Dirty things to do with your boyfreind |

Few facts about Canada from an American first Canadian second duel citizen.
Quick about me: I've lived in Canada most my life 22 years, and in the U.S. 11 years. I wish that were reversed anyways on with the show. First though I've asked way too many Canadians who their head of state is. If they know what that means at all they usually say Trudeau...... It's king Charles....yea not great, in fact the second in line is the governor general, prime minister is third. Onwards.
Canadas "constitution" if it can be called that technically isn't a legal document. Québec refused to sign it's ratification and to this day hasn't. That doesn't stop Québec from collecting equalisation payments of which Alberta pays the most. I like the fact that Québec is grifting the other provinces makes me smile. They could develop their resources and quickly become the wealthiest province but why not get welfare eh? And the language thing holy cow.......nuff said.
Which brings me to Alberta the wealthiest province overshadowing Ontario per capita. The weather there is by far the worse in the provinces (and I grew up in Winnipeg). We like to put Vancouver down due to the homelessness (worst I've ever seen) however Calgary and Edmonton have metro populations of 1.5 m each and the homeless issues have ballooned in recent years. It's to the point where it can be compared to places like Nashville TN, Tampa FL, and Atlanta GA, all of which are at least double the population where as ATL is quadruple. As car dependant a city I've ever seen, akin to LA. Calgary has become a mini Toronto and Edmonton a large Winnipeg.
Moving on to good ol' Winnipeg the asshole of Canada. Potholes, poverty, pessimistic, petty, predictable, and of course proud. It's like the old adage pride go before the fall, except in this case the fall came first. Winnipeg is isolated and has a Stockholm syndrome hovering over it's people. Being the only city in Manitoba, everyone flocks there from the small towns. Way too heavy on the sports, I'd imagine it's due to how little there is to do. Per capita Manitoba as a whole is statistically on par with Chicago in murder and violent crime rates (look it up). Winnipeg itself is up there with D.C. not great. It's so poor and corrupt the roads have crumbled and no one fixes them. It took like 3 years to put up the new "tallest tower" 300 main. For reference Toronto puts them up in half the time and twice the height. The tallest building in Omaha is 50 m taller, in Tulsa it's 60 m, 50 m in Des Moines, and 70 m in New Orleans. Not that that matters. Way over priced housing for where and what it is, and anything "affordable" is in areas akin to American ghettos. Lastly transit... Nuff said. Moving on.
The maritime provinces. They're poor, really poor, but mostly poorly treated by Ottawa, if they hadn't been so long they would've thrived much like Winnipeg would have without the coast to coast CN line. I digress, of all the places in Canada the maritimes are the friendliest, pretty on par with the stereotype of nice Canadians. There's nothing bad to say about this place. Moving on...
Saskatchewan would be good if not for the fuckin RCMP giving it a bad rap. Moving on...
Before we get into the meat I'll add a quick not about the territories. STOP IGNORING THE RESERVATIONS NEEDS FOR CLEAN WATER, AND LOWER THE FUCKIN PRICES UP THERE!!!. Next.
I'll start with Ontario the dirty asshole of Canada. Ottawa, Great little city ruined by over confident politicians walking around convinced they're better that you 🫵. The amount of investment into transit in and around the GTA from Montreal to Windsor is impressive and on the level of European countries. I don't see that kind of investment in the rest of Canada. Ontario is, was, and always will be, me first.... Fuck you. They literally stifle other provinces from becoming wealthier. Look at the bombardier contract as a perfect example. Carbon taxing Manitoba who has been green since before we all knew what that was. The actions against the trucker protest and all the scandals, that's all Ontario... Americans don't know much about Canada but they do know the "crack smoking mayor". What can I say. Toronto has been ruined by too much construction and lack of proper city planning. So over priced NYC is jealous. Next.
Last on the list we have the beautiful British Columbia. Right so, it is beautiful but the people are criminally rude. Vancouver is poised to be the best city in north America in all metrics, however they choose to follow Ottawa and now look at it. As I mentioned worst homeless issue I've seen including skid row in LA. The Okanagan is a bible thumping tax haven and stash for drug money and gang revenue. Despite these things and a few more I won't mention the lower mainland is a unique and interesting place. Good luck living there holy mackerel the prices..... Anyways O' Canada stop being what you are before you either dissolve and are annexed by the USA or get invaded by a modern version of the allied powers... Freezing bank accounts.... Whoa. Even D.C. isn't that tyrannical. Taking away legal gun owners guns. Whoa, while Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg's illegal gun seizures skyrocket. No free speech, which is the backbone of any democracy.
Don't get it twisted Canada you aren't a democracy you are a dominion of the U.K. an archaic monarchy. Have fun with all that eh!! America has it's issues some starker than yours that's not lost on me, but for now in 2024 it's a better place to live, not best, better. Good day ladies and gentleman.
Sincerely Quirky Blurky 🥭

Few facts about Canada from an American first Canadian second duel citizen.
Quick about me: I've lived in Canada most my life 22 years, and in the U.S. 11 years. I wish that were reversed anyways on with the show. First though I've asked way too many Canadians who their head of state is. If they know what that means at all they usually say Trudeau...... It's king Charles....yea not great, in fact the second in line is the governor general, prime minister is third. Onwards.
Canadas "constitution" if it can be called that technically isn't a legal document. Québec refused to sign it's ratification and to this day hasn't. That doesn't stop Québec from collecting equalisation payments of which Alberta pays the most. I like the fact that Québec is grifting the other provinces makes me smile. They could develop their resources and quickly become the wealthiest province but why not get welfare eh? And the language thing holy cow.......nuff said.
Which brings me to Alberta the wealthiest province overshadowing Ontario per capita. The weather there is by far the worse in the provinces (and I grew up in Winnipeg). We like to put Vancouver down due to the homelessness (worst I've ever seen) however Calgary and Edmonton have metro populations of 1.5 m each and the homeless issues have ballooned in recent years. It's to the point where it can be compared to places like Nashville TN, Tampa FL, and Atlanta GA, all of which are at least double the population where as ATL is quadruple. As car dependant a city I've ever seen, akin to LA. Calgary has become a mini Toronto and Edmonton a large Winnipeg.
Moving on to good ol' Winnipeg the hole of Canada. Potholes, poverty, pessimistic, petty, predictable, and of course proud. It's like the old adage pride go before the fall, except in this case the fall came first. Winnipeg is isolated and has a Stockholm syndrome hovering over it's people. Being the only city in Manitoba, everyone flocks there from the small towns. Way too heavy on the sports, I'd imagine it's due to how little there is to do. Per capita Manitoba as a whole is statistically on par with Chicago in murder and violent crime rates (look it up). Winnipeg itself is up there with D.C. not great. It's so poor and corrupt the roads have crumbled and no one fixes them. It took like 3 years to put up the new "tallest tower" 300 main. For reference Toronto puts them up in half the time and twice the height. The tallest building in Omaha is 50 m taller, in Tulsa it's 60 m, 50 m in Des Moines, and 70 m in New Orleans. Not that that matters. Way over priced housing for where and what it is, and anything "affordable" is in areas akin to American ghettos. Lastly transit... Nuff said. Moving on.
The maritime provinces. They're poor, really poor, but mostly poorly treated by Ottawa, if they hadn't been so long they would've thrived much like Winnipeg would have without the coast to coast CN line. I digress, of all the places in Canada the maritimes are the friendliest, pretty on par with the stereotype of nice Canadians. There's nothing bad to say about this place. Moving on...
Saskatchewan would be good if not for the fuckin RCMP giving it a bad rap. Moving on...
Before we get into the meat I'll add a quick not about the territories. STOP IGNORING THE RESERVATIONS NEEDS FOR CLEAN WATER, AND LOWER THE FECKIN PRICES UP THERE!!!. Next.
I'll start with Ontario the dirty hole of Canada. Ottawa, Great little city ruined by over confident politicians walking around convinced they're better that you 🫵. The amount of investment into transit in and around the GTA from Montreal to Windsor is impressive and on the level of European countries. I don't see that kind of investment in the rest of Canada. Ontario is, was, and always will be, me first.... Feck you. They literally stifle other provinces from becoming wealthier. Look at the bombardier contract as a perfect example. Carbon taxing Manitoba who has been green since before we all knew what that was. The actions against the trucker protest and all the scandals, that's all Ontario... Americans don't know much about Canada but they do know the "crack smoking mayor". What can I say. Toronto has been ruined by too much construction and lack of proper city planning. So over priced NYC is jealous. Next.
Last on the list we have the beautiful British Columbia. Right so, it is beautiful but the people are criminally rude. Vancouver is poised to be the best city in north America in all metrics, however they choose to follow Ottawa and now look at it. As I mentioned worst homeless issue I've seen including skid row in LA. The Okanagan is a bible thumping tax haven and stash for drug money and gang revenue. Despite these things and a few more I won't mention the lower mainland is a unique and interesting place. Good luck living there holy mackerel the prices..... Anyways O' Canada stop being what you are before you either dissolve and are annexed by the USA or get invaded by a modern version of the allied powers... Freezing bank accounts.... Whoa. Even D.C. isn't that tyrannical. Taking away legal gun owners guns. Whoa, while Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg's illegal gun seizures skyrocket. No free speech, which is the backbone of any democracy.
Don't get it twisted Canada you aren't a democracy you are a dominion of the U.K. an archaic monarchy. Have fun with all that eh!! America has it's issues some starker than yours that's not lost on me, but for now in 2024 it's a better place to live, not best, better. Good day ladies and gentleman.
Sincerely Quirky Blurky 🥭

这是一篇为所有中国同胞写的中英双语帖子，为了让所有人都能看懂，我会全部如实写成中英文两版，不但可以为中国战友提供一个温暖的港湾，也可以让所有其他地区的人知道中国战友与他们同在！本文章仅代表个人看法，不构成任何投资建议。 This is a bilingual post written for all Chinese Apes in both Chinese and English. To make this post understandable to all of us, I will write everything faithfully in both Chinese and English versions. Not only can this provide a warm harbor for Chinese people, but it can also let people from all over the world know that an extremely strong Chinese army is standing with them!! This article represents only my personal views and does not constitute any investment advice.
首先，我们这次战斗的最终目的是让看空这只股票的对冲基金付出惨痛的代价！！大家一致的目标应该是收割华尔街空头口袋里的钱，而不是做T低买高卖收割战友的钱。而达成这一目标我们要做的是低价买入并坚定持有，等待股价飞涨，最终形成轧空。当价格足够高的时候，做空机构就会权衡利弊，放弃抵抗被迫平仓以数十亿甚至数百亿的代价回购将来可能涨到50块甚至上百块一股的股票。到时候因为做空机构的大量回购，就会进一步推动股价继续飞速上升，到达更高，那一刻才是我们的最终胜利！ First of all, our ultimate goal in this battle is to make the hedge funds that are shorting this stock pay a painful price!! Our objective should be to harvest the money from the pockets of Wall Street shorts, rather than engaging in short-term trading to harvest money from our brothers and sisters. To achieve this goal, all we need to do is to BUY the DIP and HODL, waiting for the stock price to rise and finally cause a short squeeze. When the price is high enough, hedge funds institutions will weigh the pros and cons, give up resistance, and be forced to cover their positions at a cost of tens of billions or even hundreds of billions to buy back the stock, which may rise to $50 or even hundreds of dollars per share in the future. At that moment, due to the massive buybacks by short-selling institutions, the stock price will be further propelled upwards rapidly, reaching even higher levels, which will be our ultimate victory!
而此战我们的初步战略目标是从5月16日开始算起连续10个交易日FFIE收盘（美东时间下午4：00）价格保持在1以上不退市，就可以撤销纳斯达克的退市要求。首先你需要知道，在纳斯达克上市的股票如果连续30个交易日收盘价格低于1美元，就可能面临退市风险。纳斯达克会向公司发出通知，要求其在收到通知后的180个日历日内将股价提高到至少1美元，并保持至少10个连续交易日。目前FFIE公司已经收到了通知，并且开始10个交易日倒计时，我们必须要首先保证FFIE不会退市。为了做到这一点，已经有数十万来自全球各地的散户战友集结于此守在1块钱，随时准备买进，抵挡住空头大军的攻击，此刻，我们固若金汤！ In this battle, our initial strategic objective is to ensure that the FFIE closing price remains above $1 for ten consecutive trading days, starting from May 16th, to avoid delisting by Nasdaq. You need to understand that for stocks listed on Nasdaq, if the closing price remains below $1 for thirty consecutive trading days, they may face delisting risk. Nasdaq notifies the company, requiring it to increase the stock price to at least $1 within 180 calendar days of receiving the notification, and maintain it for at least ten consecutive trading days. Currently, FFIE has received the notification and the countdown of ten trading days has begun. We must ensure first and foremost that FFIE does not get delisted. To achieve this, hundreds of thousands of retail comrades from around the world have gathered here, ready to buy at $1 and resist the attacks of the short sellers. At this moment, we stand as solid as a rock!
目前截至5月21日，我们的战斗已经连续胜利了3天，还需再努力坚持7天，我们就可以达成初步胜利！而这个过程亦是让世界的焦点凝聚于我们的过程，只要让全世界看到我们的团结和壮大，就可以吸引更多志同道合的人，壮大队伍，甚至吸引名人和做多机构的加入，朝着更高的价格一路高歌猛进！🌟🚀
As of May 21st, our battle has been continuously victorious for 3 days. With another 7 days of determined effort, we can achieve preliminary victory! This process also draws the world’s attention to us. By showcasing our unity and strength, we can attract like-minded individuals, enlarge our community, and even entice celebrities and organizations to join us, marching forward, full sail ahead! 🌟🚀
而我们作为散户团体所要坚持的只有一句话，**逢低买入并坚定持有！逢低买入并坚定持有！逢低买入并坚定持有！**重要的事情说三遍。
As retail investors, we only need to remember one phrase: “BUY the DIP and HODL!” BUY the DIP and HODL! BUY the DIP and HODL! Important things are worth repeating three times.
这么喊的原因：
Reasons for this:

为什么要逢低？因为当买入价格够低，股票在购买价格之上波动的时候心态才会更稳定，不会因为机构砸盘而过分恐慌。
Why Buy the DIP? Because when the buying price is low enough and the stock fluctuates above the buying price, the mentality will be more stable and people will not panic sell because of the institution's attack.
为什么要坚定持有？因为越来越多的人坚定持有，市场上流通的可交易股票数量就会越来越少，空头机构可操作的空间就会越来越小，无法操纵价格，从而无力回天。每次担心成本过高或者做T的买卖操作，都会成为空头机构的棋子和韭菜。所以请坚定持有！
Why should we HOLD? When more and more people are holding, the number of tradable shares available in the market will decrease, reducing the space for short-selling institutions to operate. This makes it impossible for them to manipulate the price, rendering them powerless. Every time you worry about high costs or engage in quick buy and sell operations (like day trading), you become the chess of institutions and your money get reaped by them. So, please HOLD!

