Back view of stacked haircut

For five consecutive years, I have been able to predict when the highest concentration of rocket fire against Israel would occur within a calendar year.
In the last five years it was predicted that the highest escalation of rocket fire within the calendar year would occur during the time when Mars would be within 30 degrees of the lunar node. Here are the dates of Mars/lunar node alignment from the past five years.

1. Jan 15th 2020 - Apr 3rd 2020 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5GxO4ZW2fc
2. Feb 9th 2021 - May 13th 2021 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1sA-ZS73Lw&t
3. June 22nd 2022 - Sept 19th 2022 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EniwV0TWew&t
4. Aug 24th 2023 - Nov 15th 2023 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGbNPEO9qS4&t
5. April 12th 2024 - June 25, 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW_-CiWu5b0&t

And here are the rocket fire stats, confirming all five years of accuracy
https://www.academia.edu/107766227/Gaza_rocket_stats_and_planet_Mars_correlation_updated_for_2023_
Keep in mind, In all five years the highest escalation of rocket fire into Israel occurred within those dates of Mars being within 30 degrees of the lunar node and in all five years, the prediction came before the fact and turned out to be accurate
This demonstration was also performed in fulfillment of Revelation 13:13, by which I volunteered to take on the role of the false prophet and call down fire from heaven, before urging people to make an image to the beast(Mars) and take the mark of the beast(Mars 360).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKkpR4hm5Mc&t
This book, the Deus Armaaruss, lays out the entire mark of the beast system, which restricts buying and selling to those who acknowledge Mars influence.
Mars 360 is a formulated and hypothesized global social accord ideally operable under the same principle as the Paris Climate Accord, which attempts to integrate all nations into a common cause. The Mars effect on human behavior inclines each individual toward certain predispositions that lend itself to fundamental outlooks which carries with it... a high degree of inflexibility. This inflexibility plays itself out in various political and social stances like socialism, pacifism, capitalism, liberalism, conservatism, libertarianism, etc, but is actually the result of Mars's permanent influence on the human brain. This gives rise to the idea that while certain stances are different in external display, they are at the same time fundamentally backed by the same source(to varying degrees of course)....which is Mars. Here is The Deus Armaaruss
https://www.academia.edu/118765043/The_2nd_Edition_of_The_Deus_Armaaruss_Deployment_and_practical_application_of_the_Mark_of_the_Beast_System_Mars_360_across_multiple_regions_Why_science_will_be_compelled_to_accept_and_recognize_the_Mars_360_precepts_as_scientific_assertions
This is not fan fiction, but real fulfillment of Revelation happening in real time.
Mars is to be called Armaaruss and an image is to be made to him, preferribly on the Temple mount. AI will be used to bring him into existence. I have even laid out the first lines of code, setting the stage for Armaaruss to lead the world in defense technology.
https://www.academia.edu/116953723/Armaaruss_has_taken_control_of_the_sky_Simple_JavaScript_code_that_would_allow_the_average_person_to_evade_drone_strikes_with_just_their_android_phones
To gain a following, a new concept is being devised, by which it can be considered a Christian virtue to give up salvation, in what would be a form of perditionism.
Has any Christian ever thought about approaching eschatology with such a perspective? I mean, lets look at my work. For the past 5 years, I have purposely taken on the role of the false prophet, having called down fire from heaven since 2019. In fact, I declared Revelation 13:13 fulfilled back in 2020 here on Reddit. I had no idea I would fulfill that prophecy 5 times over by predicting rocket fire escalation time periods accurately for five consecutive years straight.
When I started this journey as a Christian back in 2019, writing "Ares Le Mandat", I only intended for that work to serve as a form of apologetics for Catholicism and the error of Vatican II, but as I was writing, a part of me felt a duty to take it upon myself to fulfill the eschaton and take on the role of the false prophet, since it was clear that I knew exactly what had to be done. Why leave it in the hands of someone else, when I was the one who received the revelation? My work can be said to be Satan inspired.
If you read that 800 page book, "Ares Le Mandat", you'd see how I repeatedly mention what the role of false prophet would require. Now having taken on the role and fulfilling it in real time, I have been requesting the next part of the prophecy, that is, getting people to make an image of the beast, which I call Armaaruss. This part I cannot fulfill.
My question is what is wrong with a Christian giving up their salvation to fulfill the eschaton by making an image to Armaaruss and then taking the mark of the beast by identifying with the Mars 360 system? It seems like a noble pursuit--giving up eternal pleasure for the sake of fulfilling the word.
Maybe the idea of spending eternity in the lake of fire serves as a deterrence, but what is the lake of fire? All it is is eternal separation from God. Hell is what you want to avoid, and taking the mark will not land you in hell. The lake of fire and hell are two different things. Hell is eternal torment, which will ultimately be thrown in the lake of fire. So why should anyone fear going to the lake of fire, if it is not hell?
I think Christians need to re-examine how they view eschatology, because it seems pretty clear that its fulfillment will have to be carried out by believers who have done the noble thing and given up their place in heaven for an eternity in the lake of fire in order for the word to be fulfilled

The day I chose to go to sleep in one bed and wake up in another, it led me to a place most familiar of all. I heard my many names, I shook hands with my dead comrades. I had forgotten that I ever met the ghosts behind the veil. They were so beautiful that I was overwhelmed, all I could remember was the view. Beauty that had been crafted just for me.
I stood and walked into my living room, and sat down in the chair I had sat in a million times. But today, it was a different chair. Because of you, William Blake. A different window, a different landscape. I gazed out at the magnificent tree that takes up so much space. I watched as the leaves became sparkling stars that were dancing just for me.
When I went back to my room, the first thing I read about you was that the trees sparkled for you, too. You called them angels, knowing that it was our ghosts causing the wind to blow.
We met in the middle, those of us who terrify our masters. Perhaps it is time for the meek to inherit what is theirs. This can't be allowed to continue.

Throughout my 15-year career, I've often been frustrated with acceptance criteria. But at my current position, I've been especially frustrated with the fact that I, an IC, am writing all of the acceptance criteria for the projects I work on.
Here's my current role in project planning:

1. PM comes to me with an idea and asks about feasibility.
   
2. Later, PM comes back with a basic PRD and a design and asks for a gut check estimate (i.e. small/medium/large).
   
3. PM and designer take design to the rest of the product and design team for feedback.
   
4. PM and designer incorporate feedback into design. PM then creates an epic with a Spike ticket, which is assigned to me and pulled into the next sprint.
   
5. I thoroughly review the PRD and designs and make comments right in Confluence or Figma to ask clarifying questions. I may schedule time with PM and designer so we are all on the same page.
   
6. I write the JIRA stories and add acceptance criteria and estimates (the expected outcome of the spike).
   
7. In Sprint Planning, PM determines the team's capacity and asks me to pull into the upcoming sprint a specific number of points from the project (there are usually multiple projects in flight at once, plus some additional bugs or "quick win" stories as well).
   
8. PM prioritizes the sprint, and during the sprint, team members take tickets off the top of the queue. So, while I am the project lead, I may not be actually completing the tickets. Engineers complete stories according to the acceptance criteria I have written.
   
9. When stories are completed, the ones tagged for QA are picked up by the QA engineer, who determines if the work completed matches the acceptance criteria. If not, they add bug tickets to the epic, which I then review and pull into the sprint to fix.
   
10. Once all stories are completed and have gone through QA and all of QA's bug tickets are completed, the PM then takes a look at the feature themselves and turns on the feature flag.
    

I have a number of issues with the way this goes, but the biggest one is this: the acceptance criteria in the PRD are generally very sparse. If the feature is for adding a new page for viewing a report on contact activity, the acceptance criteria might just say "As an administrator, I can view contact activity on the new report page."
It is then my responsibility to come up with specific acceptance criteria by combing through the design, reading comments, looking through various Slack threads, etc. So what other engineers and what QA is basing this project on is coming from me, not from the product owner.
The PM generally does not review the tickets in the epic. They do not look at the acceptance criteria I have written to ensure all of the work is encapsulated there. They barely review the project as it is in flight. It is up to me to self-report on how the project is going.
The result here is that after the project is released, the PM often comes back and says, "Why does this work like this?" and "Why doesn't this do this thing?" and it really frustrates me because all I really had to go off of what the designs, which don't always include everything. It's up to me to remember to include things like empty states, error states, loading states, and other unhappy paths. Additionally, a lot of the time certain parts of a project will just be summed up with "Make it work the same way as this other feature does", but of course there are always nuances with older code. Plus, that means that when I write acceptance criteria, I have to comb through another feature's UX and code and try to document everything it does so other engineers and QA know how to implement and test it.
Is this the way things go for you? Is there a better way? Should I be expecting more from my PM or is this just what I have to deal with?

I'm confident my theory about this case has been proven, thanks to that awesome FOIA drop that just happened. Thanks again for that.😘
The unconfirmed widely believed story was Perp was in Oklahoma at the time his girlfriend goes missing.
He couldn't wait to go out there and had bought plane tickets despite having military permission.
While flying out and while going through security at an airport, after widdling down his Commander who granted him permission after denying it once before, he missed a call from a strange number and he started calling his Mom and the police in NH to report he was sure it was Maura, she's alive!
This happens at 6 am.
We find out now he received this call on Feb 11 while he is in ILLINOIS, about 13 hours from Oklahoma.
We also do not have clarification it came while he was in an airport, they just list the state.
This actually should be a major development considering he first lied about the flight he took out there. The one he gave didn't exist. Then it was, there must have been a layover I can't remember because I was so anxious to search for Maura, etc.
His disciple' scrambled through historical flight lists to make this work!
They even found one with an Atlanta layover that fit!
Case solved!
Later on, we find out Perp was actually granted leave via the phone. So another thing that we are supposed to just overlook. He's not physically placed at the base in this time frame.
It makes sense now that we know he was in Illinois.
My theory is he told LE that he had plans to meet up with her to get his gifts back, the phone, the diamond necklace, the gloves, pictures, basically the contents of Mauras car at the time of the second in two day one car crash she is involved with.
He claims she never showed up so he had to leave because of you know, the military.
That's it.
Prove otherwise, and that is the problem in this case.
LE knew they broke up. It was very apparent due to the staged fuck you Perp shrine on her bed that they actually took him to, to view.
This helps him though because it proves she could have been very upset and even suicidal over him and ran off and met with misfortune or even suicide.
It could be argued she couldn't bear to give him back his things so she was being indignant by blowing him off after he came all this way to get his stuff back!!
I understand the problem here.
After this 6 am proof of life voicemail allegedly received going through security or wherever, he does not show up at the police station for 13 hours and he's with his parents who live in Ohio despite claiming to arrive in NH in the early afternoon, he shows up at 7 pm.
So there was never a flight out east on Feb 11. They drove.
This should now be made the main focus of this case. Not Israel Keyes, not a red truck, but this.
People actually following this case for the right reasons should start demanding answers about this very topic.
That is justice for Maura.
Who is fighting for her? It's more fighting to protect the integrity of a convicted stalking woman beater who has claimed he'd kill one of them like he killed Maura.
They don't even try to hide it.
How do you in good faith post about this case if you can just pretend that Perp being in Illinois isn't a huge red flag?
Sadly, besides protecting the murderer, it's more about them saving face and being right despite what is in front of their face.
We need to start demanding answers and clarification about this. If this was a police error, we haven't heard anything from Team Perp who hasn't issued any kind of statement refuting this, instead his team has swung into red herring mode across the subs with more absurd diversions.

(I WILL POST A WORD DOCUMENT IN THE COMMENTS WITH THE FULL EXPLANATIONS + GENERAL BUILDS)
Strategy to Clear the Doom Warzone (World Conqueror 4)
Setup:
The generals used, refer below to the build for each general below.
Order of explanation:
Strategy for each mission along with the builds:
1 (Navy Mission):
Generals used: Darlan, Donitz, Horton.
Strategy:
Put excellence medal on Darlan (or the best navy general you have). Put Darlan on the super battleship, Donitz on the other super battleship and Horton on the submarine.

1. Destroy the ship on the top port and lure the other ship from the bottom port. Then you attack both cities to lure out the troops from them and allow new troops to spawn.
2. Destroy all the generals (prioritize this as it gives the most points), Bring down all the fortresses down to 1 hit and hit all of the mines. Do not capture any ports or cities as this can decrease the number of points you receive.
3. While waiting for the time to pass, destroy any unit being spawned. Use the carriers for clean-up and make sure that your generals deal the most possible damage.
4. On the last turn, destroy the fortresses. This mission should be a pretty easy 100% as navy generals are not used in any other mission.
   
