TLDR: Long loading times, extreme lag, frequent disconnections; could be problems caused by the BETA situation of the game, could be signs of the need to upgrade; but my system can definitely run it with the lowest settings; maybe some optimization needed. Also, I had fun!
My Device:
Acer VX15
Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
8GB of RAM
Nvidia Geforce GTX 1050ti
1TB HDD
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Other games I can run on this device:
Elden Ring (medium settings, 30-50 fps), Diablo 3 high settings, 60+fps) , Fallout 76 (high settings 40-60fps), Destiny 2 (high settings 60-100fps), God of War (low settings, 30-40fps), Red Dead Redemption 2 (low settings, 30-40fps); I could mention more, but I think you get the picture.
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Diablo 4 Open BETA Experience
I downloaded the BETA in the late morning of March 25, 2023 took about an hour to finish, and immediately connected. This was around 10:30-11am Philippine Time (PHT), meaning it's night in the other side of the world so I managed to connect--no queue times, just immediate login. There was severe lag once I got to the choose your character option, so I twiddled with the settings and set everything to low. I managed to create a character, chose a preset appearance, then a generated name.
My character is a LEFT-HANDED Necromancer named Vasco. I started the game, and what followed was a slideshow of the opening cinematic that I couldn't skip because it kept saying "The cinematic will skip once the game has finished loading" (or words to that effect; I am writing mostly from memory now). I patiently watched that "slideshow" until I was thrust into Sanctuary with, AND I KID YOU NOT, 60fps!!! I even turned on the in-game FPS counter and it's even clocking at 71fps!
This joy was short-lived, however, because as soon as I tried to move, the FPS dropped between 2-10 unplayable montage. Somewhere along those frames, I managed to kill some wargs, and while standing still among those corpses, I summoned my skeleton minions. When I'm standing still, FPS was perfect; but as soon as I try to move or attack or interact, there's a heavy lagfest and fps drop. But I pushed through. I killed more mobs, and got to the first town. That's where I got disconnected for the first time. I tried logging back in, but here, I experienced an atrocious 30-minute loading screen. And once the game loaded, I was greeted with the message that I got disconnected. So back to the character menu, start game, no queue time or anything, then 30-minute loading screen, game disconnects. On my third try, I managed to play, got the quest from those villagers in the town, then managed to reach my first dungeon. That trip to the dungeon was a pain. I was having an average of 10-21 fps which drops to 1 or even 0 once there's a mob. Which meant it's most of my companions who did all of the work. I even gained levels and some beginner gear, which was nice. Opening inventory window and the skill tree is a pain too.
Surprisingly, the loading screen when I entered the dungeon (Icehowl Ruins?) took less than a minute. Probably because of the size of the dungeon or what? But it was in this dungeon that I experienced 60fps even while killing mobs. FPS still drops to 10 or 20, but the dungeon made me realize that my system CAN handle the game and it's probably the BETA at fault.
Right after the dungeon and the whole shebang in the plot that followed, I got disconnected when entering the big town (Kevedash? Kevash?). When I restarted, I went through the settings, lowered down the resolution scale, and even tried that option where it will give you lower image quality) but the loading screen, especially that first one, is sooooo atrocious. One even lasted 45 minutes before I decided to force close the game. However, I find that just lowering the resolution scale (and ignoring the other settings (I forget their names, but one involves temporal thingy and the other will give you lower image quality in exchange for better performance) equate to relatively shorter (5-10mins) loading screens. So I just set my resolution scale to 70% and managed to play for a few more minutes but by then it was getting dark and the other side of the world is starting to wake up so the lag I experienced was very bad. I couldn't move, couldn't click anything. I called it a day.
Today, I managed to play again, but the experience hasn't changed much. Standing still gives me 60fps when I'm out in the world, moving and doing anything drops the FPS, sometimes to 0. I did manage to do a side quest (where you'll have to collect tithes?), an event (protect the caravan from the ambush) and was continuing the main quest to go to the mines. In the mines, I managed to get to up to 70fps even with mobs and spamming corpse explosion. I actually felt immersed, and even found myself muttering shut up whenever the companions would endlessly talk of dead ends. Also, I agree with what the majority were saying: Necromancers are OP af, but I love it. It's fun seeing mobs die from the corpses of their fellow demons. I felt like Adrian Veidt using corpses of others to justify my savior-complex rampage. lmao.
So overall, I think my system can run the game. I personally can stand the long loading screens and pop-ups, but what I can't stand is the lagfest and severe fps drop that happens when I try to move or do anything. It could also be argued that it's because my laptop has an HDD, but there's just no way I can upgrade that to an SSD. I could try and upgrade my RAM, but with the prices and high inflation rates happening in our country right now, combined with high cost of living severely disproportionate with income, any upgrades or switching to a better system won't happen anytime soon. Good thing I didn't pre-order!
Also, I've seen posts in this subreddit about some work-arounds like increasing the page file size, etc. I haven't done those to be honest.
If it plays better on 16gb, they should just set that as minimum. If it plays better on SSD than HDD, then they should just list SSD as the only way to play, not a preference. Just my opinion.
I keep myself positive that a lot of the troubles I've had where just effects of everything being on "BETA". I just hope that when Diablo IV launches, it'll have a "starter" edition like in D3, so that I can see if it will run on my system before buying. If not, well, I guess I'd keep playing Diablo 3 or any other game that my system can still run.
Will I play more of the BETA? It's Sunday here now, and got stuff for work that I need to prepare for, so no. But minus the technical issues and hardware limitations, from what I managed to play, I did have fun.

