I did an Ikea kitchen 10 years ago and never would have even considered not using a cover panel to hide the underside of the upper cabinets. For one, the cabinet fronts were gray and it would have looked awful. Second, I didn't want to see the screws (cams really). I totally planned to do that in my new kitchen that I'm currently installing.
However, and I hope not having a kitchen for 5 months is not making me try to cut corners, I'm considering not using them. The reasons are I am using white cabinets (Axstad matte white) and I am using Mittled under cabinet lights. I would use a Deco strip turned so the shallow/thinner side shows. My thinking is if I do the cover panel, you will still see the lights. The lights will keep you from seeing the cams in the back and the deco strip will keep you from seeing the cams in the front and the lights (mostly).
Thoughts? I am spending a lot of money so this isn't going to be any big cost savings. It would save some install time, but again in the big scheme nothing crazy. But I'm wondering if the cover panel is worse (because you will see the lights) for more money/effort.

Hello everyone. 24, Male, 270lbs, 5'11", quit smoking like 2-3 months ago.
So I'll start from the beginning. On June 22nd 2023 I moved to USA from a country in Europe. Everything ok at first, no issues at all. Used to live with a couple of people and it was all good. On October 1st I moved to another state where i was alone.
It was around March when I started feeling dizzy, vision was "blurry" like my peripheral vision was somehow bothering me and I was tired. I've been to an Urgent Care where they took some blood samples and did an XRAY of my chest. I posted pics with them but they looked like they are okay (normal for a 270lbs man).
After, I went to a cardiologist that did an echocardiogram and an EKG. He said everything is fine and gave me some Meclizine 12.5mg for dizziness.
Went to get my eyes checked for my peripheral vision and they said it's also okay. When I try to read something I just lose my focus also.
A week went by and some friends from my country visited me. During their stay I felt nothing, it felt like I had zero issues. They left and time passed by. Last week, May 10th I got a bit sick, with a sore throat, I lost my voice for like a day or two, had a little bit of fever but felt better after.
The problem now is the following. My blood pressure (I've been monitoring it home) ranges from 120/70 to 150/90(for example when I take it the first time might be 150/90 but after 5 minutes it can be 140/80 for example). My throat goes sore like I'm hoarse before going to sleep and when I wake up, but during the day is ok. I have crazy shortness of breath now, my eyes are again bothering me like I feel that something it's not normal.
When I do some effort, even the slightly effort I just can't breathe. Yesterday I went up 10 stairs, down 10 stairs and lost my breath. Went back in the apartment so I can take my blood pressure out of curiosity when I couldn't breathe and it was 180/99/89. When I do workout in the gym, the first minute cuts my breath but then I am not tired at all, I am okay and I can breathe normally, it's only that I'm just yawning quite frequently. After the stairs incident yesterday, been to the gym, did my workout cardio, climbed 11 floors and 5 min after my workout I took my blood pressure and it was around 140/80 (forgot to save it). Also when I press with my finger in the middle of my sternum, kinda hurts a bit but it feels like it's the bone that hurts from the pressure.
I will post pics with the EKG, Echo, Carotid Duplex, Blood Samples, everything.
People told me it's literally from anxiety/stress since I am alone and so far away from family. What should I do? The shortness of breath that I have right now I can really feel it, and it's bothering me so much.
BTW, I want to mention that I have a cat and we live in the same room, but I don't think it's from the cat.
Thank you very much!
There are the pictures with everything.

(See update at the end) Some context before I (32m) get into the situation as I feel it's important to how I reacted. I have been in two situations, one as a 6-year-old and at 28, that involved women and unwanted touching and beyond in both occasions I have been powerless as a child or incapacitated as an adult like unable to control my bowels or bladder kind of incapacitated. Both my wife and my guest are aware of my past. I'm trying to keep this broad stroke so as not to violate any rules, but again I think this context is important.
So on to the current situation. We currently have a (26f) friend who is living out of a tent, and we often invite her over so she can do laundry, shower, and other hygiene tasks. In this instance, I decided to hop onto my computer and play some games while she did her stuff and hung out with the wife while I chatted back and forth with them a bit. As she wrapped up her visit, she approached me from behind and hit me with a hairbrush not hard just to get my attention. It for sure startled me, and I did snap at her telling her to stop. I looked up at her from my chair, and she does it again, and I tell her to stop again while making direct eye contact with her, which she doesn't doing it once more and then demanding I hug her, which I refuse to do, telling her very clearly "fuck no, I don't want to touch you," and I follow that up with if you keep going like this I'm going to kick you out. She gives me a kinda laugh and says whatever, I'm leaving anyway and then touches me again.
I get to my feet now both extremely panicky feeling and angry we have a bit of a scuffle not a fight, and I end up shouting at her to leave and not come back. I felt entirely violated in my own home during all this, but both her and my wife insist it was just a game and she did not mean it despite me telling her no repeatedly and both my wife and the guest hearing it. I'm for sure not saying my behavior was great, and I've been seeking long-term treatment to help with my issues both mainly being PTSD related to my time as an Army MP and the events mentioned in my personal life. Despite that, I 100% should not have acted in anger like I did.
So am I wrong for feeling the way I do? Or is the wife and the guest right and it was just a game and she didn't mean it.
EDIT: to be 100% upfront it escalated and I reacted (badly) physicality was involved but as also pointed out I was near panicked and overwhelmed due to my past.
EDIT 2: EDIT: Gonna try and respond to a few more posts then I've gotta have a break. I do thank everyone that took the time to write out comments or interact with me.
Edit 3?: My husband gave me access to this account, and I told him I wrote down my perspective. When I asked if I should add it, he said "it's up to you." So here it is.
Our friend approached my husband, who was playing an online cooperative action game on his computer, at his desk. I was sitting on the couch about 8 feet behind them, waiting for my friend to be ready for me to drive her home. She was wearing a long night shirt with a loose v-neck. She stood at his left side peripheral for about 2 seconds before she tapped the back of her hairbrush firmly against the side of his left shoulder. I immediately was not comfortable with this, as I don't tend to engage in horseplay unless someone else has repeatedly demonstrated to me that it's a method of expression that they like and want. I do enjoy my husband's frequent physicality with me, including picking me up or tickling me. My friend and husband have engaged in horseplay on many occasions before, tickling, poking at one another's stomach, and playfully throwing soft objects. This often included my friend's fiance, who usually only reciprocated with my friend. I will frequently smack my husband on the butt, but only when I am sure he is in a mood to be okay with it.
My husband said, "Hey, I'm busy," and didn't turn to her at first. She hit him again with the brush in the same spot, and my husband said "stop" in a normal voice, and my friend responded, saying "give me a hug (which we almost always all do at the end of visits). I don't remember if she hit him again, because he said (and I'm going to paraphrase, because at this point I began to get alarmed, and was only listening to the tone of his voice, and less to his words, unfortunately) that if she didn't stop, he'd make her leave. She said lightly that it didn't matter anyway; she was leaving. At this point, I realized by her teasing tone that she didn't understand how upset he was getting, which I did understand, through years of experience with his tone of voice and what it means. He didn't raise his voice, and I could hear that he was attempting to remain casual as he said something else, ending with "my dude" but that she had really pushed him past the point of anger and I didn't think she realized it. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he said "I don't want to fucking touch you now" and he stood up, and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt, pulling her foreward, and then put both hands around her throat, and I saw his hands tense, as he leaned down into her face and told her to leave the house and never come back. He pushed her backwards and she started to cry, and put her head down, hurrying to get pick up her things. My husband sat back down at his desk and didn't say anything else until I told him I was going to take the friend home and I'd be back, and he said "sure." The friend cried during the ride home, and her voice was harsh, but I wasn't sure if it was stress or physical. She did have marks on her throat, but those faded over the next few hours. She asked me repeatedly why he got so upset, and if anything was different, and I did point out to her that he said "stop," and she said that she thought it was part of the play. When I returned home, my husband did not seem upset, and seemed more relaxed than before, although he seemed nervous about my response to the situation. He said that he didn't remember putting his hands around her throat when I told him that he did.
My thoughts about this are that: 1) horseplaying with people with trauma, which all three of us have, to various degrees and in various forms, is potentially dangerous, and I'm frequently uncomfortable when it happens, although I often don't say anything, as I'm usually the odd one out when it comes to initiating social teasing, although I often enjoy receiving it.
2.) Our friend should have stopped at the word stop. I don't know why she didn't, but I don't think it was out of malice, because she genuinely did not seem to see how she was provoking him.
3.) Her actions were inappropriate, in my opinion, but his were potentially life-threatening and the fact that he didn't remember what he did was alarming. I am concerned that this will happen again, and he will have charges pressed in a situation where he is the first physical aggressor. This would be even worse if he inadvertently harms someone, and the escalation of force combined with memory issues in this latest case makes me worry that it might happen.
4.) I possibly could have prevented this from happening by being quicker stopping her or by getting between them, but I know from experience that once he has a grip on someone, I'm not strong enough to break it, and he ignores my presence or physically shakes me off if I try. He ignores my words entirely at these times. I expected her to see that he was upset before he snapped, because it seemed obvious to me, but she didn't, and I have no idea why. She's had lots of trauma of her own (as have I, including SA) in the past (and, like me, has worked in jobs that revolve around dealing with people dealing with trauma).

