Fever and back pain

*Leans against my lightly used 2006 Honda Civic* Hey! Thanks for clicking on my totally original title. It was a toss up between this or the definitely not over-used, "looking for my player 2."
To start off, I'm 24 and from the East Coast of the United States, you can be from anywhere though since I really love to travel and I need a reason to do it more. I work as a freelancer on remote projects and because of that I'm not really tied down and have a bit of free time on my hands.
Honestly speaking, I'm not looking for anything incredibly specific. I think getting a relationship out of this would be great. Ideally we could fall in love and takeover a small island and convert it into a Banana Republic, start a cult, create and sell low-quality appliances at an absurdly high price and amass a small fortune, etc. But that seems like wishful thinking. I do miss the feeling of having someone to confide in, someone to support and be supported by. I want the feelings that come with cheesy romance, and at the risk of sounding generic, I want a partner in crime (minus the crime if you aren't into that stuff). I'm not sure if that could come from a Reddit post, but I don't see a reason not to try. I'd definitely prefer to take things slowly rather than rushing into something, so you won't have to worry about me proposing in the parking lot of Applebee's anytime soon. I wouldn't be opposed to something moving at a quicker pace if the vibes are right though!
I'm not the best at descriptions, so I would be more than willing to swap pictures early on since I know physical attraction is important to most people. When it comes to weight and height, I'm 150 pounds, slim/fit, and around 5'9 (6'4 in heels 😳) (175cm) (0.0009 nautical miles for all my pirates out there)
Hobby wise, I'm invested in reading and writing. I also play games with my friends on occasion, I like hiking and camping and I'm big into all kinds of horror movies and video games. I've been wanting to get into D&D and I even wrote a little campaign for my friend group but it has been such a pain trying to organize things with them 😭. Outside of that, I go hiking and camping, and I recently got back into calisthenics. I think sometime soon I'd like to start playing the bass guitar again. I swear it's not a midlife crisis thing though!
Anyways, there's a lot more that I can say but I really don't want to overwhelm anyone who ends up reading this with a wall of text. If anyone's interested then by all means feel free to DM me! I promise you won't regret it (too much.)

Two days ago, I was playing volleyball with youth from my church. I turned to bump the ball back over net and felt what can only be described as something “dislocating” and then went “back in.” The knee immediately felt funny and I knew I couldn’t bear much weight on it. I hobbled off the court and again felt the same dislocating sensation with it going back in. There wasn’t much pain initially but I had a limp and couldn’t bear much weight on that leg. Nurse friend happened to be there. He pushed, pulled, twisted and there was not really much pain at all. That night and the next day, the generalized pain increased in the knee and soreness reached from above my kneecap all the way down the back calf muscle and it was difficult to walk. There was mild swelling to the left front of the kneecap and back side of knee. I have a friend who works in sports medicine. After describing it to him, the first thing he said was Patellar Subluxation but that it could also be a torn ACL. Today, I am significantly better. Still waking with a limp but no where near as bad. I can lift my “good” leg up and bear my whole body weight on the “bad” leg. Calf and Quad (?) muscle are still sore. I equate the calf soreness to how you feel after a Charlie Horse cramp. Does this sound like a Patellar Subluxation or could it be torn ACL, Meniscus, etc?

As a fellow here described , the last 13 years ,at 2011 for some months my vision in the sunlight went like the colour was fading, like everything was more grey,around a cloud and my eyes were feeling very dry. At the same moment, for no reason i had extreme fatigue and depression. This was coming and leaving for some months. At some point it became permanent. 4 times in the opthalmologist, they told me everything is fine. I think these were my first symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis I thought all these were just " depression" symptoms and i started antidepressants, but i think they work as a placebo and didn't actually helped me . At 2015 i had my first pain in my neck After a few months my upper back . I was always in pain but i could live normally. After the second jab of covid vaccine everything became 10 Time worse , my hips are like they are burning ,all my back is so stiffed. Has anyone else a similar situation?

I'm a fit and healthy male, 28 years old running weekly and only drink socially with friends now and then, no medications or previous medical history other than having my appendix removed 3 years ago.
For the past year or so, give or take, I have been getting very mild occasional testicular pain, and it's the pain that you get in your lower Abdomen rather than on my actual testie itself. it's a very mild disconfort often brought about when positioning my legs or moving and It self resolves after a few minutes, with this sometime I can feel as though my testie is retracted and shrunk up and sometimes I can gently ease it back out again and go on fine no problems.
More recently this pain has become more persistent and frequent and in particular for the past 4 days it's been relatively constant. Again it's still mild pain that I'm managing with paracetamol, I think it's Tylenol in the US, but now consistent. I can see that my testie is slightly retracted up about half way down in comparison with my other testie, and when I push on my Abdomen just below and to the right of my belly button, my testie falls back down into a more normal position.
It's alway the same testie on the right, I cant feel any lumps and there's no swelling or brusing. It seems the only symptoms is this pain that is now constant and not sure if its just bad luck or something that my GP might help with or should i be more concerned and go to A&E about this or might it just resolve on its own? Again the pain is only mild and distracable, so not sure if it's something to worry about or not
Any advice would be great!