My goal, as stated in the title, is to cut from 16-18ish% bodyfat to 10-12% in two months (April 14th - June 14th). I'm being specific with the dates because April 14th marks the 2-month point until my school gets out for summer, and I want to be lean by that point. Not looking to be competition/unhealthy lean, just something that gives good definition and abs. Initially, I wanted the cut to be 3 months long so I could go as slowly as possible to maintain as much muscle mass as possible, unfortunately, that timing didn't pan out... but I digress. Additionally, I'll make it clear that I am OK (if absolutely necessary) with extending my cut into the summer months so long as I am close to my goal by the time it starts. And once summer is over, I'll go back to my normal routine.
As it is now, this is my diet. While I can't outline specifically what I eat (I don't keep track), I eat in the high 3000s of calories and sometimes break into the 4000-calorie zone. Granted, along with high-intensity resistance training, I also play volleyball for my highschool. So that amounts to roughly 3.5 - 4 hours of training total on some days. Once volleyball season ends (in mid-April) I'm afraid the steady-state cardio I plan on doing to theoretically allow me to eat more and still lose fat ultimately won't be enough to compensate for what I was doing before via volleyball. In terms of my protein, I hit my goal (about 180ish grams) and sometimes well beyond on the daily. There are days when I'm busier or things just don't pan out properly with schedule and timing that I accidentally don't hit my goal... but those days I try to make very infrequent. And once I start cutting and the need for a higher protein intake becomes ever more important, I'm going to be absolutely certain to lock in.
So this is mainly what I'm asking for. For one thing, I don't really know how to figure out how many calories to eat based on my age, activity level, height, weight, etc. My faith in BMI calculators online is not very high, and I don't have time to practice with my calories and my maintenance beforehand for multiple reasons. For one, I'm training to hit my 225 on bench RIGHT BEFORE I start cutting (I'm super close) and I obviously can't just start eating less. Secondly, I'm already really short on time. I have just over two weeks left until this cut starts. Secondly, is this goal even manageable? What are things I should expect, look out for, aim to do, etc... anything to make the process as smooth as it can be. To be clear, I don't expect this to be easy by any means, but that doesn't mean there aren't things I can do to make it EASIER. And finally, WHAT should I eat to hit my daily protein goal (actual food items) that isn't gonna make me want to throw up from eating it so repeatedly but that also don't take ages to cook (I don't have much time to do prep or cooking because of school). All help is much appreciated, thank you!!!
p.s. While I appreciate help and criticism... this is not a time where I am looking for "I don't think you should be cutting yet" or "you're too young, just stay healthy" or other statements to that effect. With all due respect, I'm going to be cutting starting April 14th one way or another... this just makes it a lot easier on me so I don't go in the wrong way. So if you have something to contribute, please do!

So while I am diabetic I am not on Jardiance, but my mom who is type 1 was just prescribed it and her insurance didn’t want to cover it. Seriously $516 for a month supply? Thankfully I live on the Mexican border and crossed over for my birthday today. I picked up a 2 month supply for $69. Apparently there is also a shortage of albuterol inhalers in certain areas so I picked up a 10 pack for my friend for $18. I’m just going to say that American drug prices suck, and I am apparently now a dealer for diabetes, asthma, and birth control ($2.95 a month) for my less fortunate friends and family that don’t live close to a border. The birth control was actually a 1 time thing for a friend doing a year in grad school in an Arab country where she literally can’t get it without being married. But anyone who’s insurance doesn’t cover Jardiance, Mexico is a fantastic option. Same with metformin, when I ran out I paid $10 for 100 pills

tldr: expensive medicine stolen+we need more asset protection
so yesterday at like 6pm 2 dudes walk in with black hoodies and masks on (turns out one was a girl) and they say to me and another associate “ima steal rn don’t say anything” and procede to start throwing allergy medicine into their bags and im like wtf “you do you i’m not gonna stop you” (literally cant) ii tell the associate at customer service cuz it was close by and then tell the team lead at the front (NHM btw so it’s small)
TL does absolutely nothing, not even say stop and they just walk out, they call the SM and today he asked me for a statement basically but the thing is
we only have one asset protection member and he’s only a team associate, and spends most of his time on the sales floor or stocking
like why can’t we hire another AP TA or API instead of 5 frontend ppl a week 💀 AND WHY ISNT IT LOCKED UP WHEN ITS $40+ . we have ALL cosmetics locked up when they’re literally mostly under $10
walmart, you’re so smart <3

Today my first ever girlfriend (we were both 20 and both firsts as relationship and everything else) crossed my mind and I remembered how she broke up with me and now 10 years later I can clearly see it was the best decision even if I was a bit hurt at the time.
We were 20, both studied at university although in different cities, so it was a LDR. We went on 10 dates before we kissed because I wasn’t confident but she stuck it out with me. These dates were in a city which was halfway for both of us. So we did what every LDR does, we texted a lot. We could always find something to talk about even though looking back we were VERY, VERY different people. She started school a year after me and things started to get a bit rough. I dropped out and started working in my field without a degree, she went to med school. Eventually we realized we want different things and LDR sucks so she broke up with me after 2 years.
It was a regular weekend stayover and she told me on Friday night. She still wanted to spend one last weekend with me and it didn’t hit me at the time, so we stayed in, talked, watched movies, had sex, etc. On Sunday she was leaving so we walked to the train station together and we parted ways with a kiss. A kiss which was the last one we would ever have. I was fine, maybe even relieved as the LDR wore me down as all my weekends were “taken”. On the next day it hit me like a truck… I realized that someone who was an important part of my life for 2 years is just gone. Lives on the other half of the country, mutual friends are not here, so she really is gone in every form. From there as weeks went by things got worse. Especially since we agreed staying friends and I was holding on while she just wanted to be friends and she called me out on saying inappropriate things. Eventually after a month she told me she is dating one of the guys from her study group. I was so outraged I was convinced they were a thing before the break up and I told her this, I acted a bit unhinged. After this we made amends but we slowly faded away from each other’s life.
We’re still friends on social media so we are up to date on each other’s life. She is acing medschool and is already a resident, she married the guy she got together with after me and honestly, they seem like a perfect fit. They both seem so happy which made me happy as well. I climbed the ladder in my career and have a very decent salary, I’ve been through a few kinda rough relationships but I’ve learned a lot. My mental health is shaky at best, but I’m going to therapy and getting things sorted. I’ve met the love of my life who actually does feel like a perfect fit.
It really made me think of butterfly effect. If she didn’t break up, I know I wouldn’t have. Maybe I would’ve found another job in her city and moved there and eventually break up because we wanted such different things (kids vs no kids… etc) which would’ve made me miss out on my current friends and the girl I’m dating now and god knows where my career would be as my field is not too big in that city and remote work was never talked about back then.
Does anyone have a story like this which made you realize in retrospect that it was for the best?

