(If this post is still up, I'm still looking!)
Hey there. I really want to develop a female led/slight gentle femdom relationship with a special guy.
When a lot of men see the term "female led relationship," they think, "Oh, the woman will make all the decisions with no input on what I think/want."
Are there dynamics like that? I'm sure there is. Personally, I'm not looking to be "the boss" or "above" you in any way. I want us to be equal... but have you give up control to me in a few other ways. :)
What do I mean? Keep reading on!
● ABOUT ME ●
You can call me Dreamer for now. (I'll tell you my real name once we get to know each other) Please do NOT call me Miss, Master, Dominatrix or Ma'am.
I'm 25 years old and an INFJ-T. I live in Nashville, Tennessee, USA (AKA Music City) and I'm on Central Standard Time. I'm a Black woman and I stand 5 feet, 7 inches tall. My eyes are brown and I wear glasses. I don't have any tattoos or piercings at the moment.
One thing I want to mention is that I'm plus size, AKA a bigger girl. I'm undergoing a vertical sleeve gastrectomy in two months to lose the excess weight I have in a sustainable and permanent way. I'm ready to regain my body and be healthy and confident again. I'd love to have you by my side throughout my journey!
As far as personality goes, I'd describe myself as empathetic and sweet. I like to help others as much as I can. In person, I tend to be rather shy at first. People tend to mistake that for weakness or gullibility. I'm anything but; my strength lies in introspection and quiet observation. I notice every nuance of a person's actions, words, body language, vibe... my intuition hasn't steered me wrong yet!
● INTERESTS ●
I won't go into detail on every single interest that I have but I'll talk about my biggest ones that you'll likely hear me mention the most.
✨️Writing✨️
I've been writing since I was six years old, but I started taking it seriously around 13 years old. All in all, it's been 19 years. As of right now, I primarily write Fanfiction but in the past, I've written short stories, poetry and I even tried to learn how to write screenplays at one point.
I wrote my first full-length book in 2018/2019. I started the sequel in early 2020, but I'm still working on it. I lost a LOT of inspiration during the pandemic but I'm finally writing for it again.
If you also enjoy writing, I'd love to "talk shop" with you and maybe we can exchange some of our past works.
✨️Music✨️
Music has gotten me through a lot over the years. Yeah, yeah, I know everyone says that. But it truly has. It's shaped my life and introduced me to a lot of things and people that I probably never would've done or met otherwise.
There's no point in saying I like xyz genre because I've listened to pretty much everything. The only ones I truly hate are country and gangster rap. If you want specifics, though... I've been a HUGE twenty one pilots fan for 9 years. (I have more merch, stickers and other random shit than I care to admit to lmao) I also love other artists like Amber Run, Purity Ring, Phantogram, Daughter, Lorde, OneRepublic... plus tons more.
I've always had this dumb idea of a guy and I confessing to each other through playlists with songs that make us think fondly about each other...
God, I'm single.
✨️Photography✨️
I've been into photography for 10 years and I've had my DSLR for eight years. (It's definitely the camera version of 'Ol Reliable) I enjoy nature and portrait photography. I'd love to show you some of my work and get your thoughts on it.
✨️TV/Movies✨️
TV genres I like: Animation (like Spongebob), comedy, drama, documentaries (disaster and crime ones are my favorites), true crime (like Forensic Files), old sitcoms (like Sanford and Son) and cooking and baking competitions/reality TV (like Kitchen Nightmares US and UK, Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef, The Great British Baking Show, etc)
Movie genres I like: Animation, drama, comedy, action, psychological thrillers and science fiction. I thoroughly loved The Greatest Showman so one could say I like musicals but it's the only one I've seen so not sure if that really counts. Comic book movies are pretty alright too, but I really haven't seen anything past the first Avengers movie lmaooooo.
I say this as unpretentiously as possible, but I haven't seen most popular TV shows or movies that your average person likes. I think the last "popular" thing I watched was that Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix. (mainly out of morbid curiosity because everyone was freaking out about it... and because I think Evan Peters is a cutie) I only saw a few episodes and then forgot to watch the rest of it, but it wasn't as horrific as everyone was saying. Maybe I've watched too much Forensic Files and I'm desensitized lmao.
✨️Video and computer games✨️
Video game genres I like: Adventure, action-adventure, RPGs & JRPGs, Strategy... basically anything that is relatively fun and not horror related.
Some of my all-time favorites: Kingdom Hearts II, Ratchet and Clank, Journey, Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X.
As far as computer games, the only thing I play on a regular basis is The Sims 2 and The Sims 4. As a kid, I loved simulator and time-management games; some old favorites are the RCT series, Simcity: Rush Hour, the first four Diner Dash games, the Delicious series and Burger Shop 2 (which I still have on my computer actually lmao)
✨️Other random interests✨️
Art, traveling, people watching, researching random topics on Wikipedia and watching YouTube, especially channels with old shows and movies.
☆ CAREER ☆
My last position was working nights at a psychiatric hospital. I'm looking for something new at the moment.
☆ SCHOOLING ☆
I'm officially a college student at 25. Yay! Feel free to ask me more about it, I'd love to talk.
☆ ET CETERA ☆
I really love dogs and cats. I have three cats and they're little demons but I love them to death. I also love small animals like ferrets, bunnies and snakes!
My main love languages are words of affirmation, quality time and gift giving/receiving. To be honest, though, there's elements of each language that I enjoy or relate to in one way or another.
I don't smoke and I drink every so often. Otherwise, I'm vaccinated and DDF.
● ABOUT YOU ●
I'm looking for a guy between the ages of 23-33 years old. I might be willing to talk to someone within two years in either direction (so 21 min and 35 max) if you meet all my other preferences/wants. If you're younger than 21 or older than 35, though, please don't contact me.
Please be single and emotionally available. I won't interact with anyone already in a relationship or married (even if you're separated or in a "dead bedroom," you're STILL married) and I'm especially not interested in poly/ENM. I'm 100% monogamous.
Hair is super important to me! I prefer medium length to long hair, something I can stroke and play with a lot lmao.
I have a REALLY big soft spot for blue and/or doe eyes, but don't let that deter you. If you have kind eyes, I'll fall in love with them, no matter their color!
I tend to like softer facial features and even softer personalities. Are you super masculine in public but a total softie in private? Lovely! Are you less masculine but a little more feminine? Great! Are you androgynous or otherwise fall somewhere in between? I can dig it!
Key traits that I like in a guy include, but are not limited to: Being sweet, gentle, empathetic, considerate, an active listener, exceptional at communication and willing to go the extra mile for those that you love, be it family, friends, your partner, etc.
With that being said, it's important that you have time for me. I'm not expecting us to talk 24/7 but if you're always too busy to talk to me, this won't work. At some point, I'd like for us to also talk on the phone as our schedules permit, of course.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, please be from the USA/North America and willing to meet and get to know each other in person ASAP.
● WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR ●
It's important to me that you're an active listener; what I mean is that you'll make an effort to listen to what I have to say and respond to it accordingly. If I tell you my thoughts on a matter or ask you a question or give you a compliment etc etc, please respond to it. It makes me feel so sad and small if I feel like my thoughts or opinions are not important/relevant.
I can tell pretty quickly if someone is genuinely interested in me or not. Like I said before, I notice everything lol.
I mentioned earlier how one of my love languages is words of affirmation. One of the ways I enjoy that is through compliments. I'm not looking for you to worship the ground I walk on, but being told "You look beautiful" or "When you do xyz, that makes me really happy" makes me feel SO seen and appreciated.
It's incredibly frustrating to send a picture of myself and get a lukewarm response in return. :(
Affection is also super important to me. Holding hands, hugging, kissing, cuddling, touching... all the cute couple shit. I want you to touch me, not in a pervy way, but in an affectionate way. I want to stroke your hair while I hold you close... little things like that make me incredibly happy.
Keep in mind, everything I want from you, I'll give to you in return. I'll always listen and acknowledge you, give you compliments, shower you in affection, plus whatever else makes you feel wanted and appreciated as a person and in a relationship.
● OUR DYNAMIC ●
I always want you to have a choice and be able to voice your opinion. I will never degrade or boss you around in general, but especially when it comes to your personal choices. I'm a switch that used to be a predominant sub and believe me, I've had doms tell me before, "I make the decision on what you wear, what to eat, who you hang out with, etc etc... because I'm your dom and what I say goes."
Some people may like that. More power to them. But I'm not like that. I want you to feel free to express yourself. If you want my opinion, I'll give it to you, of course. But my job is to build you up and support your decisions, no matter how small!
Again, I'm not looking for you to kiss my ass. I'd love for you to take the lead on most decisions (with my input, of course). But I want you to also have a "service" attitude; whether that's helping out with household chores or surprising me with a massage after work or giving me flowers "just because" or helping me paint my toenails lol... just to name some examples. The sky's the limit.
That extends to "the bedroom" as well. I want my pleasure to be just as important to you as yours is to me.
In short? I just want to feel doted on and taken care of. I want to be the most important person in your life and you be the most important person in my life. I want to make you feel special and praise you and tell you how much you mean to me. And I want the same in return. 💓
● "KINKS" ●
This is inevitably gonna come up at some point. I'll say when it comes to my "kinks" (if you want to call them that) I like:
Teasing, edging, telling you when you can cum and begging me for it (I believe it's called orgasm control/denial), moaning, praise, blindfolds, eye contact, body worshiping (you and me), breast worship, oral, fingering and using toys on you.
Been a little curious about pegging someone one day. We'd have to build up to it, of course, because I don't want to hurt you. If you're not into that, though, don't worry! It's definitely not a requirement.
Things I do NOT like (or hard limits) are:
Humiliation, degradation, anything that causes you or me physical, emotional and mental harm, blood, pee, scat, vomit, diapers, CNC, ageplay, raceplay, hitting, slapping, choking or anything else illegal, unethical or otherwise unloving.
● IN CONCLUSION... ●
If you read all of this, good job! Here's a cookie, hope you like chocolate chip. 🍪
Seriously, though, I can't name every little thing I want. Despite the length of this post, I'm not trying to play Build-A-Boy. I realize you have your own caveats and that's totally fine. Let's get to know each other and see what happens. All I ask for, again, is that you want a serious, longterm relationship and not view me as just some sort of "kink dispenser."
Chats or DMs are fine. When you send me a message, please include the following...
• Name or alias • Location • Age • Height, body type, hair cololength, eye color • Your interests/hobbies • Whether you're a sub or a switch • What you're looking for out of a relationship and something (or things) you really enjoyed about my post • A clear, SFW picture of yourself • Your current favorite song (so I know you actually read through all of this) • Whatever else you want to add to catch my attention. The more you can match my "detailed energy," the better.
I won't reply to those who ignore my preferences or the message requirements above. If you send me nudes/dick pics/sexting or FWB requests/rude messages, you will be blocked and reported.
Thank you so much for reading this, and I hope you have a good night!

