• What's the name of the long side of a book? (a spine)
• What's the name of that tiny red joystick some laptops have on their keyboard? (nub⚠️)
• If a hamburger is made from cow, then what is a pork burger called? (a pork burger)

Welcome to our daily 'What do you call this thing?' thread!

We see many threads each day that ask people to identify certain items. Please feel free to use this thread as a way to post photos of items or objects that you don't know.

⚠️ RULES

🔴 Please do not post NSFW pictures, and refrain from NSFW responses. Baiting for NSFW or inappropriate responses is heavily discouraged.
🟠 Report NSFW content. The more reports, the higher it will move up in visibility to the mod team.
🟡 We encourage dialects and accents. But please be respectful of each other and understand that geography, accents, dialects, and other influences can bring different responses.
🟢 However, intentionally misleading information is still forbidden.
🔵 If you disagree - downvote. If you agree, upvote. Do not get into slap fights in the comments.
🟣 More than one answer can be correct at the same time! For example, a can of Pepsi can be called: Coke, cola, soda, soda pop, pop, and more, depending on the region.

I(F38) She(F40) we've been dating since November. We are long distance. When we started talking everything was ok. We talked every single day, texted all day, video chat etc. Them around Christmas and New years I started not hearing from her as much. She took her kids traveling for one of their birthdays. In January I got to see her for two days. In those two days we pretty much spent all day with her, her sister, and her wife. She stayed at the hotel with me. After the visit I didn't from her for almost week not talking on the phone. I sent her a long text stating I wanted her to be honest with me because it seem like she was slowly ghosting me and stringing me along and not being serious about me. She immediately responded and said that wasnt the case that's she just been busy with work and she starts telling me about the navy. She apologized and said she promise to do better.
She starts doing a little better then she starts slacking off again. She barely calls me or text me. I will see get on Facebook before she calls or text me. She be on tik tok. There was a time I use to can see when the last time she was on there she literally turned that feature off. I always have to call her or text her. Then when I text her she takes all day to respond. She knows what time I start and get off work. She knows what days I'm off.
This week she was suppose to come to see me on Wednesday. She never called me. I only received a text from her saying she was at the airport. If you work for the airline they have this system called buddy passes( To me it's not worth it)where you get to fly for free locally. The only thing is you have to wait if seats are available after everybody that has paid get their seats. She tells me she was on the plane and got kicked off that was at 10:32. I still didn't hear from her all day. Mind you I got off work early and paid for a hotel. Not one time did she call me and tell me what was going on.During this time I see she's been on Facebook. She also has been on tik tok. At 6:32 on my way to the hotel she tells me she's in my and that she has to rent a car and drive back to Philly. No call and no text after that. When I called around 9 she didn't pick up. She told me that she just made it home and she's dealing with kids right now and that she would call me. She never called me. I called her the phone ranged and she never picked up.
The next day which is Thursday. I text her but I didn't call her. I'm texting her and still never responds. Later she text me after I asked her if she was ok. She said she was so mad about yesterday and how she really want to see me. Then I text her if she's ok what's wrong. She says no that she's in her feelings and wanted to see me. I still don't hear from her. When I text her telling her I'm not mad at her. She text back saying she on flight. When I get home I tell her I made it home. I then tell her that I really wanted to talk to her tonight and that I was gonna call her when she's at her second job. Again my mom knows about her suppose to come to see me now it's looking like she's lying about shit. My mom has no idea we've been having issues as far as her not communicating. My mom believes long distance never work so I didn't tell her what was going on. She is literally proving my mom right. She is having doubt about us strictly because this situation happened. Not one time did she call me and ask if it was ok. The two ppl that asked if I was ok was my mom and my bestfriend. I can hear the concern in my mom's voice because I spent money on a hotel and left work early because of her. My bestfriend thinks she's lying about shit. When we talked she literally told me the times it shows active on Facebook sometimes she doesn't be on. I investigated that and it's true sometimes. But her case I feel that's not true for her. When she she's not on Facebook and she's sleep it say she has was active 7 hours ago. The things I have asked her she's been truthful. I know where she works. I know where she lives. I've met her family. She has told me personal shit that if anybody wanted to use her they would quickly run with it. Somebody with no good intentions will try to use her because the things she do to be stable. She has a very good job, owns her home. The only reason she's been so open is because she never has worry about being with her because of what she has because I have my own everything. So what she tells me doesn't matter. I know there's trust when it comes to that. Like I am in love with her. I tell her how much I love her everyday. We are not official yet. I even told her in the beginning I don't want my time wasted. Recently I asked when she gonna be my gf and she's gonna have me waiting forever. She told me "not forever' so I left it alone after that. When we talk we talk about all other things except about me and her.
At night when she's at her second job, I called 3 separate times she never picked up. I texted her she never respond back. At this point I am very unhappy. Wednesday when she was suppose to visit she was on Facebook. I always have to call her. She never send me a good night text. I buy her lunch sometimes. In the beginning she bought me lunch and sent flowers and candy to my job. She bought something for me for Christmas and she gave it to me when I saw her in January. Since then I haven't received any gifts from her, no letters, etc. About two weeks ago she asked if she can buy me lunch I said yes. That was it. Last time we really talked on the phone was at 12:00 am on her birthday of May 8. When she say she'll call me she never calls and I stay up late waiting on her call. She knows damn well I have to get up early for work. But No she never calls. Since then we haven't talked. Not one time did she apologize or call to see if I was ok. I even sent her a text asking why is she not answering my calls or text. No response. I've decided that today I will not contact her at all. Again I am not sure what to do at this point. What would you do?

I was looking for my very first mechanical keyboard, with a 75% layout in mind and quiet linear switches. I had almost made up my mind to get the k2 v2 hot swappable with the gateron red switches, so came to this sub to get some reviews. Most of the threads have people suggesting a RK or other brands instead of a Keychron and how keychron is so bad etc. Why is it so? I am very new to this, thought keychron was the OG back in the day and yes, it was part of every desk setup video on youtube (yes, the MKBHD one).
Kindly share your opinions regarding the same.

Me (19F) and my boyfriend (21M) went to a club together, it has two floors, one floor (downstairs is disco floor, had 70s,80s and 90s music) and the top floor (2000s music). We both get quite drunk, he’s more drunk than I am, he meets these two strangers in the smoking area (1 male and 1 woman, both similar ages to us) he then brings them along to dance with us. The disco floor you can’t bring drinks on. We dance with them for a bit, i say i wanna be upstairs (i prefer the music) he then says he prefers downstairs. So i tell him okay i’ll drink my drink upstairs(as you can’t have it downstairs) and then come get me to go downstairs. He never comes and gets me. I’m not familiar to the club, been to it once, also don’t know the area as I was visiting his house. He doesn’t check up on me for an hour and a half. I was dancing because i was drunk, but i was also getting hit on a lot and had these older men hitting on me, made me feel uncomfortable so i had to go to these random strangers for help. So i was dancing alone and he doesn’t come get me at any point, i was checking my phone every 10 mins or so to see if he has messaged me. He hasn’t. I go downstairs and try find him with some people i met, i couldn’t find him. And these people that were helping me said i should break up with him as he’s left me alone to be targeted on by men. After it being 2 hours of not seeing him and i was panicking as i don’t know the area and thought he had ditched me, i went outside to call my friend. He then finds me, his story was that he saw me alone and dancing and therefore thought i was fine to be alone as i’ve told him before that i like to be left alone (bare in mind this is when we’re at home and im not feeling very talkative, i want space, not at a club!!) that’s why he thought it was best to leave me. he then told me he was in the men’s bathroom and why didn’t i look for him?! I did but i can’t go in the men’s bathroom. i asked him why he didn’t look for me, he said he thought i was fine, i then explained to him, why did you think it was fine as i get hit on even when im with you, so why do you think it’s a good idea to leave me alone with creepy older men. He didn’t understand this. He then tells me that he has looked after me other times, making excuses on why he didn’t have too tonight. He also said i don’t wanna be asked if im okay all the time (again the context is us being at home and we’re just sat watching the tv, i don’t wanna be told if im okay thousands of times when im not doing anything like watching the tv but i wanna be asked if im okay at a club?!). I told him random strangers looked after me more than you have and i’m not their responsibility. Like they were more concerned than he was. And we go home he keeps going on and on about how of a shit boyfriend he is and saying he’s a failure, making me feel guilty and trying to make him feel better. Even though i think he’s in the wrong. We go to bed in separate rooms, the next day he buys my flowers and says he’s sorry. Should I forgive him or break up with him? Like I don’t get how he could leave me for 2 hours in a place I don’t know very well, and I genuinely believed he left me, like i thought im going to have to find a hotel or something as i don’t have keys, and his life360 said he’s at home. I don’t know, maybe it was a honest mistake but why was he giving excuses like he saw me and i looked fine, but didn’t come up to me, like that’s enough to leave me for 2 hours?? and not even a text?? and the fact that he’s looked after me loads of times and that gives him enough reason to leave me alone, like i haven’t had to look after him when he’s really drunk and managed to get us both home. I feel guilty every time i express my feelings to him as he just goes on and on about how shit he is, and that he never does anything right and then i’m left to forget how i felt and try and make him feel better. Any Advice please