而如果你已经买了，你不需要担心自己是不是买的价格稍微高了，因为如果我们胜利，价格将会是几十或者几百，几十倍翻倍，不差这点买入价格。
Additionally, if you have already bought in, you don’t need to worry if your purchase price was a bit high because if we succeed, the price will be in the tens or hundreds, multiplying many times over, so a slightly higher buying price won't matter.
在这十天中，空头机构可能会想尽一切肮脏的手段制造各种舆论压力，社区关闭，并让股价下跌和造成恐慌，请心情忐忑的散户朋友们不要慌张，我们有数十万的散户坚守在这里，所有人都与你同在！在上周五，下作的做空机构突然关闭了Reddit上Roaringkitty板块，让大家变成了无头苍蝇，但在周五最后，我们还是坚持住了最后一道防线，险胜空头。而这个周末，我们的各种社区频道在Discord, Reddit, Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram以及X（Twitter)如雨后春笋般到处野蛮生长，空头机构已经再也无法造成任何恐慌，打不倒我们的只会让我们更强大！！而我们中国人更是有一句人尽皆知的俗语，一鼓作气再而衰三而竭。周五第一波我们扛住了，相信后面空头的气势只会越来越弱。
In these ten days, short-selling institutions may try every dirty trick to create various public opinion pressures, close communities, and cause stock prices to fall and create panic. Retail investors who are feeling uneasy, please don't panic. We have hundreds of thousands of retail investors holding the line here; we are together! On last Friday, the unscrupulous short-selling institutions suddenly shut down the Roaringkitty section on Reddit, leaving everyone like headless chickens. But by the end of Friday, we still held the last line of defense and narrowly defeated the shorts. Over the weekend, our various community channels on Discord, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and X (Twitter) sprang up like mushrooms after rain. The short-selling institutions can no longer cause any panic; What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger! And we Chinese have a well-known saying, 'Charge with the first drum, wane with the second, and be exhausted by the third.' We withstood the first wave on Friday, and we believe the momentum of the shorts will only get weaker from here on.
最后，我们要让以后的人也知道，我们为了这场和华尔街空头的战斗都做了什么！从周五最后一秒股价的力挽狂澜，到各个社区的崛起，以及各种多语言网站的搭建。我们还有百万粉丝油管UP和百万粉丝Tiktok大佬的加入。而这一切只用了短短两天，在这里大家互相鼓励，互相学习股票知识以及同步信息，无论老少男女，每个人都在尽自己所能为胜利而战！而我们中国人在这次战役中也发挥着举足轻重的作用！我们必须要尽一切可能让所有人听到数十万中国人的声音！让说英语的人知道，他们不是孤单的。
让我们一起坚定持有！！！HODL!!!!!!
Finally, we must let future people know what we did in this battle against Wall Street shorts! From the last-second rally in stock prices on Friday to the rise of various communities and the establishment of multi-language websites. We also had the support of YouTubers with millions of followers and TikTok stars with millions of fans. And all this was achieved in just two short days. Here, everyone encourages each other, learns about stocks together, and shares information voluntarily. Regardless of age or gender, everyone is doing their best to fight for victory! We Chinese also play a crucial role in this battle! We must do everything possible to make the voices of hundreds of thousands of Chinese heard! Let English speakers know they are not alone.
Let's HODL together!!!!!!!!

Intro:
I just saw a post here every day about a lonely guy and his struggles in dating.
When I read it, the frustration, sadness, and despair are palpable. But since 63% of young men are single, and half of male university students are virgins, I can understand why these posters aren’t happy.
The majority of men are lonely.
While I cannot solve this very real societal phenomenon, I will try to put things into perspective.
After all, trite as it may sound, life is truly about much more than dating. We’ll talk about this later on.
Before we begin, I would like to sincerely dedicate this post to all of those people who carry a void in their hearts every day.
I truly hope that reading the following will bring you at least a little peace of mind.
This is something that you need to tell yourself every single day. Life coaches and toxic PUAs like Andrew Tate are telling you to run game on 5 women every day, but I'm telling you to tell yourself this 5 times a day:
It's not your fault.
This should be said and emphasized a lot more. I want you guys to completely digest this idea. It is important to keep reminding yourself of this truth. Once you truly understand this, you will have a much more peaceful mindset.
The situation you are in was forced upon you.
Genetic determinism is anathema to most people. You will always see the fortunate, the lucky people try to take credit for their living situations, but they won't acknowledge the opportunities they were given.
I want you to understand something: when people tell you "you can do it, you can do anything," they are not saying it for your benefit. They are saying it to gaslight you and feel better about themselves. It implies that if you fail, it was because of something you did wrong.
"You could've done it, but you didn't, so it's your fault."
Don't let people gaslight you.
You look at a guy like Jeremy Meeks, scum of the earth. This guy is the personification of luck. The guy made the wrong choices and decisions at every step of the way, and he still made it as a multimillionaire top model, all because of his looks.
He comes from a broken family, he's a criminal, robber, gangster, beat an underage kid to near death, drug dealer, weapons charges, you fucking name it. Yet, women are worshiping him, literally worshiping him.
I ask you this: how many mistakes is too many? 10? 20? 50?
When you are good-looking, no amount is too many. Anything is forgivable.

"Anything is possible. Never give up. God's got a plan for you." - Jeremy Meeks

Well, when you look like him, yeah, of course anything is gonna be possible.

You look at a guy like Hunter Biden, drug addict and porn actor. Still, he's a board member of a nine-figure international investment firm. All because of his dad. All because he was lucky enough to be born into the Biden family.
You look at Elon Musk, richest guy on earth. He in turn comes from a dirty rich family that makes bank with him off of the backs of literal child slaves. His 80-year-old father made a child with his 30-year-old stepdaughter. Think about it, this guy was fucking 50 years old when he adopted that child.
These are morally bankrupt people, and yet you see the lives they are living.
You look at a guy like Bill Gates, whose classmates' parents literally bought a computer room for his high school during a time when even top U.S. universities didn't have computer rooms. Bill got to spend unlimited time with the latest and greatest computers as a child in the 1960s.
I am not saying Bill is dumb. Of course, you also need brains, but even intelligence is luck.
It's brutal how lucky you have to be in life. Not only do you need the smarts, but you need to be born in the right time and location into the right family. You think a smart kid who was born in a war-torn third-world country stands any chance?
Never.
Fucking never.
You gotta be lucky in this life. The most important factor governing success in life is luck. Looks will directly influence how you are treated by others from the day you were born, before you could even remember. Your neurotypicality, face, race, and height are paramount when it comes to how society will treat you (I have mountains of data at the above link, read it to see just how important these genetic factors are). This in turn shapes your personality.
Your intelligence, the opportunities you were born into, your gender; they are all important.
Even in the job market, just your gender influences your chances majorly.
Everything in life comes down to luck.
"Anything is possible, you can do anything."
No, you cannot do anything you want to in life, and it's not your fault. Genetic determinism and luck rule every aspect of your life.
You did nothing wrong.
So don't let anybody gaslight you.
Instead, don't be a free agent in life. Let the blackpill guide you.

Right below this post on my overview page, you'll see a serious, sober reply I gave to somebody's perhaps not altogether serious question about galaxies named "Snickers," bringing up a mildly interesting tidbit from the History of Astronomy. Read it there, because you'll never be able to see it anywhere else. It was deleted, almost instantly, with no reason given, a perfect example of what can happen on a site adults use to discuss serious matters, when the adolescents are so often in charge.
If you are new to Reddit, no, that was not a snarky joke. So-called "power mods" have, in the past, turned out to be minors, well under the age of 18, nothing more than dull-witted children with far too much time on their hands, and an overpowering desire to be in control. When governmental policy was being set in keeping with the consenses set by the social media mobs, a few years ago, these are the people who effectively had the power to decide who would be free to speak about what, and about how full grown adults would be forced to conduct their affairs - the sort of adolescents that, in the days before the Internet was invented, would have been shunned by their peers, and with good reason.
I went to mention this most recent moderator power flex on RedditCensors, and discovered that it had been banned by Reddit, which I understand has created a rule that prohibits public complaints about a moderator's abuse of power - literally, an anti-transparency rule. Those are inherently corrupt and on a platform where freedom of speech is effectively put to a vote through the downvoting process, corrupting.
If it ever was anything else, Reddit has become a place where neurotic teens and tweens have gone to live out their dreams of power, as they've been allowed to control the public consensus by being given the ability to quietly silence the voices of dissent with their mad reign of error. Some tried to excuse this inexcusable reality, a few years ago, by mentioning the stress so many people were under due to the "Pandemic," and arguing that free and open discussion of serious issues would be more than people could cope with during the drama, and perhaps they would again, but let us be serious. That was a nonsensical defense even then, and 2024 is not 2020. Sanity might not have returned, but the panic has passed, and at this point there can be no serious question about Reddit's role in that time of panic. The admins and mods eagerly got down and dirty to encourage that panic and haven't reformed, since.
Strictly speaking, this has cost Reddit its safe harbor protection, since it is in no way running a neutral platform, but we already know how much the law matters when a large Internet firm breaks it - not at all. By now, we all know that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and those hearings of his are a joke. They are there to defuse anger, not to start any real sort of move toward justice.
One could respond to this ugly reality by jumping over to a supposedly uncensored platform - like Gab, to cite the best known example. But when one goes to that supposed alternative to the censorious lunacy of Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, et al., what does one find? Literal neo-Nazis, flat earth conspiracy theories and endless death threats and targeted harassment, while the staff looks the other way and refuses to enforce its own rules, because the founder is, himself, not so far from being a Nazi, himself. To attempt to have a serious discussion there would be like breaking into a gathering of the Ku Klux Klan, and trying to have a town hall meeting during it.
At some point, one has to be willing to see that something has been tried and proven to be such a trainwreck, so consistently, that to put much more time and effort into it would seem like madness. That is how I've come to see the social web, and perhaps even the Internet in general. You can see the links to my other sites and you're welcome to follow me on them, but I'm not sure that I'm ever going to bother to post to them, because I'm at a loss when I try to think of a good reason for doing so. Certainly, I incur a massive opportunity cost by getting down in the trenches with the losers - compare what I was getting paid to answer student's questions about Mathematics in the real world ($120/ hour as an independent tutor before Covid) with what I get here, where I get repaid only in aggravation. In person, at an art fair, I can be (and have been) approached by the editor of a literary journal and asked to submit. Online, if I'm lucky, I'll see a fraction of the audience I'd get at an open mic night, run into censorship because somebody with well developed psychiatric problems though he sensed a hidden agenda behind my words, and then get to deal with scrapers afterwards.
The Internet has, for the most part, neither proved a pleasant, nor a profitable, nor a productive experience, so why get deeply invested in it, at all? I'll be shutting down my groups on this and other sites, as I reduce the role of the Internet in my life to being what it should always have been: a place for posting announcements, along maybe with a tiny amount of free content as a loss leader, in order to get other people to link to the page with my event announcements and other notices. I'm going to turn off the computer and get back outside, more, as I really should have back in 2020. As everybody should have, really.
The Internet, properly used, is a bulletin board, not a community. Life was better when people remembered it, and for me, it's going to be better, again. If other people want to go on being immersed in a miserable, futile effort to succeed where all others have failed before for structural reasons, they're free to do so, but I think they'll find that other serious people will be making the same choice I have, and for the same reasons. The power mods will still be there, and so will the trolls, but when they're nearly all that remains, when the Internet is firmly linked to the craziest members of society in the minds of the general public, just how much influence will it go on having?
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Over and out, for now, and probably permanently. There's a nice, sunny day waiting for me, just outside my window and I'm going to go enjoy it.

Synopsis
Resol’s IOT is a novel series about an attempt by the main character called Resol to make the world a post scarcity society.
Resol IOT: MAMA apartments is a novel about an attempt by the main character, Resol, to try and introduce a new housing model called MAMA apartments, to continue his journey of trying to make the world a post scarcity society.
MAMA apartments consists of houses connected by an elevator system to a food and clothes hub.
When people in these houses need food or clothes, they order from the food or clothes hub and they are brought directly into the mini elevator, inside the house, by small pods from the hubs through the elevator system.
When they finish eating or wearing the food or clothes, they use the pods to return the dirty dishes or clothes to the hubs for cleaning and storing.
These houses don’t require a permanent kitchen, closet, appliances etc. making them simple enough to be cleaned by autonomous robots.
But as Resol's dream takes flight, it encounters formidable obstacles.
Can he navigate the treacherous waters of bureaucracy, technological barriers and opposition to realize his vision? Or will the hurdles prove to be too strong and force him to abandon his vision?
"Resol IOT: MAMA Apartments" is a gripping tale of innovation, ambition, and the indomitable human spirit.
Join Resol on a journey that transcends the boundaries of imagination, and discover the true power of vision in a world teetering on the brink of change.

