Trying to navigate and understand all these post partum feelings 😩
FTM, baby girl is 6 weeks today. i had a very easy pregnancy, labor and delivery went great and no issues with pp healing, i’m very lucky and grateful. however mentally pp has been a challenge.
i knew it would be a roller coaster going into it and i deff had some strong baby blues the first couple weeks. i’ve never had like strong maternal instincts so learning how to be a mom has been its own journey of course. i found myself like mourning my old life of being able to do whatever, whenever.
the blues went away though and things started feeling better. i decided to go back to work around 5 wks out of my own choice. i work for myself and am only doing very part time, but it’s been good for me to get out of the house and have my own thing going a couple days a week and i don’t regret it by any means. but it’s kind of opened a new wave of post partum blues almost?
like kind of going back to normal pre baby things, while being a very different version of myself, has been kinda confusing. i’m learning that while i feel more ‘myself’ now than i did being pregnant (i hated being pregnant, was very uncomfortable for me), it’s still very foreign. im very foreign. like i’m still learning who i am as this new person (a mother lol) and still growing into this new role. i don’t recognize myself in the mirror, i don’t feel a ton of confidence in myself. it’s just strange.
and i know it’s just the season of life i’m in, i know things get better over time. sometimes i think it’s harder on me bc this baby was an accident and i deff wasn’t fully ready for all of this. i love my girl so much and love that she’s here, but it’s been a huge adjustment.
i don’t feel like i have PPD or PPA, which surprises me a bit bc ive struggled with some depression and anxiety in my past. like being past the baby blues, i feel like ive had a good handle on things for the most part. but i just feel very confused and a bit sad trying to get to know myself again. i miss feeling like, confident and happy with who i am??
idk if this makes sense lol i think they call it ‘losing your pink’ or ‘getting your pink back’ ? i miss my pink 😔

What’s going on fellow Knicks fam. I’m looking to buy a jersey but not sure who to get. Brunson, Hart, or Donte. Pretty skeptical for the reason I would hate to get one and then whoever I get leaves. Almost every one of my football jerseys of that current player at that time left. Will the Knicks break up the Nova squad? In other words, if I get any of those 3, would it be a safe? I could always go the Carmelo or Stoudemire route. I truly don’t know. I don’t want my first NBA jersey to be a waste. Any thoughts and opinions will be appreciated. Thanks 🤙🏼

Hey beautiful people,
well how to start off? I'm currently gaming, smoking some tasty hookah and writing this stuff down on my pc. Pretty rainy weather here in Germany.
I'm not looking for anything in special, just let’s see what happens, if we click well. Let’s just see where the journey will go.
You're tired of getting ghosted after just one day talking? Yeah?Well me too. You want to rant and vent about your day? Go for it. You need someone to tell the newest gossip? Damn, I'm your man! You want to talk to someone, who is really interested in your well-being? Finally hit the "message-button"!
Well, I'd say about myself I'm pretty empathetic guy with a good sense of humor and sarcasm (I guess no one who's actually funny, would write this down lol. You should find it out by yourself.)
I can be pretty smart but hella dumb in the same breath. Does that even make sense?
I'm 5'11 tall, am pretty fashionable I guess and rocking a man bun. I'm more of a stocky guy tbh.
My hobbies are pretty boring, I like video games a lot, I enjoy baking and try myself more into cooking! Of course I like to hang out with my friends as well.
I'd say about myself that I'm more into chubby/curvy women, but that doesn't matter if you're not dry in responses. I appreciate any type of women. All of you are beautiful, just the way you are. Keep that always in mind!
You shouldn't be dry in responses, be open-minded and up for someone who can talk very, very much! Even more as I'm on staycation the following week lol.
Do you appreciate my effort and you are ready for a journey? Show me and leave a message with a bit about yourself!

I am not saying looks are the only thing that matter. But it annoys me so much. It makes me hate society.
Why? Why does it matter? Like it’s not fair when somebody who is a super kind, but is more unattractive is going to be treated worse than another person, who is just as kind as the other, but is more attractive, gets treated way better. It’s so annoying. Like in a discussion, everybody listens if the attractive kind guy says something, but if the unattractive kind guy has to say something, everybody ignores him at first, until after like 3 tries it. Works sorta.
An attractive woman gets a free drink, a less attractive woman does not? Like WTF? Does the bartender really think he’ll achieve something from giving the pretty woman a free drink? If I were the bartender, I would charge both, idc. I need my money.
I am not attractive (as in super ugly, especially on the face). Obviously it’s pointless but I am I know my weaknesses and will work on things over time. But even when I see other people who are even more unfortunate than me, and see them deal with how they are treated, it makes me so mad.
Even when it comes to male height in dating. I am 6’0, and when I see some friends of mine get rejected because of their height, 5’8 or what not, it just pisses me off, and makes me feel bad for them.
Like I understand that having a good personality is important, but it’s so stupid because most times (in this generation) you first gotta look good to be able to get to the “oh now I can see if your personality is good or not”
I know there are cases where actual relationships get built from literally getting to know each other through friends first, but this is way more rare.
Whatever. This is a rant. But 🖕F you society.

My parents have spent this year convincing me that as long as a man is good to you, on his deen, and can provide then you can make it work. But apart of me doesn’t want to, I want to feel that gittery excited feeling knowing he’s coming to visit, wondering what kind of conversation we’ll get into during the visit, fantasizing and thinking of him when I see the slightest thing that may remind me of him.
I am conflicted between choosing the good guy that’ll provide, be patient and care for me despite me not having those feelings towards him. There’s nothing wrong with him, my mind just doesn’t seem to want to accept him as my future husband so I’ve thought over every issue and put up every barrier. I continue to long for that spark, that excitement and chemistry you see in movies and books or hell even simply with your first crush.
I am afraid though, I hear and see stories of girls who longed for love so they never got married, then I see girls who accepted whomever and live a life without much contentedness with their husband so they instead seek it through their children or their lifestyles and seem to just put on a show. But then you see the girls who were blinded with that love and spark, yet had to face the test of their spouses not being who they should of chosen, living with the regret of not going for the guys they maybe didn’t grow to love but knew they checked off the necessary boxes.
Maybe I am too delusional or still too immature for marriage, I don’t know.