Before commenting, please don’t comment saying i’m lucky to have this problem. I’m genuinely stressed out and uncomfortable with it.
So.
I’ve been in HRT for a couple years now, and I have 36 Ds now! Yay. But also my back hurts and the summer has become a pain, because I haven’t really figured out what the best course of action is for them during the summer.
I’ve tried a couple different options so far. Skimms bandeau top, those new nipple cover things, and a strapless, bra. there have been major cosmetic issues with all of them.
The nipple coverings are very visible. They don’t look natural at all, especially under thin fabric. It almost feels like the area is highlighted.
The bandeau cuts my boobs in half, and the strapless, while not showing straps, gets the back exposed.
I kinda want to just say fuck it, but I feel too exposed braless. Any advice on what I should do here?

So my life is a bit of a train wreck at the moment. I lost a very high paying managerial job last year and have really struggled with finding good employment since. I'm exhausted and burnt out but I need to get my life back into shape again so after viewing all the self help books and podcasts I've decided to come up with a 5 year plan. Right now I'm obese, single, unemployed and live at home. I've split this into Body = Fitness goals Mind = Career / knowledge goals and heart = Community/ friendship/ relationships.
3 Values to focus on (evaluate every quarter): Quality (food, relationships, hobbies, past time) , adventure (seeking new experiences, adventure in career, relationships etc..) and determination (staying disciplined, following through tasks).
Health
Get into shape again, I miss running half marathons so I need to go back into a good routine. Eating healthy, find a good diet plan with varied simple to make salads, smoothies and recipes. See the doctor ASAP for my men's health issue (painful groin injury which has been ongoing for months which I've been avoiding).
Mind Books and courses, need to transition career. Tech role is no longer in demand due to AI, what are the top skilled jobs are there in tech? Attend as many meetup and social events to build a network, research skills needed to be at senior leadership positions and find a mentor. Start applying for jobs ASAP and look to transition / move to a different job every 1.5 / 2 years. Ask senior leaders what books / courses / articles they read. Start taking leadership courses and build network with the students there and start reading at least tech / leadership 2 books a month. Start seeing a therapist for my mental health, read books suggested from a friend about ACT therapy.
Heart
Learn what it means to be in a healthy romantic relationship, find new friends. Understand what my toxic behaviours are which is keeping me single. Speak to friends about their relationships and what they go through to sustain healthy relationships. Find more friends, join more meetup groups, read books on how to improve social skills. I want to be married and have 3 kids by the time I'm 40 but I've never had a girlfriend so I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Volunteer- focus more on being more focused and reliable in volunteering, gain as much experience as possible as I'm unemployed. Find a good hobby (once I've had my health issue seen to): Possibilities , dancing, acting and running / HIIT classes. Get skilled in dancing and exercising then join groups / communities to workout together. Quit social media and reddit which are low quality entertainment.
Thanks for reading this, I would love to hear your thoughts!

hi guys, my period was two weeks(sexually active) and i finally think i got it today, however, the bleeding is really heavy and i have severe back pain. i have taken ibuprofen for the pain but it hasn’t subsides. i tested negative for a pregnancy, but concerned if its actually a miscarriage? should i go to the doctor?

My newly 12 month old just switched from breastmilk a few weeks ago. We went with cows milk as advised and she quickly and painfully became constipated.
We did a few things to correct that. We eliminated all dairy except yogurt every couple days for the probiotics. We switched to coconut milk after trying other options. We also add 50/50 water to the milk so she is reaching her water requirement. She already eats a wide variety of fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. We added miralax as directed by her physician. We also did child suppositories under the physician directions. All this led to her regulating to the new normal bowel system and she had close to a week of not screaming while going, or attempting to go and having an absolute fit. We stopped miralax when she seemed ok with having a bowel movement.
3 days ago she started to seem constipated again which is weird because with her current diet it seems improbable. But alas, I started the miralax back up hoping that would be that. She has been super crabby and has barely ekked out any bowel movement since then and she absolutely screams when trying.
Last night she cried and was nearly inconsolable for 3 hours. She finally fell asleep only to wake up crying, and refused her mid night bottle. At this point I decided it's time to visit the er to rule out any bowel anything. They found exactly nothing but said to have a low threshold for any new symptoms and bring her back for a ct. They checked for bowel obstruction, foreign objects and intussusception.
Her physician is not open until tomorrow. I will of course be taking her in as soon as possible to get some advice or track down what is causing it. This poor girl is so uncomfortable and clings to me like and angry koala while trying to go.
Until then, does anyone have any advice to relieve it that I have not tried or know of any causes that I'm not seeing? We are thinking maybe the meat she eats? She eats a very small quantity.

