For context, I’ve struggled with romantic relationships my whole life. I came from a pretty sheltered upbringing, and didn’t exactly know what to do when in a relationship. However, that never stopped me from becoming emotionally invested in people. It’s probably my greatest flaw.
After a few breakups and one in particular after my freshman year of college, I had started to find relief in the internet. I have had sex before and I’ve been addicted to porn for the longest time, but there’s something about having an actual interaction that made porn seem worthless to me. I wanted more. I started trying to find online communities to meet people my age, and see if anything would happen if you know what I mean. And it did. Many times. Just virtual stuff. But it made me feel good for a split second, and then like shit all over again. It repeated for almost a year and I had tried talking to girls in person again to have a real relationship, but I kept returning to the shit that made me so mad at myself.
Eventually I was on one of those apps where you talk to random people, and I straight up had the intention of trying to have some sort of sexual experience, but I got on the call with a girl whose profile picture was absolutely beautiful. We talked for about 10 seconds and then the thought of anything sex related completely left my mind. I was having a genuine conversation and it was amazing. We talked for about 2 hours before she gave me her Snapchat, and we continued talking before heading to bed.
For more context, she lived in the other side of the country from me. About a 13 hour drive (if that helps give you an idea). I also know what you might be thinking. “Oh you were catfished”. But I wasn’t. We upgraded to FaceTiming almost every night, she would tell me about her work and funny customer interactions and I would make her laugh by sharing some of my experiences too. We both loved playing minecraft, and so I paid for a realm so we could play together. We spent so many days playing on that world, which I still have somewhere. At one point I wanted to surprise her, so I made a massive mural of her with Minecraft blocks that made a picture of her cat. She absolutely loved it.
I should also mention that this wasn’t just like talking every now and then. I spent so much of my day speaking to her, Texting her, and I was in absolute bliss. I finally was talking to someone who had similar faith beliefs as me, political affiliation, and general life views. For the first time, I saw a future with someone.
Now you might remember that she lives super far away, and we’ve never met in person yet. So we came up with a plan for me to fly out and meet her. We planned for weeks. And as one would, she talked to her parents, and I talked to them over FaceTime and had a really good conversation with her mom, and even some of her friends. Everything was going smoothly, but then something changed. As the date for me to fly there for closer, we both started to get really sad. I think the reality of the situation was sinking in. Neither of us were afraid to share feelings with each other, part of why this connection was so amazing, so we voiced it to each other. She then proceeded to call everything off. Lots of sad words were said, and most of them I remember to this day.
“I know that if I meet you, I’m going to fall in love, and it will break my heart every-time, seeing you have to leave”
“I don’t want my chance with you to be ruined, when I know it wouldn’t work because of the distance”
Those are just a few of the sentences that sometimes keep me up at night, and they cut some pretty deep wounds that have yet to heal. I didn’t want a long distance relationship, but it was something I would’ve done in a heartbeat if it meant being with her, she just knew it would hurt so much to jump into that, so we ripped off the bandaid early i guess to save us from more sadness. Although I’m not sure if that’s totally true, As this whole situation f-ed me up pretty good.
I should also mention that not only did we talk over the phone, but we sent each other gifts too. I remember sending her a stuffed animal, along with an actual living plant. She loved the plant the and the stuffed animal was an inside joke between us. I didn’t expect anything in return, but she sent something to me too. She was very crafty and made me some very cool things. She knows I love dinosaurs, so she crocheted me a small trex that can fit in the palm of my hand. She also sent me a tshirt with a note attached “you can wear this when you come to visit”. And lastly, she painted me a picture of iron-man, because she knows I love it. But that wasn’t it. Inside the picture frame was one of the best things I have ever received as a person. It was a note. Kind of like a love letter of sorts. We often sent each other long texts about how we made each other happy, and how it was so weird that we felt such a strong connection even though we had never met in person. But anyways, her note said this:
“Dear (me),
I never thought I would find myself in this wonderful yet unusual situation. Even though the space between us is inconvenient, I realize that I would be stupid to waste this opportunity because you are truly special. If I had a chance to do anything right now, it would be to appear by your side. I will wait however long it takes if it means I get to meet you one day. I want you to have this as a piece of me that will always be with you.
Your honey, (her)”
As you might have guessed I hold a lot of value to that note, and I received it before she broke off the trip where I was to visit. We still talked almost daily, with some breaks inbetween, because we were trying to heal from the sadness of not being able to meet.
In the time after that happened, we’ve both been in relationships, and I’ve definitely hinted at still having feelings. And she’s never completely shut me down. I think that’s the hardest part. Part of me is begging her to tell me that I need to move on, and that we’ll never be together, but I know she’ll never tell me that.
Of course, lots happened that I have not shared in this post, as meeting her, all the way up to planning to visit her happened over the course of 6 months I think. A week from now will mark two years since I was supposed to fly down to see her. And it still hurts. I could explain the situation in further detail if anyone is interested. In those two years much has changed in our friendship that has left me questioning everything.
Regardless. If she gave me the word I would pack my bags and move to live near her in a heartbeat, because I know I’d be happier with her than anyone else.

I remember there was wind faction on a mountain range with monks dressed in white meditating, fire faction on a desert range, there was a fight when they neared the fire kingdom border, attacker had fire superpower, there was water kingdom, they had like 12 strips of land and it was said to be Bermuda... Please help me find it

I am a complete beginner with no experience with stringed instruments in general. I would like to learn clawhammer style.
For an inexpensive (and reasonable quality) banjo where I live (Japan), Gold Tone's AC-1 is available for about $360, and the next cheapest is the CC-100R, which is about $630. (For some reason, the one with resonator is $200+ cheaper than the open back version) $630 would be the maximum I can spend.
I tried them out in the store to see the difference in weight and how they sounded, but I wasn't sure which one suited me better. Both seemed to be well made.
Which one should I start with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ex (22M) and I (22F) were best friends for a long time before we dated. We had a good relationship for two years but had to end it because things weren't working out towards the end. We broke up a little over a month ago. He wanted to try again later after a few months when things are a bit more stable. But ended up finding someone new and is dating her, though they haven't made it official yet. She's really nice, and sweet, innocent, caring and puts in a lot of effort and does little things to make him happy. He still wanted to be best friends with me and said it would be petty to end the friendship.
I had a hard time hearing about his new relationship but eventually accepted it and told him I'm happy for him, and she really does seem great for him.
I told him I made a new friend online, and he got the impression that I was seeing someone new, although I told him I'm nowhere near ready to date anyone right now. He said the new guy seems really compatible with me, and that I sound happy. He's known me for 4+ years and if i like someone he can know it in my voice. And he messaged me in the morning saying goodbye I'm ending our friendship, don't ask me more.
I don't know how to feel after this.