Why don’t you guys have 30 year fixed mortgages, like we do? We locked in at 2% for 30 years. Almost purchased a tiny condo in Victoria BC, but ended up purchasing a big house in Seattle and a 30 year mortgage. My brother in law’s friend who lives in West Vancouver just resigned his mortgage and added an extra $2,000 to his monthly mortgage. Almost seems criminal. Oh well, just one more thing the States does way better. Almost lost count at this point.. Come on Canada, a 5 year mortgage??? 🤦‍♂️

I’ll preface this by saying that I am not some amazing player that got to master rank or anything. I got to Platinum 1 in my first week of playing(not super high, but I was proud of my progress), and made a ton of mistakes that cost me time, a lot of losses, and real money to fix. I’m writing this to show some other new players what I learned from this experience.
Probably the most important thing I learned was only to surrender if you’re getting frustrated beyond annoyance. If you’re super competitive, like I am, and you find yourself getting upset by a match to the point that it’s causing you to get mad, it’s worth just surrendering. But, other than that, you shouldn’t surrender. It’s crazy how many times i’ve won a game with an absolutely terrible opening hand, just because I used ash blossom on the opponent’s first card, and they just quit. Even if you play it out and lose, you will definitely learn something about the limitations of your deck, or how another deck functions from it. So, try not to surrender.
Speaking of Ash Blossom, craft and use all the staples that you see in most decks.
Next is to do some research on decks before you dump crafting materials, gems, or real money into a deck. Especially if you go into the game, like I did, and end up immediately crafting vehicroids or a toon deck, only to get bent over 40 times in a row by the Snake Eye special. If you like a particular archetype then, by all means, go for it. But if you want to be competitive, at least find a deck that is “rogue” and watch people play it.
Now that you’ve found your deck, watch YouTube videos from good players. I learned so much about my ExoSister deck from watching better players on YouTube. Sometimes you can find guides, but a lot of the videos are just them playing with no commentary. You learn a lot about interactions and when or when not to use certain effects.
Play through the solo mode with the loaner decks. You learn a bit about the different summoning mechanics. That’s what I got from it. Then play through it with your deck. You get a lot of gems to expand on your deck or build a second one. You also learn a lot about the limits of your deck, in an environment where you won’t get punished too hard by the bot. I learned a lot about my deck by doing this.
The next thing I did, that not only made me a better player, win more games, and teach me more, was to integrate a seperate engine into my deck. I found that people play ExoSisters with Dinomorphia, and I worked that in. I played in casuals and learned when to summon what, and what did and didn’t jive together. This made me think more about the plays I was making, while also giving me another weapon when you come across an opponent who is using a deck that completely counters yours. I noticed that a lot of decks do this.
Lastly, I learned that, for me, the best way to play this game is to have 2 decks. One for ranked that’s decently viable, at least. Then to have a casual deck that’s just for fun. People test things or try new things in casuals so you can afford to play your toon deck, or whatever and 9/10 games you won’t summon toon dark magician girl, then wait 10 minutes for your opponent to perform 745 actions, ending on Utopia 9/11: CIA inside job dragon, that burns you for the amount of degrees Fahrenheit it would take to melt steel beams.
Bettemore experienced players, feel free to drop other tips in the comments. These are all just things I wish I had known from the start that I learned the hard way. I spent about $150 on gems after the first few days, because I made mistake after mistake on what I crafted, deconstructed, and making decks that just weren’t good. I hope people can at least learn to make a decent deck with the free gems, instead of doing what I did.

I’m a junior, and there’s a girl who’s in half of my classes who I’ve started to have a huge crush on. She was always around, but one random day 2 weeks ago I heard her speaking with another classmate. That’s when I realized how well spoken and soft she is. How dedicated she is to studying, and especially how mysterious she is. Her eyes are so soft and cute, and I catch her looking sometimes. I try to smile and make eye contact when I can. I’ve talked to her maybe once or twice only, and it’s almost the end of the year. I don’t want to waste more time. We have different social groups, she’s more on the nerdy side (which makes her 100x cuter). Even tho she looks at me sometimes I feel like she doesn’t like me because I am incredibly loud and always goofing off in every class I have with her as I am with my own friend group. But in every class either she sits behind me or I sit behind her. I love watching her write her tests. This made me notice how soft her hands are. I am absolutely obsessed with her and I don’t know what to do.

I was dating a girl i matched with on bumble for about 2 months and she recently told me that she was having hookups while we were dating to take things slower between us and test compatibility without sex being involved. We haven’t had sex yet. She said she’s had a history of falling into a relationship due to the sex and not the other qualities that would make a relationship work.
I personally haven’t experienced someone using a strategy like this one before and i’m conflicted about that rationale. Is this a common strategy? have you had an experience like this one? and would you still date someone who was sleeping with others while in that process?

Hey all, from recommendation from my little sister, I have come to Reddit to seek help.
So I have this friend, well, it’s complicated for me right now. We’ve known eachother since we were both 4 years old, and have been friends for 20 years now. He’s been one of my greatest friends forever up until our senior year of high school where he started spread false rumors about me, and when proven that they were fake, he apologized. Now this was pretty serious rumors that I had done sexually abusive things, so I was pretty mad, but I eventually did forgive him for what he told everyone behind my back. Come now five years later, we go on a vacation with my other best friend and his fiancé. He offered to drive me and my fiancé and we agreed, since we were on the way. Now, he has a girlfriend who is also married to someone else (yeah it’s super complicated) and while I don’t think the relationship is the healthiest, I supported him. She was going through some personal stuff and really wanted him to come back to console her. He then asks me, since we are his ride, if we can leave early. Now he asks while we are all out and about on vacation so I say “sure” mostly because it catches me off guard, but after talking with my fiancé, we decide to pull him aside and talk about how we want to stay, as my other best friend lives across the country and we only see eachother once a year. He then poses an ultimatum to us that we HAVE to leave early or he’s leaving us there. Needless to say, I began sobbing and my fiancé stuck up for me and brought me to confront him in front of the others. He was very adamant on sticking to his ultimatum, and I go into the hall sobbing. Mind you this is 10 minutes before a big dinner reservation we had planned out. I eventually muster up enough strength to get ready for dinner, and we have to ride in the same car as the friend who wants to leave me. It doesn’t take long before my fiancé screams at the friend telling him how badly he’s treating me and how if he hurts me, he hurts him too (love my fiancé to death for sticking up for me so much) and he finally realizes he’s not fully in the right so he apologizes, but still asks that we leave earlier than everyone else. Feeling defeated, I agree. Now, I told him I forgave him, but I’m not really sure if I do or I did? I feel he put his girlfriend(?) way ahead of me when we’ve been best friends for 20 years and he knew her for 6 months to a year. The whole situation felt fucked to me, so I haven’t spoken to him much since. I’m cordial interacting, but he has hardly reached out to me two months later, and I question if I’m even a priority in his life when I had seen him so highly before.
Today at work, I get a call from somewhere he wants to apply to. I immediately hang up because I’m unsure what to do. They left a voicemail, asking about him because I was listed as a recommendation. I feel so lost right now, because on the one hand, I still don’t think he sees why exactly what he did was so wrong to me or saw how hurt he’s made me, and I’ve already been betrayed twice by him, I don’t know if I want to give it another chance and I don’t know if I have it in me to help with the recommendation if I feel so dishonest, but I also don’t want to screw him out of a job just because I feel a certain way when he has in the past done some really great things for me and I share a lot of great times with him.
So Reddit, should I follow through with the interview recommendation or ignore it?