The cage
The darkness consumes me. My entire body, mind and soul, I can’t sha me the feeling of hopelessness off. It lingers for days and doesn’t want to leave. It can’t leave. At least not while I’m trapped in this cage. Bars wide enough for me to see the grey sky and dark clouds that have glimpses of freedom. But not wide enough for me to escape and try to get a hold of it. To feel and embrace it. I want to leave this cage more than anything but I can’t. I’m scared to try anything about my situation. Not anymore. I tried to escape before and it ended me up even worse up than before. I can’t escape. Sometimes I don’t want to. Maybe this is where I belong. Maybe I deserve the darkness. The pain. The loneliness. The captivity in this cage. Maybe this is the reason why I wasn’t able to escape for the first time. This is where I belong. This dirty, dark, cold cage is my home. My forever. No one but me, fellow people trapped in their cages and the free birds outside. Flying around and flaunting their freedom to us, people trapped inside our cages. They fly around and avoid our cages. They spread their wings and reach places and heights that are unimaginable to us. This place is all we gave while they have no limits. I wish I had their freedom. My hand touches the cold bars of my cage and I reach out my hand, wanting to feel the colourful birds wings. They’re feathers that look so soft and delicate. I want to get the taste of their freedom and I will be satisfied this time. I stretch my hand out and try to touch one of the bird flying by. The bird is so angelic with its snowy coloured body and long feathered wings. The bird is flapping around its wings and twirls around in the very sky, without a care in the world. It’s heavenly glow makes the dark sky seem like clear blue sky. The clouds seem less grey. My energy is draining because of the heavenly light and it’s calling me, pushing me towards it. My arm stretches out on its own and tries to reach for the bird. My heart and sound aches for the angelic dove that haunts my mind. I need it. Just a small taste. One last time. Please, I beg for you. As if hearing my pleas, the dove lands on my finger. Pulling my hand back, I admire its beauty and elegance. My fingers brush against its feathers as a manic smile creeps its way on my face. “What a pretty little birdy. Good birdy. Just a small taste. You won’t feel a thing. It will be our little secret.” My voice comes out desperate and needy. My grip around the birds body becomes tighter, making the bird chirp and squirm in pain and Panik. “Shh my darling. I’ll be quick. I promise my darling little bird.” I whisper in a raspy voice and tighten my grip more before opening my mouth and chowing down at its angelic body. The dove squirms and screeches, trying to escape by flapping its wings but it’s a little too late. I bite down harder and blood spills out of the bird. After few moments I pull away and lick my bloody lips, looking down at the bird with distain. “I’m sorry my little birdy. Let me out of your misery.” My vice comes out shrill before quickly snapping the wings and head off. The body flaps and squirms around in my hand before it finally stops resisting and dies. I get another good look at the bird and my smile falls when I realise the bird is not an angelic dove with a heavenly glow but a juts a normal disgusting bird. The disappointment is evident on my face and the deception is set deep inside my chest. “.. lying little birdy.” I scoff under my breath and toss the bird in the pile of other deceitful dead birds. I crawl back to my corner of the cage and feel the dread and darkness fills me up again. “Damnit. I need another one.” My senses get clouded by my hunger and restlessness as I need for another one consumes me. My eyes look out the window again and spot another angelic bird flying by. A maniac smile spreads across my face and my eyes widen, almost bulging out of my eye lids. “Hello there, my little birdy.”
-by me
Any feedback?

So I’ve been preg three times the first and second time my numbers never really doubled the first time they got kinda close but once I got up in the 400s my tube ruptured the second time they didn’t even get close to doubling and even went down once that one was treated with mtx… I had a surgery later on to make sure the mass was gone and too remove some endo and they said my tube was filled with “webby, sticky stuff” i don’t know what that means … anyway I’m pregnant now I found out on the 12th ever since I found out I had bleeding which turned into slightly heavy then went back to just when I wipe at first it was super pink then bright red now it’s slightly brown I’ve had 3hcgs all 48 hrs from each other my first was 34 second was 97 third was 211 (which was yesterday) I’m so freaking worried that this is another ectopic I’m having one sided pain on a side I have no ovary on just a tube so I know it’s not a corpus cyst I keep trying to feel where the pain is and tell myself it’s more in the middle then off the the side but reality is it is on the far side and it feels just like an ectopic the only difference is the hcg but I know those numbers can be good still with ectopic but that’s never been the case with me I go on Wednesday to my obgyn and hopefully I see a sac or something I don’t know I’m 21 and I’m worried I’ll go and they’ll say tube needs to come out and that I can’t have kids naturally ever which is my dream I feel so defeated … anybody have any similar stories? Please ….