I (24F) found myself trapped in a nightmare when my roommate's boyfriend crossed all boundaries by invading my privacy and violating my trust. Determined to put an end to his creepy behavior, I confronted him, but the fallout was far more intense than I anticipated.
My roommate, Sarah (24F), had been dating a guy named Mark for several years. They recently got engaged and are to be married in the next year or two. However, it is only Sarah and myself on the lease, and her boyfriend Mark occasionally visits, as does my own boyfriend, Jake.
One day I was walking around our apartment when I noticed Mark, who was sitting on the couch near me, had his camera pointed towards me. He was taking a picture of me by the way the phone was held. I walked up to him and snatched his phone, only to see that he had sent a candid picture of me with my back turned zoomed on my backside to some sort of boys group chat.
I was livid and demanded to see if there were any other pictures of me on this groupchat. Mark got all defensive and tried to snatch his phone back, but I had already clicked in the shared media section of the GC and was shocked to see an albums worth of pictures of both me and many other girls. All of them candid pictures taken without the girls consent.
He begged me not to tell my roommate and tried to guilt trip me into believing I was going to ruin their relationship and engagement. I threw the phone back at him and went in my room and locked it. I called my boyfriend to tell him about the incident and he was furious. He doesn’t want Mark coming around anymore and I don’t either.
I decided to tell Sarah yesterday. I shared the disturbing truth about her boyfriend's actions. To my shock, she defended him, accusing me of overreacting and causing unnecessary drama. She claimed that I must have provoked him or misinterpreted the situation. She defended Mark and accused me of trying to sabotage their relationship out of jealousy.
I am considering moving out as soon as I can. My boyfriend told me I can go and stay with him, and I am making arrangements to do so ASAP.
Now I'm left questioning myself—am I the asshole for confronting my roommate's creepy boyfriend after discovering he took inappropriate pictures of me?

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For me this usually starts off with a life story, about a woman (aka me) on a Friday or Saturday night pondering on life as it is. Wondering why at 32 years old, I’m sitting at home, alone & pretty f*cking lonely. Instead it’s a Monday night, after a busy day at work & leg day at the gym trying to stop myself staring every minute at my gym crush.
I’ve become so content in my own company where my norm is taking myself out on dinner dates, spending a stupid amount of time at the gym & scrolling mindlessly through reddit or even dare I say it, tik tok.
Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who are basically family, a small group, a loyal group, people I probably couldn’t live with out, I also have a loving family, however I’ve always felt there’s one thing missing, that thing being my person, my “one true love” hahaha. As corny & sappy as that sounds I suppose it’s what I desire the most.
What I’ve found difficult though is finding another that is on the same page, that I vibe with, that I can just talk to endlessly about anything without it really feeling like a chore. You know the type of connection where your heart skips a beat, you get excited to hear from them & you can’t wait to share nearly every aspect of your life.
The problem I face on a regular basis though is trying to date in a pool of men who are either way out of my league, living on the other side of world or just wanting to dip their d into a moist v.
So here I am… again. Single & ready to find someone to do life with, so if you’re actually interested in taking the plunge, then read on to find out a little about me.
I’m 32 Living in Sydney, Australia. Born in New Zealand. I work full time. I decided I was sick of being miserable & hating on myself… so nearly a year ago, I decided I was going to start walking every day, which I have mostly done (except when covid knocked me about), I eventually joined a gym & realised I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I did. I’ve lost a decent amount of weight, but still thiccc af haha (I’m working on it) I love to travel & have booked a trip for the end of the year. I game here & there & for the first time this year, I’ve been doing things a little out of my comfort zone, building confidence in myself & living life a little differently.
I’m happy… for the first time ever, so I’d love to share that with another.
So if you’re keen on getting to know one another, keen on dealing with my sarcasm & satire & ready to share everything there is about you over dinner, then message me :)

I have to admit, I wasn't took big on what Cold Steel 1 and 2 when I played them. CS3 felt like they took what I mostly didn't like about 1 and 2, and decided to make things better.
First and foremost the graphical overhaul is definitely welcomed. Everyone looks so much better in here. I know 1 and 2 were for the PS3 but the jump in graphical fidelity here to PS4 era graphics is definitely much, much better. And how the battlefield just uses wherever you're standing on and transitioning into it feels faster than before. Though there's pretty heavy frame drops when i was in the Isthmia forest - I thought my 3060ti can handle it but maybe not?
The music, I felt I liked the earlier ones better, though there are still some bangers in here. Step Ahead is one of my favorites in this game and ranks pretty high for me. Spiral of Erebos is kinda taking the first intro and making into a full song that loops. The Juno theme is also a banger.
Gameplay wise, I really like the idea of Brave Orders, potentially game-deciding big moves that strengthens your team in different manners depending on the use case. And not to mention Break, which is also pretty cool, though with the master quartz you can have some pretty stupid combinations like doing huge amount of damage when the enemy is in a break state or applying ungodly amounts of ailments. The battles kind of simplifies to breaking the enemy and then doing your big moves on them while they're in break state.
Story-wise I can't help but feel the subtitle might as well be called "The Further Suffering of Rean Schwarzer". Of course he's now called as a hero, he suffered with the result of the Northern War (no thanks anime - which I did finish) which caused him to limit his use of Spirit Unification, but even as an instructor, you get the feeling most of the things aren't under his control and each time shit hits the fan Lectcher comes to tell him to deal with it because the government said so.
One thing I do want to point out is how the early 3 chapters were laid out in almost formulatic fashion. New field activity > Go to new place > Ouroboros does something > Rean tries to call for Vali... > That won't be necessary > Ouroboros does something crazier > Government tells Rean to deal with the mess > Rean does things with old class VII > Deal with Ouroboros and call Valimar. Also not a big fan of sending the branch campus students who had no experience, all over the country just to deal with Ouroboros is kinda irresponsible.
Which I say "mostly" because while it's kinda formulaic, there are subtle changes. Chapter 1 Rean didn't let class VII do anything when it became serious, but chapter 2 he asked them to join, but only if Juna is back mentally. In chapter 3 they are already forming two separate teams to take back Juno. So there's a definite change in mindset for Rean and co where the new class VII students weren't good enough, but eventually they caught up to the old class VII and can hold their own.
This game also expands a lot more on the Erebonia tale with some new wrinkles. The curse is introduced, it felt slightly handwavey - all of their past actions were almost solely attributed to the curse (including Ash who was definitely attributed to the curse), but it also explains why Erebonia is so intent on conflict moreso than other nations in the continent.
Back to Rean - I feel like the last chapter just makes him suffer way more. Yeah they killed the dark dragon, but how things went after felt so wrong. Also learning how Osbourne's family made him the man he is now and how it tied into Rean. How George is not pronounced as George anymore, Angie disappearing after chapter 3, the reappearance of Azure Siegfried with seemingly no past memory. That's a lot of things to take in, really. And of course how the egg came to be, how they wanted to stop the calamity but eventually Rean was the one who did it, though obviously it's part of the plan. He had no choice (or rather he didn't even get to choose).
And how Osborne just Osborned all over Rean in the end is well...typical Osborne, I suppose.
As for how new characters go, the new class VII is definitely quite endearing. Juna has a strong affinity for the correct moral compass and is definitely hugely inspired by the SSS and Crossbell. Kurt seemed a little rude at first and was unsure of himself, though I don't think at this point he's at any level near his relatives, he found a right role for himself. Altina basically starting off as a robot that can't think for herself and discovering emotions is heartwarming. Ash wasn't so likable as he was pretty brash, but even though his delinquent-ish attitude is still around, he's definitely softened up. Musse I personally am not a fan of as much - her endless teasing of Rean and wanting him to be her husband and how she is a million steps ahead of everything felt...wrong. Thus far I only know that she'll be the one taking over as the new Duke Cayenne, but how she's so smart felt...fake. I'm not sure how to word it properly, unfortunately.
Aurelia is one of the highpoint of the game, how she commands the school and also doing what she wants at her own pace is definitely quite cool. She's also kinda broken to play as, with her cameo in Juno. Michael is a stoic military guy but eventually he just lets Aurelia do as she pleases because he knew he can't control her. Seeing Randy is also a plus, though it's kinda unfortunate I don't get to use him at all. Towa here is more of a side character than before, though you can feel that partially she's there because she knew Rean needs support.
Cedric and his new main campus buddies aren't all that interesting either. He kinda felt like Patrick in CS1, but with an ulterior motive (that is to get into his robot). How the main campus just decided to become his lackey, even though the two named ones were slightly more interesting, even with how all it happened at the end is kinda meh - don't they have their own conclusion that shit was going to hit real hard with the giant egg and Ouroboros behind them?
That's way longer than what I planned, sorry for being ranty and having my thoughts all over the place. CS3 is definitely so far the higher point of the series in here. I enjoyed my time with the game, probably starting from chapter 3 with trying to take Juno back (which also incidentally is the prologue which Falcom likes to do now it seems). Going to go to CS4 starting later this week and can't wait to see the end of the Cold Steel arc.

