What does wheezing sound like

This is really hard for me to talk about because I struggle to understand & accept it and I don’t talk to anyone irl about it which sometimes sucks & makes me feel alone. So I’m gonna try this & see if anyone has anything useful to tell me bc I could really use any advice or support right now that I can get. This might be a long story so I’m sorry in advance.
I’m 22f and I’ve lived with my bf (24) for 3 years. We do everything together and in my opinion we’re very close and alike but in his opinion the love that we have/the love he gets from me is not enough bc about a year & a half into living together, we went thru some money struggles & his loss of a close family member which really affected him and he hasn’t really been completely the same since. But even before that loss, about a year & a half into our relationship, he decided to tell me that he’s decided he’s poly. Which I don’t agree with and I’ve made it clear. And I know the normal thing to do in that situation is go okay, well you need to leave him because you both aren’t on the same page with what you want in your relationship. I just want him to choose me and put me first like i do to him, he means everything to me. He is actually the only family i really have which is why it’s extremely hard for me to leave him. but i can feel him slowly slipping away from me. And i have tried to end things before kind of a lot of times, but we never end up following thru with it bc he apologizes, lies & says he’ll choose me over “being poly” , delete all the dating apps, stop liking naked pictures, or whatever the case may be at the time. Or he has said in the past he would go crazy & they would have to put him in a mental hospital if we broke up, bc he can’t handle another loss after his close family member passed. So obviously i feel guilty. I always just hoped in the back of my mind that one day he would wake up from this bullshit and stop with the “poly” phase and be loyal. But it’s not happening. & he always gets back on the dating apps or whatever else he does and acts like i’m in the wrong for not letting him “be who he is” which is “poly”.
In my opinion it’s one thing if he had made this great revelation BEFORE we started dating but it just makes me feel tricked that he didn’t mention it ever once UNTIL we had been living together for like a year already. Bc if he told me that when I met him I never would’ve dated him and I never would’ve fallen in love with him and moved in with him.
I look at his phone about once every 3-6 months & every time i do i find something new & bad. He always turns it on me saying i’m in the wrong for going thru it but I really wish I didn’t have to do that but if i didn’t i would never find out anything. Bc he claims he doesn’t want to waste my time with telling me about someone who’s just playing with him (like something that’s not serious) bc he hasn’t found any girl willing to go fuck off and be poly with him (i don’t think any girl like that actually exists.) despite his ongoing search for a new girlfriend (or “connection”). but yet i feel lied to bc when i look at his instagram he acts single & he dms so many random girls LUSTFULLY. And it’s so embarrassing. On top of that girls rarely reply to him bc no one wants a random man lusting in their dms. I had no idea this was the type of person he was or i wouldn’t be with him. And when i ask him about it he lies or covers it up saying he’s not like that and he isn’t lustful & that being poly isn’t about sex it’s about forming a connection with multiple people. Well if it wasn’t about sex then he wouldn’t be lusting after random girls in their dms. And btw instagram has been an issue in the past due to me finding out he hearted a pic of a girl he knew, basically a nude or a bikini pic. And the way that situation went was that he said omg i’ll delete my whole instagram and i’m done with it since this is a problem. But i told him no stop saying that shit you know you don’t mean it and you’ll be back on it in 3 days. He’s like no i mean it and yeah then in three days he was back on it. This happened a few times with other apps like tinder and every time i’m like please just save it bc we both know you saying you’re permanently off these apps isn’t true.
I don’t even have instagram anymore ever since i saw the bikini pic bc i just didn’t want to spend my energy anymore feeling like i wasn’t as pretty as the girls he follows or interacts with, so i actually followed thru and deactivated my whole account & haven’t been on it since. (at least a year) other than that i don’t use SM other than reddit & lurking on twitter sometimes & watching tiktoks. I’m not a SM girlie it not that I’m not pretty ( not trying to sound narcissistic) but i’m not an ugly girl i just really prefer privacy and don’t like posting myself online. But seemingly my bfs type is SM wh-res and i’m truly not judging the girls, I’m judging my bf.
This morning i looked at his instagram and found some extremely NSFW dms from him to a few random girls & found message conversations with a girl that’s poly that’s out of our state that he talks to often & opens up to her about things he doesn’t open up to me about, and gives her the nicest compliments that he never gives me, says she’s the prettiest girl he’s seen, sympathies w her over her personal struggles w life & relationships, calls the girl his soulmate & says they share a brain, complains about me not accepting him being poly & going thru his phone and being “threatened” by her & has shared some personal details about my life that i don’t share with people even my close friends. and much more. however he still spins it on me being in the wrong for not accepting him and going thru his phone. he never takes accountability for what he does & always lies about it not being as bad as it is and that i’m reading into things. the problem is i don’t believe what he does is poly i believe it to be CHEATING. I believe it is possible to have an honest poly relationship (not that i want one) but what he does is not honest. he has betrayed me, even tho he has never slept with anyone else while we have been in our relationship, and he has only gone on one date in person with someone else throughout our entire relationship (that date ended up going nowhere). (not that he even takes ME out on dates & if he does make a plan to go to the movies or a basketball game he always ends up inviting our friends along everytime.)
He still treats me with love and care & does a lot of things for me , he supported us when we went through our financial struggles after i got in a car accident & couldn’t work, he is always here for me but doesn’t really let me be there for him. I owe him a lot of rent money from the time that i couldn’t work & he paid rent by himself. He doesn’t hold my debt over my head but he mentioned it to the girl on instagram . which made me feel betrayed.
I told him off about what i found in his phone & took pics of the evidence which ive never done before & sent it to him and i want to know if i’m overreacting to his betrayal or if i’m in the wrong for expecting loyalty from my 3 yr relationship. /:
TL;DR my bf is emotionally cheating on me with instagram girls and out of state poly girl.
thanks for reading