What are the books that had the biggest influence on your practice or your beliefs? That rocked your world and made you go 'what?!'. Not necessarily 'witchcraft' or non-fiction books, everything goes!
I love how diverse this community is, so I'm really curious what shaped you as a practitioner!
Here's mine:
1. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer very original! But reading about someone who is a scientist, but also very much a spiritual person really hit home. They always felt like two separate worlds, but they fit together beautifully.

1. Of Blood and Bones: Working with Shadow Magick & the Dark Moon by Kate Freuler Made me realise that witchcraft is not only sunshine and flowers or hexes and curses. You can use the darker stuff too, without going around cursing people. Life is a cycle, and sometimes you want a flowercrown and pretty candles, and sometimes you want hag energy and skulls to get shit done. I don't actually use most of the recipes and rituals presented in the book, but it gave me a lot of inspiration to broaden my practice.
   
2. The Witch at the Forest's Edge: Thirteen Keys to Modern Traditional Witchcraft by Christine Grace is a book about Hedgewitchcraft. I started listening to the audiobook and ordered the paper copy before I even finished it. I already jokingly called myself a hedgewitch because when I go out in nature, most of my time will be spent literally in the hedge. Listening to this book I realised the Hedgeriding part is actually something that greatly interest me. Letting go of my scientific rational self and daring to jump into the unknown.
   

Honorable mentions: Terry Pratchett's Witches and you guys!

I am quite a familiar user of standing desk (and ergonomic chair, too) and thought that maybe all the isssues and experiences I had with my standing desks as a long-time user can help those who are considering buying one:

1. Never buy 1-motor standing desk, no matter how good its price is. Trust me on this as you will probably regret it shortly after 2-3 weeks of using it. First, 1-motor standing desk means weaker loading capacity. This will cause you trouble if you want to customize your desk. An average 1-motor standing desk can lift up to 100 - 150 lbs, but don't forget that this also includes your tabletop. A solid wood tabletop with the size 48''x24'' can weigh ~30 lbs already, not to mention all those stuff like monitor arm, 1-2 monitors and dozens of accessories on top of it (let's imagine you have a gaming monitor that's 34 inches wide, 2 sets of speakers, 1 CPU, keyboard, books, other decorations...ask yourself how long your 1-motor standing desk can survive with all these things). Apart from this, 1-motor standing desk also have high risk of causing uneven issue (because only 1-leg have the motor and the other doesn't) -> trust me, you don't want to buy a desk and plan to use it for 2-5 years, then constantly have to reach out to CS just because your standing desk has a silly problem)
2. Invest in the frame, not the top: The most important part of a standing desk is its frame, not the top. The desk frame hosts all the technology inside it and directly affect 80% of your experiences. A deks frame that's considered good enough is one that is made of SPCC steel, can lift up to at least 200 Ibs. You should also check what's the max & min height of the desk frame to know if it's suit you or not. For me a good height range should be somewhere between 26'' to 53'' (some products in the market are now offering around 29'' to 52'', and for me it's okay but some of my friends said that with 29'' min height it's still too high for them). Also, normally after like 1-2 years, you might want to change your tabletop due to its decreased quality, or you just simply want to refresh your workspace. So you're gonna keep the frame and get rid of the old tabletop. That's why invest too much money on the tabletop in the beginning is not a wise choice to make.
3. Choosing the right top: This can greatly vary depending on each user's preferences, but I believe most of the discussions would be about this thing: MDF or Solid wood. To summarize it: MDF is cheaper, lighter, and less affected by environmental changes (places where humidity is high can eventually affect the quality & finishing of solid wood furniture). In the meantime, solid wood top is heavier, sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing. Solid wood can come with different natural shapes and patterns if you a fan of these things. Also, there's one thing that lots of standing desk sellers or brands won't tell you, is that the shipping cost of solid wood top is quite pricey due to its weight. So if you plan to buy a solid wood, be aware that it's not that you are paying more for better quality, but sometimes you are paying more for shipping. I also asked some of my friends and colleagues about whether they like mdf or solid wood tabletop, and it's 50 50. But there's one thing I agree: people choosing solid wood top over mdf is not because of the finishing or quality but more about the looks and feels of it. As nowadays technologies allow standing desk makers to improve the finishing quality of their mdf top way better than before, and when it's out in the market it's difficult to pinpoint any imperfections on the quality (also, there's this thing called UV coating which is applied in the production of mdf wood top, the harder the UV coating is, the better the quality of the tabletop. you can search more on Google, I am not a technical expert so I will pass it here)
4. Price: A 2-motor standing desk starts from $300 - $500 (Autonomous, Flexispot, Fezibo), or $600 - $800 (Ergonofis, Branch, Uplift), or above $1000 with some big brand names (HM/Fully, Secretlabs...). And it's really up to your budget, but for me it's not really worth investing in more than $1000 for a standing desk (I notice some brand like deskhaus sell their desk at $2000 which is crazy). I understand that higher price come higher quality, but please keep in mind this: will you actually use all of that crazy features and functions that go with that crazy price? For example, a $1000 desk frame (without top) is surely more sturdy than a $300-$400 one, and can lift up to 400 Ibs, but do you really need that capacity? For me, there are products that I just need them to be good enough and come with a fair price, and desk are one of them.
5. Other things, keypad design, warranty...:. For some people, keypad design is a minor thing, as long as it functions well. But for me I have a different point of view. The interesting thing about the keypad are it's a small part of a standing desk but can significantly contribute to the overal feelings of user about the desk itself, depending on its design and how you interact with it. There a different types of keypad design in the market: Physical button; touchscreen (button or slide, like Ergonofis desks); and touchless (like the SmartDesk Levitate) Mine are physical button (from Autonomous), and it's alright. But I wish it has more cool features, like the touchscreen slider of Ergonofis or a integrating the keypad onto the desk top, like Secretlabs Magnus Pro. For me the important thing about the keypad is how cool/asthetic it looks, not its function. Because the memory presets and standing/sitting modes are way too basic to be considered, and almost all brands offer this so it's not a big concerns. But from the moment you interact with a cool, creative keypad design, you can immediately tell if you love that desk or not.

TL;DR: Go for 2-motor standing desk; invest money in the desk frame over the top; don't go for expensive standing desk (>$2000) unless you have to/or have budget; cool/creative keypad design can positively affect your overall experiences.