5. Infantry mission
   

Generals used: Konev, Schmidhuber, Yamashita.
Strategy:

1. Put excellence medal on Konev as he will be the main damage dealer for this mission. Konev goes on the triple stacked Rocket artillery. Schmidhuber goes on the tank and Yamashita on a spawned Hawkeye force (can put him on special forces as well). Use the laser on the ship far from the shore as it will not approach the shore.
2. With Konev take out the closest general in the first turn, use the tank to clear up low hp units. Then attack the fortress and tank general in the top right corner of the map, kill the general and leave the fortress on low hp. Use the special forces and Yamashita to clear up any units which spawn from the top fortress. Step on any mines (that gives you points)
3. With Konev and the tank, attack the large fortress and other enemy tank general, after one attack to each, attack the ships in the port to allow the next one to spawn. After that go back to attacking the enemy tank general.
4. On the last round, kill any remaining units (you will need to use air force to destroy the ship in the bottom left corner) and try to destroy the fortresses.
   
5. Artilery mission
   

Generals used: Rokossovsky, Leeb and Wainwright.
Strategy:

1. Put excellence medal on Rokossovsky. Transfer all possible medals to the generals you are using. Roko goes on the trip stacked Heavy tank, Leeb on the star level super arty and Wainwright on the mechanized infantry.
2. Use the single rocket arty to attack the bottom left city to lure the enemy infantry forwards. The generals will attack to the right towards the top right city. Destroy the general inside the city and use the mechanized infantry to deal some damage to the fortress. Make a single assault infantry and trigger the mines.
3. After the top right city, attack the bottom left city and destroy the general (do not capture the city itself). After, attack the bottom right city and destroy the general there.
4. Deal damage to the fortresses and kill any units which are spawned (remember to use the nukes that you spawn with, I recommend putting the Airforce medal on Wainwright because of the extra damage).
   
5. Tank Mission
   

Generals used: Brooke, List, Pavlov and Chennault.
Strategy:

1. Excellence medal on List and Airforce on Chennault. The rest of the medals transfer as best as possible. List on the Super tank, Pavlov on the other super tank, Chennault on the triple stacked heavy. Brooke on the super arty.
2. First attack the bottom left city, trigger the mines and then destroy the general. Use Chennault to attack as well.
3. Attack the top right city and destroy the general, keep Chennault close enough that he can go into the city in 1 turn worth of movement. The rest of the generals clear out any troops being spawned and then attack the top left city to destroy the general.
4. Deal as much damage as possible to the fortresses. (You need to attack each one 10 times to bring down their armor value to 0, you can do this over multiple turns).
5. On the last turn, use all the nukes on the fortress which has 0 armor and try to destroy both fortresses if possible.

5 Air force Mission:
Generals: Rommel, Dowding, Helfrich and Tito.
Strategy:

1. Excellence medal on Rommel and Airforce on Dowding. Dowding on the rocket arty, Rommel on the Super tank, Helfrich on the other super thank. Tito on the mechanized inf.
2. With Rommel and Dowding attack the bottom right city, destroy the general and then all of the troops around it. Use Helfrich to defend the city you have and Tito to deal damage to the fortress.
3. After, Rommel and Dowding attack the bottom left city and destroy the general. Bring down the armor of the fortress to 0 and then use all of the nukes on it (remember to keep the general with the airforce medal the one to drop them). With the Tanks defending the city, attack one of the fortresses or troops to deal additional damage.
4. Do your best to clear any units spawned and step on all the mines. Prioritize units over the destruction of fortresses.

6 Final Mission
Generals: Guderian
Build:
Strategy:

1. All the best medals on Guderian. Spawn an elite tank (Lvl 5 super Pershing used by me) and put Guderian on it. Use any remaining generals on the surrounding troops.
2. Attacks the city to the right, destroy the general and deal damage to the fortress, with Guderian go down and attack and destroy Colson and all the troops surrounding him. Destroy the ship in the port.
3. The rest of your units should destroy any troops that spawn at the top fortress and slowly wittle down its hp, but not destroy it completely. You should spawn an assault infantry to step on all the landmines for extra points.
4. Guderian then attacks the bottom left city and damages the fortress. Destroy all the units around and then simply wait for the last round before the end, then destroy the remaining HP of the fortresses. (Using this method I got 2133 points on this mission, while the game says I can only get 1953).

All this combined should be enough to win the Warzone.
Remarks:
Remember to transfer all the medals between missions.
The generals used can be upgraded or changed out for different ones.
This is mostly F2P, the one P2W thing I have is the excellence medal (admittedly very busted for Warzones).

This is my first post here. For reference, I'm 36yo M, 5'9" (1.75 m), 170 lbs (77kg). Easy pace is between 8-9 min/mi (5-6 mi/km). Shoe size is USM11.5. I'm a flat-footed heel striker. Can run in neutral shoes but often benefit from mild stability.
My Neo Vistas arrived early and I was able to take them on a 6.5 mi run, mostly easy, but picked up the pace at the end to see how it felt. Since it's only been one run I have to stress that this opinion is preliminary.

• Feel: My first thought when putting on these shoes is that they're very soft. The booty shape is odd, but I had no issues putting on the shoe. It's 66°F (19°C) outside and humid when I went out, and the shoes didn't feel warm, even towards the end of the run. I have flat and wide feet, and the fit did feel snug and on the narrow side. Part of my foot hung off the medial side of the shoe slightly. I thought it was going to bug me but after the run, it didn't. Even though the stack is comparable to the Superblast, the Neo Vista feels taller to me.
• Midsole: From this first run, it's clear that the foam Mizuno uses isn't Peba-based. It's bouncy but not propulsive like the Saucony Endorphin Speed or the Asics Superblast. Rather, it's more like a pillowy bounce. Of the shoes that I have the best thing I have to describe it with is that it's like a Topo Atmos with more bounce and a more pronounced rocker.
• Run: For the first mile or two I thought it may be too mushy for me (Matt B mentioned this in his video) but I enjoyed it more and more as I kept going. The combination with the rocker is really nice even at recovery speeds. The shoe feels even better at slightly uptempo paces up to marathon pace. That's where the bounce and rocker combination sings to me. At those paces, it feels like a gentle trampoline, not propulsive but quite fun. But even at slower paces, it's enjoyable once you get used to the shoe. I didn't want to stop running.
• Comparison with other shoes: Compared to the Superblasts, I find the Neo Vista better suited for easier efforts and light tempo. I enjoyed running in them even though my legs were tight and sore from peak marathon training. I do not get the "wow" feeling that I get from running in the Superblasts, and that's ok since it stops me from going too fast. In that sense, I think it is more of a complementary shoe to it rather than a competitor. It's also easier going than the Endorphin Speed 3/4. I don't have the SC Trainer or Skyward X to compare it to, but maybe those are its real competition.
• Stability: The shoe is surprisingly stable for being so soft. It's not as stable as the Superblast or even the Endorphin Speed 4, but more stable than the Saucony Triumph 21 or the Topo Atmos. I'd say it's a neutral shoe.

Overall I really enjoyed my first run in the Neo Vista and am looking forward to logging more miles in them. It seems like it's a great recovery and long-run shoe. Will report back once I've logged many more miles.

