I have watched my husband suffer for years as he lost his daughter. Alienation is absolutely abuse, and should be considered an emergency by the courts. And yet, this continues… is there any hope at all? How come nothing changes? Is it because the victims are so broken down emotionally and financially, so exhausted from being on a WAR footing for years that there is no motivation to change this system? We need to organize. This has to become a political issue and the courts simply must take it more seriously. What am I missing? HOW IS THIS REAL?

To give you a bit of a mood spoiler: it’s because a Bumble match isn’t messaging me back, and yes I know it’s stupid, and no I’m not mad at her.
I’m not really looking for any particular advice, just venting.
To give you some context, I’ve been having the worst time of my life, literally. The past 10+ months have been hell, and included: - My nanny passing away. - My ex-partner’s nanny passing away (we were still together). - My ex-partner’s sister been seriously, dangerously suicidal. - Splitting up with my ex-partner, in a way that hurt more than anything I’ve ever experienced. - Losing all of my friends. - Facing past trauma in a horrible way (really heavy stuff), and being suicidal because of it. - Finding out that both my surviving nanny, and dad have cancer, and that my dad is going blind. - Losing my job. - Being completely alone in another country for the first time (I’ve been here for seven years).
The pandemic really did a number on me, and I became extremely recluse, and in poor health. If I’m being honest, I never wanted to date again, or even to live. I still feel the same low as I’ve felt before, just worse as things won’t get better.
I joined Bumble just because a friend (a guy I reconnected with recently, who’s been proving to be the most awesome person ever), kinda nudged me into giving it a try.
Here’s the thing. I’m not unattractive by any measure, but I have really let myself go. I haven’t exercised in years, lost a ridiculous amount of weight, my beard is a bit too long, and unkempt, I lost a lot of hair recently, my lips are constantly cracking, and I always have bags under my eyes. Also, I’m not really a tall guy (5’7, and I make that clear on my profile), don’t really know how to dress super nice, am not particularly young (30) and absolutely hate taking pictures (always did, since I was a toddler), barely know how to do that. So my profile is very barebones.
But the main thing is that I kind of just wanted someone that had similar hobbies to mine, someone that I could admire, and seemed kind. I had given up on it, because I have very specific hobbies that not even my ex-partner, and friends enjoy, and if they did it wasn’t in “quite” in the way I enjoyed them. Honestly, I had already resigned myself to being alone forever.
To be clear: I do know how to talk to women, this isn’t an incel kind of thing. I’m generally seen as an upbeat, funny person. I never really have an issue with keeping a conversation going if interest is there, even if I haven’t dated in years.
This brings me to this Sunday. A girl matched with me on Bumble, and… honestly she’s perfect. Big bright smile, seemed super chill, interesting, and yes had all of the hobbies I do have down to a T (to an extent that I’d love to learn from her, and she said the same about me). More than anything, she succeeded in an area that was very challenging, oversaturated, and because of the creative nature of it, you really need to be following your heart to succeed in it. And yes, she’s also very attractive.
Quite frankly, she seemed too perfect. It was almost intimidating. We had a nice, brief chat, and it was going well. I then asked her something that she didn’t reply, but it was like 2 in the morning so not unusual. It also wasn’t anything creepy: she’s an animator, and I asked her if she was strictly a 2D animator or if she dabbled in 3D as well. She never replied to that.
Later in the afternoon I apologised for double texting, and sent her a link to some cool animation stuff I saw on Reddit (just a tech showcase of a certain technique blending 2D/3D). Wasn’t particularly pressuring her, just was honestly curious about her opinion, and wanted to share it. Well, she never replied to that again. She never unmatched or anything, and I didn’t send her any messages at all this week for obvious reasons. I did send her something today, saying I don’t know if she's still using the app, but I do genuinely want to get to know her better since we have so much in common, but that it’s fine if the interest isn’t mutual or if she’s too busy. That’s going to be the last message I sent if she doesn’t reply.
And that’s basically it. I’m not sure why, but I feel really down about it. Even if romance wasn’t on the table, I feel like we’d be great friends. I feel kinda silly about myself, it was just nice to have someone like that be interested in me ya know?
To preempt some criticism: yes, I know she doesn’t owe me a reply or anything. No, I’m not mad at her at all lol, it is what it is. I also know that women have more matches, so she probably found someone more suited to her tastes (which is understandable), and isn’t replying to people she deem low interest.