We are about to be blamed for what is coming, so it's best to be prepared for the real reason this pathetic shit-show is occuring. 5 management changes that had clear and present outcomes could have turned the tide of our country.
1) Post 2000 - Failure to set policed rules and regulations. The dot-com bust was insane! And we all had recovering stress about Y2K fears. The market was very wild-west at that time. Tech companies shot up so fast and were overvalued by over a thousand to one. Politicians, celebrities and sports stars were endorsing things they had no idea about, only for boosting their own income. The conflicts of interest were insane and once the fool's buy spree ended and all these internet/computer companies' books revealed they had nothing but liabilities, they collapsed. The magic of the internet was met with the sorcery of stupidity. And the government did... nothing. They blamed it on poor people and the middle east? In-rushes of minorities spontaneously buying stocks? The breakdown of America? At no point did they say that people in power and wealthly positions in trust made stupid leveraged bets on shit they got dead wrong. After that, they should have REGULATED with a capital R. Jail time for crime. Transparency of books and people. Full disclosures placed on News and 'journalists'. Management of debt instruments for investing.
2) Post 2008 - Failure to remove threats to American investment, growth and economic stability. After the Great Recession, short selling should have been put to rest. Financial incentives to destroy companies and put people out of work are counter-productive to economic growth and civilian contribution/wellness. If you have enough money, it allows for gaming the market. Short selling and everything around it is devastating to economic success. The only lesson learned from the reckless stupidity and short selling, was that the US tax payers would come to their rescue. Insurance for increased future stupidity! Like the movie the Big Short says, they blamed poor people and minorities. At no point did they say that people in power and wealthly positions of trust made stupid leveraged bets on shit they got dead wrong. Only difference is this time they learned that they can bite the hand that feeds.
Like the previous mentioned, jail for crime, transparency, proper regulation and ethical management should have been implimented from this event. This in my mind is where we 'lost the battle to cancer'. Hedge funds were smart... but they learned that they can get real stupid and destructive and get rewarded. Insurance for recklessness. Investing became a game, where it became easier to make one team lose, then to cheer for a team to win. The more money you had, the more oppourtunity to buy the refs, the camera person, the announcer, and eventually, the audience. The amount of government regulation and management imposed on options after 2008 should have been strict audits, compliance checks, quality control via third parties, income verification, weekly reporting, heavy tax brackets, and yes, time for crime.
3) 2009 - Failure to remove obvious hiways for unethical motives and high level crime. After Bernie Madoffs' crimes came to light, the infrastructure he used for the crime should have been eliminated. Payment For Order Flow. Lack of transparency and piss poor regulation and management. Hey! This is starting to become a common theme here! Well fuck my truck and call it a hybrid! This fucker caused the losses of 10's of billions of dollars and the SEC only found out because Madoff confessed to his sons, who brought it to their attention. They were fucking obligated to do something. They had to be given the information because they were unable to find it themselves. If you ever watch a kids show and they make out the cop to be the idiot, that cop was too smart for the SEC. Just when you think they couldn't get more idiotic, they make commercials about theaters and utter threats about emojis as their countries fucking banking system collapses. That's like caring about a lone J-walker when closer to you is a 158 car collision (158 'at risk'banks). They left all the pathways for crime, most notebly of which is PFOF. Even fucking Citadel said it was bad.. like holy fucking shit! That was of course until they committed those crimes using it! Now it's good? Jesus. Well as you guessed it, for the issues, At no point did they say that people in power and wealthly positions of trust made stupid leveraged bets on shit they got dead wrong. They blamed it on everything else. After that, they should have found every route for crime he comited and sealed them up tight. They should have put a greater emphasis on regulation ENFORCEMENT and management. They should have made investigation a priority. Madoff was like a Diety being exposed as fake. No one after should have been put on a pedestal.
4) 2020 - The big problem is that the banks got all that money! Then they made stupid bets on stupid! Now they need to tame inflation, provide liquidity, manage dollar value vs. Gold, save bonds, and increase the interest rate or taxes. Every option comes with pain and it is impossible to manage now. On top of that, the failures mentioned earlier are biting them in the ass and short sellers are salivating at the US banks now. At no point will they say that people in power and wealthly positions of trust made stupid leveraged bets on shit they got dead wrong. Now it's not just poor people and minorities, I am proud to say it's because of poor people and minorities talking to each other! Because you know that people who haven't eaten more than 1 meal today affected the +100 trillion dollar stock/bond markets!?
5) 2021 - In June of 2021 during the run-up of AMC, they should have closed positions and been transparent. It would have affected the economy, but we would be doing better long term. They are just making everything worse, and I fear what the outcome is. They should learn from it and enforce and fairly regulate and ban PFOF and manage conflicts of interest, among everything else. They probably won't. I know that I am not selling.
We have a company that survived COVID. We get called a penny stock, but have up to a 1,054.00% borrow fee!? We have 4+ million people around the world saving the theater industry! We have an entire community and have slowly became a mutual fund - NCMI, HYMC - a fucking Gold mine!, Walmart distributed popcorn - among the highest value added snacks there is. We have stubbed fake news, watched our CEO drop his shorts on livestream (he fucking knows about naked shorts and he is on our side), haven't sold as per OBV, and we even have fake accounts and bots try to pursue us to sell. We are so fucking numb to stupidity that red makes us buy and deep red makes us heavy hoard and double down. We don't care if you are different here. All people equal - APE. We are a sports team all wearing the same jersey. We all hug and cheer when we win, and we are fucking winning. Our theater is doing better than their banks! Our popcorn is in better taste than their 'advising'. If they are 'smart money', I'd rather keep my money and be stupid. The only thing they have managed to compound is our numbers of AMC investors. The water is rising, and they lied about knowing how to swim. We are owners of AMC, and we aren't leaving.