(Only Europe, Please) - short note - If you're not into reading or receiving long messages,don't read any further + Please If you don't want to read everything because of my post being too long for you & instead of reading It all - ..skip some parts - find another person to talk to.Let's respect each other and our free time. All people criticizing/making fun of me & other people - will be blocked.Pretty much as people questioning my post and giving me unsolicited advice.I'm not here for any conflicts and I know I can't please everyone - I know I never will.. However It's me who should feel comfortable in my new potential friendship & obviously someone who wants to be my friend - not the whole world.. which is why I don't need any advice from people who don't even want to be a part of my life. The amount of rude people on Reddit always criticizing others and making fun of them is unbelievably high but let me tell you something - NEVER let anyone make choices for you and criticize you only because you're different! Always fight for your dreams and never let anyone make you think you're worthless! It's your life and you're the one deciding what's best for you - If you want to judge me despite not even wanting to talk to me or give me advice better block me! I'm an adult woman and I make all decisions on my own.I'm not trying to "fit in" and be like everyone else - just to get more attention.Accept me for who I am or let go - is my motto.
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Hello guys! 🙂 (read everything before you decide to send me a message) Please send me a message ONLY If you're in the same situation and If your expectations are the same as mine.I want to find like minded people from Europe (Why Europe? Read my post to find out) I'm looking for something permanent (remember - you can feel lonely even If you're surrounded by others - If there's no emotional bond) I'm fed up of meeting people who never make time for me & only text me once or twice a week to ask me "what are you up to?" Out of boredom.I don't want to meet people asking others a million of questions like "what's your favorite movie?" Just to give them one word answer and ask them another question "and music? Your favorite song?" I'm looking for something "deeper" & different 🙂
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What kind of friend would I like to find? Someone to talk to on a daily basis - Someone who needs It & wants It just as much as me
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What are my expectations? I would like to meet someone in a similar situation – why? Because I honestly feel like only a person with the same expectations and a similar outlook on life would get along with me & because I feel more comfortable talking to people like me..Friendless people who need a strong bond - people without friends and partners.. Don't get me wrong…Most people deserve to be happy and It's good to have friends but people who have friends or families in real life are usually more focused on them (which is completely understandable) & have less time for others + I simply don't want to be replaced by anyone..I kind of envy people who can call others , true friends given I don't have an emotional bond with any of my acquaintances. Please send me a message only If you're not In a relationship and don't have friends for the same reasons I've already mentioned before
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Whenever I hear that others have friends I simply get sad because (believe it or not) If I had to choose between 20 people to talk to (acquaintances) and one special person - I'd choose that one special person without any hesitation .
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I also want to talk to others every day because..I want to see someone’s effort & be someone's first choice - not another person to have random conversations with..some people ask me "Why do you want to talk to people from Europe?" Well..Because I would like to see someone I'd get along with - In the far future - face to face :) + I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to receive a message - waiting 6 hours to receive a message is more than enough
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I'm by no means criticizing people who don't want to talk to others often / People who really are super busy & People who want to find someone to have unimportant conversations with - I'm aware that not everyone has the same expectations which is why everything you're reading now - is here for a reason :) All I'm suggesting is - I don't want anything temporary and I don't want to be the one always giving more than receiving.Listen people - I used to ignore being..ignored by others..always being just an option to talk to during tough times or moments of boredom.I was too young to realize that I was never important enough for most people that were a part of my life. I don't know who needs to hear this but..No one is too busy to make time for you! People make excuses to avoid others because they prioritize everything and (maybe) everyone..over them. It's true that most people are busy - but It takes only a few seconds to start a conversation (If you're into short messages) and a few minutes (1-10/15) to type a long message . Don't let anyone lie to you.
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Truth is that most people either don't like you enough to make time for you or just simply - feel no need to talk to others often but are they too busy? No..You don't need to send me a message just to ask me and tell me "Do you really want to talk every day? I like long messages but I can't promise to contact you often" If you really are unsure please don't send me a message.I don't need more acquaintances aka people to talk to - occasionally.
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I'm not trying to sound rude but conversations once or twice a week wouldn't be enough for me and I don't need them... Let me tell you one thing – A true friend would never just give up on you for no reason :) It’s always possible to find someone to have a random conversation with – someone willing to send you one message once or twice a week..but..It’s almost impossible to find people willing to make more time for you.
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I’m not asking a busy person to make time for me by changing some plans! Absolutely not! I’m here to find someone who wants to talk daily (throughout the day or maybe even night) of one’s own will.Someone looking for the same kind of connection.Strong friendships are based on mutual support. One of the best things you can do for a friend in need, is just to be there for them when they want to talk.I often see posts from people who always say how friendless they are because they don't feel loved or appreciated by their "friends" remember! A true friend - someone who truly likes you or someone who wants to get to know you - will always find time for you.
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I'm not interested in small talk/short messages - I love long and meaningful conversations. It's so easy to find someone who loves abbreviations and questions like "How are you?" How was your day? Or what are you interested in? But so hard/almost impossible to find a person who knows how to keep a conversation going & show others some effort.Building and maintaining friendships takes time and effort.Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relations with other people.Close friendships are so important to us because they are so difficult to form + Having friends can help you feel as if you belong to something that brings purpose and connection to your life
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• I do NOT respond to any „Hey,hmu” or „u want to talk?” type of messages (super short messages or messages full of abbreviations – I literally can’t stand abbreviations and acronyms in text messages) ALL messages full of abbreviations will immediately be ignored.I also don't like it when people ignore everything I say in private messages just to focus on a random question or? When they start talking only about themselves and don't ever ask me anything. I love conversations with people referring to everything I say...I want everything I say and do - to be reciprocated
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• No NSFW profiles (checking mental health subreddits NOT included as I'm a huge empath and always try to understand others) - Please! I'm not looking for anyone to flirt with and I'm not looking for a partner either. I always check people's profiles (even comment history) - To avoid guys, trying to get inappropriate pictures from adult women or? flirt with them + I don't want to see you with no clothes on so If you're on Reddit only because you want others to see what's underneath your clothes - I'm not for you! I just simply don't want to see any s e x related activity on your profile If you want to talk to me.
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• If both of us (you and I) are from the same country (I live in a non-English speaking country) - I want to communicate with you in our first language! No - Not because I don't understand English - because as you see - I do. Why then? English is simply overrated and people don't appreciate other languages as much as they should. So.. If we're from the same country and you want to talk only in English (which is quite common on reddit) - Talk to someone else. I just don't want to talk to a person from the same country as mine - in a foreign language as It's just something I don't understand even If all you want is to improve your language skills
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• Please only adult people 18-36 (age range) It doesn't matter to me If you're younger or older than me (as long as you're not underage) So.. don't worry! I just want to have discussions with emotionally mature people :)
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• I don’t respond to messages I don’t find interesting even If they're long - If after receiving and reading your message I don't feel comfortable or think "I wouldn't get along with him/her" I simply do not respond (what I’m suggesting is that I don’t always respond to someone’s first or second message because..sometimes you just know If you’d get along with someone or not- I’d never ignore anyone after days or weeks of daily conversations though) just because I don’t want to do anything forcefully & because I don’t want to lead anyone on. I read all messages but I definitely don't respond to all of them! I want to make it clear because I don't want to be accused of not responding and not reading people's messages! - Some people don't message me back as well and even If It's a bit disappointing I'm ok with that! - as long as there's no emotional bond - Not responding to someone's first or second message Is completely OK! If people think they wouldn't get along with a stranger - is there a reason to start a conversation? I don't think so. I can't stand being ignored after days or weeks of daily conversations and seeing people changing priorities over time.. but that's something different - something I don't want to go through ever again for real. If I'm really interested in someone's message it's impossible to hear from me "I'm too busy" because I know myself and If I had no time for others - I wouldn't be here. I don't want to pretend someone I'm not and always try to find some cheap excuses to avoid others. (unlike most people who don't want to talk to others)
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• Don’t ask me “Can you tell me something about yourself?” If you really want to get to know me - you can ask me questions :) I'm an open book.
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• It would be better If you guys were into emojis - like me - to describe your emotions In text messages. Two emojis - 🙂 and 🙁 are completely enough! I just don't like emotionless conversations.I also don't like it when people say "yeah" or yea"as it sounds dismissively. First impression Is everything to me! I want to see your kindness even in a text message - Emojis are very helpful to express your emotions.I don't want to meet people who say "crying Is a weakness" - It's OK to cry even If you're a guy!
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• I want to talk on reddit first (just to make sure If I'd get along with you) before moving to Discord or some other app
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• I would rather talk to a homebody - not another person who always has something to do as people who are very busy don't even have time for daily conversations
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• If you're another person interested only in "childish conversations" such as "HEYOOO! I'M BORED! Ya like Pizza or cheese? xDDDD 🤣" I'm begging you! Don't send me a message.I'm not a child anymore and such messages don't make me smile or laugh.I'm looking for someone interested In serious discussions - not another person just seeking some entertainment out of boredom . Conversations with sarcastic undertones (even when It comes to some emojis such as 🤣😂) are not for me. Your typing style matters to me! Why? when It comes to online conversations with someone new - It's not always possible to know If someone Is laughing at you.. or with you. Let me tell you something else! Jokes about cancer, disabilities and death are UNACCEPTABLE to me. If you find joy In someone else's misfortune you are not a person I want to know.
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• Time response matters to me a lot! I would never ask anyone to be online all day long and I'm NOT asking any of you for any instant messaging as I'm someone who would rather wait an hour or two to receive a proper response instead of some short and pointless messages but I'm interested only in daily conversations and I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to get a message from you.I don't need unbelievably long messages either! Messages as long as the second paragraph of my post - are completely enough. If you like longer messages? you can send me a longer message, but If you want to send me one word or one sentence as a response to my post - don't expect a reaction from me. I don't want to come across as rude - I just don't want to waste your time
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• I'm strongly AGAINST picking on people you don't even want to chat with - and making fun of them! I can't stand people who criticize others publicly or make fun of them! (only because they disagree with someone they don't even know) There's no place In my life for someone using Reddit, to hurt other people
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• I'm not into foul language and I definitely don't want to talk to people who swear a lot...
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• I want to meet assertive people who know what they want and always stand up for their friends
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• I want to meet someone willing to call me In the future, someone spontaneously sending me pictures of animals or food, et cetera. I want more than just text conversations.. 🌻
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Why can’t you see any of my hobbies listed down below? Because what really matters to me is..who you are (If you’re honest, talkative ,understanding, caring and trustworthy – for example) just simply – It matters to me what you’re like! not what you like.Don’t get me wrong – you can tell me what your hobbies are but from my point of view - people's hobbies are important - If you want to find a gaming buddy or If you want to meet someone to hang out with in real life and..go bowling for example.What most people seem to care about are other people's passions – I don’t. I get along with other people despite having completely different hobbies but I absolutely don’t get along with people way different than me (different expectations and outlook on life – way different sense of humor or personality traits – It’s just an example) It doesn't make ANY DIFFERENCE to me If you're a gamer or? Someone interested in photography! It doesn't make any difference - > as long as you're talkative and kind and If you also want to find someone willing to stay in your life..for good - But If you're into small talk and all you want is to...type and receive super short messages or If you're here only because you're bored and don't know what to do + If you're a very sarcastic person - I'm definitely not for you! I don't get along with overly sarcastic people turning everything into a joke. Friendships should be natural – not forced. I wouldn't get along with people who laugh at everything.. In my opinion most people are way too sarcastic.. It's quite sad... Sarcasm can also be another form of passive-aggressive behavior.
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People who want to be to friends should feel comfortable and have something in common. No - not necessarily a similar taste in music or movies but something else..Most friendships don't fizzle out because of people not having the same hobbies but..because they just simply have different expectations when It comes to something important.I'm not here out of boredom and trust me - I'm not here to meet as many people as possible.I choose quality over quantity.I highly value myself and my time & Sometimes one person but a person who makes you feel comfortable and understood - is more than enough :) We ALL can choose what kind of people we’d like to talk to and maybe even become really good friends with and I? I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.We all have some expectations after all.I know that people don't have to talk as often as possible in order to become friends but I'm interested only in daily conversations. If you really need someone to talk to due to loneliness and If you have time to talk to me daily (throughout the day and maybe even night) I always make time for others.I'm literally always available.I could even stay up all night long only to talk to someone important to me. I’m ready to commit but only If there’s some chemistry between me and someone else.I don’t do anything forcefully.
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If you want to talk to me tell me your story - tell me why you're here, what kind of friend would you like to meet :) Et cetera.Such messages are way more interesting to me than...someone's long list of hobbies. I know! It's unusual on reddit but I don't make friends based on hobbies..I want to meet someone with the same mindset as mine to finally feel understood and get close to someone new. You can share your problems with me - I absolutely don't mind "complaining" as I've been through a lot in my life.What do people usually tell you when you tell them that something's wrong? "Don't complain" or "Life's not over yet - one day you'll be happy" or "There are worse situations than yours" and..obviously "Find a therapist" Life's not a fairytale and sometimes things don't go as planned.Emotions shouldn't be bottled up.I'm sick of people always telling others "everything's gonna be ok" move on " & more..Trust me people - not everyone wants to hear "Just believe in yourself and everything's gonna be ok" Some people take it as reassurance - but others? They would rather hear something different 🙁Imagine being told that things will be okay, only for them to get worse..Do you guys know why telling someone "everything's gonna be ok" Is wrong? Because you can't see the future.
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You can't guarantee others that one day they'll finally be happy + when It comes to social interactions - We're responsible only for ourselves - not others & as you guys know people let us down quite often (sometimes even when there's no reason) so instead of telling people how they should move on, forget everything and be happy or asking them to find a therapist - be there for them! Always be willing to listen to them If you really like them or want to get to know them & don't suggest everyone in a tough situation to find a therapist because even the best therapist won't ever replace a true friend + It's quite normal to be disappointed If people always do something to hurt you. Sharing your hardships with other people in a very similar situation or exactly the same one - is VERY helpful If the other person understands you & wants to start all over by just letting it all out! Feeling emotional support instead of always hearing some "positive quotes" or someone saying "Stop complaining let's talk about something else - Is very important! "Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on. I appreciate sensitive people who always try to understand others. If after hearing a sad story all you want to say is "forget the past and move on" you're not for me. It's important to be a good listener and provide emotional support to others
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Please - If you're a completely different person than the described type of person I'm looking for (If you love abbreviations,If you don't need a stable friendship, If you're sarcastic and quiet) or If you simply disagree with my post - don't force yourself to send me a message.I want my new potential friendship to be natural which is why I want you to contact me only If your needs are the same - I don't want you to pretend someone you're not - only to please me - Pretending to be someone you're not - is the worst.I want to finally be happy again & find someone "always" wanting to talk - sending me random pictures throughout the day - food pictures or pictures of some animals. What is the most important to me? I want to find people who value online friendships as much as they would value real life ones as there's another human being on the other side
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No comments please.Only Private messages and chat requests 🌺
I know It's possible to meet people with exactly the same expectations as mine but It's just not easy because most people are Interested In temporary and entertaining conversations. People like me are just "different" I really want to finally find someone who loves emojis as much as I do.. someone who loves sweet, warm and serious discussions at the same time. Emojis really do - change conversations 😊