For me this usually starts off with a life story, about a woman (aka me) on a Friday or Saturday night pondering on life as it is. Wondering why at 32 years old, I’m sitting at home, alone & pretty f*cking lonely. Instead it’s a Monday night, after a busy day at work & leg day at the gym trying to stop myself staring every minute at my gym crush.
I’ve become so content in my own company where my norm is taking myself out on dinner dates, spending a stupid amount of time at the gym & scrolling mindlessly through reddit or even dare I say it, tik tok.
Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who are basically family, a small group, a loyal group, people I probably couldn’t live with out, I also have a loving family, however I’ve always felt there’s one thing missing, that thing being my person, my “one true love” hahaha. As corny & sappy as that sounds I suppose it’s what I desire the most.
What I’ve found difficult though is finding another that is on the same page, that I vibe with, that I can just talk to endlessly about anything without it really feeling like a chore. You know the type of connection where your heart skips a beat, you get excited to hear from them & you can’t wait to share nearly every aspect of your life.
The problem I face on a regular basis though is trying to date in a pool of men who are either way out of my league, living on the other side of world or just wanting to dip their d into a moist v.
So here I am… again. Single & ready to find someone to do life with, so if you’re actually interested in taking the plunge, then read on to find out a little about me.
I’m 32 Living in Sydney, Australia. Born in New Zealand. I work full time. I decided I was sick of being miserable & hating on myself… so nearly a year ago, I decided I was going to start walking every day, which I have mostly done (except when covid knocked me about), I eventually joined a gym & realised I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I did. I’ve lost a decent amount of weight, but still thiccc af haha (I’m working on it) I love to travel & have booked a trip for the end of the year. I game here & there & for the first time this year, I’ve been doing things a little out of my comfort zone, building confidence in myself & living life a little differently.
I’m happy… for the first time ever, so I’d love to share that with another.
So if you’re keen on getting to know one another, keen on dealing with my sarcasm & satire & ready to share everything there is about you over dinner, then message me :)

Hey, everyone. I posted a writing philosophy post on my blog today, and given the relevance to our subgenre, I figured I'd repost it here in case some people are interested. I expect this will be a controversial one -- it's definitely an area where my approach to writing differs from the norm -- but I hope that some readers find the insight on my perspective valuable, even if they don't actually agree with it.

The Spark of Paths Untraveled

A common element of writing philosophy is that authors should, as a general rule, only include content that serves the plot, the development of characters, or both. These authors tend to feel that other types of content — largely meaning scenes that are principally written for setting (or world building, as it’s often called) purposes — should only occur if they also serve the plot or development of the characters in some way.
I’m here to disagree with that approach.
There are several elements to why, but I’m going to focus primarily on a few main points that are important to the types of fiction that I tend to write.

Paths Untraveled

The foundation of my premise (not a cultivation joke, but you’re free to make it as one) is simple:
Things touched on within a story that the character does not actually end up exploring directly can add just as much (or more) value to a reader experience than what the character does explore.
This is going to sound incredibly counter-intuitive to some people, but probably won’t be as strange to anyone who is heavily involved in fanfiction communities and similar subcultures.
So, what am I talking about here, exactly?
Essentially, there are some specific scenes in novels that are written in a way that — through the intent of the author or otherwise — ignite the imagination about what could have happened if things went just a little bit differently.
Typically, these are most commonly scenes that involve clearly delineated “branches” that can lead to “what if” scenarios on the part of a reader. In my experience, there are very few things that ignite reader interest — and fandom interest in general — more than “what if this one story element went slightly differently?” This doesn’t have to be as direct as a choice. It can also, more rarely, simply be bits of information that provide context on areas of the setting that are never fully explored within canon. For example, a character might be shown explaining — or even using — an ability that is never seen again in a story, and their *lack* of using that ability can also be a point that sparks reader interest. (See: Kakashi opening the First Gate during an exposition scene in early Naurto, then never using it again.)
Now, this might sound like it has a lot to do with plot and character – and yeah, it often does. Things like, “What if Batman just killed the Joker?” is both a very common plot point to theorize about and a place to think about exploration of character development for what might occur in that scenario.
But there’s a category of “what if” style scenarios that principally focus on elements of world building or magic system exploration, and while those absolutely can intersect with things like characters and plot in some ways, they don’t necessarily need to.
A clear example of this?
My Arcane Ascension books include details about attunements that may never actually show up in the books.
I tend to go lighter on detail for things that aren’t likely to directly intersect with the main characters (in terms of plot or character development), and some of the attunements were mentioned earlier than their inclusion for the sake of foreshadowing when characters would show up with them later, but things like attunement descriptions for attunements that won’t show up help serve a few different types of “what if” scenarios —
What if one of the characters had ended up with, say, the Chronomancer attunement instead of what they had in the main story?
This type of content exists not only to provide extra world building details to make the world feel alive (which I feel has its own value), it also provides fans with more ideas to explore. And attunements are just the start of it — there are numerous types of content that, while absolutely not integral to the plot or the characters, add something to reader engagement for a certain type of reader. This is the reader that tends to think about these details and extrapolate into possibilities for other stories, to theorycraft, and, perhaps most commonly, a type of engagement I don’t think authors talk about enough —
The type of reader that wants to create their own character within a setting.
This is a hugely common aspect of fandom, above and beyond people who are out there making fanart and fanfic. Things like Judgements and other forms of determining your magic — or what faction you belong to, or your character class, or any number of other branching points — are massively important points of engagement for readers. (See any number of internet quizzes for what house you’d belong to in other fandoms, for example.)
These are what I call “spark scenes”, because they spark ideas on the parts of readers. Any scene a character could end up with one of many different rewards or punishments falls into this category.
There are numerous examples of what I consider to be “spark scenes”. Some examples include:
​