Please bear with me. Bobo ako when it comes to socializing. Common sense to you isn't that common to me.
So I have this friend whom I didn't connect for a long time. Nakilala ko siya through facebook at yung interaction namin is purely facebook games lang — pet society, restaurant city, farmville, tetris battle, etc.
May mga usapan din kami na kinocompare namin yung local foods. He's somewhere from Luzon and I'm somewhere from Visayas. We shared knowledge sa mga iba't ibang foods na unique sa lugar namin. He taught me how to cook their local food and I taught him mine. Food was like our mutual interest.
We slowly lost contact nung nag college ako. Syempre busy sa studies, wala na masyadong time para sa cyberworld. He also got married and had a kid. I received an invitation sa kasal niya. I even congratulated him. They have a kid together. I'm also now in a relationship, enjoying life, and exploring my career.
Then nowadays napapansin ko na nagchachat na siya minsan. Wala namang malisya. Wholesome kumustaan lang then suggest ng movies and series. Di naman tumatagal ang chat since napuputol agad, so wala lang ako. Feel ko friendly convo lang.
Then ngayon weird lang kasi nagchachat ulit siya sa akin. I won't share the exact convo pero nung nabalitaan niya na magbabakasyon ako sa Luzon, he mentioned something like gusto niya raw ako ma meet in person, gala daw kami, libre nya daw yung local foods, etc. Parang....red flag alert!!!
Going somewhere and just trying foods isn't new to me, pero hello either babae or bakla kasi kasama ko non. If trying new foods kasama ang isang straight male, then for sure that straight male is either my boyfriend, my father, or my cousin.
Sooooobrang weird para sa akin na magtry ng new foods with a straight male na hindi ko pamilya or boyfriend. Kung meron man, gusto ko may kasamang ibang babae. Pero somehow may nakikita naman akong mga boy at girl na kumakain sa labas without any malicious intentions. Ah yes, natry ko na rin pala kasama kumakn yung isa kong college friend na straight male, pero di kasi pagkain sa labas yung main plan namin non, sabay lang kami nag apply ng trabaho.
Mejo guilty ako kasi baka iniisipan ko ng masama yung taong wala namang masamang intensyon. Tsaka cringe rin if magtanong ako ng "hindi ba magagalit asawa mo" kasi myghaaad linyahan yan ng mga pakbois and pakgerls na may binabalak. Kung gusto niya talaga mameet ako in person at sabay kami kumain, then his wife and kids have to be with him. Mas comfortable pa ako sa ganyang setting.
Anyways, everytime he asks me if pupuntahan ko ba siya, I always gave a hard NO, then attempt to change the topic. Ayokong mag assume na may ibang intention siya pero ayoko rin mapunta sa ganyan na awkward situation.
Also, he knows that I know he's married. He also knows I'm in a relationship, so maybe wala talaga siyang masamang intensyon, baka purely wholesome lang intentions niya. Kahit ganun, ayoko pa rin ng ganyan setting. I don't feel comfy eating out with a straight guy that isn't my boyfriend or any family member.
I hate awkward conversations.