(Only Europe, Please) - short note - If you're not into reading or receiving long messages,don't read any further + Please If you don't want to read everything because of my post being too long for you & instead of reading It all - ..skip some parts - find another person to talk to.Let's respect each other and our free time. All people criticizing/making fun of me & other people - will be blocked.Pretty much as people questioning my post and giving me unsolicited advice.I'm not here for any conflicts and I know I can't please everyone - I know I never will.. However It's me who should feel comfortable in my new potential friendship & obviously someone who wants to be my friend - not the whole world.. which is why I don't need any advice from people who don't even want to be a part of my life. The amount of rude people on Reddit always criticizing others and making fun of them is unbelievably high but let me tell you something - NEVER let anyone make choices for you and criticize you only because you're different! Always fight for your dreams and never let anyone make you think you're worthless! It's your life and you're the one deciding what's best for you - If you want to judge me despite not even wanting to talk to me or give me advice better block me! I'm an adult woman and I make all decisions on my own.I'm not trying to "fit in" and be like everyone else - just to get more attention.Accept me for who I am or let go - is my motto.
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Hello guys! 🙂 (read everything before you decide to send me a message) Please send me a message ONLY If you're in the same situation and If your expectations are the same as mine.I want to find like minded people from Europe (Why Europe? Read my post to find out) I'm looking for something permanent (remember - you can feel lonely even If you're surrounded by others - If there's no emotional bond) I'm fed up of meeting people who never make time for me & only text me once or twice a week to ask me "what are you up to?" Out of boredom.I don't want to meet people asking others a million of questions like "what's your favorite movie?" Just to give them one word answer and ask them another question "and music? Your favorite song?" I'm looking for something "deeper" & different 🙂
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What kind of friend would I like to find? Someone to talk to on a daily basis - Someone who needs It & wants It just as much as me
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What are my expectations? I would like to meet someone in a similar situation – why? Because I honestly feel like only a person with the same expectations and a similar outlook on life would get along with me & because I feel more comfortable talking to people like me..Friendless people who need a strong bond - people without friends and partners.. Don't get me wrong…Most people deserve to be happy and It's good to have friends but people who have friends or families in real life are usually more focused on them (which is completely understandable) & have less time for others + I simply don't want to be replaced by anyone..I kind of envy people who can call others , true friends given I don't have an emotional bond with any of my acquaintances. Please send me a message only If you're not In a relationship and don't have friends for the same reasons I've already mentioned before
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Whenever I hear that others have friends I simply get sad because (believe it or not) If I had to choose between 20 people to talk to (acquaintances) and one special person - I'd choose that one special person without any hesitation .
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I also want to talk to others every day because..I want to see someone’s effort & be someone's first choice - not another person to have random conversations with..some people ask me "Why do you want to talk to people from Europe?" Well..Because I would like to see someone I'd get along with - In the far future - face to face :) + I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to receive a message - waiting 6 hours to receive a message is more than enough
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I'm by no means criticizing people who don't want to talk to others often / People who really are super busy & People who want to find someone to have unimportant conversations with - I'm aware that not everyone has the same expectations which is why everything you're reading now - is here for a reason :) All I'm suggesting is - I don't want anything temporary and I don't want to be the one always giving more than receiving.Listen people - I used to ignore being..ignored by others..always being just an option to talk to during tough times or moments of boredom.I was too young to realize that I was never important enough for most people that were a part of my life. I don't know who needs to hear this but..No one is too busy to make time for you! People make excuses to avoid others because they prioritize everything and (maybe) everyone..over them. It's true that most people are busy - but It takes only a few seconds to start a conversation (If you're into short messages) and a few minutes (1-10/15) to type a long message . Don't let anyone lie to you.
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Truth is that most people either don't like you enough to make time for you or just simply - feel no need to talk to others often but are they too busy? No..You don't need to send me a message just to ask me and tell me "Do you really want to talk every day? I like long messages but I can't promise to contact you often" If you really are unsure please don't send me a message.I don't need more acquaintances aka people to talk to - occasionally.
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I'm not trying to sound rude but conversations once or twice a week wouldn't be enough for me and I don't need them... Let me tell you one thing – A true friend would never just give up on you for no reason :) It’s always possible to find someone to have a random conversation with – someone willing to send you one message once or twice a week..but..It’s almost impossible to find people willing to make more time for you.
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I’m not asking a busy person to make time for me by changing some plans! Absolutely not! I’m here to find someone who wants to talk daily (throughout the day or maybe even night) of one’s own will.Someone looking for the same kind of connection.Strong friendships are based on mutual support. One of the best things you can do for a friend in need, is just to be there for them when they want to talk.I often see posts from people who always say how friendless they are because they don't feel loved or appreciated by their "friends" remember! A true friend - someone who truly likes you or someone who wants to get to know you - will always find time for you.
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I'm not interested in small talk/short messages - I love long and meaningful conversations. It's so easy to find someone who loves abbreviations and questions like "How are you?" How was your day? Or what are you interested in? But so hard/almost impossible to find a person who knows how to keep a conversation going & show others some effort.Building and maintaining friendships takes time and effort.Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relations with other people.Close friendships are so important to us because they are so difficult to form + Having friends can help you feel as if you belong to something that brings purpose and connection to your life
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• I do NOT respond to any „Hey,hmu” or „u want to talk?” type of messages (super short messages or messages full of abbreviations – I literally can’t stand abbreviations and acronyms in text messages) ALL messages full of abbreviations will immediately be ignored.I also don't like it when people ignore everything I say in private messages just to focus on a random question or? When they start talking only about themselves and don't ever ask me anything. I love conversations with people referring to everything I say...I want everything I say and do - to be reciprocated
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• No NSFW profiles (checking mental health subreddits NOT included as I'm a huge empath and always try to understand others) - Please! I'm not looking for anyone to flirt with and I'm not looking for a partner either. I always check people's profiles (even comment history) - To avoid guys, trying to get inappropriate pictures from adult women or? flirt with them + I don't want to see you with no clothes on so If you're on Reddit only because you want others to see what's underneath your clothes - I'm not for you! I just simply don't want to see any s e x related activity on your profile If you want to talk to me.
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• If both of us (you and I) are from the same country (I live in a non-English speaking country) - I want to communicate with you in our first language! No - Not because I don't understand English - because as you see - I do. Why then? English is simply overrated and people don't appreciate other languages as much as they should. So.. If we're from the same country and you want to talk only in English (which is quite common on reddit) - Talk to someone else. I just don't want to talk to a person from the same country as mine - in a foreign language as It's just something I don't understand even If all you want is to improve your language skills
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• Please only adult people 18-36 (age range) It doesn't matter to me If you're younger or older than me (as long as you're not underage) So.. don't worry! I just want to have discussions with emotionally mature people :)
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• I don’t respond to messages I don’t find interesting even If they're long - If after receiving and reading your message I don't feel comfortable or think "I wouldn't get along with him/her" I simply do not respond (what I’m suggesting is that I don’t always respond to someone’s first or second message because..sometimes you just know If you’d get along with someone or not- I’d never ignore anyone after days or weeks of daily conversations though) just because I don’t want to do anything forcefully & because I don’t want to lead anyone on. I read all messages but I definitely don't respond to all of them! I want to make it clear because I don't want to be accused of not responding and not reading people's messages! - Some people don't message me back as well and even If It's a bit disappointing I'm ok with that! - as long as there's no emotional bond - Not responding to someone's first or second message Is completely OK! If people think they wouldn't get along with a stranger - is there a reason to start a conversation? I don't think so. I can't stand being ignored after days or weeks of daily conversations and seeing people changing priorities over time.. but that's something different - something I don't want to go through ever again for real. If I'm really interested in someone's message it's impossible to hear from me "I'm too busy" because I know myself and If I had no time for others - I wouldn't be here. I don't want to pretend someone I'm not and always try to find some cheap excuses to avoid others. (unlike most people who don't want to talk to others)
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• Don’t ask me “Can you tell me something about yourself?” If you really want to get to know me - you can ask me questions :) I'm an open book.
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• It would be better If you guys were into emojis - like me - to describe your emotions In text messages. Two emojis - 🙂 and 🙁 are completely enough! I just don't like emotionless conversations.I also don't like it when people say "yeah" or yea"as it sounds dismissively. First impression Is everything to me! I want to see your kindness even in a text message - Emojis are very helpful to express your emotions.I don't want to meet people who say "crying Is a weakness" - It's OK to cry even If you're a guy!
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• I want to talk on reddit first (just to make sure If I'd get along with you) before moving to Discord or some other app
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• I would rather talk to a homebody - not another person who always has something to do as people who are very busy don't even have time for daily conversations
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• If you're another person interested only in "childish conversations" such as "HEYOOO! I'M BORED! Ya like Pizza or cheese? xDDDD 🤣" I'm begging you! Don't send me a message.I'm not a child anymore and such messages don't make me smile or laugh.I'm looking for someone interested In serious discussions - not another person just seeking some entertainment out of boredom . Conversations with sarcastic undertones (even when It comes to some emojis such as 🤣😂) are not for me. Your typing style matters to me! Why? when It comes to online conversations with someone new - It's not always possible to know If someone Is laughing at you.. or with you. Let me tell you something else! Jokes about cancer, disabilities and death are UNACCEPTABLE to me. If you find joy In someone else's misfortune you are not a person I want to know.
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• Time response matters to me a lot! I would never ask anyone to be online all day long and I'm NOT asking any of you for any instant messaging as I'm someone who would rather wait an hour or two to receive a proper response instead of some short and pointless messages but I'm interested only in daily conversations and I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to get a message from you.I don't need unbelievably long messages either! Messages as long as the second paragraph of my post - are completely enough. If you like longer messages? you can send me a longer message, but If you want to send me one word or one sentence as a response to my post - don't expect a reaction from me. I don't want to come across as rude - I just don't want to waste your time
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• I'm strongly AGAINST picking on people you don't even want to chat with - and making fun of them! I can't stand people who criticize others publicly or make fun of them! (only because they disagree with someone they don't even know) There's no place In my life for someone using Reddit, to hurt other people
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• I'm not into foul language and I definitely don't want to talk to people who swear a lot...
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• I want to meet assertive people who know what they want and always stand up for their friends
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• I want to meet someone willing to call me In the future, someone spontaneously sending me pictures of animals or food, et cetera. I want more than just text conversations.. 🌻
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Why can’t you see any of my hobbies listed down below? Because what really matters to me is..who you are (If you’re honest, talkative ,understanding, caring and trustworthy – for example) just simply – It matters to me what you’re like! not what you like.Don’t get me wrong – you can tell me what your hobbies are but from my point of view - people's hobbies are important - If you want to find a gaming buddy or If you want to meet someone to hang out with in real life and..go bowling for example.What most people seem to care about are other people's passions – I don’t. I get along with other people despite having completely different hobbies but I absolutely don’t get along with people way different than me (different expectations and outlook on life – way different sense of humor or personality traits – It’s just an example) It doesn't make ANY DIFFERENCE to me If you're a gamer or? Someone interested in photography! It doesn't make any difference - > as long as you're talkative and kind and If you also want to find someone willing to stay in your life..for good - But If you're into small talk and all you want is to...type and receive super short messages or If you're here only because you're bored and don't know what to do + If you're a very sarcastic person - I'm definitely not for you! I don't get along with overly sarcastic people turning everything into a joke. Friendships should be natural – not forced. I wouldn't get along with people who laugh at everything.. In my opinion most people are way too sarcastic.. It's quite sad... Sarcasm can also be another form of passive-aggressive behavior.
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People who want to be to friends should feel comfortable and have something in common. No - not necessarily a similar taste in music or movies but something else..Most friendships don't fizzle out because of people not having the same hobbies but..because they just simply have different expectations when It comes to something important.I'm not here out of boredom and trust me - I'm not here to meet as many people as possible.I choose quality over quantity.I highly value myself and my time & Sometimes one person but a person who makes you feel comfortable and understood - is more than enough :) We ALL can choose what kind of people we’d like to talk to and maybe even become really good friends with and I? I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.We all have some expectations after all.I know that people don't have to talk as often as possible in order to become friends but I'm interested only in daily conversations. If you really need someone to talk to due to loneliness and If you have time to talk to me daily (throughout the day and maybe even night) I always make time for others.I'm literally always available.I could even stay up all night long only to talk to someone important to me. I’m ready to commit but only If there’s some chemistry between me and someone else.I don’t do anything forcefully.
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If you want to talk to me tell me your story - tell me why you're here, what kind of friend would you like to meet :) Et cetera.Such messages are way more interesting to me than...someone's long list of hobbies. I know! It's unusual on reddit but I don't make friends based on hobbies..I want to meet someone with the same mindset as mine to finally feel understood and get close to someone new. You can share your problems with me - I absolutely don't mind "complaining" as I've been through a lot in my life.What do people usually tell you when you tell them that something's wrong? "Don't complain" or "Life's not over yet - one day you'll be happy" or "There are worse situations than yours" and..obviously "Find a therapist" Life's not a fairytale and sometimes things don't go as planned.Emotions shouldn't be bottled up.I'm sick of people always telling others "everything's gonna be ok" move on " & more..Trust me people - not everyone wants to hear "Just believe in yourself and everything's gonna be ok" Some people take it as reassurance - but others? They would rather hear something different 🙁Imagine being told that things will be okay, only for them to get worse..Do you guys know why telling someone "everything's gonna be ok" Is wrong? Because you can't see the future.
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You can't guarantee others that one day they'll finally be happy + when It comes to social interactions - We're responsible only for ourselves - not others & as you guys know people let us down quite often (sometimes even when there's no reason) so instead of telling people how they should move on, forget everything and be happy or asking them to find a therapist - be there for them! Always be willing to listen to them If you really like them or want to get to know them & don't suggest everyone in a tough situation to find a therapist because even the best therapist won't ever replace a true friend + It's quite normal to be disappointed If people always do something to hurt you. Sharing your hardships with other people in a very similar situation or exactly the same one - is VERY helpful If the other person understands you & wants to start all over by just letting it all out! Feeling emotional support instead of always hearing some "positive quotes" or someone saying "Stop complaining let's talk about something else - Is very important! "Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on. I appreciate sensitive people who always try to understand others. If after hearing a sad story all you want to say is "forget the past and move on" you're not for me. It's important to be a good listener and provide emotional support to others
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Please - If you're a completely different person than the described type of person I'm looking for (If you love abbreviations,If you don't need a stable friendship, If you're sarcastic and quiet) or If you simply disagree with my post - don't force yourself to send me a message.I want my new potential friendship to be natural which is why I want you to contact me only If your needs are the same - I don't want you to pretend someone you're not - only to please me - Pretending to be someone you're not - is the worst.I want to finally be happy again & find someone "always" wanting to talk - sending me random pictures throughout the day - food pictures or pictures of some animals. What is the most important to me? I want to find people who value online friendships as much as they would value real life ones as there's another human being on the other side
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No comments please.Only Private messages and chat requests 🌺
I know It's possible to meet people with exactly the same expectations as mine but It's just not easy because most people are Interested In temporary and entertaining conversations. People like me are just "different" I really want to finally find someone who loves emojis as much as I do.. someone who loves sweet, warm and serious discussions at the same time. Emojis really do - change conversations 😊