• Treasure vault scenes.
  • Typically, in these scenes, a reader is given information on several things in a vault, and the main character is given a chance to choose one item.
    • Sometimes, we’ll get a scene where the main character gets everything from the vault later, which makes this plot and/or character relevant information. However, oftentimes these other items are never seen again. This does not, to me, mean they do not have value — rather, the value is in world building (we know these things can exist in the setting now) and, the much more nebulous value that I’m talking about here, which is spark value, or the value of getting the reader to think about what would happen if a different choice is made.
    • Notably, this is one of many reasons why I prefer to see treasure vault scenes that have a variety of choices where there isn’t one clear “right” option. If there are a handful of items that are super generic and boring, but one thing that’s obviously incredibly overpowered that the main character picks, that doesn’t have the same spark effect, because there’s a much more limited incentive to think about why the other options would have been interesting.
    • Things like “pick your starting technique or spell” scenes are another example of this.
• Character class section.
  • As alluded to in attunements mention above, any place where a main character has to choose a character class — or something similar, like a cultivation path — is also a potential spark scene.
  • As explained above, this also works better for “spark” value if there are multiple equally good options (or similarly good options) available to think about.
  • Things like which powers a superhero ends up with, or which element a character has in a cultivation setting, can also fall into the same category, especially if there are elements of choice involved.
  • Other elements of game-like character creation (e.g. picking a species) also fall into this category.
• Auction scenes.
  • Typically, these are used to introduce conflict when a main character wants something at the auction that some ultra high-class noble or something also wants. This one super awesome item is often the focus of the scene from a plot and character perspective — but, unless you really want to write a one-item auction, there’s room here to have other cool stuff on the auction, too, even if the main character doesn’t pick it up.
• Wishes, boons from powerful entities, and similar concepts.
  • These are classics, even outside of this subgenre. What if Aladdin wished for (x) instead of (y?)
  • Things like exploring the rules and limitations of the wishing/boon process can add more layers to reader engagement. Any time you add a rule to something like a genie lamp, it’s a way of asking certain types of readers to say, “What if that rule didn’t exist?” or “How can I work around that rule?” That engagement has value, even if it’s not fully explored within the story itself.
• Contract/vow scenes.
  • Any scene where a character has to make a contract has the potential to be a spark scene.
  • For example, if a character gets to choose one of a handful of monsters to be their starting monster companion, each monster option that the main character doesn’t pick serves this function.
  • If it’s a magically binding contract, including the language of the contract can also serve as a spark, especially if there are elements that readers find that might be exploitable, etc. similar to the genie example above.
• Location/route option scenes.
  • Simple examples are things like, “In order to reach the Lost Mountains, we can go through either the ancient ruins of Lostopia or follow the Winding Road of No Return.”
  • In many stories, the names might be listed, but no details are provided for the options not taken — this is one of those areas where I think that even a paragraph or two of “unnecessary” content for the alternate routes can be super engaging.
• Magic system exploration scenes.
  • For example, sections of the book talking about possible spells of specific magic types that Corin doesn’t actually research can serve this function. Many of these spells will still come up in the future — either when Corin decides to learn them or if other characters do — but having descriptions of what is possible within certain types of magic can spark the imagination.
  • This is one of the areas where my books can get the most excessive in terms of detail, especially in Arcane Ascension. This is something that new authors should be very careful about, and even I would probably tone down certain specific scenes — or approach them in a more engaging way — if I was going back and rewriting them.

These are just some sample options; there are really a ton of ways to have elements of a scene that spark reader engagement without necessitating direct plot or character involvement.
Notably, these spark scenes often have greater value if there’s room for the reader to disagree with the main character’s decisions — and in order to do that in a way that can explored at beyond a cursory level, there needs to be a certain requisite amount of information provided.
Take the character class selection option, for example.
It’s very easy for an author to say, “Maria Suzette saw that she had ten class options, including fighter, mage, cleric, thief, bard, druid, ranger, monk, and paladin, but she chose the more obscure Ultimate God Master class, which no one else used because it had a reputation for being underpowered. No one could have possibly guessed that Ultimate God Master was actually a class with great potential!”
Comedy aside, a lot of LitRPGs start with this type of setup — maybe a little less blatant — or end up in a similar place with things like class and treasure selection.
In the scenario above, the main character is given choices, but there isn’t enough information to know if any of the other classes would interesting. There’s no spark here – it’s basically just laying out that the main character is picking a certain option, which is plot and character relevant, but there’s nothing much to explore on the fandom side. No one reading this premise is likely to be thinking, “Hey, wow, fighter sounds like it could be a particularly intriguing alternative to Ultimate God Master.”
(If you are, I commend your dedication to the fighter role.)
In the same sort of setup, though, if we’re willing to dedicate a bit more time to exploring the paths not traveled, we can put in some details on each other class — and, perhaps, make them a little more interesting as alternate options that someone in the fandom might actually think about wanting. If you really insist on including an Ultimate God Master class for your main character at all, consider that you can still have interesting alternatives on the same scale (Immortal Demon Emperor?) that could feel like viable alternatives.
Now, as a caveat to this, there’s an obvious argument that you can still have all these things and still tie them into plot and character. For example, if you include an Immortal Demon Emperor class as a counter option for the main character above that is their “path untraveled”, there are a couple obvious ways to make it relevant.
The first is to have the main character engage with that option in some way (e.g. think about it before making their choice). This can add to the spark value, since the main character engaging with it can encourage readers to think about it further.
The second is to have it show up again later in some way, e.g. the main character gets a rival with the Immortal Demon Emperor class.
I love both of these approaches, and I think they can add a ton — but I think one area where I differ from many of my writing contemporaries is that I do not actually think that they’re necessary.
The existence of the details themselves, when properly executed, can add value with nothing further being needed within that scene or otherwise. And it can add enough value that including these things is worth doing, in my opinion, even without intertwining them with anything else.

Using This Approach

Do I advise adding in these types of details — say, extra character class alternatives that sound cool that you never see again?
Not really. Not frequently. I don’t even tend to do that myself. Rather, if you look at something like the treasure vault scenes in Weapons & Wielders, I tend to do both of the extra things I mentioned above — I have my character think about the options (which is character exploration) and I have someone else choose them (which makes them potentially plot relevant).
There are, however, cases where I might deliberately include details specifically for the world building and spark effects — and those tend to be cases where I’m doing it specifically with the intention of giving readers ideas for what they might do for their own characters, or locations they might want to have adventures, or that sort of thing. And sometimes, it isn’t appropriate for me to have all those things incorporate a response from my character or future plot involvement. That is, to me, okay.
My principal point here isn’t actually “you should write scenes for setting/world building without any other purpose”. Rather, it’s that plot, character, and setting are typically seen as the three main reasons for writing content, and I would postulate that “spark” is effectively a fourth category that interacts with all of the others, and that the combination of setting and spark can be strong enough to warrant inclusion of details that may not ever be relevant to plot and character.
Scenes and content designed for reader engagement aren’t a new concept, of course. Fandom in particular is extremely familiar with the idea of certain types of content existing specifically to spur though and discussion — but usually, this tends to be in the context of things like character deaths, relationships, and other major things that *do* involve characters and plot. I like to go outside of that territory from time to time, hoping to give my readers things to think about in terms of how magic works, what items people could have picked up, the spells they could have researched, and that sort of thing.
Moderation, of course, has its own value. It’s also important to think about when and where you might be able to employ this type of content without being overly disruptive to pacing. There isn’t an easy way to adjudicate what “good” pacing is, especially in a genre like this one that draws in readers that have very different interests. For example, some readers are most heavily engaged with flashy fight scenes, and others skip them entirely. Likewise, scenes where I go into a bunch of minutia about how magic works bore some readers to tears, but they’re also the single most important scene type for the types of readers who get involved in discussions on Discord, etc. There’s no easy answer to this. I’ve experimented with several approaches and will continue to do so.
As one simple approach to help with pacing, I sometimes include this “spark” content over to things like appendices that are written in-character. This makes these a form of optional engagement for readers that are interested without necessarily bloating the story for other readers. This does have some critical downsides, though — anything in an appendix is going to be deliberately skipped by many readers (even ones who might enjoy it if they know it exists), and perhaps more importantly, it’s probably not going to be included in audiobook. A solid half or more of my readers get my books through audio format, so I have to be cognizant of that and can’t shovel too much of this into appendices or other forms of bonus materials.
So, is that the wrong approach? I don’t have a good answer to that — it’s going to be a good way to handle things for some readers, but not for others. As we see more readers migrating to audio, I think the appendices will be less useful, and I’ll need to prioritize including this type of thing in my main narrative without being disruptive. This is a tough balancing act, and it’s going to be something I continue to test and explore as I write more content in the future.
Conclusions
Now, like any writing opinions I’m going to offer, I need to place a gigantic reminder here that this is a component of my own writing philosophy, not every writer will agree with it, and there absolutely are downsides to including things without clear involvement with plot and character.
Even if certain readers are going to be engaged and start theory crafting when they see details on a bunch of different treasures in a scene that never show up again, or classes on a character class list, that’s not a reader experience that’s going to be universal, or even common. This level of extra detail is best used carefully and deliberately. I’ve personally been known to go overkill on these kinds of details, even for my own preferences, which tend to run very extreme in terms of preferring to see a lot of interesting options to think about.
I’ve had a lot of readers over the years who have been confused by the inclusion of certain content that “doesn’t go anywhere” in my books — and this is one majpr component of that. An (arguably larger) part is that I have a tendency to set up events too far in advance — there are things I’ve been setting up since Forging Divinity that readers won’t see the payoff for until I’ve written ten or more additional novels — so I don’t want it to sound like my books are inundated with things I write exclusively for worldbuilding and spark. But my interest in this kind of content that is designed for a certain type of reader engagement is a major component of my style, and you’ll definitely continue to see that in my stories. There’ll be more treasure vault scenes, more character class selection scenes, and maybe even an auction or two. And in all cases, I intend to include paths my characters will never take.
Why?
So that you can walk those paths yourself.