My Helix piercing isn't healing very well. Below is a timeline and details. I use the NielMed Niel Cleanse Piercing Aftercare fine mist.

• August 13, 2023 - Got my helix pierced at Stud's. They used a needle and the jewelry was a titanium flatback.
• Mid-December 2023 - Went back to Stud's to get it downsized. They said my ear was too swollen. The piercer said that it looked great for 4 months and it was healing on track.
• Mid-January 2024 - Got my piercing downsized at Studs.
• February 28, 2024 - I had some issues with my piercing. A lot of pain. A pus-like discharge. I reached out to some friends who have piercings and they recommended going to a different shop. I went to a different - and quite honestly a more reputable shop and the piercer told me that it was downsized too early and that my jewelry was sinking. I got new jewelry and it's a 14K Yellow Gold flat black.
• May 14, 2024 - My earlobe got really red and really warm. It didn't hurt.
• May 16, 2024 - After I showered, I noticed some weird stuff on my piercing. I'm pretty sure it was just conditioner, but there was something that looked like blood. I did a really thorough cleaning. Wiped away all the conditioner. Used a Q-tip and sprayed it with the cleansing mist and swabbed my piercing. It looked like it was sinking again. I started being a lot more consistent with my cleaning.
• May 19, 2024 - Piercing looks a lot better. It just still hasn't fully healed.

Did getting the new jewelry in February restart the healing timeline? My piercing is now 9 months old, but it's still a little sore when I touch the cartilage and I can't move the jewelry at all when it's dry.

It's something I've thought about countless times. for different reasons because I don't want to think about the actual reason because that would mean knowing I can't ever do something about it. even though I've already always known.
I was adopted when I was about 11 months old and it has been one of the things that I've never properly thought about even as a black kid in a white family, you would have thought I would, but I didn't. maybe it was because my AP has always been open about it, so it was never a shock even though it made me a little uncomfortable when people stared at me. I didn't get it at all, because I thought of myself as just a normal person. even though I was a pretty short kid, I thought I would grow taller and then they definitely wouldn't stare (it didn't happen, I'm still short) but that's not really why they were staring. I realized that when another kid in primary school asked me why I didn't look like my parents. I didn't understand what he meant because I had never thought that. I was slightly angry and just confused, why would he say that? I know I didn't look like them back then, but it felt like he was challenging me that I was their child. that I wasn't supposed to be there. I felt almost guilty, in a weird way (probably my insecurities) so I told him I was adopted. and laughed because I didn't want him to see I was bothered by it because I wasn't (I was).
It felt weird to be bothered by it or rather even the word ''adopted'' was something I did not like. as if often was followed by ''a blessing'', which did apply to me, I was blessed. for my loving family and siblings, and a better financial situation. That wasn't why I didn't like it, but the nagging feeling that I was once abandoned. a feeling that felt overlooked by me for early parts of my life, but felt. and it felt like I shouldn't have mentioned it since I was blessed. so I swallowed it since it was ''nothing''.
as I was 13 and becoming a teenager it felt different and exciting. starting a new school and a new beginning. That is what it felt like to me back then (which is very cliche.. teenage girl of me I know). though that was short-lived since I was pretty depressed. it was mostly because of being friends with the wrong people, but also that uncomfortable nagging feeling that something was wrong. or just no matter how many times I tried to figure out what it was, I couldn't. and it hurt so bad. but what could be wrong? I didn't get it.
I remember one night I was sitting with my mom and I don't remember how the topic came to it, but we talked about my adoption. we had never properly talked about it since I hadn't initiated it. she spoke of it, about how my mother left and how she also left my twin sister there.
this might sound weird, but at the mere mention, my heart dropped. because I didn't know that.
I knew my mother left at an orphanage of some sort, but the twin sister part genuinely screwed with something in me. and I remember zoning out for most of that conversation.
when I went back into my room, I wasn't sure what to think. I was uncomfortable, a feeling that felt like it had been building up for a long time. and I remembered I sat there and cried. for the first time, it felt like I was crying about the right thing that I hadn't allowed myself to think about.
I sat there, for a long time and wondered. what kind of life I would have lived there in contrast to my own now. and looking at myself in my mirror, at my own eyes that I've never been able to like for some reason. my eyes that I was given, the reason I can see the beautifulness of life and the ugly, and even my reflection. I wondered if my twin sister would have such eyes, or if I have eyes like my dad or my mom.
i remember i was hyper-focused on that. and started to even notice how my friends would complain about their parents and their features. the very features that made them look like their parents. it made me think of how i don't think i could ever get plastic surgery even if i don't like my appearance because i hope i can meet my parents one day. even though I'm pretty certain i never will. if they are even alive.
it felt kind of freeing to wonder, but heavy to know I'll never know. that I won't know their names, their passion, even how my parents first met, or even last. or maybe they were horrible people, or maybe they weren't. I like to think they aren't. though I won't know if I was even born out of love, hate, or perhaps necessity. That i might have just been an awful mistake, that ruined my mother's life. or even my twin sister's.
I left this out, but she died when she was about 20 days old. due to an illness she had (idk what its called), and she wasn't even buried properly. I feel so guilty, and sad that I can't even comprehend it.
I've always known I was adopted, but knowing I wasn't alone is something else entirely. but she is alone. and I can never let that go. I can't know how similar we would be or how different we would be. if she would be way better at sports than me (she would, I suck lol), and I wonder if she would be a nerd like me or pick on me because I am. I've never wanted to be picked on, this badly lol 😭😭
but my life didn't end after that night, or the countless other times I've thought and cried about this. I still manage to smile, which other people like a lot so I try to smile a lot. I think that means I must be doing okay. also since I can do my schoolwork and people are nice to me. and I even get compliments, which should make me happy but it doesn't.
as of now, I'm 16 and becoming older. and I don't know how I'm supposed to keep going with this. no matter how many times I cry about my biological parents or my twin or both, it doesn't go away. I'm not sure how I can ever live with this. I still cry a lot because of that (though I am a bit of a crybaby, so maybe it's that). I'm just not sure how I'm ever going to stop thinking about this or this guilt, that's just suffocating me. I try to have all of them in my heart so they will never be forgotten even if I never knew them, so they can live through me. but it's really hard.
(I've never talked about this or ever put it into words like this, but I thought I would try my best. and my English isn't the best so I'm sorry)