So I’ve been preg three times the first and second time my numbers never really doubled the first time they got kinda close but once I got up in the 400s my tube ruptured the second time they didn’t even get close to doubling and even went down once that one was treated with mtx… I had a surgery later on to make sure the mass was gone and too remove some endo and they said my tube was filled with “webby, sticky stuff” i don’t know what that means … anyway I’m pregnant now I found out on the 12th ever since I found out I had bleeding which turned into slightly heavy then went back to just when I wipe at first it was super pink then bright red now it’s slightly brown I’ve had 3hcgs all 48 hrs from each other my first was 34 second was 97 third was 211 (which was yesterday) I’m so freaking worried that this is another ectopic I’m having one sided pain on a side I have no ovary on just a tube so I know it’s not a corpus cyst I keep trying to feel where the pain is and tell myself it’s more in the middle then off the the side but reality is it is on the far side and it feels just like an ectopic the only difference is the hcg but I know those numbers can be good still with ectopic but that’s never been the case with me I go on Wednesday to my obgyn and hopefully I see a sac or something I don’t know I’m 21 and I’m worried I’ll go and they’ll say tube needs to come out and that I can’t have kids naturally ever which is my dream I feel so defeated … anybody have any similar stories? Please ….

Hi everyone. I'm 30, live in Scotland, UK. I've had 3 Laparoscopic surgeries, one being diagnostic, second one was ablation and third was Excision in August 2022. I was diagnosed stage 2/3 in the most recent. It was found in my POD, both Uterosacral ligaments, surface of my bladder, my UV fold and my right pelvic sidewall. I'd been feeling great, but then round about December time I started getting all the usual dredead symptoms back and it all came to a head and in February I ended up in A&E with severe pain and excessive bleeding. I was referred back to Gynaecology. They advised it was a 28 week wait to be seen in clinic (by a non specialist, even though my surgeon was a specialist last time), so I've still a little while to wait unfortunately. They suggested I try the combined pill or Dienogest in the meantime. I decided to try Dienogest as I've never had it before, I've been on it a while now but I'm getting horrific side effects. I'm just wondering if anyone could give me their experiences of this? I find my body doesn't cope well with artificial hormones at all. Thanks!

So like. I (19M) got scratched by an outdoor cat on Saturday last weekend. He's very healthy, not worried about rabies or anything like that, I'm vaccinated. But I heard that cat scratches can cause tetanus and I'm worried about it because as of yesterday I've been feeling like it's hard to swallow, like something's stuck in my throat, and I keep getting random pains all over. I have very mild gerd but this is a new symptom. I usually have back pain and neck pain, terrible posture, but I woke up with a pretty bad headache and neck pain as well. The scratches are on my hand, weren't deep at all but still bled, I washed them and cleaned with rubbing alcohol immediately. They've healed good with no complications. I was vaccinated fully against tetanus as a kid, and I think I might have gotten another shot in 2020 because of another injury (that was way worse) but I can't remember. I can't afford a doctor visit or er trip, I have no insurance, live in america. I live with my parents who tell me I'm overreacting and it's just anxiety and think I'm stupid and dismiss everything. They won't let me go to the doctor, and I can't drive myself. But still if it gets worse I'll call 911 if I have to. I do have bad medical anxiety but I can usually tell between my anxiety and actual symptoms. Idk I'm just stressed about it. What do y'all think is wrong with me ?

—for in baring our souls, we risk the agony of betrayal.
The pain from betrayal breeds a thirst for vengeance, and those who seek to harm ignited the flames of retribution within me—awakening past wounds.
May pa quote-quote pa. Basically, a stressful and emotional event in the past made me wary of everyone, but that doesn't mean I don't trust anyone.
The guilt I felt after a successful revenge made me rethink my ways, pero I don't believe in karma; I don't believe karma will come to those who hurt you—you just have to do it yourself.
Hindi ko ginusto yung nangyare; hindi ko ginusto yung ginawa ko, pero for a period of time—from planning to executing it, I felt satisfaction, like finally, I got what I needed.
And to think mangyayare 'to ulit sa akin (for someone to purposely hurt me like this), it brought confusion in me. I wanted to warn the person not to test my patience—not to test me, kasi gumaganti ako.
Despite a mix of feelings between wanting to revenge and not, I hated na I'm already thinking of ways to get back at this person. Sa utak ko, pinapatay ko na siya, and I felt pleasure from it.

