1. How to discern one's genuine emotions? I have come to notice that most of my emotions, apart from laughter or fear, seem unnatural or deliberate to me. Often, I observe a glaring display of artificiality in these emotions when I feel discomfort or internal irritation during their expression. It's as if I speak from someone else's perspective, unable to remove this facade until I find myself in a comfortable setting alone. Behaving naturally around people is indeed quite challenging. I have long observed that my brain seems to be divided into an "emotional brain" and an "intellectual brain" or something along those lines. I often converse with my "second part" and it feels as if I am talking to another person (albeit without any discomfort at all). During one of my sensory overloads, I remembered the moment when my "second part" spontaneously recalled and shared with me some significant aspects that I cannot describe in a few words, but it really helped me back then. My imagination is highly developed, so reading Warrior Cats, maintaining my characters in my mind with a separate folder dedicated to arts in the gallery, almost felt like watching a movie. Returning to the question, could my ability to freely fantasize and skillfully deceive shift my true personality so much that my artificial emotions almost feel real? How can one discern this apart from physical sensations?
   
2. I suspect that I am also a bearer of Pathological Avoidance of Demands, a trait common in individuals with ASD. However, there are occasional moments when I react calmly to a request. I have not yet delved into this topic sufficiently, but in my quest for answers, I have found nothing yet.
   
3. Based on point 1, I find it difficult to determine whether I am suppressing my emotions or indeed not feeling them as strongly. I have always been regarded as an extremely calm individual, yet sensory overload has often occurred to me. I have a very high pain threshold and can suppress myself when feeling stressed in order to remain composed. I am more inclined to doubt that I may have alexithymia, but I am also curious whether memorizing emotional reactions can hide this trait. Are there more precise characteristics by which one can distinguish alexithymia from low emotional expressiveness?
   
4. Fatigue and ennui. There are often moments when I feel a certain emptiness inside myself (which, along with a number of other criteria, I have long suspected to be Quiet BPD), without even the desire to interact with my special interests in any way. In other words, I quickly tire of any activity and start to feel bored, as if I have been squeezed like a lemon. I must say that I do not fit under any criteria for ADHD (or, at least, have not noticed such until now).
   
5. Returning to points 1 and 3, I have always found social restrictions such as "you cannot joke about a deceased person, it is inappropriate," "you cannot wear furry-cat-ears in public, it is weird," to be incomprehensible. These constant reminders of "strangeness" later turned into my indecision, when I wanted to do what I wanted, not because of society's opinion, but because I would experience stress due to undue attention from others. I do not understand why something is considered bad. I have viewed things from a philosophical perspective all my life and have seen both the positives and negatives in everything, but I have not considered certain things absolutely bad/unacceptable. Oftentimes, I did not understand why my questions or statements were seen as rude/personal.
   
6. Stress from emotions, not events. I have noticed that when I was scolded or someone passed away, I experienced stress from the sounds and emotions of people, while the event itself felt completely mundane. Oftentimes, music helped me to experience the "appropriate" emotions. If I do not have music and the right "atmosphere," I will not be able to feel certain emotions to a sufficient degree or at all.
   

Please share your experiences/knowledge, I would be very grateful and also, I think it would be useful for people who are also looking for answers to similar questions!

Haven’t posted in a long while… why not try again
hey, i’m A, a pansexual, demisexual 23-year-old black girl who's looking for a connection, preferably a real life one :)
preface all this by saying: I have a nesting partner(we date separately). I’m moving to the philly area in the fall, but not opposed to long distance
I want to get to know you, your passions, your favorite food, what song makes you let loose and sing out loud in the car, I want to be comfortable with you.
I, like everyone else, have preferences i guess, so here they are: attractive, ages 23+ maybe a bit older, I tend to lean towards masc/androgynous presenting humans but i’m open to any gender, it would be great if you lived near me or on the east coast but anywhere is fine, love an excuse for a trip, and absolutely no bigotry and Please have some type of content on your profile or comments or something so i can know you’re not a bot
Now here's the generic stuff so we can skip the small talk when someone inevitably dms me: I work as a receptionist, I am in college, actually moving to the philly area for grad school in the fall. I like to go to the gym, thrift shop, I enjoy exploring the city. Some of my interests besides romanticizing my life, museums, art galleries, puzzles and like everyone else i like Movies and tv shows
So if you made it this far and have thought well this girl is kinda cool, first, thanks love, and second go look at my pics on my profile. If you like what you see you should probably hmu, who knows something might happen... pls don’t break my heart

i've been an ios user from the start, so extreme budget phones and bloated ui phones would feel like a real pain, idc about cameras a lot, but uk being habituated to apple cameras, my expectations should be same or abut lesser than my current device iphone 11. why i wanna switch from ios, its simple, my laptop and desktop are running linux, for the sake of ecosystem i wanna switch my phone to linux/android too. but other mobile os i dont want. i gave off my mac mini too cuz i didnt had the need of such device. I want a linux ecosystem rn.
NOTE: I am Indian, so suggestion brands should've got their authorized re-sellers and service centers in my place, I donot wanna travel Kashmir to Kanniyakumari for slight fix
Also, I currently use a secondary phone for android dev testing tweaking, and what i will use as my primary phone I want to do the same after a few years when it is old enough
So, what can be my best choices. like my basic needs are: 1. I dont crave for camera, i barely click 1 pic to store in my gallery in a month, unless any festive or occasion or tour. But, every 2-3 days, i got video calls to attend to (family, friends, etc). So, i want the camera to be near as i11. 2. Decent battery backup, I barely use my phone unless i am bored enough of work or movies, and want to text someone, or scroll for news or basic browsing while I am outside [ same for processor ] 3. Storage 128, or less. I got a damn beast pc to store my stuff. 4. [root-able] May be stock android or close. After couple of years, i will for sure, unlock bootloader and tweak with rooting or custom roms. 5. I dont play games, mostly I will use the phone as a parent does..talk call..ocassional pictures. then developement testing sometimes.

🪞
Welcome back to the Asylum write-up, where we explore the decade-long slow-motion car crash that is the Emilie Autumn fandom.
Sorry this installment took so long to upload! Just a heads-up, I may take some time to deliver the last one too – these posts take forever to format on Reddit's finicky-ass editor, and my dumb real life is currently keeping me from precious Internet time. Thank you for your patience! You have my word that everyone who pre-ordered the final installment will receive a PERSONAL, HANDWRITTEN letter autographed and illustrated by me, a list of the snacks I consumed while composing this write-up, some exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets, and a pony.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.1 – Part 4.2 Part 5

Places, everyone This is a test Throw your stones Do your damage Your worst, and your best (...) And if I had a dollar For every time I repented the sin And commit the same crime I'd be sitting on top of the world today (“God Help Me”, 2006🎵)

Quick recap of where we left off. First, there were five to ten halcyon years of pleasant and meaningful interactions between EA and her blossoming fanbase, prominently by way of her official forum. Then, circa 2009-2010, EA's online presence shifted towards sudden anger outbursts, ban-hammering, and an increasingly top-down communication style.
This created a sort of primordial rift within the fanbase, between those who supported EA's right to speak her mind and regulate her own fan spaces however she pleased – and those who thought that her reactions were rude and inappropriate (at best), and that even fan spaces should allow for reasonable, non-abusive criticism of the artist.
Between a poorly-handled book release (see Part 3), the controversial (Part 2) or dubiously true (Part 4) contents of said book, and serious shade from various former collaborators (Part 5), more and more fans had pressing thoughts about EA's work ethic and choices. EA attempted damage control through drastic forum rules that made it virtually impossible to voice any “serious” critical opinion. It didn't work, of course: instead of squashing the mutiny, she created a schism.
Critical fans and active haters started congregating on unofficial platforms.