Is there any actual counterplay to someone that just runs away from you and takes shots when you can't hit them? They might not kill you but you sure as hell aren't killing them. The best I found was Katar for it's amazing chase down potential and golem arrows, but both were inconsistent, Katar has no answer to someone that has no intention of ever stopping and golem arrows can be dodged.
While farming golem arrows with TT on earlier today I got, as expected, invaded. While we buffed up I saw he was using a bow and as the fight began he just kinda ran away and took a potshot with a sleep arrow every time I whiffed an attack, eventually I swapped to Katar and icon shield to run the guy down with better but still whiffed the majority of my attacks. I did get one of those weird, noreg backstabs where it played the animation on him but dealt absolutely no damage and gave him iframes while I stood looking confused. If sleep ever built up, he'd softswap to an uchi and unsheath r2, which hurt but icon shield + blessed dew talisman prevented him from actually being able to do enough damage quickly to kill me.
What followed was an extended chase that took us from the lift of dectus through the lux ruins, back to the lift of dectus and up to the double tree Sentinels, appropriately clearing mobs as we went, with me swapping between Katar and greatbow depending on distance and him swapping between bow and greatbow. I ended up refilling my flasks like 10 times and he'd used all his flasks and dumplings before just disappearing while I learned the hard way that there's a fog wall behind the double tree sentinels. I considered turning the white ring on so he could kill a blue and get some flasks back but then I figured that because he was completely out of heals, he'd probably die.
The invasion kinda just became an extended game of hide and seek after that. The last place I saw him was by the runebear and after killing it, I went to pick up the amber starlight shard thinking he'd be in that little grove, but he wasn't. I went up to Wyndham ruins after seeing rainbow stones up by the junction, clearing out the encampment as I went. When I figured he was nowhere near there, I went down to the shaded castle, on the way seeing some rainbow stones left by the crabs but he was nowhere to be seen. Then as I was coming back through the crab pool, a rainbow arrow fell by me letting me know that he was, in fact, up by the 2nd church of Marika. When I got up there, he shot some rainbow arrows into the rocks, I dropped a rainbow stone and he jumped off the cliff. He was the real winner in the end, however. If you recall, the main reason I was in the area was to farm golem arrows and he not only prevented me from doing that for no exaggeration, an hour, he made me use all of my golem arrows in the fight.

(apologies in adv, I have no idea how to format and am on mobile)
hello! I always like to be listening to something so I am looking for some headphones that are pretty solid all around general use. I am currently using 3 different headphones for different use cases and would like to just get 1 nice one to downsize the amount of clutter I have (they are also all starting to crap out). They would be used for gaming, music prod, enjoying music, watching media. my priorities are gaming and music prod though. I also would like to prioritize comfort, and wireless would be super super nice too (understandable if not tho)
Budget - 200$ usd but can go a bit more if the increase is pretty justifiable
Source/Amp - just into my pcs motherboard or the direct monitor thing on the focusrite solo and bonus points If I can use it with my phone (usb-c and will need to get an adapter thingy if wired). my pc has Bluetooth but unsure about latency and the codec thing.
How the gear will be used - playing games (fps/story), music production (amateucasual), enjoying music during long commutes I practically have headphones or earbuds on ALL the time so I tend to run through gear pretty quickly, I also wear glasses if that's important! I don't care about active noise cancelling but if it has it I will use it.
Preferred tonal balance - I don't have a preference, what ever is objectively good for gaming and music prod (even though it's hard to do both, I understand) I am unsure if I prefer closed or open back, I think I've only tried semi-open and closed?
Preferred music genre(s) - I listen to a lot of stuff that is not really mixed properly I'm not even gonna lie so this part might not matter as much but, I'm into bedroom bop indie stuff, hyperpop and breakcore and mathrock and EDM. I enjoy picking through drums, guitar, sub-bass and synths. I also enjoy clear cutting vocals.
Past gear experience - (kind of long, maybe annoying so feel free to skip) massdrop akg white m220 - I don't super like the stock muffs, they get pretty hot for me after long use and are in general are a bit too big for my head since the I can't adjust the band any shorter, sound pretty flat and want something a bit more fun but these are the main headphones I use when I do any music prod. I don't like the wire, it's kinda rubbery and gets tangled easily. also the muffs r like super tough and stuff which doesn't feel that good.
hyperx cloud flight - I reallyyy liked the comfort on these headphones as they didn't really have much clamping force but the audio itself had a lot left to be desired in terms of bass punch and didn't really sound good for music listening. these were my favorite though simply coz I could use them forever w out fatigue. liked that it was wireless but was USB dongled so couldn't use wireless with my phone. the battery only lasts for 30 mins after charging and almost has no padding anymore so they don't get much use anymore.
razer black shark (V2?) - comfy but gets hotter than the hyperx ones, I think the bass is better than it too but still wasn't my favorite for listening. also only lasts for 30 mins after charging. also wireless which was nice but still USB dongle.
astro a40 - these sound the nicest to me for gaming but Jesus I get so much fatigue from wearing them and hate the wire sm. it's also kinda rubbery like the m220 and gets really tangled against other cables. currently using these but really not happy w them.
30$ IEM that has an anime girl on the box I forget but a lot of rhythem game players recommend. this is the worse offender of cable tangle and I just rather not deal with them most of the time. prefer headphones to in ears too because they can get hot/sweaty over long periods. they sound very nice tho but they r the only IEMs ive tried so far.
pixel bud-A - I like these a lot but also not ideal for long period of times. I enjoy how seemless they connect to my phone/pc but these r abyssmal for gaming and I use them solely for music during commute. I like the audio but am missing a lot of the mids.
Sony wxm4 - these are soo nice but I am only borrowing them and have to return them soon but I really enjoy the comfort and lightness. However I think the noise cancelling is too aggressive and only really use for listening to music during commute. also I don't really think they sound that great when I also consider the 350$ price tag.
TLDR: using akg m220 for music prod, astro a40s for gaming, pixel bud-A/Sony wxm4 for music listening during commute but kinda hate all of them and just want 1 pair of all arounders.
RN, considering the ath-m50xBTv2 but hear it's not that comfy (which is a high priority for me) also mixed opinions on sound quality and the massdrop senhesier hd58x but unsure if they would be usable during commute and not wireless (which is less of a priority but still) would love to hear input still as I am really inexperienced with this kind of stuff. Thank you for reading and input, first big purchase for me!

Summary

I competed for the first time at the USPA Drug Tested Emerald City Classic hosted by DOP Strength Gym in Kirkland, WA on May 18th, 2024.
Here's my Instagram post with videos of my third attempts and a photo with my participation medal (I was the only 110kg submaster male lifter).
I went 9/9 with no red lights, broke my gym PRs on squat and deadlift, and had an awesome time. I competed in the submaster 110kg class in raw full power, weighed in (24h before) at 105.7 kg, and totaled 545kg. I planned to take very light openers, big jumps for my second attempts (15kg for squat and deadlift, 10kg for bench), and then smaller jumps (7.5kg for squat and deadlift, 5kg for bench) for my thirds, and I stuck to that plan. All of my lifts felt great and moved fast except for my third bench, which was a little bit of a grind. My strategy paid off because I had a much more enjoyable day going 9/9 a little light, compared to how I would have felt if I had missed any of my first or second attempts--which I saw happen to plenty of other lifters.
The gym was a little crowded with 60 lifters in 4 flights but the meet was super well run, with good vibes all around. The meet director was super clear at the rules briefing and the spotteloader crew absolutely hauled ass and the whole meet was over at 3 pm. I also got to see several master's lifters set state and national records, including a 72 year old woman, so that was awesome to watch.
My friend and training partner, who is an experienced master's lifter and meet judge, showed up to handle me and that made a huge difference in my experience. He really helped me a ton with understanding the pace, timing my warmups, loading the bar, chalking my back, cheering me on, telling me when to rest, eat, hydrate, everything. He really did a fantastic job.