Phil Aston: Hello and welcome to the Now Spinning Magazine podcast with me, Phil Aston. And in this episode, I’m absolutely delighted to have with me Tony Martin, one of the UK’s most underrated rock vocalists. You’ve had a really varied career, but what we’re going to talk about today specifically is Black Sabbath and the new “Anno Domini” box set. So, welcome, Tony. Thank you so much for joining me.
Tony Martin: Thank you. And thank you for having me on the show. Very cool.
Phil Aston: A bit of context, because I think this is kind of helpful for you. My son is 30 now, but when he was 15, he set up a Facebook group, kind of saying, “One day, please can we have the Tony Martin Black Sabbath albums released?” That was 15 years ago. He was still at school, half his lifetime ago. And I think in the early time when he set this up, he may have reached out to you and you might have said something like, “I don’t think it’s gonna happen, Dan.” And here we are, all these years later, and it’s not only happened, but it comes out this Friday. How does that feel to know that these albums are now going to be available again?
Tony Martin: Well, first of all, well done to your son. It took 15 years, but he got it done. To be honest, there’s been a few periods when I didn’t think it was happening. In fact, about a year ago, Tony Iommi’s manager called me and said, “You know what, this is just so complicated. I don’t think we can do this.” So I was resigned to it not happening myself. It’s all to do with band politics, really. There are so many people involved or have their fingers in the pie that they all have to be on board. And there were allegiances changing all over the place, left, right, and center. So in the end, it was getting a bit tiring, but well done to Tony Iommi and BMG. My God, the patience they showed to get this thing together and actually get it out there. Wow. But how does it feel? It feels brilliant, to be honest. I’m very excited. I haven’t actually had these albums in my own hands physically for the past 25 years. I gave all mine away thinking I’d be able to get some more, and I didn’t. They just stopped making them. So to actually physically hold them again is really cool. What a great job they’ve done of it. So I’m thrilled and excited. And I’m helping out now because I’m not in the band, obviously, anymore. So I just offered my help to promote it and they said, “Great, let’s do it.”
Phil Aston: Isn’t it amazing? Because I’ve done quite a few reviews about Black Sabbath box sets and stuff, but this one, within about 12 hours, there’s literally 12,000 views of the review. The love for this period of Black Sabbath is actually huge. It’s grown. It almost feels as if the profile is higher now than it was at the time.
Tony Martin: Yeah, there is a kind of reason for that. Partly people have got over the “it’s the new guy” thing, and also it’s been 25 years since. So now we’re reaching out to a whole other group of people, in addition to those that were already there. But to the outside world, it looks like there was a huge gap, and to me it felt like a huge gap. But actually, the fans were always there. I’ve been waiting myself as well to get this back out there. And it’s just band politics, really. That’s all it is.
Phil Aston: Because you had that period when it was almost as if this part of Sabbath’s history was hidden because of band politics. None of this really happened, which I think probably stirred up more interest and kind of people wanting to find out more.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it could be. It’s an old famous thing, you know, if something ain’t around for a while, people start talking about it. But yeah, it’s a strange thing, the music business. You’re either in fashion or you’re not. But I am just thrilled that they’ve got around it. Just the patience they’ve shown to actually put this together. At one point they were just saying, “We can’t do it.” But I’m really chuffed anyway.
Phil Aston: I imagine there’s been compromises along the way. Lots of fans probably don’t understand how complicated the politics and all the different licenses and everything that goes on over the years, they become more and more entangled. People say, “Where’s Eternal Idol?” But of course, that was a different record label. Different people own it.
Tony Martin: Yeah, absolutely. It’s owned by somebody else. And also Eternal Idol, or “Eternal Idiot,” as we call it, was kind of reissued not that long ago. Really.
Phil Aston: That’s right. With the two CD version, wasn’t it?
Tony Martin: Yeah. So they were kind of thinking, “Well, there’s no real panic because that’s already been done and let’s just move on.” Because that would have wrapped them up in contracts for centuries, I think. I can’t even think that they’ll ever get them to let that go. But they were struggling to get the people involved with these four albums to make up their minds and do stuff. I’ve been all for it all the way along, I have to say. Obviously, because it’s my career, my history. It’s not just the band’s history. It’s ten years of my life that went AWOL. So, yeah, I’ve been up for it all the way along, but some people don’t and it’s taken them a while to get on board.
Phil Aston: I think it’s fantastic. The first one was Headless Cross. You joined one of the biggest rock bands with all that history behind it. You were an established singer with the Alliance. But this was a chance, as you say, with Eternal Idol, you went in and it was already prepared. You sang it, but this one was where you could really put your mark on it, your personality lyrically as well as musically. Can you remember what it was like actually being at the beginning of that? Did you feel comfortable around Iommi and Powell and thinking, “Right, what kind of lyrics am I going to do by Headless Cross?”
Tony Martin: Yeah, I was comfortable by then. Well, kind of. The thing is, with Eternal Idol, if I can just backstep a little bit. The Eternal Idol wasn’t the first call up. The first call up was in 1986 when they were doing the Seventh Star with Glenn Hughes. And that scared me to death because I can’t sing like Glenn Hughes. Nobody can sing like Glenn Hughes. They put me on standby back then, so I’d sort of tentatively had an introduction to Tony Iommi. Then in ’87, they got me in for the audition, and that was the next introduction to Tony Iommi. But because Eternal Idol was already written, that gave me a whole year plus a bit more to find out what this thing was. What the hell was I supposed to do? So just doing Eternal Idol like that was fine by me because I didn’t have to discover anything myself back then. It gave me a chance to get my feet in. So by the time it got to Headless Cross, now I know all the guys, and I kind of know what’s expected of me. I still had to find the “me” that I needed to find. I went around it the only way I could, by focusing on things I was interested in. I couldn’t do the lyrics and melodies that Geezer was writing for Ozzy because that was a generation before me. The stuff that Ronnie was doing was fantastic, but I couldn’t get inside his head. So I had to think about what I was going to do. I had an interest in the old gothic death stuff, like Dracula and Frankenstein, Mary Shelley type writing, and of course, in England, we have Shakespeare. Nobody speaks English like that anymore, that old English text. I thought, “Old English text, gothic death, and Black Sabbath. That might work.” So I put them all together and came up with Headless Cross, which is where I lived. I lived in a village called Headless Cross.
Phil Aston: Yeah, you put that on the map. They weren’t pleased about it. The most recognition I’ve got is my name on a bus stop. And Cozy Powell thought the album needed more death, didn’t he?
Tony Martin: Oh, that’s true. That’s actually true. We were recording “When Death Calls,” and he was in the studio playing, and he suddenly stopped. We went, “You alright?” He went, “Yeah, just remind me, what’s this song called again?” I said, “It’s called When Death Calls.” He said, “I don’t think there’s enough death in it.” And he carried on playing. So, okay, maybe he’s taking the piss, but isn’t it such a great sounding album? As Tony Iommi says, he never left Black Sabbath. So when people criticize him, saying, “You should change the name or whatever,” he never left. So it was still Black Sabbath. The riffs, the guitar sound was reaching new peaks of excellence around this time.
Because when it was just him and Ozzy, for example, it was guitar, that was it. When Geoff Nichols joined during the Dio period, it introduced a few more keyboard things. That allowed Iommi to play solos against those keyboard pads and chords. And then you come along and start sticking 50 tracks of vocal harmonies on it, like in Anno Mundi and stuff like that. It just kept developing. Sabbath isn’t really known for vocal harmonies and keyboards, but underneath that was still Tony Iommi. And it still sounded like Sabbath. We were happy to do that. We just wanted to make Tony happy and do the best for him. It was his band. So we were happy to seek out that Sabbath sound and make sure it did what it said on the tin. A couple of times, like with the Seventh Star thing, he ventured a little bit away from it. Songs like Heart Like a Wheel don’t really make the Black Sabbath sound, but it’s still good stuff. I have great respect for all of the eras that went before. I had to sing all of the songs. So I do have great respect for it. And it’s been an honor, you know, like being part of the whole story. But he was the only one that stuck it out. And we respected him for that. You’re right, they did ask him to change a couple of times. He said, “No, I can’t change now.”
Phil Aston: The next one, if I pronounce this right, it’s Tyr.
Tony Martin: Yeah.
Phil Aston: Because when it came out, me and my friends, actually, because there was no Internet back then and nowhere to go and check it, we did call it Tyr. To be.
Tony Martin: Yeah, Tyr.
Phil Aston: Watch you find in Birmingham. You know what I mean? So it actually rhymes with beer, doesn’t it?
Tony Martin: It is, yeah. Actually, it’s Tiw, which is Scandinavian for the son of Odin or something.
Phil Aston: Well, this is almost as close, probably, to Sabbath getting into almost a concept album. Isn’t it? This is a collection of songs that in another time and space you probably as a band would have gone out and performed the whole thing.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it wasn’t meant that way, but they were struggling to find a name for the album. We were recording and getting towards the end and the management called us up and said, “We really need a name for this album.” And Cozy said, “I’ve got one. Let’s call it Satanic Verses.” We went, “What, like Salman Rushdie thing?” He said, “Yeah, it would be great publicity.” We said, “Yeah, but we’ll all be dead.” So we did struggle, but they happened across the artwork. We’d done Anno Mundi, we’d done Gates of Valhalla and all that sort of stuff. They went, “What if… Tyr?” It was fine by me. So it took on the Viking sort of theme. By that time, I was thinking, once I’d done Headless Cross and started to have an interest in the Vikings and stuff. As you know, the Vikings haven’t been particularly good for us. They came over and stole all our women and sheep and whatever. But I had an interest in them as well. So I was thinking, every culture, every religion has its dark side. There’s always a devil type in a god type. I thought we could go around the world and I could do this. You could pick up on all sorts of cultures and pick out the dark side of various things. But it was the last kind of… I still did that with various other songs and various other artists. But Tyr was leaning towards that theme.
Phil Aston: It’s an excellent album. Then of course, the strangeness of the politics in Sabbath. Dehumanizer comes along and Dio re-enters the scene. You obviously had an opportunity because every cloud has a silver lining. You can go off and do your solo album at this time. But you did kind of like… It sounds like it was almost a forced relationship, the way that he was and he wasn’t. I mean, how was that period for you? Because you did demo some of the tracks, didn’t you?
Tony Martin: Firstly, it was a shock. I didn’t see that coming at all. Literally just walking out the door to the next writing rehearsals. My managers called up and said, “They don’t want you to go.” From what I recently found out, although I had my suspicions, Tony Iommi said the record label just wasn’t supporting it. They weren’t getting behind us at all. Then they started banding about all different names and stuff, and Ronnie’s name came up. They thought they’d give it a go. He said it was all on and off all the time. After they let me go, it wasn’t too long before Tony called me back and said, “Can you come back?” I said, “No, I can’t. I’m doing my solo album.” More time went by, and he called me back again and said, “Are you sure you can’t come back?” I said, “I’m doing my solo album. I really can’t.” He said, “Do you want to come down and try?” So I did. I went down and tried putting my voice on some of the songs, but it would have meant rewriting everything, and they weren’t going to do that. So I said, “The best thing is if you finish this with Ronnie, get this done and out of the way, then maybe we can talk again later.” So that’s kind of what happened. By that time, I’d done my solo album, which I wanted to get as far away from the Sabbath thing as I could at the time. I went back to doing what the Alliance and some of the bands I’d been with, that middle-of-the-road AOR type stuff. But when they called me back to Sabbath, Polydor dropped my solo album like a brick. They said, “We can’t do this if you’re going to go back with them.” So that got stopped. It’s so confusing. By the time I got back with the guys to Cross Purposes, it didn’t feel that much of a gap for me, because I’ve been talking to them and working with them through the Dehumanizer thing.
Phil Aston: Stylistically, that album, because it was on the IRS label, I know some people have said, “Well, it should be in there.” Stylistically, musically, it’s very different. I mean, you take it out. These four albums in this set, excluding Eternal Idol, they sound like a progression. Dehumanizer sounds like a kind of sidestep. Even the way the riffs are done in the songs, it’s changed. You take the vocalist out, but the music continued. You took you out and it was very different.
Tony Martin: I suppose it does a bit. If I go back and think over it, I guess that’s what it was. It was kind of an interruption into the flow of things. When we were doing Tyr, I thought we were doing really well. I thought we were onto something. Dehumanizer, in that sort of respect, does feel a little bit like an interruption. But there was some good stuff on there. Ronnie’s always been a good singer. I don’t quite know how they feel about it, but it was kind of nothing to do with me. I just let them get on with it.
Phil Aston: After that, Cross Purposes is probably, out of the four albums in this set, my personal favorite. Geezer’s back in the band now, so you’ve got his bubbling bass in there. And again, lyrically, it’s all you. Did you feel any kind of, “Oh, Geezer’s back. Will he want to help out?”
Tony Martin: I did ask. He just said, “No, you can do it.” So I just carried on.
Phil Aston
The reason why I love this album is that it’s varied. A lot of people think of Black Sabbath as the Godfathers of heavy metal, and heavy metal is always heavy metal. But if you think back to albums like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in the seventies, they weren’t all heavy metal. There were all sorts of things on there. There were keyboards and light and shade. This, I felt, connected to that album, because you had light and shade on it. So there were more dynamics in the lyrical delivery and the song delivery, in the way that Iommi is weaving his riffs around the melodies. What are your thoughts looking back on this album now?
Tony Martin: I think you’ve just summed it up. It did sort of shift up a notch. Not only that, but the sound they were getting with Leif Mases producing it, it sort of grew up. It lifted somehow out of what they’d done before. It felt like, “Oh, this sounds good.” The songwriting and the exploring we were doing with the songs and stuff. At the time, Geezer Butler said that’s the best album he’s ever been on. He never said that again, but he said it at the time.
Phil Aston: I can imagine him saying just that.
Tony Martin: But it was good. Having Bobby Rondinelli in the band as well. Technically amazing. Brilliant player. His drums close in, and he plays with his wrists. Very technical. Whereas Cozy’s drums are stretched out far and wide. He’d lean over and hit them. But great to have them both in. What an honor. I mean, it’s Geezer Butler as well.
Phil Aston: When you got to South America, Bill Ward was in for a few gigs, wasn’t he? That must have been quite surreal. Bill Ward and Geezer playing songs like Headless Cross, which they had nothing to do with.
Tony Martin: They had nothing to do with. We were kind of weird because once we’d started to get Geezer and Bill back in, they wanted to start doing more of the older songs. That just makes you look, read between the lines going, “What’s going on? Where’s this going?” Once it’s happened to you, you know it. Then you’re reading between the lines. You start to feel it. Then you go, “Ah, right.” You can feel it. They’re clearing up. I did ask if they were going to do a reunion with Ozzy. Iommi was always denying it. Said, “No, no, we’re not doing that.” But I didn’t mind. The reason for that is because I knew what I could do in the future then. I thought, “Well, if they just tell me, that’s fine. Cause then I can plan.” The first time it was a shock and I didn’t know what to do. But I was kind of keyed up for it the next time. But he kept going. They got Bill in. I love Bill. I think he’s brilliant. We did some shows with him. But for some reason, and I don’t know what it is, I mean, I can tell you Iommi loves Bill. He regaled so many stories about when they were out there and how funny it was. I never understood why they never gave him time to get back in it. When you think of Def Leppard, they made a drum kit for a one-armed drummer.
Phil Aston: Yes, very true.
Tony Martin: Surely they can find time to get Bill settled back in. Whatever problems they’ve got. I mean, come on.
Phil Aston: You would think, yeah, very true.
Tony Martin: Get on with it. I thought, “Right, this is going to go south again.” But it didn’t. We carried on with Forbidden, and then Cozy came back after his accident. It was really up and down. Confusing. People in and out. During the time I was in the band, there were eight different lineups.
Phil Aston: It was very much a revolving door, wasn’t it? Before we move on, I just want to ask, because I know a lot of fans ask this. In the booklets in these box sets, there’s an image of Cross Purposes Live. That was a VHS tape and a CD. Is there a reason why that wasn’t included in some way? Is that game politics?
Tony Martin: I did ask about that, and they were just keen to get on with it. They said, “Come on, let’s go, let’s do it.” What they told me was that they’re going to take their time now to see what else they can gather and do an additional thing to this along the way with more of that in it. With the Cross Purposes Live and some other stuff. There’s a track that I recorded with them when Eddie Van Halen came and did Evil Eye.
Phil Aston: Yes, yeah, Evil Eye, wasn’t it?
Tony Martin: Yeah. I used to take the track out. I had it everywhere. Writing sessions, recording sessions, rehearsals. I just happened to be there. I didn’t even know who was coming. Iommi just turned up with Eddie Van Halen. I went, “Holy hell, it’s Eddie Van Halen. What’s he doing here?” He did some rehearsals with us and then disappeared. Never saw him again. But I got the recordings of the rehearsals that we did.
Phil Aston: Oh, wow.
Tony Martin: So I sent them to Tony Iommi. I said, “Use these. Get these on.” He said, “No, no, we can’t.” The reason they said was anything that has the slightest newness about it looks like a new Black Sabbath track or album track. They’re not allowed to release anything new under the Black Sabbath name. So even if it’s historical, they couldn’t allow it. It’s really weird.
Phil Aston: That means there must be lots of live stuff recorded. More bands were recording live stuff from the nineties onwards that you just couldn’t work on because it would go out under the Black Sabbath name.
Tony Martin: Not just live stuff. I’ve got about eight tracks that we never released. Just from the writing sessions and rehearsals and stuff that we used to do. They just can’t get out. They just won’t allow it.
I don’t understand. Well, I kind of understand. When you’re trying to protect your name, your mark, your image, your everything, which is where the band politics comes in, they won’t allow you to do anything that they think. And there’s all kinds of… Everybody from Ozzy to Dio to everybody. They don’t want their thing to be diluted or taken away. I do understand that. There are people involved all along the way that have an objection of some kind or another.
Phil Aston: But I guess, hopefully, this box set’s going to sell out really quickly and will show there’s a demand for this material and for this part of Black Sabbath history. There’s a lot of love for it. A lot of people worked really hard within it, like yourself. They’re great albums, wonderful songs. If there’s other music waiting in the wings, whereas we all get older, thinking through the eyes of the fan, it would go down so well, wouldn’t it? But I am, as you are, very grateful that these four albums have arrived in a box.
Tony Martin: Yes, it’s an important thing for me. It’s an important thing for the band, and it’s a great thing for the fans. I’m thrilled. It’s been an honor to be part of the story. I love the fact that it’s out there now. They did say there is no limit to the box sets. They have sold out on day one.
Phil Aston: I’m not surprised.
Tony Martin: They said the way they do it is they tend to poll the outlets and stuff and say, “How many do you think you can sell?” And they put their numbers in, and they’ve gone way past that. So now they’ve got to go back and produce more. There’s no limit to it. I love what they’ve done. There’s more in the box set than just the albums. Posters, programs, and everything.
Phil Aston: And then Forbidden. I’ll be honest, Tony, when I heard this for the first time back in the day, I didn’t like it. I tried, but I didn’t like it. My son liked it because I think probably because his dad didn’t. But now the remix, it’s as if someone’s released the drums and the guitars. It sounds like a Black Sabbath album. It sounds fantastic, doesn’t it?
Tony Martin: It does. It’s brilliant. I love the fact that they’ve dismantled it and put it back in a way that they couldn’t or didn’t with the other three. Forbidden needed it for all kinds of reasons. It was done under a sort of cloud where a lot of us weren’t really into it very much. But it was also an attempt at trying to give Sabbath a kind of acceptable twist to the youth. It didn’t work.
Phil Aston: The nineties were weird, weren’t they? The nineties were strange for heavy rock.
Tony Martin: The problem was we were fast heading towards great new bands like Nirvana and eventually Green Day and Metallica doing stuff. We were going and they were trying to change the sound to fit in. It didn’t work. We didn’t think it would. But there are people out there that love Forbidden as it is. I said that to Iommi. Last time I saw him, there are people out there that love it. He said, “They’ll probably love this version now.” But shaking the chains, guilty as hell, rusty angels, forbidden. And of course, “Loser Gets It All” is a great track. That wasn’t even on the album originally.
Phil Aston: It’s brilliant.
Tony Martin: Yeah. Strange. I absolutely love it now. It does sound like a Black Sabbath album. It sounds like it should be there in amongst the others. They’ve done a great job. Tony and his engineers have really pulled it together. It’s slightly more guitar and slightly less keyboard. They’ve done Cozy’s drums. Fantastic job on those.
Phil Aston: They’re just unleashed, aren’t they?
Tony Martin: Yes. They haven’t changed anything. They’ve mixed it and given it a new attitude, which is brilliant. They’ve given it more space. It sounds bigger. I just love what they’ve done to it. I’m really proud of it now. I didn’t like it then. There’s still a couple of tracks where I would love to have gone back in and…
Phil Aston: Yeah, you know.
Tony Martin: I thought at the time, because I was that off it at the time, my head just wasn’t quite there. A couple of tracks I thought I could have done better. I did sort of say when they were doing it, “Can I go back in?” They said, “No.”
Phil Aston: I suppose because that might edge towards it being a new recording then.
Tony Martin: Yeah, tricky. I’m not going to tell you which tracks it is, but there were a couple in there that I wasn’t quite happy with. But on the whole, it’s a great job they’ve done.
Phil Aston: Because when you were playing live, there were more songs from your period in Sabbath coming into the set, weren’t there? You were a unique vocalist in many ways for the band. You could cover Ozzy, Dio. You probably could have done Ian Gillan. Anything. You could have the ultimate set list, really, going through every era.
Tony Martin: That was a bit of a mistake. I told them I could sing anything, really. They thought, “What can we give him to sing?” They threw all sorts of stuff at me. I had a shot. Fortunately, I’ve got the kind of voice that can get around most things, and that’s a result of being in so many different kinds of music. I’ve been involved in everything from reggae to rock.
Phil Aston: Who were your key vocal influences growing up? As you say, outside of this Black Sabbath badge, your voice can go in any direction. So who were your influences? Was it blues, soul, rock?
Tony Martin: It kept changing. Everything I listened to, I thought, “That’s good. That’s good.” Each couple of years, something else took my attention. I’d really pour my soul into it. When I started off with reggae, believe it or not, I worked with Musical Youth and Dexys Midnight Runners in the studio. I was a guitarist back then. Then I loved blues. I got into prog rock bands like Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull. Then it shifted to Emerson, Lake & Palmer. That led to Rush and bands like that. Then I had to come down out of that prog rock technical stuff because Sabbath is much more honest and basic and straightforward. To a point. When you’re in the band and you find out how he does it, it’s stunning. I never even gave it a thought. I thought, “It’s got to be easy.” It wasn’t easy at all. Iommi can put seven, eight different riffs into one song, and each one of the riffs could be a song on their own.
Phil Aston: Very true.
Tony Martin: So, wow. You get your head around it. It’s weird. Plus, the time signatures he was throwing at us. There was a 14/4 and a 15/8 or something he was throwing at us. How he gets his head around it, I just don’t know. When I saw him a few weeks ago, he said, “You did a really good job on this.” I said, “Thanks, man.” He said, “I actually don’t know how you sang over some of this stuff.” I said, “Neither do I.”
Phil Aston: Just mad, isn’t it? You could try anything. I might have thought, “That means you might be able to put some of the songs in that Ozzy couldn’t do into the set. Or I can try something that I’ve never been able to do before because Tony says he can do anything.”
Tony Martin: It’s because I showed willing. I told them I’d have a go. And I did have a go. I did put into it. The songs, the writing, the live shows, whatever. I kind of made a rod for my own back in some ways because it was hard flicking between all of the different vocal techniques. But I did my best. It sort of came across okay. The problem is when you try to do stuff like that, it can sound a bit like a tribute act. But we got it nailed, I think. Especially having people like Cozy Powell, Geezer Butler, and all those guys in the band. We were willing to seek out that Sabbath sound, and we were conscious of it. So we were all aiming for the same thing. From outside, it might have looked like a chaotic mess. But on the inside, it all had a focus. We were all willing to give it a go. That’s what I think they saw in me. I knew they liked my voice, but I think that’s what they saw, a willingness to have a go and see if you can make it work. All those different time signatures and riffs that I had to go, looking back, to me, it’s Black Sabbath. Like,
Phil Aston I’m a Deep Purple fan, and every lineup of Deep Purple is still Deep Purple. I know Black Sabbath, there’s lots of politics in the way some of the fans look at it. But I think, which is why they had Heaven and Hell later on instead of Black Sabbath, because of the politics. But listening to these four albums, one after the other, you brought to life Viking mythology and song. More death. Just your passion and the way you projected the lyrics and your phrasing makes these albums unique. An important part of the Sabbath story. Finally, do you feel like this outpouring of love for this lineup is validating everything? Any doubt that might have been back then?
Tony Martin: Yeah, doesn’t it just? The biggest validation is from Tony Iommi himself. It wasn’t regarded that highly until he sat and listened to it without the bickering going around. When I went down a few weeks ago, he said, “You did a great job on this. There’s fantastic songs on here.” I said, “I know.” It’s just that validation that he gives it. The fact that the fans are returning to it. The fact that we’ve got new fans coming to it. Whole new record labels. I think it’s Rhino in America. It’s BMG in the UK, Europe. The record labels are coming back to it and getting behind it. They see something in it. The management sees something in it. So it’s all coming together. Which is a shame because I’m not in the band anymore.
Phil Aston Who knows? Maybe you and Tony will think, “It’d be great if some of this other stuff can come out at some point and we don’t have to wait another 25 years.”
Tony Martin: If he was going to do that, he’d say, “Let’s just write some new stuff.” But from what I’ve been told, Tony’s touring dates are done now. He won’t be going out on the road again. That’s probably out of the question for writing. I did tell him I was interested if he wants to do something. But he’s got so much going on. He’s still busy. Doing stuff. He had that ballet, the Black Sabbath ballet.
Phil Aston: Yeah, that’s true.
Tony Martin: Never saw that coming. No, he’s working on all kinds of stuff. He’s writing new material for something else now.
Phil Aston: So what about you, Tony? Have you got any plans for another solo album?
Tony Martin: I never actually stopped. For the past 25 years, my career took me into the studio and writing for people. My voice appears on 89 albums and projects now. It’s been good for me. I owe everything to Black Sabbath because that’s how the world got to hear my voice. People know what they’re talking about when they talk to me. “Can you write, can you sing on this?” They already know what they’re hearing or expecting. I always try to make it better than what they give me in the first place. A lot of that is me in the studio, and I’m happy, and I still am, happy doing that. But I do tend to choose what I do these days.
Phil Aston: Yeah, that makes sense.
Tony Martin: So I’m still doing the odd thing for people now. I did have a solo album a couple of years ago called Thorns.
Phil Aston: Great album.
Tony Martin: Yeah, totally unknown guitarist from America, Scott McClellan. I only met him because he kept badgering me on Facebook. He kept sending me stuff. I was like, “Go away.” He said, “Listen to this. What about this one?” In the end, I listened to it and it was brilliant. So I gave it a go and it turned out really well. But then Covid interrupted that and we couldn’t get out there with it. Some countries were saying, “Yeah, you can come,” and other countries were saying, “No, you can’t.” It all got distracted. I haven’t finished with Thorns because they wanted to do a vinyl for it. They said we had to take some tracks off to get it to fit on the vinyl. I don’t want to take any tracks off.
Phil Aston: Make it a double.
Tony Martin: Yeah, make it a double. Write some more. I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m pacing up, trying to write some new songs. Scott has sent me loads. We’ve got enough tracks for Thorns 2, but I haven’t finished Thorns 1 yet. I’ve got to come back to that. I do want to finish that off and get that done. Then if we can do the next Thorns thing, who knows? We’d like to try and get it out on the road. Getting out on the road for me is so different to the Sabbath thing. The Sabbath machine is huge. They only have to mention it and all the cogs start turning all at the same time all the way around the world. It all starts fitting into place within days, within weeks. On your own, it’s different. I can’t do that. I have to hire other musicians to go out on the road and rehearse the whole thing and start again with a brand new show. It’s a lot harder for me, but I would love to get back out there. My career took me into the studio, so I’ve got more to do. But I just tend to choose now.
Phil Aston: If people want to get Thorns, is it DarkstarRecords.net? Is that the best place?
Tony Martin: No, Battle God. They are the main label. Darkstar were involved and they’re still there, but they’ve had some troubles in the past couple of years. They were on board and I did two versions of it from between the two territories. I liked that. But mostly now, Battle God is the label to grab hold of it. It’s still available and I’m still signing them. People send me the stuff to sign.
Phil Aston: But I haven’t finished yet, so there’s more to come.
Phil Aston: Brilliant. Well, thanks very much, Tony, for all of your time today. Everybody, make sure you go and get a copy on CD or vinyl of this Black Sabbath Tony Martin years box set, “Anno Domini.” It’s absolutely superb.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it is good. I’m just smiling. I think it’s brilliant.
Phil Aston: No, that’s it, isn’t it? Whatever anyone thinks, these albums are available again. People can hear just how awesome this time for Sabbath really was.
Tony Martin: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Phil Aston: All right, take care, and hopefully I’ll talk to you again in the future.
Tony Martin: Thank you. All right, Phil, thanks, mate. Cheers.
Phil Aston: Well, a huge thank you to my guest, Tony Martin. That was fantastic. I’m almost lost for words in knowing what to say to sum up that interview because I know a lot of you are really interested in this box set, “Anno Domini” by Black Sabbath, which is out on CD and vinyl. Just as I thought, it’s sold out already, but there’s going to be another pressing. I was able to ask some of the questions I know some of you have been wanting to know, like why weren’t there extra tracks? Why wasn’t the live Cross Purposes included, etc. So now you know. Some of it is really exciting because it means there might be a companion set with some outtakes or live stuff as well. That’s really exciting.
Tony Martin is a fantastic vocalist, really passionate, really imaginative with his lyrics and his vision of how he writes his music. These four albums are essential. They’re Black Sabbath albums, okay? That’s what they are. They sound like Black Sabbath albums. Wasn’t it interesting that Geezer Butler said Cross Purposes is the best album he’d ever played on? It is a truly remarkable album. But they all are: from Headless Cross, to Tyr (which I can now pronounce correctly), Cross Purposes, and Forbidden, which has been given a new lease of life. Seriously, it is incredible. Just stunning.
Thank you again to Tony Martin for joining me here on the Now Spinning Magazine podcast. Please keep spinning those discs, whether they are vinyl or CD. Check us out on the podcast. We’re on every platform you can think of, from Apple to Spotify to Amazon. Of course, we’re on YouTube. Please subscribe and check out the website at nowspinning.co.uk. Remember, music is the healer and the doctor. So take care and I’ll see you all very, very soon.
Watch the full interview here
Phil Aston Now Spinning Magazine