@shark_at_heart1 I am a shark (12) living in Hawaii swimming around providing for my family and most importantly keeping them as safe as they can be. I always notice how the people around me walking around are worry-free about the dangers above ground. Though they can walk and gather resources above ground they sometimes come to the ocean for my food (fish) and I don’t blame them because I enjoy fish and do not mind sharing them with the people that are around due to the abundance of fish in the sea. When I get my food from the people they always gather around and have some kind of silence time followed by flowers and ti leaf in the water, I am unfamiliar with this celebration. This usually happens when one of them goes out into the water too deep and my family and friends take the person as compensation for the fish they take out. Initially, I thought this was how our relationship was but hasn’t been that way recently… They always yell very loud either in the morning or when they do gatherings and it does bother me quite a bit especially when my children are still asleep. (I know I am a little young to have children but I don’t have any regrets.) This bothers me but I ignore it as I am unable to breathe on the surface and can only survive in salt water. Lately, there has been a surge in loud songs, or as I have learned they call them “oli” and this is because there is apparently someone special and I have sensed this (I have a very good sense of smell.) Their scent(s) are unnatural, almost god-like but I digress, a person is a person besides the only gods that I know of are Kamohoaliʻi, Kāne Milohaʻi, Pele, Kapo, Nāmaka, and Hiʻiaka. I had thought that Hiʻiaka had some issues with her sister so I didn’t know if Hiʻiaka was going to show up at some beach in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Just when I had thought this I heard one of their oli calling for the goddess pele at a hole in the ground which had me convinced these were gods that came to our town. The oli went something like this “O Pele of the red earth The woman in the heart of Kāne In Kāne’s land of abundance” and ending with ““Let there be life, and may Papa live Papanuioleka PapanuialaikamokuLet there be life.” When this oli finished I had a bad feeling and just then a gust of wind passed by us and scared my children and I. First impression of these “gods” and we are not fans and what they did next really gave me discomfort in my gills. The earth started shaking violently and swam quickly to protect my family which these “gods” had almost no care for. When the shaking I assured my family that they were safe and no one was going to hurt them, not even the gods for that matter. The rest of the day went pretty well. Nothing too eventful went about my day gathering food and scaring away other sharks that were threatening me as I went further out away from the people. Right as I thought that we were all good between us and the people I saw them “surfing” and this is when I thought they were apologizing and my time to feast on them. I wait a while before attacking trying to find the perfect target, some are too fast and too skinny, but I wait until the perfect person. Just then I saw a woman surfing and she was at first too fast but as I was about to give up the ocean gave her straight to me and pushed her in my direction right as I tried to attack. There was a human “hand” made right from water that brought her up and away from my grasp. I am stunned when this happens because I have never seen this happen to any of the humans ever in my whole life and just when this happens I get pushed away so aggressively almost as if the water was working for the human? I was and still am very confused about what had happened that day and wondering if I should try to retaliate against the water, the women, or the people inland. I am looking forward to responses and will use whatever you guys give me to assist me, please respond if you know anything about these “gods”

La forêt silencieuse. It simply translates to the silent forest. An eerie description for what has become the grave of many beautiful souls and probably many more in the future.
We were a group of three friends, huge science enthusiasts or big-time nerds if you prefer, visiting a foreign country on our annual leave. During a night at a bar, Esperanza, who could understand the local language overheard a conversation about the nearby forest and the fact that it was devoid of fauna. There was a little touch of superstition to it, but our scientific and rational spirits could not subscribe to that. Therefore, to spice up our stay, we decided to investigate the next day.
Not a single soul wanted to take us to the forest without really explaining why according to Esperanza, so we decided to go on foot since it was a little bit visible from our accommodation. Near the entrance, one man ran after us shouting things I could not understand. That was the scariest thing our group of girls could witness so far, so Esperanza told us to run and so we did, entering the forest, giggling like little girls going on an adventure.
From a very young age, I always loved nature. Even after what has happened, I still do to a certain extent. It saddened my heart to see multiple plants and flowers, crushed on the ground, leading our way and fueling our curiosity, as strange marks and patterns also decorated the semi-dry soil. The trees were very tall and shielded us from the late afternoon sun. We took a few pictures and soon realized that the rumor was true. We could not spot one small bird or even a butterfly, and the only sounds we could hear were the ones we made, and those from the wind and rustling leaves. That was at least until we heard it for the first time.
It seemed to come from underground, like the sound of a voluminous tree being uprooted, accompanied by more rustling leaves noises. We looked up and could not spot anything. That was the time we decided to head back to the accommodation, after all, evening was fast approaching.
"Girls please hurry." Ines kept on saying during our walk back to the entrance, constantly looking behind her.
"Don't worry kiddo, we did not go too deep inside anyway. We'll soon be out." Esperanza spoke, reassuring her little sister. "The scariest thing that could happen now is another Raquel's lecture." She added, prompting her sister to chuckle.
"At least, she can't bore the locals with those." Ines added to the mockery.
"What that crazy dude was saying?" I asked Esperanza, ignoring their teasing.
"Oh, that guy, I didn't get it well but, something about disappearing and—"
The same noises interrupted us, but that time, they were coming from multiple directions around us. The rumor was then proving absolutely false. Something was definitely in that forest. We started jogging, looking around us and especially above us without seeing anything suspicious, and that for maybe over an hour, till evening and darkness found us. We had to stop at some point, after the noises stopped, because we were tired and out of breath.
We could no longer find our way out.
Finally thinking of contacting help, none of us knew what the right number could be, so instead, Esperanza found the number of our accommodation owner in her call history and phoned the gentleman. The communication did not really go well as there was some kind of interference, and suddenly, once again, the noises startled us. That time however, we could see that something high up in the trees, apparently sped towards us, as branches and leaves from afar were agitated by a moving force.
"Run, RUN!" Esperanza shouted, pushing Ines and I to lead the way.
All of us ran for our lives and for countless minutes since the strange noises would not stop. However, the moment we stopped because we were out of breath, Ines and I noticed that Esperanza had disappeared. At that point, Ines had reached her limit and just started screaming her sister's name desperately. I had to hug her to calm her down, and like a symbol of hope, we then saw the emergency flares in the sky. Esperanza did pass the message successfully and help had arrived somehow. They were showing us which way to go.
None of us wanted to abandon Esperanza but we needed to get help and assistance. After I made Ines understand that, I took her hand and we started running towards the flares, still escorted by the noises. They grew louder by the second but we did not stop, we could not stop if we wanted to survive. We ran until the ground suddenly caved in and we fell into a hole. It was not really deep, so I could quickly regain my senses, shaking my head to remove the sand, especially after hearing Ines scream at the surface. The screams were brief, quickly replaced by squelching sounds that grew louder as I climbed up. I did not even exit the hole when it came into view. Its branches morphed into two gigantic arms covered with leaves, it held half of Ines in one hand while its other one helped it chew and swallow the rest of my friend's body. A tree next to it then transformed, its branches regrouping to form two arms, while a bald head with two luminous white eyes and a large mouth, emerged from the top of the trunk.
The threat was not a predator hiding in the trees, it was the trees.
Ines remaining half was soon coveted by the other tree as a scuffle soon erupted. They started to move away from the hole, their roots sliding on the ground and making those underground sounds we have been hearing all that time. They mangled what was left of Ines while I seized the opportunity to attempt an escape. As soon as they noticed me, their branches moved up to cover their heads as if they reverted back to being normal looking trees, and they chased me, swerving between other trees. I ran, sobbing as I knew I could not escape them because of their incredible speed. Soon, other trees imitated the monsters as soon as I passed them, transforming behind me and joining the chase.
At some point, everything stopped again plunging the whole forest into a dead calm only disturbed by the emergency flares noises, my steps, my heavy breath and sobs. All the time, I tried looking around and behind me, unable to tell the difference between those monsters and normal trees, not even knowing if there were some normal trees in that forest or if all of them were monsters. Something then grabbed me from behind and lifted me up. It was one of them. It quickly directed me to its mouth while I screamed in fear and despair. At that moment, I really thought it was the end, but it suddenly stopped in its track. I remained in its massive hand, hyperventilating with my mouth and eyes wide open, having a good look at the piercing white eyes of the monstrosity.
"Em pure" I apparently heard it say, which I later discovered to be exactly 'impur' a word that means impure. It then tossed me away so violently that I only remember hitting something and falling unconscious.
Upon waking up the next morning, I discreetly looked around, surprised to be alive, then just stood up and dashed in a random direction. There was no noise, except for my panting and steps, the wind and the leaves. I ran without stopping for one second, my sight disturbed by the blood covering my forehead, determined to seize that last opportunity to stay alive. I then exited the forest and found myself in a field from where I could see a farmhouse. It was the end of the nightmare.
I became a curiosity for the locals as nobody ever made it alive out of the silent forest before. The authorities extracted all the information they could from me about what had transpired in those woods. Some believed me, others just could not, but we agreed on an official version about my friends and I being attacked by wild boars. I was then diagnosed with a condition that affected my blood, something I never knew I had, which they believe is what made me impure to the eyes of those things.
Traumatized to the core, I went back to my country, unable to really leave that nightmare behind as to this day, I am scared of trees. Despite that, I really try to cherish my life even though I feel guilty for having survived. Also, I have come to accept that science does not have the answers for everything, and that leaving certain mysteries alone is a wise choice.