Prep

I took Steve DeNovi's free 3x Bench - Conventional Deadlift program and ran Block 3 and the peaking block (10 weeks), with modifications to the accessory selection and split to make it 4 days a week. My weekly split was:

• Mon: Primary squat, OHP, pull ups, bicep curls
• Tue: Primary bench, secondary deadlift (cluster singles), chest supported rows, face pulls, tricep pushdowns
• Thu: Secondary squat, paused squat, tertiary bench (Larsen press), lat pulldowns, DB incline press
• Fri: Primary deadlift, paused deadlift, secondary bench, bent over rows, lateral raises

I really enjoyed this program and got a lot out of it. I felt like the peak timing was just right for my meet.

Squat

Squats felt great in prep. My training max for the first block was 425 lbs and I upped it to 435 for the second block. I didn't feel like I under or overshot any of my prep lifts, my RPEs felt accurate.
There was a little confusion about whether squats would be done on a 25kg squat bar or a 20kg power bar, but they ended up using the 20kg Kabuki power bar. The knurling felt great on my back.

1. 170kg. The main thing in my head was to take my time setting up, which I did, and I think it helped calm my nerves. When I unracked, the bar tilted to the right slightly, but I was able to level it out as I walked out. Stance felt solid, got a strong brace, weight felt light and moved fast.
2. 185kg. Better unrack. Felt lighter than I expected.
3. 192.5kg. Beat my gym PR of 415lbs. My handler said my third looked like it moved better than my second. I felt a cramp in my right inner hamstring as I locked it out though, and it's feeling sore today. I felt in control the whole rep but I think I kinda dive-bombed it and went a little too deep and that over-stretched my hammie. Looking back at the videos, I think I rushed the descent on all my squats, even though I had been practicing a slower descent during prep. Something to work on cleaning up before my next meet.

Bench

I kind of wrote off bench for this meet since I made poor progress in prep. For the first 5 week block my training max was 265 lbs and I felt like I was undershooting, so I increased it to 275 lbs, but once I started hitting singles at 250+ they weren't moving well and my butt started coming off the bench. I fixed that issue late in prep by setting my feet further back. My left shoulder had also been bothering me a bit lately, plus I started getting some tennis elbow on my left from the bent over rows or something. So I went with attempts I knew for sure I could hit, and didn't get too excited for bench. I also really felt that bench was a natural "valley" between the peaks of squat and deadlift, in terms of the energy level of the meet.

1. 100kg. A gimme attempt just to practice the commands for real.
2. 110kg. This was the best bench single I've had lately--setup, foot placement, arch, unrack, controlled descent, pause, and press, everything felt solid and it went up so fast that my friend who was working the scoring table shouted "Put some weight on the bar!"
3. 115kg. Unrack felt great, controlled eccentric and pause felt good, got a fast press command, but I think my back slipped a little on the pad, which was kind of slick, and I didn't get enough leg drive, and forgot to cue bar path, so I pressed it straight up off my chest and hit a sticking point, then my back cramped up and my arms started shaking. I barely got it locked out. I originally wanted to aim for 120kg on my third attempt but now I'm glad I didn't because I for sure would have missed it.

I'm pretty satisfied with just getting 9 white lights on bench because I was so worried about my butt popping up or having a brain fart and jumping the start or rack command, and those things didn't happen.

Deadlift

Deadlifts are my best event (long arms) and the pauses and cluster singles in DeNovi's program really helped dial in my setup and make me stronger off the floor. Having access to a deadlift bar in training was nice, as the whip might have thrown me off if I had only ever trained on a stiff bar. Liquid chalk + hook grip + Kabuki bar = unlimited grip.
Toward the end of prep I changed my setup to get rid of my dynamic "hip pump" wedge and just sink straight into my starting position, set my hook grip, and just patiently "leg press the floor away." This change really paid off because it helped me get the most out of the deadlift bar and made my lockouts a breeze.
I was worried about the back cramp during my third bench interfering with my deadlift, but as I started warming up, my back felt fine, however I was feeling that third squat in my right hamstring. Thankfully the pain subsided once I got warm again.

1. 215kg. Felt light, as it should have, like a last warmup. Not much else to say.
2. 230kg. My handler said "earn your third attempt!" I executed my setup and pull exactly like my first attempt and was surprised by how fast it broke the floor and how easy the lockout was. I heard someone say "that's a good hinge!"
3. 237.5kg. I almost went for 240 but kept it conservative because I was worried about my hamstring. I kinda regret holding back now. I took a couple extra seconds to build up a really hard brace before methodically executing my setup. Just as the bar passed my knees they shook a little, and the crowd started cheering for me, but the bar didn't slow down at all so I knew I had it in the bag for 9/9 and just felt ecstatic.

A spectator walked up to me afterward and gave me a really good compliment--he said my deadlifts looked like a hydraulic machine!

Next steps

Now that this meet's behind me, my main training priority will be getting my bench up. I'm going to reevaluate my approach to frequency, volume, specific vs. hypertrophy work, and my diet.
For squat, I think I'll continue doing pauses and maybe add tempo descent work or something to break my dive-bombing habit because I don't want to pull a hammy with a heavier weight at my next meet.
My deadlift feels locked in, so I'm not going to fix what isn't broken. I want to work in some RDLs in my offseason since I haven't done them in a while, but that's it.
There's another USPA meet at the same venue in late September which is kinda soon but I'm really tempted to do it so I can go in more confident, open a little higher, set some new meet PRs, and get my money's worth with this USPA membership. It's about 17 weeks away now so that's enough time to have a few weeks of offseason before another prep cycle.

(the wolf mutation has nothing to do with the quirks actuall power. Like Koda and Tokoyami's heads or minas antenna.)
Name Matthew Hammond age 15
Quirk: Power control
Has the ability to control a type of energy only he has.
Ways to use this energy is standard strength and speed by but the power into your muscle fibers and organs to enhance their performance. Matthew can also materialize this power in different ways. He finds out how he can do this by watching others, for example shock waves or energy tenticals.
The main weakness is energy drain. I know what y'all probably thinking, "this is like every quirks weakness cause I swing your quirk can tire you out", but his quirks energy drain.
When he use his quirk, the energy runs down and if uses a all out attack he loses the energy and cant use his quirk.
But on the good side , this energy grows back over time , and since it's his quirk energy if he goes to where he let out a huge attack, he can absorbed it back. It takes like an hour to get his power back to 100% naturally if he just goes on with his day.
Mutation: * Wolf Ears and Tail: Matthew has permanent wolf-like ears and a tail as a result of his mutation.* Laser Eyes: Matthew can emit powerful laser beams from his eyes. This mutation was a rare coincident.
Also he can share his energy with others to enhance their quirks cause energy works like that I think.
Elemental Forms and Powers:

1. Lightning Form (Name: Volt)

• Powers: Electrokinesis, Enhanced Speed

Weakness: If used too much then it will damage his nervous system temporarily.

1. Fire Form (Name: Blaze):

• Powers: Pyrokinesis, Heat Resistance

Weakness: if you use too much then we'll gain first degree burns.

1. Water Form (Name: Aquos):

• Powers: Hydrokinesis, Water Healing

Weakness: No clear weakness.

1. Ice Form (Name: Frost):

• Powers: Cryokinesis, Enhanced Durability

Weakness: if in a heated area, then he will get weak and slower.