• Dreamer

(P.S. I don't use Snap, Kik, Telegram, WhatsApp and whatever else. I use Discord and I only give my cell number out to people that I'm comfy with.)

FALLOUT 5
Fallout 5 will take place in the Dixie Wasteland, in the ruins of Charleston, South Carolina in 2322. It will be the first fallout to take place in the South. The only nuke to hit the region was a defective US nuke that detonated as soon as it was launched.
Character Building:
You start with 35 special points, making it so you have a more specialized build or a jack of all trades. The old skill system makes a return, with you choosing a perk every 3 level ups. Skill checks are frequent, and can vary from Special stats to perks. You get to choose a special perk when you start the story, like Small Frame or Kamikaze. Karma has three tiers: Evil, Neutral, and Good.
Mutations and Radiation: Mutations will occur like in 76, but you can become a super mutant if you dip yourself in a vat of FEV. Your strength and endurance will increase dramatically, but many factions and cities won’t let you in without a huge hassle. Radiation makes you mutate more, but if your mutation level is too high you will turn into a mindless Behemoth. Too much radiation will turn you into a ghoul, which makes you immune to radiation and raises your endurance. If you get too many rads while ghoulified, you become feral.
Weapons & V.A.T.S:
Makeshift weapons are far more prevalent in this game, but they are more diverse and realistic than those in Fallout 4. Normal weapons are more powerful and rarer, selling for more at stores. More real guns will be added alongside the retro-futuristic fallout guns, including the 9 round and 1 shotgun shell LeMat revolver. Weapon customization exists alongside a wider variety than of weapons. Dual wielding makes its first entry to the series, allowing for dual wielding of small melee weapons, pistols, and smgs.
Higher Agility levels makes dual wielding more accurate. V.A.T.S will return to freezing the game instead of the slowed down time in Fallout 4
Settlements:
There will be 3 buildable settlement locations that you discover on your own, and 5 customizable player home locations.
World: The Dixie Wasteland is a mix of civilized and Wild. The Western section of the map is the most dangerous, full of raiders and animals, despite that the town of Magnolia is in the west. The Northeast is the city of Charleston, the city of Civitas Ferro is set up within eastern Charleston. The South of the map is controlled by the Brotherhood of Steel as well. The middle of the map is a bunch of small towns mixed with the wildness of the west. The eastern side of the map is swamps, and the west is forested hills. A large lifeless crater exists in the in the middle of the map, simply known as the Hole.
Enemies: Some animals return, such as bloodbugs, deathclaws, ferals, bloatflies, and Yao Guais, Mirelurks, and Gatorclaws. New animals include Raddlesnakes, Giraffe Dogs (coyotes with long necks), Snappers (huge turtles), and Prowlers (mutated bobcats). Raiders are in named groups again, with three main bands terrorizing Dixie. The tribe known as the Confederates who enslave and sell rather than pillage, the Beastmasters who tame mutated animals and attack with them, and the Vaulties who were former vault dwellers. Generic raiders can also be found. Super Mutant bands have moved south from the Capital Wasteland, and continue their sackings in Dixie. Enemy robots are occasionally found, especially from the RobCo factory in the city. The last kind of enemy is the main factions if you piss them off, as they send death squads out to gank you if you have a bad reputation.
Dixie history: The Carolinians united the eastern coast and Charleston together as a large scale civilization in 2190, but by the year 2291, the Brotherhood of Steel invaded. They pillaged, plundered, and took control of the east coast and the capital of the Carolinians. Their despotic rule has causes several factions in the wasteland grow rebellious, and tensions are reaching a high in 2322.
Themes: The game has a southern theme, with the radios playing country and bluegrass music. Characters have southern accents, as do the robots.
Radio Stations:
Magnolia Radio - Swing and Jazz hosted by a charismatic ghoul named Darren Dixie. Darren will comment on the events that occur throughout the wasteland.
Hoedown Capital - A country and bluegrass station hosted by Mr. Hillbilly, a DJ Mr.
Handy. He still believes the year is 2077, and only tells news relating to events that happened leading up to the Great War.
Brotherhood Military Channel - Updates troops about tech locations and orders patrols around.
There are plenty of side quests and random events, including side quests for each faction.
Factions:
There are 5 factions in Fallout 5, and you have to side with one of them to complete the story. The Tribal ending is the wild card ending. The reputation system makes a return, with the New Vegas pictures.
Brotherhood of Steel: The Brotherhood of Steel has turned into nothing short of a jingoistic military dictatorship, developed by Elder William Garrick. The Brotherhood abandoned Maxson in the commonwealth, as Garrick lead a silent coup in the Capital wasteland. The Brotherhood has grown colossally in size, and now spans the East Coast unchecked in power. Not only do they seize military technology now, they also seize stuff like pre-war small arms, Auto-docs, pip-boys, robots, terminals etc. They’ve ruled over Atlanta for the past 2 years with an iron fist, forcing settlers into giving up their crops and crippling the wasteland and infrastructure of the Dixie Wasteland. They control a large city inside Atlanta called Civitas Ferro, with their headquarters in the center. Despite your hatred for them initially, you can join them and defeat all the rebels.
Carolinian Revolutionary Army- The Carolinians are the remnants of the former largest nation in the Dixie Wasteland called the Free Federation of Charleston. It was a democratic civilization based on the old state of South Carolina, with elections and rights for any human or quasi-human. Although it was weak and corrupt, it was better than the alternatives. When the Brotherhood rolled in, the Carolinians resisted their raids, so the Brotherhood overthrew them in a scorched Earth campaign. The Carolinians are the remnants of their military, dedicated to rebelling against the Brotherhood’s tyranny, and have the endgame goal of bringing Democracy back to Dixie. They grow steadily by the day, but they suffer from bureaucratic issues and corruption. You can join the Carolinians as an agent, and you help them lead a rebellion against the Brotherhood.
Greylock’s Hand: Greylock’s Hand are a band of violent raiders and mercenaries, who likewise want the Brotherhood of Steel gone, but instead desire an anarchic survival of the fittest wasteland. They are lead by a profane, wild ghoul named Greylock. They are basically terrorists, but their raids and ambushes against the Brotherhood are effective. They reside in a secret underground missile launch site, completed two days before the war. Even the Brotherhood knows nothing about it aside from rumors. The missiles, however, are not finished. You can join Greylocks Hand after getting kidnapped by them, and after you help them build part of the missiles.
Magnolia: The last joinable faction is Magnolia, a large settlement in and around the former plantation home. The city is ruled by a group of Mister Handys who escaped from a crashed truck driving to Charleston the day of the Great War. They saw the magnolia plantation and went their to clean, doing so and repairing it for 150 years, eventually realizing what was happening in the world around them.Their newfound “sentience” allowed them to create a settlement, inviting wastelanders and tribals to live and trade under their protection. Their elected leader is a specialized Mr Handy that has economic programming. The robots have defended themselves from several Brotherhood attacks, and after some convincing they allow you to become an honorary robot and join their faction.
Tribal: Instead of choosing any of the four main factions, you can instead unite the smaller settlements, tribes, and factions into New Dixie. You are assisted by an intelligent Supermutant from the Capital Wasteland named Spider, acting as your loyal second in command.