A few days ago I broke up with my fiancé after we came back from a trip we were on for a couple days for his birthday. We have been fighting more and more these last few months and every single time we get into an argument, he turns into what I can only describe as a teenager, he becomes incredibly immature and screams at me and gets mad over the most ridiculous things.
I am 5'3 and he towers over me at 6'4 and it honestly scares me when he screams at me. I have told him numerous times to stop reacting like that whenever we have an argument and he always apologizes later but the next time he gets angry, its the exact same blow up pattern where he screams again and behaves like he's 14 years old screaming at his mama.
His mother was living with him before and she had the same problem with him, he would scream at her too. I made a joke to her one day after they had a big fight, saying, "Am I next in line for this treatment?" and she said yes. I should have taken the warning then.
We just moved in together and we've been living together for a month. I'm honestly not happy. He does gross things like takes pictures of his big poops and shows it to me on his phone, he picks his pimples and smells them in front of me saying "smells like cheese", he picks off his nail clippings and throws them on the passenger car side floor so when I go into his car, I see 6 nail clippings regularly. He sticks his hand in his giant dogs mouth when they're playing and lets him lick all over his face after I've just seen her cleaning her behind for 30 mins prior and then he tries to kiss me.
All of this has completely turned me off and ruined the romance for me. We haven't been intimate in 2 weeks because of the amount of fighting and the gross hygiene issues I mentioned. He expects me to cook, clean up after him, do the dishes, do the laundry, make the bed every day, watch his dog when he's at work. He throws his clothes everywhere he takes them off at and I had to tell him numerous times to please put them in the hamper for me to wash.
I work from home and he works 4 hours outside the home then comes home and works remotely for another 2-3 hours then he goes into the garage and smokes for hours. When we broke up after a big fight a few days ago, he said I ruined his life and that now he has to go live in a hotel because I kicked him out. I said I won't live with someone who talks to me so disrespectfully and makes me feel unsafe to be around because of his major anger issues.
His road rage is ridiculous too, he flips people off quite a few times and honks at them and I tell him all the time he's gonna end up getting into a dangerous situation because of it. It just tells me he has a lot of growing up to do. The thought of having kids with this man sounds like a nightmare.
He bought me a diamond ruby necklace and during the break up, he said "I want that ruby necklace back so I can pawn it." he took other gifts he had gotten me over the course of our relationship and pawned those too since leaving my house. He says he wants to work on his anger and stay with me and still loves me but then in the same breath he will say its all my fault that he's in this situation now. Takes no responsibility for how he treats people and somehow always manages to be the victim.
I'm tired but I dont know if I'll regret losing him in a few months when everything is said and done. He said he can take me to court because of "Squatter laws" because I asked him to leave overnight. I own my house, he doesn't and we never signed anything. He has been incredibly rude about money too, he only contributed $750 a month in total (For rent, groceries and all the bills combined) and I paid for everything else. We had a fight about that too because he said that was "way too much". I said good luck finding anything that cheap today out there by yourself.
When we talk about getting married, he says we need to sign a prenup because he never wants to pay alimony and he buries his gold coins in the backyard and would never tell me where they are even if we were to get married. These things are so unromantic to say and makes me not even want to marry him in the first place if he's going to be so selfish about his money already.
He says sorry after the arguments but I dont see any actual change because the next time we fight, he will act the same way again. I dont think he can change because the way he acted with his mother when he lived with her was very much the same way, even cops were called. This seems like its just part of his personality.
TLDR; Fiance has an incredibly immature reaction to arguments, gets easily angered, has road rage issues and screams at his mother too. The fighting has gotten more frequent. Doesnt take responsibility during arguments and only after the fact, apologizes and claims he wants to change and become better but this has happened numerous times and I dont see any change. Seems like something very ingrained in his personality.

Some background; I have a multiplayer game with my sister (we're about halfway through fall yr1), and neither of us have finished the single-player story (we're both at about the same place - "Shipwreck Confidential")
I'm absolutely loving the multiplayer game mode. The urban development mechanic and needing to build the town up and people gradually moving in has been super cool and rewarding! I love watching the town become more established and recognizable as we progress. However, the more I play, the more questions I have...
First of all, why does the Fandom Wiki page have totally different information for multiplayer? It has old characters listed as younger versions, like Mort and Martle, and even says that characters that aren't even here anymore are still around, like Email and Lou. Was the multiplayer mode set in the past during beta but was changed before release? If so, what was the reason for the change? Multiplayer being a "prequel" to single player sounds awesome! But I understand it was probably a TON of work and difficult to manage/keep everything lore-accurate.
Secondly, why is it so difficult to gain friendship with people and is there an easier way?? I know completing the story in single player builds your friendship up with people - I'm in winter yr 1 in my single player save and I'm buddies with just about everyone at this point. But I don't have a single buddy in multiplayer. And I feel like even doing commissions for people in multiplayer has little effect on friendship 😭
And speaking of relationships and lack of missions - how does dating work in multiplayer? I'm assuming the characters don't have friendship missions, since there aren't any story missions. So what about characters that have reverse confessions in single player; I'm guessing there aren't any reverse confessions in multiplayer? Do we still need to be Friends in order to give someone a heart knot? Anddd if that's the case, can players date the same character? Or will characters already in a relationship with another player become unavailable? And if not... can we marry the same person? 👀 (unhinged, I know, but I just need to know LMAO)
I know this is a ton of information, so if anyone has any answers at all, even if you just have the answer to one question, anything is helpful! Like I said, I really really enjoy multiplayer and can see myself playing this game mode for a while, but it feels so much more grindy when it comes to relationships compared to single player...

Pump,fun is typically a waste of time if you’re just meandering about looking for something to ape into. Lots of low effort coins without socials. Lots of devs that jeet after a 50% gain. What I’ve seen be successful are pre launch groups where 100-200 people all buy a a project. As long as the meme is good, socials are good, and community is based enough to hold, it usually dethrones the king of the hill and reaches bonding curve. Those initial community members get to buy in at ground level on a coin that reaches 100k MC or higher. Got a community started that does exactly like this. Sound interesting? Let me know

I am trying to build a kitchen basically from scratch in my small condo, as it currently does not have one. So new cabinets, countertops, appliances, a new soffit and definitely some electrical modifications/additions (new outlets, hardwiring electric stove, at a minimum). Major plumbing is already where it needs to be so no huge plumbing renovation needed at this point. I got screwed by some shoddy contractors that didn't have anything in writing, and didn't apply for any permits, so I'm trying to learn from that and work with someone that will do the work according to a contract and apply for the right permits.
Here's where I'm starting to get nervous: there has been some major work done without a single permit in my condo. Major plumbing renovations, changed a hot water tank to a tankless, electrical work, exposing brick, entire bathroom was basically redone from bath to a shower, and built a room, as the condo was formerly a studio (nothing load bearing or structural, just new framing and drywall).
I am not familiar with the permitting process. Based on what I've read it sounds like trying to get a permit now will require some inspections, which will expose that fact that none of the work leading up to this point has been permitted, leading to stop orders and fines and on and on. Am I basically screwed if I want to do things the right way moving forward?