1. Light Form (Name: Radiance):

Weakness: overused will make him temporarily blind

• Powers: Photokinesis, Illusion Projection

1. Darkness Form (Name: Shadow):

• Powers: Umbrakinesis, Intangibility

Weakness: Obviously light. Even a flashlight.

1. Plant Form (Name: Flora):

• Powers: Chlorokinesis, Plant Communication

1. Metal Form (Name: Alloy):

Weakness: Overtime he'll get weaker cause of rust. Water

• Powers: Metalkinesis, Enhanced Strength

1. Earth Form (Name: Terra):

• Powers: Geokinesis, Earth Manipulation

No clear weakness.
How this works is his power works like a computer l well more like just a normal computer, then a virus AKA and elements infects this power and then it slowly corrupts his powers AKA but there until his body is able to use a different elements,the form is only as strong as his original form because the element can only corrupt what is there,not make more power. A little bit of this energy is still there so that it can take back control. Each form has a mind of its own like some dark shadow type thing. The reason why his forms have minds of their own is cause if I gave him full control his forms he would swap to frequently and that would be two strong.
The reason why he can do this is when he was 3 is quirk was developing and he was exposed to radiation messing with his quirk genes and when his quirk developed it added this.
Hero Costume:

• Appearance: Matthew's hero costume features a sleek and modern design. It includes a green suit with black accents, symbolizing his main form's green hair and eyes.
• Symbol: The costume incorporates a stylized emblem combining the symbols of all his elemental forms, representing his fusion abilities.
• Support Items: Matthew carries specialized bracers that enhance his control over his energy whips. Additionally, he has utility pouches to store various tools and gadgets.

He also has tubes that are like water bottle size on this belt that he charges with his energy every night before he goes to bed in case he runs out of energy himself.
Maximum Output Move: Master Elemental

• Description: Matthew channels and combines the energies of all his elemental forms into one ultimate attack.
• Effects: Elemental tattoos appear on his body, symbolizing each element's power. Lightning appears on his head, fire on his chest, water on his left arm, ice on his right arm, light on his left leg, darkness on his right leg, plant on his right shoulder, metal on his left shoulder, and earth on his back. The attack unleashes a devastating and overwhelming burst of elemental energy.

Carrys amounted cannons inspired by Titan speaker man. They harness his power into either energy balls or just flat out lasers.
To make my self clear his max form when he uses all his elements he can only use 1/10 of his forms power including him as the main guy of this whole body.
PERSONALITY
He's smart nice in a way sometimes a prankster if you try to roast him you will go complete PackGod on you, if he's in a bad mood don't try to comfort him you'll just make things worse and not for him for you, he's really cocky, but not bakugo cocky hes just a bit over confident. He is very creative. He loves tech to the point if you break a 30 buck phone around him, let's just say you gonna want to do a crime in front of batman before Matthew finds you.
Background:
Favorite food: Red Beans and rice
6ft 2
His mom, him , brothers, and his sister some how got the same disease that Michael Jackson had so they all went from black to white. But since you're still African they do still have passes
Hates obsesseve people.
(I'm bout to do some bull shit y'all probably won't like.)
His older brother has a pheonix quirk and he's a hero.
His younger brother has the fusion quirk that I made in a past post)
His sister has digital master quirk but I also need in a previous post.
Any way I hope y'all like my reworked oc

I’m new to this group, but I’m not sure if you all feel similarly. For me BPD takes form in many things but mostly separates into two versions of me: the Rational version and irrational version.
Rational me: wonderful person who is accountable, kind and caring.
Irrational me: impulsive to a fault, and doesn’t realize he’s speaking in mostly black and white thinking, mixed with suicidal, abusive and manipulative actions.
It feels like alone, I’m not as much as a burden but when I’m dating someone seriously for example my current partner of two years. I’ve managed to cause so much trauma to her.
I hate myself almost everyday. Why? I’ve essentially been exactly like how my father was to my mother despite having promised the younger me I’d never. While, I know it’s not my fault I didn’t learn the right coping mechanisms if at all any. I can’t help but feel like it’s me doing it so it’s my fault. I can be great for days and weeks but then an incident brings me back to square one. I always feel like I’m having to push the rock right back up the hill again for it to never reach the top.
Has anyone here had similar behaviours and how did you deal with consistent need for validation out of fear of abandonment. For example, I ask my partner if she’s loves me a ton less now because she’s almost on the verge of leaving and she can’t really tell me it because it’s drastically decreased.
It feels lonesome, I don’t know anyone with BPD and I wish I at least knew one who successfully treated their symptoms to give me hope.
Years of therapy and this year finally found a DBT therapist. Seen him a handful of times but still seems like I’m not fully getting better. I am trying to use my skills more frequently though. I’m trying to live a life worth living before I end up not living.