(Sorry if this is long) I 19f have with my boyfriend 20m for nearly 2 years. I feel like I clean more than him and whenever I bring it up he says I do not give him credit for the stuff he does do and often (I feel like) he ignores the whole issue. I will tell him to do or clean something and it does not get done for a long time or I have to do it and when I complain to him he gets annoyed that I am annoyed and says he was going to get it done or will get it done. he usually gets things done when his mom comes over and "nags" him to do it or does them for him. I can get quite angry eventually over stuff especially things that I have asked about for a long time (cleaning the dishes, picking up after yourself, putting things ur done with back) the main issue is when I bring it up to him. (I have a problem of not cleaning during exam times and usually sit in bed and study and leave things on and not get them done until after my exams are over) he will bring up the fact he had to clean after me during those times which happen around 2 an academic year. I know I leave things out during that period however he does it all the time and I clean after him as well as do the general cleaning. He will also bring up the things I haven't done in the past as an argument when I get annoyed over him not doing something. An example from a recent convo was how I feel like I do 90 percent of the work for our (technically his) cat I do the litter, get treats and toys and do most of the feeding. he usually will get the food (like a lot) for 2 months worth every once in a while. We had arguments in the past over him not feeding her adequately while I was gone (she was left without food once for 2 days because he wasn't in the house either but I fell like he could have organise someone to come in and feed her) so when I said I do most of the work he got upset and said that's not true and he checks if her bowl is full everyday (which it is cause I fill it) and tops it up when it is not, as well as checks and fills her wat I said that's great but it is difficult to believe based on how I feed her but maybe. He said the only thing I do is the litter (which I don't feel is the case) he does not understand why I would not believe him in how much he does and is upset I feel like I do 90 percent because I am basically saying he does next to nothing. main point of the argument from my perspective is how I feel dismissed in how much I do by him saying I don't. I do admit, I don't always approach things in a calm manner however I don't always get angry either. He gets more argumentative when I get angry because of his dad but I feel like whenever I'm calm he does not remember to do the stuff I say or still finds justifications in why he hasn't done something. it's just exhausting sometimes and I don't know how to approach this so he takes more of a consideration of the things that concern me. I don't know if maybe I am overthinking and over exaggerating anymore or not giving him the credit. what can I do in this situation. what am I doing wrong.
TLTR: boyfriend won't clean when comforted he turns it around on me and finds justifications in general he is hard to communicate with about issues that he may be the cause of or is a parts of. What am I doing wrong, how to communicate with him?

Hello - new writer here - how frowned upon is it to add a new perspective of another character after establishing the single perspective of the MC?
I know about sticking to the rules you establish but I have a draft of a first book and have been thinking of the sequel and it could benefit from throwing in a chapter or two from another perspective of one of the other MCs.
Is that a big no no? Or could it be fine if it makes sense?

TLDR: International student accepted for Masters is suffering a lot from anxiety and seeks advice.
---
Hey guys.
I am a student from outside Canada.
I have this old dream of going abroad to study and build an international career. I applied several times to different schools in different countries, but I never got it. On the only occasions I received an offer to enroll, I didn't get a scholarship, which made accepting the proposal unfeasible.
Well, last year I decided to give it one more try, promising myself and my recommenders that it would be the last.
Then, what I thought would never happen, finally happened: I was accepted to a USask master's program, with funding. It starts in the fall 2023.
But something else that I equally didn't expect would happen is also happening: instead of feeling happy, instead of having that "I can't wait to go" feeling, I'm seriously suffering from anxiety, to the point where I have difficulty sleeping at night and feeling a kind of physical tightness in the chest. Pretty nasty.
Things running through my head:
​

1. fear of leaving my current job (which is very good and in which I've been working for 10+ years) and things don't work out at school, and I need to return to my country without a diploma and without a job;
2. fear of failing the course, of having bad grades, of losing the scholarship for any reason, and the experience being a memory of shame instead of pride;
3. fear of being rejected or mistreated by peers and students because of my age (I'm almost 40) or background and this impacting me emotionally in a way I can't handle;

I'm not saying that I wasn't aware of these issues before applying for the course. I already thought about these things. But it seems that now that the chance to go to Canada is real, those worries are weighing heavily on my shoulders. Besides, as I didn't have much hope of being accepted by the university, I was already planning to do other things here where I live, and now I'm wondering if I shouldn't go ahead with that other plan, which I have the (fragile) impression that would make me happier.
Finally, my last concern: the professors and staff are being very supportive of me, and I don't even imagine how to tell them, after all this work involving the application, that I'm not going anymore.
I would be very grateful if you could give me some advice on how to deal with these feelings. If any international students who have gone through this can share their experience I would be equally glad.
Thank you all.