Hi. After lurking for a while, here I am taking the plunge. I feel like this query might be too vague, but fear making it too big and messy by adding details. Each letter is personalized, but that doesn't show here. Also, I know the usual phrasing would be "a standalone with series potential" but don't know if it would really apply here? Thank you to you all!
Dear [Agent],
THE DARKER THE WEATHER (96,000 words) is a dual-POV adult romantic thriller, the first book of a duology whose second installment's complete as well. It will appeal to fans of Rebecca Zanetti's You Can Run, P.J. Vernon's Bath Haus, and the movie Nightcrawler.
The writing on the wall is clear—REMEMBER?—a copycat is after Detective Dowoo Kim. Aloof and guilt-ridden since the death of Amber, his former partner, Dowoo won’t work with anyone else, let alone the nuisance who’s been fouling his station’s air for months. Enter Minjae Han-Kearney, New York City-raised detective here to steal the show—or so Dowoo thinks.
When another body drops, Minjae is the one to remember. Forced to team up, Dowoo and Minjae struggle to find their footing around each other, especially since Dowoo’s misconceptions about Minjae are still so prevalent, and the ghost of Amber everywhere he looks.
With Chicago's every eye on them and the freshly-named Night Crawler—courtesy of the Tribune newspaper—Dowoo and Minjae are thrown under the microscope in more ways than one. Deep-buried emotions resurface and Dowoo finds himself weak to his partner’s ways. But bodies keep piling up while Dowoo can’t help fantasizing about Minjae’s against his.
Could it be that evil does bring men together? And, if so, isn't it more likely to ruin just about everything?
As a bi man, I strive for representation that isn’t only rooted in our pains and struggles, and would like to spread my writing out there before some FBI agent tracks me down for my shonky research history.
Thank you for your precious time,
[Name]

First 300 words
“All that bullshit about partners and all,” Dowoo goes on, a bitter sneer dying before it truly comes out, nausea pushing the knot in Minjae’s throat further up. “Fuck, what a joke.”

A few months earlier

“It’s always the same shit,” Dowoo gripes through gritted teeth, back against the wall and eyes set on not-so-distant silhouettes. “Right, kiddo?”
Leroy casts him a glance, but his attention soon wanders back to the meeting—the party if anything.
“Right.”
“You don’t look too convinced,” Dowoo pushes, and the reason’s easy to pinpoint, standing among people busy licking his Oxford shoes.
“C’mon.” Leroy’s focused on him again. Better that way. “You can’t say that when I’m the only one agreeing with you here.”
“Only one,” Dowoo repeats in a low voice. “A fucking shame if you ask me.”
“Don’t need to ask for you to—”
“I mean, look at that fucker—look at them, popping bottles for a bunch of solved robberies. Morons so close to dropping to their knees for that bastard, it sickens me.”
“See?” Leroy quips, having Dowoo contemplate the idea of flicking him. “Those weren’t just any robberies and you know it.”
“Yeah, well,” he mutters, unable to tear his gaze away from Han, all smirks and annoying features, a flute of champagne in hand. “It’s still our job, not some excuse to party.”
“I hear you, I do, but things are rough around here. Maybe they just need a hero?”
“Call that a hero?” Dowoo scoffs, then slants his head to the side. “And wouldn’t you need one, too?”
“I already have you.”
“Fuck off, Jenkins,” Dowoo retorts as he shoulders that punk, but it’s nowhere near enough to make him move. That’s what the Violent Crimes Section does, he guesses. Makes one rougher.