(See update at the end) Some context before I (32m) get into the situation as I feel it's important to how I reacted. I have been in two situations, one as a 6-year-old and at 28, that involved women and unwanted touching and beyond in both occasions I have been powerless as a child or incapacitated as an adult like unable to control my bowels or bladder kind of incapacitated. Both my wife and my guest are aware of my past. I'm trying to keep this broad stroke so as not to violate any rules, but again I think this context is important.
So on to the current situation. We currently have a (26f) friend who is living out of a tent, and we often invite her over so she can do laundry, shower, and other hygiene tasks. In this instance, I decided to hop onto my computer and play some games while she did her stuff and hung out with the wife while I chatted back and forth with them a bit. As she wrapped up her visit, she approached me from behind and hit me with a hairbrush not hard just to get my attention. It for sure startled me, and I did snap at her telling her to stop. I looked up at her from my chair, and she does it again, and I tell her to stop again while making direct eye contact with her, which she doesn't doing it once more and then demanding I hug her, which I refuse to do, telling her very clearly "fuck no, I don't want to touch you," and I follow that up with if you keep going like this I'm going to kick you out. She gives me a kinda laugh and says whatever, I'm leaving anyway and then touches me again.
I get to my feet now both extremely panicky feeling and angry we have a bit of a scuffle not a fight, and I end up shouting at her to leave and not come back. I felt entirely violated in my own home during all this, but both her and my wife insist it was just a game and she did not mean it despite me telling her no repeatedly and both my wife and the guest hearing it. I'm for sure not saying my behavior was great, and I've been seeking long-term treatment to help with my issues both mainly being PTSD related to my time as an Army MP and the events mentioned in my personal life. Despite that, I 100% should not have acted in anger like I did.
So am I wrong for feeling the way I do? Or is the wife and the guest right and it was just a game and she didn't mean it.
EDIT: to be 100% upfront it escalated and I reacted (badly) physicality was involved but as also pointed out I was near panicked and overwhelmed due to my past.
EDIT 2: EDIT: Gonna try and respond to a few more posts then I've gotta have a break. I do thank everyone that took the time to write out comments or interact with me.
Edit 3?: My husband gave me access to this account, and I told him I wrote down my perspective. When I asked if I should add it, he said "it's up to you." So here it is.
Our friend approached my husband, who was playing an online cooperative action game on his computer, at his desk. I was sitting on the couch about 8 feet behind them, waiting for my friend to be ready for me to drive her home. She was wearing a long night shirt with a loose v-neck. She stood at his left side peripheral for about 2 seconds before she tapped the back of her hairbrush firmly against the side of his left shoulder. I immediately was not comfortable with this, as I don't tend to engage in horseplay unless someone else has repeatedly demonstrated to me that it's a method of expression that they like and want. I do enjoy my husband's frequent physicality with me, including picking me up or tickling me. My friend and husband have engaged in horseplay on many occasions before, tickling, poking at one another's stomach, and playfully throwing soft objects. This often included my friend's fiance, who usually only reciprocated with my friend. I will frequently smack my husband on the butt, but only when I am sure he is in a mood to be okay with it.
My husband said, "Hey, I'm busy," and didn't turn to her at first. She hit him again with the brush in the same spot, and my husband said "stop" in a normal voice, and my friend responded, saying "give me a hug (which we almost always all do at the end of visits). I don't remember if she hit him again, because he said (and I'm going to paraphrase, because at this point I began to get alarmed, and was only listening to the tone of his voice, and less to his words, unfortunately) that if she didn't stop, he'd make her leave. She said lightly that it didn't matter anyway; she was leaving. At this point, I realized by her teasing tone that she didn't understand how upset he was getting, which I did understand, through years of experience with his tone of voice and what it means. He didn't raise his voice, and I could hear that he was attempting to remain casual as he said something else, ending with "my dude" but that she had really pushed him past the point of anger and I didn't think she realized it. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he said "I don't want to fucking touch you now" and he stood up, and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt, pulling her foreward, and then put both hands around her throat, and I saw his hands tense, as he leaned down into her face and told her to leave the house and never come back. He pushed her backwards and she started to cry, and put her head down, hurrying to get pick up her things. My husband sat back down at his desk and didn't say anything else until I told him I was going to take the friend home and I'd be back, and he said "sure." The friend cried during the ride home, and her voice was harsh, but I wasn't sure if it was stress or physical. She did have marks on her throat, but those faded over the next few hours. She asked me repeatedly why he got so upset, and if anything was different, and I did point out to her that he said "stop," and she said that she thought it was part of the play. When I returned home, my husband did not seem upset, and seemed more relaxed than before, although he seemed nervous about my response to the situation. He said that he didn't remember putting his hands around her throat when I told him that he did.
My thoughts about this are that: 1) horseplaying with people with trauma, which all three of us have, to various degrees and in various forms, is potentially dangerous, and I'm frequently uncomfortable when it happens, although I often don't say anything, as I'm usually the odd one out when it comes to initiating social teasing, although I often enjoy receiving it.
2.) Our friend should have stopped at the word stop. I don't know why she didn't, but I don't think it was out of malice, because she genuinely did not seem to see how she was provoking him.
3.) Her actions were inappropriate, in my opinion, but his were potentially life-threatening and the fact that he didn't remember what he did was alarming. I am concerned that this will happen again, and he will have charges pressed in a situation where he is the first physical aggressor. This would be even worse if he inadvertently harms someone, and the escalation of force combined with memory issues in this latest case makes me worry that it might happen.
4.) I possibly could have prevented this from happening by being quicker stopping her or by getting between them, but I know from experience that once he has a grip on someone, I'm not strong enough to break it, and he ignores my presence or physically shakes me off if I try. He ignores my words entirely at these times. I expected her to see that he was upset before he snapped, because it seemed obvious to me, but she didn't, and I have no idea why. She's had lots of trauma of her own (as have I, including SA) in the past (and, like me, has worked in jobs that revolve around dealing with people dealing with trauma).

I think this squad next year can push for 60 wins. Hopefully, we can run it back fully healthy in the playoffs and show what we are capable of.
PS: No hate for Indiana. YES they were lucky with the injuries, but they’re a great team. It’s basketball. No sore losers around here.
LET’S GO KNICKS!!!

Career Help!
I’m currently seeking help trying to figure out what direction to go with my career path. I am the first person and now the only person in my family to graduate college. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and minor in forensic science. After college I did get a job working at a federal halfway house, but the director was not easy to work with at all (I absolutely love that job). I then worked at Comcast in the retention department, but moved back home to get help with my twins. I became ill when I moved back and I was unable to work for 3 years, but I was able to obtain my MBA(no internship required)during that time. My fiancé ended up going into kidney failure and I had to take on the load of the bills because he wasn’t able to work. I interviewed for a company several times and was later asked if I would be willing to work for them through a temp agency I needed a job so I agreed to do accounts payable and receivable. The position ended and I wasn’t hired. I was also making more as a temp than the people that had been with the company for years and the temps that I worked alongside so it was cheaper for the company to let me go. I later got a job at my local unemployment, I worked there for five years as an investigator in the benefits department, but due to budget cuts during the pandemic I was let go. I took 6 months off to relax. I went to a job fair at my local post office and was hired pretty fast! (Red flag ‼️)Keep in mind this was the first and only job I applied for. I was asked if I would be interested in training in management as a 204b basically a supervisor for in training. My training sessions were very inconsistent and I’ve been lied to on several occasions as to why there hasn’t been any time for training. When put on the schedule for higher level training I’m doing everything but that! Organizing, the post masters office, filing papers and decorating bulletin boards. I work in a predominantly white office where there is no one of color or female in any type of management sadly ,so of course I was excited for the opportunity. I come into work one morning and I see a guy being trained when I was told there was no time for training slap in the face. I no longer have interest in management or the job as a whole. I have a constant battle with myself about how I didn’t go to school all of those years to drive a mail truck! I am very dependable and I never call into work! If taught right I learn quickly. Sadly I have no clue as to what direction to go in when it comes to using my degrees. I’m tired of taking just a job. I want a job that actually makes me happy. Anyone have any advice?