 Episode 1

Resol stood by the bedside, his tailored suit impeccable even in the soft morning light filtering through the curtains.
Wendy, his wife, lay nestled in the sheets, her curls splayed across the pillow, still caught in the gentle embrace of sleep.
" I'm off to the office for the inaugural meeting on the evaluation of MAMA apartments," Resol murmured, his voice breaking the peaceful silence of the room. Wendy stirred slightly, her eyelids fluttering open.
"Already?"
"Yes, I have been waiting for this day all my life," said a smiling Resol, “We used to say we want to build houses connected to a food and clothes hub, and now we have achieved that goal and have actually built them in real life."
"Just... don't push them too hard when things are not as you expected, okay? They've been working hard, too."
"I have to," Resol responded, his tone tinged with urgency. "You know the business might not produce as much revenue for long. We only have one shot at this."
Wendy nodded. Resol slipped out of the room, the door closing softly behind him.
Outside, the morning air was crisp as he made his way to his Range Rover, the engine purring to life beneath him.
As he navigated the streets toward the MAMA apartments main office, his thoughts swirled with the impending meeting.
After about a 30-minute drive, he finally reached the office building containing the MAMA apartments office.
He went inside and was greeted with warm respect and admiration by the secretary, Sharon.
She led him to the meeting room and as they entered, his eyes lit up at the sight of his friend, Daniel, seated alone.
A wide grin spread across Resol's face as they embraced.
"It's been long," Resol exclaimed, patting his friend on the back.
"Absolutely. I am always happy to meet the man who forever changed education by replacing writing with voice and lip sync commands."
Resol smiled and glanced around the room, then turned back to Daniel. "Where are the main project managers?"
Daniel, engrossed in his phone, looked up briefly. "I told them I'd let them know when you arrived."
"Why's that?"
Daniel smirked. "I didn’t want them anxious in here waiting for you. You know you are bigger than life, right?"
A chuckle escaped Resol's lips.
Daniel leaned back in his chair. "By the way, I tested the houses. They are just as we imagined back in the day."
Relief washed over Resol's features. "Really?"
Before Daniel could answer, two well-dressed gentlemen entered the meeting room.
Daniel greeted them warmly before he introduced them to Resol.
"Mr. Feli, meet Jeff, the project manager for construction, and Malik, the project manager for automation."
"Pleasure to meet you both."
Daniel excused himself with a nod and left the meeting room.
"Have you completed the MAMA apartment complexes in all three locations?" asked Resol.
"Yes, but there's both good news and bad news," said Malik.
Resol closed his eyes briefly. "Tell me the good news first."
Malik cleared his throat. "The good news is that we've successfully tested all three MAMA apartments, and they're functioning perfectly."
A small sigh of relief escaped Resol's lips. "And what's the bad news?"
"Unfortunately," Malik paused, "we couldn't finish the automations for the food and clothes hub."
Resol's shoulders slumped.
After a few seconds of silence, Malik continued, "We needed to ensure that the automation and systems we created were flawless before the deadline."
Resol ran a hand through his hair. "The selling point of MAMA apartments is the automation."
"The automations..." Malik began, but Resol cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"There's no need for further explanation. I'll see the reality for myself as we do the assessments. But if the amount of automation is not as we agreed on the plan, then I guess we will have to let you go."
“We are sorry boss, we tried our best,” said Jeff.
"That's enough explanation for today," Resol declared, glancing at his watch. "I have a meeting with the Education Minister in an hour. Tomorrow, I expect to start the on-site assessment of the apartments."
As he offered them a handshake, Jeff asked, "Which location would you like to do the assessment?" Resol paused for a moment. "I'll choose randomly in the morning."
Both Jeff and Malik looked startled by his response and they exchanged a quick glance.
"But, sir," Malik began, "shouldn't we plan the assessment—"
"They're all the same, aren't they?"
The two men nodded.
"Very well then," Resol continued as he straightened his tie. "I'll leave it to you to plan the assessment, and decide what you'll start showing me in any apartment complex I choose."
"Thank you, sir," they said almost in unison.
"Gentlemen, it was a pleasure meeting you both," Resol said with a nod, before exiting the room.
He headed to the headquarters of his main company, Mkufu.
There, he met with the education minister and spent the rest of the day working.
He finally returned to his grand mansion as the evening sun dipped below the horizon.
As he entered the living room, he found Wendy engrossed in documentaries on the television.
Her attention was focused, but she glanced up with a warm smile as Resol approached.
"Hey, how was your day?"
Resol managed a small smile in return. "It went okay. The project managers assured me that the houses are ready to house people now."
Wendy's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "But something's bothering you, isn't it?"
Resol sighed and sank onto the couch beside her. "They haven't finished all the automations we planned."
Wendy slapped her forehead gently and then slid her hands down her face. "I knew it. I told you we should have started with minimum automation and added more as time went on. Now we have lost time and we are still in the same position."
"We can't change what's already done. Let's not make conclusions or blame each other until after the assessment."
Just then, their four-year-old son, Zack, bounded into the room, his face lit up with excitement at seeing his parents.
Both Resol and Wendy's faces brightened instantly at the sight of their beloved son.
"Mom! Dad!" Zack exclaimed, running over to them. Wendy scooped him up into her arms, showering him with kisses. "Hey there, champ! Did you have a good day?"
Zack nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"
As Wendy carried Zack off to his room for some playtime before dinner, Resol followed behind, his heart feeling lighter at the sight of his family together.
Thank you. I will post the 2nd episode tommorow!

This is my second post today so please don’t mind it. So I’m 19 year brown boy,born and brought up in Western Europe and I don’t stay much with my family and lil bro.My family travel a lot because of business work So I don’t stay with them,So they planned and wanted me to come and meet up in India for holidays. So I reached my parents old home in New Delhi and when I reached there Everyone started saying I look weak(I think it’s normal in Asian family’s ) but when me and my bro we’re standing together they started comparing us.They were shocked because now my lil bros taller and more muscular than me. The thing is he started looking like Kevin 11 from Ben 10 alien force he looks hot now(pls don’t think dirty).Like He has a main character life his name comes in newspaper article because he is good in sports and study’s and on the other hand I have only won awards related to art and design and I’m pursing Design as my major in university and I look feminine so they will take me to a doctor tomorrow.So like idk how to tell them that I like to be feminine. Like I have curvy waist they think I’m weak even tho I have good body according to Femboy’s standards(Im not trying offend anyone, you can still be a Femboys even if you are fat or skinny,). I wanted your opinion like what should I do like I’m in a weird situation.And Yeah my father is homophobic and my mom don’t care about this stuff but she will definitely kill me. Idk what to do and the thing is I’m here for more than 1 month. So please help

This is a crossover fanfiction between original fiction titles: Nature of Predators by SpacePaladin15 and The Last Angel by Proximal Flame respectively. All credit and rights reserved goes to them for making such amazing science fiction settings that I wanted to put this together.
You can read The Last Angel here: Be warned, it's decently long, and at its third installment so far. I highly suggest reading it before reading this, or this story will not make sense.