“WITH MUFFINS LIKE THIS, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?”: TROLL LIKE A GIRL

So here we were, the early 2010s. The official forum (which had about 700 members in 2006, if you recall) was now thousands-strong, reaching just over 12,000 registered users in 2012 – not all of them active, but still. In terms of sheer numbers and content creation, the party was POPPIN'... but increasingly in parts of the Asylum that escaped EA's jurisdiction, such as Tumblr, where they could speak their mind freely.

You play the victim very well You've built your self-indulgent hell You wanted someone to understand you Well, be careful what you wish for, because I do (“I Know Where You Sleep”, 2006🎵)

In one wing of Asylum Tumblr, a smattering of call-out blogs emerged, which laid out EA's various lies, faux pas, shitty takes, and general deep-seated terribleness in detailed timelines and screenshots (or, short of that, long-winded bullet points). While many such blogs framed it as “serious” whistleblowing and did their best to remain as fact-based and neutral as they could, there was some genuine disgust, animosity and creepiness towards EA on that side of Tumblr; for some ex-fans, “exposing the truth” was mostly justify obsessive hatred, prying and verbal abuse. Some, for instance, felt the bizarre need to side with EA's mother in their estrangement. (One user, with the URL “emilyautumnfischkopf”, argued in a serious and down-to-earth tone - but with zero sources - that EA's upbringing had been nothing but peaceful and supportive until she ungratefully kicked her loving family to the curb for no reason at all. They were later revealed 🔍 to have an alternate handle as “eaisalyingcunt”.)
Either way, through these blogs, a number of potential drama bombs that had mostly flown under the radar were dredged up from over the years – some of which were hard to ignore, even for supportive fans. Where to begin?
There was that nonsense in-joke song, captured twice on camera during the 2009 tour (to very little outrage, at the time), crassly called “Manatee Retard”📺. Or EA's scathing response, in print, to a wheelchair user who found it insensitive that she used a bedazzled wheelchair as a prop to do sexy acrobatics on stage. (“Your offence taken at my hard-won self-acceptance proves that I indeed have something to fight against”, she wrote). Spoken word tracks where she made trivializing knock-knock jokes about serious mental illnesses she didn't have, like schizophrenia and OCD. Multiple instances of calling Britney Spears a “bimbo” and a “Hollywood fucked-up”, resentfully claiming that she only shaved her head because she was “hopped up on drugs” and certainly not because she was “bipolar”, a word the press liked to wield as an insult anyway. (“That's almost like calling someone a retard!” Yeah, heaven forbid.) The meanest, most distasteful paragraphs in the book. Basically everything problematic EA had ever said or written.📝 In retrospect, it had been a long time coming, but it was a lot to take in – and certainly more off-putting, even to less emotionally invested fans, than silly lies about her age and last name.
In another wing of Asylum Tumblr, some fans had had it up to here and just wanted to have fun. 🎵 If Plague Rats had learned one valuable lesson from EA, it was how to crack a joke in the face of absurd tragedy – and the general state of the EA fandom certainly warranted a few.
In 2012, Fight Like a Girl was released. After six long years, three of which had been peaceful, the Opheliac era was officially over. The new album and ensuing tour confirmed that the Asylum had entered a process of glamorous Broadway-style militarization. 🎵📺
The mood board was “Roman general meets Vegas showgirl meets Victorian street urchin”.🪞 The color palette was, to naysayers, “musty pink and rotten, stale piss yellow”. 🐀 The keyword was “REVENGE” (through the power of... self-expression! sorority! brutal assault with rusty medical implements!). The chorus of the title song had an intriguing run-on line about getting “revenge on the world, or at least 49% of the people in it” 🎵 – which seemed like an awful lot, and was widely interpreted (to cheers, boos, or uncomfortable sighs) as a misandrist jab at literally all men on Earth.
The show was essentially a demo version of the musical, in that the setlist vaguely reflected the order of events in the story – but prior reading was essential in order to get what the hell was going on on stage. This one Broadway reviewer had not perused the literature before seeing the show 🔍, and hated: the set, the choreography, the skits, the plot, the lyrics, the music, the concept. (Seriously, you should read the review. It's not even my show and I feel like quitting show business.)
Pre-show VIP encounters, now violin-free, were lorded over by EA's new manager🐀, whose official title was “Asylum Headmistress”. (Interesting choice – she sounds fun!) The swag bags were less substantial than before, and the “greet” part of the meet-and-greet was rarely more than a quick hug and photo op.
On Twitter, EA continued to embrace her “I am very badass” fronting attitude...

Often wonder if cyberbullies r aware they’re fucking w/ a girl who’s BFs w/ maker of the SAW films & is marrying a knife-throwing scorpion. (🐀📝)

...and her taste for needlessly inflammatory statements. About an aisle sign in a supermarket:

If this does not infuriate you, then you're a fucking potato.

(Again with the confounding crypto-ableism, EA! 🔍) She also went through a phase of raging against Lady Gaga 📝, who had stolen her idea of using a wheelchair on stage as an able-bodied woman. 🔍 That failed to convince anyone that she wasn't the histrionic diva that haters made her out to be.
Spurred on by EA's rallying cries and “us vs them” mentality, loyalists turned the white-knighting up to 11. On Twitter, some Plague Rats got into cat fights with Lady Gaga's Little Monsters (what a time to be alive). Others tried to balance out the Tumblr negativity with initiatives like “Spreading a Plague of Love” – a “positive-only” confession blog, whose extreme fangirling, comically drastic rules and hyper-defensive tone📝 did not debunk the increasingly popular notion that “true Plague Rats” were a bunch of authoritarian and hopelessly brainwashed fanatics.
EA truthers and other anti-fans started lashing out at anyone who dared express any positive opinion of EA, solidifying claims that the backlash against EA was just a conspiracy of bitter, hysterical bullies.
All this to say: every passing day brought new reasons for fans to get mad at EA and each other, and everyone in the Asylum was in need of a laugh. It's not easy having a good time.🦠
Leading up to Fight Like a Girl and in the years that followed, user-submission-based meme blogs took off, most notably “Spreading a Plague of Lulz / Troll Like a Girl”. A lot of the early submissions were absurdist humor and toothless, cheezburger-Impact memes (a style that was, oddly, already dated at the time). Those often originated in good fun, and from loyal fans, on the official forum. But there was also true snark, satirizing EA's questionable ethics, outrageous claims, and easily spoofed artistic gimmicks. A new slang of Asylumspeak emerged: Glittertits (slight NSFW), GAGA!!, EA Gusta and all its memeface variants, Get outta mah house!, Are You Suffering?, Fight Like A Goat, [Random celebrity] copied EA (a subgenre in its own right), ...
Most of the “trolling” was directed at unrepentant bootlickers and, to a lesser extent, red-in-the-face haters and creeps. Meme blogs would post joke comments under “serious” or gushing submissions on Wayward Victorian Confessions, and taunt loyalist accounts by tagging them in their posts. When a few people complained on WVC that almost all of the Bloody Crumpets to date had been thin white able-bodied women, and a few fans responded by sharing their dream-casts for a more diverse line-up, the blog was flooded for days with confessions that “X should be a Crumpet” (candidates included RuPaul, Mitt Romney, Nicki Minaj, EA's therapist, and the WVC admins). Farcical shenanigans like that.
Ah, but some people will always cross the line, won't they. EA threads popped up on merciless, bully-friendly snark platforms like Lolcow, Pretty Ugly Little Liar, and Encyclopedia Dramatica. Snarkers with a mean streak and obsessive haters mingled in some of the more aggressive, 4-chan-spirited retaliation against EA – which would be called “brigading” in modern parlance. This included flooding EA's Goodreads page with one-star reviews (see part 4), repeatedly editing her Wikipedia page to include her legal name and birth year, and ensuring that Googling said name would bring up current pictures of her.
All of this compounded agitation fragmented the once-united fandom beyond recognition.🦠 Through substantial disagreements among fans, personal bickerings, layers upon layers of inscrutable in-jokes, and cross-platform telephone games, the Asylum morphed into a booby-trapped Escher room.
Satire blogs were taken in earnest. Earnest fan blogs scanned as satire. Memes would get called out as abuse. Appreciation without attached criticism would get mocked as bootlicking. Obvious jokes made by EA would be taken at face value. One divisive confession could trigger days and days of debate, to the point that WVC eventually banned confessions in response to other confessions. New waves of infighting created a confusing web of rival sub-factions🐀, each accusing the others of being toxic, cliquish, and delusional.
The shared fantasy was broken, the collective vision had crumbled, no onez was speaking the same language anymore. Fans would jump down the throat of other fans who held almost identical views about EA, except for that one thing she said or did that one time. Everyone had differing thoughts on what should or shouldn't acceptable to discuss, question, excuse, make fun of.
War is hell.