Recently, my mother (43F) told me, (18F) that I should stop being sensitive. The day goes as follows, we were shopping for prom, and I live in the RGV, so the place im shopping at is more Spanish speaking. (I am not the best socially, so talking to a new person is very hard to me), and I found a dress I liked, so I asked my mom to help me ask for appropriate sizes from the store clerk. My mother tells me that I must be too scared to speak in Spanish. I took close to three years worth of Spanish classes in both speaking and writing, but she continues to accuse me of such. Prior, I used to be an emotionally closed off person, because my mother used to invalidate my feelings, and I had just become more emotionally vulnerable in front of her. We went to the mall afterwards, but at the mall she called me slurs for « not wanting to speak Spanish». Keep in mind, I can speak Spanish, and I can if I want to, it’s just that that day I was really tired and I didn’t have the social confidence. In the mall when we were buying jewelry I started crying. I was really sad because she keeps making fun of me for trying to speak the language and then gets mad at me when I don’t make an effort. Today was just the day that I was sick and tired of that, also because she called me slurs. It felt belittling and invalidating, but I’m not sure if I’m being over dramatic?

Now beforehand, I got therapy a month ago but was only able to pay for a month (I’m broke) but the short sessions weren’t enough to actually get anywhere. I’m just desperate for my pain to stop and I’m trying to find a way to get help, so here’s my Reddit post.
I’m (23m) in a LDR (29m) but we’re not dating until we meet. Our meeting time keeps getting pushed back for multiple reasons from both sides, but we’re shootings for July. The time frame from when we’ve met to now is about a year at this point. I confessed early fall last year. He’s said very nice things to me, I’ve gotten to know him very closely, we’ve gifted each other sentimental things on Christmas and each others birthdays, and have discussed our goals with one another. As a result, I’ve kind of fallen for him deeply. We’ve basically done everything together platonically and we are both very similar.
My problem is that I’m extremely insecure and have on and off went through crying to sleep, not being able to get out of bed all day because I simply don’t feel like doing anything fun anymore, and have been miserable at work because all I can think about is my situation. I worry about if he actually likes me, because we’re not dating and everything we do together, friends can do together. I’ve brought it up with him and he’s reassured me, but after a few weeks my brain seems to think that whatever we had wore off, until I manage to ask for reassurance again in a call. I’ve asked about 3 times now.
I don’t want to need constant reassurance. I want to live my day like a regular person, with the perk of having an amazing person to talk to everyday. I don’t want to live in fear that there’s a chance I’ll never end up being with them. The constant anxiety kills me. I catch myself waiting for their messages, stalking their likes to see that they’re liking posts instead of replying to me, and coming up with 1000 reasons why they’re not interested, as if I want them not to be interested just to end this constant cycle.
How can I get a life outside of them? How can I enjoy my own company? I feel like I’m going insane over and over bc I’m so desperate for them to like me. I don’t want to scare them off with my issues. Another important fact is that I’ve never been in a relation before and this is the closest I’ve gotten.. I don’t want to screw it up lol. And ofc at 29 they’ve been in a few long term ones (which also makes me nervous) any advice is greatly appreciated and I’ll answer any questions I can.
Sorry this is all over the place, but I also want to add that I can’t get into my hobbies anymore, I can’t find things that make me happy and I haven’t had an IRL friend since high school, so I’m mostly alone and believe I’m relying way too much on this relationship. It’s makes me scared for if we actually do date, and I expect too much from them.
TLDR: I’m insecure and want to have a healthy balance between my relationship and being able to entertain myself.

I have been recovering from a drug addiction for a year now. I began using meth accidentally when I was 18 (it was sold to me as adderall, found out a few months later it was meth, but I was highly dependent upon it at that point so I didn’t care). Long story short I lost my car, got a dui, experienced drug induced psychosis for most of the year, was assaulted and robbed, and so much other shit in a very short time. I only did it from 18-19. I am now 20, about to turn 21. I have been in recovery for a year even though it was by force. My mom got arrested for beating me and I got help moving away through a domestic violence victim help center. I moved across the country and had no way of buying drugs. I feel so incredibly lame and stupid because all of that happened in 2021 and I still think about the people I hung out with and that whole year every single day. I just think about how all of my old “friends” don’t even think of my existence anymore and how lame I am for thinking of them SO often. I got a little better in 2022 when I was first recovering because I started eating healthy and got into shape. I found new coping mechanisms (walking, meditation, etc) even though I had not been able to go to rehab. I finally was confident and worked very hard to get there. Then, I moved back for school. When I moved back, I met up with a guy who I had been talking to for 2 years who had been in jail. I was so excited to see him and I was the only one who talked to him when he was in jail. Right away, he began making comments about my body and calling me fat. I began to gain weight because I didn’t have a car and lived at my college in the middle of nowhere. I hated myself all over again and relapsed because he made me feel so ugly. I moved again after a semester and now I am just stuck with my thoughts every single fucking day. I go on long walks and listen to audio books to pass time. I also get straight A’s in school to distract myself - but I have no one. I go to school online now and have severe social anxiety. I have hung out with less than 5 people since 2021. I still haven’t recovered from the things my ex said and it was 6 months ago. I think of using every day and fantasize about it even though deep down I don’t want that again. I am scared because the thoughts are so strong. I feel when I am able to drive again, or have more freedom that I will inevitably relapse. I can’t go to rehab because I have no health insurance. I think more than even wanting to actually do drugs, I just want to preoccupy my mind with it because of how lonely I am. I feel disgusting when I walk around outside and like everyone is making fun of me. I feel like I got so much uglier and I constantly compare myself to old photos. I also replaced obsessing with drugs to obsessively counting calories and exercising but I can’t even do that right anymore. Idk. I am very alone and feel miserable because I am on my period. I’m usually grateful to be alive because I shouldn’t be honestly but today is just rough.