Minor factions:
The Network: A secret underground trading organization that sells and trades equipment that would normally be confiscated by the BoS. You can rat them out to the BoS, or you can join them.
Wasteland Marshalls: A paramilitary organization that patrols highways and hunts raiders, based on the US Marshals of the past. You can join them or convince them to join the brotherhood.
Catawbas: The descendants of the old native tribe from South Carolina, they specialize in the creation of makeshift weaponry to sell to wastelanders. You can convince them to join the rebellion, or you can convince them to join the Brotherhood.
Abolitionists: A militia of borderline terroristic anti-slavers, based on the conquests of the radical abolitionist John Brown. You can join them or eliminate them.
Plot:
South Carolina: 2322. War, war never changes.
The main character is a tribal living southeast of Charleston. The tribe has to pay a toll to local raiders, and it’s left their tribe starving. In the first part of the game, the Tribal, their sibling and their friend are searching for food for their tribe, when they stumble across an old sunken West-Tek storage depot. In it is a prototype suit of power armor called the AX-01, which is a large tank-suit with back missiles and two hand laser rifles, built for ease of use. You learn how to pilot it from a terminal, and you take it back to the tribe; the raiders and their leader are there demanding their payment. You kill the raiders with the power armor, and the tribe is free from their subjugation. Weeks later, 4 Brotherhood of Steel paladins arrive at the village. After the tribals refuse to give up their power armor, the BoS execute everyone in the village and burn it to the ground (including your sibling), seizing the suit and flying away on a vertibird. Only the Tribal remains.
Act 1: The Tribal picks up a broken pip-boy as soon as they leave the town, and they hunt down the paladins North to Charleston, you kill all 4 of them while adventuring across the map. By the end of the first act, the Brotherhood declares you an enemy of the Brotherhood.
Act 2: Due to the deaths of several Paladins and the constant rebellion from the region, a Brotherhood blimp appears. The brotherhood frequency states that if the Tribal visits the ship, they will be absolved of their crimes. The Tribal is also invited to secret meeting of between Carolinians and robots from Magnolia. You also get kidnapped by the Greylocks 2 days after this meeting. From there you can choose between the rebels or the Brotherhood, and do their specific quest lines. For the Greylocks, you have to find parts to build their rockets. Whereas for the other groups you have to find a way into their base.
Act 3: All questlines end in the ultimate battle and raid on the Greylock base. If you side with the Greylocks you repel the attackers. The end of the story is where you fire the missile array at the Brotherhood’s home base and their airship, chasing them out of Dixie. If you side with the Brotherhood you secure the missile array and fire the rockets at the fleeing rebels, crushing their numbers.
Each ending depends on your karma and what side you chose, potentially turning a “good” faction evil or an “evil” faction good.
Your actions have consequences throughout the story, and no character is essential except for potential companions.
The Tribal:
The tribal is the name of the 28 year old protagonist, and you can choose between you or your friend to be your character. One is male, the other is female. The protagonist is silent, but the character you don’t choose has voiced dialogue. Their default names are Sammy and Cora, but you can change them. Speech is back to the chart with full responses. Their personality is determined by the player, allowing for better roleplaying opportunities.
Companions:
There are 10 companions, 3 non human and 7 human. The affinity system returns, and each companion has a personal quest. They also have comments for the main quest and other miscellaneous events. Companions have specific likes and dislikes, and have different karmas. You can recruit companions outside of your karma if you pass a speech check. Any positive affinity progression while not in their karma has a 1.25 multiplier. Companions are romanceable regardless of gender.
The Tribals Friend (Sammy/Cora):
The friend you don’t choose is available to become your companion. They know your name, and revert to their original appearance and name once you choose your character. Cora is originally white with blonde hair and blue eyes, and Sammy is originally a latino with curly black hair. have good karma, and hates the BoS, but are okay with the other factions. They are 28 years old, the same age as the tribal. They wear a tribal cloak and uses a makeshift bolt action rifle. They are Romanceable.
Benjamina Pavlova - A hired gun and part time technician working for the Network, you can recruit her whenever you hire her at the Network. She has good karma, and hates the BoS and the Carolinians, but likes Greylocks hand and the Magnolia Robots (hired guns were illegal in the FFC). She is white, and has curly black hair and green eyes. She is 29 years old. She wears a confederate cavalry hat and her combat armor with road leathers, she uses a .44 trail carbine. She is romanceable.
Captain Baker Springfield - A soldier for the Carolinian Revolutionary Army, you can recruit him if you save his platoon from a super mutant attack. He has good karma, and hates the BoS and Greylock’s hand, but loves the Carolinians. He is 32 years old. He is white, has brown hair and stubble, and wears a Carolinian soldier outfit; he uses a .308 Combat rifle.
Dina Qian A vault dweller from Vault 52, you have to free the vault from a band of raiders who have cracked into the vault to recruit her. Dina is asian and has black hair in a ponytail. She has neutral karma, and hates all raider groups, including Greylock’s Hand, she is indifferent to the other groups. Dina is 25 years old. She uses two 10mm pistols and wears an armored vault suit. She is Romanceable.
Louie - Louie is a ranch hand at a farm outside of the Hole, you can recruit him if you get his family’s brahmin back from the Beastmasters. He has neutral karma, and hates Greylock’s hand, but likes The BoS due to their law bringing policies. He is 36 years Louie is white, and has a buzzcut with a mustache. He wears a ranch hand outfit and a stetson hat with leather armor, he uses a makeshift pump action shotgun.
General Ulysses Grant: A securitron made specially for the RobCo factory owner, a civil war buff. You have to repair him after clearing the RobCo factory to recruit him. His karma is dependent on how you program him, and he hates the brotherhood but loves the magnolia robots. He is a deep blue and gold securitron with General grant on the tv screen. He is a pre-war robot. He uses the 9mm smg, laser rifle, and rockets depending on what you tell him to use. He is not romanceable.
Uriah Lincoln - A respected raider within Greylock’s hand, you can recruit him whenever you join Greylock’s hand. He has evil karma, loves Greylock’s hand, and hates the Brotherhood and the Carolinians. You can change his karma in his personal quest. Uriah is 23 years old. He is black and is bald, with a bandana covering on of his eyes. He wears Greylock makeshift power armor and carries a plasma rifle. He is romanceable
Senior Scribe Weatherby - A former scribe turned ghoul by radiation, you can recruit her from the BoS after she is kicked out. She has evil karma, hates the BoS and the other factions. After her personal quest she can either rejoin the brotherhood or be open to other factions. She is 39 years old. She is a ghoul and has wears red hair wig. She wears a scribe outfit and uses a laser rifle. She is romanceable.
Belle - A Mrs Nanny built by the robots at Magnolia, you can recruit her after joining the Magnolia robots. She has neutral karma, and likes Greylock’s Hand and the Magnetic robots. Belle is 60 years old. She wears a straw hat with a flower on it, and has a light purple chassis; she uses a minigun and a sawblade. She is not romanceable.
Hambone - A golden retriever with one blue eye and one brown eye. He doesn’t care about what you do, he’s a good boy. You can have him alongside any other companion.
This is what I’ve got, feel free to add anything.