Male 31 5 11 210 lbs All tests done and the abnormal results: Endoscopy Colonoscopy Abdominal ultrasound Ct head without contrast Ecg(wildly different results but no doctor has said anything about them) Stress test (blood pressure was 237/67 so had to stop Holter monitor (normal) Ct chest Ct pelvis Ct abdomen x 8 (small fat containing ventral hernia, l5 pars defects spondylothesis level 1 one scan said mural wall thickening and they said i had gastritis) Gastric emptying study
I've been to the ER and doctors office quite a bit for this but have only seen mid level practitioners mostly and have been waiting months for specialists. i really need help with understanding what could be wrong. in the last 4 months it started as severe epigastric abdominal pain and "fainting" where my ears would start to ring my vision would become grey and blurry and i would start to loose conciousness but not entirely. I've had 4 episodes of the "fainting" one was accompanied by severe sweating, i was drenched in sweat within 1 minute. I have these attacks that happen where i feel uneasy and have had stomach pain where its difficult to identify where exactly its coming from and then i feel a sense of doom and like im going to die and start to cough and throw up and then i have the "fainting" it peaks and i power through the fainting and then it subsides after about 30 minutes and i am left with severe weakness and constant stomach pain. I have had labs done initially the only abnormal labs were: Lactate 2.8 Elevated bilirubin Elevated protein (this has been constant) Elevated globulin Elevated cortisol Elevated renin
Other labs that have been checked and are normal are Fecal elastase Parasite stool HepAtic panel (besides bilirubin the one time) Lipase Cbc come back normal besides in February i had an infection of some sort. Occasionally low sodium and high calcium Ferritin B12 T4 Tsh Parathyroid
The lactate returned to normal within the same day and hasn't been checked again
In February i had severe elevated white counts and an infection with "left shift" i was tachycardic and was treated with iv antibiotics.
Ive had 14 ct scans all of which have showed nothing besides a ventral hernia and diverticulitis and l5 pars defects This all started in december after a month long strep infection and month long covid infection back to back ive had my gallbladder removed in 2020 and the surgery was complicated i had necrosis and an abcess. The months before this started i had severe diarrhea that wouldn't stop i noticed my food was coming out undigested and I couldn't have a solid stool then i got sick and when i was over covid i was smoking a cigarette coughed extremely forcefully and then about 5 minutes later had the first "fainting" episode which was terrifying. I went to the hospital right away and they chest for a pulmonary embolism since this one episode ive had severe stomach pain that i cant readily identify where its coming from, it feels as though i am missing an essential nutrient or enzyme that is keeping me from thriving.
I have lost 50lbs in the last 4 months it has been difficult to eat.
I feel extremely fatigued mostly due to this abdominal pain and i feel as though i am confused alot of the time, doctors have told me i am fine and to wait for the specialists I have an appointment for an oncologist/hemotologist a cradiology cta scan and for a hida scan but im not sure its any of these things, i feel as though i am dying because i am missing a vitamin of some sort i feel awful I don't know how long i can deal with this weaknesss and pain. I wake up with pain and sleeping doesnt make me feel rested. I also have went from sleeping 9 to 10 hours a day to 6 to 7 since this has started. I am so weak and starting to become delirious over this all I am very worried and appreciate any insight.

Recently made a move and am a bit strapped for cash at the moment. I have a few gold chains, and I noticed the price of gold was fairly high currently. The idea of having to sell pains me as they are pretty sentimental to me, however the extra cash could be helpful in my current circumstances.
Have you ever had to sell back jewelry or bullion? Did you find it to be worth it, or do you wish you could go back and have kept those pieces.