This is really hard for me to talk about because I struggle to understand & accept it and I don’t talk to anyone irl about it which sometimes sucks & makes me feel alone. So I’m gonna try this & see if anyone has anything useful to tell me bc I could really use any advice or support right now that I can get. This might be a long story so I’m sorry in advance.
I’m 22f and I’ve lived with my bf (24) for 3 years. We do everything together and in my opinion we’re very close and alike but in his opinion the love that we have/the love he gets from me is not enough bc about a year & a half into living together, we went thru some money struggles & his loss of a close family member which really affected him and he hasn’t really been completely the same since. But even before that loss, about a year & a half into our relationship, he decided to tell me that he’s decided he’s poly. Which I don’t agree with and I’ve made it clear. And I know the normal thing to do in that situation is go okay, well you need to leave him because you both aren’t on the same page with what you want in your relationship. I just want him to choose me and put me first like i do to him, he means everything to me. He is actually the only family i really have which is why it’s extremely hard for me to leave him. but i can feel him slowly slipping away from me. And i have tried to end things before kind of a lot of times, but we never end up following thru with it bc he apologizes, lies & says he’ll choose me over “being poly” , delete all the dating apps, stop liking naked pictures, or whatever the case may be at the time. Or he has said in the past he would go crazy & they would have to put him in a mental hospital if we broke up, bc he can’t handle another loss after his close family member passed. So obviously i feel guilty. I always just hoped in the back of my mind that one day he would wake up from this bullshit and stop with the “poly” phase and be loyal. But it’s not happening. & he always gets back on the dating apps or whatever else he does and acts like i’m in the wrong for not letting him “be who he is” which is “poly”.
In my opinion it’s one thing if he had made this great revelation BEFORE we started dating but it just makes me feel tricked that he didn’t mention it ever once UNTIL we had been living together for like a year already. Bc if he told me that when I met him I never would’ve dated him and I never would’ve fallen in love with him and moved in with him.
I look at his phone about once every 3-6 months & every time i do i find something new & bad. He always turns it on me saying i’m in the wrong for going thru it but I really wish I didn’t have to do that but if i didn’t i would never find out anything. Bc he claims he doesn’t want to waste my time with telling me about someone who’s just playing with him (like something that’s not serious) bc he hasn’t found any girl willing to go fuck off and be poly with him (i don’t think any girl like that actually exists.) despite his ongoing search for a new girlfriend (or “connection”). but yet i feel lied to bc when i look at his instagram he acts single & he dms so many random girls LUSTFULLY. And it’s so embarrassing. On top of that girls rarely reply to him bc no one wants a random man lusting in their dms. I had no idea this was the type of person he was or i wouldn’t be with him. And when i ask him about it he lies or covers it up saying he’s not like that and he isn’t lustful & that being poly isn’t about sex it’s about forming a connection with multiple people. Well if it wasn’t about sex then he wouldn’t be lusting after random girls in their dms. And btw instagram has been an issue in the past due to me finding out he hearted a pic of a girl he knew, basically a nude or a bikini pic. And the way that situation went was that he said omg i’ll delete my whole instagram and i’m done with it since this is a problem. But i told him no stop saying that shit you know you don’t mean it and you’ll be back on it in 3 days. He’s like no i mean it and yeah then in three days he was back on it. This happened a few times with other apps like tinder and every time i’m like please just save it bc we both know you saying you’re permanently off these apps isn’t true.
I don’t even have instagram anymore ever since i saw the bikini pic bc i just didn’t want to spend my energy anymore feeling like i wasn’t as pretty as the girls he follows or interacts with, so i actually followed thru and deactivated my whole account & haven’t been on it since. (at least a year) other than that i don’t use SM other than reddit & lurking on twitter sometimes & watching tiktoks. I’m not a SM girlie it not that I’m not pretty ( not trying to sound narcissistic) but i’m not an ugly girl i just really prefer privacy and don’t like posting myself online. But seemingly my bfs type is SM wh-res and i’m truly not judging the girls, I’m judging my bf.
This morning i looked at his instagram and found some extremely NSFW dms from him to a few random girls & found message conversations with a girl that’s poly that’s out of our state that he talks to often & opens up to her about things he doesn’t open up to me about, and gives her the nicest compliments that he never gives me, says she’s the prettiest girl he’s seen, sympathies w her over her personal struggles w life & relationships, calls the girl his soulmate & says they share a brain, complains about me not accepting him being poly & going thru his phone and being “threatened” by her & has shared some personal details about my life that i don’t share with people even my close friends. and much more. however he still spins it on me being in the wrong for not accepting him and going thru his phone. he never takes accountability for what he does & always lies about it not being as bad as it is and that i’m reading into things. the problem is i don’t believe what he does is poly i believe it to be CHEATING. I believe it is possible to have an honest poly relationship (not that i want one) but what he does is not honest. he has betrayed me, even tho he has never slept with anyone else while we have been in our relationship, and he has only gone on one date in person with someone else throughout our entire relationship (that date ended up going nowhere). (not that he even takes ME out on dates & if he does make a plan to go to the movies or a basketball game he always ends up inviting our friends along everytime.)
He still treats me with love and care & does a lot of things for me , he supported us when we went through our financial struggles after i got in a car accident & couldn’t work, he is always here for me but doesn’t really let me be there for him. I owe him a lot of rent money from the time that i couldn’t work & he paid rent by himself. He doesn’t hold my debt over my head but he mentioned it to the girl on instagram . which made me feel betrayed.
I told him off about what i found in his phone & took pics of the evidence which ive never done before & sent it to him and i want to know if i’m overreacting to his betrayal or if i’m in the wrong for expecting loyalty from my 3 yr relationship. /:
TL;DR my bf is emotionally cheating on me with instagram girls and out of state poly girl.
thanks for reading

GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SUPERSTONKERS! HAHA. It's me again. Yeah, i slipped past the defenses again to drop this off so you can all refresh yourselves on the state of FUD and disinformation in this protracted fight against the legal larcenists doing their best to try and get you to sell. Please spread this amongst the holders, the more people know the less power they have over us holders. We don't sell until we get a call from marge, and that's always been the play.
TLDR: This is a set of tactics used by the Alphabet Boys(CIA, FBI, DEA) to control and manipulate us into drama to collapse our communities and movements. And should be read in full by anyone willing and wanting to learn how these things work.
I've come to notice recently, people keep asking me to repost this for the sake of keeping the new people abreast on what needs to be done to protect the holders of GME. Beneath here will be a detailed account on what you need to be aware of in your online interactions, to avoid being taken for a fool!
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1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

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COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositioned postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com
) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favor is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favor is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favorite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favorite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
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Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
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Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain. Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
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How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:

• "You're dividing the movement."

[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:

• "You're a leader!"

This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudo identification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudo identification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activism ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of commitment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
_______________________________________________________________________
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