Hello, I have msi leopard gp76( i7 11800h,rtx 3070 140tdp,ram 16 gb ddr4 3200mhz,ssd m2 1tb,display 240hz laptop) I've been using it for about 2 months so it's practically new. A month ago I downloaded Genshin Impact and started noticing while playing micro stuttering.After that I tried a lot of available ways to solve this problem but nothing helped.I also ran GTA 5 and no stuttering was noticed.I even reinstalled windows from 10 to 11 and the problem still did not disappear. After that, I decided that the problem was probably in Genshin Impact itself and its optimization and did not try to solve it anymore.So today I downloaded Rocket League and there is also stuttering in this game.It turns out that micro stuttering is constantly present in online games. What can it be and how to solve it? Could it be that the problem is in the laptop itself? If not, how can I solve it?

So this week I had my first bacon cheeseburger. It was yummy, but it was fairly uneventful... It wasnt as amazing and mindblowing as my imagination made it out to be.
No fireworks in my mouth, no "OMG, I've been missing out my whole life". It was just food. Yummy food that I had available to eat bc I was hungry. No mishugas over "where the heck and I gonna order a kosher over-priced burger"... I was just a human, eating food.
Yes, I do recognize that when I'm eating something not kosher, that it's nourishing my body and I am grateful to Hashem for it... which seems like a strange concept. But I understand now how all of us humans are more connected and unified than the Jewish culture wants us to believe.
Why the obsession to mentally condition young Jewish children from birth that Jews are superior? There are so many mitzvot that facilitate this isolation from the rest of the world... but WHY??? Is it done for Jewish survival? Where is the EMET and UNITY in completely disregarding other cultures, other nations as being valid, Godly beings? We are all equally valid, equally wonderful and worthy, equally important...
HENCE, I FEEL MORE UNITED WITH THE WORLD AND LOVED BY THE ONE TRUE GOD AFTER EATING MY FIRST EVER BACON CHEESEBURGER... guilt free.
Comments are welcome.

Hi, I'm coming in next week to Seattle where I'm renting a car, heading to Portland. I have maybe six hours of daylight from picking the car up. I was hoping to see something nice along the way, perhaps stop somewhere for an hour or two.
Since it's a rental, I'm not sure how well equipped it is for snow, is it something to worry about if I stray from I-5? It seems to vary a lot from what I can tell whethewhere there's snow or not. I'm used to driving in the snow, but I don't know the kind of tires the car will be equipped with. It's just a little sedan.
Any places you might recommend for a quick stop, snap some pictures, see something pretty? Something to get me excited for a longer visit where I'll have time to actually do things?
Thanks for any advice or thoughts! We're in Portland for a few days, and I'm sure there won't be a problem finding things to do there. On the day I'm driving back to Seattle, I could make a full day out of the drive, so if there's things you might feel is better suited for a longer day trip between Seattle and Portland, I'm happy to take any suggestions!

(18f) Ok so in my country if you want a license you attent classes/ driving lessons for around 6 months and then you can get tests and if you pass them you get the license. I'm gonna be taking the test in like 2 days.
The thing is, the tests are hard and written very poorly imo. I've been trying to study for some time now and i finally made some progress (you need to get at least 51 Points from 55 or you fail) and there are basically these similar tests online and ive been using them to study and i just got 51 Points after like at least 10 failed attempts.
So i got excited and told my parents and my mom was like mad and disappointed at me "because that's not the full score" . My father didnt even look at me and so i just asked her if i will ever be enough for her and left.
I know that this is serious and that i paid like 830€ for all this and spent SO MANY FUCKING HOURS learning to drive already but i just can't anymore. Not to sound like a depressed emo teen but like. What's the point of all this? It feels like it doesnt matter how long I'll learn I'll never pass the tests and I'm really tempted to quit and sleep my life away at this point. What should I do? Can i even do anything?

I want to track my order status for the Memento Mori vinyl, but every time I go to https://depechemode.store/account/login?return_url=%2Faccount it redirects me to the UK site. Can someone tell me how to stop it from doing that?

Looking for 1-3 more Investigators for a 3-5 session scenario. Beginners are welcome, so come learn Call of Cthulhu with us! Music, scene setting, high-quality props, and a heavy focus on RP can all be expected.