La forêt silencieuse. It simply translates to the silent forest. An eerie description for what has become the grave of many beautiful souls and probably many more in the future.
We were a group of three friends, huge science enthusiasts or big-time nerds if you prefer, visiting a foreign country on our annual leave. During a night at a bar, Esperanza, who could understand the local language overheard a conversation about the nearby forest and the fact that it was devoid of fauna. There was a little touch of superstition to it, but our scientific and rational spirits could not subscribe to that. Therefore, to spice up our stay, we decided to investigate the next day.
Not a single soul wanted to take us to the forest without really explaining why according to Esperanza, so we decided to go on foot since it was a little bit visible from our accommodation. Near the entrance, one man ran after us shouting things I could not understand. That was the scariest thing our group of girls could witness so far, so Esperanza told us to run and so we did, entering the forest, giggling like little girls going on an adventure.
From a very young age, I always loved nature. Even after what has happened, I still do to a certain extent. It saddened my heart to see multiple plants and flowers, crushed on the ground, leading our way and fueling our curiosity, as strange marks and patterns also decorated the semi-dry soil. The trees were very tall and shielded us from the late afternoon sun. We took a few pictures and soon realized that the rumor was true. We could not spot one small bird or even a butterfly, and the only sounds we could hear were the ones we made, and those from the wind and rustling leaves. That was at least until we heard it for the first time.
It seemed to come from underground, like the sound of a voluminous tree being uprooted, accompanied by more rustling leaves noises. We looked up and could not spot anything. That was the time we decided to head back to the accommodation, after all, evening was fast approaching.
"Girls please hurry." Ines kept on saying during our walk back to the entrance, constantly looking behind her.
"Don't worry kiddo, we did not go too deep inside anyway. We'll soon be out." Esperanza spoke, reassuring her little sister. "The scariest thing that could happen now is another Raquel's lecture." She added, prompting her sister to chuckle.
"At least, she can't bore the locals with those." Ines added to the mockery.
"What that crazy dude was saying?" I asked Esperanza, ignoring their teasing.
"Oh, that guy, I didn't get it well but, something about disappearing and—"
The same noises interrupted us, but that time, they were coming from multiple directions around us. The rumor was then proving absolutely false. Something was definitely in that forest. We started jogging, looking around us and especially above us without seeing anything suspicious, and that for maybe over an hour, till evening and darkness found us. We had to stop at some point, after the noises stopped, because we were tired and out of breath.
We could no longer find our way out.
Finally thinking of contacting help, none of us knew what the right number could be, so instead, Esperanza found the number of our accommodation owner in her call history and phoned the gentleman. The communication did not really go well as there was some kind of interference, and suddenly, once again, the noises startled us. That time however, we could see that something high up in the trees, apparently sped towards us, as branches and leaves from afar were agitated by a moving force.
"Run, RUN!" Esperanza shouted, pushing Ines and I to lead the way.
All of us ran for our lives and for countless minutes since the strange noises would not stop. However, the moment we stopped because we were out of breath, Ines and I noticed that Esperanza had disappeared. At that point, Ines had reached her limit and just started screaming her sister's name desperately. I had to hug her to calm her down, and like a symbol of hope, we then saw the emergency flares in the sky. Esperanza did pass the message successfully and help had arrived somehow. They were showing us which way to go.
None of us wanted to abandon Esperanza but we needed to get help and assistance. After I made Ines understand that, I took her hand and we started running towards the flares, still escorted by the noises. They grew louder by the second but we did not stop, we could not stop if we wanted to survive. We ran until the ground suddenly caved in and we fell into a hole. It was not really deep, so I could quickly regain my senses, shaking my head to remove the sand, especially after hearing Ines scream at the surface. The screams were brief, quickly replaced by squelching sounds that grew louder as I climbed up. I did not even exit the hole when it came into view. Its branches morphed into two gigantic arms covered with leaves, it held half of Ines in one hand while its other one helped it chew and swallow the rest of my friend's body. A tree next to it then transformed, its branches regrouping to form two arms, while a bald head with two luminous white eyes and a large mouth, emerged from the top of the trunk.
The threat was not a predator hiding in the trees, it was the trees.
Ines remaining half was soon coveted by the other tree as a scuffle soon erupted. They started to move away from the hole, their roots sliding on the ground and making those underground sounds we have been hearing all that time. They mangled what was left of Ines while I seized the opportunity to attempt an escape. As soon as they noticed me, their branches moved up to cover their heads as if they reverted back to being normal looking trees, and they chased me, swerving between other trees. I ran, sobbing as I knew I could not escape them because of their incredible speed. Soon, other trees imitated the monsters as soon as I passed them, transforming behind me and joining the chase.
At some point, everything stopped again plunging the whole forest into a dead calm only disturbed by the emergency flares noises, my steps, my heavy breath and sobs. All the time, I tried looking around and behind me, unable to tell the difference between those monsters and normal trees, not even knowing if there were some normal trees in that forest or if all of them were monsters. Something then grabbed me from behind and lifted me up. It was one of them. It quickly directed me to its mouth while I screamed in fear and despair. At that moment, I really thought it was the end, but it suddenly stopped in its track. I remained in its massive hand, hyperventilating with my mouth and eyes wide open, having a good look at the piercing white eyes of the monstrosity.
"Em pure" I apparently heard it say, which I later discovered to be exactly 'impur' a word that means impure. It then tossed me away so violently that I only remember hitting something and falling unconscious.
Upon waking up the next morning, I discreetly looked around, surprised to be alive, then just stood up and dashed in a random direction. There was no noise, except for my panting and steps, the wind and the leaves. I ran without stopping for one second, my sight disturbed by the blood covering my forehead, determined to seize that last opportunity to stay alive. I then exited the forest and found myself in a field from where I could see a farmhouse. It was the end of the nightmare.
I became a curiosity for the locals as nobody ever made it alive out of the silent forest before. The authorities extracted all the information they could from me about what had transpired in those woods. Some believed me, others just could not, but we agreed on an official version about my friends and I being attacked by wild boars. I was then diagnosed with a condition that affected my blood, something I never knew I had, which they believe is what made me impure to the eyes of those things.
Traumatized to the core, I went back to my country, unable to really leave that nightmare behind as to this day, I am scared of trees. Despite that, I really try to cherish my life even though I feel guilty for having survived. Also, I have come to accept that science does not have the answers for everything, and that leaving certain mysteries alone is a wise choice.