I need some WISDOM.
25m. Been dating my girl for a year and a half. Living together.
If it matters, I’m attractive, fit, a gentleman. Do not watch porn.
My relationship has been ideal. We are great partners that show love, support, and patience. Our relationship is how any relationship should be… except for the bedroom.
For the last year, we have been struggling with sex. When we first started it, it was everyday or even a couple of times a day. But as of the last year it’s been once MAYBE twice a week.
Early on, I realized that I was the one that initiated anything sexual. All the kissing and sex. She was always down, but never started the act. Which was fine bc I chalked it up as her being the reserved, respectful lady she is in every aspect of her life.
As it went on, I slowed down. Not out of anger or hate, but bc I was giving her opportunities to make a move. (Please do not respond with “maybe she’s submissive”. Submissive has sexual tension. This doesn’t).
I was thrown off bc, last May, she sat me down and asked why sex had slowed to once a week. It almost felt like she was complaining ABOUT me. To which I respectfully let her know that she has the same opportunities as me- if she was wanting to make out or do sex so bad, then she can easily kiss or start with me. Again, we are nice to eachother. This convo was healthy.
Fast forward to today. A year later. And it’s still the same. She has initiated maybe twice. But I explained to her how it felt like a double edged sword. When she didn’t initiate, it bothered me. And now that she did initiate, it felt forced bc she didn’t do so until I said. Even more, she only done it those two times after our convo and then drifted back into it being only me.
Now, today, there is no sexual tension between us. There hasn’t been for months. We have sex. But I’d chalk it up as me having a surge of hormones. Again, once a month we have had conversations on where we are at. We have both agreed that our sex life, although it is not dead, it is not sustainable with the level that it’s at. I’ll also add that we have grown SLIGHTLY irritable towards one another.
Now, I feel my eyes starting to wander. I enjoy all the looks and stares I get from women out in public. I look at girls pictures a little longer on social media. I day dream about previous partners.
Please, Do not read this post as shallow. I have tried, I have been patient, I have been considerate. So has she. We have both given our effort for the last year. Sadly, it has only worsened. She TELLS me she wants me, but her actions don’t. She is an angel to me, but we are both learning that sex plays a bigger role than we anticipated.
It doesn’t help that I also understand that if roles were reversed (if I never touched or initiated with her) I would be dumped. Imagine her saying to her friends, “he doesn’t ever initiate sex”.. it would be seen as me not valuing her or treating her right. Or gay (no hate to my gay men out there❤️). Her leaving would be supported. But I’m the one who feels like I’m not being persued. Yet, if I call it quits then I’m immature.
Our lease is up in July and i feel the pressure rising bc I don’t want to sign a lease with someone if it’s going to be a bigger issue down the road.
I love her, she loves me. But we both have admitted that this weighs on our mind too much for too long. It’s a shot to both our confidences. We have also somehow communicated in a healthy way that we can’t keep doing this. I worry because is the constant contemplation an indirect answer?
Her and I both know life is too short to be stressing as much as we do over our relationship. It’s difficult bc two things are true- our relationship is great, but the level of physical attraction is not sustainable.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Advice? Wisdom?

How’s it going folks,
Tomorrow I’ve an interview with the CRO of an AI start up. It’s for an SDR role.
From what I’ve read on Reddit and other forums online, it’s sounds like I’m on the home stretch. It’s the fourth interview too.
Does anyone have any advice for me?
I’ve been told I may be asked specific questions and was told to “know my numbers”.
Thank you in advance!

A few days ago I broke up with my fiancé after we came back from a trip we were on for a couple days for his birthday. We have been fighting more and more these last few months and every single time we get into an argument, he turns into what I can only describe as a teenager, he becomes incredibly immature and screams at me and gets mad over the most ridiculous things.
I am 5'3 and he towers over me at 6'4 and it honestly scares me when he screams at me. I have told him numerous times to stop reacting like that whenever we have an argument and he always apologizes later but the next time he gets angry, its the exact same blow up pattern where he screams again and behaves like he's 14 years old screaming at his mama.
His mother was living with him before and she had the same problem with him, he would scream at her too. I made a joke to her one day after they had a big fight, saying, "Am I next in line for this treatment?" and she said yes. I should have taken the warning then.
We just moved in together and we've been living together for a month. I'm honestly not happy. He does gross things like takes pictures of his big poops and shows it to me on his phone, he picks his pimples and smells them in front of me saying "smells like cheese", he picks off his nail clippings and throws them on the passenger car side floor so when I go into his car, I see 6 nail clippings regularly. He sticks his hand in his giant dogs mouth when they're playing and lets him lick all over his face after I've just seen her cleaning her behind for 30 mins prior and then he tries to kiss me.
All of this has completely turned me off and ruined the romance for me. We haven't been intimate in 2 weeks because of the amount of fighting and the gross hygiene issues I mentioned. He expects me to cook, clean up after him, do the dishes, do the laundry, make the bed every day, watch his dog when he's at work. He throws his clothes everywhere he takes them off at and I had to tell him numerous times to please put them in the hamper for me to wash.
I work from home and he works 4 hours outside the home then comes home and works remotely for another 2-3 hours then he goes into the garage and smokes for hours. When we broke up after a big fight a few days ago, he said I ruined his life and that now he has to go live in a hotel because I kicked him out. I said I won't live with someone who talks to me so disrespectfully and makes me feel unsafe to be around because of his major anger issues.
His road rage is ridiculous too, he flips people off quite a few times and honks at them and I tell him all the time he's gonna end up getting into a dangerous situation because of it. It just tells me he has a lot of growing up to do. The thought of having kids with this man sounds like a nightmare.
He bought me a diamond ruby necklace and during the break up, he said "I want that ruby necklace back so I can pawn it." he took other gifts he had gotten me over the course of our relationship and pawned those too since leaving my house. He says he wants to work on his anger and stay with me and still loves me but then in the same breath he will say its all my fault that he's in this situation now. Takes no responsibility for how he treats people and somehow always manages to be the victim.
I'm tired but I dont know if I'll regret losing him in a few months when everything is said and done. He said he can take me to court because of "Squatter laws" because I asked him to leave overnight. I own my house, he doesn't and we never signed anything. He has been incredibly rude about money too, he only contributed $750 a month in total (For rent, groceries and all the bills combined) and I paid for everything else. We had a fight about that too because he said that was "way too much". I said good luck finding anything that cheap today out there by yourself.
When we talk about getting married, he says we need to sign a prenup because he never wants to pay alimony and he buries his gold coins in the backyard and would never tell me where they are even if we were to get married. These things are so unromantic to say and makes me not even want to marry him in the first place if he's going to be so selfish about his money already.
Am I making the right decision by breaking up with him or should I try to make this work because he is saying sorry and wants to do better?

Why does Jannah sound lonely to me?
Everytime I think about Jannah, I think about it as an unimaginably beautiful kingdom where “rivers flow of wine” and “beautiful couches”. However, I feel like it will just be me and my close family that will be in Jannah. I don’t want that. I’m a very social person who values the importance of communicating with many, many people through my day, and week. I don’t want to be someone who enjoys their pleasures but lives by himself. I know this might sound awful, but the first thought that comes to me when I think about Paradise (If I get there by Allah’s mercy and doing good deeds) is me resting in the clouds all by myself while enjoying myself. For example, the lowest person in Jannah will get 50x the size of the largest empire on Earth, so imagine enjoying all that land only for yourself to live there and nobody to communicate with. This worries me a lot and I can’t get over it. Also, what is the point of being a king in Jannah if you have no population to lead? You can’t rule over your own family (and even if you could, they are only 20-30 people max).
So, will I have many companions and people with me in my Jannah?

(Originally posted over in toys, was told I may have better luck here)
Last Monday I walked in to my local Walmart and they had a selection of the Playmates reproduction line of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures from the late 80s and early 90s. I picked up the ones I wanted and was thrilled with my find. These toys were a huge part of my childhood.
Since then I have went back twice during my lunch break to see if they restocked any and so far they have not.
My Sister used to work as a toys department manager and I asked her about it, she said there was no specific day that they restocked toys but if I called I could talk to someone and they would be able to tell me when their next restock was and even what they'd be getting.
She told me there used to be a website you could go to and look it up yourself, that she had a customer who collected hot wheels who knew what was coming on the truck before she did but she couldn't remember the web address.
I called Walmart but I couldn't get anyone who worked in toys, I talked to the operator, who claims they are only sold online even though I literally bought some last week in store. I have a feeling they were just using the regular Walmart website to check their inventory instead of what my Sister described, which sounds like a slightly deeper dive in their actual inventory system and not the website.
I really don't wanna encourage scalpers, these figures retail for roughly $10 USD each and the online prices are insane. Does anyone have any tricks or tips for collecting? Maybe someone here knows what website my Sister is talking about?
Also, Walmart is my only retailer close enough for me to visit or I'd check out other stores. The closest Target is over 3 hours away.
I appreciate it.