Otherwise, enjoy the story! Thanks again to u/jesterra54 and u/skais01 for beta and checking of work!
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Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
What I was doing was risky.
I kept thinking this, as I prepared to spring the idea I worked on. I had Samantha and Carlos look into acquiring a shuttlecraft, for the purposes of infiltrating Aafa. It took a day and a half longer than the UN's initial start date, but I promised them it was worth it. They believed that, and set to work on getting one through their few Venlil resources in the UN. Now that it was in my hands, I was on a trip to Aafa, alone, with no backup or human handlers to my name. They believed I wasn't a flight risk...a mistake on their part, but in a way, I was still performing their goal.
I was still suspicious of Federation governance, even before the humans took stage on the galactic scene. The Sivkit's refugee crisis turnaway, the Krakotl's military extortionate practice, the Federation was full of shady characters who ought to be exposed. I was even working on a source towards what I thought was frivolous and mismanaged Kolshian military spending budgets, but it was interrupted by the human's arrival, and I had set it to the wayside.
Though, neither of those were supposedly leaked by 'me'. Cilany was the one who put it into proper public eye, even if I was her source...
How I wish I could have her here with me, her sharp skill for coercion and interrogation of valuable info in interrogation and interview alike. But the colony she was on was under siege by the Arxur, who struck while the Federation fleet had gone to Earth. All the more fuel for the fire of my suspicions...
I could only hope that Cilany, and by extension the rest of the people there would hold out despite their actions against the humans. None deserved the Arxur thrust upon them.
It would have been far too risky to try and stop by a planet under siege by the Arxur. I would be, at best, blown to smithereens without hesitation, and at worst...eugh...don't think about it, don't think about it!
Plus, I didn't want to give any human assets an idea on my plans currently. I was already going behind their back on this, betraying their trust on this front.
If my hunch is correct, then the Arxur might be coordinating with them, and by extension, feeding info about Federation homeworlds back in their twisted little game. Seeing me pop up in a report would turn heads.
I'm sorry Humanity, but this is for your own good. You cannot trust the Arxur, and the only way we can prevent your manipulation by their Dominion is through convincing a proper attack on them from the Greater Commonwealth.
But now, I found myself on a course to Aafa, alone, all on my lonesome, seeking to do something akin to Noah, but to the most powerful person in the galaxy one-on-one...Nikonus. I felt my ability to pull rank and my reputation would precede me better than the predatory reception of humanity, even though they didn't deserve it. This was a pragmatic decision, not an emotional one…
The trip was not very eventful, roughly [6 days] one way in a ship with as underpowered of a FTL drive as this, but I was trying to sell an infiltration mission, not a courier one. I wouldn't have my claws on anything top-of-the-line for speed in a shuttle. But as my ship hit disruptor fields in-system, and I got a ping from Gunships asking for classic hailing codes, intent to visit, and the like, I sent a message that likely would have shocked their crew.
"This is Captain Sovlin of Federation Fleet Command. I have escaped human custody, and need to request an audience with Nikonus."
WARNING: Formatting of memory transcription non-standard, conversion may cause loss of data. Do you wish to continue?
[Yes]
Memory transcription subject: Chief Nikonus of the Kolshian Commonwealth
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
I walked the outer rungs of the capital gardens, looking for relief to the mounds of bureaucratic paperwork back in-office. A good walk could clear ones mind of most stresses every now and then, and given the circumstances nowadays, I think a longer one is in order.
The Affliaf blooms are quite vibrant today. That's a good omen, for what it's worth...
With the state of the galaxy in a comprehensive deadlock over what to do with humanity, I had to take to some under-the-table talks with Nishtal's military. While the Kolshian Commonwealth was not publically for humanity's invitation into the Federation, they were clearly vocal that they did not wish for the problem to be removed, so to speak. And so, I had to get my tentacles dirty planting seeds of inspiration to some military leaders in and around the Krakotl Alliance. They, thankfully took the predator threat as seriously as they ought to, and mobilized to rid ourselves of the pests.
It should have simply ended there. Humanity should have been exterminated, status quo restored, the whole cropland tilled. But no, a fleet of twenty-thousand failed to even kill a fledgling space-faring species like humanity! Even with the Venlil Space Corps on their side, the battle should have been a wash! And the worst part, was that the true believers on Venlil Prime were giving me garbage intelligence on the matter.
'A ship of unknown origin swooped in and saved humanity? One that was unheard of up to this point'? No, a wad of ectolan spulk, there was no chance it was humanity keeping something in reserve that could even the tide! They likely were feeding false data to their allies, the manipulative little apes. No, humanity being saved stunk of the Dominion's play, and that was worrisome.
Did Giznel and his lackeys go back on our deal, seeing blood in the water? I knew we groomed a deal out of Betterment that'd give them all the wrong ideas...
Needless to say, I had to now figure out where to start on approaching them and confirming our deal was still on the table, and to cease and desist assistance with humanity at once. If they didn't want to play ball anymore, we'd have to consider some Shadow Fleet excursions to pave a path for a public route to invasion. That would change the whole dynamic of the Federation's control structures, and was absolutely not the path this great galactic Commonwealth should go.
So now, I am stuck in a dilemma. Do I assume Giznel and the Dominion are still in on the deal, and haven't made allies with humanity in the backdrop, or do I take the only opportunity we get, and start mounting an offensive while the Dominion's unprepared.
Decisions, decisions...
Not long into my musings, an aide contacted me over holo-prompt. Odd, I didn't have anything scheduled this soon, and central planning proceedings weren't set to start up again until the following day, what was it?...
"Chief Nikonus. There's been a development on the outer edge of the system. Bulwark Patrol states that a shuttlecraft of Venlil-make warped in, one individual alone on scans. They identified itself as Captain Sovlin, seeking refuge from human captivity."
Oh dear. That's not anything I could have expected. The last thing I need right now is more complications...but that wording...
"Why hasn't he been boarded and processed yet? I am hardly the first authority to come to for a asylum dispute."
"He asked for you specifically, your graciousness. Said to request an audience with utmost urgency."
"Is that so?...Hmm." I am currently free of responsibilities for a solid chunk of time. While I did not know Sovlin personally, his record spoke for himself. If he truly was escaping human custody, it was likely he found something out about them that they shared by accident, not knowing he wasn't loyal to them.
If he's come here for the reason I think he might've, there's a very real chance...
"Send him my way as soon as possible then. He's lucky I can spare an audience now."
...that said opportunity has just walked itself right into my garden.
Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
There was thankfully little fanfare or media attention in bringing my shuttle in. The decision to come alone clearly disarmed their initial worries of human sympathizing or terrorist actions, and soon enough, I found myself amongst an escort of soldiers to Aslou's government district.
I had been to Aafa various times throughout my life. In my tenure as captain, you tend to visit the homeworlds of the larger species at least once in a lifetime, if not several. Most times were not very exciting or noteworthy...but this time, the visit felt downright off.
The gardens were as beautiful as ever, but there were little walking them. The Songbedas were oddly quiet, making an unsettling atmosphere. The population out in the outer and medial rungs of the city split to make way for my escort, as if expecting trouble on their doorstep should they draw attention.
Given what happened with humanity, I wouldn't put it past them. Why is it so...empty?
It was forced to be pushed aside as we finally reached the inner rings of the Capitol Spire. A gleam ran up into the heavens, and a sequence of block outcroppings spun around the structure, green architecture patterns spiraled up and up. It was a beautiful idol of the dedication of megalithic engineering and urban planning of the Kolshian Commonwealth. Under any other circumstances, I would have once felt comfortable walking under its shadow, but now I felt only unease at being in its monolithic shade.
Across from us, not far up the steps leading to the Capitol Spire, was Nikonus and his guards. They were clearly waiting for me. Nikonus looked pleased to see me, somehow. Was there no clear indicator...?
Does he trust my cover?
"Captain Sovlin, your reputation precedes you! I could have sworn you were interred so deep you weren't getting out. Yet, you say you broke out?"
Here goes nothing. Make it believable, Sovlin...
"I...yes, your graciousness. After I was imprisoned on Venlil Prime, the humans kept trying to get me to turn on the Federation. They were convincing, but my loyalties ultimately lie in this government, Chief Nikonus." I put my chest into the last bit of the statement, trying to give emphasis.
He seemed to mull on that for a split second, before he made a gesture to follow him. "We may talk more about your escape inside. I assume what you have meant to say to me is not for public ears?" He glanced about, subtly tilting his head out at the few gathered crowds out and about Aslou's Capitol District. Given how open and flat the area was, with the slightest elevation, you could practically see for [kilometers].
He was right on that. My suspicions would not be for the general public to hear, lest it cause a panic. "Yes. It would not do for the media to run wild with. It could cause unrest."
The Kolshian's eyes seemed to glint at that. "On that, you and I can agree. Come, to my offices." Him and his troop started up the stairs, and I followed soon after, my 'escorts' following closely behind. I could not yet tell whether I was actually in good trust with Chief Nikonus, or whether he was playing up the kindly elder act. Politicians were always shifty like that...
We walked a long way, took several lifts to reach the original Kolshian suites of the Capitol Spire. Passing through halls of elaborate aquatic decor, and indoor habitats, we approached our destination: Chief Nikonus' personal office.
He waved away all but two guards to stand outside the office, as we walked in. As he sat down, and the door closed, the visual look of the Kolshian shifted. His old, elderly demeanor sharpened to a politics-honed edge. The tone of the room felt far more off.
"I hope you know how much your position here is troubling, Sovlin." His voice had none of the kindness it held before. In its place, laid a piercing tone of seriousness. "If I'm anticipating right, you came here with distinctly bad news, given the state of galactic politics and military scuffles. That is...if I can even trust your story at all." He got up from his chair in a way that betrayed none of his age from before, and began to pace.
Or was his earlier light hobbling also just a disarming act?
"I mean really, you mean to tell me you turned yourself in to humanity for 'crimes against sentience', and then go back on your self-inflicted punishment? All so you could come to Aafa to let me know of something I'm already decently certain I know of before you even tell me? Your loyalty in question is a mind game Sovlin. I do not appreciate mind games. You'd best get to your point quickly and succinctly."
There was a chilling quality to that statement. I did not want to see what lied on the end of that thinly veiled threat.
A hitch came to my throat, but I pushed through the discomfort. "I...Chief Nikonus...I do not revoke my feelings about humanity's sentience, but neither do I revoke my faith in the Federation's dream. Despite their predator biology, they are capable of empathy and care for things outside what we'd consider stereotypical predatory behavior. They still deserve a chance at being within the galactic community, of being part of the Federation; no matter what preconceptions are of predators, they are clearly different. But, there's something we distinctly missed about humanity, and I think the Arxur are making an attempt to exploit it."
WARNING: Formatting of memory transcription non-standard, conversion may cause loss of data. Do you wish to continue?
[Yes]
Memory transcription subject: Chief Nikonus of the Kolshian Commonwealth
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
"You've seen the empathy tests, right?" Sovlin mentioned. Of course I had, it was only the thing that had kept me from having their ambassador Noah shot on the spot, where was he going with this?
"Yes, I have. Are you saying there isn't empathy for them?"
"No, Chief Nikonus. They are just as empathic as before. The problem is in how they use it. If a protective instincts in herbivore's is to block the danger from the person, then a predator's instincts is to remove the danger."
Huh?
"I'm not seeing the problem here, Sovlin. Aggression versus protection is a choice all sentients can make, even if one is uncouth for most herbivores to make."
But my rebuttal didn't shake his look any. No, there was mortification interwoven throughout it still.
"Follow with me here, still. The human's empathic desires to latch onto anything as a companion is an odd case, but a documented one. They are looking for friends among the cosmos, and given the first thing they found was the Venlil, they took to them immediately. When they found the Federation, they too attempted to befriend us. And over the Cradle, despite our best efforts to dissuade them, they were curious of the Arxur too. I would know, I was there."
Hmm, so the humans have been making some attempt at contacting The Dominion. Given their Prophet's Word, and their temperament for predators, they likely would act receptive if given some chance. More fuel to the fire...
I motioned him on further. "They...interrogated a Arxur above the cradle. They told them of how Federation first contact went; how the Arxur were starved by the Federation releasing a bioweapon, and how it lead them into conflict during the uplift."
I walked over to my desk, and sat down. My tentacle hovered over a concealed sidearm underneath the lip, just in case. "And...did you believe what that Arxur said was true, Sovlin?..."
Sovlin sighed in denial. "No, your graciousness...but I'm afraid...the humans do." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he talked. "The Arxur have picked up on a weakness we didn't see, Chief Nikonus. Likely due to them being predators themselves. They know humanity is a pack predator, so they're seeking to manipulate the humans onto their side using their empathy."
I brought my tentacles away from the gun while I considered, because this was only meaning one thing.
Those bastards ARE going back on the deal! Sovlin, your loyalty has just saved me a world of hurt...
But before I could get a word in edgewise, he continued. "They are using the empathy the humans latch on with to some effect. Given the choice between a galaxy that shuns and tries to kill their species, and a fellow predator lending a claw in the interim, why would they pick anything but the Arxur? Why wouldn't they pick self-preservation?"
Sovlin looked at me with a worried face. I shared in the worry too, the long-term survival of the Federation was unraveling from the worst case scenario. "The humans might be coaxed into cruelty as bad as the Arxur because of that. We missed how their empathy was their bloodlust. And now the Arxur are here to collect on our mistakes."
This is bad. While we had some agreement beforehand with the Dominion, the human's existence on the galactic stage changes the game. The Dominion would look to seek true control of everything, rather than just playing even with us. The [Prisoner's Dilemma] is broken.
...But there is still a solution. And Sovlin proved himself loyal enough to help with it.
I turned back to him, trying to assuage his worries. "Sovlin, while this is very bad news, there is a solution that the galaxy isn't considering here."
Sovlin piped up. "Yes. We'd need to form an intense first strike on Wriss itself, to devastate the head of their government, and collapse their attempts to indoctrinate humanity. Humanity might protest, but it would be for their own good that the Arxur fails to get their claws on them. From there, we can try to reestablish friendly connections, even as strained and painful as they are..."
Oh, you poor naive fool Sovlin. Don't worry, there is a better way.
I enabled a soundproofing field interladen in the walls of my office, for what came next was sensitive. "Not...quite Captain Sovlin, a good plan, and one that will be considered soon. But...what if I told you, there was a way to remove that fellow predator’ link?..."
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I just passed the driving test after failing the first time ; Here are the best pieces of advice I can give you.
The car
You should absolutely try your best to have your own car for the test and there are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason is because you can practice in it as much as you like and get used to all its quirks.
The second reason is that the added pressure and cost of hiring an instructors car creates more headache because you will be stressed about having to hire it and organise it and worry about if you fail having to hire it again.
The last reason is a bit technical but alot of instructors cars are 1-1.2l petrol cars, these are very small engines so they need a lot of torque to get going that means you have more work to do on the clutch and an increased risk of stalling. Most diesel cars will take off or accelerate just by going into gear and can handle clutch mistakes better without chugging.
The tester
Be prepared for your tester to be stern, and unfortunately for some of them to be rude. Their training and quality guidelines published online state they shouldn’t talk to you, offer you advice or assume the role of a “driving instructor”.
A lot of people are put off by this because you expect them to be like your instructor.
The nice ones will be polite , the rude ones will be condescending but they will all be silent and stern for 90% of the test.
A lot of them are stressed, overworked by the RSA and some of them get abuse from students, parents etc...which we don’t see it’s why even if you fail they wait to give you your results.
Your driving instructor
Try to do as many lessons as possible ; there are a couple of red flags to watch out for. If your instructor
• Ghosts you, takes days to reply.
• Doesn’t contact you about upcoming tests.
• Doesn’t offer alternative availabilities.
• Isn’t upfront about your mistakes.
They are likely just trying to do and sign off people’s 12 EDTs and then move on to the next person. Shop around and don’t be afraid to google things your tester says or ask another tester to verify….some testers say weird things that aren’t correct.
Back to point one a lot of instructors make money off car hire to cover their operating costs. Be conscious of this.
Common fail points
• Not moving up into the middle on the green light for a right turn. (Progression)
• Hitting a speed bump hard. (Reaction to hazards)
• Not driving at the speed limit when safe to do so. (Progression)
• Stopping at a roundabout when it’s clear. (Progression)
• Checking your blind spot when the car is in motion. (Reaction to hazards or observation).
• Signaling back in after overtaking (Misleading signals).
• Signalling around a parked car in an estate (Misleading signals, reaction to hazards ).
• Giving way to pedestrians without their feet on the road (Progression).
• Excessive observation at junctions(Makes you look uncomfortable and lacking confidence likely a reaction to hazards or observation grade).
Presentation
Humans are judgmental beings, arriving to your test in dirty clothes, dirty hygiene , smoking or vaping, dirty car , things hanging off your car with a rude demeanour will subconsciously tell the tester you don’t care which makes you look a danger.
Alternatively turning up with your whole family, crying , shaking , rattling and mumbling makes you look dangerous also because you aren’t confident; fear and 60kmhr in a two tonne metal box don’t mix.
You are trying to demonstrate you aren’t a learner anymore.
They can already tell within 10 minutes if you will pass or fail based on your presentation.
Uncommon tips
• Do not tell people you are sitting or resitting a test, you will have to explain a fail and it adds pressure.
• Take the quickest available tests, do not take far out tests you will stir on it and build it up in your mind.
• It is unsafe to drive too safely ; you will fail your test for being too cautious. A lot of instructors don’t explain this but if you are driving too cautiously others will take risks to overtake you or fill your gap and this is one of the number one causes of road accidents.
That’s what progress is.

I originally posted this in the hoarders subreddit but was advised maybe more help could be found here. the first bit is my original post and a comment i made that i think gives more context. any help is appreciated.
i’m almost 20 and my parents have decided to move out of our childhood home to a retirement home on the lake. my mother is obviously a hoarder and we need to be moved out by july. she mainly hoards clothes which are basically to the ceiling in her room. there is just straight up junk everywhere. i’ve lived like this my whole life and i undoubtedly have issues stemming from it. for example, when my brother went to college i moved into his room. my parents let me pick out paint and said we were going to make my room “my own.” i was 12 when we did that and so far the only thing we did was prime half of the walls about 2 years ago. i have since went to college for a semester and i was away from home for 6 months and things are just how i left them.
i never had friends over, never had a room that felt my own, and was constantly blamed for it. when i expressed my concerns about my childhood my mom just said “well you could have had friends over if you just cleaned” or “we never painted your room because you're lazy” i, however, feel as though i wasn’t the problem in all of this. i never contributed to the hoard as i never brought anything into my house. during the holidays if my room was somewhat clean, my mother would throw things in my room to hide it from family. every year around christmas i have spent it cleaning nonstop just for it to look somewhat presentable. it always stressed me out. our kitchen is also hoarded. i love to cook and i just can’t when there is no counter space. i wouldn’t necessarily call her hoard “dirty.” there are no bugs, mold, etc. it’s just stuff.
i tried cleaning my room today because we need to move out soon and i just broke down. the amount of time it’s taken me to even get a single bag of goodwill clothes out was well over an hour and i just can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to move out. i tried moving on the clean the kitchen and was met with my mom overstepping my cleaning process. she went through the trash and picked out the recycle. i told her that in order to get it done on time we need to just start throwing it away. (this stuff had been sitting out for months) she was insisting i do it her way.
at this point, i have just given up. cleaning makes me so overwhelmed and reminds me of the countless years of yelling around really special times in my life like i mentioned with christmas. i just feel as though my childhood was taken from me. i grew up relatively privileged and i feel so guilty for even feeling the way i do. like i’m not grateful for the life i got. i’m not really sure what to do. does anyone have any tips? i’m desperate.
My comment:
unfortunately i’ve tried putting boundaries in place. my dad has too. the stuff just keeps accumulating and it’s hard to keep it at bay. around 4 years ago my siblings and grandparents took control and cleaned the whole downstairs portion of house when my parents were on vacation. (not the best idea i know but we were desperate at the time) it took us 4 days of 9-5 cleaning and still didn’t finish completely (there were still corners with stuff in them but it was honestly 90% better) my mom was happy but she doesn’t seem to take what we did seriously.
it was hard for her the first few days and of course blamed us for missing stuff, which is expected. i’m not mad at how she reacted but she seemed ungrateful as the first thing she said was “you forgot some things” to which my dad said she needed to be happy. unfortunately she thinks that the entire house can get clean in a day, despite when i told her it took four days of nonstop cleaning from 5 people just for the downstairs. it makes it seem like despite how much time i put into cleaning her mess she’s never happy because she thinks i’m not doing enough. i told her how dire the situation is with them needing to move out in a little over a month and she seems totally unconcerned.
my dad has honestly been the only person who can get through to her but in the 6 months i was away from college they merely managed to declutter around half of the garage. (which is a nightmare itself) i just don’t know how to go about cleaning it. she won’t let me invite anyone over to help despite the need for it. i really want to do what i did about four years ago but fear she will freak out because she will be missing stuff when they move into the new house. as of right now though, i see no other option. i kinda feel like it falls on me to pick up the mess.