Continued from part one.
In the mirror I saw a figure of the darkness next to the foot of my bed. I screamed, only for the figure to dash back inside my closet and close the doors behind it. To the naked eye, the doors seemed to roll back on their own, but because of the many mirrors inside my room, I could see the shadowy figure.
“What’s wrong?” my mom burst into my room not even four seconds later.
“J-j-just a nightmare?” I was uncertain if my imagination was too strong for my own good so I held back on the truth.
I wish I told her the truth. That wasn’t the last time I would see the figure in the mirror.
It happened again, about five years later. Yeah it didn’t happen right away. I wondered if the figure I saw was friendly and I simply scared it away for a while. That was my first mindset, but then I second guessed myself and simply thought maybe it was just my imagination playing with me.
At age 12, things started to become rocky with my parents. They fought over the same things, but they also fought over me. I had gone into the world of music to the point where I wanted to take up guitar, piano, and violin. My mom took one side of the stance where she didn’t believe that I could commit to any of them. My dad believed the opposite, fighting that I could do anything if I set my mind to it.
Again, conflict resided. My angry mother could still barge into my room if I didn’t lock the doors. She once found me writing, insisted on me showing her what I wrote, when I resisted she pulled it away from me and read my vampire fanfiction.
I was an angsty girl. Hence my writings were a bit suggestive at the time. My mom and my dad both read my work. My dad actually liked what I wrote aside from the fact it was about the supernatural. Of course, my mother again got mad since she’s the most religious in our family. She was, in a sense, a heretic.
Needless to say, since my family’s religion absolutely detests “spiritualistic and demonic” media, I got grounded. Also to clarify, yes this also meant I never read or watched the Harry Potter series, including the Twilight series. Although I don’t think I missed out on much with the Twilight series lol. Eventually I managed to rent a book that I got from my school’s library, called Hush, Hush, which laid in my backpack, tempting me to read it.
So there I was, no laptop and in my room. I didn’t really care since I had a guitar and a notebook. I still could find pleasure outside of my laptop, which of course my mother absolutely detested as well. Whenever she grounded me, she used to take away any kind of toy. Then, once she realized I could read on my own and was making up stories when I couldn’t read, she began to take books away. Punishments with my family wasn’t really a punishment, I could always find a way to entertain myself. Even if she took my notebooks away, I’d still end up daydreaming about something, even act out scenes I’d come up with in my head.
Now you can understand why I pushed off the incident with the figure in the mirror as a figment of my imagination. I had figured it was a draft, that the wheels and tracking were well lubricated with some kind of oil that makes it hard for them to stay in place.
Sitting on my bed at age 12, I leant back and closed my eyes. I had notebooks, several books, a keyboard for me to practice piano on, and a guitar. It wasn’t a big deal. (Yes I was a spoiled child. I’m owning up to this since I was the only girl among four boys- plus I was also 13 years younger than my youngest brother.) However I was so tired, that I decided on lazily daydreaming. Besides, I could always sneak my laptop back late at night.
As a devoted writer, I continued on imagining the story I began. I imagined what it would feel like to have fangs teasing the throat of the neck, how it would be to be kissed and then bitten by a vampire... my mind was rolling and it didn’t stop. I was a twelve year old girl going through puberty.
I told myself to stop and I decided to pull out the book, smiling at my little success. I went back to the page I left off on at the library earlier that day. I buried myself into the book and became sleepy. I nearly finished the book by the time I set the book aside and stupidly put it on my bedside table.
I passed out soon after. I don’t recall what kind of dream I had at first, all I know is that sometime later in the night, I woke up again, but I could not move my body at all. I looked around my room, which was now fully dark. I barely could recognize anything around me. The familiar outline of my vanity was gone, any silver reflection was gone, I did not see a single mirror, so I knew I was no longer in my room anymore.
A slight humming noise was around me, the room I was in lit up with a red flashing light. It felt like I was being pinned down by some kind of restraint system, so I looked down and noticed these short pale creatures crawling on top of me, towards my face. I felt a sharp sting in my leg, and I knew one of the creatures had bit me already.
It became to feel like sharp knives stabbing me all over my body, until five creatures met my face, their eyes sullen- beady- staring down at me with bloodied mouths and lunged at my neck, causing me to scream..The sound finally piercing through and I could hear myself breathing again, I could hear my screams and my frantic prayers escaping my lips.
Had my mom not come into my room and slapped me on my face, jolting me out of it- whatever it was- I would have seen more than I could bare. She saw the book and her anger brewed even more at me.
“Are you tempting the demons to attack you or something?” she fumed and took the book off of the table. She led me down to the entryway and opened the garage door. “Put it in there.”
I followed her command and put the book into the garage. I knew it wasn’t the book’s fault, but it was associated with “demunz” in her eyes, so I didn’t dare argue against her.
“Do you want to die? If you keep associating with demons, you know god will never forgive you. You won’t inherit everlasting life, only everlasting death. You know that right?!?” she yelled at me, had my dad been there that night- he would have stopped her from going that far. I suddenly missed him.
Her anger then died down after she ranted at me, once she recognized that I was still petrified. She at least brought me to, which made me thankful, but I also felt betrayed. She was supposed to protect me, but all she cared about was the idea of force feeding me her belief system. All she cared about was telling me I was wrong.
“I’m-” she had begun, and I just looked away from her and saw a shadow in my mirror again, standing behind my mom. It didn’t feel as eerie anymore. It felt almost comforting to see it, it moved from my mom to me. A figure of it’s arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I felt the cool breeze raise goosebumps at it’s touch.
“Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?” her voice lowered.
“I’ll sleep alone,” I remarked, still stung with the hurt from her hurtful remark.
She looked hurt for a second, but then returned to her normal frown. “I’ll sleep in the little entertainment room next to you, if you need me just yell out again.”
“Fine,” I simply just pulled my blankets over me again, waited for her to leave, then cried into my pillow.
My mom left, not seeing the dark figure in the mirror and went into the adjacent room. At her departure, the darkness came into my bed, the eerie feeling no longer there and it snuggled against me.
Shh. It hushed me and brushed my hair.
I didn’t question it. I had been afraid of it for so long, but with the sweet affection it gave me- the affection I desired and longed for from both of my parents.
The falling tears turned into a silent sob, my body shook against the bed, little breathy whimpers muffled by my pillow.
Shh, it repeated until I fell asleep again.
When morning came, I woke up with a sore neck and I was irritated with my mom. I remembered what happened and then I snuck out to my laptop and searched up what had happened to me. I learned it was sleep paralysis and figured maybe my imagination went too far with the vampire thing. I was stiff, my body was so sore and I saw my closet doors closed.
Again, I had felt as if my imagination had made it up. I knew the kind of comfort it gave me is what I desperately longed for. It gave me what my family didn’t, and I hated myself. I thought it was a figment of my imagination since it knew all the things I wanted. That is, until something else showed up. The shadow figure in the mirrors was just the start of it all.

There are repeated mentions of how Fire is paraphrased with passion and the same going on Ice and duty, this will likely be continued further and deeper within the series should they continue to be released. Of importance to my theory is how the Others and various groups of bodyguards or protectors use similar language in their descriptions, the (tenuous) relationship between iron and fire that keeps popping up and how people of duty keep failing due to their passions.

She seldom had to light a fire. The castle had been built over natural hot springs, and the scalding waters rushed through its walls and chambers like blood through a man's body.
"They were cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun, and every creature with hot blood in its veins.

In the veins. Iron, in the veins. Like the ore, but also like how you literally have iron coursing through your veins, unless you are anemic. It is the fire that courses through your body, that is how heat is transferred in you.

She even smells red. The scent reminded him of Mikken's forge, of the way iron smelled when red-hot; the scent was smoke and blood. Kissed by fire
"The sound it made … it burned, somehow. As if my bones were on fire, searing my flesh from within. Those writings glowed red-hot, then white-hot and painful to look upon.

Bones again also contain iron

The young lord cried out in pain. Blood welled between the rings. It steamed in the cold, and the droplets seemed red as fire where they touched the snow.
Blood ran dark from the gash he made, and washed over the steel. And then the sword took fire.
Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. "Ours is the house of the dragon," he would say. "The fire is in our blood.
I know." Lord Bolton sighed. "His blood is bad. He needs to be leeched. The leeches suck away the bad blood, all the rage and pain. No man can think so full of anger.

Fire is Passion and Ice is Duty. Roose is filled with passions so he removes them, the Targaryens are generally hot-blooded and Melisandre is Melisandre. In contrast to this..
The Others are often described like white or pale shadows,

He turned his head, glimpsed a white shadow in the darkness. Then it was gone.
A shadow emerged from the dark of the wood. It stood in front of Royce. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as old bones, with flesh pale as milk.
The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy, riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood . . .

There is another specific group of people who are often described as shadows; Bodyguards, specifically of duty and honor.

Every khal had his bloodriders. At first Dany had thought of them as a kind of Dothraki Kingsguard, sworn to protect their lord, but it went further than that. Jhiqui had taught her that a bloodrider was more than a guard; they were the khal's brothers, his shadows, his fiercest friends. "Blood of my blood," Drogo called them, and so it was; they shared a single life.
For every hour of fighting, a Kingsguard knight spent ten thousand hours watching, waiting, standing silent in the shadows
Whether it had been man, woman, or child Tyrion could not have said. Joffrey was galloping at his side, whey-faced, with Ser Mandon Moore a white shadow on his left.
His two white shadows were always with him; Balon Swann and Mandon Moore, beautiful in their pale plate.
Even Osmund Kettleblack was yawning. Not Loras, though. Not our Knight of Flowers. He stood behind his little sister, a pale shadow with a longsword on his hip.

There is one specific moment where the Kingsguard are not treated as being shadows but "burning clear", the possibly traitorous three who followed the Prince over the King. One could almost call them passionate.