Howdy. I am officer M (only M, privacy reasons, could lose my job if I was exposed). I’ve been investigating these three cases for the past few years, and I wanted to see if anyone had any clue how to solve them.
I normally wouldn’t go to places like Reddit for this, but I’m desperate. Everyone else I’ve tried has said that this is some kind of webseries project thing. It isn’t.
I’m gonna show you the transcriptions of three sets of video tapes. The first set is from James Barlowe, the second from Daren Redd, and the third from Nick Robin.
Well, I’d better get on with it.
[- - -]
There’s only one tape in this section. It begins with a man in a priest’s uniform (identified as James Barlowe) in the driver’s seat of a car. The person holding the camera is in the passenger’s side.
CAMERAMAN (LATER IDENTIFIED AS NICK ROBIN): “So! What’re we doing, James?”
JAMES: “Oh, uhm, we’re going to a haunted house to perform an exorcism.”
NICK: “Hell yeah we are!”
Nick turns the camera towards his face.
NICK: “Someone tipped us off on a haunted house recently, so we’re gonna go check it out. And James is gonna use his cool priest powers or whatever to get rid of the ghosts! Right James?”
The camera pans to James.
JAMES: “Ah- Yeah.”
The camera turns back to Nick.
NICK: “Now, I’m not gonna be in this one too much, since James is gonna be doing his stuff on his own.”
JAMES: “Wait what?”
The tape cuts off here, and picks back up with James holding the camera. He’s in front of a run-down, abandoned house. He seems nervous, fidgeting with the stole around his neck.
JAMES: “Okay, so, uhm. I am Father Barlowe, and, uhm..I kind of thought Nick was gonna be here. He- He told me he was gonna be here. I dunno. Uhm. Today I’m going to exorcise this ghost. I, uh, don’t know if I’m allowed to do that anymore. But I know how.”
James turns the camera around, and starts to walk into the house. The front door opens into a hallway, which leads to a living room. The camera shakes as James fumbles with his pockets, then brings out a cross. He holds it out in front of him.
JAMES: “Uhm, if there are any ghosts here, show yourself.”
Nothing happens. James mutters something about editing. He waves the cross around dramatically.
JAMES: “Ghost, or demon, or whatever you are, please come and-”
A loud bang comes from somewhere within the house. James seems to flinch. He can be heard heavily breathing as he turns the camera towards the sound.
JAMES: “Uhm..Okay. That’s okay. I’ve got a cross. I’m okay.”
James begins to walk down the hall, where the sound was heard. The camera is shaking, and James is holding out his cross.
JAMES: “Okay, uhm- I think..I think the ghost is in there.”
James points to the doorway at the end of the corridor, then advances towards it. He walks through, and into what appears to be a study. There is a desk and chair in the corner. The chair has a pitch-black figure in it.
JAMES: “Oh god, okay, uhm- Okay. Okay. Uhm. Uh- Demon!”
The figure turns to face James. He holds out his cross with a trembling hand.
JAMES: “Foul creature, begone from this home-”
The figure stands up and begins to walk towards James. The camera is dropped.
JAMES: “Oh God, oh God!”
James can be heard running away.
[- - -]
This first tape is very intriguing to me. The figure has not been identified. At least, not as anyone in the town.
I interviewed both Nick Robin and James Barlowe (they had not gone missing after this video. quite the contrary, in fact. James Barlowe is the one that brought the video to police), and they revealed that most of the content in their videos was fake.
They said that the events of the video were not planned.
[- - -]
The camera appears to be moved around a bit, before setting up to show a man in a red hoodie (identified as Daren Redd) sitting in an office chair. It can be assumed that he’s at his desk. He smiles at the camera.
DAREN: “Uh- Hi. This feels weird, haha. I don’t think I should introduce myself? I don’t know. No one but me’s gonna see this anyways. Unless I make, like, a giant scientific discovery. Or break a world record.”
Daren fidgets with the strings of his hoodie, twirling one between his fingers.
DAREN: “So. My sleep schedule sucks. I’ve been trying to fix it for weeks now, it isn’t working. I’ve decided, fuck it, I’m just gonna roll with it. So! I’m gonna try and stay up for 12 days straight.”
Daren grabs the camera, and shows a calendar up on the wall. The month and year are cut off. Two days are circled (Tuesday, then the next Saturday).
DAREN: “I’ve got a calendar here so that I can figure out how long I’ve been up. If I do more physical stuff, maybe I’ll stay up longer! Haha.”
The camera pans back to Daren.
DAREN: “I’ve got my room-mate watching over me. He’s actually in here right now- Say hi, Nick!”
(PRESUMABLY) NICK, IN THE BACKGROUND: “Hey.”
DAREN: “I rested up real good to prepare for this, so I’m hoping that my plan works. So, uh..Yeah. D-Man out.”
The next tape starts out with Daren holding the camera up to Nick Robin.
DAREN: “Niiiiiiiick.”
NICK: “Why are you recording me?”
DAREN: “Nick how long have I been awake?”
NICK: “Since yesterday, I think.”
Daren flips the camera around to face him. He has a large grin on his face.
DAREN: “That’s right, baby! D-Man has been awake for one whole day! Well- Two? One? Since Tuesday. It’s, uh, Wednesday.”
Daren shows the calendar to the camera. Tuesday is crossed off.
DAREN: “So far, nothing weird has happened yet. I’m tired, but I’ve been drinking a ton of Monster.”
The camera pans to a trash can, with several cans of Monster in it.
DAREN: “So! I should be able to stay up as long as I need. World record, here I come!”
The third tape begins with Daren dragging a trash bag outside.
DAREN: “Ok so I forgot to record a tape today, and I know that if I don’t do it now I’m gonna forget again. But, uhm, I’ve been up for..Uh..I dunno. Time is a concept, anyways. It’s Thursday now, though!”
Daren heaves the trash bag into a can. He walks back inside, and sighs with relief as he enters.
DAREN: “Whew, I love air conditioning.”
NICK (IN THE BACKGROUND): “Dude- Why don’t you take your hoodie off?”
DAREN: “Ah, y’know.”
NICK: “I really don’t.”
DAREN: “See, you get it!”
Daren chuckles and brings the camera into his room. He sets it down on his desk, and sits down in the office chair. He has bags under his eyes, and his hair looks messier than usual.
DAREN: “So. Recently, I’ve been tired. Like, horridly tired. To the point where even sitting down is a..” Yawn. “Risky move for me. But, working from home is keeping me on my toes. Who knew that writing reports could be so exhilerating!”
He looks over his shoulder for a moment, before turning back to the camera. His eyes appear wide and frightened, but he’s still smiling.
DAREN: “Uh, pro tip, maybe don’t try this stuff! I’m stupid enough to try and get a world record, but you, uh, shouldn’t be. Anyways, uhm, D-Man out.”
The fourth tape shows Daren in the hospital, sitting next to Nick, who is in a bed with an IV in his arm. Daren’s eye bags have gotten worse.
DAREN: “Hey, uhm. I don’t know if I’m supposed to record in here. I had to drive Nick to the hospital- He had a dairy allergy thing.”
NICK: “I said he could record in here, don’t worry.”
DAREN: “Yea, he- He said I could record this. I think I’m gonna stay the night here- People do that at hospitals, right? But, uh, they don’t need a bed for me. Because I’m not sleeping! I’m just gonna, uh, play on my phone for the night.”
Daren looks over his shoulder, before turning back to the camera.
DAREN: “Well! It’s Friday now. Been, uh, four days, I think? Yeah. I’ve been awake for four whole days! Well, uhm, this is more filler than anything. Nothing to note. D-Man out.”
The fifth tape is corrupted. Nothing is salvageable.
The sixth tape begins with Daren sitting at his desk. He looks tired beyond comprehension. His knee is bouncing, and he’s tapping his fingers on the table.
DAREN: “Uh, day..Six. I think. It’s Sunday now. The Lord’s day, ha-ha! I’m- I’m not religious. But, uhm, I know one of Nick’s friends is. James something. Maybe I should call that guy. I-”
Daren cuts himself off by looking over his shoulder. He looks back. His eyes are wild and terrified.
DAREN: “I think this was a bad idea. A horrible idea. I- I tried to sleep yesterday. But I couldn’t. I can’t- I can’t close my eyes for too long. Uhm..Nick has been in the hospital since Friday. He’s- He should be back by now. His visits never take this long.”
Daren chuckles. His voice sounds nervous.
DAREN: “He should be back soon, though, right? Right. He’s just taking a bit longer than usual. Uhm, Darry out.”
The seventh tape shows Daren sitting under his desk. He sets up the camera and brings his knees to his chest.
DAREN: “Nick came back today. He, uhm. He’s acting different. I was- I was talking to him, and he, uhm. He forgot he had a dairy allergy. He just..Forgot. I reminded him and he went- He went, oh, yeah. Like he didn’t go to the hospital for it a couple days ago.”
Daren appears to be trembling. He pulls his hood over his head.
DAREN: “..Been awake for seven days, ha-ha. So close! Just, uhm..Five? Four? Something around that. That many days left. I don’t- I don’t wanna do this. But I think I have to. I think it’ll leave me alone if I..”
Daren looks up at something offscreen, and screams.
[- - -]
Daren Redd went missing after this video. I’ve been looking for him for years. I’m trying to stay professional here, but I really don’t know what’s going on. I still sometimes try to figure out what he was looking at in the last tape. But there’s no reflection in his eyes- No shadows anywhere. Nothing. Could he be hallucinating?
I don’t think he is. I think he’s seeing things, sure, but they’re real. They have to be real.
[- - -]
This last section begins with Nick Robin in a car. He’s driving this time, with the camera on the dashboard. James is in the passenger seat. There’s camping gear and a few bags in the back seats.
NICK: “Hey! Welcome back to the PDC (later identified as Paranormal Discovery Channel, the youtube account that both Nick Robin and James Barlowe share), today we’re gonna be exploring a whole abandoned town! It’s called, uh..What was it called again?”
JAMES: “Sasbol heights.”
NICK: “Right, right. Sasbol heights or whatever. Anyways! It’s gonna be cool. Oh- There it is! Dude dude dude- Look!”
The camera points to a charred-looking town. Maybe burnt down?
NICK: “We’re gonna get settled, then get back to all of you. I’ll see y’all soon!”
The next tape begins with Nick sitting in a tent.
NICK: “So! It’s been, like, a day. The first night was pretty underwhelming- Just some creepy old town with bugs and stuff. Nothing too special. Just a bigger version of a haunted house.”
Nick looks off screen- Presumably at James. Nick chuckles.
NICK: “James is sleeping right now. Apparently he’s been having nightmares? That’s, uh, pretty normal for him, though. Oh! Today I started setting up the ghost hunting stuff. Unpacking, putting up cameras, all that jazz.”
There’s shuffling from behind the camera. Nick smiles at (assumedly) James, and winks at the camera.
The third tape starts with Nick and James going into one of the abandoned houses. Nick seems much more enthusiastic than James.
JAMES: “We’re gonna put a voice-over on this, right?”
NICK: “Yea, yea. Something something, abandoned house, something something.”
JAMES: “Good, good, uhm..Nick, man, you know I like doing this and all..But I don’t think I like this episode. It’s like- It feels wrong, y’know?”
NICK: “Mm..You’re right, you’re right. But hey! Think of the money we’ll get from this. Our reactions are gonna be authentic and shit. Plus, we’ve only got a day left.”
Nick pats James’ back, and James smiles.
JAMES: “Right. You’re right.”
The fourth tape is corrupted.
The fifth tape doesn’t include James or Nick’s face, but we can assume who is talking.
NICK: “Listen, man, it- It just got corrupted. It’s fine, right? It’s cool. We can redo it-”
JAMES: “I’m fucking serious, Nick! This isn’t normal! None of the shit we saw yesterday was planned!”
NICK: “I know, I know, but come on man! I need this money!”
JAMES: “Money isn’t worth it, at this point. Please, God, let’s just leave.”
NICK: “If you wanna leave, just go! I can do the video without you.”
JAMES: “I’m not just leaving you with these demons!”
Both Nick and James are quiet for a while. Nick silently walks back to the tent, bringing the camera with him.
The sixth tape is shot from within Nick’s car. Nick is driving, the camera is on the dashboard. He seems terrified.
NICK: “I’m not publishing this. I’m keeping this for myself, and- I don’t know! The police, probably! Jesus Christ- I’m fucking speeding. Are there even road laws here?”
Nick looks at his gas tank, seeing the needle nearing the E. He begins to tear up.
NICK: “Fuck- Uhm. What happened. James tried to kill me, and- And I don’t think he’s James anymore. I really don’t. He’s- He’s not that guy I went to high school with. There’s actually no way.”
He looks at the camera briefly, doing a quick double take.
NICK: “What- No. No. No- Goddammit! Leave me alone!”
The car swerves, and the camera topples over.
[- - -]
I’ve been thinking about these cases since I found them. The actual police department doesn’t know about them- And I haven’t told my superior about them. These tapes just kind of appeared at my doorstep one day, along with a camera.
I looked at the camera’s film, and found three images.
The first one is a picture from the first set of tapes. It seems edited, though. James has a halo.
The second one is from the second set. It shows an image of Daren, with some kind of pitch-black figure behind him.
The third one is, supposedly, from the third set. Though nothing like it is seen anywhere in the tapes. It’s an image taken from the driver’s seat of Nick’s car, showing the camera from the video on the dashboard. On the screen of the camera is Nick. The image is edited to show a car tire over Nick’s face.
If anyone knows anything about James Barlowe, Daren Redd, or Nick Robin, please tell me at [xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]@gmail.com.