My gf sent her snap to a past hookup when asked for it on IG. We were hanging around when her phone lit up and a guy's name I didn't know showed up. I poked a bit of fun at her like "Ooooooo who's this" but was curious as to what it was so I asked her to open the dm so we could look at it together. Once i saw that she had sent her snap i asked to see the rest of the convo. What I saw was:

• One of the times he tried to hookup with her for an apparent threesome with my gf and her friend (a few months before we started dating a year ago)
  
• Another pass at my gf a few months after we started dating. My gf had said she had a bf and he backed off.
  
• The most recent pass he took at my gf which was today when my gf responded that she was still dating me. He then proceeded to ask for her snap and she gave it to him which he had hearted. The heart was the notification I saw on her phone.
  

For a little backstory on this guy my gf has told me he was a friend in high-school and they had hooked up once in college while she was home for the summer. Never knew about this specific guy but my gf has said that she's hooked up with some fuckboys during college and this was one of them. I don't really give a crap and most everyone including me at my age has a body count greater than 1. The thing that bothered me about this is he's made two attempts to meet up with my gf with the intent to have sex with her and she didn't cut him off at the first attempt. By cut him off I mean go no contact because there's obviously only sex on this guy's mind to sporadically dm my gf at night to "hang out." Then to make matters worse after he knew she was still with me he asked for her snap and she gave it to him.
My gf and I talked about it and when I said the only reason he's talking to you right now is because he wants to fuck she said she knows. I asked well why did you still talk to this guy after his first attempt last year and then give him your snap, she said she didn't think anything of it. I don't get how you don't really think anything of it when you've just said you know all he wants to do is have sex with you.
Some info about other things that have happened before. A few months into the relationship we had a talk about her snapchatting a lot of dudes. I told her I am completely fine with her snapping her guy friends but when it comes to guys she's hooked up with (which she had been snapping or she had them as snap friends) it needs to stop. I had to put a boundary on it because I firmly believe that it enables these guys to believe that she is looking for an out even though she isn't. A few months later she gets a text from her ex (still saved in her phone) when we were watching TV and we looked through the convo and he's asked her out to coffee a few times while we were dating. All denials but it's weird that she didn't cut him off (same as hookup guy) after the first time. This guy isn't a great guy either. He played serious mental games with my gf while they were dating in high-school and college, stated he would kill himself if she left him, cheated on her with her friend, and cheated on that friend with another girl. Don't even know why my gf would keep him saved in her phone let along give him the time of day.
After i read through try-to-hookup-with-women-that-are-in-a-relationship-guy's DMs we talked and I think she had realized that at least giving him her snap was wrong since she's apologized for it but I don't know if the apology was for the action or was because I was a little upset over it. No yelling or anything, it was just a discussion. I don't really think it's something to yell about.
I don't know if she is just naive and thinking "it's alright even though they want to have sex as long as I don't give them their chance" but a thought process like that just makes me feel like shit that she's even giving guys like hookup boy and her ex the time of day. I guess I just need advice on how I should handle this going forward.

I first just wanna thank everyone for such kind and helpful comments. I read every single one and it really made the past few days a lot easier. I especially really appreciated the ppl who have been in similar situations posting about their experiences - that was so comforting to hear.
Here’s the TLDR for those who didn’t see orig post; My sisters (17F) (now ex) bfs (16M) parents are abusive and exposed her (with the fact that she has a bf) and me (22F) (with my inappropriate outfits from my Instagram) to my traditional Muslim Pakistani mom. She might tell my dad and our lives are prolly over.
My sisters, my mom and I had a really deep conversation after my mom took a few days to process everything and thank god it went really well - shocking honestly (a note - I have another older sister, but his mom found no dirt on her). I love my mom and know that she just wants the best for us, it’s just the conflicting culture and ideals she was raised under that makes things a little difficult. My dad is more difficult but I don’t hold it against him and I’m not that close with him anyway. It used to be something that rlly brought me down when I was a kid, especially growing up in a white town, but I’ve come to understand that it was just how they’re raised and they’re trying their best, although they could try to see things from my perspective more (this is true in my case - there are seriously concerning and violent families out there that care too much about this stuff, and if that’s you please seek help).
Anyway we really talked about how being raised here (US, for those who were asking) and being told to follow rules that nobody else around us follows really made things difficult and made us want to fit in and she actually got it. I think the years have mellowed her out a bit because Ik if I was in middle school or HS and this happened she definitely wouldn’t see things like this. She also revealed that she actually felt really bad for my sister because she knows how hard relationships can be and she doesn’t want my sister to deal with heartbreak, which was so shocking to be honest. She was upset I didn’t tell her anything that was going on but I explained that to her and she got it. The conversation ended with all of us hugging and I feel like we actually got closer because of it thank god, also is the biggest fuck you to the ex bf mom bc she obviously tried to rip us apart by exposing us, when she actually accomplished the opposite. Definitely buying my mom flowers soon to show my appreciation.
My mom didn’t tell my dad and doesn’t plan on it. She’s just as scared of the outcome as we are. Our new fear was that the ex bf’s mom will try to contact my dad again and be successful, which is still a fear. I got a lot of comments with tips on what to do if my dad does try to move us back, which I will definitely listen to if it gets to that point god forbid. My mom asked that the ex bf mom doesn’t contact him and that she will make sure my sister and her ex don’t talk anymore, and the lady agreed, but I don’t trust that lady keeping her word. She’s literally crazy. She said she will contact the dad if she catches them again tho (I am making sure my sister and her ex don’t talk now lol). Apparently she tried to contact my dad first but my sister had her numbers blocked on my dads phone for a while not so she wasn’t able to. The only way she could really contact him now is if she finds his email (which I dont think she will, we tried finding his email online and couldn’t find it) or if she decides to pull up while he’s home. My coworkers suggested I get a restraining order but that sounds like a process that may end up involving my dad or pissing the lady off even more, neither of which I want to do. If anyone knows how that works in the US that would be great.
Another note - the ex bf found out that his mom contacted mine and he tried to OD the same night. He is okay thankfully but I really hope that she realizes not to meddle in innocent peoples shit and ruin people’s lives because it will blow up in her face. I hope she also realizes that if she tries to contact my dad, he might try again or do something even worse. She should really focus on her own family. Again though I don’t trust her being normal so we can’t really relax. Every time we thought it couldn’t get worse it somehow did. We are planning on moving houses in the summer so hopefully once we’re out of town this whole thing can be put behind us. Another note is that the lady actually showed my mom explicit pictures (not total nudes I think but still sexual) that my sister sent to the ex bf - I have the urge to report her for possession of child pornography and am so thoroughly disgusted that she’d do that, but it’s a whole other can of worms that I think is safer to leave alone, plus my sister is really against it. I can’t believe she’d be so vile and have those pictures on her phone though, AND show my mom.
I want to again thank everyone for such nice supportive comments and messages. The original post was literally something I just wrote because I couldn’t sleep - totally didn’t expect for it to help me so much in the end. It really helped because the days before that conversation with my mom were extremely difficult. Hopefully this whole thing will be a bad joke in the future.