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I am the owner of the YouTube channel "Hoops for Noobs", a platform designed to make the NBA more accessible for beginners. The channel will cover a variety of content including the rules, terminology, tactics, and history of the National Basketball Association. All the content is presented in an easy-to-understand, engaging, and comprehensive manner for those new to basketball. Most of this I'm able to handle myself.
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As we approached the front door, Aunt Freya turned to the dogs and said, “Jax and Apollo, wipe your paws,” in a firm but gentle tone. To my amazement, the two giant dogs obediently raised their massive paws one by one and wiped them on the towel hanging by the door.
Once their paws were clean, Aunt Fraya opened the unlocked door and led us inside. I first noticed how cozy and inviting the house’s interior was. The walls were painted a warm beige color and adorned with various paintings and photographs. The living room had a comfortable-looking couch and armchairs, with a coffee table in the center. It looked almost exactly how I remembered it the last time I was here. The only noticeable difference was the three dog beds by the door, and the pictures were newer, with people I barely recognized.
The dogs escorted us inside, one ahead and one behind me. I got a distinct feeling they didn’t trust me yet. But at least I wasn’t their chew toy.
I heard someone running towards me as I put my bags on the floor beside the coffee table. Suddenly, I felt a pair of thin arms wrap tightly around my waist. For a second, I freaked out, but I looked down and realized it was my cousin Julie! “John! I can’t believe you’re here!” she exclaimed, still holding me tightly.
Somehow shimmying and squirming, I hugged her back, feeling genuinely happy to see her for the first time in years. “Hey Julie, good to see you too. It’s been too long.” I replied, grinning.
After a few more seconds, Julie let go of me and stepped back to look at me, then suddenly punched me in the stomach. “Yeah, cause someone was too busy to visit or gone when we came to visit!” she said, smiling as I rubbed where she punched me.
I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at the compliment, but I smiled back nonetheless. “Well, I needed to do those projects...and trips...” I trailed off, realizing I was making excuses. “Anyways, I’m here now, so it’s all good. Where are Jake and your dad?”
As I finished speaking, I heard a voice from around the corner. “Hey there, John! We’re in the dining room!” It was the unmistakable booming voice of my Uncle Paul.
I turned to my aunt, and she said, “Let’s go say hi to everyone.”
Still standing beside me, the dogs seemed to understand her words and began escorting me toward the dining room. Aunt Fraya giggled as she walked ahead while Julie was hanging off my arm. She couldn’t decide if she wanted me to drag her or if she pulled me.
As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice the well-behaved dogs acting like my guards. They walked beside me, occasionally sniffing at my feet or hands but never pulling ahead or breaking stride with Julie and me. I was starting to wonder if they were familiars instead of pets, but my cousins being non-magical would be hard. It was clear that my aunt had put a lot of time and effort into training them.
It wasn’t far to the dining area, and as we rounded the corner, I saw my Uncle Paul sitting at the head of the table with a big grin on his face and my cousin Jake sitting with a frown. “John! Good to see you!” he said as he got up from his chair, walked up to me, and gave me a firm handshake followed by a big hug.
I hugged him back with one arm since Julie didn’t release the other. “It’s good to see you too, Uncle Paul,” I said with a smile.
Letting go of me, Uncle Paul took Julie off me as she protested and turned to Jake, saying, “Don’t be rude, son. Say hi.”
Jake got up and, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, walked up to me and said in a frigid tone, “Hey, John. Long time no see.”
Uncle Paul shot Jake a disapproving look before turning back to me. “I’m sure you are tired as all. I know I’m always wiped when coming to visit you guys.” Turning to his kids, he said, “Well, come on then, you two go show John to his room.” Turning to me, he added, “The guest bedroom is all set up for you. Feel free to stay as long as you want,” gesturing for us to follow.
I followed Jake and Julie, but then I remembered forgetting my bags. I told my cousins, “Hang on!” and walked quickly to where I left the backpack, bag, and the box Dad gave to give to Aunt Freya. I heard hurried paw steps behind me as I grabbed them and returned to my aunt. “Here you go. Dad asked me to pass this along for you.”
Aunt Fraya responded with a pleasant smile, “Thank you, dear. You have some time before dinner, so rest up a bit. I’ll call up when food is on the table.” I nodded and walked quickly to catch up to my cousins waiting at the stairs.
As we walked towards the guest bedroom, I couldn’t help but notice the dogs walking alongside us again as if they were our escorts. It was both amusing and worrisome at the same time. I was starting to feel like the dogs didn’t trust me. I will just need to try to buy some treats and bribe them.
Once we arrived at the guest bedroom, Jake stood by the door as Julie excitedly started chattering and pointing out all the little details that she and Aunt Fraya had worked on to make the room comfortable for me. “And here’s your extra blankets. The door locks cause the dogs like to roam sometimes, and here’s the WiFi password,” she said, handing me a slip of paper.
I looked confused at the paper. “WiFi? What’s that?”
Jake laughed for the first time. “You are practically an alien in this world. This is going to be amusing.”
I felt hurt, but I was glad we had something to discuss. “Yeah, I really am. But that’s kinda the point of this experience.”
Julie asked to hang on for a min and slipped out of the room, the dogs parting just wide enough for her to slip past them in the doorway.
I looked at Jake. “Dude, come on. We grew up together. What’s up?”
He sighed, took a few steps to the bed, and plopped on it, leaning against the wall, feet dangling over the edge. “We did, but recently I realized just how different we are. It makes it hard to be comfortable with someone always so loaded for bear.”
I looked confused at him and put my bag and backpack on the bed next to him. “What do you mean.” as I sat on the chair.
He sighed. “I mean magic. You are from a world of power, and I’m from a world of Mundane.”
I scrunched my nose. “Don’t say that. It’s not nice. And I would never do anything to hurt you or Julie or your parents.” I glanced at the dogs in the door, wondering if I should extend my promise.
Jake smiled softly. “Yeah, I’m sure not on purpose.” He paused and frowned. “But to be honest, my college rejection letter also came today. And I was sure I could get into my first choice and didn’t bother applying elsewhere.”
I looked confused at him, but Julie tore back into the room before I could respond, somehow slipping between the two dogs. “Had to steal mom’s phone. I’ll explain what WiFi is, you Luddite.”
“Hey, be nice! Don’t call him names!” Jake yelled at Julie.
“I don’t know what that is, so I’m not offended.” I shrugged.
“I don’t know either, but it would fit.” Julie chirped as she sat next to John on the bed. “WiFi is what you use to access the internet.”
I pulled my own phone out. “Oh, how do I do that?”
Julie froze. “Well, now I must go slip this before I get caught.”
From somewhere in the house, Aunt Freya’s voice, “JULIE ARIEL SMITH! Give me back my phone!”
Julie looked worried as she tore out of the room through the parting dogs to the roaring laughter from Jake and me. After laughing, I said, “I’m not sure what that means about college rejection, but I’m sorry you are going through that. I just want things to be as normal as we can. Like we were when we were kids.”
Jake briefly looked at the ceiling, thinking, “Nothing changed. And I’ll figure something out eventually about college. For now, let’s just have fun.” With a smile, he got up and said, “I’ll give you some breathing room as you settle in. Let’s catch up when we get time sometime.”
After Jake left, I waited a second to see if the dogs would go. Instead, they lay down, blocking the doorway in a way that would make me move them to leave. I sighed and turned to the bags on the bed.
I unpacked my backpack and bag, placing my clothes in the drawers. They were dimensional bags as well. So I could bring everything I could need, so I only unpacked what I would need for the next week or so. I noticed the dresser was empty except for a few spare blankets and pillows at the bottom, so I took the opportunity to spread out my clothes and organize them.
I left most of my magical equipment in the backpack. I wouldn’t need anything but my wand, the summing bracelet still on my right hand. The only thing I took out was the scroll my parents gifted me. I put it on the table, admiring the intricate design and the fine craftsmanship. I was sure they had spent much money on it, so I wanted to take care of it. Not that these were very delicate, but still.
Next, I took out the gifts I had brought for my cousins from my bag. I hid them in the drawer on the table, so they would be a surprise for later. I wanted to wrap them into something, but I would have to give them as is.
I decided to check out the rest of the room. I went to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer, which was empty like the others. Looking around the room were several pictures and paintings. What was surprising to me was that they were very still.
Curious, I turned to the two doors in the room. One was clearly a closet, and that’s the first one I walked up to and pulled open. It was a good size, with plenty of space to hang clothes and store shoes. I put my backpack and bag in there to ensure they stayed out of the way.
I then turned my attention to the other door. I opened it slowly, unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find a clean, well-maintained bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet. The towels hanging on the rack smelled fresh. I vaguely remembered how to use this shower from the last time, and I hope it won’t be a problem.