I think The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is Taylor’s version of You’re So Vain which she has said is her favorite song and Carly Simon got so much buzz because she wouldn’t say who it’s about but now she’s said it is about Warren Beatty and two unnamed other people. It was declassified after about 50 years.
WB William Bowery will it be declassified that Matty is William Bowery?
Son of a gun You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht Your hat strategically dipped below one eye Your scarf it was apricot You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner They'd be your partner and You're so vain You probably think this song is about you You're so vain (you're so vain) I bet you think this song is about you Don't you, don't you? You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive Well you said that we made such a pretty pair and that you would never leave But you gave away the things you loved And one of them was me I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee and You're so vain You probably think this song is about you You're so vain, you're so vain I bet you think this song is about you Don't you don't you, don't you? I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee and You're so vain You probably think this song is about you You're so vain (you're so vain) I bet you think this song is about you Don't you don't you Well I hear you went up to Saratoga And your horse naturally won Then you flew your lear jet up to Nova Scotia To see the total eclipse of the sun Well you're where you should be all the time And when you're not, you're with some underworld spy Or the wife of a close friend, wife of a close friend and You're so vain You probably think this song is about you You're so vain (so vain) I bet you think this song is about you Don't you don't you, don't you, don't you now You're so vain You probably think this song is about you You're so vain Probably think this song about you You're so vain
https://youtu.be/y7CsaOF3S5c?si=8am8vCYvhUEqzrzE
You’re so vain —> you’re the smallest man who ever lived