Kind of a random thing to post but NSI season is back and I know that this time last year I was searching for some tips. If anyone finds this I was the girl who broke both her legs in Charlie 1 last year cycle 3. Anyways, here are some super random tips for those of you about to go.

Feminine supplies, you can bring your own and you SHOULD, what they supply are tampons and overnight pads, they will not take them from you if you bring your own. Also put your hairbrush, hair ties, and gel in a similar bag to grab. They took my bag with my stuff in them and I was stranded with 2 hair ties until we got to go to the recruit store.
Bring a backpack, not a duffel, not a suitcase. Just trust.
Wear a polo and khaki pants, if you have a unit polo and belt even better. My unit did not tell me that and it really sucked to stick out like a sore thumb. If you're a girl come with your hair done.
If you have longer hair get a donut bun or bun twisties, I used both but much preferred the twisties. They will not issue supplies to do your hair.
When you shower (if you're female or just dirty) grab your display towel and put it inside of your rack, then grab another towel from the rack and use them, you will be on your period for random times, if you stain your white towel you're screwed. Leave a tampon in until after you shower or whatever.
You wash your waterbottles with bleach, they will taste like pool water. You're not drinking bleach you're fine. Really scrub the creases with a bleach papertowel if you can, mold will start to grow in them by week 2, and will make you more sick than you already are.
You WILL get sick. Try and take 1,500mg of vitamin C every day for a week before hand.
Try and get moleskin early your feet will be torn up, layer it on everyday BEFORE you get blisters.
Get the shoe insoles and extra cough drops, drip drop, and hair gel from the recruit store.
They don't use (a lot of) salt to cook the food, layer it on you'll start to pass out due to lack of electrolytes.
ONLY PETTY OFFICERS ARE ALLOWED TO SEE CHITS, don't get bullied into anything else and don't do anything outside of your chit if you get issued one, they are orders from the medical officers.
If you get allergy medication only take it at night, it will make you drowsy all day and fall asleep during classes.
Fix your uniform and the organization of your rack at night.
Learn to count before you go, you know who you are people who can't.
Journal what you learn and your experience, you'll enjoy it afterwards.
Just turn your brain off like 80% of the day, don't think too much into anything, it's good if the petty officers and MIDN don't know your name for being stupid.
Try not to get pink eye or covid or foot fungus or strep or whatever candidate crud is floating around.
Don't give up, I broke my legs (8 stress fractures on my left and six on my right from distance running pre-NSI and a bad accident at NSI) and I was out there doing fire fighting on 5,000mg of ibuprofen to pass, it's not that bad I promise. Let the Hooyah lobotomy happen. Enjoy being a boot while at NSI.
Don't try and get your family to see graduation, let them travel for your commission, NSI graduation is lame, you get to see them for 15 mins and then get loaded on a bus right after to be shipped home anyways, but if they're close go for it.
If you like keepsakes make a 'yearbook' I took a page off of my legal page and had all of my friends sign it on the last night, with words of encouragement/fun stuff. I framed it and love to see it and all the memories.
If you're not good at something ask someone to teach you at night, people will help you if you ask. It's important that you know how to drill. You don't want to be the reason your division is smoked.
For you nervous folks the gas chamber will be the easiest thing you do. Stress about it the least.
When I was there they wrote the daily schedule on the fishbowl whiteboard every night for the next day, it's a nice way to be in the know. They also put the shit list up there.

That's all I can think of for now. Comment any other tips/questions :)

I see the word "entitlement" used all the time by corporate media outlets and CEOs to refer to workers. Especially stuff like "these new millenials are always so entitled."
Well, let me just say this: Entitled, in this context, is not a dirty word.
Because the way it is used is not to refer to people wanting insane and unreasonable things. The way they use it does not refer to people demanding special treatment. The way they use it "entitlement" just means that people want what they are entitled to have.
You are entitled to a living wage that allows you to live a decent life. You are entitled to affordable houses. You are entitled to work from home if you can. You are entitled to have a reasonable working schedule with a good work-life balance. You are entitled to a 4 day work week. You are entitled to have healthcare that you can afford. You are entitled for your boss to not call you on the weekends, and you are entitled to get the wages you are owed by your employer, you are entitled to not work extra hours, you are entitled to your tips.
You deserve these things, because you DO work for them. And you make these other people MILLIONS and BILLIONS through your hard work.
But most importantly, I'll say this: As a worker you are entitled to whatever it is that you can take.
Corporations and their leaders will take from you as much as they can. Anything and everything they can take from you to enrich themselves, they will take it. That is why productivity has gone up 3-fold in the last couple of decades but you still have a 40 hour work week. That is why it has become progressively more common for employers to call you at whatever hours they want and to demand whatever extra hours they can get out of you. That is why the median worker's wage is now LESS than it was in the 1970s despite your increased productivity.
These people will always, ALWAYS grab as much from you as they can get away with. So never let them talk you into feeling anything except justified when doing the same.
Never feel bad about standing up for what you want against them. And force them into giving you whatever you can force them into giving you, because that is what they have been doing to you for your entire life.

Cause if you do; that’s one thing already that we have in common. I’m passively looking for partner to cherish the beautiful moments in life together and to stand strong and support each other through the tough moments. I try making light of things, through any type of scenario. I’ll text you a picture of the speedometer of me going 69mph with a 😏 emoji and you’ll yell at me to put my phone down and drive safe. I’ll randomly call you during the day to compliment you and tell you that I love you. I’ll make sure the house is clean and even take the trash out for you… I know, I know, I don’t mean to toot my horn here. Tbh I didn’t even know that was a thing people didn’t like doing. At the end of the day; I’ll still care more about your safety and well being than my own.
A little about me and my personality: - I’m 5’10 - I love LOVE animals, my favorite would be a honey bee - I am not the best at making these lists - oh look, a squirrel - I gave the squirrel nuts - ok coming back to the list - where was i - ah, I work well with my hands (in both cases) - I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty - I have experience working in medical, distribution, construction, and tech field - I’m not a drug user or smoker, a super light drinker… I’m talking maybe once a month or two. Smoking for me is a red flag. - I will always give you my last fry.
Hopefully I didn’t bore you lol. I’m always happy to answer anything else if you’d like to know. I’m happy to start slow and see where things go, I’m happy to exchange pictures as well but it’s not required. Tbh I’m ok with even starting off our first chat as a phone call… sorta like a Love is Blind kinda deal.
Hope you have a great and beautiful day and I hope to chat with you!
Goodbye 🌹

Ok reddit buckle up this is a long one. As a growing fan of the subs, I’ve decided to tell my story. I 26M was dating my high school sweetheart for five years. We’ll call her CF for short. Yep, you guessed it, young love ignorant bliss the whole nine. At the time, this girl was my world, my life, my future. Well as the title suggests, things got interesting. Reflecting on the relationship now and all I’ve learned, it was unstable, toxic and at times abusive. There were so many red flags I ignored trying to make it work. Not knowing any better I fought to keep us together despite constant fights, arguments, and sleepless nights. Nearing the end of the relationship, in a last-ditch effort to either save what was or get closure that it in fact is over, I naively suggested to open our relationship. My thought process was, if she slept with someone else and felt rotten and/or dirty, then there was hope we could move passed it together. If she had slept with someone else and came home to me seemingly unbothered, then I knew it was over and beyond fixing. I however did not consider the emotional damage I would in turn subject myself to. Now I should clarify I had done some homework on my suggestion and found most blogs, forums and panels all mentioned that rules are important. So, as I mentioned before, this was a trial in finding out just how far gone the relationship was. The rules we set forward are the following: we bring no one to our house, protection must be used, we would never meet the persons together, and the last and most important one for me was I wanted to know as soon as she hooked up with someone, so we could talk and I could make my decision based on her behaviour. I should mention I had no intention of seeing anyone else at this time,I was devoted to her, and had no desire to see anyone else. This was purely to see if she still had love in her heart for me. Ok now into the nitty gritty, so not only was her hook up less than a week after we opened, she also broke a rule and saw her partner for over two months without telling me. Now I know this may be a point to argue, but I saw this as betrayal and cheating. We made rules and they were ignored. Turns out CF was seeing a 45-year-old cop going through a divorce of his own, at the time CF and I were 22. I’m not shaming age gaps, but this one made me sick. One week after our 5-year anniversary yep, she dumped me.
Now I know this is becoming a novel, but the best is yet to come. Ok now where does the dog fit in you might ask. Right, now onto that. Two years into CF and I’s relationship we were given the opportunity to foster a rescue dog, lets call her GA. The day this beautiful kind soul of a companion came into my life, I was in love. Screw fostering we’ll take her. Now GA wasn’t perfect at first but with love, guidance and patience she honestly is one of the best dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting- let alone getting to call her my girl. Now like I said before, GA came with some areas to work on, like not eating couches; two to be exact. Also having a strong dislike of thunderstorms, and other behaviours most common with rescues, but she most notable has epilepsy, requiring medication twice a day to keep them at bay. This is important for later.
Alright so now we’re caught up to the breakup. After dealing with my world burning the best I can, I became angry and decided I wanted nothing to do with her. I helped get all her stuff out and she moved in with her dad. Knowing that GA would remind me of her, I told CF to also take GA. Now her dads a chain smoking, explosive drunk. After giving GA away, I lasted all of two hours before I begged to get her back, I realised I can’t lose everything all in one day. CF very willingly gave GA back. Both of us agreed that my house had more yard space for her and it was a cleaner, more stable home for her. I once again had GA in my life, and it was the best thing to have ever happened to me. Ok fast forward two weeks later I got sited from animal control for having an unregistered dog in the house and had 48 hours to register and pay the fee or I risk massive fines. I went that day, now where I live, pets become registered to the occupant of the registering address, then dog tags are issued to that name. GA also is micro chipped to the same address. So, to recap: CF moves out two weeks later, I’m forced to register GA solely in my name and my address. Now its time to talk about the verbal agreement we made regarding GA’s health, so I had agreed to what I’m choosing to call visitation rights. I’ll explain, so I worked weekends; three 12 hours shifts. GA gets her meds at 9am and 9pm so enter CF. She would come by on the weekend, with written notice, give GA her meds, and spend some time with her, then I would take over when I got home and the rest of the week when CF was working. So, the rules to the visitation: she was to give me written notice prior to stopping by and if I said no to her picking her up, that was final. CF was rarely told no unless I was already out with GA or it was late at night. Its worth mentioning CF still had her house key so effectively she could come and go as she pleased from my residence.
Now fast forward just under two years CF was very good at keeping with the program, written notice, healthy boundaries, and limited contact. I should add at the start, CF and I would chat about the relationship and possibly getting back together or not, then I was told that if CF couldn’t find anyone better than me, we would get back together. I’m no one’s safe bet and that comment broke me. I was hurt, broken, and angry from then on I was personally done with her. I started seeing other people and really living my own life. I’m a firm believer that when you buckle down and take charge of your own life, the universe will reward you. So, from then on, it was limited contact, if CF would message for GA. Then she could take her and I would leave the house and get coffee so I didn’t have to see her.
Ok let me introduce all of you to my current GF lets call her JT for short. She is an incredible, beautiful, smart, funny, and witty. I could use every possible vernacular in the English language to describe her and it still wouldn’t do her justice. Honestly folks, I couldn’t have gotten a better GF if I had ordered one from a magazine. She is truly my first love. CF may have been my first with a few things, but love wasn’t one of them, although at the time I thought she was. Ok I’m off topic so I met JT and things where surreal for the first time in two years since I was dumped. I believed I could love again. As my relationship with JT grew and the love not only grew but blossomed, its worth mentioning CF’s behaviour to me, and our arrangement became sparce. CF began showing up without notice to take GA. At one point me and JT were laying in bed bare under the covers, when CF opened my bedroom door to retrieve GA. Obviously this startled us both. I rushed to check my phone, that perhaps I missed a text... NOPE ok that was unsettling. Now to add to the disrespect of the arrangement, CF was keeping GA for days at a time without informing me. I would have to text her and ask “hey you got GA” CF. “ oh yea she’s with me” Me. “um ok no problem but as per our arrangement you need to make me aware of your plans with my GA”. CF. “yea ok slipped my mind”. Ok, so now you see my growing concern with the ongoing disrespect. I had no obligation to even let CF see GA legally, she was my sole property. Let me clarify real quick: remember how I was sighted by animal control? Well yeah, where I live animals are seen as property, and seeing as how I was sited after she left, GA became mine. Amiss my new found love and bliss, and growing concern, life hit me with one more unfortunate curve ball. I got evicted. Landlord got his GF pregnant and wanted the house I was renting for them to live in. Man, when I tell you that was a shock at the time, with some other things going on it was overwhelming. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise. We found an amazing house 40 minutes away from the city. I live on the cutest farm. Things with JT and I are going amazing! Not only has she made me feel things I thought were long dead, but she made me feel new experiences as well. Ok, decision time. I HATE CF for what she did to me, and I love JT with everything and more. One is getting in the way of the other. So, I devised a plan, taking advantage of my new residence and the distance, along with anonymity: I’m going to move out and cancel the arrangement with CF. Alright time to get to work. One week leading up to the move, I denied CF’s attempts to see GA. I rented a large box truck, and with the help of a small army of close friends and available family, we packed and move the entire house in one day. I would like the take the time now to thank all of you that helped me that day. It was such an empowering and liberating day. Right, so two pickup trucks and a mini van load go out off to the new house. Me, my old man and a dear friend pack the last into the box truck. Now I pre-wrote the message to CF in my notes, consulted a lawyer appraising them of the facts and documents to make sure what I had written was clear, concise, and contained the right verbiage for legal standing if need be. I hopped in the truck, started the engine, sent the text and drove off. Oh, I forgot to mention I did in fact change the locks and made my landlord aware of everything. Off I drove to start my new life happy, healthy, and full of bright prosperity.
So, as you may have guessed, my phone blew up from CF. Texts, calls, voice mails everything, it all fell on deaf ears. My word was final, and I was finally ready to close this ugly painful chapter of my life. So, well um, I will tell you all, I’m naturally a logical thinker that sometimes leads to a healthy level of paranoia. So, my new address was given to trusted people only. Written on paper and requested once we all met up at the new place and burned in the lane way. Why? Well, I know CF and her family, and I’ve seen them do less than legal things, and know who her dad is- and the contacts he knows. I took ZERO chances when it came to keeping my new life and address safe. Also remember I told you she’s dating a cop... knowing the fallout that awaits me, I took steps into protecting what I longed for. We moved in for June first of 2022. I should mention I live with my now GF and my roommate, my brother from another mother. My roommate moved in a month after CF moved out and I can update for any questions regarding him but for now back to the story. All members of the house were to follow strict security measures anticipating a reaction from CF. I had quickly found out that CF was trying to find out where I live through contacting friends, family and my old landlord trying to find the new address to no avail. Now, I work a full-time job, as well as run my own woodworking business. One day I was filing paperwork in the front office and I saw CF drive by in her vehicle. She drives an extremely recognizable car, so I knew it was her. I wasted no time. I drove to my local law enforcement and made them aware of everything. I wanted to start a case just to be safe if anything happened.