Crimson Letters

We start our story at Arkham Massachusetts, and more specifically at Miskatonic University, where a rather strange death has just occurred. Professor Charles Leiter was found in his office. The official cause of death is a heart attack.
Yet, the Dean seems to be interested enough in the circumstances, or at least on a project the professor had been working on before he died, that he calls you in at the recommendation of the morgue assistant. You are all connected to an amateur university investigation club, with a bent toward the unexplained. With no one else to turn to and not wanting this to get out to the press and create a potential scandal, Dean Fallon puts you all on the case. Surely nothing can go wrong?

Hello, I'm Kat! An experienced Game Master but newer to Call of Cthulhu and looking to dip my toes into the system with a short adventure on Roll20. By my estimate, Crimson Letters will last from three to five sessions depending on how deeply the group...well, investigates!
It will be starting on Sunday April 2nd and going weekly until the scenario wraps up three to five weeks later for the most likely time frame.
Crimson Letters leans rather heavily into a sandbox style of game where it'll be up to your sleuthing to discover exactly what happened to the deceased Professor Leiter, as well as the whereabouts of some missing documents he'd been researching prior to his death. This is not a linear point A to B to C scenario. Where you go, who you talk to, and how you go about solving this case and how you'll explore the motives of the various characters you'll come across is completely up to you! So get your notepads ready, and keep an eye out for shadows moving in the dark...

Character Creation

I have made a set of nine premade investigators that you can choose from for this adventure, complete with background information and ties to the scenario and the other investigators involved. I am open to talking about tweaks to characters if you would like, but as a new Keeper, using premade, especially for a short scenario, is the way I have decided to go to help both me and any new players.

What is provided

I will set up music, splash screens, and a lot of props. All you need to do is show up. Everything else is provided and I've done my best to make sure it's an atmospheric and professional experience. I will again forewarn you that though I am an experienced Game Master, I am newer to the system of CoC, so I am still becoming acquainted with the rules.
That said, I have read both the Keeper and Investigator guides as well as posted a number of resources to the Discord channel for help with rules referencing on anything that may arise that I am not as familiar with, as well as to help other newcomers to the system.

About the Keeper

I have been running various games for about seven years now, from (with varying amounts of experience) Cyberpunk Red, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade, D&D 5e, Avatar Legends, and now Call of Cthulhu 7e. I come from a writing and amateur acting background, so my big love as a Game Master is making a realistic, breathing, and growing world for players to impact and explore. I particularly pride myself on making a cast of dynamic NPCs to interact with, regardless of the system.
I am not a voice actor. I can do pretty well with voices, but if you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school. I have been told, however, that I can do a near-perfect sheep impersonation.
Lastly, I value communication and mutual respect. I find 99% of problems at a table stem from not understanding the boundaries and expectations of other players, and listening to the group around you. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution.
My table is always a safe space for minority communities and bigotry, despite playing in an era where it runs rampant, is not tolerated by players.
Any experience level is welcome as long as you're liking what you're reading and enjoy story-driven games with a large amount of roleplaying. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask, and feel free to pm me on Discord at Shadowkat678#0160 where I will see any messages quicker.

When you sign up, please let confirm that you agree to the following conditions:

-Payment will be $20/session through Paypal, Venmo, or Startplaying (Though this last option is a bit more expensive due to fees I have to pay).
-Please be eighteen years old or older to apply.
-New players are welcome but note that this is an RP-heavy story, so please make sure you are comfortable with that.
-Make sure you can commit to the sessions, time slot, and payment amount.
-Have a clear microphone and a stable internet connection, please.
-Just be a decent person.

Player Reviews

Here are a few reviews from players already in current campaigns that I'm plucking off of my StartPlaying profile.
Jack:

"Kat is very prepared and invested in the lore and story, but remains open to player collaboration and shows interest and engagement with character details across the board. (...) The game world feels dense and alive, with much going on beyond the party's knowledge, and also open to charting our own course. Highly recommended."

Nick:

"They put a lot of effort into their story weaving, and the attention to detail really shows. (...) Heavily roleplay focused, these sessions have really made it feel as though we are living, breathing entities in the world, and we are going to shape our story by our own means. It is delightful to have such an open and caring DM who considers everyone in the conversations, and makes sure everyone has a chance to shine."