Hi..
I’ve been “training” myself to eat spicy food for the first time since a few months ago.(I used to never eat a spicy food before, not even the mild spicy mayo/ketchup in stores)
Nowadays after 3 “hard” months of trying to spice every meal outside of my “comfort zone”, without drinking after the spice leaves me naturally, I have reached a pretty fine level of tolerance. For example I eat in risky basis the Samyang x3 spicy ramen with normal effort, I use Carolina Reapesuper hot powders in almost every bite, I use pretty hot sauces, some should be around 100-500k as far as I know, I even able to eat full raw jalapeños on daily basis and can also handle raw super hot chilli (half/full) depends on the type.
So that shows that I made an hell of improvement, and I’m still everyday probably.
The thing is, I handle it all fine in my MOUTH. But sometimes or even very often, since I started using more “super hot” / high scovile stuff, I get a bit after the meal some incredible stomach cramps that are really killing me, makes me rolling in bed/floor, getting in a very panic mode. It can last 10-30 minutes usually, and I try to cool it immediately by drinking some cold cola/sprite or a fruity juice, or ice cream, that helps ya, but that’s not the point.
I think that my stomach is not keeping the pace as my mouth. Maybe I have a sensitive stomach? Even if I do, can that still be trained and eventually be ready for those stuff?
(I am always on full stomach)
I am really want to do the One Chip Challenge but I’m afraid so much from the cramps ..
I don’t care about the toilet pain, it hurts but manageable, the stomach is the problem
Would like to hear a feedback or tips for training the stomach too
Thank you!

So I originally registered years ago to drive and deliver through Uber in another city in my state of North Carolina. I’ve moved to another city, same state, and I’ve been delivering/working here w/no issues. However, I’m missing out on promotional opportunities because they show for my former old home city I originally signed up in.
If I change my “Home city” to the one I live in now, I heard it can take a couple weeks for it to become official. Would I still be able to delivedrive while I’m waiting for my “home city” changes to take place on my account? Can’t afford to be out of work while waiting…