Yet these were no ordinary three. They waited before the round tower, the red mountains of Dorne at their backs, their white cloaks blowing in the wind. And these were no shadows; their faces burned clear, even now. Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, had a sad smile on his lips.

Ghost is also often described as a white or a pale shadow, and depending on what theory you subscribe to he might literally become a body guard.
There is one last passionate man who failed his duty,

"You know I have no other woman. Only . . . duty." She rolled onto one elbow to look up at him, her big black eyes shining in the candlelight. "That poxy bitch? I know her. Dry as dust between the legs, and her kisses leave you bleeding. Let duty sleep alone for once, and stay with me tonight." "My place is at the palace."

Arys Oakheart is a knight of duty slain by passion, and what kills a White Walker?

Obsidian," Maester Luwin insisted, holding out his wounded arm. "Forged in the fires of the gods, far below the earth.
"The maesters say it comes from the fires of the earth. They call it obsidian."
Fire will dismay them, though, and they are vulnerable to obsidian.
Half a year gone, that man could scarcely wake fire from dragonglass.

TLDR: Love is the death of duty.

Just to preface this, i've genuinely never dated before. She's my first girlfriend ever, at 26.
I buy her things or pay both our ways whenever we go out. Like when i take her to a movie, i usually cover it all myself. I bought her dinner and paid her shoe rental when we went bowling. Plus i bought her flowers. It's just what i've always assumed a guy does for his date. (Am i wrong for thinking that? i genuinely don't know. I'm new to this and only know what i've seen in movies/tv)
She always does appreciate it, like she seems genuinely moved by it. She'll get emotional, hug me and tell me i either don't need to do it or offers to pay me back. There's also been a couple times where she bought something for herself or me on dates so i'm not covering it 100% (Like after i covered the meal and our shoe rental, she bought her own drink just for example).
Currently, she's between jobs. We were talking on the phone and she was talking about her favorite desserts and in that same conversation, she mentioned how she's struggling financially. She's relying on her savings and her parents help her, but they're trying to get her more independent. I told her if she needed anything to tell me, but she said she's afraid to ask people for things and only takes help that's offered. So i offered to buy her some groceries. At first, i offered to buy her this ice cream she mentioned that she loved, then i asked later if she needed anything else while i was out. Which she accepted, she give me a list of a few things and it was a little pricey (The bill was a little over80 dollars).
I take it to her house and her dad sees the bags and really seems unhappy about the amount of food. Like he wasn't rude or aggressive to me, but there was this tension in the air. Like he wants me gone.
And later, my gf calls me and says her dad fussed at her. He made her feel bad because she got that stuff for free and didn't pay me back anything. I made it clear i did it cause i really like her and i know she's been struggling to get a job.I wanted to help her.
She told me that he doesn't want her to be taking advantage of me and that i was spoiling her. She told me "She eats well"
And now, 3 days later, she hasn't really talked to me since then (we talked almost every day prior) so i think i might've messed up. Either by buying the groceries for her or by just generally buying her gifts and things
She makes it seem like he thought i was spoiling her or that she was taking advantage of me and that's why he fussed at her. She also said it might be because she didn't have permission to have me over or didn't tell them first. I don't know.
Her dad was nice to me, but he seemed like he was trying to kind of...get me out of their house. He told me "You don't wanna keep your ride waiting" and how she "Has a job interview this afternoon". But we shook hands and he asked me about my job.

AITB for buying my girlfriend groceries?
Just to preface this, i've genuinely never dated before. She's my first girlfriend ever, at 26.
I usually do buy her things or pay both our ways whenever we go out. Like when i take her to a movie, i usually cover it all myself. I bought her dinner and paid her shoe rental when we went bowling. Plus i've bought her gifts, like the groceries and i bought her flowers. It's just what i've always assumed a guy does for his date. (Am i wrong for thinking that, i genuinely don't know. I'm new to this and only know what i've seen in movies/tv)
She always does appreciate it, like she seems genuinely moved by it. She'll get emotional, hug me and tell me i either don't need to do it or offers to pay me back. There's also been a couple times where she bought something for herself or me on dates so i'm not covering it 100% (Like after i covered the meal and our shoe rental, she bought her own drink just for example).
Currently, she's between jobs. We were talking on the phone and she was talking about her favorite desserts and in that same conversation, she mentioned how she's struggling financially. She's relying on her savings and her parents help her, but they're trying to get her more independent. I told her if she needed anything to tell me, but she said she's afraid to ask people for things and only takes help that's offered. So i offered to buy her some groceries. At first, i offered to buy her this ice cream she mentioned that she loved, then i asked later if she needed anything else while i was out. Which she accepted, she give me a list of a few things and it was a little pricey (The bill was a little over80 dollars).
I take it to her house and her dad sees the bags and really seems unhappy about the amount of food. Like he wasn't rude or aggressive to me, but there was this tension in the air. Like he wants me gone.
And later, my gf calls me and says her dad fussed at her. He made her feel bad because she got that stuff for free and didn't pay me back anything. I made it clear i did it cause i really like her and i know she's been struggling to get a job.I wanted to help her.
She told me that he doesn't want her to be taking advantage of me and that i was spoiling her. She told me "She eats well"
And now, 3 days later, she hasn't really talked to me since then (we talked almost every day prior) so i think i might've messed up. Either by buying the groceries for her or by just generally buying her gifts and things (IE: i bought her some flowers, the food, i usually pay whatever food bills when we eat out)
I don't know what the issue is. She makes it seem like he thought i was spoiling her or that she was taking advantage of me and that's why he fussed at her. Or maybe he was offended by me giving her the food instead of him as the dad (Her family is a little traditional christian type). She also said it might be because she didn't have permission to have me over or didn't tell them first. I don't know.
Her dad was nice to me, but he seemed like he was trying to kind of...get me out of their house. He told me "You don't wanna keep your ride waiting" and how she "Has a job interview this afternoon". But we shook hands and he asked me about my job.
But yeah, i mean...it got her fussed at and she hasn't really been engaged in talking to me since. So i think i might've gone too far.

• Rob Weiss is her favorite ex-boyfriend.
• He’s the one person that was a good guy, talented, creative, and inspired her a lot. They were together for 7.5 years.
• He feels the same way about her.
• He liked her dad.
• Her mom and Weiss got along well. Her mom painted a house (her own? Weiss’?) and wanted to see Weiss’ reaction.
• Doherty avoids obstacles now, instead of trying to plow through them.
• He was on vacation in 1991, and met her at Bar One. He knew who she was. He had wanted to go into the film business.
• He made a movie, went to the Sundance Film Festival, moved to L.A.
• 2 years later, Doherty was married. Doherty started dating him around 1994.
• They moved in together quickly after Doherty left her first husband.
• They got together right before her 23rd birthday.
• He was not successful, but not a failure. He wrote “Milk Bar”. He did “American Psycho”.
• They watched Clerks together.
• Doherty says he introduced her to the indie film world.
• They were engaged. But after her first marriage, she believed a piece of paper doesn’t mean anything.
• Doherty’s mom still wears her wedding band, even though Doherty’s father died.
• They connect with each other on a soul level.
• He has a child with another woman.
• Doherty learned she needs to listen to her gut.
• They broke off the engagement a week before the wedding.
• Doherty was still following what was happening with her first husband.
• Marriage is an antiquated notion to Weiss.
• There’s no woman that’s more important to him than the mother of his child. They had dated for 3 years. But he doesn’t need to marry her.
• Doherty says Weiss is a Math Changer. (See the podcast with Doherty and Les Snead).
• Rick (another ex) was a Buyer Beware.
• Weiss says Rick has different demons. But he’s a cool cat.
• Weiss loves his dad, but he would categorize him as a toxic male. He smoked until he had lung cancer. He served in the military.
• Doherty loves Weiss’ dad.
• Doherty still adores both Rob and Rick.
• Doherty’s soul connection with Weiss will always be there.
• Rob gave Doherty the diamond heart necklace that Prue wore on Charmed.
• Weiss still has some necklaces and rings that Doherty gave him.
• Doherty had a tattoo with Weiss’ name on it. She eventually covered it up with flowers. Weiss did not want to get a tattoo with her name on it.
• He now has tattoos. Such as his son’s name. Since he likes tattoos now, he thinks maybe he would have gotten Doherty’s name on his neck, if he had to make the decision again.
• The best moment they had was in Venice, Italy. They went to get something to eat late at night. The streets were dead. Some guy started to talk to them. They told him they wanted food. They followed him. He directed them to two other people. Doherty thought they were going to get robbed. Eventually they were lead to a restaurant. It was a 24 hour restaurant. And the food was delicious.
• They went to Amsterdam. They ended up at a hostel with 5 beds in a room. She didn’t want to do that.