SCORCHED EARTH SHENANIGANS: HONEY, I SHRUNK THE ASYLUM

Would you tear my castle down Stone by stone And let the wind run through my windows Till there was nothing left But a battered rose? (“Castle Down”, 2003🎵)

Haters vs sycophants is not really the kind of conflict where one side can come out on top (if you're participating, you've already lost). But in the long tug-of-war between “grassroots” and “EA-sponsored” fan spaces, the ultimate winner is obvious – in that the former is gasping in agony, a shriveled husk of its former glory, while the latter... is non-existent. This is due in no small part to EA's tendency, like the Czars of old, to settle conflicts by setting Moscow on fire.🔍)
That's not entirely fair: unlike EA, the czar only did it that once.
By early 2013, as EA was gearing up for her third Fight Like a Girl tour at the end of the year, the official forum was... not as lively as it once had been. Not just because of the stifling rules and disgruntlement towards EA, or because EA herself hadn't really posted anything on there in years; the Internet was also changing, and forums in general were fast becoming passé.
This made it difficult for EA to create a safe space where she could talk to fans, and fans could talk to and about her, in a way she deemed suitable (ie, a space she could gate-keep and regulate enough to keep it completely free from negative criticism). Social media was a minefield; she still posted regularly, but didn't interact very much. So EA and the Headmistress came up with a way to filter out the unbelievers: an official fan club📝, aptly called the “Asylum Army”, with a $100 entry price.
Joining the AA came with a dog tag, a sew-on patch, and a lifetime membership certificate signed by EA and – for some reason – the Headmistress. (Unlike EA's best friend and sound engineer back in the forum's heyday, I don't think fans ever really embraced the FLAG-era manager as part of the Asylum in-group. She came across more as a coordinator / businessperson / adult chaperone, at best.🐀) So, slightly better goodies than you'd get by joining the other AA 🔍 ... but not by much. The main appeal was that members would have access to exclusive content, special merch, giveaways, early bird tickets for future shows, and regular video chats with EA.
The concept itself drew a fair amount of criticism, as you can imagine. Between the name🐀, the price, and the inherent gatekeeping of a pay-to-join fanclub, many balked at the monetizing of a concept that had once (like, three years back) been significantly more DIY, grassroots, and inclusive. 📝🐀
Then again, many also longed for a positive, drama-free space where fans could just be fans. And while the creation of the AA was generally recognized as a quick cashgrab, a lot of people were surprisingly cool with it. EA was trying to finance her dream musical, after all – although a number of fans wished she had gone about raising funds in a less sketchy way.
So around 400 fans shelled out (which, according to the Headmistress📝, “basically cover[ed] the cost of running the fanclub itself – keeping the database up, website, etc.”). Enough for a close-knit, but sizable community. But already, there was a conflict of interest: a high fanclub entry fee essentially demands that you pledge loyalty to the artist over loyalty to your fellow fans, who wish to join but can't afford to. Sharing, caring, and ensuring no one felt left out were some of the more positive values cultivated in the fandom... but leaking exclusive content would surely piss off other paying members🐀, and make EA feel betrayed all over again. (And she had barely just started to mellow out on social media!)
...But then again, this is the internet. After the first month of secret AA drops (lyric sheets, some photoshoot outtakes – nothing too juicy, really), there were, yes, some leaks. EA was predictably miffed, and retaliated by... ghosting the fanclub for weeks at a time in its first few months of existence (great look!). She eventually found the “solution” to her problem, by providing something you couldn't right-click-save (and which had been part of the promised perks to begin with): live interaction.
Over webcam, she was her usual in-person bubbly, charming, funny self. Everyone seemingly had a good time during the fanclub video chat, and this gave people faith and hope.
There were a few more events, giveaways, etc. As promised, ahead of the fall 2013 tour (the last one to date, it would turn out), AA members got priority access to show tickets and VIP bundles. The latter were much pricier than before, and only included soundcheck, a photo-op, and three goodies: a tin of loose-leaf tea, a signed printer-paper setlist, and a small flag that said “F.L.A.G.”.🔍 Some stuff continued to leak – but, as some of the outlaws pointed out (scroll down to the Disqus comments), they were mostly relaying information that was relevant to the entire fanbase, such as updates about ongoing projects (the dragged-out recording of the audiobook, for one).
In early 2014, lifetime memberships were closed, and replaced with monthly, quarterly and yearly subscription tiers. Bizarrely, you ended up paying $3 more per month if you bought a $99 yearly subscription📝 – but it did include the patch, dog tag, and piece of paper!

Sometimes I kind of want to be part of the cool kids and register to the Asylum Army. Then I remember how it came about, what you could get for the same price a couple years ago, how the whole thing was and is handled, and that I won’t support any of this bullshit. (And then I roll around naked in all the money I’m saving.) (🐀)

Still, a number of fans rejoiced at the affordable monthly option, and joined – if not for the exclusive content and merch (which were... okay, but not much to write home about), then for the friendly, drama-free exchanges with an artist they actually did love, in spite of all the frustration.
For the still-too-poor or still-undecided, there was always the forum! It wasn't as active as it used to be, but a few die-hards still managed to keep the lights on... until, inevitably, Someone Did Something and Ruined Everything. (Once again: EA's wrath is spectacular, but rarely completely unprovoked.) The incident features one notable figure in the Asylum community. Let's call him the Collector.
OK, so maybe you remember the meme I linked to in Part 4, with Christian Grey and the ginormous EA hoard. Well, that's the Collector's collection. The “Violin” promo that I called the "Holy Grail of the fandom" in the same paragraph? Also his. The handwritten lyrics that went for $940? Guess who won that auction. Over the years, the Collector had probably spent five figures on EA merch and shows, and although that fact was a little unsettling, he was a very active, easy-going, and generally well-liked fixture of the fandom.
One day in 2012, shortly after the Headmistress had replaced EA's old Chicago BFF as main forum admin, the Collector's account got banned or restricted over something dumb. When the ban wasn't lifted as quickly as he hoped, he took it... the way one takes things when one is unhealthily invested: he started spamming Headmistress and the mod team with increasingly rambling and abusive emails (lost to time, probably for the best). When that didn't work quickly enough, he tried a different route.
One of the many auctions that the Collector had won, some years prior, was EA's old iPod Touch📝 – which contained all of her favorite tunes and, buried somewhere in the data cache... a phone number. Which the Collector tried calling. And wouldn't you know it: EA picked up. She congratulated him on his sleuthing skills, listened patiently as he made his case, apologized for any distress caused by the unfair account restriction, and then they got married.
Kidding! She freaked the fuck out, hung up, and banned him for life from the forum and all EA shows and events.
After his ban, the Collector allegedly still tried to attend at least one VIP pre-show (one source in the comments says he was allowed to buy some merch, refunded for his ticket, and escorted out). He joined the Reform forum to bitch about EA and try to rally people to his cause, possibly made revenge posts about her on darker snark forums, and continued to hound the Asylum mod team. So in June 2014, EA came up with a radical and unexpected fix to the Collector problem.