So, side note but very important, I was given the opportunity to purchase a puppy; FT for short. After discussion with the house, we decided getting GA a little sister was a great idea, you know, get her company and give her a friend to run around the farm with. To say they were inseparable is an understatement. They loved each other so much and it was the best move we ever made. I promise this is important later.
Right, June was great settling in, getting used to the new place, and watching GA play, mentor and thrive with her sister all was great! Moving to August 2022, our guards began to fall and we started letting the two out without being helicopters to them. August 12^th 2022 oh man that day will forever remain with me rent free. JT and I are at work and the roommate’s home with the kiddos. 4:15pm I receive a phone call that will change my bliss for some time… yes GA, GA is gone “the hell do you mean”!! roommate “I let them out back, door open I was doing the dishes turned around and only FT was there”. “well did you look for them?” “yes I did, call in the damn microchip now!!” roommate hangs up. It’s worth mentioning he misunderstood how a K9 microchip works and thought It was like a GPS tracker. Work refuses to let me leave early and by the time I got home, three hours have passed since the disappearance.
I spent at least an hour exhausting any search method I could think of at the time, thinking if she ran off, she couldn’t have gotten far. After that hour I started to think, no way GA runs off and FT, 6 weeks old at the time, doesn’t follow.. Welp now it dawns on me, what? No? damn she must have taken her… off to the police I go. “ hey officer M, remember me from a few weeks ago?” “yeah what can I do for you?” “umm well I think my fears came true, I think CF stole her?” Ensue crying, panic and fear. How’d she find me? How is this possible?? Officer M “ ok take a breath tell me everything.” As I explain, I’m asked questions like are you sure she didn’t run off? I explain, no way she did and FT a young pup didn’t follow. I make my statement, broken, drained and beside myself with concern and fear I go home. No more then two hours later I get a call from M “Hi T so I’ve made some calls and I’m 99% sure she took her.” Me “what how? I mean what did you find?” M “I called your vet and an order for medication was placed by CF 10 days ago.” Me “ok damn so what happens now?” M “well this seems pretty clear cut I’ll investigate a bit more and make a case to the Crown.” Ok well my fears are confirmed. Damn she somehow found me and actually stole my beautiful GA. To this day, I have no idea how she found me. I suspect she put a GPS tracker on my truck. I had officer M looking into the possibility if her cop BF looked me up in the system, but that was ruled out very quickly.
Now the painful waiting game hoping justice will prevail. Each week I call for an update. On week 3 I’m informed he’s built a case and sent it to the Crown to see if it’s a clear-cut case of stolen property. Week 5 I’m told to hang tight its under review. At this point I became impatient and decided I can’t sit and wait. I took all the evidence and paperwork I had. I took it to both our vets as well as every vet in the region I knew she lived, explained and made airtight protocols for if, and when statements. Week 6 again I call, and I’m hit with bad news: the Crown, quite annoyed I was told, made it clear to M that this was a property dispute and needs to be settle in family court. Well, now it’s time to lawyer up. I scraped every extra penny I had to hire a good family lawyer and man did I find a good one. Turns out she was divorced and took my case a bit personally. She starts to prepare the necessary documents. 2 more weeks go by and thank whomever you believe in, I became impatient and went full proactive mode. I receive a phone call at work from my family vet. Vet “hi this is vet clinic just confirming your appointment for Monday at 11:25am?” well I sure as hell am now. I ring my lawyer, explain what happened, and put a rush on the papers having to call my dad to borrow money. You see now that I know exactly where CF is going to be with GA, I needed a legal reason to wait for her. So, I used the court case as a reason to serve her in person, thus being able to obtain GA custody until the hearing.
That Sunday I didn’t sleep a wink. 6:30am, I park my truck at the hardware store around the back of the vet, so CF wouldn’t see it. 8:00am the clinic opens. I walked in, documents in hand, and tell them everything and insist they let her in so I may serve her the documents and take GA. Regrettably, I forgot this was a functioning clinic and was told this could not happen inside, out of respect to the other patients. Me “Oh crap that’s more then fair, well what are my options?” Vet. “Well, we can bar her from the clinic under the proceeds of crime and you can serve her in the parking lot.” Me. “perfect I’ll wait in the sub shop down the way. you absolutely can not inform her of this.” Vet. “Not a problem we hope you get her back; we wish you luck.”
Off to the sub shop I go, for the longest 2 hours of my life. I get a phone call from JT, fully aware of my plan “hey we got rained out I’m off work do you want me there?” Me. “YES please come right away you can help record and dial the police.” The dominos are stacked, my shaky finger on the last one. JT shows up and we rehearse the plan; I must have checked the time a million times. The time comes I say where the hell is she. JT, with the calmest voice goes “she’s right there.” Me. “WTF!!” I ran out, papers in hand. JT calls the cops and starts recording. I utter the legal jargon, serve her the paperwork and latch onto GA as gentle and firm as I can, so CF can’t break my grip and wait for the police. They arrive in minutes. Get our stories. Check my paperwork. Separate us and attempt to figure out the situation. Low and behold, cop BF shows up. I’m told he’s “off duty” and is here in a BF capacity. Me, JT, two uniformed officers, CF, and cop BF talking, waiting with a level of uncertainty of the outcome. 2 hours goes by, and we ask what’s going on. I’m told that they are trying to defuse the situation, but cop BF has requested a supervisor. Well, he shows up and talks in great length to the BF, seeming frustrated. 3 hours go by, the supervisor walks up to me and demands our paperwork; I happily oblige. He reviews the documents and walks off, then comes back a minute or two later. “You gotta leash?” This clinic happens to be right next door to a pet store. So, just in case, I bought a leash in the three hours I was waiting. I hand him the leash. Words cannot describe the feeling as we watch the supervisor walk GA over to us after so long. Gone for 10 weeks total and waiting for three hours for the cops to deal with the situation. October 31, 2022, will be a day I will never forget. We will forever celebrate that day. Folks WE GOT HER!! What was once stolen by someone who couldn’t move on, was finally returned.

Thank you to anyone who read all of this. I needed to tell my story and I hope this was a good cup of tea for someone. I mean what I say, if anyone is going through something similar and is looking for help, please don’t hesitate. to reach out. For any questions, comments, or PM’s, I will read them, but I wish to update them publicly

i was diagnosed with gHSV2 a few years ago. i contracted it from my ex-partner who had a budding cold sore on his lip that i was unaware of. when i started getting a fever and feeling the tingly/itchy pain, i was devastated. it was the most painful thing that had ever happened to me. i was convinced i was dirty and unlovable, and that i’d have constant outbreaks for the rest of my life. i thought no one would ever want to have sex with me again. i came to this reddit thread and doomscrolled.
it can be hard when you’re first diagnosed, or when you’re feeling emotional. it’s painful, it’s a learning curve, the butt of jokes in lots of media, and people who have experienced it are ashamed so they don’t talk about it.
but here’s the deal. 75% of adults have HSV of some kind. when not having an outbreak, chance of transmission is extremely low. when you have an outbreak, there are signs that mean you should proceed with caution and protect yourself and your sexual partner(s). or if oral, people you kiss, share drinks with, etc.
if personal anecdotes are comforting, know that every single disclosure i’ve had has gone so well. i’ve shared facts and information based on research i’ve done, explained my personal history, and remained calm and positive. no one has turned down sex with me or made me feel gross. and if they did, i would accept it, encourage them to do more research on herpes in America/the world, and move on.
since i contracted HSV2 in 2021, i’ve had the initial outbreak and three more. i used to take medication but it made me really dizzy so i stopped (and an outbreak once a year is better than headrushes every single time i stand up, imo) they’ve all happened in the spring, almost a year apart. i believe the first one was triggered by stress, as i was moving and had a lot going on in life, and the other two seem to be the time of year when i start spending way more time outside in sunlight in the spring, after the inside months of winter. im not a scientist, but that’s my speculation.
yes, it’s a bummer when i outbreak. i won’t lie and say it doesn’t make me emotional when i first find them. i don’t like being in pain! but they are WAY better now than the first outbreak, way less sores and always go away within a week.
my main takeaway is that we should talk about this more so people know how to approach both genital and oral cold sores—aka be aware and careful when you’re having an outbreak!
if you have a recent diagnosis, things will be okay. do your own research, stay calm, and treat yourself with kindness.

Me and my husband have been together 10 years, married 2, both mid thirties.
I am a SAH mum and he WFH 100%, we have a 1 year old and we love each other and her dearly. But sometimes I get really upset with him, like today.
I came home today after our cleaner had been and after I'd been out to baby socials (which I do everyday) with the little one to find the kitchen a bit messy with food wrappings and dirty plates on the counter that my husband had used earlier. This must have been the MILLIONTH TIME I have asked him to tidy up after himself, especially if I or the cleaner have just cleaned. He said previously he would try his best, but it keeps happening. Like, almost every day.
I have left the mess across the house to see how bad it gets, and I can safely say he doesn't do an ounce of tidying at all, he relies on me and the cleaner. But he doesn't care, he will literally wallow in the mess, not dirty, just messy: as in clothes everywhere, mugs all across the house, baby toys not picked up etc.
I do a lot of baby tidying and I do find picking up after him a full-time job and it hurts me to think he doesn't respect me. I verbalised that today and yet again, he said "I will do my best to keep on top of it." Then he offered me a hug.
My husband is a wonderfully affectionate man, and I love that but today I didn't want to hug him, and physical touch is his love language so he got very offended when I refused a hug.
I explained to him that I felt disrespected and that he was teaching our daughter that women are here to look after men and that he represents men to be lazy. I know he's not lazy, he's wonderful, but this is my bug bear with him.
After me saying that he was upset and said "look, I apologised, said I'll try, what more can I do?" I said "actually do the thing you're promising." His response was: "now that I've apologised how can I further fix the situation?" To which I said I didn't know, but I was allowed my own feelings.
He basically stormed off saying that when I was ready to be calm (even though I was, just a little irritated) then we could revisit the situation.
Am I being too harsh/sensitive. I feel like I am allowed my own feelings but - AITAH?
Edit: RE: leaving things to see what would happen, was an experiment I conducted a year ago. I didn't tell him about it and I didn't 'punish' him for it. I just kind of... Sighed and tidied up after 3 days. That was everything: baby stuff, laundry, paperwork, his IT gear. He didn't even notice I'd tidied afterwards either.
I do also have an income: I'm a freelance editor and work evenings when baby is down.