GM Gabe (DnDUnlimited):

"They know what players want/need to hear and how to adjust on the fly to bring the story to life. The best way, I think, to describe their gameplay is IMMERSIVE. They bring you in with amazing hooks and keep you going with plot twists that you never see coming. They are fun and intuitive when it comes to role-playing and always find a way to make, both the storyline and linked NPCs feel real. If it isn't enough that they do all that, they allow for some epic rule of cool moments and know exactly when to apply them and not. "

Timothy:

"I've been playing with Kat for years now, first as a fellow player alongside them, then also as a player in games they've run. They never fail to be creative and nuanced, especially when it comes to the dramatic roleplaying side of things. Always a delight to share the table with."

Eve is a sandbox made from the salt of tears.
What tears I hear you ask?
The tears of squids, the tears of Cal Mil, the tears of all who venture deep into our small pocket of low sec, and sometimes our own.
Some may think of us as outnumbered, out gunned & outmatched. We see ourselves as surrounded by targets with not a blue in sight. Exactly where we want to be.
Jerkasaurus Wrecks Inc is a Pirate FW group that leads the fight against the Squids. You may recognize the name as part of Sedition. Yes the same Sedition that can be found most days on the top ten in Zkill. We are seasoned vets fighting the good fight and looking for like minded nerds to join us. We have a RL comes first attitude and will find us to be a chilled group with no mandatory Strat Ops. Our ideal pilot would be someone who wants to PvP in our fleets, solo, or wanting to create their own content.
Our Killboard: Jerkasaurus Wrecks Inc. Corporation zKillboard
Alliance KB: Sedition. Alliance zKillboard
What JREX has to offer:
✪ Constant Content Availability (Small-Medium Gang PVP)
✪ Daily Fleets
✪ SRP For Logi and Specialty Ships
✪ Isk making FW content
✪ Experienced Corp and Alliance FCs
✪ PVP in FW, Null-sec, and Low-sec areas
JREX is looking for:
✓ Be Active at least a few times a week
✓ Self-Sufficient (If you don’t know how to make isk, we’ll teach you!)
✓ utility alt (Cyno alt, dread alt, probing alt, logi alt)
✓ USTZ/EU Timezone
✓ Must be able to fly our doctrines or can quickly train into.
✓ Discord and Teamspeak 3
✓ No Drama
Are you interested in joining JREX? Join JREX 2.0 in game or our discord here: JREX

Hello everyone. New investor here trying to get into real estate in any avenue I can, and I'm confused about a particular circumstance.
I have my eye on a particular property at a county tax deed auction, which I know from reading posts here is an unlikely prospect, especially given the little capital I have. The property is a potentially good investment in a desirable area and has been maintained from what I can see from outside the house after pinging someone local to drive by. The owner, from what I can see in propstream and the county's clerk website, owns the home free and clear and does not have a homestead exemption for the property (although oddly propstream states it is owner occupied). The owner has historically paid the property taxes in full, and the amount the deed was issued for is negligible when compared to the equity in the property. I'm left scratching my head on my the owner hasn't paid. My questions are as follows:

1. I have some suspicion that the owner may be deceased. Are there any means to learn if the owner is deceased?
2. If the owner is deceased does that have any implication on the outcome if I were able to secure the deed?
3. I think mentorship is extremely important and I've been trying to find someone to help coach me through the fresh newbie phase without stumbling into expensive mistakes. Unfortunately, my local area, El Paso TX, doesn't seem to have a huge community from what I can see. The closest REIA from what I can see is about 5 hours away and the Real Estate meetup groups all seem to end up being national organizations typically trying to push a program. How can I link up with an investor in my area that would be willing to entertain my ideas and questions?

I use streams all the time, but find the lack of tuples extremely limiting. I often want to create maps from streams, but would be able to write clearer code if I could have multiple .map calls on the value, keeping the key the same. This is a staple of functional programming in other languages.
I know I can write a Pair or Tuple class to get what I need but it feels lacking enough that I'm concerned that I'm structuring my streams wrong.
My normal solution is to create a a toWhatever method that handles it, but I think the code would be clearer without that.
Does the lack of built-in tuples feel like a constant unreasonable restriction, or am i doing something wrong? How do you handle it?