Feeling satisfied with my new living quarters, I returned to the desk and sat down. This seemed like the perfect time to tell my parents I was safe and at my Aunts house.
I pulled my old scroll from my pocket. It was much simpler than the new one my parents had given me and was meant more for local communication. It wouldn’t have a powerful spell circle to reach my parents or friends. But it did have all the imprints and contacts from them.
I conjured the wand and pointed it at the new scroll on the table. Using the transfer spell, I could transfer my friends’ imprints from the old scroll to the new one. All three items glowed pale, and it only took a moment. Soon I saw their names appear on the new scroll, indicating they were successfully added.
As I was admiring my handiwork and ensuring that every name I wanted was transferred, I suddenly heard a voice next to me. “Was that... magic?” Julie’s voice made me jump up in my seat, my heart racing, my hand shaking holding the wand, sweat beading on my brow. She was maybe 2 feet away from him, standing just outside my field of view.
At my threatening gesture, the dogs in the doorway growled. But Julie looked at them and said, “Shush.” they did.
I steadied my breathing and said, “Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to transfer information from my old scroll to my new one.”
She pointed at my hand. “Is that a wand? Can I hold it?”
I breathed and willed the wand back into storage. “Not right now. Maybe a bit later. I can show you some tricks and magic.”
She looked disappointed but said, “Okay.” Walked over to the bed and sat down. “Mind if I hang out here for a bit?”
I shrugged. “Do you mind if I write a quick letter without distractions?” She nodded, so I sat at the table, folded the old scroll, and put it aside. I moved the new scroll closer to myself, used the quill that was part of the package, and selected my parent’s imprints.
I concentrated on the quill and started writing the letter to my parents. Since this was my first time, the quill took a few tries to obey me. In glowing letters on the scroll, I wrote about how I was safe at my aunt’s place and succeeded in making it there. I also mentioned that I had transferred the imprints of my friends onto the new scroll and that I was going to try to contact them soon. And reminded them that they could always reach out.
As I finished the letter, I read it over to ensure it said everything I wanted. Satisfied, I closed my eyes and focused my energy on the sending spell. After a second, I opened my eyes as the words on the scroll lifted off the page and folded into an owl.
The owl flew straight through the wall and into the night sky, heading towards the enclave where my aunt picked me up from, which must be the nearest relay to here.
“Wow. That’s so cool.” Julie whispered from the bed, and I turned just in time to see her cover her mouth.
I smiled and said, “Yeah, magic is pretty cool. But so is your technology. I’m going to need all your help to figure it out.” And I pulled out my phone.
She looked excited. “Oh, of course, your sensei will teach you everything.” But before she could do anything, I heard a high-pitched barking bounding down the hall outside my room.
Then a tiny fur ball jumped over the two dogs and bound towards me with the fury of a starved hellhound ready to eat. I conjured my wand, but fore I could do anything or the little hellion reached me, Julie nimbly plucked him mid-jump and held him like a baby on its back. The little beat instantly calmed down and let out a happy little whine of pleasure. The two dogs in the doorway growled their disapproval.
Julie whispered, “It’s okay. He’s a friend. No eating, my cousin.” Holding him out towards me, she said, “Sparky. Say high to John.”
Sparky wasn’t convinced of my status in the family and gave a menacing high-pitched bark and a growl. However, she stopped when Julie brought him close to herself and smacked him in the nose softly. “No!” She held him out, and this time he let out an almost friendly bark.
“Nice to meet you, Sparky,” I said, not letting go of my wand.
I breathed a sigh of relief as she brought Sparky close to herself. Sparky licked her face, and Julie giggled. I was horrified for a moment when she let him down. He landed softly on his tiny feet, made a circle, and then turned to me. For a second, I thought he would attack me and prepared to defend myself, but I had Nothing to worry about. He walked up to me, sniffed my feet, then pranced back to Julie, tongue lolling and tail wagging.
Julie laughed as she stroked Sparky’s fur. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless. He just loves to bark.”
I chuckled and replied, “Well, I’m glad to hear that. He’s pretty cute, actually. When he’s not acting like an angry furry volleyball of doom.”
Julie smiled and said, “Yeah, he’s my little buddy. He’s been with me since I was a kid. Well, I guess like 4 years now or so.” Looking at me, she asked, “Do you have any pets?”
I shook my head. “No. My parents have familiars. But when I wanted a pet, my parents told me I was immature. Then when I was mature, I didn’t have time. When I have more time, I’ll probably get a pet.”
She thought momentarily and said, “I know your mom has the owl cat. And your dad has a giant three-headed dog. I guess I was expecting you to have at least something. Maybe a cat or a dog. Or maybe something more exotic like a dragon.”
My eyebrows shot up. “A dragon? That would be cool, but they’re pretty dangerous and, you know, illegal. They are very endangered. I mean, I guess a petite dragon would be an option. But they are a lot of work.”
She looked convinced. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe you should stick with a cat or a dog, for starters.”
I laughed and glanced at the dogs in the doorway who were sitting at attention. I looked back at Julie and realized her eyes were fixed on the wand in my hand. I could see a mix of curiosity and fear in them. With a jolt, I remembered what Jake had said earlier about magic being power. I started to feel self-conscious and put the wand in storage again with a small flash of magic. Julie blinked hard and looked away.
I looked at Julie with concern as she picked up Sparky, held him close, and took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?” I asked gently, noticing the nervousness in her body language. I had no idea what I did to scare her like this.
She hesitated for a moment, looking down at Sparky on her lap. She patted him for an uncomfortably long silence before finally whispering, “I don’t know how to ask this, but... can I do magic?” Her question caught me off guard, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. She looked up at me, and I could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, and I wanted to reassure her.
But I couldn’t.
I took a deep breath. This was going to be a delicate conversation. I had to break the news gently. “Julie, I’m sorry to say this, but only those born with magic can use it,” I said, my voice low and even. “There are two species of humans. One with magic and one without. You know how there are different kinds of dogs?” After she nodded, I continued, “There are a few different kinds of humans as well.”
Julie’s face didn’t change. “So, I can’t do magic? You are sure?” she asked, her voice quivering.
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not,” I said, trying to sound sympathetic. “It’s just the way things are. But don’t worry, you can still do plenty of amazing things without magic.”
She looked like she was about to say something else, but we heard a voice from the door before she did. “John, food is ready.” Turning, I saw Aunt Freya. “Julie, don’t forget to wash your hands before coming to the dinner table.”
Julie didn’t say anything but turned with a smile to her mom. I got a bit of whiplash from her emotional swings but didn’t say anything. She dropped Sparky to the floor and walked out the door. She paused at the door and said, “Let’s talk later.”
The big dogs parted to let her through but moved back together. Sparky walked up to the dogs, barked shortly and jumped over the big dogs, and followed Julie.
I grabbed the gifts from the drawer I hid them in and decided to just give them as is. I walked to the door, but the dogs didn’t budge. After a second, I cleared my throat and said, “Excuse me?”
The dogs looked lazily at me but didn’t leave. I heard Aunt Fray’s voice from somewhere in the house. “Jax, Apollo, leave John alone. He’s a friend.”
The dogs growled, got up, and trotted away from the door.
I said, “Thank You,” and walked behind them, letting them lead me to the dining room.
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I got PRF under my eyes for the first time in London on Thursday morning. Eyes were puffy as expected afterward for 2 ish days but now they are no longer swollen (great!) but left behind is almost a blueish tint under my eyes (not great!) which I did not have before (I got PRF as a preventative measure and for creepy skin/mini wrinkles — I never really had issues with dark circles thankfully. Eyes had started to hollow a bit because I’m 32 now but it was slight and I was told to avoid fillers at all cost because I don’t have a lot of volume loss and the risks outweigh the benefits.)
Now I’m a bit worried these new dark circles will become permanent. Did anyone else have this affect? Did it go away over time? All I hear is how prf has brightened people’s under eyes and helped with skin texture under there…I never imagined it would be the reverse for me and give me a sorta black eye…I have really fair skin so it’s very prominent at the moment.
I don’t have any bruising at the injection site points…but maybe this is an under the skin eye bruise because my eye isn’t used to having lots of liquid injected there? I get Botox sorta near there under the eyes regularly but it never bruises so idk.
I also am aware maybe I’m freaking out for no reason because it’s a normal thing that’s supposed to happen…but I’ve never heard anyone mention darkening of under eyes only swelling in the first week after the injection.