​

• Doherty thinks it’s hard for Weiss, because he can spend 2 years writing a show. Then he pitches it, and the people he pitches it to don’t like it.
• Weiss tries to work on 10 things at the same time.
• If he had spent 2 straight years working on only one thing, it would hurt him more.
• Doherty had a birthday party at a bar, where there was a fight.
• They had only been dating for 10 days. They started on April Fools Day.
• Greg Vance gave Weiss a weird look. Weiss went up to him and his people and asked if there was a problem. He turned around to his right, and got headbutted on his nose.
• The fight spilled out onto the street.
• He doesn’t roll with a large posse anymore.
• He stopped drinking 5 years ago.
• He loved red wine.
• He can’t be hungover at 7am, with his kid, anymore. He had to set a better example.
• His son is his dad reincarnated.
• He’s been nominated 3x for Entourage.
• Doherty just found out Weiss was nominated at the Sundance Film Festival for Grand Jury Prize.
• Doherty was so excited when she, Jason Priestley, and Luke Perry presented an award at the Emmys.
• Weiss thought Entourage was going to be horrible. He didn’t think the audience would connect with the show.
• Doug Elin had wanted Weiss to play Billy Walsh.
• Weiss’ first impression of Doherty was that she was his dream girl. She was fun. She was spicy. She smoked cigarettes like a fighter pilot. Sexy, great style. Amazing cook.
• Doherty wants another relationship. She just doesn’t want to get married again.
• Weiss does better in life on some nights when he can take a bubble bath, get up at 5:30am, and does what he needs to do, without having a conversation.
• Doherty agrees, so why can’t there be a relationship where Weiss doesn’t move in with someone, and they keep their separate places? So they can have off nights as needed.
• He thinks the guy should be older, but has nothing against men who are with women 20 years older. Whatever fits one’s preference.
• He just wants a positive energy with someone.
• He’s not looking for someone to go on a cruise together with.
• Weiss and Doherty dated for 2 - 3 years before they got engaged.
• The proposal was basically Doherty going “give me the fucking ring”.
• When they were in Italy and France together, Weiss ran into an old friend. That friend was with his girlfriend, who had a 5 carat ring. Doherty then wanted a ring. So they got that friend to make a ring.
• Weiss asked for her parents’ blessing.
• Her parents heaped concerns on him.
• Weiss was surprised, because they had been dating for 3 years.
• Their relationship was from right after she left Beverly Hills 90210, to right after she left Charmed.
• She stopped living with him at some point, and got her own place.
• Dick Wolf offered Doherty a show after Charmed. But she had to move to New York. She didn’t want to do that. She was in love. Her parents were in LA. She says she was an idiot for turning it down.
• They were on again, off again a few times during those 7 years.
• Dating was more pure back then, compared to now. Now it’s transactional. Dating is now only with people that can help someone.
• Weiss calls it opportunistic. And leveraging.
• Now, people develop a fantasy relationship with someone. Then they meet them, and it’s different.
• It was easier back then, because you dated people you knew, from within Hollywood.
• Weiss has supported Doherty during her cancer.
• Weiss was devastated when Doherty’s cancer came back.

I've just made a clean install of windows 11 and this happened. I have no idea what this means, but it appears just after the MB startup, right before windows. It didappears after 5 minutes and windows boots normaly.
It gives me two options; F10 to Accept ESC to reject and continue
I was never able to press neither, becaue my keyboard is Bluetooth only - so it becomes available after windows starts.
No idea how to solve this. Another clean install? Clear CMOS?
OS: windows 10 Mobo: Asrock x570 Taichi Proc: 3950x

I'm trying to do Luna in reverse, and this track is pretty clearly not made with reverse in mind. Many of the corners that require pitching are also sharp turns. Turns that are 60 or 80 degrees, with a sharp upwards elevation change immediately after. It seems that you either hit the wall and lose speed, or hit the ground and lose speed.
Assuming that I am using a Xbox controller (because I am lmao) how would I tackle these corner?
I assume that Keyboard players don't have this issue, since they can press S and A at the same time.
Edit: Turns out, you just have to pitch early. Very early. So early that you lose speed going into the corner, but better than crashing.

i made a "don't do list" because I can't seem to keep a girl or get past the talking stage and date seriously.
I made this list based on my conversation with the latest girl who's told me she's felt "overwhelmed" and had a change of heart about us,
even though we had a very passionate and open couple of months with each other.
This has happened before with a few other girls in recent years.
Thankfully this one was willing enough to hop on FaceTime to help me understand where she was coming from.
Physically financially and mentally/emotionally I am in a good place. 25yrs old. So this is SO confusing.
I am asking for help.
Is the below accurate to keep a girl interested for the long run?
Or am I just unluckily getting used for my body and good vibe?
Overwhelmed (Don't List):
Don't text a lot
Don't Stay over too many nights, even if she invites you
Don’t help her with her bad habits - even if she says she wants to stop them
Don't be there when she's packing
Going out don't make her feel like she's with her boyfriend
Don't make her feel like she's losing freedom to flirt
If your Actions are what you'd do with a girlfriend you're fxcked
Don't bring flowers or gifts
Don’t give too much effort or support
Don’t get groceries
Don’t talk to her parents
Don’t talk to her friends
Don’t call her romantic names
Don’t support her career
Don’t support her colleagues careers
Don’t let her compliments change your behavior
—
Thoughts ideas questions? Plz where am i going wrong

One of the biggest issues with retail wow is the obstacle of leveling. It is what it is - a chore. In regular retail you face slam your keyboard doing dungeons and getting 1.5 - 2 ish levels a run. And it’s pretty bad. Other then slowly making your build through the new talent tree (which I love, keep trees) it is boring.
However I really am enjoying the remix. The gear you start with is basic and everyone is on the same level. (Except for new alts cause the cloak can upgrade) but I felt like when I found a gem or picked up something new, it mattered. The levels were slow at first but when I got my cloak going the extra exp boost made the process a lot more enjoyable. My group wiped in a dungeon run which I havnt done in years. It was awesome. I know this might not be the most popular opinion, but I like this leveling system a lot more than regular retail. The fun gem abilities are fun to mix and match and overall it takes the chore of leveling into something that’s somewhat enjoyable.