The official Asylum Fan Forum has been shut down permanently. I have personally paid thousands of dollars each year to keep the forum safe and secure for you ... Unfortunately, the forum has not been kept safe and secure for me, a truth which disappoints me greatly, instead becoming a place where people who have physically threatened myself and my staff prey upon forum members, pressuring them to contact me and my staff on their behalf. If the gullible wish to humor my stalkers (who live in their parent’s basement at age 30 something) and thus put me in danger, they may do it on their own dime. They may also fuck off, because stupidity can kill, and I won’t be your victim. To those who enjoyed the forum, you know who to thank for its closure. (“On the closing of the Asylum Forum”)

Voilà! This is how a decade-long archive of shared history ends: not with a bang, but with a dirty delete and a sod-off communiqué.
The obliteration of the forum took everyone by surprise...

I was actually on the forum when it was taken down. I was navigating between posts and when I went to click on a different board, an error message came up. I honestly cried a little, I'm not ashamed to say. (WVC admin on Reddit, 2024)

...and I do mean everyone:

Chicago BFF / ex-admin, the next morning: Whoa, EA forum shut down? Ex-mod: It turns out that if someone spends enough years actively “waging war” to destroy what they can’t have, eventually they’ll be successful. * eye roll * Not even mods got prior warning. Just all the sudden, poof, gone. BFF: Really? She did not let the moderators know?! This is sounding worse and worse. Uggh. I’m so sorry. Such a loss. (...) Ok, threats are serious, but why not just put it in archive mode so no one can post? (...) Sad. I shall light a candle in the forum's honor. (Facebook posts; scroll down for screenshots)

It was a gut punch, especially for people who had poured countless hours into the community, or could have used some prior warning to save years of their own writing from the role-playing threads. One last chance to take a look around the place that had meant so much to so many.

From the wording of the announcement of closing the forum and a number of other things, it sometimes seems like EA doesn't like her fans much. :/ (🐀)

Three months after the forum was nuked, Battered Rose (a venerable EA fansite, which had been around since the Enchant era and had one of the most complete EA galleries online) announced that it was shutting down too.📝 The admin, who had also been a long-time forum mod, cited a lack of “time, energy, passion, or money” to keep the website going... and being upset at the sudden disappearance of the forum. It was, truly, the end of an era for the Asylum.
...Well, no point in living in the past. For those who could afford it, and still wanted to talk to/about EA after that (not everyone did 🐀), there was always the Asylum Army fanclub!
Over the summer of 2014, EA held regular live chats and Q&A's, and... many attendees really enjoyed them, and thought the AA was well worth the money after all. She also quietly parted ways with the much poo-pooed Headmistress around that time.

Just spent over 4 hours giggling, drinking tea and playing guessing games in chat with EA and other Asylum Army members ... No griping, no downers, just lots of fun. I think I like the way the ‘new fandom’ is going and now I’m really glad I finally decided to join the Army. (September 4, 2014🐀; Battered Rose had closed the day before)

The forum was lost forever, but perhaps that was a chance for a fresh start. Could this fanclub thing really be the Asylum Renaissance that fans had been longing for?

...I have come today to a very difficult but necessary decision, and that is to discontinue the Emilie Autumn Official Fanclub. The site itself, and the community chatroom, will remain open to you indefinitely, but I will no longer be making updates to the site. (Newsletter, September 8, 2014📝)

...Never mind, then.
Turns out the fanclub had been the Headmistress' idea all along. EA had been reluctant from the start, and although she really enjoyed the live chats with a safe community of people “who are there for the right reasons”, she couldn't overcome her fundamental discomfort with the concept. Lifetime and regular members would receive a bunch of digital downloads and a -35% coupon on the Asylum Emporium for their troubles. EA said she would definitely pop back once in a while for live chats, for free, just for fun, but to my knowledge, she never did.
And so the most devoted fans were left standing in the rain...

She is happy, she made it. She is fulfilling her dreams, found love and happiness after all the pain. I understand that she now doesn’t need “us” anymore ... That doesn’t change the fact she broke my heart with taking the Asylum Army and the forum from me. Yet, I am happy for her. (🐀)

...while naysayers pointed and laughed, Nelson-style.🦠

I don’t feel sorry at all for the people that paid for the Asylum Army fan club. Most of them knew that EA is an atrocious business woman and has broken many promises before. In fact, I laugh at them. They seriously thought that EA would actually stay consistent with this? (🐀)

EVERYTHING MUST GO: THE ASYLUM WHOLESALE

EA fans were left without an “official” home for about three years. This gave them plenty of time to be annoyed at EA for: not releasing the audiobook on time, not materializing any new project for a while... and the new sin of peddling random, ridiculously marked-up AliBaba jewelry as “merch” on her official store. Think faux-antique cameo pendants and $30 Big Ben rings (...because the Asylum story is set in London, get it?).

The whole accessories section looks like a tacky overpriced English souvenir shop. (🐀)

The fanbase lost a lost of steam in those in-between years, because there wasn't much to stick around for. As evidenced by the positive reception of the AA live chats, even in the midst of unresolved drama, out-loud interactions in a friendly environment have always been EA's saving grace. Considering the amount of online hate, there are shockingly few accounts of bad IRL encounters with EA: most people say that in live conversation, she comes across as a fun, warm, and genuinely sweet person. Some report that their negative opinion shifted after meeting her.
But there were no chats or live shows anymore. There was only social media, where she ignored questions and vague-posted about overdue projects – and the newsletter📝, which was all saccharine love-bombing to promote bland dropshipped trinkets. For fans who remembered the handcrafted merch (and two-way communication) of the early years, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS

​

Record temperatures, record migration, record emissions, record displacement, record PFAS……start building an ark.
Last Week in Collapse: May 12-18, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 125th newsletter! You can find the May 5-11 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
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Flash flooding in northern Afghanistan killed 300+ people and destroyed 1,000+ homes. Hundreds of thousands of others have been affected. Last month, similar floods in the region killed 70+. Four died in Texas storms last week as well.
Venezuela is suffering from record wildfires, which so far this year have burned about 5M acres—almost the size of Sardinia. Some experts think indigenous people started the blaze as an attempt at forest clearance, which quickly got out of hand. “Institutional failures” compounded the disaster when the ailing government responded with an inadequate number of poorly equipped firefighters. Another study from last week examined the impact of wildfires on soil health.
Flooding and “cold lava” killed 50+ in Indonesia, injuring dozens and displacing several thousand. Cold lava is a mixture of water and rocks tumbling down the side of a volcano. Meanwhile, an actual volcano erupted in Indonesia, sending smoke & ash 5000m high; further eruptions are possible soon.
The Swiss Re Institute published a 37-page report last week about natural disasters in 2023—and how much damage, in USD, they caused. The largest catastrophe was the February 7.8 earthquake in Türkiye & Syria, which killed 59,000+ people and caused $163B+ in damage. The report is full of interesting graphics & data about natural disasters.

“Last year, economic losses from natural catastrophes reached USD 280 billion, meaning that 62% of the global losses were uninsured….the insured losses surpassed USD 100 billion for the fourth consecutive year….annual insured losses will grow by 5–7% over the long term…today’s insured losses could double in 10 years….There were 142 insured-loss inducing catastrophes in 2023, a new record. Most were of medium severity, which we define as events resulting in losses of USD 1–5 billion….Over the last 30 years, we estimate that natural catastrophe insured losses have grown by 3 percentage points more annually than the global economy (in inflation adjusted terms)...”