So me and my gf like to sleep on call on ft… and it’s been happening a lot recently we both have iPhone 14 Pro Max’s and when we’re not doing anything or I’m asleep before she does she hears a tapping sound like texting or app notification although I am silenced and I am not touching my phone at all. Kinda freaks us out because I’m not doing anything and she hears it like I’m on the phone doing stuff. It’s happened numerous times so I’m not sure if it’s software or the case or what… you guys think you know what it is

So Danny anotnucci made child porn. It’s talked about right at the beginning of this interview with the Ed’s voice actors. Does it ruin it for anyone else or am I too sensitive? I’m a survivor of sexual assault so maybe it hits too hard for me but I never see people talking about this.
If you watch the show there’s a lot of sus moment with the kankers and it’s just creepy from my point of view. But I’ve been looking into the creepy weirdo creators of Cartoon Network after the Nickelodeon thing happened with Dan Schneider. But again I’m a survivor of rape so while that gives me perspective i might also be biased and shit against edge lord humor. I just don’t see what’s funny about a 12 year old putting his dick in another 12 year old. Or why Danny had to make the Ed’s get sexually assaulted so much in the show.
At the risk of sounding like a baby, yeah it is legitimately triggering to see the characters you love in cartoons get raped. Even at the end of the fucking Christmas special. Even before I became a survivor that shit pissed me off. How’s that supposed to be funny? What did Ed do to deserve being sexually assaulted several times? Why does nobody talk about Danny’s weird drawings of kids? “Oh they’re just cartoon characters!” Yeah. And? Animated child porn is still child porn. Here’s the video as proof it’s right at the beginning.
https://youtu.be/7G_rOC8H5i0?si=PZnXLgVOqrzX7eg7