This is both a rant and not, as it's a complete introspective into the faction. This will be talking about lightspam as well, something that's a nonissue in this day and age but still exists, but nevertheless, is still apparent with a few heroes due to a number of reasons. Though I admit, there ate exceptions to the rule I have established already. The exceptions would be Raider and Valkyrie, who I never feel cheated or unsatisfied if I win or lose against them. I could never hate these two, so my Raider and Valkryie mains, you are doing great. You hearoes could use some slight buffs or nerfs, but for argument sake you'll be excluded. With the two heroes pushed aside, I will now delve into the history of "lightspamming" and deconstruct every Viking hero one by one in order to deduce what makes them annoying.
As I have previously stated, lightspam is a non-issue in today's time in comparison to the past. You see, when For Honor first released, up until the CCU in year 4, lightspamming was real and efficient. Most were 400mls, near unreactable even in today's time and with the newer consoles for those not on PC. In addition to being faster and more stamina efficient when compared to heavy attacks, they also did much more damage by today's standards. Some went well past 22 damage, and some heroes even had 3 light chains to make spamming all the easier. Of course in reference to Orochi, which brings me to my next point in the past, and how the Samurai were primarily lightspammers. Orochi, Nobushi, and Kensei all had three light chains, Aramusha and infinite light chain, Shinobi had little other options, and Shugoki of course had the hyperarmord light to interrupt any and all offense. The stigma still exists of course against the Samurai for this, but only fools complain about lightspam from Orochi, who had the third light removed a while ago much like Shugoki's armored light. The CCU of course took care of the rest, and it made lightspam nothing short of ineffective.
But my dear reader, it never killed lightspam. Lightspam still exists, far weaker, but equally as annoying in today's time. For no matter if they work against you or don't, your opponent will be adamant to throw it out against you, due to the lack of a fully developed brain. My findings conclude the Vikings, ironic enough, house the defacto light spammer in the game. But my research (getting my ass slapped) revealed much more. Allow me to now dive deeper, and explain the basics of our remaining Vikings.
We shall start firstmost with Warlord, adequately named Borelord by some, with how simple and plain this grease stained Neanderthal really is. I have always stated that Warden is the white bread of For Honor, with how simple he is. If that's the case, Warlord would be equivalent the stale moldy bread some boogerpicking child left behind the bleachers during gym. He is a product of his time, forgotten, and both tasteless and unhealthy for you. Despite having absolutely zero redeeming qualities, as he fallen out of meta as of late, people still insist playing this hero. I will like to say firstly, I am not one to judge you harshly on your character choice, you are entitled to play who you desire. But in a game with 34 different heroes, you pick the most stale, boring, and bland hero for more than a single rep? I will question your tastes then, but I understand them. Warlord being a product of his time, has not aged well. I do not blame the veterans of this hero, but it does not have to make me enjoy him. His boring to fight as and to fight, since his kit is extremely limited. Most of the time, Warlord will try to light you over and over to shrink your health pool, so that for the first time in years they may use a heavy and perhaps get the execution. Any reactable maneuver you do, however, will be parried instantly. This means, of course, that your offense becomes that of Warlord, who now has forced you to play his sick twisted game of doing nothing but an opener bash and light attacks. Warlord, who I also like to call Warwar like I was speaking to a toddler incapable of higherthinking, is incapable of doing anything interesting ever. And for some reason, he is one of the last heroes who can easily put you out of stamina, since his parry riposte stuns and eats a chunk of your stamina, and his gb into wallsplat eats a third. For the reasons listed, I believe he is one of the most annoying, and unenjoyable heroes. I imagine most Warlord players wanted to play as a fatman, but didn't want to be funny or interesting like Shugoki, so they got second best.
Onto our next Viking, Berserker. Berserker is an interesting case, because unlike Warlord, Berserker is actually strong. Deemed as S-Tier for the past few seasons and still going strong, this hero is an extreme fucking menace that always makes me sigh when I see one. In some odd twist, I've also seen many grow an ego from playing someone so easy, and given a year or so, I imagine this number might grow exponentially and one day reach at least half the amount of Orochi's with ego, but I digress. In Berserker's case, we have another case of lightspam, even though he's not limited to it. You see, this homeless crackhead can feint intio 400 mls heavies that are armored. He can easily track dodges on the heavy timing, trade and keep his offense going, or interrupt any offense you have going as well. Most Berserks will throw this out 3-4 times in a row, and think they some masterclass good at the game. Despite how annoying this is, it's not as nearly as bad as the rest of his kit, who has no weakness it feels. You cannot outrade him, you cannot outrun him, you cannot outdodge him, and you certainly cannot outdo his absurd feats. His damage can easily reach 40+ on heavies, and his instant hyperarmor enables this easily. If you hated dodge recovery cancels before, then I'm sure you'll hate them combined with instant armored attacks. But while I also understand he's an excellent hero choice, I still believe there's way to many of them. Seriously, every other fucking game there is a Berserker. I've officially counted more Berserkers than Orochi. Orochi. A character whose nickname by the community was Roach, for being a bug you want to stomp and with how many they are. I genuinely wish they take this crackhead out back and break his knees. As a final note onto this mess of a hero, his marching fire armor is fucking ugly.
For our third, is Highlander. Personally, I have never ever enjoyed this hero. He has be a mess from day one, with high damage but no reliable way to acess it. However he's recently received a rework, so, what does this mean? Well, I actually believe his rework was okay. It granted him much more acess to his offensive stance, and gave him more tools to work with. This unfortunately, had the side effect of making him good. If there was any hero that should've stayed bad, it would be Highlander. The idea that his rollcathcer is a command grab that pins you and can easily set up a quick gank is ludicrous, and returning to the light-spam topic for a moment, Highlander can actually do it quite well. Once again, lightspam in this discussion isn't about if it's effective or not, but merely a playstyle of a bygone era most people partake in. That being said, Highlander's offensive stance lights are now 400mls, which, actually makes them an effective means to spam with. So this is our third viking who usually will lightspam you somewhat, which once again, is annoying.
Moving on to our fourth, is Shaman. Shaman is an interesting case, as the always delusional Shaman mains believe just because she's bad (she should be) that she can't be annoying (she is). Shaman, in my opinion, is by far the most annoying Viking. But she is not the best lightspammer. In fact, she rarely spams lights at all. Shaman is actually a very rare case of a zone spammer, as her shit is extremely annoying and effective. Some dodges will still be caught by her dumblooking flurry of blows. It's her spammiest move by far, and genuinely, Shaman is meant to be spammy. This is because in a stroke of absolute fbrilliance, Ubisoft decided to give her a lifesteal as an innante part of her moveset. Yes, the most complained aspect about Kyoshin, is just naturally apart of this ugly tweeker. Ensuring that once she gets an insane 17 dmg bleed 400mls stab, she has a healthswing on every thing she does. Her zone is perfect for this at it's four hits or yet another change at a 17 dmg bleed stab. But my friends, it gets far worst. For you see, her bite is even more absurd. Confirmed off GB or by an ally, Shaman's bite does a huge 35 damage, while also healing her for 50. This is a 50 damage healthswing, which is absolutely absurd, and should not exist in this games day and age. Especially when, an ally can easily sneak in a heavy during the bite's wakeup. Many stupid people defend this, by saying Shaman has to work for it through her bleed. But I must retort, does not every hero have to work for their damage? Does Shugo not have to for his hug? Does Jorm not for his slam? Well ignore what I just said, because not even Shaman has to work for her absurd bite. In some sort of unholy alliance, most Nobushi'a have started keeping Shaman's as pets. Any match with a nobu and shaman is most likely a duo, and you can bet they're going to be sitting in eacothers lap all game. One tick from bleed is all it takes for you to loose against them, as Nobushi's 35 damage undodgable against bleeding foes, allows shamam to get her bite with insane ease. Her bite also guarantees more damage from Nobu, so by being generous, we can say that a Shaman and Nobu gank can be nearly 70 damage. God, I hate this bitch and her stupid hair, and one day I wish Shaman mains may actually learn what good fasion is, so my eyes won't be assaulted while I'm being violated by genderbent Hannibal Lector.
Our fifth is Jormungandr, who actually stumps me quite a bit. His most annyoing aspect is his wallsplat, which frankly, I despise that this mechanic has become more common off attacks. But that's very little reason to place him with these.... other "heroes". No, I've noticed that most Jormunagndrs I come across, also prefer to spam lights. Depsite having an interesting kit, nine times out of ten, they will always light, light, zone, light, light. Even more odd, is I feel most I come across rarely let their unblocable heavy fly, instead, choosing to feint it for a light attack. I actually believe this has to be further researched, so it is here I humbly ask the Jormungandr council to investigate themselves, and found out why this might be. I see now I have the least to say about Jormumgandr, but never the less, I'd still consider him annyoing enough to be listed.
And finally we arrive, to the most, abhorrent, foul, despicable character ever conceived. The pinnacle, of how not to design a hero, the defacto lightspammer, who could make even Orochi blush; Vanrangian Guard. Varangian, is by far, the most annyoing Viking if I push my Shaman hate boner aside. Ubisoft Montreal was truly cooking, when it came to designing this dumbass character. We shall start firstly by discussing her ability to lightspam, which, is frankly uncontested. You see, Varangian has enhance lights, that also have the superior block property. This is not unheard off, what is, however, would be the fact both her dodge attack and her light finisher also have crushing counters. So, by pressing light and light other, she'd actually doing what she's designed to do by the devs themselves. You cannot simply block a light, as that won't stop her offense, and both starter and finisher light give her no reason not to lightspam, as her damage goes up to 20 with a CC. Her CC on dodge attack, is also vastly more generous compared to Tiandi or Zhanhu, who require more strict time. Yes, Virginia really is a lightspam machine, who is constantly rewarded by pressing the right bumper over and over. Even if you parry a light attack and get your punish, she'll surely do it again. But my dear reader, we are not done yet, for you see, that's not all that makes this hero annoying. In another stroke of brilliance, no doubt cooked up by Harvard graudates and other brilliant scholars, she can pin you constantly. In order to combat the meta of wide attacks and hitstun, they made a hero who has wide attacks and hitstun. By simply blocking an attack with her shield, she can pin you for a few second, easily preventing you from doing anythong more. To which, if she so wills it, can do a guranteed heavy, which, will pin you again for an additional amount of time. Vagina is designed, almost directly akin to Warlord, but a modern take that actually makes them a viable pick. Her other mix-up, the orange in to softfeint gb, is also taken from another hero, that being JJ. Unblockable softfeint to gb is not inherently annyoing, but it's extremely boring and effective, mucy like everything else about Vag. She's a brickwall who can also attack thanks to her constant CC's and pins. I also don't believe anyone like her or mains her because they find her moveset enjoyable, anyone who says otherwise is clearly a Ubisoft plant to persuade others that she isn't simply lazy design.
This marks the closure of my post, I hope I have enlightened some to the flawed and absurdity of these chosen heroes, and while I do hope they can be changed for the better, I also hope we can all collectively agree that anyone who plays these heroes are less than human, excluding Jormunagndrs, who are on thin ice. As always, I am open to debate to the comments, and will thoroughly explain any questions one may have.