"Immortal Spirits of Fate, you who weave destiny, you who are my greatest muse and have spun countless stories in my ears, do not sit in idle silence toward me now. Sing to me of the birth of the Moradaya who came here from those mountainous lands of yore. May my words be true and my tongue possess the skill to utter the tale you speak into me without fault."
—An invocation to the spirits. Similar words are commonly spoken by storytellers in pursuit of favor from those who dictate the webs of fate.
As the cold wind howls through the valleys between that fractured piece of the Alpide belt born of the Paleogene in times long passed and nestled between two seas split by the crushing power of the advancing Arabian plate, a band traveling south and east on the backs of short stocky horses orients themselves against the rising sun hidden behind jagged peaks on the horizon which cut the sky like the serration on teeth of ocean sharks these migrants will never encounter, escape from this desolate winter landscape the one thing on their minds. They are Anyana, Iranic peoples whose ancestors roamed the steppes past the great mountains to the north where their distant cousins still drive livestock across a great sea of grass so wide and expansive it is hard for them to imagine both the land there and here in these claustrophobic ravines and gullies wrought by tectonic chaos belong to the same world. They do.
The Anyana abandoned such a pastoralist way of life when they migrated south along the coast of the Black Sea, known to them as Banga Marea, the Great Sea, which was vaster than any their ancestors before them had ever beheld, and into the lowlands between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus where rivers flow west into that massive body of water and the land is lush and fertile for farming. But this land of plenty where it seems the divines had tried their hand at crafting a paradise was not to be the home of the Moradaya. The Anyana who settled in these lands, which were at that time home to a population of Colchic Proto-Kartvelians, enslaved and intermingled with these local peoples from the coast to as far east as those who later formed the Kingdom of Asmanakashra, but many more of their brethren found no place in the small space of these lowlands, cramped as they were after the arrival of a lurch of people pouring inward as if the levy of the Greater Caucasus which once separated two worlds alien to one another had burst, and instead chose to push onward into the mountains to the south, spreading in all directions and hunting for whatever small abundances might be found in their alpine surroundings.
Massifs rise from underfoot across the plateau of the Armenian Highlands where Anyan has become the dominant culture and language, but divisions have already formed in this people. Wars were fought. Battles raged. Subjugation. The harsh topography of these lands and divisions between those original tribes who made the journey south drive the Anyana apart and erode their united identity like rivers splitting from one source in a delta before rushing out to sea, quickened by the absorption of local people's ways of life in the disparate and nascent polities forming among their culture. Some of the tribes have become wary of one another, others hostile and others more simply apathetic toward the Anyana living elsewhere in the plateau where even a few miles distance divided by a range of peaks can feel a world away.
The tribe Moradaya trace their lineage to a number of deva, beings akin to spirits or gods, the stories of their genesis passed down through the generations by oral recital and never received by the youth in quite the same manner or meaning each telling. Those travelers journeying across the Lesser Caucasus have heard the myths of their tribe’s origins many times, so often each might recite the tales from memory, as they did in the company of one another as solace for their otherwise pitiful position in a false remembrance of their greater past. The content of those myths is for another time than this. Their tribe has yet to find a home where they might permanently achieve peaceability and rest. For years they have searched, living scattered about Anyan lands, but this will soon be no more.
The band of men and women and children with their horses and all the belongings they managed to pack for the journey set their ambitions on the valley where meets a moot of all the Moradaya. For too long they have gone without a chieftain holding any true vision, but with the death of Small Vanga, deva bless his spirit, comes an opportunity to appoint a new ruler, one who might lead them to the home of which they have long dreamt. The winter journey for them has been grueling, but their ways demand a new chieftain be elected as soon as all the clan chiefs are able to convene. In that band marching beneath the slopes and now in the belly of a ravine, scrawny trees twisting and fighting each other for the scant light of the sun that makes it down all the way, Skoda goes with his family and a small number of his most trusted men to represent his clan, the Donsudra, and their wishes at the moot.
All free men are welcome to participate in the moot and the election of a new chieftain, but the clan chiefs are shouldered with the extra responsibilities of negotiating the affair and preventing strife at the results of the tribe’s decision. Skoda’s young age once made other chiefs wary of his abilities to lead, but since then he proved himself to be a skilled warrior and therefore, in their eyes, a leader in his campaigns against the Urartians, the native inhabitants of this alpine plateau, and many favor him to become the new chieftain.
After weeks of travel through winding mountain passes, Skoda and their band reach the banks of Soinya Marea, Lake Sevan, the water frozen therein beginning to thaw as spring emerges. Thin trees with leaves stripped and dead bushes and lichen growing on rocky outcroppings dot the hilly landscape. Smoke rises in the distance. Others from Moradaya had already arrived and created a camp where they weathered the remains of the cold season waiting to elect the new chieftain. Skoda’s band sets up their own tents in the disorganized array of other temporary homes along a network of mud pounded into the ground by feet of people buzzing around the camp. Tired from their journey, he rests.
They are some of the last to arrive, and soon after making their place all the clan chiefs are present on those banks, and the moot is called. They meet at the debouch of a stream snaking down to the idle water along an escarpment and flowing inside, the shallow depths gurgling over a bed of rocks. Men of other kinds have trodden these lands for hundreds of thousands of years since the age of Acheulean stone, and now rills formed in the mud by surface water from the melting snow are trampled underfoot as they gather into a haphazard circle, a little empty space in the center.
Clans Donsudra, Ibera, Kudogre, Paraba, Velun and Festuda all convene here. Besides Skoda, other favorites for chieftain are Oruges, son of the late Small Vanga, and Ekpuda, the wise and elderly leader of the Paraba. The law speaker initiates the day, and the shaman says a prayer and performs a ritual, and the thing begins. Oruges boasts of his own grandeur, standing in the center of the crowd who send cheers and jeers alike his way.
"He should be chieftain!"
"Someone older like Ekpuda ought to be in charge!"
"His father led us to ruin, and he'll do the same!"
They argue for some time with no resolution.
"Quiet, children." Ekpuda waves a single hand in the air, and soon all are silent. "I am too old to lead. That job belongs to those whose lives are still more ahead than behind them."
A murmur grows in the crowd.
"But, I must admit, I doubt Oruges' abilities as a leader, even if I respected his father."
A roar. Everyone was up in arms and yelling.
"I don't see anyone better!"
"Vanga's spawn is too weak!"
"Who else will be chieftain?"
Skoda walks to the center, the walls of which now undulate in the mass of upset bodies. "I will lead us."
After much deliberation and arguing, Skoda is narrowly elected as Moradaya's new chieftain, the first ever from clan Donsudra. He sets his mind on the task of finding his people a land on which they may grow and prosper, and these thoughts occupy every still moment for over a year until an opportunity presents itself.
The Urartian kingdom of Ushnu to the south had fallen into a state of civil war over the rights of inheritance pertaining to their king, and Skoda decides to take the opportunity and strike.
The war effort on part of the Moradaya is successful, and they drive out the rulers of Ushnu, known to them as Ošneš, and take over the land with their armies. They expand east into the territory of tribes Urartian and Iranian alike and settle them as their own.
Ošneš rests west of the endorheic lake of brine, Unya Marea, or Lake Urmia as it might be known to us. Fed by rivers, the lake lets loose none of its water except in evaporation, a draconic beast hoarding its wealth for itself. A place of stagnancy, though much life calls the lands around home. There exist many plots of arable terrain here, and it seems to all Moradaya, Skoda first of all, a good place to settle. To the east of this great salt pond is a river valley sandwiched by mountains north and the stratovolcano which looms over all therein and will soon become a place of great spiritual power south. Here, the Moradaya found a city, that of Majadaragand, the City of the Middle Valley.
For some time, perhaps a century or so, the Moradaya have called these lands home. The Urartians of the old kingdom of Ushnu still do so too, though they are in the process of being subsumed into Anyan ways of life, an integration which lends to the growing distinction between Moradaya and other Anyana. The real history of their conquests merges with legend, birthing new myths among the tribe's members now growing fat off the land. This is how the Moradaya came into their home.
Name: Moradaya
Gov't Type: Sedentary
Techs: Iron Age, Horse domestication, Spoked Wheel
map

22 Blue in 2022: 'THE LIST'

Build Supermajorities of Democrats in the US House and US Senate

Here’s “22 Blue in 2022: ‘A Quick List’”:

1. Florida 2. Ohio 3. Kansas 4. North Carolina 5. Kentucky 6. Arizona7. South Carolina 8. Georgia 9. Texas 10. Michigan 11. Nevada 12. Pennsylvania13. Missouri 14. Wisconsin 15. Iowa 16. Arkansas 17. Oklahoma 18. Indiana19. Colorado 20. Alabama 21. South Dakota 22. North Dakota

The 2022 Midterm Election is the most important midterm of our lifetime.Democrats must behave as if our lives depend on this midterm, because our future depends on the outcome.
”We the people” must deny the Republican party political power at every level of government for decades to come “in order to create a more perfect union.” With 48 States having some statewide contest(s), November 8th, 2022 is our best chance the Democrats will get to do that for the rest of this decade, at least.
”The List” encourages the election of a Democratic Supermajority in the US Senate in 2022. This is the best chance we will have to create a Democratic Supermajority in both Chambers of Congress for the remainder of this decade. This midterm could be a devastating loss for the democrats if good patriots ignore this election. If Americans of good conscience band together instead, we could could begin the exile of the Republican party from power, not for years, but for decades to come.
“The List” is a set of suggestions about where to focus collective activism today.
The election of Democratic Supermajorities to both chambers of the US Congress is the best outcome we can strive towards in the 2022 Midterm Election for many reasons. Among them: breaking the decade of gridlock in Congress, supporting President Biden’s agenda, and his re-election in 2024. My personal favorite is that this could commence the decades-long political banishment of the GOP from power, which the Republican Party so richly deserves.
The Republican party has proved itself treasonous on many levels. They are traitors to Humanity by supporting Trump. Traitors to the Nation for supporting Putin. Traitors to the government and betrayers of the constitution through their apologies for the 1/6/21 insurrection. To safeguard our country and the world, we must block the Republicans from power at the ballot box, at all levels of government, for at least a generation.
Political game playing may be inevitable among humans. Change the numbers, and then change the rules, if not the game. Cynical refusal to play at this time in history cedes power to NAZIs manipulated by Active Measures. That is a surrender to crypto fascism, not radical thinking, mere cynicism, or hipsterism.
In 2022, Patriots must unify to crush the Republican Party at the ballot box. We can defeat them in every State, at every level. We need the biggest turnout at the voting booth of any Midterm ever. We need to raise more money for candidates and organizations than we did during the entire 2020 campaign season if we are to accomplish this. We need to do this in the next six months.
This is what a “Blue Tsunami” REALLY looks like.
Electing a Democratic Supermajority in Congress is our hope for the future and retribution for America’s enemies. “22 Blue in 2022” is a roadmap to the beginning of that journey. “22 Blue in 2022” is our war plan. ”22 Blue in 2022” is our electoral battle cry. “22 Blue in 2022” is a way forward out of gridlock, a way to non-violently thwart those who would poison the body politic with their hate.
If we don’t try this hard in 2022, Trump will go unpunished and metastasize by 2024.
Resist In Power, my sisters, my brothers, and my others.
Resist Together, and elect a Congressional Supermajority in 2022!
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Hockey is the 3rd most popular sport in the world. It has 2 billion fans worldwide, to put that in perspective, basketball only has 900 million. According to 2022 and 2023 ratings, the MLS is close to surpassing the NHL as the 4th most popular league in North America. However, in the 1980s-1990s, the NHL was head-to-head with the NBA. Today, the NBA is more popular than the NHL despite the NBA being flawed due to its luxury tax and smaller market teams being designed to fail. The NHL's popularity began to fall around the time Bettman took over. Whether or not this is relevant is up to you but right now, that's not important. I believe if we want to grow the game we have to start looking beyond the borders of the NHL and start looking closer at the development path players take to get there. I'm going to list the development paths in both the U.S. and Canada for reference;