On friday, i searched my backpack for my water bottle (i was thirsty). I searched everywhere, but i just couldn’t find it. I was heartbroken. My whole mood was ruined. Where could i have left it. Science? lunch?! idk. I bought this water while on my trip to mexico. I was filled with immense joy. I have never had a nice water bottle in my life. When I got it, it instantly became my most prized item. this water bottle kept my water cold so when i wake up in the middle of the night i could sip and be very refreshed. When school started, the water bottle was my right hand man for the first half of the year.It wasn’t until every morning where i would just be too tired to fill it up. I switched to basic plastic water bottles. 2 weeks ago i brought it back, since my mom found out i had 20 water bottles in my room. this friday, i took it to school. Barely drank any water, but i did make a tweet on it. The tweet said, “my water bottle sounds like a dolphin!”. It sounding like a dolphin has always been my favorite thing about it. My girlfriend would always show off her adorable laugh when i made it sound like a dolphin. we can be mad at each other but as soon as i made the dolphin noise it would get better. i love you, triana! I have no clue where i could’ve lost it. During lunch i don’t remember using it, but at the same time it’s lunch so maybe i did. My advisory, when i made the tweet. Science final class of the day. Idk when i could’ve lost it, but it was one of these 3. It’s spring break now. I have to wait a week to get closure or whatever . Either i get it back or i don’t. I did get an email today saying everything in lost in found is going to good will. I genuinely got really sad when i couldn’t find it. Im not sure why, it’s just a silly little car seat dolphin water bottle. If anyone lives in colorado, please search for thjs water water bottle in all your local goodwills. I will reward you with a 20 dollar bill! in addition to however much it costed ofc. also, i will provide an update if i find it. But this is the end to wtv this is. I just miss my water bottle.
idk how to post pictures of it lol

Cover

"If you are born an artist, you have no choice but to fight to stay an artist." ― Lana Del Rey

With her latest album, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey has again proven herself as one of the most crucial and original female musicians of the 21st century. So let this celebrity biography reveal the full story of Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, largely told in Lana's own words using hundreds of interviews and public statements.
We connect the dots between Del Rey's humble Catholic school beginnings, her teenage troubles with alcoholism, and her earliest unknown recordings as May JaileLizzy Grant. We explore how the ruthless streets of New York City and the noir of Los Angeles struck a chord of nostalgic romance in Lana's creative mind, seeking retro Hollywood glamour at whatever cost, transforming into the multi-platinum "gangster Nancy Sinatra" superstar we love today. And we illustrate how the accusations of toxic femininity and a fabricated past could never compromise her vision; instead, the opposition provided even stronger material for her unique artistic dedication, selling millions of records across the globe.
More importantly, this book delves deep into her music, where Lana Del Rey has always felt the most comfortable sharing personal details. We document her hundreds of unreleased songs, her biggest hits (such as the viral sensation Video Games), her soundtrack contributions (The Great Gatsby, Maleficent, Big Eyes), and her collaboration work with The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and Stevie Nicks. Furthermore, we passionately analyse each of her eight studio albums, including the critically acclaimed Born to Die, Ultraviolence, Honeymoon, and Norman F\*king Rockwell!*. In doing so, we present a commercially successful career that hides within the darker underbelly of the pop world, just like her cult following prefers it.
For dedicated fans only, here is everything there is to know about the real Lana Del Rey.
https://mybook.to/lanadelrey