"Why are the Terrains here?"
Kurayi asks. There was no underlying meaning behind their words, nor was there any hint of mockery. Just a simple inquiry.
"They have been given clearance to obtain the Holy Protector," Thari replies. They gently float away after answering but land just a few inches away from Kurayi.
"Rumors have it that Terrains have paid an astronomical price for this chance."
Kurayi can imagine the price of such opportunities. Without a Holy Protector, no race was capable of defending themselves. After all, all weapons are useless against the divine might of the spirits.
To their surprise, however, Terrains have resisted as much as they could. Not wanting a protector was not uncommon as should a race fail to properly manifest a Protector, their doom was inevitable.
But Kurayi was much more interested in the identity of those Terrains.
"Are they some sort of high-born? It's hard to tell with these Terrains."
Thari shakes their head.
"Unfortunately, nothing of such. They have sent a child and its retainer. Or that's the closest approximation of their relationship."
Kurayi was now really surprised. All species sent their highest authority.
Yet a mere child? How could a mere child manifest a Protector?
Kurayi was not the only one.
All those with protectors came to observe the ceremony. Depending on the manifestation, wars would be waged, alliances forged, and blood shed.
That's how it has been.
In their hearts, almost everyone was snickering. Some even felt pride for sending their best to manifest their protector.
But to send a mere child? It was as absurd as it was comical.
Near the stage,
"Take a deep breath and calm yourself," the rough-looking woman held the boy's arm and said softly.
Her soothing words and warm eyes didn't match her attire, nor the scars visible on her skin. Her disposition was that of a battle-hardened warrior. Yet at that moment, there was nothing but softness in her voice, warmth in her eyes, and reassurance in her grip.
The boy, however, couldn't calm down. Hundreds, if not thousands of eyes, were watching him. His hands trembled. His eyes wavered.
"I-I can do it."
But his heart didn't budge.
The woman smiles. Like them, she too had questions. Questions regarding why a child was much more suited to be the catalyst to bring a protector than a General or a genius.
The boy was not special. He was not outstanding. Merely chosen from countless others. It was absurd to leave the fate of their future battles in the hands of a child.
In the podium,
A creature floats in and stays in the middle. The priest of this ceremony.
"Now, the ceremony will commence."
The priest extended one of its bone-like limbs and made a gesture.
"Today marks the 390,975th commencing of the Kulikukalan Ceremony. Terrains have gained both the authority and the privilege of joining the enlightened ones."
The priest waved its apparatus as a gigantic rift appears in the sky.
To call it a rift would be a mistake. It was not a rift. Nor a wormhole. It didn't look like space split apart, nor did it remind one of the tear in the fabric of reality.
It was not a part of reality. It didn't occupy any space. It was just there. As if it was just outside their perception. And only now they noticed it.
A single drop of blood trickled down as the rough-looking woman blinks.
The sharp pain hits the back of her head. An overwhelming feeling of nausea and dizziness assaulted her senses. Biting on her tongue, she retains her clarity.
She looks down at the boy, his eyes however, were clear. As clear as a starry sky.
The priest waves at the boy to come.
"Come, Representative of the Terrains. Gaze at the Divine Realm. And bring your protector."
With that, all waited. The boy was in a trance as he simply looked up with clear eyes.
A minute passed.
Nothing happened.
Five minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
Half an hour passed.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Everyone was mocking the Terrains. As to manifest the Protector, one must be able to imagine it.
The priest made a sound, as if sighing in disappointment.
"The heavens have chosen Terrains unworthy of protection."
The priest finally declares. For many, it was an obvious conclusion.
A mere child could never imagine a creature of that magnitude.
The priest waves its apparatus to declare an end to this ceremony. It shakes its head, feeling pity for the Terrains. Out of all the species, Terrains were somewhat interesting. Unfortunately, they too would disappear in history, just another footnote in the long list of extinct species.
The priest looks around and feels something was off.
No one moved from their seat. And most importantly,
The ceremonial lights were still on.
The boy was still looking at the sky while the woman next to him was simply grasping his hand.
The priest looks up.
As one overseeing the ceremony, it was knowledgeable about many things. Apart from the origin of this place and how that portal worked.
The time it took for a protector to come generally took less than a minute. The longer it took, the bigger it would be, and the harder to control.
Terrains took over thirty minutes. And nothing came.
Or so everyone thought.
It was not that the boy couldn't imagine a protector to manifest.
It was they who couldn't understand the manifestation.
The Protector of the Terrains had been manifesting.
For thirty minutes.
The priest couldn't see anything but a boundless darkness. There were a lot of sounds around it. Unsure of their origin or purpose, it kept trying to understand what the Terrains were manifesting.
It didn't look like a creature. Nor like any lifeform. It had eyes, because the priest felt its gaze. It had intelligence because the priest could feel it was communicating with the boy.
But the sounds were drowning the words. The priest was slightly irritated. At the sound that was hindering him.
The sound, although familiar, couldn't understand where it was coming from.
It wanted to turn towards the Terrains and ask some questions. But it felt its body heavier than a star.
It refused to budge or move. It was then it understood.
Why the sound felt familiar. Why it couldn't hear anything other than the sound.
It was incapable of expressing emotions.
It was incapable of being afraid.
It was incapable of screaming.
So today, facing the Protector of Terrains, it was screaming.
....
Apologies for my English and hope you all excuse any mistakes. This is just something I wrote. I hope you all like it.
:)

For some context, bc I don’t know if it matters: 9 weeks ago, I had my 2nd and 3rd lobes done on my right ear. A week and a half ago, I went back in and got my 4th on my right and a 2nd and 3rd on my left. All done with implants grade titanium.
The problem is, a few days after getting them my left ear was head butted by my daughter, HARD. It hurt like hell and cause my ear to swell up for 4-5 days. The swelling has finally gone down, but the pain is still there. It’s not bad, but if it gets bumped even in the slightest it’s painful. No sign of infection present. I clean it twice a day with NielMed’s Piercing Aftercare spray, and the let warm water wash over them in the shower every night. I keep my hair back so it doesn’t get caught. None of my other lobe piercings hurt this long or for this long. Is it still painful because of them being hit? Anything I can do to stop it? Could there have been trauma caused by it being hit?

I thought maybe making a post about this would be helpful both for myself and for others.
I don't trust a lot of things in the world. No matter where you look, there are conflicting opinions about everything. Many people are convinced their opinions are absolutely correct, but somewhere out there, someone else believes their completely opposite opinion is correct. I don't feel that I have a ledge to stand on in this reality. It feels like free falling. Not sure why I'm starting with that, but it's a bit of stream of consciousness to begin this post with. Obviously there's a difference between facts and opinion, but even facts aren't as real as I'd hope they would be. Mathematics and science can only function if we make initial assumptions about certain axioms and preconditions. I go through the world not trusting anything at all to be real.
For most of my life, I've had debilitating OCD. I was officially diagnosed in 2021, but I've been dealing with it at least since my early teens. For the past year and a half, I've been fixated on the feeling that my own death is going to occur soon. A sense of impending doom. I can fight it, run from it, etc. But it has continued to come back. I think mostly because my brain likes to fixate on a problem until I can solve it. But obviously this problem can't be solved. I am alive, but there will always be a sense that it could happen today or tomorrow, even though it hasn't happened yet.
I've tried letting go completely, fixating on it even harder, etc. I've tried to force myself to believe it's not real at all.
I guess my reason for making this post is mostly to set another guide-stone for myself in the future, so I can look back and see I felt the same way and nothing bad happened. I've previously made several similar posts on other forums. I look back occasionally on them and it makes me feel better to know I'm still alive. Those posts were all from over a year ago.
I want those on here suffering through the same thing I am to know that I've been fixated on this for every day in a way that prevents me from even being able to focus well at work or home most of the time, for over a year. There has not been a single day or even hour, probably, in that time where I didn't think about it or feel some amount of pain from it. And I'm still alive. So those of you who have just started feeling this way, or have felt this way like I have for a long time, know that it's unlikely it will take you out since I'm still here. Try to breathe and try to enjoy every part of life you can, despite the internal torture.
Thanks for reading.