Synopsis:
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
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"So, in short, the most stuck-up bully of my life is now begging for our help to fulfill his greatest dream, because we've happened to become his only remotely realistic hope of achieving it. Do I have that right?"
Carlos looked up from his plate of succulent roasted meats and vegetables, all covered generously with a rich gravy, and raised an eyebrow at Amber. They were in Mayor Stelras's personal dining room, enjoying the service of his personal chef. "You know you do. You've read the letter yourself, what, a dozen times now?"
Amber set the letter aside yet again and took another bite of her own lunch. "Yeah, I know. It's just…" She shook her head and chuckled. "Out of all the things that happened the last few weeks, this one is somehow the hardest for me to believe is real. It's ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous. I've personally met and spoken with royalty! Kindar should be nothing compared to that! But, somehow… This is hitting me harder than anything."
Carlos nodded calmly. "Makes sense to me. The presence of royalty is completely new to you. It's huge and important, and far beyond anything you ever expected might happen, but the only thing you've experienced before that's different is its absence. You don't have any memories in the back of your mind telling you 'that's not how this is supposed to work.' For Kindar, you have a lifetime of memories telling you that he's more powerful and better supported than you are, and that you're mostly helpless against his bullying. Now that you're the one in power, and he's the one helpless against you, that's not just new, but contradicts a lot of your past experiences. Some part of you in the back of your mind is having difficulty reconciling the contradiction; it's like you have a subconscious voice shouting 'that's wrong; it's not how this is supposed to work!' For meeting Princess Lornera, that voice is only confused and surprised, not feeling like something's wrong."
"Hmm." Amber cocked her head and paused. She looked down and idly speared another forkful of tender steak. She made a few more contemplative sounds as she chewed and swallowed. "That makes some weird kind of sense. I think." She shook her head. "How did you know that? I never would have figured it out."
Carlos chuckled. "Don't feel bad about it. Not many people would ever figure out that kind of thing about how human minds work without being taught. I certainly didn't. My dad's a therapist, and he taught me a lot."
Amber blinked, then blinked again. "I have never heard of that profession before. In fact, I think it doesn't exist here."
Carlos realized on reflection that "therapist" hadn't translated. There was no word for it in Ganler, the native language here. "Huh. … I hadn't thought about it, but I'm not surprised. It took a long time for people where I grew up to realize that kind of thing can be important. Or maybe the hard part was realizing that it takes education and training to do it well."
"Ah."
They ate mostly in silence for a while, occasionally humming in thoughtful consideration while they chewed. Eventually Amber was leaning on her elbow, just watching as Carlos scraped up a few last bits of gravy from his plate. She stared distantly at nothing. "Hmm… You know, I'm tempted to actually accept, just so I can rub his face in how I succeeded better at his own greatest ambition than he ever will."
"Hmm? Oh right, Kindar." Carlos chuckled. "I imagine a few sessions of smugly condescending to him would be rather cathartic revenge for you. Would it be worth the downside of helping him actually achieve his ambition, at least to a minor degree, though? I'm sure that if Darmelkon had any other viable options for helping his son with this, he would have taken care of it years ago. If we refuse, we'll be denying Kindar from achieving his ambition at all. Wouldn't that be better revenge?"
"Logically, yeah, that makes sense. But it just doesn't feel satisfying to me." Amber took a sip of water and pushed her empty plate away. "I want to show him how badly we outclass him now. I want to see his face when he realizes that he will never measure up to the 'annoying stupid girl' he used to tease."
Carlos put his hands together, resting his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on his hands as he looked at Amber. "Not to mention how much money Darmelkon will pay us for doing it." His voice was calm and level.
Amber nodded quickly. "Yes, that too."
"You realize we're already rich now, right? Receiving taxes, and all that."
Amber threw her head back laughed uproariously. When her laughter finally tapered off, she leaned forward and looked Carlos in the eyes. "You may have heard that Darmelkon is rich, but you clearly don't understand how filthy rich he really is. Yes, I was shocked when he offered a hundred gold bounty for finding us back before we became nobles, but that was only because I didn't know why he considered us valuable. For this? For helping his son achieve his otherwise impossible greatest desire? A price in platinum would be cheap! I would bet that he'll pay in mythril and be glad about it."
"Hmm." Carlos quickly did the math in his head. 100 gold was roughly equivalent in value here to a million dollars on Earth, and is also equal to 1 platinum. So 1 million dollars per platinum. 100 platinum is 1 mythril. So each mythril coin is around the same order of magnitude value as 100 million dollars. Just 10 mythril to match a billion dollars. "Okay, that's more than I thought. So he's a major business tycoon? What the hell is he doing living in a backwater in the middle of nowhere like Erlen?"
Amber shrugged. "I have no idea. Ask him."
Carlos stared for a moment and snorted. "I suppose it doesn't matter." He took a deep breath. "Alright, I guess we're at least seriously considering it after all. So, let's break it down, pros and cons. Pros: personal satisfaction for you, Darmelkon loses any basis for claiming we still owe him a favor, and we get a ridiculous amount of money. Cons: Kindar becomes a noble. Also, we have to put up with him being here for a while. Anything else?"
"Another one for pros: Even with the favor and Darmelkon paying so much, Kindar himself will personally owe us, bigtime." Amber grinned. "His house will just about be permanent vassals in service to us."
Carlos hesitated, then frowned. "… Just how much, and how long, do you intend to keep paying him back for how he treated you?"
Amber raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "…Until I get tired of it? I don't know."
"I'm all for giving him a well-deserved comeuppance, turning the tables, and giving him a taste of his own medicine to teach him a lesson. But I will not countenance continuing to humiliate and abuse him long term!" Carlos shook his head emphatically. "If we do that, we would be bullies just as bad as he was. I hate bullies, and I refuse to be one."
Amber slowly lowered her eyes, blushed, and nodded shyly. "I… You're right. That is not the kind of person I want to be. I'm sorry for suggesting it."
Carlos leaned forward and reached out to gently put his right hand on top of her hands. "It's okay. What's important is that you recognize your mistakes, learn from them, and make yourself a better person. My parents taught me that very, very thoroughly."
"Yeah." Amber sighed and shook herself. "Thanks. I'll try to remember that. And… Should we just call off the whole idea?"
"Only if you truly want to." Carlos squeezed her hands gently. "If you can get some satisfaction without taking it too far, then that's completely okay, and you were right that there are serious benefits to it. Even having him as a vassal house, as long as we treat him reasonably. Though… Hmm." He frowned. "There has to be a reason why strong noble houses aren't raising up new vassal nobles all the time, right? It's not all that hard to make a noble soul plan if you know the requirements details."
"I suppose. Lorvan probably knows the reason."
Carlos nodded. "Yeah. I feel like he might just ask if we can figure it out ourselves, like he did about nobles keeping mana wellsprings, though…" He shrugged. "I'm sure Darmelkon knows too, and he wouldn't have asked if the Crown forbids it, or anything like that. He's ambitious and ruthless, not stupid. We should ask, certainly, but I expect any consequences we might have overlooked will be manageable. As I see it, the core question is just…" Carlos reached his other hand forward, firmly clasped and lifted both of Amber's hands, and looked her in the eyes. "Amber, what do you want to do with this?"
Amber stared back for a moment, then averted her gaze. "Don't you have an opinion about this too? Why are you only asking me?"
"Of course I have an opinion, but all he did to me was loan me a sword in a dungeon and then act rude and arrogant when he demanded it back afterward. You are the one who grew up being bullied by him. How to treat him matters far more to you than it possibly could to me." Carlos squeezed Amber's hands reassuringly. "Amber, please, look at me." He waited, and after a few seconds Amber hesitantly turned her head to face him directly again. "My opinion on this is that I want our response to be something that you will be content and happy with. All other relevant considerations that I can think of are less important than that."
Amber stared and slowly nodded. "I… Thank you." She squeezed Carlos's hands back and awkwardly extracted her hands from his grip so she could lean forward and rest her head on them, propped up by her elbows on the table. "I think… I do want to accept, but maybe with some conditions. I still want to show him up in person and see his reaction. Part of me still feels afraid of him, and I want to prove to myself that he doesn't have the power to threaten me anymore. That seems like something your 'therapists' would say something about. Would they say it's a good idea? Do you know?"
Carlos nodded. "Yes, absolutely. Standing up to something you used to fear is a great way to resolve residual fear of it that lingers in your mind."
"Then, yeah. I want to do that, and I do still want to get some payback." Amber hesitated. "But if I start bullying people like he did, I'd start hating myself as soon as I realize it. So, no bullying. And that goes for Kindar too. If he can't learn to stop being a bully, then he doesn't deserve what he wants. Let's give him a chance. Make our conditions clear, and demand partial payment up front, but give him an opportunity to earn our help."
"That sounds fair." Carlos cocked his head and frowned in thought. "Having him with us may require adjusting some of our plans. … Actually, we're overdue for making certain plans in the first place. I got a bit too carried away with my excitement over all the spell keywords we can learn now. Sorry."
Amber grinned. "Have you forgotten that I told you I'm well known for always having a plan? What do you think I've been doing the past two days?"
Carlos raised an eyebrow, then grinned back at her. "Oh really? Let's see what you've got!"
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S1 breakdown:
Eva's S1 heals someone 15% of her HP and triggers a dual attack from your highest attack hero.
This is actually very powerful since if paired with another hero in the team like D.Astei, the damage potential skyrockets.
The next silly thing is that her Dual Attack seems to also trigger when you do a counter, and that also answers the question on what set I'd be putting her on.
Her S1 becomes ridiculous once she transcends to 5*, more later.
S1 Bursts:
Her first Burst (70 AP) gives the 15% heal to all allies instead and her second (105 AP) gives 70 AP to other allies, nothing impressive at all.
Her third Burst (140 AP) however removes debuffs from all allies and also gives them Revive for 2 turns, a really huge swing.
S2 breakdown:
Firstly, Eva's S2 gives her immunity to Frozen and Silence, with means that unless you encounter the rare Stun effect, you're guaranteed her turn every time and can skimp on an Immunity set.
Next, if any ally gets debuffed, she cleanses the team by reducing all debuff durations for 2 turns, and also Seals the enemy, preventing them from doing any extra attacks.
This still won't trigger against a single D.Valda's S3, but if there is any extra attack from other heroes like Kanon or Notia, this would trigger and make it an easy win for any second turn team.
With Eva's Exclusive Equipment, you also get a bonus 15% heal with this.
S3 breakdown:
Eva's S3 provides a whooping 30% heal, 1 turn Invulnerability, and 2 turns of Increased Speed to the entire party, basically shadowing what Leo did previously.
I can imagine it becoming more degenerate if successfully paired with Dianne's S2 or Cindy's S3, might be even possible to make an unkillable party with Sterope too.
Gear choices:
As already mentioned, she doesn't need Immunity and I think a Counter set would be very strong for her. Her heals are HP based and you need her to survive any initial cleave so the focus should be on her HP, then followed by Speed to take advantage of her S1.
Personally I'll be having her on a 2-set Swiftness and 2-set Counter, but I can see other combinations working well too.
For weapons, Iron Messiah (applies a barrier when using a single-attack) seems to have quite a lot of synergy with her S1 and counters, but a Health % main stat is more important.
Anything goes for accessories as long as you have a Health or Speed main stat, I'll be using Starlight Road on her (Reduces Critical Damage on enemy team).
Transcend:
Unlike D.Valda, Eva is already very strong without transcending, but her 5* and 6* really takes her to a different level.
If you 5* her, the S1 does a triple attack with your top 2 attack heroes instead. If you think it sounds broken, yes it is.
Her 6* basically defeats any D.Valda openers that do not have an immunity set (that means all of them). D.Valda doesn't get to do her extra attack, which means Agile responses like D.Stella or Eva herself will trigger after and wreck the opposing team.
TLDR: Her kit combines the best bits of Leo and Edelweiss (she also really good) and provides an easy way to win against D.Vlada defenses.
Screenshots:
Still working on gear
My current rank, joke defense team, expecting to fall further