I (16F) play a lot of Valorant in my free time, and I end up meeting a lot of guys that I find myself duoing with (Valorant is a 5v5 game, duoing is when you q together with one more person). I usually talk to my duo outside of playing and we often talk about life while playing as well. I find myself interacting with a lot of guys because it’s really hard to find other girls that play valorant on HK/TK servers that are plat/diamond, speak English, and also want to play with me. We all play video games to have fun, and I find getting to know people a part of that fun. I enjoy duoing because playing alone is really not that fun. Something that keeps on happening, however, is that my duos’ significant other is getting mad/jealous that my duos are talking to me.
The first time it happened was in January of last year. I (15F at the time) met MK (17M) on LFG Valorant and we ended up becoming friends and playing a lot together. He enjoyed streaming on the side, and when we did play Valorant we would often do it on stream. At the time MK was dating a girl (16-18F) from across the world. His gf first found out I played with him through the stream, but eventually I got to meet and play genshin with her. I was also dating someone across the world so it was nice to meet MK who was in a similar situation. I thought everything was fine but slowly we stopped playing together properly. First, we stopped playing full valorant ranked games (we still played a couple 1v1s and spike rushes) and at the time, I assumed it was because he wasn’t playing as much of the game. Later, I found out it was because his gf didn’t like the fact that I was playing with her partner. Afterwards, we would still talk over discord about what was going on with our lives occasionally, but I would ask if his gf was ok with us playing together when we did play. He eventually broke up with his gf but we never really went back to playing together.
Second time it happened was around May of last year. I met DN (19M) through a mutual friend I’ll call AL (19M) in the game. We would play often and only occasionally talk. Soon, however, I had to go abroad for the summer. Once I got back in August, we played a lot more and talked more about our personal life after AL told me DN was going through something rough. As a friend, I wanted to make sure my friend was fine, and since we were playing a lot at the time I felt comfortable speaking with him about personal experiences and soon I found myself talking to DN a lot more often than before. Then out of the blue, DN suddenly stopped talking to me all together. Later on, about three months later, I found out while playing with AL that the reason why DN was going through something rough was because the girl he had a crush on had rejected him. What baffles me is that the same girl who rejected him had said she was jealous that he was playing with me and so he stopped talking to me.
The third time, I started playing with PN (24M) after DN stopped playing with me. It started off as us simply playing Valorant together. Over the course of three months, I think it was natural that we started talking about life outside of playing the game and we became genuine friends. I admit, the age gap was weird at first but the internet can be weird and nothing weird ever came of it. Eventually, around three months ago, I stopped playing valorant with him but we still stayed friends and gossiped pretty often. Since he was a lot older he had a lot of stories from his college/high school experience I never got to experience, which we discussed along with my rather weird upbringing. I didn’t have school so I was free to talk during the day and he had breaks during work where he had nothing better to do which is primarily the time we would text. Around a month ago, his wife found out that he was talking to girls on the internet, and decided it was wrong for him to speak with girls. She didn’t mind that he was talking to/playing with other guys my age and she was ok with him playing video games with me and another girl he was friends with that was around my age so I don’t think she was uncomfortable that he was talking to minors. She specifically didn’t want him to speak with girls over the internet. At this point, I didn’t really feel like playing (burnout from playing is a real thing apparently) so at first, we just started talking on a different messaging app. Today, she eventually found out what was happening and basically told me to fuck off.
This last situation in particular got me questioning and really frustrated because unlike the last two situations where I understand some frustration and possible jealousy because the guys and I were in somewhat of a dating range, and the girls were younger so more comfortable with online dating. However, in the last situation, the guy was a lot older, married, and we were just friends talking. To add, I just want to point out that I don’t only play with older guys, and a lot of the people I play with are single and guys that are only a year older or younger. I’m just really frustrated in general because all of these people were my friends, and I love talking to them but they just get jealous of a freaking 16 year old?? I don’t think it makes sense and I’m so tired of losing friends at this point.

I can't find anything on this on Google. I'm getting concerned.
All that is coming up for me on Google is in Kilgore & Longview. That be very very expensive taxi fees per day from Palestine to those towns.
I can't put a car where i'm living at so I can't buy one and practice myself because where would I park it, where it wont get vandalized and fines?
I need help with finding driving instructor or driving school anywhere close to Palestine. Message my number for any information on this: 903-508-8032
I might not return back to this post because in my brain it was embarrassing to make this post so please send info to the phone number

TL;DR: atheist witch with Jungian sympathies digs myth and believes in the power of metaphor. Wants to use psychospiritual, mythologically oriented magick to increase her agency and willpower, grow spiritually, change her habits, and generally accomplish more long-term goals.
I thought I’d write out a bit of a rambling series of thoughts on my beliefs and goals in pursuing skeptical witchcraft and, more generally, a non-theistic Pagan spiritual path and lifestyle.
First of all—I am an atheist, and I do not believe in magick in the way most witches do. In my opinion, the effects of magick spells and rituals are more or less restricted to their psychological and psychospiritual effects on the practitioner(s) and anyone else who witnesses or is aware of the spell having been performed. These effects can nevertheless be profound, and of course psychological change in individuals can change all sorts of things about their lives and the lives of those around them, even in ways the individuals themselves may not be aware of or consciously choosing. I also think that there are many things that science doesn’t yet understand about the human mind and its powers of perception and influence. There may be ways the mind is capable of either perceiving and influencing reality that don’t fall into an existing, neat and tidy scientific explanation, although I don’t think this means they will never be understood by science.
I am partial to Jungian psychology and the associated Joseph Campbell style of mythological interpretation. Although I don’t think Jung had very much literally correct about psychology, I think he had profound metaphorical insights. I think deities are essentially powerful metaphors, taking form in many ways, such as through the collective and/or individual subconscious, or through the sometimes agent-like properties of impersonal forces.
I have always been drawn to paganism and witchcraft. I think I have some innate connection to the spiritual realm and the use of magick that I’ve lost touch with as I’ve gotten older. All of the spiritual experiences I’ve had in my life have been connected to nature. However, I’ve never gotten much in the way of good results when I have tried spells taken from books. It doesn’t “feel” like the magick is working, which, I believe, is one of the keys to making magick work. I think it’s possible I just haven’t practiced enough, or put enough effort into finding a practice that really resonates with me.
I’ve been considering putting some serious effort into developing my own eclectic spiritual path and belief system, complete with its own metaphorical interpretations of relevant mythology (I’m partial to Greek in particular but would like to incorporate myths from multiple traditions). I haven’t studied mythology formally and certainly wouldn’t be attempting to start from scratch, but rather to do research and pick out existing interpretations that particularly resonate with me. I would also develop my own guidelines for inventing spells/rituals that both refer to those myths and draw a bit on some historic forms of magickal practice (not necessarily Greek, in fact I’m not sure which tradition(s) I would most like to draw from here). There would probably be some leeway here for borrowing spells designed by other modern witches, provided I have some sense of the meaning behind them and feel they are close enough to my spiritual path for them to make sense within that context and actually resonate with me.
I am also open to finding an existing spiritual path with an existing community that really resonates with me and works with my belief system and goals. I just haven’t found it yet.
As far as my goals in pursuing this path: I want to mature spiritually and emotionally. I also want to gain power and agency in my life. I am ADHD and on the autism spectrum and lack a sense of agency in part due to poor executive function and organizational skills. I think magick could really help with this, especially if I start incorporating it into more and more parts of my life—if nothing else, it will help me be inspired to get things done and pursue my goals if I associate working on them with witchcraft, something I have some interest in and passion for and just find generally fun and motivating.
I have a lot of difficulty committing to medium-to-long-term goals. I’m too shortsighted and impulsive. I have a lot of unhealthy habits, including a moderate drug addiction (kratom). I am currently unemployed and not in school, and I’m pretty scared of moving forward with my life so that I can support myself, which I am currently under pressure to start doing within the next year due to savings running out. I am of course pursuing non-magickal solutions to these problems, including counseling and addiction treatment. But I think some form of magick and ritual spiritual practice could integrate well with these other approaches.
Questions:
-What reading, watching or listening material would you recommend based on my interests and goals?
-How should I get started practicing magick again? I want to work on both research/writing and actual spellcasting/ritual at the same time, but the research/writing currently looks like the easier thing to get started on (I’ve done a lot already). I have no idea in what ways the research I do on mythology etc. will ultimately end up influencing my practice.
-Should I continue trying spells and rituals from books/the internet or focus on designing my own?
-Should I seek out in person or Zoom based communities? Should I try to find a teacher? If so, in what tradition?
-Anyone else here with ADHD or other agency-crushing issues? How has magick helped you?