• Hockey levels in the United States: -House League / Selects -Tier 2 Youth hockey (B, Lower A, Upper A, AA) -Tier 1 Youth Hockey (AAA) Leagues; T1EHL, 4CHL, T1HF, ECEL, etc. -High School / Prep Hockey -ACHA D3 -ACHA D2 -Tier 3 B Junior Hockey (USPHL Elite, EHL Premier, NA3HL) -Tier 3 A Junior Hockey (USPHL Premier, EHL) -NCAA D3 / ACHA D1 -NCAA D2 -Tier 2 Junior Hockey (NAHL, NCDC) -Tier 1 Junior Hockey (USHL) -NCAA D1
• Hockey levels in Canada -House League / Selects -Minor Hockey (C, B, BB, A, AA) -AAA Circut -Prep Hockey (CSSHL) -Junior C -Junior B -U Sports Hockey -Junior A -Major Junior (CHL; OHL, WHL, QMJHL)

What can we do to grow the game? -The CHL and NCAA need to come to an agreement allowing CHL players to play NCAA; right now if you play Major Junior hockey you cannot play NCAA so if you don't make the NHL, you don't really have anywhere to go especially if you do not want to go to Europe. -That brings me to my second point; we NEED more NCAA hockey. Right now there are only 64 NCAA D1 teams. We should have double that amount of teams; 128. We need to add the ACC, SEC, and PAC-12, plus two additional conferences, one in the southeast and another in the west. Schools with an NHL or minor league arena within 20 min of campus should explore the possibility of adding teams. Some college basketball arenas can already accommodate ice hockey, why not explore adding teams there too? Can you imagine if college hockey was popular enough to have millions of people making National Championship brackets? Imagine how many young kids would see that and decide to start playing. -Merge the FPHL and SPHL and rename the league the ECHL. The current ECHL would be renamed the IHL. We need 3 minor leagues so more players can get the opportunity to play in the NHL development system AND more small cities would be able to support a local team hopefully sparking more interest in the youth community. -If you want to talk about growing the game in North America, you have to look beyond just Canada and the United States. The NHL should have a prospect summer league similar to the MLB's Arizona Fall League. I propose we put this league in Mexico. Have four teams; Mexico City (@Arena CDMX), Monterrey (@Arena Monterrey), Guadalajara (@Arena Guadalajara), and San Luis Potosi (@Arena Potosi). Each team would be affiliated with an NHL division. Teams would be made up of each division's best prospects. The season will be 8 weeks. The championship will take place the week before the start of the NHL preseason. Advertising games in these big cities should hypothetically get people interested in the game. -The PHF and the PWHPA should merge and put each of the PWHPA teams in cities then add one expansion team to get to 12 teams. Call it the WNHL. There needs to get a league that young girls around the world can dream about playing in; just like so many young boys dream about playing in the NHL. -We need a World Cup. The IIHF, NHL, and the Champions Hockey League should team up and create an independent World Cup sponsored by all three enterprises. It would take place every 4 years, in between each World Cup there'd still be the same World Championships but the World Cup would feature all the NHL players. ________________________
These are just some ideas I had. I'd love to hear more from people in the comments.

You would think that the Army would be able to chill out a little and offer more stability now that we are not doing back-to-back deployments to one of two sandboxes, right?
If you think like that, then there's something you are missing: There is no Cold War like there was after Vietnam.
The thing about the cold war was that it justified the existence of a lot of units. V Corps and VII Corps didn't have to "justify their existence" to Congress. All they had to do was point out the 20 Soviet divisions in East Germany, the 5 Divisions in Checholslovakia, the 4 in Poland and the 4 in Hungary. 8th Army didn't have to "justify its existence" they just had to point out how many times the North Koreans fired artillery or machine guns across the MDL in Korea.
Combine that with very few ACTUAL hostilities and you end up with a more or less regular schedule of gunnery, Graf, Hohenfels, NTC, Team Spirit, etc, and you had an Army running on a "schedule" that everybody liked.
But there is no Cold War today. No steely-eyed Commie soldiers sitting in their T-72s and BMPs waiting to rape and pillage Western Europe.
So that means every commander who is given an unreasonable tasking has to ask himself: If I turn this down (on the grounds that my guys have been deployed to Korea/Kuwait/Bulgaria/Poland for the las 200 days), how long is it before some budget-cutting bean counter is going to start saying "well, if the unit can't fulfill this tasking, do we even NEED it anymore?"
IOW commanders are terrified that if they don't have insane op-tempos to show how "vaulable" their commands are to the Army and to the Nation, their unit (and their cushy sinecure as a COL/BG/MG/CSM) will be the next one on the chopping block of "force restructuring."
I saw it happen during the post-Desert Storm drawdown and it's happening again. Nobody wants to say "no" because saying "no" is the same thing as saying "I have nothing valuable to contribute to the Army."
I don't know what the "solution" is but I think identifying the problem is the first step.

The OKC Thunder 2023 NBA Draft Workout Tracker. (Credit: Thunderous Intentions)