So, i just lost my best operator with a full Shadow set, which was a pain in the ass to get, my beloved Retribution and my only Buffalo backpack and now i'm fumming in anger, but i know that i will come back and play this damn game again.

Relationship length: 2,5 Years Gender: Male (me), Female
After my first breakup and the endless pain it caused, I thought I could handle anything. A few years back, I even received a diagnosis for ulcerative colitis and managed to cope with the diagnosis and the ongoing suffering. After five years, I opened my heart to another woman.
Two years later, it happened. She met a guy online. I didn't think much of it because men and women can be friends (though it's tough, but possible). He even had a girlfriend, so I wasn't overly worried. After meeting him a few times, she went on a university trip to Switzerland and came back a changed person. She wanted to spend the night at her mom’s, which was fine by me. She said she'd text me when she got there—it’s a 30-minute trip. Five hours later, she suddenly returned home. I was terrified, thinking she had died or something else horrible had happened. When she got home, she said she'd been out drinking with a friend, and we went to sleep because I was too exhausted to discuss anything. The next day, I demanded to see her phone because I didn't believe her (after she didn’t even notify me about her plans), but she refused. Long story short, she had been with Julian, the guy from the cinema. They had gone to watch the northern lights and had some drinks. I pressed her, unable to understand how she could keep this from me. Since she struggles with emotional stress, she confessed that she had kissed my best friend a few months back. After further arguing, she admitted it happened twice more, once at our place.
I told her straight away that we could get through this, and we discussed why it happened. She hadn't felt emotionally secure with me, and I see that now. Yes, it wasn't my fault she strayed, but I hadn't treated her as well as she treated me for the longest time. I wasn't terrible, but I hadn't made her my top priority, and she felt it. She had told me several times how important it was, but she never conveyed just how serious the situation was. We decided to try again, and she agreed to stop seeing Julian for some time (she didn't want to stop texting him because she finds it incredibly hard to make friends and didn’t want to lose that—she said she'd stop if she felt something romantic could happen).
Why didn't I treat her better? I can't tell you. Maybe my illnesses stressed me out! Maybe it was university, which has never stressed me so much, that kept me from paying enough attention to my girlfriend. I just didn't realize how serious it was.
A few days ago, my girlfriend decided to take a break from me to clear her thoughts and find out if she can still love me.
And then, as if things couldn't get worse: in two days, she was supposed to start a month-long break, and just now, she wrote to me that Julian's girlfriend had broken up with him, just as I had predicted.
My disease has flared up again due to stress, and it's the most important university semester of my life, but I can't go on because I JUST CAN'T ANYMORE.
Perfectly timed with our break starting, Julian's girlfriend broke up with him. I don't know what to do with myself. I love my girlfriend, even after everything, and I don't want to lose her. But after everything, especially this last part, I feel like I know where this is going. I just can't deal with it. I can't watch TV shows, I can't eat, and most of the time, I can't even cry. The only thing keeping me going is the hope that nothing happens with Julian this month and she comes back to me, so I can show her that she is my number one priority (alongside my own well-being). And I've never meant anything so seriously.
I don't know what to do with myself. I want to tell her to cut off contact with Julian, but she won't; I want to tell her to stay with me, but she won’t. And when I express my fear that she might develop feelings for Julian during the break, she tells me she can't imagine that happening.
I don't know what to do anymore. Thank you for reading this far. Writing is the only thing I can do right now.
I feel like I barely exist these days, especially now. I’ve thought about hurting myself, but I won’t. I know I won't end my life, and I won't harm myself. I can't imagine how terrible the next months will be, but I have to survive somehow, even though I feel I may never be happy again.
So... I don't know what I'm expecting from this... Advice? I Quess. I can't imagine anyone can help. I still have to try everything.
**TL;DR;** : My girlfriend cheated, i want to fix it, but everything gets worse and worse