Rain continued to pour outside Hakurei Shrine, drenching everything from the narrow stone slab walkway, creating miniscule rivulets along the cracks, to the komainu statues standing side-by-side on opposite ends of the torii gate, glistening from all the raindrops, with tiny streams coming from their eyes.
Inside, Marisa and Rin continued to lie around, boredom lingering in the air and nothing to entertain themselves save for a select few belongings and things to fidget with. Marisa finished the book she read and switched to tuning her mini-hakkero to ensure it worked at maximum proficiency. Rin on the other hand stopped playing her erhu and bided her time messing with the cherry ornaments on the sides of her head.
Silence remained, the only sound was the pattering drops of rain on the sturdy roof above. Neither one of the two blondes spoke, let alone look at the other. After what felt like hours Rin broke the peace with a question, one that’s been on her mind for sometime.
“Hey, Marisa?”
“What?” Marisa looked up and turned her head over to Rin with a curious face.
“I’ve been wondering, but why do you live in the Forest of Magic?” Rin asked. The question itself, though innocent, took Marisa by surprise.
“What do you mean?” Marisa replied with some intriguement.
“I mean, from what I know that place is considered dangerous by most of the village because of youkai and poisonous plants that grow there, yet you live there by yourself, why?”
“Why not?” Marisa said in a more careless tone. “The forest has plenty of space to practice my magic. And being home to most of the materials I need to craft potions and perform spells it’s obvious why I live there. Sure, my place is a bit of a mess, and the occasional hallucinogenic fog can be troublesome, but once you overlook that it’s a great place to be.”
Rin was concerned when Marisa said ‘hallucinogenic fog’, but it wasn’t enough to distract her from her follow-up question, “But isn’t it lonely living by yourself?”
“A little. But I have Alice who lives close by, and even Kourin who I occasionally visit whenever I need something. And I always got this place here with Reimu.”
“But what about your family, don’t you miss them?”
Marisa's expression swiftly transitioned from a casual smirk to a grimace of distress as she halted her fiddling with the intricate mini-hakkero. Her gaze remained fixed on Rin for a prolonged moment, the weight of unspoken thoughts evident in her eyes. Finally, breaking the silence, she uttered in a strained voice, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Rin, perplexed by her sudden reticence, probed gently, "How come?"
“I just don’t, that’s all.” Marisa said with the intent on cutting the conversation short, but Rin wasn’t done asking.
“But they surely miss you, don't they? Don’t you have a mom or dad who’d want to see you? What about siblings, or other relatives? I mean, your last name is-”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Marisa snapped at Rin, causing the white-red dressed girl to jump back a little from surprise. She didn’t expect Marisa to yell at her.
“U-Um…Sorry.” Rin said. “I didn’t realize the topic would be sensitive.” She looked down, now feeling melancholic. Marisa began feeling regretful seeing Rin’s expression.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for yelling.” Marisa said. “I just don't like to talk about my family. It’s personal.”
“I see.” Rin said. “Again, I’m sorry.”
Another moment of silence; the rain outside acting as ambience. Marisa went back to fiddle with her device, yet couldn’t help but think about how Rin was feeling. She glanced over at her, noticing her lost in thought. With a hint of guilt she placed her item down and turned her attention back to Rin.
“Hey, you still wanna talk?” Marisa asked.
Rin looked over at Marisa, “Um, no it’s fine. Really.”
“No, I insist. You look like the topic’s been in your mind for a while now. I’m okay talking about it as long it doesn’t involve my family.”
Rin’s eyes traced the corners of a wall before she took a deep breath.
“It’s just…I miss my father. I miss having him around, helping him with work, laughing at the stupid puns he makes about flowers. One such pun he made was when he said he originally wanted to name me ‘Hana’ because I always make people bloom with joy when I appear. Haha…God that was a very stupid joke.”
“Oh, you must’ve been very close to your father.” Marisa said with a downtone in her voice.
“We were. My mom died when I was very small, I can’t remember anything about her; it was always just me and my dad. But, now he’s gone, along with everyone who supposedly doesn't remember me. From all the people my dad helped to the few friends I had. They all just forgot, all the memories of me gone from their lives as though my role didn’t matter to the overall public. I just wish I could know why, why everyone forgot, why I was removed from their history.”
“...I can relate.”
Rin looked at Marisa, a bit surprised by what she said.
“You can?”
“Yeah. I used to have a mother too.” Marisa said, making Rin’s eyes widen while she continued, “She was a strange person. She always went on and on about trying to rule over humanity, talking over the world, plunging everything into chaos and anarchy.”
“Huh?” Rin now was a bit confused, but Marisa only continued to explain.
“But despite all of that, she took care of me. When she wasn’t busy striving for world domination or bothering Reimu at her shrine, she made sure I was okay. She made me food and taught me how to cook, she cleaned my house and taught me how to clean (though I don’t do a good job at that), and of course she taught me everything she knew about the magical arts and its many spells. She was the one who inspired me to pursue magic, to always push myself to be the best I could be, better than any other magician to have ever existed. If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably still be a whiny child who ran away from home instead of who I am today.”
“What?” Rin was more confused.
“I still think of her sometimes. I think about the last time I saw her during Vampire Incident. I still wish things didn’t turn out the way they did, maybe then we could still be together. She would be proud of where I am now.”
Marisa’s eyes began to water. She wiped them away and looked at Rin again.
“Sorry for going on a bit there. I never really had a chance to talk to anyone about Mima-sama like that for a while. Except with Alice.”
“Wait, wait…Who’s Mima? I thought you were talking about your mother.” Rin said.
“Oh…Well, it’s a bit complicated, you see-”
As Marisa was about to explain, the doors to the shrine barged open, bringing in a soaking wet Reimu holding someone in her arms. Marisa and Rin turned their heads over to her in visible confusion and concern.
“Reimu? Why are you wet? And…” Rin asked, looking at the person Reimu held in her arms, noticing the immense wound on her body. “Wait, isn’t that the girl from a few nights ago? What happened to her?” She asked with worry.
“Please, you have to help! I think she’s dying!” Reimu said with a crying voice.
Without a second of hesitation, Rin rushed to grab a first aid kit while Reimu placed the wounded Suika on the floor. She didn’t care if blood were to get on the mats, that didn’t matter at the moment. Marisa came over, taking her hat off and began pulling things out. In her hat contained small vials filled with colorful liquids, a bag of herbs, an assortment of mushrooms, and a mortar and pestle. She carefully selected what ingredients she needed after a quick analysis of the injury Suika received, then got to work.
“What are you doing?” Reimu asked.
“I’m making a medicine that should help heal the wound.” Marisa said.
“Mi…nako.” Suika raised a hand over at Reimu again. Reimu looked at her with continuous worry. Rin soon returned with the first aid kit and got down to Suika’s side. She pulled out the gauze and focused on wrapping the smaller injuries first before focusing on the big one. Marisa finished mixing the ingredients together into a greenish paste. She brought it over to the large wound on her chest and began spreading it over softly. Suika winced, inhaling sharply while her hands clenched tightly. Reimu placed a hand on one of her hands, speaking to her in a soft yet hurried tone.
“It’ll be okay. Just hang on, alright?”
Suika looked at Reimu, her eyes already beginning to drift off as her breathing slowed. She spoke Minako’s name again, a name with deep meaning to her and Reimu. Then, her eyes shut, and her mind went blank.

hi!! its glasses girl back at it again :3 so i recently made a personal subliminal thats very specific to my desires and posted it i havent made a specific aesthetic subliminal thats like on many lvls personal in AWHILE so this was very fun, anyways the affs to this sub contain a specific beauty, like a cream moon orrr a sharp butterknife, basically in my head ive been envisioning this beautiful flowy full haired girl with sharp sharp SHARP eyelashes that are so long and cat like and just the most apple-doll smile, recently i havent been able to stop looking in the mirror my long hair is gorg!! this is something ive always been unsure abt, my hair, ive always wanted beautiful hair i can appreciate and recently its been better but omg after a awhile of listening to my personal sub i literally have no bad hair moments! my hair seems to fall perfectly however i desire it to, ive been having trouble styling it bcs its long and ive always had short hair but gosh it looks perfect i dont even need to try!! this is a major result tho this next one, so ive been desiring longgg sharp lashes right? in my head i didnt rlly care if it was natural orr if i found a perfect mascara or pair of fake lashes from listening to the sub but the next day after listening my mom for some reason took me with her to her aesthetician and she offered me lash extensions!! it was my first time getting them ever and i was surprised bcs if ur a girl u know extensions are quite pricey but she just did it no questions asked, when i woke up after the appointment they all kept complimenting my eyes!! my eyes are already upturned and feline i have an epicanthic fold so my inner corners are sharp but they even went as far to say that it was like the lash extension style was made for me!! later on in my room i heard my housemates talking abt me finally getting extensions and how i look so good 😭😭also.. everyone keeps looking at me now!! even in simple outfits!! its a bit hard cuz ppl are actually like WATCHING like at this local coffee shop this working guy kept watching my every move!! another thing which is a result of my idollatry subliminal is i realized i have SOO much makeup, if u like makeup u know what FLOWERKNOWS is and right now i have 2 WHOLE COLLECTIONS from them, ive been abundant enough to get them for so cheap!! i have the whole collection one shade of swan ballet and lavender strawberry rococo, anyways i was looking at my lip products and i literally have so many kbeauty lipglosses romands, exclusives, inga, my cezanne options my flower knows lippies my florttes like im genuinely so happy bcs my collection is so big now that i can choose from such a big pile what to use every day 😭
links to my subs here! these are the only subs ive been listening to cuz i trust me more, check them out if u like! sub i used for beauty results- <3 sub i used for money, abundance results- !!!