• Coleman Hawkins, 6’10, 200, Illinois
  
• Jalen Slawson, 6’7, 210, Furman
  
• Jaylen Forbes, 6’5, 185, Tulane
  
• Seneca Knight, 6’7, 215, Illinois State
  
• Jordan Hawkins, 6’5, 186, UCONN
  
• Jarace Walker, 6’7, 249, Houston
  
• Dereck Lively, 7’1, 230, Duke
  
• Trayce Jackson-Davis, 6’9, 245, Indiana
  
• Noah Clowney, 6’10, 210, Alabama
  
• GG Jackson, 6’8.25 without shoes, 214, South Carolina
  
• Keyonte George, 6’4, 185, Baylor
  
• Jett Howard, 6’8, 215, Michigan
  
• Nick Smith Jr, 6’5, 185, Arkansas
  
• Cason Wallace, 6’4, 193, Kentucky
  
• Anthony Black, 6’7, 198, Arkansas
  
• Brandon Podziemski, 6’5, 200, Santa Clara
  
• Adama Sanogo, 6’9, 240, UCONN
  
• Leonard Miller, 6’10, 211, G-League Ignite
  
• Emoni Bates, 6’9, 190, Eastern Michigan
  
• Drew Timme, 6’10, 235 pounds, Gonzaga
  
• Eric Gaines, 6’3, 155, UAB
  
• Charles Bediako, 7’0, 225, Alabama
  
• Zach Edey, 7’4, 305, Purdue
  
• Maxwell Lewis, 6’7, 195, Pepperdine
  
• Tramon Mark, 6’5, 195, Arkansas
  
• Sir’ Jabari Rice, 6’4, 180, Texas
  
• Justin Powell, 6’6, 205, Washington State
  
• Gabe Kalscheur, 6’4, 200, Iowa State
  
• Gradey Dick, 6’8, 205, Kansas
  
• Taylor Hendricks, 6’9, 210, UFC
  
• Mike Miles, 6’2, 195, TCU
  

(this is a long one, clocking in at over 1600 words. Enjoy!)
Madoka Magica has often been called a “deconstruction” of the magical girl genre, and while many fans refute that claim, it’s clear that it at least offers a darker twist on many of the tropes beloved and well-known in the genre. These tropes include the transformation trinket, the cuddly mascot, the monster of the week, magical girls having a secret double life, magical girls themselves being child heroines, and even the concept of why magical girls fight in the first place.
One of the biggest examples of these tropes being twisted is the magical girl transformation trinket, which in this series are Soul Gems. In more conventional magical girl series, transformation items are pretty, flashy items that enable the girl to transform from her civilian form to her magical girl form- and to be frank, serve the double purpose of selling toys and merchandise in the real world.
In PMMM, Soul Gems are beautiful Faberge egg-like items that serve the same purpose. It turns out though, that their name is very literal; they are gems that serve as containers for the magical girl’s soul (or may even be her crystallized soul, it’s not really made clear). Soul Gems are formed when magical girls make a contract with Kyubey and are the source of their powers. Moreover, because her soul has been ripped out of a magical girl’s body, her body cannot function unless her Soul Gem is within a few hundred feet of what is now her soulless husk.
In more traditional magical girl shows, transformation trinkets sometimes get stolen, misplaced, etc with no ill effect for their users except for an inability to transform. In PMMM, this is a literal death sentence unless the Soul Gem can be recovered (as displayed in episode 6, when Madoka tosses away Sayaka’s Soul Gem in an attempt to prevent her and Kyoko from fighting). The consequences of this are actually explored in one of the routes of the Madoka Magica PSP game; Sayaka is separated from her Soul Gem in a Witch’s barrier, and it takes Kyoko days to find it. In that amount of time, her body began to literally rot.
The next concept I want to explore is that of the cuddly mascot. Magical girl mascots are a common feature in many shows, from the Moon Cats in Sailor Moon to Cerberus in Cardcaptor Sakura to the many, many mascots in the Precure franchise. In all of these series, the mascots act as friends and often mentors to their magical girl companions; in most series, they are also responsible for empowering/awakening their magical girls.
In PMMM, Kyubey initially seems to be much the same. He is a cute, cuddly creature who is responsible for creating and guiding magical girls. Pretty soon however, it becomes clear that Kyubey is a sinister figure. His contracts don’t seem very benevolent; they seem exploitative, taking advantage of girls when they’re at their lowest point. And unlike the Senshi in Sailor Moon or the Cures in Precure, it quickly becomes apparent that the magical girls in PMMM are dealing with much higher stakes- at least, when it comes to their own wellbeing.
PMMM almost seems to ask the question: what kind of creature would give superpowers to children and send them to fight monsters that could very easily kill them? Even Kyubey’s appearance is highly implied to be a carefully calculated façade meant to lure teenage girls into a false sense of security and make them feel drawn to him. For example, Kyubey uses this to his advantage when he plays up his helplessness to Madoka in episode 1 when he’s being hunted down by Homura. In reality, the Incubator’s true appearance- as seen in Rebellion- are implied to be mechanical structures with giant eyes in the middle; a very alien appearance suiting their alien origins and psychology.
Speaking of child heroines, PMMM also addresses the magical girl tropes of the child heroine and the double life. In most magical girl shows, being a teenaged (or even child/preteen) magical girl is portrayed as an exciting, glamorous, heroic position. The role of magical girl is often contrasted against the mundane, yet still charming and school and civilian life. Magical girls often work hard to maintain the secret of their alter egos from their (non-magical girl) friends and family, although in some series the secret does come to light. However, the girls are usually able to enjoy a healthy balance between their personas.
In PMMM, magical girls seem more like child soldiers than glamorous heroines. Being young girls and not hardened adults, many magical girls face severe psychological trauma from the life they’re thrust into- much life real-life child soldiers. Most magical girls made their contracts without truly getting to think about their wish or the consequences of being a magical girl for the rest of their lives. And because getting enough Grief Seeds is literally life-or-death, they must spend most of their free time patrolling for Witches.
We get a good look at the toll being a magical girl takes on one’s social life through Mami’s character; supplementary materials reveal that she was once a popular girl who had a lot of friends, but after she was forced to contract in the same accident that killed her parents, she slowly lost all her friends because she had no time to do anything else but train, hunt Witches, fight Witches, etc in her free time. In episode 3, when Madoka talks about how she wants to be a magical girl, Mami outright tells her that the life of a magical girl is a lonely one and Madoka will no longer have time for things like boys or hanging out with her friends after school. Even in Magia Record- an alternate timeline that offers a much more positive look at the PMMM-verse- most magical girls are only friends with each other.
Another major example of a trope being twisted is that of the “monster of the week.” Most magical girl series have the girls fight monsters, and in many of those series the monsters are created from human beings. Sailor Moon and the Precure franchise are two standout examples of this. For example, in the fifth season of the 90s anime adaptation of Sailor Moon, people who don’t have “true” Star Seeds will turn into monsters called Phages if their Star Seeds (ie, souls) are ripped out. A similar phenomenon happens in Heartcatch Precure, with the added bonus of the victim’s consciousness eternally reliving the same state of despair that made them vulnerable in the first place. In all of these series, however, the magical girls are able to heal the victims and restore them to their former selves. Sometimes, if the monstevictim is a loved one or someone else known to them, they can even do a “I know you’re in there somewhere” plea to help them to break free.
PMMM takes the true horror of this concept up to eleven. Moreover, the victims aren’t regular people- they’re the magical girls themselves, and this fate is inevitable. Every magical girl, if she doesn’t die in battle against a Witch, will become a Witch herself who spreads despair and kills innocent people until the day she is put out of her misery by another magical girl. And she will be in misery; the Rebellion movie shows that Witches relive the worst moments of their lives over and over again and are psychologically tortured. A lot of Witches also seem to be in ironic hells. For example, Charlotte can create any dessert she wants except for cheese or cheesecakes, which is her favorite food. Roberta is surrounded by lascivious men (her familiars) who annoy her. And of course, every Witch was once a magical girl who once spread hope and saved people and now does the opposite.
It’s also made abundantly clear that once the Witch transformation happens, it’s over. There’s no saving someone. The only person in canon who is able to actually get results is Madoka- aka an actual goddess with huge karmic potential- and it comes with caveats (in one, later timeline she brings Sayaka back from the dead after she became Oktavia, and in Rebellion she is able to reverse Homura’s transformation into Homulilly- although afterwards Homura still needs to be brought into the Law of Cycles like any other magical girl about to become a Witch). In episode 9, when Kyoko and Madoka try to reach out to Sayaka’s inner self when Kyoko fights Oktavia, it ends in Kyoko’s death because nothing of Sayaka remains.
In most magical girl shows, the monsters of the week are just ineffectual mooks who are fodder for the evil organization opposing the magical girls. But in PMMM, they are mirrors of the magical girls themselves, agents of chaos and despair who present a very real threat to the magical girl’s lives- not to mention the lives of any unfortunate people who stumble across them.
Finally, I want to examine the topic of why magical girls fight in the first place. In most series, there is a group of villains who pose a threat to humanity/the Earth/etc and magical girls must oppose them. There is a very real external threat being faced.
In PMMM however, the beings that empoweperpetuate magical girls and are ultimately the threat are one and the same. Because the tragedy of PMMM is that magical girls are fighting against a self-perpetuating cycle; magical girls form contracts, magical girls become Witches, more magical girls form contracts and fight the Witches, and on and on it goes. Magical girls are their own enemy, in a sense.
I’m sure there are lots of tropes I’m forgetting, but this essay is already over 1,600 words long, lol. I might make a part 2 at some point, so give me your ideas!