Am I wrong for soft ghosting one of my “friends”?
Wow, this one might me a long one.
So I moved to (undisclosed location) sometime in the beginning of last year. When I moved here I really had no friends but became heavily involved in this yoga studio I went to and slowly but surely started to make friends/acquaintances with the teacher that instructed me.
From afar she seemed super cool and I became pretty enthralled with her and her life. I would look forward so heavily to going to her classes every week and was quite intrigued by her. I thought she was funny, bubbly, spunky, cool, and always made jokes during class that made me laugh. As months went by I found myself wanting to get closer and closer to her, and she even invited me out one time to one of her “events” she was hosting. Here’s the thing;
It seemed like we had a lot in common and was just generally craving camaraderie and connection. I felt a sense of belonging with her and wanted to expand that energy in my life, and wanted to do anything I could to get closer to her for those reasons. But I guess this is where we have the first red flag;
One day after class, she extended an invitation to me to a meet up of sorts, (I’m being sparing with details just out of fear she might read this) and when she invited me it seemed like it was gonna be this big thing with lots of people invited, and just in general in talking to her it seemed as if she was very well connected and respected within her community, had lots of friends and connects, and I thought this was gonna be a huge thing that I was even lucky to be invited to. I was super stoked and exited about it.
However when the day of the event came, I was super tired and slow to getting up that morning. I figured I would just make my way over whenever I could since it seemed causal and like you could drop in whenever. I also figured there would be more than enough people that no one would really even notice my arrival or departure. (Plus, sometimes it’s chic to be fashionably late ;) ). Well…. I was most definitely wrong.
When I showed up I heard someone excitedly shout my name, which was her, and she waved me down to the “meet up”…. There was literally only one person there and it had been going on for 2+ hours. I was definitely a bit unnerved, but also didn’t want to be rude, and like I said I was just kind of happy to be there and be getting invited to things. But it was kinda like, damn…. Are these all the friends you have?
I had dressed up and looked cute but they were just kind of wearing whatever and I felt awkward and overdressed and also embarrassed now that I was even this late because it was clearly much more intimate than I expected and my arrival/absence was DEFINITELY felt. We had chatted a bit and that was cool but then I remember her confessing me that she had cried to her husband earlier that morning that she was scared nobody was going to show up and how thrilled she was that not only one, but TWO people had showed up and that it felt like she had friends. I wasn’t really sure what to say or make of that.
She also…. The whole time (and mind you, this is our first legitimate interaction out of yoga class) just kind of kept talking maniacally AT me, not to me, and was coming off almost even manic, and she had formed a white crust of spit around her mouth probably from talking so much that I couldn’t look away from. To say the least, I was a bit disturbed coming away from this interaction but I just kept telling myself that I was being too judgmental of her and to give it a chance and that maybe she was just hyper that day and that I had probably had unintentional embarrassing hygiene moments as well. So I keep going to class and that’s that.
There were several other red flag moments between this first interaction and the next one, mostly just her incredibly cringey social media presence that I genuinely almost couldn’t stand to see without feeling like I was withering away inside, but maybe I’ll save that for later. It’s almost like I couldn’t just see that the person I thought was so cool in class and the person I was seeing her be online and outside of class were the same people. But I digress.
She had actually ended up inviting me to go with her on one of her international yoga retreats, and I was actually very excited about this. I had very little time with her in between classes, and my attraction (but also repulsion) with her was growing stronger and I wanted to figure her out and see what she was really about and what the pull I was feeling towards her was about. Plus, I love travelling and just thought it would be fun.
I had a pretty good time, but we didn’t get to talk much, HOWEVER, I do remember this distinct point during the trip where it was myself, 2-3 other fiends I had made, her brother, and her “best friend” who had happened to be her brother’s Gf in a room together, talking. the brother, the best friend, and the other friend I made just all completely started talking shit about her and I was so confused.
I felt super hurt by this actually, bc I felt like I had a inexplicable bond with the teacher who had invited me, she was the reason we were all there in that beautiful place, and I just couldn’t understand why they were choosing to be so negative about someone I thought they had claimed (at least by title) to love. They would say things like “I can’t fucking stand your sister” (one of the friends I made to the brother) and everyone would just sigh and put their hands in their head and be like “I know…. I know. It’s a lot. She’s a lot”. And I didn’t have anything to add to the conversation because I was just so confused and I knew the girl would just be so upset if she heard them saying this. Anyway… that confusion stuck with me for a while after.
Fast forward maybe a month or two, I started hanging out with her more regularly myself outside of class. I would say this is when we became more “friends”. She would invite me to other teachers classes and we would talk a lot about our lives.
I learned how she felt about her close friend and family connections, and how she often felt hurt and betrayed by people close to her and how some of her friends were actually really shady. I just got a general sense of her feeling scapegoated and libeled against by ppl that got close to her and how she had walls up for that reason.
She also shared to me that most of her family was cut off, with the exception of her brother who she had recently rekindled a connection with, hence why he was on that trip. I felt very bad for her and wanted to be a source of comfort and support, and she would often comment on how she felt a sense of camaraderie with me since I also (LITERALLY) had no family and how we have to make our chosen family. This was a sweet sentiment, for sure, but I was still sussing out how I felt about her.
So one day, a mutual friend that had been on the trip with us was having a birthday party and I guess that she was invited to it, too. She sat down next to me and I was SUPER excited to see her as I was craving her energy and hadn’t seen her in some time. But then… idk. She had had a lot to drink. I’m fully aware that she’s kind of a quirky individual, and has a way of socializing which I can sometimes find a bit uncomfortable or even intense, (like the first meetup I spoke of) but this time it was even more and seemed to be heightened by the drinking.
Her husband was sitting on her other side and kept trying to interject and insinuate that maybe she was doing a bit much, but I think she was drunk enough to the point that she just found it funny and had no awareness of how she was coming off. There’s not even a way I can describe it really, but she just seemed a bit obsessive over me and kept making jokes that were literally not funny and seemed to have lost all ability to read the room. I also had noticed that she had only had TWO beers and was acting like this already which I found… really strange.
So at some point she goes to the bathroom, and I also get in line for the bathroom about 5 mins later. When I get up to the bathroom, she’s still in there, and there’s a line of about 2 or 3 people ahead of me. When she exits the bathroom she immediately spots me and rushes up to me and just starts… drunkenly spewing.
I can’t even remember what she was saying, but we were in a pretty high class establishment and I remember her gushing over me and was saying “I just want to let you know that I don’t really have friends or let people close to me in my circle but I just want to let you know that YOU are officially in my circle and you have earned friend status to me and I’ve let you in my circle…” or something like that. And I just kept thinking, who tf even says that??? I’m pretty sure the last time I checked that friendship is a two way street and it’s not just a title we bestow onto some “lucky” person and that’s that. Like girl… let ME decide if I want to be friends too first.
It was partially that, and also the way she was drunkenly spewing was so awkward and embarrassing bc I could tell all the other women in line were like who tf is this bitch and why is she saying all this weird stuff and like, does she even know you?? Lol. Just a very odd interaction which again, I kind of wrote off, but the unsettling feeling kind of just kept growing after that point.
Then, the time that I REALLY knew something was up came up about a month later, but there are still some key details of this story that are missing. Perhaps I will discuss them later.
SO. About a month later, she invited me last minute to this concert of sorts. When I got there, I was super excited to be there, the vibes were amazing and we were having so much fun. But she had definitely had a lot, A LOT to drink. I didn’t mind at first, because everyone there seemed severely under the influence, but she would just start randomly kind of lashing out at people in the crowd and she thought it was funny? She first loudly and audibly started making fun of some guys shoes in front of us, and was trying to laugh with me as if I would join in, but when his girl friend turned around and shot her a dirty look, she had the nerve to be self conscious and mad about it. She would loudly poke fun at other people in the crowd too, but not in a ha-ha way, just in a straight up mean and asshole way and I could not understand why she would even do that or why she thought that was funny.
Again, I kind of just awkwardly laughed and brushed it off. But when all was said and done and the concert was closing, she enthusiastically invited me back to go to her house and soak in her hot tub. I kept saying are you sure?? But she was like please, PLEASE come, we have weed, we’ll smoke you out and other things and I wanted to continue the vibes because it sounded fun. And then….. completely downhill.
I had arrived back at their place before she did, but as soon as I saw them go in I knocked. When I walked in, she was pale faced up on the floor, non verbal, pretty much motionless, and staring at the ceiling. I was like oh no… it seemed like she got a bit too much to drink. I waited patiently there for a few mins, unsure of what to do as I had just drove for 45 mins and I was still 25 mins in the opposite direction away from home.
I kind of just sat around, and hoped that she would sober up. I asked if she was drunk… she said no. She ran to her bathroom multiple times while her husband (a complete socially awkward case himself) tried to take care of her while she threw up. I asked her if she puked and she also said no. So I didn’t really know what to do. I was trying to offer support/ empathy but she just kept denying any claims of anything being amiss. Her husband left to pick up a pizza and I probably just should’ve left but I’m telling you I had no idea how to exit their house without making it weird or awkward. And I also was hungry. So I just stayed… and waited for the pizza.
What happened in those 20-30 mins, I don’t even know if I can fully explain. She just became… so FUCKING WEIRD. she clearly was embarrassed that I was seeing her drunk, and I think was trying to over compensate. But she just turned into an absolute freak show and I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life.
She started hoola hooping in my face, and making these weird gremlin faces and noises at me, fell to the floor, rolled round on the floor while continuing to make the noises, convulsed on the floor, but tried to do it in a funny way, tried to make an interpretive dance for me… I’ve truly never experienced something so uncomfortable in my life. I probably do sound like an asshole, but I swear you would just have to be there to see how a) gross and b) weird and actually scary it was. I was genuinely frightened.
I’ve never seen anyone act like that and I didn’t want to make her more uncomfortable or weird by showing her how clearly uncomfortable I actually was. so I just sat there and tried to laugh. But it probably came off as more of a grimace. And for the record, this woman is 33. I am 26. It was just. Obscene.
And she’s tried to act like and say multiple times that she’s like my “big sister”. Now I’ve seen a lot of drunk behavior, but not this. I wolfed down my pizza, and so did she, and she started to get even more philosophical and weird on me, showing me songs and art which were quite frankly some of the worst things I’ve ever heard in my life, and I left as soon as I could.
I was so shaken and disturbed coming away from this, because like I said earlier, I thought she was a cool girl, but honestly her behavior and lack of control over herself completely terrified me. And it’s not like she was drinking liquor, it was just damn IPAs. And I just did not know what to do.
Some details I will try to add to this story, even though I know it’s monolithic at this point , is that 2 months prior to this she had gotten fired from the studio she worked at.
She had a mental breakdown during class because the manager was being mean to her, and he fired her on the spot. I remember being so angry with the owner, (honestly he IS a piece of shit human being) but I thought he was being sexist by calling her mentally unstable and I thought the way he handled things was unfair.
I went so far as to boycott the studio and completely remove myself from it in support of her and followed her to her new one. After the drunk #2 incident, I didn’t hang out with her very much, and only saw her during her class as I was locked into a certain number of classes I had paid for.
I remember her telling me that she had just started at ANOTHER studio, and got fired 3 days after on her birthday and she was talking about how unfair it was and how much of an asshole that new girl was for firing her… and I believed her. AGAIN.
I went so far as to block that girl on Instagram too, but deep down I kind of knew that she had probably just been fired bc let’s face it… as I was starting to discover, she WAS a lot. and the studio was in an upper class area , catered towards more upper echelon people, and I just don’t think she was fitting that image. I lent her an empathetic ear, because that’s all I would want in that situation.
But where she fucked up was sending me screenshot proof of the text exchange between her and that girl, thinking I would take her side, and later sending me screenshots of another conversation she had with the OTHER manager. She told me that this new girl fired her for bringing her husband to class. In my mind I was like, oh no, is she racist!?! Because her husband was black. But no, that’s not what I read at all.
It was the most reasonable, level headed response to someone ever, and laid out multiple offenses and reasons she didn’t want her at the studio. The reasons were honestly so embarrassing that I don’t know why she would send it to me and think I would side with her. She recently also sent me messages with the other boss and the last thing he says to her is “I hope you get help for your mental illness because whatever you have is serious and will impact all your relationships and business and things that you do”. And honestly I can now say in retrospect that those were the truest words ever spoken.
When I read these texts, I had a look back at my whole relationship with and how she would always paint everyone else to be the villain and how everyone is so mean to HER… and the whole time the common denominator was her. It was always her. And it made me rethink everything.
I’ve even had extensive conversations with some of the other people on her trip that were talking shit and couldn’t stand her and they all told me the same things. How it seemed like she was the coolest person ever and had her shit together and seemed like she was going places… but deep down she was just an absolute mess and pushed everyone away from her. And I no longer felt like I was going crazy.
But like I said, she formed a really close bond with me (I think from her perspective) and said she felt like my big sister and family, and shared all these stories about her feeling isolated and shut out by people, but now here I am, doing the exact same thing to her. Icing her out of my life. And I just wanna ask you guys…
Am the asshole?