Hey everyone,
Wanted to share this story to hopefully inspire some of you on this forum to pursue your passion musically.
I’m 36 years old and grew up glued to VH1 and MTV. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were staying up late on New Years Eve watching the top 100 songs of the year countdown.
After discovering The Beatles through my parents vinyl collection, I asked for their CD’s for my 8th birthday. For my 9th birthday, I asked for an electric guitar. I only had that guitar for a couple weeks before my sisters complained and I had to trade it in for an acoustic. It was way too big and after unsuccessfully trying to play it I put it back in its case where it remained for a decade.
About every 5 years I would take it out and attempt to learn. When I got into my Alice In Chains phase senior year of high school I went for lessons but nothing stuck. When Chris Cornell died in 2017 I ordered a new guitar that night. Again, I gave up when I couldn’t form the chords.
In 2021 I started running with a man named Robert “Raven” Kraft in my hometown, Miami Beach. Ravens story requires more than a few paragraphs, but to some it up, this man has run 8 miles on the beach every single day since January 1st 1975. The run started out of heartbreak after he found out a hit song he had written was stolen from him.
Ravens dream is to have a hit. Him and I would discuss music every run (to date I have run with him over 220 times). We would fantasize about me learning guitar and him providing lyrics, starting a real rock and roll band.
In the winter of 2021 my job was on strike so I had a lot of extra downtime. I decided once again to pick up the guitar. This time, inspired my Ravens dedication, I decided I would play 1 hour a day, everyday, for the entire year of 2022.
By June, I was comfortable playing in front of my girlfriend. By October, my best friend was coming over once a week and we started forming songs. By November, we felt the music was good enough and all we were missing was lyrics.
We invited Raven over, who penned his 1701st song in about 10 minutes, our first single, Digging Her Grave.
Another runner joined us from Haiti and plays bass, another runner from Serbia came over and introduced his native Tambura to the band. Finally, a man named Bryan we found on Facebook came over and decided he wanted to produce the album.
In 2023 we became Raven and the Dark Shadows. Our first live performance was a disaster, but we regrouped and practiced more. We found a studio and recorded 10 tracks. Through my connections and Raven’s fame we convinced Dave Abbruzzese (Pearl Jam), Ian Grushka (New Found Glory), Keli Gunnarson (Agent Fresco) and Dave Pastorious (tech 9) to guest on several tracks.
We released our album, An Unkindness, in November of 2023. To celebrate, we had a show at the Wolfsonian with over 150 people attending.
Jack White’s Third Man Pressing is currently producing Blue and Yellow vinyl editions of An Unkindness that should be ready by the summer.
Our song Dracula just reached 30,000 streams. In addition to our music, I produced 4 music videos for our band. A fifth animated one will be out next week. Total views on YouTube are north of 20,000.
At a recent Florida Panthers hockey game, our song, Dead End Road, was played after the Panthers scored a goal. It’s also been used at various Spring Training stadiums around Florida this spring. The Miami Marlins have it on their batting practice playlist. Our upcoming song “Feel Like a Fugitive” is on the Grand Theft Auto 6 soundtrack, and last year we played Stephen King’s 75th birthday bash.
We are currently preparing our second album. All the songs have demos, we just have to find the time to enter the studio and begin the process. We hope to have our second album released by October of 2024.
On January 1, 2025, Raven celebrates his 50th year of the streak. We are hoping for more exposure for the band when this happens.
I hope this inspires you all. In my mid 30s I definitely didn’t expect something like this to happen, but if you really commit to something, dreams can come true.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the project and the sound. I’d also love to get recommendations on what we can do better, as we prepare for album number 2. Check us out on all the streaming platforms
Raven and the Dark Shadows

45 YO male, 6', 160#. Avid cyclist (100+ miles/week). Regular weightlifter (~4-5x/week). Generally try to be healthy. About 12 years ago, I had a bad MTB fall (fell flat on my back) and had compression fractures of 2 lumbar vertebrae. No surgery or anything required; they resolved on their own. Flash-forward to today, and I'm starting to suffer some lumbar back pain. If I sleep wrong (or not), I sometimes wake with it. If I do deadlifting (with perfect form), I feel great doing it, but get back pain 1-2 days later. There are a number of other triggers--sitting in the car too long, etc.
The pain is not radicular; it is just in the lumbar area. It is not sharp or fiery (doesn't seem like nerve pain). It doesn't get worse with movement; if anything, it starts to feel better after some movement. It feels like stiffness and soreness. I can replicate the pain pretty readily by doing just about anything that requires back flexion--like a back bridge. That generates immediate discomfort.
When I had the fractures, I had a bone density study; all was normal. I also had x-rays at the start (to diagnose), and a few months later (to confirm everything was healed). No real trauma since.
Anything I can do to head this off, so it doesn't keep getting worse/more frequent?

Hi, I accidentally washed one of my favorite white gauze cotton tops with other colors. I'm not sure what other colors, as it happened during a hectic move where I wasn't able to pay much attention to anything going on in my house. Now, the previously white shirt is light yellow with a slightly stronger yellow splotch in one spot. Can it be saved? Do I bleach it back white, or will that mess it up? I'm open to dyeing it a darker color to save it. I don't wear yellow. Halp!!

3rd update. I just took Miso an hour ago via buccal between my gums and cheek then I swallowed the remaining after 30 mins. I’m already experiencing mild cramps and I already see some drops of blood when I stood up from the toilet when I went to pee.
Is it normal to experience weird sensation in the back of your mouth? Like it feels sore,sensitive and cottony (like the feeling you get when you know you bout to get a flu cold). And I also feel like mine is working a bit too early, well I don’t know how fast it will work.
Let me know your experiences as well, I also read that you might get Hershey squirts. I’ll update more

So this is so weird because I literally just found out about it a few days ago. My mom’s been sick but they couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with her for years until she had some genetic testing done and she is 20% subsaharan African. She confronted my grandmother about it and my grandmother confessed that she’s half black. My great grandfather would cheat on my great grandmother when he was in the military and had love children all over Europe and Asia and to get back at him (my great grandfather was racist and this is before divorce was an option) she would sleep with the black men in town hiring them as “handymen” while he was gone. She got pregnant with my grandma and she was light skinned enough to pass for white as long as she cut her hair short in a pixie cut which she’s had since as long as I can remember so that’s what they did. This was pre civil rights in a southern small town so there was a safety concern for her and my great grandmother and I don’t know if my great grandfather ever even knew or when my grandmother found out the truth but I went and got a DNA test and I’m 12.5 % subsaharan African as well which is crazy to me because I am pretty white and my hair is blonde and I would’ve never believed it if I didn’t have the test results right in front of me. But the question I’m dying to know, does this make me black even though I look white? And What percentage of black is enough to be considered black? Thanks