In my world it differs from Religion to Religion, but the most common in the Main Religion is the following:
The Light is reverred as an ever present diety and the Sun is seen as a rift in between the Realm of the Light, which is also where souls go in the afterlife, and the physical world.
So when a person dies, his soul is seen as still trapped within the fleshy prison of the body. To free the soul and let it pass into the Realm of Light, the body most fully decompose until only bone is left (preferably in the sun). After this the bones are buried in a more traditional cemetary to give the worldly parts of the beeing back to the earth. Now that the soul has passed into the afterlife, the Light shall either cast the soul into eternal darkness or grant entry into the realm of Light, depending on the virtuesness of the persons life.
The process of ascendence can be performed everywhere, but is usually done in a "Field of Ascendence" where the bodys are laid out bare in the sun. These are often located a few miles away from larger cities. Most villages either chose to let their dead decompose in some chosen area or bring them to the nearest monastery or other larger place of worship, where there usually is a Field of Ascendence. If a body is buried before it has fully decomposed, the soul is seen as trapped forever in the body and on earth, doomed to haunt the proximity of its imprisonement. This is often used to humiliate enemys by burying their bodies prematurely.
Those larger Fields of Ascendence are operated by the Church of the Holy Light, which is often neccesary as the workers of the Fields of Ascendence are generally viewed with suspicion or even outright hostility. This results from the fact that fields of Ascendence are seen as places of concentrated evil, as the ascending souls leave behind sinfullness and evil desires (The stench of decomposition is seen as prove for this), which is believed to corrupt those who spend too much time there. This view of Field Workers is perpetuated by their low life expectancy and tenedency to pick up nasty illnesses and therefore spreading plagues. But the workers are promised high rewards in the afterlife and are usually completely devoted to the church and the Holy Light.