Just out of The Strangers: Chapter 1, and I either need validation/vindication, or to be convinced that I'm wrong (and I'm open to that, by all means).

I'd avoided delving too deep into any backstory of this film. Initially I'd thought this was going to be a prequel-series of films, given how Prey at Night ended (two killers dead, one almost certainly dead). So I went in with my back up, as you always should with a horror prequel, or indeed series - what's the actual risk to the villains if they'll allegedly appear in the future (be that the in-universe future, or a future film)?
Within the first few minutes, our lead lady is using a smartphone/Google Maps, and shortly thereafter an AirBNB is mentioned. So we're in present-day, and it's not a prequel - that's fine.
Once we meet The Strangers, The Man in the Mask showed no burns or signs of injury from the previous film, and is wearing significantly different clothing than he usually would. Pin Up Girl and Dollface were hella dead by the end of that film. With all of this said, I'm to believe we have a new trio of killers donning the masks, right? Great.
And yet, it all felt wasted. Nothing new, nothing interesting happened.
Our lead characters were not especially likeable. The dialogue in the car was pretty forced and expository, and they just felt very generic. They looked great and I've no problem with the actors, but feel they weren't given much to do.
In fact, nobody is very likeable in this film. The okayest-character was the girl in the diner who gave them a lift to the house, and even that was probably part of the killers' setup.
Everyone in town... was just downright awful, for no apparent reason. Sneering because the central couple come from the city. Literally making multiple "Huh, she's a VEGETARIAN?" jokes - seriously, was this film written in 2002 and mildly modernized, or something? What the hell are we doing here?!
Our lead characters were also just not smart. Examples:

• Maya is alone in the house. A stranger has come knocking (twice), refusing to elaborate on their intentions. She smokes a joint and takes a shower to relax, while still alone. The power is cut, she meets an unknown individual in the hallway, and runs upstairs to hide in a closet. Then, because she smoked the joint, Ryan convinces her she may have imagined it. She also leaves her phone down (I honestly don't remember what became of it after she asks "Where the fuck is mine?").
• Ryan shoots the goddamn owner of the house, not caring that he wasn't wearing a mask - pointless callback to the first film where the lead man accidentally shoots his friend, btw - and then doesn't shoot Pin-Up girl in the forest when he has her at point-blank range. Why do people never shoot people in the feet/knees? They (probably) won't die, and they'll know you're not fucking around. But no, plenty of time for a dude to come knock you out with the butt of an axe.
• The truck-ramming scene was incredibly forced, and annoyingly danced around dad-truck-murder scene in Prey at Night. Both characters sucked here (he checked the front and back seats, but not the very back of the jeep - I was surprised they didn't have one of the killers climb over the seats).

As I watched, I thought "Okay, chill - it's not as if they know they're in a horror movie. People get jittery and make mistakes when under duress". But I think nowadays, horror movies in general have just surpassed this kinda stuff. They don't - shouldn't - get a free pass for characters being outright stupid, just to make plot happen. Especially when they're the ONLY characters we're following for the whole film. If you wanna introduce a dopey hyuck friend for some death fodder, go right ahead. But it's asking a bit too much nowadays to root for a character who makes stupid choices for just no good reason.
I'm no expert, but I do love my horror movies, and after the direction Prey at Night took, I just expected... more. This was very much a paint-by-numbers horror movie, and it really did come off as a weak copy of the first film. The fact that Maya survives was.. something different. But now it means we'll be following her through the next film. I find this more worrying than interesting, because it may mean there's going to be some contrived revenge plot, when really I want to see more of the killers, and I want to see them get killed.
There are just few things more frustrating than a film series providing more questions and no answers, all in the name of cranking out more of them. All we know - all we can suppose - is that there are three new people wearing these masks. That's all. And for the third film in a franchise - whether it's starting its own story arc or not - that's not good enough for me.