Flooding and heat waves are impacting Brazil’s oranges, responsible for about 70% of the world’s supply. One food analysts declared that the “era of cheap food is over”—in the UK, at least. That may be one reason why UK residents took record food bank packages last year. Madagascar is struggling to adapt to a future with far less rainfall.
France is growing more concerned about a dam on Lake Geneva, controlled exclusively by Switzerland. The Rhône River, which begins in Switzerland and flows south through France, is shrinking in summers as climate change melts Switzerland’s remaining glaciers.
The Tonlé San River has been dammed in Vietnam, lowering the level in Cambodia and sometimes drying the river downstream entirely. Meanwhile, China’s lychee harvest is getting blasted by rain, impacting the world’s largest source of lychee. And, once again, Saudi Arabia is suffering flooding in its inland regions. 7 dead in historic flooding in Iran.
The eminent climate scientist James Hansen posted that, since “human-made aerosols and their cooling effect are in decline,” the cooling effect of La Niña will be counterbalanced by these rising temperatures. He also identifies a “large anomaly of increased absorbed solar radiation at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere” responsible for rising temperatures there. CO2 levels are rising faster today than they have at any point in the previous 50,000 years…and a study of millennia-old trees determined last summer was the hottest worldwide in 2,000+ years…
Record nighttime May temperatures were tied in the Philippines and Vietnam. A couple Indonesian cities broke records for May temperatures. And a number of southern African states saw more records drop. And Toronto saw a record tied for the number of days reaching 14 °C (57 °F). A heat wave has returned to Bangladesh. Flooding in Cali (pop: 2.9M), Colombia.
The University of Washington was ordered to stop a geoengineering project that scientists sere conducting from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier. The experiment ejected aerosolized saltwater in an attempt to reflect solar radiation. A comparative study in Nature Communications of a number of carbon pricing found that, yes, carbon pricing does work to reduce the total CO2 emitted.
It’s that time of the year again. Wildfires in Canada grow, some of which are moving towards the tar sands—forcing thousands to evacuate. 39 of the total nation’s blazes are “out of control,” resulting in air quality alerts in the United States. Meanwhile, across the Caribbean, water shortages have become the new normal, and residents (and tourists) are finding their old consumption habits hard to change. St. Lucia has declared a water emergency. In Myanmar, water shortages worsen, particularly as related to the spiraling conflict.
At least ⅛ of Europeans live in a place at risk of extreme flooding—so says a 175-page report from the European Environment Agency posted on Wednesday. The number of people living in flood-risk coastal areas in the EU & UK is expected to jump 24% by 2050. The graphics-packed report also considers how flooding will impact healthcare facilities, mental health, wastewater treatment plants, the spread of disease, cyanobacteria, permafrost thaw, and much else.

“Europe has seen devastating floods following record rainfall, droughts of magnitudes not experienced in hundreds of years, continuing sea level rise, and increasing lake and sea temperatures….permanent water stress already affects 30% of people in southern Europe….since 2018, more than half of Europe has been impacted by extreme drought conditions….Climate change is expected to increase mercury bioaccumulation in the marine food chain due to rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and permafrost thawing….Depression, anxiety and PTSD may persist for years after a flooding event….Under the changing climate, northern Europe is becoming wetter in general, but drier in summer. Southern Europe is becoming drier, especially in winter. For central-eastern and western Europe, the trend is less clear…” -selections from the report

Milan suffered flooding last week, the worst May flooding in 170 years. Early spring in the UK has disrupted migratory bird species and their usual patterns.
A 74-page working paper which is not yet peer-reviewed claims that earlier estimates for how much GDP would be impacted by another 1 °C temperature rise is way less than it would be in actuality. The paper claims the real cost (in USD) is about 6x greater. They claim “global temperature has much more pronounced impacts on economic activity than local temperature” and that extreme weather is mostly behind the projected decline in productivity.
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Epidemiologists are worried about how climate change in Africa may extend the life of disease-bearers like ticks and mosquitoes. Other epidemiologists are worried about how cattle may become a permanent reservoir for H5N1. Growing traced of bird flu have been found in wastewater testing in the U.S., but investigators think it may be runoff from infected dairy farms.
Obesity, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure rates today globally are 50% higher than in 2000—though researchers claim that air pollution still poses a larger threat. Of a study participants in Hawai’i, 75% had respiratory issues, probably from the Maui wildfires last year.
The 2024 World Migration Report is out, and its 384 pages are not as apocalyptic as one might think. However, internally displaced people are at their all-time highest. India, Mexico, Russia, China, and Syria lead the world in emigrants; another document contains the definitions for who exactly constitutes a migrant. Unfortunately much of the data relied upon ends in 2022. Data from this year, not included in the above report, indicates a 40% jump in traffic through the Darien Gap compared to the same time period in 2023.

“The last two years saw major migration and displacement events that have caused great hardship and trauma, as well as loss of life….There have also been large-scale displacements triggered by climate- and weather-related disasters in many parts of the world in 2022 and 2023, including in Pakistan, the Philippines, China, India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Colombia….disinformation tactics are increasingly being used by nefarious actors with negative impacts on public, political and social media discourse on migration….Forced displacement is the highest on record in the modern era…overconsumption and overproduction linked to unsustainable economic growth, resource depletion and biodiversity collapse, as well as ongoing climate change (including global heating) are continuing to grip the world….the risk of further conflict has not been higher in decades, as military spending reached a new record high of USD 2,240 billion in 2022…” -excerpts from the introduction

Another report, focusing on internal displacement, came out last week; its 69 pages show a cross-section of about 47M people displaced by natural disasters (56%) or armed conflict (44%). Most of the disasters were storms & flooding, and most of the conflicts were civil wars of some form. This report also provides detailed region-by-region analyses—with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 46% of global IDPs.

“Conflict and violence triggered 13.5 million movements, the highest figure for the past 15 years….Disasters and conflict are presented as different triggers, but their impacts can overlap, often leading to repeated and/ or protracted displacement….Drought triggered 331,000 displacements in Somalia….Floods triggered 550,000 displacements in Ethiopia….Conflict and violence triggered 3.8 million displacements in DRC in 2023, a slight fall from the record four million in 2022, but still the second-highest figure globally after Sudan….nearly two-thirds of the internal displacements recorded in 2023 originated from Khartoum state. More than 39 per cent of the state's inhabitants were forced to flee, leaving entire neighbourhoods empty….Criminal and communal violence triggered nearly three-quarters of Nigeria's 291,000 conflict displacements….” -selections from the spotlight on sub-Saharan Africa

Experts are concerned about the mental health impacts that climate change has on our minds. Hotter temperatures reportedly increase depression & aggression. Wildfires and storms can cause PTSD. Workers feel stress and desperation as their usual industries are impacted. And air pollution influences ordinary brain processes in many ways.
Some analysts believe “Peak China” may be over, signaling a period of economic tapering-off, as well as a growing militancy. Increasing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are continuing to separate the two economies. The Netherlands finally formed a provisional government, though its proposed immigration & farming policies have set it at odds with the EU.
The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, released a 46-page report on potential climate risks to the banking system’s resilience. As far as I understood, most of the risk lies in extreme weather events and the risk to insurance agencies.
Part of southeast England experienced an outbreak of Cryptosporidium, a diarrhea & vomiting illness, highly contagious, which can last weeks. At least 22 cases have been reported. Meanwhile, the CDC is issuing warnings about the more dangerous strain of monkeypox circulating in the DRC, although cases are currently limited to Africa.
North Carolina’s Senate voted to ban mask-wearing last week, under the reasoning that it would make police identification of protestors difficult. An fMRI study found lasting neurological changes in COVID survivors; they “had significantly higher cognitive complaints of mental fatigue and cognitive failure….even two years after recovering.” Experts say a summer rise in COVID cases is coming to the United States.
A study on The Canadian/American Great Lakes found that PFAS levels are increasing in the 3 largest lakes (Superior, Huron, and Michigan), while decreasing in the other two (Erie, Ontario). The study also found that precipitation is the primary means by which the Lakes are accumulating PFAS, since the chemicals are small & stable enough to move through the water cycle. Meanwhile, in England’s Lake District, a telecom failure resulted in raw sewage being pumped into England’s largest and most famous lake, Windermere, on-and-off for 10 hours; and a major British water CEO took a $4M USD pay package last year. And a look into the Chicago River’s health found that microplastics & trash are endangering health & biodiversity.
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An assassination attempt by a lone wolf on Slovakia’s PM left him in critical condition, but likely to survive. 11 civilians were slain by cartel fighters in a few battles in Mexico. Violence continues to spiral out of control in Goma, DRC.
In Haiti, everything worsens indefinitely. Guns have reportedly entered from Florida, a phenomenon which officials call an “iron river.” Police have been put on the defensive against the growing might of the gang warlords.
A brawl broke out in Taiwan’s parliament. An Iranian plot was allegedly foiled to smuggle weapons into Jordan to destabilize the pro-U.S. regime.
Dozens more died in Sudan from escalating violence around Darfur. People are warning about “a disaster on top of a disaster” and the possibility of Sudan splitting apart. Others have called it “hell on earth” as 1,000+ refugees cross the Chad border every day. Disease and malnutrition are growing, while famine encroaches upon 9M helpless victims of the conflict—but the world’s attention is elsewhere.
The U.S. Army Engineers completed constructing the pier in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. Some 600,000 Gazans have been displaced from Rafah already, and fighting has escalated against Hamas militants in northern Gaza.
Taliban forces skirmished with Pakistani soldiers for about 90 minutes last week. Taliban attacks in Pakistan, and counterattacks have resulted in a kind of ambient disruption for the rocky border zone.
Violent protests—and counteroperations—are continuing in New Caledonia (pop: 270,000), a Pacific island part of overseas France. The riots, which have killed 6 people so far, began after metropolitan France proposed a plan to expand voting rights beyond indigenous residents. A state of emergency has been declared amid worries about a spiral of violence taking hold.
As the Sahel dries out, experts are concerned about the links to rising terrorism in the region. The Sahel accounts for over 40% of global terrorism deaths—according to the analysts’ understanding of “terrorism.” Mali in particular has reportedly become home to 41 new, different non-state armed groups (NSAGs) since 2007. A contested election in Chad resulted in the consolidation of the interim leader’s power.