I have to re-write this and just cut it short because I just spent an hour typing out nonsense, and it’s showing how much this is taking over my life.
Now beforehand, I got therapy a month ago but was only able to pay for a month (I’m broke) but the short sessions weren’t enough to actually get anywhere. I’m just desperate for my pain to stop and I’m trying to find a way to get help, so here’s my Reddit post.
I’m (23m) in a LDR (29m) but we’re not dating until we meet. Our meeting time keeps getting pushed back for multiple reasons from both sides, but we’re shootings for July. The time frame from when we’ve met to now is about a year at this point. I confessed early fall last year. He’s said very nice things to me, I’ve gotten to know him very closely, we’ve gifted each other sentimental things on Christmas and each others birthdays, and have discussed our goals with one another. As a result, I’ve kind of fallen for him deeply. We’ve basically done everything together platonically and we are both very similar.
My problem is that I’m extremely insecure and have on and off went through crying to sleep, not being able to get out of bed all day because I simply don’t feel like doing anything fun anymore, and have been miserable at work because all I can think about is my situation. I worry about if he actually likes me, because we’re not dating and everything we do together, friends can do together. I’ve brought it up with him and he’s reassured me, but after a few weeks my brain seems to think that whatever we had wore off, until I manage to ask for reassurance again in a call. I’ve asked about 3 times now.
I don’t want to need constant reassurance. I want to live my day like a regular person, with the perk of having an amazing person to talk to everyday. I don’t want to live in fear that there’s a chance I’ll never end up being with them. The constant anxiety kills me. I catch myself waiting for their messages, stalking their likes to see that they’re liking posts instead of replying to me, and coming up with 1000 reasons why they’re not interested, as if I want them not to be interested just to end this constant cycle.
How can I get a life outside of them? How can I enjoy my own company? I feel like I’m going insane over and over bc I’m so desperate for them to like me. I don’t want to scare them off with my issues. Another important fact is that I’ve never been in a relation before and this is the closest I’ve gotten.. I don’t want to screw it up lol. And ofc at 29 they’ve been in a few long term ones (which also makes me nervous) any advice is greatly appreciated and I’ll answer any questions I can.
Sorry this is all over the place, but I also want to add that I can’t get into my hobbies anymore, I can’t find things that make me happy and I haven’t had an IRL friend since high school, so I’m mostly alone and believe I’m relying way too much on this relationship. It’s makes me scared for if we actually do date, and I expect too much from them.
TLDR: I’m insecure and want to have a healthy balance between my relationship and being able to entertain myself.

Its a question I have had since the closed beta, with nobody able to answer it, I am posting it as a forum thread here in hopes that someone can answer it eventually or contribute.
One of the best things to come out of the game is the art and a lot of elements surrounding them, even minor things UI like the matchmaking chirp. There are a few notable people that have worked on the game such as Keisuke Mizuno who have drawn a lot of the refresh in character designs that we see in game today. You can read more about that in an interview: https://gnn.gamer.com.tw/detail.php?sn=185977
As someone that programs for a living and hobby, it does peeve me a bit that we see works of many developers and staff of live service titles get uncredited, especially since some of the created content become lost in time as a result of cycling game content. There is a small chance it helps with future employment for those that worked on the game as well, I have seen a good number of fangame devs get reached out by job recruiters that are interested in the skills of them.
Thankfully, we have a good number of people within and affiliated with the wiki team to try to archive as much as we are able to in a way that is presentable and falling under fair use in order to avoid any sort of copyright disputes (Fandom is being used, so its US copyright law to be followed). While the Fandom staff aren't in contact with Capcom Taiwan, NebulaJoy has provided us with some assets for the wiki and nothing more than that. I'm aware that there are also some press kits out there that are provided to those like journalists, there is a chance some of those may remain unused or have older designs, essentially lost media.

I'm starting school as a 26 year old freshman this fall pursuing Computer Science. I have enough from FAFSA to cover tuition but I need some help with rent the first year while attending school. I plan on taking out 10-15k. If anyone has experience with private loans could you please share which organization you went through and what your credit score was when you got approved.
My score is only 600 right now but I should be able to get it close to 700 in the next few months. I dont have a co signer. Im hoping I can get approved with a credit score of around 660 or maybe theres a private loan company that doesnt make decisions based on credit scores. I make 35k a year.