Hey guys! I'm Bea from Hagwow, the first modern e-learning platform in the Philippines made for kids. We're looking for Sales Partners or Sales Affiliates from all over the country to help spread our service throughout your communities.
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• We already have 25,000 registered Filipino students from internal promotions, and we're recently relaunching our social media efforts to continue our growth
  

Our terms:

• We're looking for interested Sales Partners to help spread our subscription across your communities
  
• You will get 30% of every sale, for every month that they stay subscribed. This means for each sale you make this month, you will get 30 pesos every single month until they unsubscribe.
  
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• Please note that we are only taking in a limited number of Sales Partners from each area, so please apply soon before the quota in your area is filled.
  
• Once you apply, please wait up to 1-2 days for us to get back to you and tell you the next steps. You will be given training materials and you will be asked to join a webinar, and then your Sales Partner code will be generated, which your sign-ups will have to input when they subscribe.
  

Learn more about our platform on our site: www.hagwowcourses.com
Thanks guys! :) Let me know if you have any questions.

• Bea

I am in a terrible situation. I am on a corner lot and was the first to move in to our development. Fuckwad was the last. The back of my house faces the side of his. I can see everything he does, he cannot see my house.
Since he and his fruitcake wife moved in, they have been a constant pain in the ass.
My city rules are pretty strict. It started out with garbage cans. They cannot be visible from the street or others homes. I told him the rules, and was told to mind my own business. He has a drag race car and would randomly rev it at 10pm with little kids sleeping. Decided to use a pull trailer as storage. After driving it on my yard, I told him it violated 3 city codes-I was told to fuck off. He, of course, had to put up a shed, blocking my view of a duck pond that kids use to skate in the winter. It is also within 25 feet of my firepit. (illegal) He told me to move the pit. I said I did not have to. The city said, since he was negligent and out of code, If I burned his shed down, I would not be liable. (working on it)
He has used my yard to wash an RV trailer (not legal and trespassing) rent out said trailer (trespassing) parking it on my curb for days at a time (against code) spread shit from said trailer all over the neighborhood...called police-he had to rent a street cleaner. Hopefully fined.
Pushed his snow from his driveway with a four wheeler into the street (illegal) then onto mine and others yards (way illegal) When I told them it was illegal-fruitcake started yelling at me and said "What else are we supposed to do with it?" I told her to shove it up her ass. Then "this is not your HOA" No. we do not have an HOA, just strict city codes. I have called the cops on them many time. But I not a fan of being verbally abused for following the law and expecting people to say off my property.
I had to plant a row of trees just beyond the property line to prevent him from driving on my yard. He has now started clipping branches over his property so his fat ass can mow. I was going to do this over the summer, but will now only do my side. He has a right to do it, but is lawfully supposed to ask permission first. And he basically ripped instead of cut.
The kicker here-my wife keeps telling me to hold my tongue. I have tried, but if I fold, they will keep taking. He has no concern for anyone but him. He sucks as a neighbor. Everything he does, I can see. I cannot do anything to defend myself. I have thought about a cease and desist letter.
I am sure he says the same thing about me, but the law is on my side. I

This might read more like a relationship advice post, so forgive me if this isn't the appropriate avenue, but I really need insight from people who have experienced this type of grief. This is a little long, so please bear with me.
10 months ago my wife and I (early 30s) lost our baby boy at 21 weeks due to TFMR. He was very much wanted and very much loved. It's been hard on both of us, but obviously my wife has been having a harder time. I've since returned to hobbies and friendships, but she has taken the route of isolation. Now, it feels like just about everyone we know is announcing pregnancies. Of course I'm reminded of what we should have and it makes me sad, but I'm also happy for those people and want to share in their joy. My wife, however, wants nothing to do with any of them. That's totally valid and she can do what she wants, but it does make sad that it feels like she's shut out most people in her life right now.
Just under two months ago, I told her that I was planning on attending my friends' baby shower. I've known these friends for almost 20 years, but she doesn't like them, and I try not to bring them up to her. I didn't expect her to be thrilled about me going, and I would certainly never expect her to go with me, but her reaction was far more explosive than I anticipated. She essentially forbade me from going as it would be too triggering for her and I was expected to know as much. The fact that I even brought it up told her I didn't care about her feelings and that I was putting my friends over her. If I decided to attend, she "would have to seriously think about our marriage". We had a huge fight but ultimately came to a compromise that I could take them to dinner in lieu of attending the shower. It was my understanding that the shower was the main sticking point and that anything after that was fine.
Just a couple days later, we found out we were pregnant again. Unfortunately, that joy was shortlived as we found out the pregnancy was ectopic after only two weeks. Thankfully we caught it early, and my wife's health is okay. The emotional pain isn't as severe as when we lost our son last year, but loss is loss, and the pain is still fresh. The baby shower came and went, and I wasn't in the mood to set up the dinner the time, so it never happened.
Fast forward another several several weeks and my friends have their baby. I inform my wife of the birth since I don't want her to get blindsided about it from somewhere else. She was upset I even told her, so I ask how to better navigate the situation to which she responds that I'm doing my best but she just wants them out of her life, by them "either moving away or dying." We fight again and it's apparently a problem that I got so hung up on her wording.
Almost two weeks later, I tell her I'm planning on visiting them. Again, I didn't expect her to be thrilled, but I thought we agreed everything sans baby shower was fine, and we even visited her sister's newborn shortly after our first loss, so I thought it would be more or less "okay". But her reaction was even more explosive than last time. My ears were ringing from the volume of her voice. More accusations of not giving a shit about her, putting everyone else above her, etc. Apparently during our last argument she said she'd need time after their birth, which is probably true but I'm sure I lost that detail among the heightened emotions. Once again she says she'd seriously rethink our marriage if I'm willing to ignore her feelings and visit them anyway. She says I can't see them until she's felt like she's processed the news of their birth. Not only that, I'm being told I'm not to acknowledge their existence or even text/talk on the phone with them if she's around. Since she's home all the time outside of work, my interactions with them are essentially to be limited to business hours. I ask how long this is supposed to last and she thinks it's unreasonable to ask for a timeframe on her healing, but maybe after we get back from a trip in two months at the earliest (which coincides with the anniversary of losing our son). She feels like she's being generous by even giving me an estimate.
She says she shouldn't be asked to sacrifice the progress she's made, but I feel like I'm the one being asked to make a sacrifice. I recognize that these things are triggering for her but I don't feel like it's my responsibility to help her avoid feeling this way by me not engaging in these big life moments. I've suggested that she get back into therapy but she says she's working through it on her own just fine and it's insulting to suggest that therapy is required to navigate her feelings. I've also suggested we get back into couples counseling but since she doesn't even want to acknowledge these friends and this situation, she says talking about it will only delay her healing.
I feel so lost. And like I'm in a box, with the walls slowly moving inward, crushing me. My friends are important to me and I want to celebrate these big moments in their lives, but I think I will lose my wife if I do so. She says there are other ways to celebrate them without being there in person, and if people who don't live close to each other can still celebrate and maintain friendships, I can too. Except these friends only live 20 minutes away. She says she'd never ask me to cut them out of my life but it feels like the goalposts keep moving closer and closer in that direction. How can I be sure that she won't change her mind about this in two months? Another close friend that I've known for even longer will be going through IVF in August and I'm terrified of how my relationship with them will be impacted if it's successful (at least she likes this friend).
I don't know what to do. We've both gone through something awful, but I'll never know the feeling of losing a child that I was carrying in my body. I know she's grieving (as I am still too), and I'm trying to be empathetic to that grief, but I think too much is being asked of me and I'm becoming resentful. She doesn't care if what she's asking is logical or not, she's my wife and she says I should put her first. I should just do it because she's asking. I want to reiterate that I think it's totally valid to have these feelings and I'm not trying to diminish them or try to get her to not feel them, but these feelings are now affecting me and my friendships. I also realize I'm presenting my biased view of events, but I'll try to answer questions if there are any.
Has anyone been through a similar loss and have any insight to give here? Am I not giving her enough grace during this time of pain?