“If governments are continually unable to solve regional issues, the people will be at the whim of any terror group that has a basic organization. It serves these groups’ interests to promote insecurity where they can and create security where they want. A “hearts and minds” campaign in the Sahel could lead to long-term and locally supported insurgencies in a land that is currently rife with civil strife.” -from the article

Some wargamers concluded that a Trump victory in 2020 would spell the end of NATO, or at least the end of its utility. Vladimir Putin replaced his minister of defense with a top economic advisor, just before going to Beijing to reaffirm their friendship with “no limits.” Some say Putin is planning on a forever war. Some say NATO is gearing up for one, too.
Russia made several gains in the suburbs of Kharkiv, seizing several settlements which some analysts doubt they will hold. Putin claims they aren’t really trying to take Kharkiv anyway… Russia also made small progress in the Donbas—although they suffered their largest one-day casualties since the start of the war. The U.S. allocated another $2B to hasten the delivery of weapons to the front lines. The next weeks will be crucial on the front. Switzerland has invited 160+ nations to send delegates to a peace summit intended to design a path to making peace in this War.
——————————
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-Brazil’s flooding was really, really bad, judging from this post and its accompanying images. Across just one of Brazil’s 26 states, 600,000+ people have been made homeless, 100+ have died, and the storm season isn’t over yet. Some of the flooding isn’t expected to subside for another month.
-How specifically might climate change make humanity extinct? This thread crowdsources a number of plausible ways, from ordinary famines to nuclear war and even a massive deoxygenation process. I tend to think it will be a consequence of an eventual nuclear exchange, followed by extended famine and disease.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, doom prophets to follow, hugelkultur guides, directions to off-grid bunkers, ark schematics, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Necklace: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1510764549/moldavite-necklace-real-raw-moldavite?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=moldavite+pendant&ref=sr_gallery-10-29&pro=1&frs=1&content_source=6fb41efd53994afff657961cac6d92e6c9ae89c4%253A1510764549&organic_search_click=1
Bracelet: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1287931427/natural-rough-moldavite-bracelet925?click_key=7f9a6348cd7a6c9f89971f53e0ceb648c45f5495%3A1287931427&click_sum=8f82964b&ref=shop_home_feat_1&pro=1&frs=1
Love their designs, just not sure if these are real or not.

_EDIT_ Added additional info and link to side by side image beneath post.
I'm not going to lie, a gorgeously oversaturated OLED display on a phone causes my dopamine to flow. Starting with S23 Ultra, it seems like manufacturers have deciding that consumers shouldn't have that choice anymore and wash the colors out for the sake of "real" or "accurate" colors. Boo to that. I want the reds to burn my retinas plz & thx.
I have an old Black Shark 4 phone that has a beautiful display with beautiful poppy colors and contrast that I very much prefer to my S23 ultra and OnePlus 12r I just picked up. The 12r is a bit better than the Samsung but I'm afraid it doesn't hold a candle to the older Black Shark display. I technically could still use it. It works but no 5g and no longer supported with security updates.
Does anybody know a consistent way to vet phones for color saturation? Reviews I see almost never comment on it. The only place I really have available to see phones in person is Best Buy but they don't have a great selection outside Apple, Samsung, Blu or Motorola.
Can rooting my device do anything in this regard?
_EDIT_ Link to image -- Looking at the photo of the devices side by side there are clearly things going on with the color that I don't know how to explain. The large cloud appearing more orange on the bottom image, and the 2 tones of red in the cape/jacket getting crushed in the top one. I thought it was a white balance issue with the clouds but it can clearly display white just fine since the smaller whisps look perfectly white to me. Maybe this all just comes down to some "special sauce" color calibration or enhancement?

I know I will get downvoted on this, but I do not care. We participated in the downtown scavenger hunt today.....what a great time. So many cool businesses and business people we met, and learned all about our incredible history of Lethbridge. I was surprised how busy it was in the shops. As for safety, seen about a dozen sketchy folks in the 4 hours we were "hunting" but could have been more, we didn't notice more. No one bothered us. So many kind people run these businesses....real folks, not a corporation based in another city (or country). Prices...it was surprising how competitive they were over going to the burbs. Cheaper in many cases. I found one item at "how sweet" candy store which was the best price I have found anywhere. He has a new regular. The LA gallery was super friendly, great place for framing....Beirut Swarma guy was super nice to us. Analog Books (I believe her name is Penny) what a super nice human being. Cafe Noir has a new customer too. We really would like to move downtown now....it is nice to see human beings and have social interactions face to face over a self check out machine. We need a couple types of businesses down there......maybe a good deli/grocer.....mens clothing.....we also need waaaay more residential. I was just overwhelmed with the quality of the people owning and operating these small businesses. Just made my weekend.

Time Stamps: https://postimg.cc/gallery/7rLth6sR
Important Information (please read);

• I can only ship to people that live in the contiguous United States.
• You can pick up any of the items for cash in the Cleveland, OH area.
• Shipping is not included in the prices. Some of these items are large or heavy, so if you live far away, shipping may be very expensive. I can calculate that for you if you send your ZIP code.

Items for Sale:
Seasonic Focus GX-850 PSU: $45 + Shipping

• I tested this before listing with my own system running the RX 7800 XT. It worked fine and didn't give me any issues.
• It comes with what I believe is a full set of cables.
• I do have the box, but it may be cheaper to ship it without that, depending on where you live.
• I bought this and the titanium one from a local guy, but while I was carrying them in to the house, the box of PSU slipped out of the stack I was carrying and this one, and the titanium one hit the ground (before testing) and did some light cosmetic damage to this one.
• Please read to the bottom.

NOT FUNCTIONAL Seasonic Focus TX-850 PSU: $25 + Shipping

• This PSU does not turn on. I'm not sure if it was not functional before I bought it, or if the drop killed it, but I couldn't get it to start up.

Seasonic Focus GM-850 PSU: $70 + Shipping

• This one I've had for a long time. I think it's cosmetically like new. I didn't notice any issues with it. I use it as my test PSU when I need something quick and reliable to set up.
• It is semi-modular.
• I do have the box.

