Rosie asked
"Oh you can't? it's quite simple here" Hope said she gently tapped the candy her emblem glowed for a moment and the wrapping fizzed out.
Rosie put the candy in her mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed it, she then gave Hope a hug, she let go after a moment "Thank you miss, Ms Bea says Moosines are scawy but aren't scawy"
"Scary why would we be scary" Hope asked in disbelief with a smile
Rosie looked around and said "I am sowwy I need to go" she turned back and ran away and took a turn and was just out of sight.
"You couldn't just stop causing trouble for one day? what did we pay you for?" Hope heard Sally barking.
The sound of Sally's voice came from an alleyway, as Hope entered the alley the clean white paint started fading into rotting maroon bricks and the smell became foul coming from the open dumpster "Ewwwww" Hope said as she lowered the lid to try and lessen the stench
"Hey you know it's rude to close the lid on someone trying to fetch themselves a meal" a bald man barked as he popped out like a jack in the box he had a white beard wearing over shoulder strapped brown pants with a black plastic bag for a shirt and a metal can of beans for a hat and his left eye with a grey iris spinning his shoulder emblem only consisted of a simple brown circle, Hope screamed and ran away "Oh beans was that a Moonshine?" the man asked himself "Well I probably should skip town" he said to himself with a goofy smile while snapping his fingers.
Hope stopped running and started panting "Now you are lucky I am not here in head bashing duty or I would have sent you to a one way trip to the Outer ring and the monsters there could deal with you" Hope heard Sally scolding, she walked to the end of the alleyway the place beyond it was extremely different people clothes were worn out in which the holes were covered up by half baked sewn rotting fabric the road didn't exist it was simply a dirt undefined path and walls were all made of rotting bricks same as that of the alley, windows were broken and the stench of garbage filled the air, Hope saw Sally tying up a bunch of muscular men with a magic rope.
Sally glanced over and saw Hope "Princess what are you doing here?" she asked with dismay the rope holding the gangsters vanished they got up and shook of the dust and looked up and saw Hope and they all ran away in terror "Moonshine here run awway". All of a sudden all the people went indoors and the windows were sealed shut with wood and hammered with nails and just like that the place looked like a ghost town.

I have a Tank Must Large Steel w/ Steel and Aligator. This is my 2nd luxury watch purchase. Cannot make up my mind….
Ronde Must de Cartier, 40 mm, mechanical automatic winding. Steel case and strap with an interchangeability system. $5,050 LOVE THE SIZE, CASUAL LOOK, BUT DO PEOPLE REALLY BUY A ROUND CARTIER? WENT IN TO BUY W/ CONFIDENCE, THEN SAW THE NEXT WATCH AND WAS STUNNED…
Santos-Dumont, large model 43.5mm, quartz movement. Steel case, 18K yellow gold bezel, gray dial, gray alligator strap, steel buckle. $6,050 NEVER LIKED THE SANTOS BUT I SAW THIS AND IT CHANGED MY MIND. BEAUTIFUL BUT A DRESS WATCH. LOVE YELLOW GOLD VS ROSE BUT QUARTZ?
Santos-Dumont, large 43.5mm, high autonomy quartz (~ 6 years). Steel case, silver dial. Strap in navy blue alligator, steel buckle. $4,200 NOW THAT I AM CONSIDERING SANTOS DO I SAVE AND GO WITH STEEL SINCE IT’S QUARTZ AND KEEP IT VERSATILE?
Santos-Dumont, extra-large 46.6mm, mechanical movement, manual winding. Steel case, silver dial. Navy blue alligator leather strap, steel buckle. $6,250 OR DO I GO FOR THIS XL MECHANICAL?