Every once in a while that one DPR transcript we all know gets posted on here - the introductory tape that begins with "Hello Bitch. Are you comfortable right now?"
I posted in this as a comment in another thread but figured I'd make an actual post since it seems like not many people know that there is a second and almost equally horrifying transcript from that sadistic SOB.
(Obviously NSFW)

"Okay, bitch, we both know what you've been brought here for: a lot of fucking and sucking. Your wrists and ankles are chained and you're gagged because you're not gonna like the way I do it. You're going to be kept here naked and chained down. I'm going to use you for a sex slave. I'm into bondage and S&M. It's kind of hard to find a willing partner as it goes for that shit, so when I get the urge, I go out, find some good-looking little bitch that turns me on, kidnap her, and keep her in my playroom for a while for a sex toy. And this time it's your turn.
You're going to be tied or chained in different positions, whipped, raped repeatedly in your cunt, mouth, and asshole, and your tits and sex organs are going to be abused and tortured in a variety of different ways. I'm not going to cut you up or do anything that will cause serious injury, and don't worry about being killed, I don't plan to do that either. As long as you don't know me you don't present a risk, and in a week or two when I'm through with you, you can be turned loose. Your tits, pussy, and asshole is going to be stretched, swollen, and sore as hell. You'll have some whip marks, and you'll probably have a few blisters on your tits, nipples, and sex organs from cigarette burns...but nothing that won't heal up in a few days. You're going to be tied in a variety of different positions, but for the most part you'll be kept on a rectangular table chained down spread-eagled; your legs forced extremely wide apart. If your tits are big enough, I'm going to tie ropes around them and squeeze them with the ropes. They'll also be squeezed with a breast press, and I'm going to put clamps on each one of your nipples with long nylon cords on each one, and tie the cords very tight to ceiling rings overhead. I'm going to see just how far I can stretch your tits, and we're going to stretch your clit, and if you pass out while I'm doing this shit, I'll revive you with ammonia inhalants. I want you to feel every second of it.
And if you piss on yourself, I'm going to insert a catheter plug in your urethra, stop the hole up, the plug that I've got is pretty big and it's painful, and I'll leave it in until you're turned loose. I'm going to use an electroshock machine with the clamps attached to your nipples, clit, or to metal probes that'll be inserted into your pussy and asshole, and I'm going to stick needles in and through your nipples, tits, clit, and cunt lips. I have a hell of a good assortment of dildos, different sizes, everything from standard penis size up into some real monsters; three and a half four inches thick, about as big as a baby's head. What I plan to do with you is start with the smaller ones, stick them in your cunt and ass, play in your holes for a while, and each time a dildo is taken out, a little bit larger one will be put back in its place.
I'm going to experiment on you and see how large your holes can eventually be stretched. I've done it to a lot of women over the years, and you'd be surprised at how large dildos that I'm eventually going to be able to force into you, particularly in your pussy, and that hell is designed to have a baby come out of, I'm just gonna be going the wrong way. I'm sure that it goes without saying that you will not be given any opportunity to escape. A long heavy chain is going to be kept locked around your neck all the time that you're here, even if you did manage to get your hands and feet loose, there's no way in hell you get that chain over your head. I've told you exactly what I plan to do and it's going to be painful as hell, that's the way I want it to be, but it is not part of my fantasies to do permanent damage unless I'm provoked. You know, I've got a hell of a bad temper. I'm vindictive as hell. I move around a lot so it's of little consequence if you know where you're being kept, because when you're released, I'll be on my way to some of the town or state, but don't try to find out too much about me. If I thought that she knew enough to cause serious problems, you would not be turned loose. You would simply disappear so don't do anything to create a situation where it might become necessary.
But so much for that. I think you get the point, and right at the moment I'm pretty anxious to get you chained down on your back with your legs wide apart so I can give you a good examination, see what I've got to work with the next few days. As soon as I turn this tape off, you will have an excellent opportunity to try to beg for me to turn you loose. I may or may not be able to understand you through the gag, but if you want to, feel free to try. I love to listen to a bitch beg and plead...and this is the end of the tape."'

Source: https://lostmediawiki.com/David_Parker_Ray_(found_audio_tape_of_American_suspected_serial_killer;_1993)

TLDR: Has anyone in the Dallas area had success with Tall Fescue in the shade, or does it just die in the summer?
I moved into a house in one of these subdivisions where the houses are as close together as code allows, which makes it hard to grow grass in the side yards. My house faces roughly west, so I have a north side yard and south side yard. Along with being south, that side isn't as close to the neighboring house, so my Bermuda does fine.
The north side is a real problem, though. Somewhat surprisingly, the Bermuda does pretty well all the way up until the area directly under the overhang of my roof. Under there, it is pretty much barren. One thing that complicates the story somewhat is that the house had no gutters previously, there was a ton of erosion, and so I couldn't attribute the problems 100% to the shade.
Anyway, I got gutters put in and put down 2 pieces of Zeon Zoysia as a test. If it did well, that probably would have been the ideal solution. It's obviously not a perfect match for Bermuda, but in a place where Bermuda absolutely won't grow, it's the best I can hope for. Unfortunately, the Zeon has done horrible. As I write this, it seems to be barely clinging to life, and I see no evidence of any spread whatsoever.
My next attempt to get something to grow is Raleigh St. Augustine (couldn't get my hands on Palmetto). I know, I know, it will look horrible next to Bermuda, but this is a last ditch effort just to get something to grow there, prevent erosion, etc. I once again got 2 pieces as a test. This was two weeks ago. Looks fine so far, but obviously it takes time to be weakened by the shade.
I hope the St. Aug works, but I am already thinking ahead to my next step. The only thing left to try before I have to move on to a non-grass solution is Tall Fescue. I should know by Fall if the St. Aug is working out, and at that time I can throw down Fescue seed if not.
Has Fescue worked for anyone else? What variety? I assume it will go dormant in the summer, which is fine as long as it doesn't die completely.

Hello fellow Volvo fans,
I am driving down with my dad from Boston to Miami in my 2021 Volvo S60 momentum and I wanted to ask for some advise preparing the car for the long journey.
We are only doing one overnight stop in North Carolina.
What are somethings we should consider while getting the car ready?
Some data about the car:
Volvo S60 momentum with over 16k miles. Last maintenance was in November 2022. The back seats will be folded and will have the car packed with things.
Thank you in advance!

So, it was more of a nightmare really, but it essentially that team RWBY eventually get caught up in a huge deception by Salem in Beacon.
Salem has hundreds of incredibly life-like human replicas acting hospitable, but it feels off.
An important piece of context for this is that the girls just escaped a huge exhausting battle where everyone was limping away just to escape, and they finally make it out of there.
Anyway, the girls get escorted by old faces to a sort've safe room, where ALL of their dead friends and enemies, that had interacted with Salem or her lackeys to any meaningful degree, are there. So, Pyrrha, Penny, Ironwood, Adam, Hazel, Summer, Raven, Jacques, you get the picture.
The main idea is that we'd spend 4 episodes on each of the girls dealing with Salem's delusions to their breaking points, wherein the puppets are preying on their fears with their friends faces, going in the order Weiss, Blake, Yang, and then Ruby, with it being sort've an inverse of the smoke scene from V9, where everyone's getting broken down as they figure out what's happening is just complete torture and they attempt to fight their way through it, only to be tricked at every turn; even when one of girls finds another member of their team while dealing with this, they're not sure if it's really their teammate or not.
Finally leading up to Ruby's episode where she holds steadfast to her convictions to be able to mentally deal with Salem's deception, and eventually, Silver eyes her way out to find that everyone had gotten captured and then spread around Salem's castle, being mentally tortured in different rooms.
I wanna know if this sounds bad as an initial encounter for Salem, so feedback would be appreciated.

Well I made a mistake. I went running outside in North Carolina when we had a air quality alert in our area due to the wildfires in Canada. It was sunny but very hazy. I only ran for 30-45 minutes but now my sinuses are on fire and my head is pounding. I took a Tylenol last night but next day everything still hurts. What can I do to help alleviate this aggravation and headache? Did i do any long term harm?