8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 RAM: $12 + Shipping

• Bought this RAM open box at the local microcenter. Don't need it, but thought it might be cool to have around. If someone actually needs it, I'm happy to sell it, but in no rush to get rid of it.

ASRock A520 HDV Motherboard + 32GB (2x16GB) Neo Forza DDR4 3600 CL18 RAM: $100 + Shipping

• Neither of these parts have ever been used or removed from their packaging.
• I did have to open and remove some of the motherboard accessories from the box to take the pictures, since the box isn't sealed and I had to prove that the board was real.

AMD RX 7800 XT: $420 + Shipping

• This card is like new and has been my daily driver for a couple months, but I do not have the box.
• I bought it second hand from a local IT guy that realized he wanted NVIDIA for AI stuff. He said it barely had any power-on hours once he realized it was more work to set up than he bargained for.

NVIDIA PNY RTX 4060 Ti 16GB: $400 + Shipping

• Like new condition. I bought this to keep as a spare for SFF systems that like low power cards. I do not have the box.

Pending Payment ASRock Challenger Intel A380 6GB: $65 + Shipping

• I re-pasted this with Arctic MX6 paste. Temperatures and noise are pretty great.
• I noticed this card performs about 15% worse than my sparkle version. Unclear why. I tried to make sure the firmware was updated, DDU''d the drivers, etc. It works fine though and the was mostly interested for the quicksync stuff, so the 3D speed didn't really matter.

HyperX ARMADA 25 24.5" 240Hz IPS Gaming Monitor: $120 Local Cash Only

• I do not have the box, so this is local cash only.
• There are no issues with the monitor that I am aware of.
• It comes with a clamp-down monitor arm instead of a normal stand.

AOC 24" 165Hz IPS Gaming Monitor: $100 + Shipping

• I'm a little afraid to ship a monitor, so I prefer local cash.
• Never set up or turned on. Still in the box.
• I can fire it up before shipping to check it before shipping if the buyer wants.

Corsair 2000D White iCUE RGB Airflow ITX Case: $75 + Shipping

• Like brand new, has about a week of use.
• Comes with 3x Corsair slim 120mm ARGB Fans and an iCUE controller (not a retail one with the housing)

Corsair 3000D White ARGB Airflow ATX Case: $60 + Shipping

• Like brand new, has about a week of use.
• Comes with 3x Corsair normal ARGB fans that can plug into a typical motherboard 3-pin ARGB header

Bundles:

• If you take a monitor and a case locally, take $25 off the total price.
• If you take a monitor, case, and video card locally, take $50 off the total price.
• If you take both the GX-850 and TX-850 (not functional) PSU, you can have them for $55 + Shipping ($15 off the listed price).

Is the scammer still scamming? Obviously. I came across this ETSY seller from China where Caroline is clearly buying her so called "handmade" Chili earrings from and up-charging them 700% to the goofballs dumb enough to fall for it. The Etsy listing has them $18 for 50pcs so that's $9 for 25 pairs of earrings that she sells at $45 a pair. Remind me how she's a real artist again lol?
Original ETSY listing:https://www.etsy.com/listing/1411231274/50-pcs-chili-pendant-chili-charm?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=turquoise+chili+earrings&ref=sc_gallery-1-3&pro=1&plkey=fc365e37c782703df646d12656c9bc7a75dc5bd3%3A1411231274
Caroline's "handmade" earring listing:https://carolinecalloway.com/products/the-only-earrings-youll-ever-need-turquoise-pair?variant=40584209661998

Hey ya'll. I'm sorry about this post but I guess it will be kinda long since I want to say how I feel and make people understand why I need help/advice.
So, a month ago my only remaining friend started making up fake stuff about me just to be more popular herself at our new high school. (Please keep in mind she's 16, I am 17. We both have been friends since kindergarten and decided to go to the same center to study Baccalaureate).
So we started in September in our new class, then she did that just to look good and make herself more popular with our new classmates. She started saying I hated this person then the other. Obviously I had no idea of this at first, so I just kept talking with her.
One day I noticed her ignoring me so I just thought she was depressed or smth so I didn't press her into talking with me. But at the playground I was alone eating in the bathroom when all of a sudden the popular girls came in yelling at me.
I was EXTREMELY CONFUSED because I barely talked to them since we started this school year so I didn't even know them enough. They kept yelling and insulting me out of nowhere and so I panicked and started crying. Then the girl who was supposed to be my friend came after them and started laughing at me and insulting me too. (Because of the stuff my 'friend' had invented)
Why? No idea. I'm not better than her, I'm not prettier than her, I'm not even a popular girl or someone to be jealous of. So I still have no idea why she did that. That day I left school 3 hours earlier because I was hyperventilating too much and felt dizzy.
That was a month ago and I am completely alone now. It reminds me of primary school, when all I did in the playground was sitting alone on the ground because nobody would talk to me. Not even the teachers, so I guess I'm kinda used to it now.
Also (not trying to talk shit about her but just want ya'll to know why I stopped being friends with her) last March 11th on my birthday, my parents spent like 100 euros for us to have a good meal at my house. SHE INVITED 3 GUYS THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW. WITHOUT TELLING ME THEY APPEARED IN MY HOUSE. And so, what did she gift me? A box of mochis that was already opened and empty. She recorded my reaction to when I opened it and I'm sure she still haves it somewhere on her gallery. The 4 of them were laughing histerically and I just wanted to cry. Just to add, she was the typical pick me who made fun of others, drank and smoked. I think she was mad at me because I never wanted to go to the disco (I hate loud noises and crowded places)
NOW back to the present, I need some advice on how to make good, real friends. I'm a person who trusts others easily and that's how I always end up with the worse people. Something similar happened with another friend back in primary school.
I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong to deserve all this. I get it people maybe don't want to approach me because of my interests, and I hate myself for that. I sometimes wish I could change who I am if it meant getting friends. Please help.

$500 Pelikan M800, 18C F Nib, Produced 2023 A2 Condition. This is an extraordinary pen as it reminds of its predecessor from 1992. However, the new edition is not identical to the fountain pen from thea 90's. The details make it a real eye catcher. A special mention deserve the one-piece cap ring and filling knob ring with shiny and satined surface optics, giving it an extraordinary look. As usual, the fountain pens of this Souverän series M800 Green Demonstrator are made of high quality components. The rings and the traditional beak like clip are finished with 24-karat gold and the 18-carat bi-color gold nib with rhodium decor crowns the fountain pen. The green transparent parts allow a view on the ink level and the piston mechanism.
Writing verification
Free shipping Conus. Thank you for looking.