I have absolutely no idea what to do. I have nobody to rely on. I don't know what to do. I am 19f. My life is a complete shit show. I was bullied not only emotionally but physically throughout my childhood, primarily due to being neurodivergent, though I didn't know that at the time, just thought I was "weird" and nobody liked me despite being a kind kid. I was obsesssed with early childhood education, reading books by Maria Montessori and writing teaching philosophy statements at the age of 8. I was paralyzed for about a year at the age of 11 and suffered severe medical trauma in the hospital as well. I felt my autonomy was stripped away from me and various professionals there, looking back, were abusive and negligent. There in the hospital I remember wanting to die for the first time. When I got out, the bullying just got worse because now I had the whole being-in-a-wheelchair-thing going against me too. I ended up doing stupid shit to impress my peers and try to make friends, which just meant that I was constantly getting into trouble as a younger teen, which didn't help my mental health. I tried to kill myself at 13. My mom slapped me in the face while I was bleeding from my wrists and told me I was going to ruin her reputation and that I couldn't go to the hospital. I really needed stitches, I still have very visible scars from that day. She sewed holes in some long sleeved shirts for me to put my thumbs through to hide my arms at school and told me not to tell anyone. Things were never the same between me and my parents. I began at 14 seeking validation from adult men online. It was stupid and reckless, but it helped in the moment. I was kidnapped a week before I was supposed to start high school by a 33 year old man. He drove me to a different state 500 miles away, raped me, and tried to strangle me to death before police came. They treated me like a suspect and handcuffed me and made me sit in a cold car for 3 hours in the middle of the night. There was an amber alert sent out all over. I was put in a psych ward for about a week and then began 9th grade at a new school as "the girl from the amber alert" to everyone around me. Everyone was talking about it and asking for specifics and making jokes about what happened to me. It also made me a target for older boys who thought it was evidence that I was easy to manipulate. One of them ended up being the reason I had to leave school a month later. I did online school with my now emotionally abusive parents for several months before starting at a new school. But then, covid shut everything down again, and it was all taken away from me. My mental health was terrible and my parents opted for an unhelpful tough love approach. I became very hypersexual due to my trauma, which ended in me being assaulted more times than one. My parents blamed me and began to resent me, their words not mine. I entered a long term relationship at 16 with a boy I truly loved, we will call him K. K got me pregnant and I wanted to keep it, but my parents forced me to get an abortion with illegal drugs. It was traumatizing and I spiraled. A mentor figure who was a family friend betrayed me horribly. K got me pregnant again. I was on birth control, though everyone believes it was intentional, it was not. My parents said I could either get an abortion or leave home, so I moved out at 17. I got my shit together. For a while, things were good. I got an associates degree incredibly quickly and began a successful career in early childhood education as I had always dreamed. I worked my way up to a lead teacher at 18 and loved it. K and I were so happy. He proposed. The kind of true love most people never get to experience. Most of my peers drifted away during my pregnancy. I didn't care, I had K, my unborn baby, and my job. Then, while in labor, I found out K was cheating on me the entire time. I forgave him and we tried again, though I was postpartum and heartbroken. I stayed home with my newborn son while he worked, or so I thought. Really, he got fired or never went to every job I thought he had. He would drive there and turn his data off so his location was set there all day. He would stage pictures and talk about work. Really he was cheating, doing drugs, and playing video games while I was at home with our baby. His anger issues got worse and he'd get violent but not to the extent that I couldn't justify it to myself. His whole family knew. The cycle of him being caught and apologizing profusely and then doing it again went on for a while before he said that he needed to get out of his house where his cheater DV father was impeding his progress in getting better. I love him. It made sense, his dad was clearly where the behavior stemmed from. I left my housing program to get him out and we all 3 lived in hotels for a few months. I had to sell my body to afford a place for us to live. I was working full time as a lead teacher it just wasn't enough. He still couldn't keep a job but he wasn't lying or cheating. I got us a nice apartment all on my own. Things were good for a while. His anger issues would flair up at times but not as bad, and no lying or infidelity. We had so many heart to hearts. We got married. I did great at my job. He started doordashing for income. Things were going well. Then 6 months into our marriage, about 9 months after we moved out/7 months after we got our apartment, he sprung on me that he wanted a divorce. That was about 7 months ago now. We have been living together and I have been hoping to rebuild. In his vows, he swore so sincerely and in such great heartfelt detail to do better and be better and stand by me. And then he just through it all away. He has been so mean lately. Sometimes things are okay and it's like everything is the same. But he thinks I don't clean enough even though I try and he says I don't support him emotionally even though I really feel like I do. I also pay for everything, I even bought him an 800 dollar PC a couple months ago. I got really sick a month ago. Like vomiting 10+ times a day. I thought I had a stomach bug and didn't have money to go to the doctor over something so trivial that would clear up on its own. I made too much for medicaid but still not a lot. After only 4 days of being gone and feeling like shit, my work fired me. After another week or so of feeling sick and getting so weak I thought I was dying, I went to the hospital. They said all the vomiting had made me very dehydrated and I was lacking in a lot of vitamins. They gave me medicine and an IV. Turns out I'm pregnant and have HG. I'm pretty far along. At first K was supportive but now he acts like I'm trying to "trap" him with a baby, which doesn't even make sense. We were having unprotected sex and the only birth control was that I am breastfeeding, which he knew, so it isn't that crazy of an outcome. He has been so cruel and angry, saying terrible things. He threatens to leave when he gets mad so I beg him to stay because he knows I'd be all alone and I love him a lot. He has said some terribly cruel things and it's like every tiny thing I do wrong makes me the villain. Yesterday he blew up on me and it was scary and terrible. Today, I found out the few friends I thought I had hate me. One of them sent me the most cruel message I have ever received completely unprompted. I have no family support, no friends, my husband hates me, and everyone I've ever cared about except my son (who is different because he's too young to understand and he loves everyone and he is also a responsibility) wants nothing to do with me unless they are using me. I am so suicidal. I know a lot of people are suicidal but I am genuinely at a point where I am close to doing something I can't take back. But I can't because of my kids, both the 1 year old and the unborn one. And as much as I know I should be grateful for that, it feels so unfair. I've been having to do things I don't want to for money again. I have another great teaching job lined up but I don't start for at least a month. I feel like I should go to a hospital but I live in a state with a very high child removal rate even in cases of just mental health. I am a great mom, even though my husband and ex friends do not seem to agree. I can't risk having my fitness as a parent called into question over an unrelated mental health issue, especially since K's family and lots of people in my life would love the chance to lie about me to cps, and since I'm not employed right now, it doesn't look great. I don't know what to do. I feel so alone. I'm so so hurt. It feels like everything is falling apart. Not that long ago, I was a lead teacher, a wife, I felt like a respected and respectable person. Now I just feel like my train wreck of a life full of trauma has taunted me with this perfect picket fence life that I worked so hard for just to rip it away from me and leave me a useless unemployed incubator that everyone hates and is only holding on for her kids sake. The only people who talk to me or "care" just want to fuck me. Even the people interested in a relationship with me and seem like "good Christian men" are still driven by lust even if they disguise it to themselves. I have never felt so hopeless. I feel like I don't deserve this but everyone from my partner to my parents to my ex friends seem to think I do so maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Am I reading too much into it that Colin is considered a super eligible bachelor? It just doesn’t really make any sense to me. I get that he glows up and all of the young ladies think he’s hot but he has basically no prospects? He’s a third son from an extremely large family - Anthony is married and in good health but even if he suddenly died without children he’d have to go through Benedict to become Viscount. Even if there were assets and incomes put aside for the other children, they’d be split 3 ways if it was just the boys and 7 ways if it included the girls.
It’s constantly discussed in the show that marriage is about security or a way for a woman to make her way in the world. Colin is not going to have a large inheritance or allowance. He has no money of his own that he made himself either so he is basically living at the whims of Anthony. As a husband he has very little to offer a woman and their eventual children. I just can’t imagine him getting a lot of serious attention from women who are looking to secure their financial future and definitely not from their parents.