I have been wearing hearing aids for years as an adult and started taking violin lessons as an adult with them. My current HAs (Oticon brand) are 6 years old and have a decent Music program in addition to the General program and Speech in Noise program. When I started violin, my first teacher said I had a "pressed" sound and my current teacher said the same. When I switched to using the Music program, the "pressed" sound vanished. My teacher said it was gone. I couldn't hear the difference but the better auditory feedback from the Music program vs. General program fixed the bowing problem.
Last week I started trialing new hearing aids (same Oticon brand). The improvement in technology is significant. Speech clarity is much better. Their new Music program is much worse. I have fiddled a little at home with the settings and have improved it from bad to bearable. My violin now sounds okay to my ears instead of ugly. Last night, in desperation, I put my old HAs back on while playing violin and it sounded beautiful again.
At my violin lesson this morning, I told my teacher about the new HAs and the new bad Music program. I played some scales with the new HAs and switched to the old HAs that I had brought along. She could hear a difference. She said my tone with the new HAs was clear but harsh. And my tone with the old HAs was sweeter. This is what I hear too, and the auditory feedback loop seems to encourage bowing more sweetly with the old HAs than it does with the new HAs.
What we hear is what we play. I will ask my audiologist to tinker with the settings of the new HAs to improve the Music program and make it like the old one. I'll bring my violin along, too, for testing.

*tw: dating at early age (for those of you who always get annoyed lmao),, i know we’re young, we make mistakes yadayadayada i know y’all are probably thinking “eh why so young date already ah” but to be fair we’re all curious kids so- can’t stop it from happening if it happens 😃
backstory: alright so in 2022, i (15F) was talking to a guy (15M, aka person A) for at least 2-3 months, seemed nice, and then we had a relationship that lasted around 3-4 months (we broke up on christmas day 😅)..
anyway, so yeah we kind of broke up on “good terms”? (broke up because i told him we’re better off as friends since we couldn’t meet each others’ expectations as a couple? he was emotionally unavailable and was very insecure throughout the relationship, and would often break boundaries that i had already set in place, and i had already let him cross too many — i know that’s on me because i didn’t enforce my boundaries as firm as i should have — but anyway he wasn’t a bad friend to me so i thought, why not go back to being friends?) or so i thought 💀
a few days after we broke up, i found out through HIS friends that he was talking shit about me? (e.g. calling me a slxt, told his friends that i cheated on him with FIVE?? not one, not two, but FIVE guys 😭 my thoughts: wow i didn’t know i had so much time in my life to cheat on you?) but at that point i was already done with him because i honestly couldn’t be bothered? and he wasn’t even my problem anymore! so obviously i proceeded on with my life and focused on my studies.
story: now, it’s 2024 he’s 17, i’m 17. introducing my best friend (17F, person B). person B has been with me since the beginning of 2020, we of course had our fights and drama, but we stayed despite them and learned to love one another with our flaws (platonically obviously).
so person B was around when i was dating person A, and they became friends. however, when i broke up with person A, he still kept contact with person B. (they talk in school sometimes)
as of now, person A and person B are close friends, and when i say close friends, i mean they call each other (one on one) sometimes, he updates her about almost everything in his life, he invites her for outings (just the two of them), and always asks for her thoughts on stuff.. and you may be thinking, “omg how would you know?” ☺️☺️ well person B tells me!
in my opinion, i don’t really care much if you were friends with my ex, because honestly speaking, he’s human too and he needs a community to talk to as well, BUT you do not have to share with my everything about my ex’s current life 😭 (doesn’t matter love life, healthy life, whatever life).. i’ve chosen to move on from him, leaving him as a part of my life in my high school days and i do not need or wish to involve him in my life again? i’m sorry but that’s what i have decided on for my life.
i don’t know, does it make me sound like i have not gotten over my ex? because i swear im over him, i just don’t need to hear about his life that often, and i get really annoyed at it too 😭 and whenever i react to something he does to me after the break up, (e.g. liking my story) she just tells me that im overreacting and that he’s just being friendly..
and also, the thing is person B knows what my other friends (they do not interact with person A at all) think about their friendship (person A + B) and she’ll keep on telling me “yo i feel guilty because people will think I’m such a bad friend for being close with your ex” and i’ve told her countless times “i really do not care if you’re friends with him, it’s your life”
so am i in the wrong to be reacting this way when person B tells me about person A’s life? am i really just overreacting when it’s just a small issue? and what do i do because i obviously don’t want to hear about person A.. but i do want my friendship with person B to continue..

Of course it's just my opinion, so i wanted to discuss something.
I think that pikmin 4 may probably be my favorite game of the series, something that i would have never expected since i've been a huge pikmin fan since 2001 and i thought nostalgia would have prevented me to love pikmin 4 as much as i should have, but this didn't happen. After 19 freaking years my favorite game in the series went from pikmin 2 to pikmin 4, and i believe this latest installment has an almost perfect formula for the series that i would like to stick with for the next titles too. Anyway, you read it in the post title, there's something i like way more in pikmin 3, something that may sound "small" but that does a huge difference to me.
As you might have guessed, Pikmin 3 uses an approach i don't find very fitting for Pikmin, as much as i love story driven games i don't think it's the best thing for this one in particular. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE pikmin 3 and i'm super happy it exists as having many interpretations of i game i love is the best thing i could ask for, i just didn't want it to become the standard. Anyway, there's something that to me reaches its peak in pikmin 3 and that disappointed me a little in pikmin 4.
Finding new types: I know, this may sound silly, but when i think of pikmin 3 the first thing that comes to my mind and makes me wanna replay it is how you unlock new types. In pikmin 1 it was incredibly basic, you find the first two onions in random places and only the blue one is conceptually close to its element. In pikmin 2 this was incredibly improved, you find the red pikmin while you're divided and you use them to have the characters meet again, you find purples and whites in caves only, making them special, the blue onion is visible before the yellow one, but unaccessible unil you get yellows in the next one. Being the most story based one, in pikmin 3 every time you find a new onion it's in a different and interesting situation: The red onion is dangling from a plant like a fruit and you have to take it down with pikmin, the rock onion is stuck in crystal and you have to free rock pikmin to get to it, the yellow one has a whole very cool puzzle around it with the bridge, the winged one is my favorite as it's stuck in a web, showing from the start who are winged pikmin's predators and the blue one is just so cool, underwater, only lifted by winged.
In pikmin 4 you can do something in always wanted to do and i'm very glad for it, you can find pikmin in any order you want, anyway, you generally find a few pikmin first and only unlock the onion later and after a few runs i noticed this bothered me a lot. You find a new type but you barely can use it and when you find the onion you don't feel like having a new type cause you already had that one. It breaks my excitement for new pikmin in half and it never feel as cool as it did in pikmin 3. As i said, i love having a new approach, but for a future game... I don't know, this doesn't excited me very much, anyway i'll briefly tell you how i would handle this in pikmin 5:
I'd do a mix of the two, how? Each map has its onions scattered around, you can find them in different orders as some maps may have more than one onion and most of the times you won't even need all of them to unlock the next area. This way, you get to wander freely and get pikmin in different orders... BUT... I would love to have some sort of small "quest" or puzzle for each onion, one that gives me a sense of uniqeness to each of them. For example, the blue onion could be inside a tricky submerged tunnel, you don't need any other type to reach it, but when you do you feel like you've completed something and now the map feels bigger and more open cause you can already farm pikmin of that type and explore. Ice onion? Put it in an ice based puzzle and let red pikmin be needed to melt the ice, you have them from the start so it's not a problem. Winged? It could even be the final reward from a spider boss in a cave! You can do it with any type, but it feels like a quest!
So, this is my idea, what are your thoughts? Did you like the pikmin 4's approach? Or you prefer the 3's one like me? Sorry for the eeeextra long post, and thanks for the attention 🌼