First a small sample of trip photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/SKffjfU
I’m an a single 61 year old man who has not traveled a lot. By way of background, I was in a seven year relationship that ended two years ago. She had traveled extensively and lived in Barcelona and Mexico City years before we met. The plan at the start of the relationship was to take lots of trips. I’d start planning them but for one reason or another she wouldn’t commit to them. In the end, the only time we flew together was to Salt Lake City two months before we split up.
After the breakup, I figured I’d meet someone new and we’d travel. However, that hasn’t happened and, obviously, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always been fascinated by Basque Country and its people and culture. In the fall, I let work know I was taking two weeks from third week of April to early May. Then I just let it languish. A few months ago I was having lunch with clients who travel a lot and mentioned San Sebastián. They gave me the kick in the butt I needed and I made flight reservations and found a place to stay in San Sebastián.
I didn’t want this to be a 10 cities in 12 days trip so it was always planned with San Sebastián/Donostia being the main focus with a couple of overnight trips with most stuff left at the place in Donostia. I returned two weeks ago and on reflection, everything went even better than expected. I really didn’t have a single negative experience on the trip.
GETTING THERE: I live in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between LA and the Bay Area. My flight was SLO-SFO-Frankfurt-Bilbao. It was a long day of travel-about 24 hours with layovers-but everything went smoothly. Got in to Bilbao just before midnight and took a cab to my place a short walk from the Guggenheim and crashed for the night.
BILBAO: I stayed three nights: arrival night and the following night and then the final night of the trip, before flying back from Bilbao. It rained in Bilbao almost the entire first day there, which I loved. We don’t get a huge amount of rain where I live, so I bought an umbrella from a street vendor and wandered the city, seeing the museum from the outside and getting pintxos and cider in Casco Viejo. Arsenal had a big game that night and I wound up at Molly Malone with a couple of very drunk guys from Kerry who spent the day drinking at the pub because their mate had passed out in the hotel room and they didn’t know where it was. Arsenal won 5-0 and the Kerrymen’s roommate ultimately woke up and gave them directions.
DONOSTIA: I spent the first half of the next day wandering Bilbao again, this time in the sunshine. Then took an Alsa bus to San Sebastián. Reservations online were easy and it was something like €4. The scenery on the trip was amazing. Something I loved seeing that doesn’t happen at home is clothes hang drying out the windows of many homes.
My place in San Sebastián was exactly what I’d hoped. Big enough to hold my stuff but not so expensive I’d feel bad leaving it empty for overnight trips. Also a short walk from the main bus station and walking distance to just about everything in town. The food was insane and on the first day, I was treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen at La Concha Beach.
Some highlights of the next couple of days included a trip to Sidrería Aburuza and Real Sociedad against Real Madrid at Reale Arena in Donostia. After a couple of days, I decided the destination of my first overnight trip would be Getaria and booked a room online for about €90.
GETARIA: The bus ride was quick and easy and the room was beyond expectations with a stunning ocean view and the entire ocean facing wall made of glass. The food was fantastic in Getaria and feasted on prawns and mussels. I tried to book the room another night but they had a large group arriving the next day.
Back in Donostia I hiked and also visited the little amusement park at TJ top of Mount Igueldo. Found a fantastic bar called Teorema in Gros with a really personable ownebartender - just a great vibe.
SAINT JEAN DE LUZ: The one pre-planned overnighter was Saint Jean de Luz. Another easy bus trip. Little hotel in the middle of town called Txoko, once again perfect for what I needed. It was a nonstop rain for first day but perfect for sightseeing. The interior of the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste was stunning to a student of history. Watch the PSG-Dortmund match at a great little bar and restaurant called Corsaire right next to the hotel.
FINAL DAYS AND RETURN: After SJDL retuned to Donostia for more food and walking the city. Walked some residential neighborhoods that were fascinating. The reverse bus trip to Bilbao was again easy. Stayed in a “nice” corporate hotel in Bilbao the final night and it was the least special of any place. However, I had a work Zoom at 8:45 pm Bilbao time so it felt better safe than sorry. The return flight on Lufthansa was uneventful and my daughter’s boyfriend picked me up in SLO at midnight.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was my first time in Europe since 1987 and my first big solo trip. I was nervous about it based on my lack of experience and not having a travel partner for backup on missed items. Honestly it could not have gone any better. I feel it was about 50% good planning and 50% dumb luck. It had motivated me to plan more trips. If I meet a travel partner, great. If not, also great.
TLDR did a solo trip to Basque Country.

Updated Pipe Organ Specification List from your feedback
Hello! I took a lot of notes and feedback from what you all have said from my prior post. Here is an updated specification list. If you all have any additional feedback please let me know and share what you think!
I am in the process of creating a specification list to accomdate a french style choir organ that can also support anything you throw at it. There are a few concept ideas that I have always dreamt about, including a 32' Trombone en Chamade pedal reed stop that is mounted horizontally like a regular chamade trumpet.
Note: I did not include all couplers
GRAND ORGUE – Manual II (right lecture division – enclosed)
32’ Bourdon (ext. 1-12 dig.)
16’ Bourdon
8’ Principal
8’ Flûte harmonique
8’ Bourdon (ext.)
4’ Octave
4’ Spire Flute
3-1/5’ Grande Tierce
2-2/3’ Octave Quinte
2’ Super Octave
1 3/5’ Tierce
Mixture IV
Corent V
32’ Trombone en chamade (ext. Pos.)
16’ Tromba(ext.)
8’ Trumpet
4’ Muted Trompette (Pos.)
Chimes
Pedalé to Grand Orgue (T.G.)*couples Pedalé to Grand Orgue Manual up to tenor G
RÉCIT – Manual III (left lecture division – enclosed)
16’ Violone
8’ Geigen Principal
8’ Flute traversiere
8’ Cello celeste
8’ Violoncello (ext.)
8’ Viole de gamba
8’ Viox celeste
4’ Principal
4’ Flute octaviante
2-2/3’ Nasard
2’ Octavin
Mixture V
Plein jeu II-III
16’ Basson
8’ Hautbois (ext. basson)
8’ Trompette harmonique
8’ Viox humane (tremulant)
4’ Clarion harmonique (ext.)
Celeste
POSITIF – Manual I (gallery – enclosed)
16’ Leiblich Gedackt
8’ Diapason
8’ Gedackt (ext.)
8’ Flûte a chimaneé
8’ Flautado grandioso
5-1/3’ Grande Nasard
4’ Hohlflöte
4’ Octava real
2’ Waldflote
1-1/3’ Larigot
Grande Fourniture III
8’ Cromorne
RESSONACE – Manual IV (gallery – not enclosed)
16’ Prestant (ped. Ext.)
8’ Octave (ped. Ext.)
8’ Flûte
4’ Super Octave (ped. Ext.)
2’ Super Octave (ext.)
16’ Trombone en Chamade (ext.)
8’ Trompette en Chamade
4’ Trompette en Chamade (ext.)
8’ Krummhorn
8’ Muted Trompette en Chamade
4’ Muted Trompette en Chamade (ext.)
Marimba
*all en chamade stops can be coupled to each manual / tab
PEDALÉ – (gallery, façade & both lectures)
32’ Bourdon (digital)
32’ Violonbasse (digital [or resultant from 16' Réc.])
16’ Prestant (façade)
16’ Violone (Réc.)
16’ Lieblich Gedackt (Pos.)
16’ Bourdon (G.O.)
16’ Diapason (ext. Pos. facade)
8’ Octave (façade)
8’ Flûte
8’ Violoncello (Réc.)
8’ Bourdon (G.O.)
4’ Super Octave (façade)
32’ Contre Basson (ext. Réc.)
32’ Contre Trombone en Chamade (ext. Pos.)
16’ Basson (Réc.)
16’ Trombone en Chamade (Pos.)
16’ Tromba (G.O.)
8’ Trompette en Chamade (ext. Pos.)
8’ Krummhorn (german-style Cromorne)
4’ Clarion (Réc.)
Nightingale (two pitched pipes in water)
Cymbal stern (6 bronze bells)

FlyCams is a Roku TV App and online site where you can visit in real time Ocean City Boardwalk (camera is on Ocean Gallery's building at 2nd St) or Fish Tales as shown in the link. It's pretty cool if you need to check the weather for a day trip or just want something on the TV as you work or clean.

Hi. I’m 15 years old and I want to start learning how to play bass this summer. I’ve been lurking forums and stuff to see what’s the bang for my buck. (Babysitting the neighbor’s kids doesn’t really pay that well) I found something that looked nice from the Yamaha BB line and considered that for a bit. Then I stumbled into a concerningly cheap Fender P-Bass online, like almost laughably cheap. But I looked at the pictures provided, it seemed legit. It even came with a serial number to look up, and it all matched up with the one on the Fender site. Except for the cover on the bridge. I feel like I don’t know enough about bass guitars to draw my own judgement and I need your help.
TDLR: weirdly cheap fender p-bass. real or not? https://imgur.com/gallery/help-verifying-authenticity-of-fender-p-bass-2JW1uOI
EDIT: it’s going for around 150 including shipping, which is why I’m a little worried.
LAST EDIT: just realized it’s an auction haha. That explains the price. It’ll go way up soon