1. Brutalizer is fucking dogshit, especially when its intended users are meant to spike early and mid game. 5 more AD and 10 more AH in return for requiring a Pickaxe that costs 875 gold, costing 337 gold more, and 5 less Lethality is literally counterintuitive for assassins.
2. Strip AH on assassin items and replace it with more AD or more Lethality. The literal purpose of assassins is burst in one rotation or less. Those intended to reset have ways to do so in their kit.
3. For the love of god, make Lethality scale with level if a ranged champion buys it. It should not be literally better on an ADC who can apply it from range with autoattacks than the melee assassin the stat was made for in the first place.
4. Hubris passive is useless on any assassin without resets to go for multiple kills. Everything is on cooldown and the assassin will likely be low HP after killing someone. The 90s is useless until the next reset and teamfight, especially for those dependent on their ultimate being up.
5. Strip the health from Edge of Night and replace it with more AD or Lethality. Health is fucking useless for an assassin. They are glass cannons regardless of buying Edge of Night. The only thing that matters is if they can one shot their target or not.
6. Opportunity’s second passive is useless on any assassin without resets except for running away.
7. Serpent’s Fang is awkward as shit to build because of Pickaxe.
8. Collector passives are basically irrelevant bait.
9. Umbral Glaive’s design is a total failure bought basically exclusively by only a few champions to one shot wards.

The guy I've been talking to for about 4 months has called it quits? We never made anything official, we decided not to see other people but never declared we were in a relationship, he would always plan dates, call me his girl tell me how pretty I was. Recently I went away for a weekend for my friends birthday and he said he wanted to see me before I went, he bought us a bottle of wine and we had sex quite a few times the night before I went away. I didn't really message him alot during my holiday as there was no reception but I told him that, the last thing he snapped me before sending this message I will attach was that he was busy working and he will reply when he's finished and hopes that I have a good day. I then get home from my weekend away and the next day he sends this:
"Hello it’s only me. I’ve been doing some thinking recently about where me and you stand with each other at the moment. I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together but I’ve decided I don’t want to carry things on further. I think there are a few differences between us that I don’t see working long term and I don’t think it’s fair to carry on the way things are when my heart isn’t fully in it. You’re a lovely girl and you haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want you to think that you have either. I feel like you deserve to be with someone who is absolutely sure about where their future with you is going, but I am not that person. I hope you understand."
I am quite hurt by this, the fact he never done this face to face or never even called me, he's even met my parents, I feel a little used, I feel like he has love bombed me, promising lovely dates, telling me he's going to take me places, saying how beautiful I am, calling me his etc... Is there any advice or any way I can get closure from this?

So my friend and I moved into a 3BHK, and a random girl joined us. We don’t usually lock our doors or cupboards, leaving everything out in the open. It all started with a bra. I had bought a very expensive bra and couldn't find it. Since we sometimes do our laundry together, I asked both of them if it might have gotten into their laundry by mistake. They denied it.
One day, we went out for dinner, and I noticed the strap of the bra on her, and I just knew it was mine. The next day, I went straight to her, took it back, and told her I found it in her laundry because I didn't want to embarrass her.
Next story, my friend bought a new lipstick and left the package outside. The culprit roommate and I checked it out and kept it on top of the fridge. The next week, my friend asked about it, and I told her it was on top of the fridge. We thought our cook must have taken it. But that night, I went into the culprit roommate’s room, and her bag was on a chair. I picked up the bag, sat on the chair, and kept her bag on my lap. Guess what? The lipsticks were inside her bag.
There’s more. I couldn’t find my jeans, which I had recently bought, and I just knew they were with her. I opened her cupboard, and there they were. I discussed the issue with my friend, who said to go straight to her room, take our stuff back, and let her see us using the stolen items to make it clear she was caught. But today, when she finally went to the office, the jeans weren’t there. When she returned, I saw her wearing MY jeans. I got so mad, I straight up told her they were mine. She claimed they were her sister’s and changed the topic.
What should I do? How do I tackle this situation? I have made it so clear, and she is lying to me with such confidence. is situation,because i have made it so clear and she is lying to me with such confidence.

i tend to attract only bisexual women and i don’t judge women based on their sexuality or anyone for that matter. my question is, why are they so hard to keep interested?? i am trying to put in effort with one right now because it seems like an expectation, but she’s doing this weird indirect talking thing that just doesn’t work for me. this includes me posting a song i like to my instagram notes and her posting a thirst trap to it the next day. on top of that, it’s her sending me a song or a text and telling me it reminds her of me and then falling off the face of the earth for a week. the other day, she was really targeting a bunch of spam posts to me and i wasn’t a fan of that. i wanted her to just tell me she was free and i would’ve planned something. i am not going to act on an assumption that someone is trying to get my attention because i’m pretty direct. most girls know this ahead of time because i literally sit there like an idiot until they look me in the eye and say “hey, i like you”. i just don’t get it. i’ll admit, i’ve been non committal because men have traumatized me, but i’m trying to show interest in her. if i match her energy, she suddenly shows less interest. i know this relationship is not going to work out and at this point, i’m losing any feelings i’ve had for her because there has been no clear definition of what she wants.
this has been a consistent issue with my dating life and that’s the part that gets me. i find a girl, i like her, suddenly we are talking, and right away she drops off the earth. either getting a boyfriend or just quits showing interest. i’ve been told before that it’s because i have so much going on, or i’m too ambitious and put to much effort into school and work. i will admit, i am a driver and i don’t slow down and making time for anyone is hard. i do wonder if me saying i have finals or things due that i can’t put off has driven her away. i just don’t see the point in brushing off school to go out with someone who is unsure about me. if you aren’t going to be in my life forever, you don’t come over my education.
i just don’t know if this is a me problem or not. i’m going through the post situationship grief right now of thinking i’ll never find a girlfriend, but i know it will pass soon enough too. am i just looking at the wrong girls? my roommates say i should wait until i find someone who is also in college and honestly, i couldn’t agree more. i just want to know if i’m doing something wrong. maybe i’m not prioritizing things properly? idk