Trigger warning. What does it mean when I get so anxious that I feel physical pain, nausea(sometimes extreme nausea causing me to gag near the toilet), overthinking, inability to think properly, disassociating, crying(either a little or alot), and i start shaking and twitching. Sometimes it gets so bad i want to relapse(cut myself) and i want to kill myself but it hurts so bad i usually cant move. Is this just a panic attack?

A lot of folks who need therapy just Google nearby clinics or ask their friends who they have seen. The easiest way to find a good doctor’s office for skin cancer screening or diabetes screening near me is to do some research, as asking a friend or family member for a referral could be awkward.
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How a Professional Doctor Helpful in Emotional Guidance?

Mi "Yammers" Hongwei is a Chinese caster from China. He is considered as one of the best Chinese stream commentator. His liquipedia link: Yammers - Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
Here is his weibo(kind like facebook). Translated by google translate.
This is a scheduled Weibo. After all these years, I still can’t let go of the hatred in my heart, and I can’t reconcile with myself. I also know that I’m sorry for many people. It’s all because of me. Let’s end it.
https://preview.redd.it/80j4fla91r2b1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db0589274220dde10de641bba4bab83b71017033
I was born in a small city in Hebei in 1997, in a family compound, in an ordinary worker's family. My father is a veteran, after retiring transferred to work in China Railway, and then settled here. My mother is from Hubei. After coming here with my sister, she married my father through introduction. Both of them had a failed marriage before, which was also a failure. Then there was me in the second year of marriage.
As far as I can remember, I lived with my mother most of the time when I was a child, and my father was on the construction site all year round because of the project, which also caused me to spend very little time with my father in my childhood. In addition, my father has a withdrawn personality, has a strange temper, and doesn’t talk to me much. We only meet once a year or once every two years, so when I was very young, I always asked my mother when my father would come back. I was able to see it during the Chinese New Year, and I kept talking non-stop, and he basically replied perfunctorily, that I basically didn't get any fatherly love.
Living in this family compound, there are so many children, logically speaking, childhood should be very happy, but for me, this is all a nightmare and pain. I was particularly impressed by the adults in the yard. When I was very young, they looked at me differently. Many parents would not let their children play with me. At first I thought it was because our family conditions were not good, or I'm a little naughty, and I will know the reason when I grow up, and I will talk about it later. After several twists and turns, I still integrated into the circle of children of the same age. Although I still suffered from some bullying occasionally, it didn’t matter anymore. The most painful memory for me should be the thing of being bullied by boys older than me. At that time, I was still in kindergarten, and those children were already junior high school students. That summer, when I came out from home and ate strawberries, I was seen by several older children. They held imitation gun toys and told me to play, and pushed me into an abandoned apartment building. Four or five people held my hand. My limbs poured urine on me, opened my mouth on the spot, and kept urinating. Then I ran home crying and vomiting all the way. Another time, it was also three or four people who dragged me to the corner of the compound to make me suck their cock. That time I didn't give in, and the crying attracted the adults, so I gave up. When I grew up, I realized that it was not only me who was bullied, but also a girl of my age. It was hard to imagine what she would go through. Moreover, many of these older children are children of leaders, born in powerful families, but they are really beasts. I will never forget this memory.
As time goes by, it's time for me to go to elementary school, because my comprehension ability may be worse than that of children of the same age. In addition, when I was young, I was inattentive and a little hyperactive. My first test in the first grade was very poor. I remember that the earliest subjects at that time were only Chinese and mathematics. Many children got full marks. But for me, one of them just passed and the other failed. When I got home, I was scolded and beaten. That was the first time I started to resist learning from the bottom of my heart. I said that I really didn't understand...I didn't learn...My mother just thought that I didn't pay attention to the class, and my parents had a very low level of education, especially me. Mom, she can't help me. Later, I spent money on cram school, and my grades in the second and third grades were slightly better. Grades 4, 5 and 6 my head teacher changes, and at this time some children began to collect protection fees, and they would fight you if you didn’t pay. After that, the frequency of my fights became more and more frequent. I was called to the office and framed. I was stupid, I was bad at defending myself, the teacher didn't believe me, and I was the one who was beaten and punished in the end. The school teachers in small cities punished people really outrageously, really beat them, slapped their mouths, whipped people with soft pencils, and beat them with sticks. It was also at that time, my grades were mediocre at that time, I started to get tired of studying, I didn't want to go to school, I didn't want to go to school, I started to pretend to be sick, and skipped classes. Completely tired of studying, it should be an incident in the sixth grade. The door lock in the class was broken by someone. I happened to be cleaning after school. A few students fought and broke the door lock. Then I ran to tell the teacher , I broke it, and they testified to each other, the teacher didn’t believe what I said, in front of so many teachers in the office, they kept hitting my palms with soft pencils, and they were all smashed, let me admit it quickly, I was really at that time Knowing what it means to be tortured into a trick, in the end I really couldn't stand the pain and admitted it. I also bought a new lock for the class to change. I never wanted to go to school at that time. Some people will ask why you didn't tell your mother, because of the academic performance, I have already separated from my mother. At this time, in the eyes of my relatives and family members, I am already a poor student and a bad boy. If I don't study hard, I will secretly go online. , I don't care anymore, I don't want to say anything to them.