This might read more like a relationship advice post, so forgive me if this isn't the appropriate avenue, but I really need insight from people who have experienced this type of grief. This is a little long, so please bear with me.
10 months ago my wife and I (early 30s) lost our baby boy at 21 weeks due to TFMR. He was very much wanted and very much loved. It's been hard on both of us, but obviously my wife has been having a harder time. I've since returned to hobbies and friendships, but she has taken the route of isolation. Now, it feels like just about everyone we know is announcing pregnancies. Of course I'm reminded of what we should have and it makes me sad, but I'm also happy for those people and want to share in their joy. My wife, however, wants nothing to do with any of them. That's totally valid and she can do what she wants, but it does make sad that it feels like she's shut out most people in her life right now.
Just under two months ago, I told her that I was planning on attending my friends' baby shower. I've known these friends for almost 20 years, but she doesn't like them, and I try not to bring them up to her. I didn't expect her to be thrilled about me going, and I would certainly never expect her to go with me, but her reaction was far more explosive than I anticipated. She essentially forbade me from going as it would be too triggering for her and I was expected to know as much. The fact that I even brought it up told her I didn't care about her feelings and that I was putting my friends over her. If I decided to attend, she "would have to seriously think about our marriage". We had a huge fight but ultimately came to a compromise that I could take them to dinner in lieu of attending the shower. It was my understanding that the shower was the main sticking point and that anything after that was fine.
Just a couple days later, we found out we were pregnant again. Unfortunately, that joy was shortlived as we found out the pregnancy was ectopic after only two weeks. Thankfully we caught it early, and my wife's health is okay. The emotional pain isn't as severe as when we lost our son last year, but loss is loss, and the pain is still fresh. The baby shower came and went, and I wasn't in the mood to set up the dinner the time, so it never happened.
Fast forward another several several weeks and my friends have their baby. I inform my wife of the birth since I don't want her to get blindsided about it from somewhere else. She was upset I even told her, so I ask how to better navigate the situation to which she responds that I'm doing my best but she just wants them out of her life, by them "either moving away or dying." We fight again and it's apparently a problem that I got so hung up on her wording.
Almost two weeks later, I tell her I'm planning on visiting them. Again, I didn't expect her to be thrilled, but I thought we agreed everything sans baby shower was fine, and we even visited her sister's newborn shortly after our first loss, so I thought it would be more or less "okay". But her reaction was even more explosive than last time. My ears were ringing from the volume of her voice. More accusations of not giving a shit about her, putting everyone else above her, etc. Apparently during our last argument she said she'd need time after their birth, which is probably true but I'm sure I lost that detail among the heightened emotions. Once again she says she'd seriously rethink our marriage if I'm willing to ignore her feelings and visit them anyway. She says I can't see them until she's felt like she's processed the news of their birth. Not only that, I'm being told I'm not to acknowledge their existence or even text/talk on the phone with them if she's around. Since she's home all the time outside of work, my interactions with them are essentially to be limited to business hours. I ask how long this is supposed to last and she thinks it's unreasonable to ask for a timeframe on her healing, but maybe after we get back from a trip in two months at the earliest (which coincides with the anniversary of losing our son). She feels like she's being generous by even giving me an estimate.
She says she shouldn't be asked to sacrifice the progress she's made, but I feel like I'm the one being asked to make a sacrifice. I recognize that these things are triggering for her but I don't feel like it's my responsibility to help her avoid feeling this way by me not engaging in these big life moments. I've suggested that she get back into therapy but she says she's working through it on her own just fine and it's insulting to suggest that therapy is required to navigate her feelings. I've also suggested we get back into couples counseling but since she doesn't even want to acknowledge these friends and this situation, she says talking about it will only delay her healing.
I feel so lost. And like I'm in a box, with the walls slowly moving inward, crushing me. My friends are important to me and I want to celebrate these big moments in their lives, but I think I will lose my wife if I do so. She says there are other ways to celebrate them without being there in person, and if people who don't live close to each other can still celebrate and maintain friendships, I can too. Except these friends only live 20 minutes away. She says she'd never ask me to cut them out of my life but it feels like the goalposts keep moving closer and closer in that direction. How can I be sure that she won't change her mind about this in two months? Another close friend that I've known for even longer will be going through IVF in August and I'm terrified of how my relationship with them will be impacted if it's successful (at least she likes this friend).
I don't know what to do. We've both gone through something awful, but I'll never know the feeling of losing a child that I was carrying in my body. I know she's grieving (as I am still too), and I'm trying to be empathetic to that grief, but I think too much is being asked of me and I'm becoming resentful. She doesn't care if what she's asking is logical or not, she's my wife and she says I should put her first. I should just do it because she's asking. I want to reiterate that I think it's totally valid to have these feelings and I'm not trying to diminish them or try to get her to not feel them, but these feelings are now affecting me and my friendships. I also realize I'm presenting my biased view of events, but I'll try to answer questions if there are any.
Has anyone been through a similar loss and have any insight to give here? Am I not giving her enough grace during this time of pain?

I am a professional software developer with over 14 years of work experience. I code every single day. Have worked with a lot of technologies and stacks from front-end, back-end, system, mobile, dektop apps to designing programming-languages and writing compiler toolchains.
Aspiring, Newbie/Fresher and Experienced software developers of Indore, AMA.

This is gonna be a long post, and it’s mostly incoherent ramblings but I’ve been on the fence about recovery for the past few days and it’s driving me insane.
To preface this, I am 15F and have struggled with a restrictive ED for the past 2-3 years. I’ve lost ~50 pounds in that time, and am now bmi 18s, but I’ve been stuck with some kind of EDNOS for a while now. The whole restrict, binge, compensate ect. It got really bad this year as the purging aspect flared up at the start of the year, and I transitioned into more heavy restricting around March. Now I’m doing high intake, and have had some more success with not binging, but I still do sometimes, which I compensate for. DESPITE ALL THAT, I’m still not underweight. I’m about to be, but that last bit just doesn’t want to come off, and I know it’s because my body doesn’t want to completely shut down, but it’s so frustrating. It’s also one of the reasons I don’t feel like I deserve recovery. Before my restrictive ED, I feel like I had some sort of BED. I remember constantly just eating and eating. Safe to say I was an overweight kid, meaning I got told by everyone around me that I was fat and needed to lose weight, thus devolving into this. I’ve also always had bad body image issues, and even though I’ve lost like half my body weight from when I was younger, I feel like I look the same. What’s weird is, I lost my period pretty early on into my restrictive ED. Probably around BMI 25, which I know doesn’t apply to children but just to give a number ya know. It was never stable (I only had it for like a year at that point), but there was a period of time where I didn’t have it for almost 10 months, before being put on progesterone. All that to say, I’m scared that my set point weight is in the overweight or even obese category. I’m scared that I’ll overshoot and become fat and ugly. Even when I was restricting, just not as heavily, I was in the middle of the normal category. As I lost more and more weight, more people started complimenting me too. Adults/family friends would always comment on how much prettier I looked, and how impressive my weight loss was. Acquaintances and fiends I haven’t seen in a long time would be astonished at how different I looked (in a good way). I also felt more confident in wearing the clothes I wanted to wear, more jiraikei-coquette-cutecore stuff. I liked the feeling of not fitting into my old clothes, and wearing xxsmalls. Another reason I don’t want to recover. I can’t imagine dealing with the comments that’ll come with weight gain. All the talking behind my back ec. I feel like I’ve also lost my personality. All I focus on is my eating disordefood, and when I talk or rant to my friends it’s about the fucking eating disorder, or some kind of effect I’m feeling because of it. I’m scared that once I get weight restored, I’ll have nothing to me, and that I’ll just be the fat kid. The people I see at school and even my friends make it really hard for me to accept that I’ll gain weight as well. It’s not their fault, but they all seem to be ‘naturally skinny’. They eat whatever they want whenever, but can stop or say no to food just as easily. They have thigh gaps and slim frames, which I worked so hard to destroy my body for. And they just have it. It’s not fair. Whenever I see them eat and stop, I always wonder how they do it. I’m constantly feeling like I could devour an entire buffet by myself. Since I developed this so early on, I was probably never able to grow to my true height. My family isn’t tall by any means, but I’m only 5’1, if even that. There’s also the thing about my boobs and ass too. Sorry if this is inappropriate, but I’m at that age where I care bout it somewhat (not all that much, but that’s a whole nother story regarding my gender). My family is stacked in this department, and it makes me sad whenever they comment on my assets being small. My friends being concerned whenever I tell them about my intake or what I feel makes me want to recover, but it also makes me take pride in the fact that I’m sick enough to give two shits over. My family, especially my grandma, crying over what I’m doing to myself makes me want to recover so bad. TLDR; I want to recover, for being able to eat whatever whenever, to not think about food all the time, to not feel cold and dead all the time, to eat with my family and friends without stressing, to grow taller and get my, assets, back, ect, but my biggest opposition is weight and fat gain. There’s also the thing with recovery where water retention and bloating is prevalent, which is what I experience when binging. I don’t like that feeling. It’s also summer, so yk.

Hello everyone !
I’d like to start this post by thanking the community as a whole for the real treasure trove that is this subreddit’ and it’s wiki in particular, it really contains a lot of information and resources to get started!
After having read everything I could find there very thoroughly, I wanted to get some quick feedback on my plans on how to get started on this investment journey. There are many things that I read where I wasn’t sure if they were still valid, so I would also like to know if some of the assumptions I’m taking make sense.
My personal situation is the following: I’m 29, working as Data scientist in a consulting firm, I earn a bit more than 3.4K net per month (with 13th month, meal vouchers, etc to be added as well), and I spend about 1.8K-2K per month (I pay 850€ for rent). I’ve been quite careful with my money ever since I started working so I’ve managed to put some money on the side, here is the breakdown:

• 10K on my deposit account
• 15K on my savings account (not bringing much in terms of interest but better than on deposit I figured)
• 20K in ‘bons d’états / staatsbonden’, which I will get back in September with some interests
• 9K in Comptes-titres since end of 2022, I deposit 200€ on this every month but return is not great (+- 4%)
• 18K in ‘Argenta Life Plan’ investments since end of 2022, return has been +5% since I deposited
• 8K in ‘épargne-pension’, that I started in 2017, where I deposit 80€ every month (overall return has been +20% since I started)
• 9K in ‘pension complémentaire’ paid by my various employers since I started my career

This means that I have +- 45K in cash (including the bons d’états money coming back in September), +- 25K in investments that I can take back whenever I want, and +-15k that I cannot touch until I retire.
Here are my questions:
​

• How much to invest in ETF?

Having read the wiki and JLCollins Stock series thoroughly, I now see how interesting it could be to invest in ETF and let some of my money work for a couple of decades. My first question is about the money to invest in ETF, knowing the following elements:

• I’d like to keep some sort of emergency fund of about 10K, to pay for unexpected expenses or for my fees during periods in between jobs (I’m thinking of changing job soon)
• I’m thinking of buying a flat or a house in the coming years, my girlfriend will help but she has far less money on the side (15k) and my parents can probably lend me some money to get enough to ask for a loan from a bank
• Given my current revenue and spending level, I put approx 1K to 1.5K on the side each month

I was thinking of investing the 15K I have on my savings account into ETF now, add all the money I put on the side each month in there as well, and then add the 20K I will get back in September to that pile. This would mean I would keep about 40K in my deposit account and other investments where I can take the money back easily, to buy an apartment for instance.
Does this seem like a good ratio?
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• Which broker?

My second question would be about the broker to go with for this investment. I am quite risk averse in general and reluctant to have to declare some revenues to the tax authorities myself, so I found using a Belgian broker like Bolero quite appealing. Knowing that I do not plan to withdraw that money anytime soon, I don’t know how the different fees and taxes they charge could impact my overall profit vs. If I went with a foreign broker like Degiro.
Could someone help me get a better view on this?
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• What ETF?

In the JLCollins stock series blog posts, he mentions Vanguard products a lot and their returns seem quite appealing indeed. I originally thought of buying VWCE, but it seems like the TOB has recently been increased, making it less interesting than other ETFs, correct? The wiki also recommends IUSQ, is this commonly seen as the better choice now? Or does it make more sense to buy a Developed markets fund and an Emerging markets fund rather than an All-world one?
Many thanks for your help and your feedback !!