The guy I've been talking to for about 4 months has called it quits? We never made anything official, we decided not to see other people but never declared we were in a relationship, he would always plan dates, call me his girl tell me how pretty I was. Recently I went away for a weekend for my friends birthday and he said he wanted to see me before I went, he bought us a bottle of wine and we had sex quite a few times the night before I went away. I didn't really message him alot during my holiday as there was no reception but I told him that, the last thing he snapped me before sending this message I will attach was that he was busy working and he will reply when he's finished and hopes that I have a good day. I then get home from my weekend away and the next day he sends this:
"Hello it’s only me. I’ve been doing some thinking recently about where me and you stand with each other at the moment. I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together but I’ve decided I don’t want to carry things on further. I think there are a few differences between us that I don’t see working long term and I don’t think it’s fair to carry on the way things are when my heart isn’t fully in it. You’re a lovely girl and you haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want you to think that you have either. I feel like you deserve to be with someone who is absolutely sure about where their future with you is going, but I am not that person. I hope you understand."
I'm quite hurt by this and the fact he hasn't done it face to face, I do feel like I've been used or the fact that he has love bombed me abit, promising things, saying how lovely I am etc.
Is there any advice someone can give me or any closure I can get from this?

I (16M) go to school with this girl (16/17, idk). We are in the UK in sixth form. Recently, she has been making “jokes” about how I’m secretly gay for one of my best friends. I’m very comfortable with my sexuality and I know for a fact that I’m not gay. It’s also annoying that said friend feeds into it sometimes, but not usually.
This would be bad enough if it was just the jokes about me and my friend. I’d probably be able to tolerate it if it was just that. But she also makes “jokes” about how her boyfriend (who I vehemently dislike and have done for a long time) is secretly my best friend and I’m also secretly gay for him. For example, she could be sitting next to him, and then she’d say “Are you jealous that I’m sitting next to your boyfriend?” It just really pisses me off and makes me super uncomfortable.
I don’t understand why she’s making these jokes. I’ve told her before that it’s just really fucking weird and asked her to stop doing it, but she ignores me. And she’s also called me a furry, completely unprovoked. I’m not a furry and I will never be a furry (nothing against them, just not my thing).
Anyway, I’m not looking for advice. I just needed to vent. I’ve talked to my mum about it and I don’t really want to do anything else because 1) I doubt anything will be done and 2) I’m really non-confrontational. Thanks for reading.

For some context I have been playing since 2016 and have about 4000 hours on overwatch, its my favorite game and pretty much the only one I play. I've had fun throughout every meta even when certain heroes are more powerful, but for some reason current roadhog is really bumming me out. Recently I've played several games where my team feels really coordinated, communicative, and skilled. These are the games that make me love overwatch, games where even if we lose you can tell that everyone tried their best and worked together. My problem with current roadhog is that now, when I get these awesome teams, no matter what tank we play, what counters we use, how well we play together, we are up against a oneshotting 2000 health wall.
The Numbers
Hog has a LOT of health, 800 base with 450 from breather, with a 50% damage reduction for its duration (with more head shot damage reduction from the tank passive)
Pig Pen has 100 health, and can activate 1 second after hitting the ground. I find this ability frustrating to play against because it feels like hog can throw pen at you and (even if you react in time) it tanks your shots, detonates, and now you're slowed with half health or dead. The 12 second cooldown on this ability I think is fair, though.
Hook's hitbox has a .5 meter radius for enemies, but no radius for walls or barriers. This is one of the reasons why hook can reach around walls and objects without breaking. 90% of the time you're hooked you're going to die. If the hog is good, he'll body block your escape option, or pull you around a wall so you can't be healed. The displacement is very strong on its own, but with hogs own shotgun burst damage, pig pen, or his teammates, without a saving ability like bubble, defense matrix, suzu, lamp, or pull, you will die. With a 6 second cooldown, I genuinely think that hogs hook combo in its current state is one of the strongest abilities the game has ever seen. Even when you have defensive abilities, hook can outpace all of their cooldowns.
Whole Hog can deal up to 6720 damage, 896 DPS, which isnt so bad against squishies because of the 14m/s knockback. The problem is that it deletes tanks. I've played with reinhardts recently who get hooked in with a near full 1200 shield, 700 health (including armor), they get whole hogged, and they're dead almost instantly. The knockback reduction tanks have make whole hog even more effective against them.
The Counters
Without an Ana hog seems nearly unstoppable, but even with Ana he feels very difficult to punish. Nade can weaken him about 1/4 to 1/2 of his healthpool with help from your teammates if he uses breather. The 50% damage reduction makes it so even if your entire team focuses him, he still seems to survive nade with 300-500 health. If he gets support from his team in any way he's going to live. Nade should NOT be a guaranteed kill on hog if he has support from his team or is playing using cover, but at the moment it seems that hog can get away with being out of position, tanking nade AND sleep dart, somehow killing two of my teammates, and walking away free.
Sigma is probably hogs best tank counter, grasp can eat whole hog and shield can block hooks. Hog can still play around these abilities and has better pick potential.
Mauga and Orisa both can be effective against hog, but in sustained teamfights where no team gets a pick, hog will outlive everything and does not need to give up space in the same way Mauga and Orisa do because of his healthpool and self healing / damage reduction.
Dva seems okay and can defense matrix hooks, but again hog just has so much health that if your team can't get an early first pick you're pretty much going to lose the fight.
I don't get many teammates playing reaper into hog (or in general) so I'm not entirely sure how that matchup works, but I know in general reaper struggles on open maps where hog is good, and even when reaper is close, take a breather's damage reduction can tank reap's shotguns, and reap can still lose the 1v1. I think an additional problem is that the dive tanks that can open space for reaper to move in are pretty bad against hog.
As for other dps, your best bet is picking off a squishy early on in the fight, which you should be trying to do anyways. The problem here is that if you cant do this, hog will outsustain your own tanks damage and eventually you lose the fight by default.
Conclusion
I think hog has too much health for how much kill potential he has. He feels very difficult to punish even when countering, the 50% damage reduction on breather is very strong, and hook being a 6 second cooldown instakill is really frustrating to play into. Pig pen activates too quickly or has too much health. I think that if I see hog throw pig pen then I should be able to consistently kill it before it activates. Whole hog is a tank deleter with little time to react to.
Personally, I preferred hog before the rework, even when he was meta in earlier seasons. Right now it feels to me that he just has too much, his numbers are too high and he has too much burst damage. The game feels like the team with roadhog wins, but in a way that never felt as a bad as when any other tank has been meta. I consistently find myself and my teammates losing to hog no matter how much "better" we seem to be playing the game, or how hard we try to counter him or play around him. Is it just a skill issue, is this character not completely busted in the way I feel he is?