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After entering junior high school, our class teachers in the first and second grades were all physical education teachers. In addition, my previous elementary school foundation was not well established, and I continued to be tired of studying in junior high school, chatting and fighting in class all day long. The first two years were spent with corporal punishment education and parents. This period was also my rebellious period. My father also transferred back from work, and my parents quarreled all day long. This is true. Every day, all the time, we are arguing, really all the time. The sound insulation of the old-fashioned buildings is very poor. The sound of our family’s quarrel can be heard in the whole courtyard. In addition to my school’s affairs, I also have endless quarrels with my family. On the one hand, I don't want to go home, and I'm already a little depressed. During that time, I skipped classes and played dota online, all night long. Went to sleep at school the next day. Later, it was also during this period that I knew, a thing that broke me down. Let’s not talk about how I know, I know that I was not born to my parents, but the illegitimate child of relatives, and then they found my father as a successor in order to cover up their mistakes, and I was born soon after the second year of marriage. , This is also the reason why the children in the yard have been bullying me since I was a child, and the adults looked at me strangely and refused to let their children play with me. I really broke down at that moment, and it was at that time that I suffered from depression. I became more and more disgusted with myself, and I hated my family more and more. At that time, I really didn’t want to live anymore. One day in the second semester of the second year of junior high school, I bought sleeping pills. At that time, the regulations on sleeping pills were not as strict as they are now. I committed suicide, but didn't eat enough to die. Later, the teacher came to our house for a home visit and asked me why, but I didn't say anything, I just said that I was not happy and that my life was meaningless. The head teacher is probably also afraid of taking responsibility. After that, all the teachers’ attitudes towards me have changed. At least they never bothered me when I slept in class, hhhh.
After entering the third year of junior high school, except for the change of the head teacher, the teachers of other subjects did not change. At this time, I met, the second good teacher in my life. The first one was Teacher Cai in the first three grades of elementary school. The teacher's surname is Tian. He is our chemistry teacher. It may also be because of my second year of junior high school... I can't control my emotions when I write here. After he took over our class, he talked to the students one by one. He was the first and only teacher who said he wanted to be my friend, he always encouraged me, he said you are no worse than anyone else, you have to be confident. In the third year of junior high school, my depression eased a lot, and I also studied hard for a year, but because I had left too much behind, I couldn't even catch up. In the end, I still failed the high school entrance examination, and then left home to study in Shijiazhuang. I don't want to continue living in this city either. I don't want to go back to this home.
The three years of studying and living in Shijiazhuang were one of the few happy times in my life, and my depression rarely broke out. Brand new environment + brand new friends and classmates, I am actively studying, I joined the student union and became a minister. Basketball + exercise + dota I have a very fulfilling overall life. The only legacy is the first official love in my life in the last stage of the semester, and I was cuckolded. I didn't have a relationship for the next five years.
After graduating, I went to China Railway for an internship, and I happened to stay in Shijiazhuang. At that time, Shijiazhuang was repairing the subway. I happened to be studying surveying, so I stayed. Maybe the first time I entered the society to work, many things broke my cognition. Hypocrisy and flattery in the workplace, intrigue among colleagues, false reporting of data, cutting corners by construction units, project managers who have families behind their backs to find mistresses... This world is really different from what I imagined. I was very serious in the first half of the year. In the next six months, I was thinking about what I wanted to do, and basically I didn't have any enthusiasm for work. Later, I resigned directly when I was working on the project I was working on. Leaving Shijiazhuang. Do a commentator.
My depression broke out completely in mid-March 2019, and my father passed away due to illness. I was tortured by the disease for nearly several months, and finally passed away in pain. In the last few days, I have been by his side. Looking at him, thinking back on his life, two failed marriages, being bullied by others in the workplace, and finally being tortured to death by illness. After the funeral, I went back to my rented house in Shanghai in April. During that time, I talked to myself all night in the room, banging my head against the wall in pain. I looked in the mirror every day, and I was disgusted when I saw myself in the mirror. The more I grow up, the more I look like my biological father. I can’t count how many times I have smoked myself in the mirror. This state has continued until the last two or three days. I laughed out of control and said to myself, I really can't do it. In recent years, I have started to squander money to fill the void in my heart. I can't find the meaning of life, and I can't reconcile myself with the past. Many people have said to me, you are not to blame for this matter, don't blame yourself for other people's faults, you have to live your own life. You could also say it's my excuse to escape from real life, a weak, useless piece of shit. whatever. Without me, there wouldn’t be this, this family that shouldn’t be there, and there wouldn’t be so many things that shouldn’t be there. This family came into existence because of me, and today I killed myself, and it ends with me. Everything was wrong from the beginning, and now this mistake can be corrected. My own inner pain can finally be over, and I leave today with a smile on my face. Many people die and are born every second in this world, without me, this world will not lack anything. I don't want to come to this world in my next life. I also hope that you will not create a tragic family for your own selfish desires or to cover up your mistakes in the future. Dota2_Yammers
Please forgive my selfishness and cowardice, and please understand my pain and struggle. goodbye
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I don't want to comment too much, just want to tell the story of a poor man, a dota lover. Hope dota brings him more happiness in his life. He has a famous voice line, which content is "再见了宝贝”, means "goodbye baby". I don't know if valve can do anything to make it a memorial.
R.I.P.

I’m a nearly 27yr old (birthday in June), living in Australia with suspected endometriosis. Both my mother and sister are diagnosed via laparoscopy.
I came off the contraceptive pill in Feb/March 2021. Due wanting to not take medication everyday.
I was on the contraceptive pill for over 10 years and originally put on for painful periods.

• Coming off the pill in 2021, I experienced quite serious mental health concerns but they passed after 3-4 months post pill.
• Then I experienced horrible adult acne for about a year and a half.
• I ended up in hospital September 2021 with a cyst found on my right ovary.
• Fast track 2023, I’ve been getting my period every 3 weeks for roughly a year and a half it seems.
• This has caused fairly low iron.
• April 2023 I had a pelvic ultrasound so that I could be referred to a public gynaecologist.
• they found a cyst this time in my left ovary. They are unsure whether it is a endometrioma or a hemorrhagic cyst.
• I got a referral outpatient letter returned saying I’m “category 3” which means “Appointment within 365 days desirable; AND Condition is unlikely to deteriorate quickly; AND Condition is unlikely to require more complex care if assessment is delayed beyond 365 days.”
• I’m due to get another pelvic ultrasound June 2023, which I am not looking forward to as the last one as extremely painful.

I’m writing this at the end of May, desperate as my periods are becoming more and more painful. I am feeling incredibly frustrated that my body is betraying me, as I consider myself quite a healthy person.
I’m looking for answers as should I… (a) try to somehow wait to be seen by the outpatient gynaecologist, they will be able to look into laparoscopy and marina treatments?
(b) go back on the contraceptive pill? (I’m not keen on this as I feel like it’s a blanket/Band-Aid approach) plus what it did for my mental health.
I’m confused to what the best “treatment” even is for endometriosis…