I know in my case I was open to relationships with women but dating men was so much easier it just never happened. On the outside it seems I’m hetero because that’s all anyone would see.

It DOES bother me that so many depictions of “strong women” in media are characterized like men. Apparently in movies a “strong female character” has to be physically strong and be able to kick ass. I would love to see more respectful and nuanced portrayals of feminine strength (in male AND female characters) through nurturing, empathetic, patient, and perceptive protagonists. I do think that femininity has been devalued in Western culture and could do with more respect. However he’s clearly full of shit about the “biological imperative” bullshit and has been huffing the Jordan Petersen pop evo psych junk “science” pervasive in the man-o-sphere.

There is no “the one”, and there is no such thing as a soul mate.

If someone convinces you that they are your soul mate, and you genuinely believe it to be true… how much bad behavior would you put up with? Would you put up with insults? Passive aggressive digs? Resentment? Substance abuse? Physical abuse? What would it take for you to leave your soul mate? How bad would it have to get for you to give up “the one”? You would think that you might say, “well that person clearly isn’t the one”, but maybe this is just a rough patch. Sometimes things can be so good. They make you feel like there could never be a bond like yours, and after years or even a decade, it can be a hard truth to come to terms with.

If you are in a relationship, it’s with another flawed human. There are people who have traits, personalities and temperaments that will be more or less compatible with you. You can think about how that relationship fits or doesn’t fit in your life, what your needs are, and what behavior you will or won’t tolerate. Most importantly, YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE. If you feel relief when you are alone, and feel a sinking dread when they call or text, you do not owe that person a relationship.

And anyone who threatens suicide if you leave, or says earnestly that they cannot live without you, is not entitled to your life in return. Someone who says that is either bluffing, or just looking for an excuse. You only get so many years of life to waste on misery.

Sounds like you’ve had mostly good experiences with strangers, which is frankly quite nice. And obviously, you had a strong bond with at least one male, who listened to you and wanted to work together with you. He understood you, and it’s just sad that he stopped being your friend when those pesky crewmembers cured the Hex Virus.

Found it really funny that in a green text meme post that was basically “-want to be a woman -don’t have dysphoria” that when someone said they had the same sentiment as OP there was instantly someone in the comments saying they might be trans… as opposed to, you know, just already being a woman 😂

I had some unhealthy eating habits in the first year I had a kid, and I seem to be able to maintain the same size easily but getting smaller is hard. I actually don’t mind what I see in the mirror, I think my shape is nice and I’m healthy enough to do all the things I enjoy, but what really bothers me is I can’t fit into my favorite clothes 😭 I love clothes, I love playing dress up, and in the decade prior to having a baby I had found some amazing second hand finds that brought me joy and delight. I have a panoply of pretty things that helped define my personal style, but now only a small fraction of my wardrobe fits me. I can still wear some pieces, and I’ve found a couple new things for my current size, but I look in my closet with longing to wear my beautiful clothes again.

I’ve been impressed with my set of bamboo blend underwear from Boody, specifically the underpants. I bought like 8 pairs over a decade ago, and when I bought another set a few years ago and mixed them into the old pairs it was hard to tell the difference. I machine wash them and air dry them and they’ve held up extremely well. They’re so soft and comfortable I can’t really feel them when they’re on, which is remarkable because I have trouble filtering sensory things.

They’ve held up so well after hundreds of wears I feel good recommending them to others. They ARE very simple, but they come in a variety of fits and colors.

Pancakes are basically a soft flat quick bread. Breads have been a staple of people’s diets for milennia. You get out of it what you put in, so if you want more complex carbs just make them that way.

For “real butter”, try specifically a “cultured butter” like Kerrygold. There’s butter and then there’s cultured butter, and cultured butter has way more of a concentrated butter taste. Your average supermarket butter is basically just milk fat that’s been aerated but not aged at all, think of the difference in flavor between mozarella and an aged cheddar cheese. Using a cultured butter for your pancakes is probably the fastest and easiest way to zhuzh them up, along with real maple syrup.

My 15 year old self was ambitious, pompous, materialistic and very edgy. I think she’d be disappointed I wasn’t living in a castle, and confused as to why I wasn’t a high powered lawyer making 6 figures. She would also wonder what happened to our “soul mate” from high school (lol). Honestly I don’t care what she thinks, I’m glad my goals and priorities have changed since then.

How nice of them to affirm your gender like that 😂 they were just being supportive!

“It gets easier”.

Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard right now and the future being whatever doesn’t help. The challenges keep shifting constantly so that just when I feel like I have things figured out I’m faced with entirely new stuff to create solutions and strategize for. It also doesn’t help because we’re planning on having another one! So even if things get easier with kiddo one, we will be right back to the starting line with kiddo two. I know how tempting it is to say it but I’m tired of hearing it.

I’ve grown to love being tall and physically big. I like to stand up straight and take up space. I used to be self conscious about it, especially in school, and I wished I was delicate and waifishly feminine but I’m owning it now. Being made on a larger scale helps me feel powerful and confident. I am hard to intimidate and I can stand up to bullies.

Banished, you can’t get more Indie than just one guy’s passion project.

I don’t know what it is about that game but it really struck a chord with me and I’ve come back to it over and over. It’s my favorite game to play when I’m sick and can’t do anything. It’s relaxing and peaceful and cozy while also being complex and ruthlessly challenging at the same time, so it’s like spinning plates. Seems easy when you get the hang of it but it can all come crashing down if you make a bad enough mistake. It’s spawned some copy cats, and I’ve tried them, but the original just gets me somehow.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I have emotional support but not “practical” support, if that makes sense. Lots of sympathetic people but no one who can take over doing the things that need to get done unfortunately. So I’m struggling to keep the balls in the air while also understanding I need time.

I had to say goodbye to my 18/19 year old kitty last week, and I’m trying to get back to my life and things as normal but I just want to stare at my phone or play video games. I have Responsibilities and I can see them sliding. I’m trying to be gentle with myself, but little voice inside is saying “do better!” while another is like “can’t you just have a week?” Would love to delegate said Responsiblities but not an option unfortunately.

Sure they do, all the time, as long as it’s an interesting story.

More than half of the books on this list are by “random” ie, non famous people.

It’s definitely not Guild Wars 1, but it does still have a “low level cap” in the way that it’s extremely easy to get to max level doing a variety of content, then the vast majority of content is done at that level. You probably reach level 80 within completing not even 5%-10% of the total available content, so it’s just a number. The way you “advance” your character is through gear and cosmetics, and there’s an account leveling system called masteries you unlock at 80.

As a long time fan and proud GWAMM, honestly it doesn’t need the “classic” treatment. It’s still online, and the last major content patches didn’t change anything significant enough to alter the gameplay in a way that would make people “miss the old days”. They added some end game content and some quality of life improvements and some tools that allowed players to more easily solo content, then left well enough alone. It still has a small core of regular players, and has the event schedule going on auto. I suppose they could do some graphical improvements but it’s still a very good game as it is

I am a big fan of the books, read all of them plus shorts a couple of times now. Sure I would have cast a different look for Murderbot but they have direct quotes and scenes straight from All Systems Red right there in the trailer. I am also a fan of the Witcher books and Wheel of Time, so in contrast to those adaptations I am hyped haha.