Ok so as soon as I started this show I knew I wanted to come here when I was done to write about my thoughts but more importantly to get a sense of how this show was for people when it first came out. I get the sense that this show is very personal for those who watched it when it came out and so I want to start by providing some context of how I went into this show.
I am 23f, graduated from university last year and have been mostly at home since then working online. I had heard about girls when I was younger when it was coming out but never watched it or looked into it. But it was recently when I saw some fan edits and compilations of marnie antics on Youtube that I remembered the show and how it was about girls navigating life in their 20s. Great, I thought, I am a girl navigating life in her 20s maybe this is exactly what I need right now. Wrong! While I related to the general lack of direction each of the girls was experiencing, which I too have been struggling with, I spent most of the show being at best perplexed and at worst frustrated with the actions and choices of the characters, especially Hannah.
And I think that is at the core of what I want to understand about the show: are we supposed to like Hannah? If not like her, understand, sympathise or relate to her. I am someone who is all for unsympathetic or morally flawed characters because they explore the dirty parts of humanity and the difficulty of life. I was reminded a lot while watching this show, of Bojack Horseman who is objectively not a good person but while watching that show you see the the destructiveness of bojack's choices and actions, you see the effect it has on his life and those around him. I could never understand if Hannah was written in this way because as far as I could tell she experiences almost no repercussions for her actions and choices and the whole time I was wondering why. I can't list all the things I feel hannah was completely in the wrong for because I would be here for a long while but the ones that really shocked me was any example of her behaviour in workplace settings (especially when she was a teacher, how she was not fired is beyond me), her two day stand with that doctor and her brief but infuriating time at Iowa. This last point especially really frustrated me because she spends so much of this show talking about being a writer, more than actually writing and she finally gets the chance to pursue it and the thing that sends over the edge is a little criticism from her other classmates! Like is that not the whole point of joining a program like that and she was so rude to everyone and laughably unapologetic about it and then just decides to leave because it "wasn't right for her" and then the show just moves on from that and onto more drama with her and Adam.
I shall not get into the whole Adam and Hannah story because frankly I hated it. It started off with very bad foundations and I could never look past that and never see them as doomed lovers. However, surprisingly didn't hate Adam by the end of it, he was certainly a weird character but there was a certain charm to him.
Hannah's lack of consequences is especially evident when you compare her story to Marnie's. Marnie, I would say, is equally flawed as Hannah, maybe not the same flaws but definitely the same amount but you see where that gets her by the end of the show. In fact she has the biggest downgrade from when she started having a nice comfy job at an art gallery, a boyfriend a nice apartment to the end when she basically has no direction, a failed music a career and ex husband. I really did feel for her at times, but you could also see how her choices and outlook on life led her down that path. Meanwhile Hannah ends the show as a professor for writing! with a lovely house and a baby. Yes there are things that did not necessarily go her way but ultimately everything works out for her and she doesn't ever have to reflect on the many many wrong decisions she made in her life.
What also surprised me about this show, was how the friendship between the girls was handled. I say friendship very loosely because I truly do not think any of those girls liked or cared about each other and even if they did, they were all terrible friends. I ended up really appreciating the meeting they have at the end when Shosh basically cuts them out (completely justified in my opinion) and says they always make every interaction about themselves because that was the reality of the show. Marnie and Hannah especially spent so much time complaining about how the other always talks about themselves and their problems, especially with boys. This really disappointed me actually because I just assumed a show called Girls about four girl friends navigating their twenties in the big city would really explore the complexities of female friendships and ultimately highlight their importance. But all they did was fight and talk about boy drama until I wished they would just get new friend circles. I was honestly kind of excited for Hannah to be in Iowa because it could introduce some new friendship dynamics into the show and maybe reflect the toxicity what she has in new york but obviously I was wrong about that.
I think I could have maybe also enjoyed this show more despite its flaws if I found it funny. While there were times I had a chuckle here and there, but most of the time I was just cringing or just reminded about the frustrating nature of these characters, especially hannah. I am sure there were things she did that were played for laughs but because this show was grounded in reality, I just thought her actions were either cringy or wildly inappropriate.
I will end on a more positive note, on the things I liked, because I got through 6 whole seasons so there must have been things I enjoyed. Firstly, of the girls I loved Shoshana. She started of the show very sweet and lovely and welcoming and while she had that stint where she was just going through it and being rude after she cheated on ray (and never owned up to it). But once again, you see where those choices lead her and how she needed to step back and reflect and how she got to a point where she had to graduate late. When she moved to Japan I was so happy for her! That was another thing I really loved about this show, their depiction of Tokyo and Shosh's time there. I got to spend three months living in Tokyo two years ago and loved it! While I definitely had more knowledge and interest in Japan than Shosh before I went I still feel like it was the perfect place to experience when you're in your 20s. I felt Shosh's scenes there were very genuine and authentic and weren't too bogged down with the same tired cliches of tokyo. Even though she ends up moving back, I felt her time there really helped give her a better perspective of what she wants from life when she was back in New York.
Secondly, and probably the most surprising, I loved Ray. When he was first introduced as Charlie's friend I thought that he was kind of weird and gross especially when he wanted to snoop around the girls' apartment and read hannah's diary. But by the end of the show he was honestly my favourite character (which I think says a lot). His love of books and reading and art in general, the advice he gave the other characters, his little rants, his relationship with hermie (also loved hermie) and his motivation to do more with his life all grew on me to the point that I was just so happy when he was on screen. He was also just such a breath of fresh air from the chaos and drama of the other characters which is why I wasn't too crazy when he started having a thing for Marnie. That didn't really make any sense to me but at least he ended up with Abigail which was such a lovely pairing.
I recognise that this show is very much a product of its time and the fact that I wasn't in my 20s in the 2010s means that a lot of my experiences and outlook differ greatly from that time and affected how I watched this show. Which is why I really wanted to come here and hear from people who did experience it during that time.
TL;DR: Just finished Girls and want to understand what is the point of Hannah as a character and how did people find this show when it first came out.

I know you be in here and I hate you. But those girls don’t deserve to be walking around with dirty matted hair, especially since you’re essentially FORCING them to wear their natural hair and not really using protective styles. Here’s some advice, with their texture hair, wash day should be taking the whole day. Have Niyah or Liyah read this for you:
-You need to put pre-wash in the hair
-part into 4 or more sections after combing the pre-wash through
-get some decent shampoo (such as Carols daughter, Auntie Jackie’s, Mielle, Shea Moisture, hell even Mane & Tail) not the dollar tree soap
-let the shampoo actually lather up in their hair especially at the scalp, then comb through it as it’s getting washed out (do this AT LEAST twice)
-make sure you’re using warm water, not too hot not too cold.
-after all their hair is shampooed, part their hair into sections again. Get some deep conditioner from any of the brands listed above and do the same process after letting it sit for at least 30 minutes covered in shower caps or plastic bags.
-ensure you wash the conditioner with cold water and thoroughly comb through it.
-after all their hair is washed, before you put it into those ponytails, put some oil in their hair and scalp and moisturizer. Blue Magic grease still works wonders and the pink lotion that we all used in our childhoods.
There’s no reason any of your kids should look the way they do Nika. Especially since you claim you’re a stay at home mom. Yes, you’re their mom and you stay at home, but you’re lazy asf. Also, teach the oldest Liyah and Kiyah how to properly take care of themselves and then you wouldn’t have to worry about the younger ones. If you taught them how to do their hair, that’s two less heads that you have to do. Stop being a poor excuse for a mother and at least do something right. You be wanting praise for the smallest things, but it’s always BELOW the bare minimum. If you’re not gonna get their hair braided at least keep it clean.
(Side note: it’s a damn shame Sy hair be looking the way it does. You really talking about her hair long, when it’s that one part. There’s not reason all of her hair shouldn’t be able to go into a ponytail. It looks like that baby has a nappy high top fade. 😭)

Im glad y'all liked the last chapter. I'm going to continue this story and see where it goes. As usual, if you like this then make sure to like and comment: I really value your feedback. I'm also thinking of going back and editing some things, as I thought of some cool ideas that might make the story more interesting, mainly some Meta ideas to increase the depth of this litRPG. So make sure to go back and read the last chapter in a bit: some things may be different.
First
I gripped the rough leather hilt of my new sword tightly as I walked down the newly lit hall within this strange labyrinth. The air was dank and musty, and cobwebs hung from every corner. The dented blade glowed in the firelight, as did the breastplate, and I was just starting to warm up.
I didn't like this place: it made me feel uneasy. The loneliness was also crushing, but for some reason I was used to it. The weight of all my gear was also heavy, with all the weapons and rations causing my shoulders to ache, but I pressed forward. Something inside me insisted that this was familiar, and if I could do it before then I could do it now.
At first, the hall seemed unending, but after what felt like hours I finally reached a large, open room with a humble wooden throne in the center. The edges of the vaulted ceilings held great tapestries that had faded over time, the once magnificent artistry lost forever. Candelabras, urns, and braziers all forged from bronze and inlaid with different gems and precious metals were strewn about, and there was a gigantic bronze brazier at the center of the room, just in front of the throne.
On the throne sat a withered corpse wearing a crown of twisted branches, as well as rusted armor that had fused with flesh long ago. Simple wooden coffins lined the walls, six in total, each likely containing another corpse.
Then I noticed the brazier in the middle: it had long gone cold, the coals dead and waiting to be given life again by flame. But what worried me more was the burnt remains of the skeleton in the center: it was a reptilian thing, tall and robust judging by the size of the femurs, and it gripped a sword much like mine…
Okay, I didn't like this place at all, not one bit. Whoever was here before me obviously met some horrible fate, maybe even burnt alive within the brazier, which was a fate I had no desire to experience.
Next to the throne was a chest, and anyone with common sense knew that opening the chest would probably be a bad idea. So I looked for something far more valuable: an exit. At the far end of the room we're a pair of double doors made from polished slate, and soni approached them. I ran my scaly hands across it and admiring the beautiful masonwork: engraved with elegant images of all sorts of events, such as men slaying giants, terrifying dragons burning down villages, great treasures hidden away, and a large mead hall with a boat as it's roof nestled on a hill, it was something out of legend. But that didn't matter, I just needed them to open so I could leave. They didn't budge from me pushing them, nor did they possess any handles or bars, so something else has to activate them.
I decided to see if I could get some answers out of the magic note turned journal. I pulled it out and began writing with the quill, the tip seemingly possessing an endless supply of ink. How do I open the doors?
Once again, my good hand began moving if it had a mind of its own, scribbling out a minimalist sentence that would probably be of no use to me. Open the chest.
I grumbled and wrote down another response. Will bad things happen if I open the chest?
More furious scribbling against my will. Bad things will happen either way.
Well, that was reassuring.
What will happen when I open the chest?
Bad things. I wanted to punt the book across the room. I just stuffed it back into my bag and growled again, the depth of my reptilian voice startling me. I was sure I wasn't supposed to sound like that, but I did. Maybe I was just overthinking this, and it was just a side effect of some kind of amnesia, but I really felt like I was in the wrong body.
I turned back to the throne and the chest next to it. It was a simple wooden thing with no lock, so it wouldn't be challenging to open at all. I walked towards it, sword in hand, anxiety shooting through me like electricity, and as I bent down to open it up I couldn't help but look behind me as I did so.
Then, with one simple motion, I opened it. There was more than I expected, but still not much, just a small pile of rough gold coins and a few assorted gems. I dipped my hand into the gold and pulled out a handful, the coins each easily the width of a golf ball and decently hefty too. Then I looked for a place to put them: if I was going to be put in danger for opening this damn chest, then I was going to get something out of it.
As I stuffed the gold into my pack, I heard creaking next to me, and I instinctively dropped my pack onto the ground and kicked it to the side before rolling away. The withered corpse lifted itself up from the wooden throne, a faint hissing escaping its lips as if its vocal chords no longer worked. Then it turned to me, eyes glowing red with hatred and jaw clenched. It balled its fists and deeper its hateful gaze before pointing at me and unleashing an ear-splitting hiss like that of copper pipes coming apart. I lifted up my longsword and held it in a defensive stance, backing away slowly as my ears rang. Then I felt a bony hand on my shoulder.
I spun around and swung the blade, vivisecting another corpse halfway. All the other coffins were bursting open, and the angered dead were hobbling out, some holding rusted and chipped weapons, others simply meandering towards me with the same hatred in their eyes as the first. I was surrounded.
I swung my sword and cut one’s head off, the otherwise dry and leathery flesh of its neck giving way to my old longsword. Then I sliced through the knee of another, sending it sprawling to the ground before I stomped its head into pieces. That left four, including the one on the throne. That one stood back, glaring at me and waving its hands as if conducting an orchestra, its armored robes flowing despite the lack of ventilation. It must be the one controlling the undead.
I matched forward, sword lifted again and swung at the leader of the undead. It blocked the strike with its armored bracer and swiped at me, bony hands scraping against my breastplate but also imbuing me with an overwhelming weakness to the touch, as if I hadn't slept for days. With a grunt, I kicked him back and onto the floor, but the rest of the dead seemed to fall into a frenzy, charging at me as if they were rabid ghouls. I needed to end this, and I needed to end it now.
I impaled the first undead and kicked him off alongside their ringleader, then slammed the pommel of by sword into the forehead of the next with a spiteful roar that seemed to charge the air with static, crushing the undead’s skull inward and releasing the energy trapped within as if crumbled to the floor. The third swiped at my arm, causing an intense cold to run through me and a horrible pain to erupt from the deceptively small laceration, as if maggots were chewing on my flesh. I roared again and swung diagonally, vivisecting the decrepit thing all at once.
That left the composer. It stood back up and seemed even angrier than before, as if it had actually cared for those skeletons. Then I heard a voice behind its bestial whispers, a voice that almost sounded… pained. “Hadvar, Børge, Aegilief, Gunhild, Halfdan, Ivar! Do not fall, not to this dragon’s bastard!” It seemed to exclaim, but its cries seemed to fall on deaf ears as the corpses were no more, what remained of the flesh disintegrating into nothing more than ash, leaving only dirty bones behind.
“You shouldn't have attacked me.” I said behind grit fangs, my body still recovering from the effects of their icy touch. But no matter how much I tried to justify it to myself, it always felt like a weak response: I was probably plundering some poor guy's tomb, and then proceeded to kill all his friends to boot. I was in the wrong here, but I wasn't just going to be trapped in this shit hole of a tomb forever.
Then I looked at the brazier, which was now lit and burning, the otherwise bleached white bones of the reptile thing within coated in fresh soot. They would've killed me, or I would've starved. And they were already dead, anyway: for all I knew the undead here were held together by nothing more than old memories and whatever terrible magic possessed this place. I wasn't going to die yet, I at least wanted to see the sun one last time.
“Sorry about you and your friends, but I'm not going to die here today,” I said, trying to seem apologetic, “I've only got one shot, or so I've been told.” I matched forward again, unwavering, and busted him in the head with my pommel before slicing off his arm at the joint when he tried to reach out for me again, hissing with anger. Then, as I bullied him backwards to put some length between us, I finally kicked him one last time and jammed the end of my sword into his empty eye socket, sending the blade through his rotting head and out the back. He let out one last hiss before going limp, whatever magical nonsense holding him together dissipating as his body crumpled and his bones unknitted themselves.
I dropped the sword with a grunt and sank to my knees. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and my stomach was churning. The horrible sickness the undead gave me when it swiped at me seemed to be winding down, the pain in my arm dull and more distracting than painful, but the unbearable cold and discomfort was still coursing through me. I needed to get out of this wretched place. This was a tomb, right? Maybe that door led to some kind of exit to the outdoors, or at least a pathway to it.
I forced myself back up on my feet, retrieved my bag and filled it with the rest of the treasure from the chest, and strapped everything on my back once again. I would probably want to find some kind of civilization, maybe a place where this gold would hold some value, because then maybe I could use it to find some answers.
Behind me, the doors began to crumble with a glowing purple light, as if the magic that has sealed it had been broken with the death of the undead on the throne, and I could see some semblance of light. I rushed towards it, only to find myself in an even colder area than before. The air was frigid and filled with a thick, looking fog that seemed to sap the strength out of me. It felt like an early spring morning, when it would go just above freezing and the rain had come in droves overnight, leaving behind the mist. Spruces, pines and other evergreen trees towered around me, and the forest floor was coated in thick roots, mossy rocks, vines, and dead evergreen needles. A dirt path that had long been overtaken by the forest stretched away from the tomb I had emerged from, leading me away from this place.

Dirty things to do with your boyfreind

DiWHY