I'm 18M . About 30 minutes ago I was drinking a glass of milk and I think I may have inhaled some of it before I could swallow it. It felt like the milk went down my throat and it sounded like what could only be described as a burp going inward. At first I didn't cough at all so I sort of shrugged it off but after 5 minutes I started coughing like crazy and now 30 minutes later every time I take a heavy breath I cough/make a wheezing sound. Could this be silent aspiration/harmful, and if so, will it go away on it's own? Many thanks.

I never expected to not like Synergy. After all, this eye-poppingly adorable survival city builder based on the supremely influential comic book illustrations of French artist Jean Giraud, AKA Moebius, is everything I want on paper. A rich and rarely seen visual rendering of a strange alien planet that—dare I say—synergizes nicely with its thoughtful and intricate resource gathering mechanics that encourage patient research and exploration effort rather than combat.
What’s not to love, right?
Well, after 10+ hours with Synergy, I am surprised and saddened to report that I find it all a bit... boring? You see, after the initial wave of art-induced infatuation wore off, I gradually began to realize that Synergy isn’t meant to simulate an intense, punishing, and consequently thrilling fight against the world’s harsh climate as is the case in games like Frostpunk and Against the Storm. Nor is it here to push you to your production-chain resource micromanagement limits as do games like Cartel Tycoon, The Settlers, and Pioneers of Pagonia. And, given Synergy's near total deemphasis on your city’s individuals, it's incapable of delivering those fun AI storylines seen in colony simulators like RIMWORLD and its upcoming medieval clone Norland.
Instead, Synergy is about the biggest number on the screen: your city’s prosperity score, which visualizes the city’s sustainability and well-being. Synergy wants your main focus to be basking in the wonderful art style as you build toward a beautiful, culture-rich utopia that doesn’t overexploit the world’s fragile ecosystem, which you can see grow and die in real time. Dealing with the harsh climate, producing enough food and water—these survival mechanics that drive other games are inconveniences in Synergy rather than the game’s deciding factors. Now, does this design decision mean the game is easy? Absolutely not, as there’s still plenty of depth here and still plenty of ways to screw things up (trust me). But don’t go in expecting an exhilarating experience, which is what I personally wanted.
That in mind, let’s get into the game.
GAMEPLAY & CONTENT
You’ll start out as you do in many survival city builders—with a store of starter resources and a handful of static, slowly starving settlers (poor little guys). However, after laying a building from your construction menu, your settlers will snap out of their comas and get right to work. After building early game structures like shelters, warehouses, and “picking cabins,” you’ll want to lay down a field lab so you can start researching the world’s strange plant life. These lab results will then inform you about the plant’s properties (e.g., is it edible?), as well as the different materials you can gather from it by either picking, trimming, or ripping the plant out of the ground entirely.
In between all of this rippin’ and tearin’, you’ll need to build a research center and start unlocking new buildings, like an infirmary to treat worn down workers, an arborist’s workshop to help replant whatcha de-plant, and an explorer’s hut from which you can launch expeditions into the unknown. Upon reaching a new area or point of interest, you’ll get a short text-based scenario and an RNG choice or two, but watch out because rolling the die can result in die-ing. Oh, and keep an eye out for ancient tablets along the way, as collecting and then translating them will unlock buffs for your village.
In other words... from an objectives and mechanics standpoint, Synergy is a lot like most of the survival city builders I’ve covered on this channel, albeit with an attractive and intuitive user interface that makes a fun little ASMR sound when you hover over it. I would like to see more map variety by 1.0, however, as the level designs currently feel pretty synonymous. Lastly, I didn’t encounter any figurative bugs in Synergy, though I do think the game would benefit from some literal ones—I just know my villagers must be tired of eating the same “watery pod” veggie pie every day, plus, this art style is simply begging for some colorful and creative Dr. Suess-esque animals.
CONCLUSION
I had originally planned on a longer review of Synergy, but the game’s text-based story in which you seek out fellow settlers and study the world’s strange glowing phenomenon doesn’t currently feel fleshed out enough to fairly score. So, we’ll give the game a subject-to-change aggregate MEGA score of 3.22/5 (full scoring breakdown available in video form on my profile) and plan on revisiting it closer to full release. Between now and then, I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the game or my review.
Thanks for reading!

I have pretty low anxiety levels unless in a group of people I do not know. I have only had a couple panic attacks in my life years ago and absolutely never have them now. I can walk around in busy areas and I almost just don't feel like anyone can even see me, I'm in a constant world of my own you could say. I don't really have any issue with having a 1 on 1 conversation with anyone who is a reasonably nice person although I feel like I can clearly sense when someone isn't to be trusted and more often than not this is the case. I'm extremely hyper vigilant which people say is paranoia but it feels more like my senses are just more attuned than others and it makes life difficult in a certain sense. I struggle with a feeling like I'm constantly being set up, particularly by potential employers which leads to me quitting many jobs. I do think there is something inherently distasteful about rich employers paying me the minimum they can just so I can pay for my 1 bedroom house and food. My anxiety used to make me feel trapped in situations but I genuinely have lost the feeling that I care what people think so I will happily just quit but I'm actually in serious financial stress so I need to try stay in a job. I do genuinely think if money wasn't a thing and I could just walk and go to the gym all the time I'd have no issues. I'm also convinced there is something genuinely illusory about this reality and we're all just so deeply invested we can't see how ridiculous we are. No one works together, people genuinely do want to use each other for their own benefit unless they are family or friends. It's like there's s circle of accepted people and I'm not in this circle so it's ok to treat me like a 2nd class citizen (not all people do but it's easy for me to tell who does view me this way and who doesn't).
I think alcohol has something to do with it because I'm nearly a year without any and this feeling is stronger than ever. I also only drink distilled water and have done for roughly a year so it could be fluoride or something, either way I guess I genuinely feel like I'm waking up but society is so sick that it's painful and everyone would like to convince me I'm the problem.
Does this sound like derealization? I'm pretty confident I don't have depersonalisation but does it sound like I'm experiencing psychotic symptoms or can people relate to this?