I've never colored my hair before, but as it grows out from being short for a couple of years, it's starting to lighten in areas I don't want it to. I'd love to maintain a richer, even shade of brown, but I'm nervous about dyeing it and potentially causing damage since I have no experience with coloring. Is there a way to deepen or enhance my brown hair at home without causing damage? I don't mind reapplying a treatment every few weeks or days.

so me and my boyfriend had sex during ovulation, i don’t know if it was my ovulation day because my flo app was wrong, like after my period ovulation starred but for some reason flo skipped by 2 days and then started it so it marked my ovulation day wrong. my discharge was also watery that day so i have a guess that maybe it was my ovulation day. long story short the condom broke and he came inside of me and we both realized after the fact. i took a plan b about half hour after it occured. when i came home i noticed i didn’t have any discharge so i’m wondering if the plan b had something to do with it or my ovulation stopped just before we had sex? not sure honestly and i’m not sure if i’m pregnant or not since i headd plan b doesn’t work on ovulation day. help

Hello all, nurse of a little over a year at my first job as a Med-Surg Float. I was definitely hesitant to go into the float pool as a new grad, but I feel like the variety has actually been great in building my clinical judgment. I really do enjoy the patient-centered aspect of my job, and my favorite part is when I actually have time to interact with my patients/family members. That being said, I feel like those moments are few and far between. We are supposed to have union-mandated ratios of 6:1 but will regularly go up to 7 on busy days, and recently it always seems to be like that. I feel like as soon as a patient is discharged, someone else immediately fills their spot. There have been many days that I would go the full shift without taking a break or eating a proper meal, and originally I thought it was because I’m inefficient or not prioritizing properly, but I feel like the amount of work that has to be done isn’t always possible. I was convincing myself that I enjoyed my job but now I can’t really do that. My mental health is really tanking and I am beginning to dread going into work. I’ve seen people here before c/o bedside nursing and I guess I just wanted to get this off my chest and hear what people think. I feel like I was definitely naive before starting: everything just feels like the patient is not the most important part, it just feels so robotic. I guess it’s better to admit that to myself now rather than later on. Any suggestions from people that have been in the same boat?

Had sex with girl next day had small amount of yellowish discharge coming from penis didn’t think much of it (never had std before of any kind ). A few days passed and the discharge levels began to rise ruining my underwear and pants. Also had internet burning sensation while urinating and had swelling in my huevos. Decided to get std test. Funny thing my insurance is not active so I had to choose which test I wanted to pay for luckily I picked gon and chlamydia test because about 3 days after testing the results came back positive for both.
The next day I went to good doc a online site I found through Reddit and ordered a prescription of 2. 400 mg pills of cefixme (one dose) and next day doc calls and gives a prescription for a 7 day 2 pill per day supply of doxycycline I’m on day 2 of the doxycycline and day 3 of the cefixme. And all of my symptoms have completely disappeared no more discharge other than unnoticeable crust on penis tip and a barely noticeable burn while urinating will update on day 7 of the pill cycle.
Also Ps for anyone wanting to know if they are burning by reading through Reddit it’s better to get the rest so you can know for sure and not only that so you can properly treat whatever you may have.

Figured I’d post this just to help me chill the f*** out so be nice lol. A few weeks ago I’d posted about a concert coming up, a friend of my bf who I had only met a few times a couple years ago likes it and I impulsively message her asking her to go with me. Totally expected her to turn me down but instead to my surprise she immediately responded “Heck yeah!”. I figured she’d clarify that it’d be just as friends or talk about other people joining but none of that. Since then she started following everything I post and added me on another social that she hadn’t been following before. Checked in with her a few days ago to make sure we were still on, it’s next weekend, and she said she was really excited. Now I’m dashing around, getting new outfits to wear and cleaning up my car and place all for something that’s probably just a friendly outing lol. Anyway, probably just overthinking it but I had a similar situation before and don’t want a repeat. I once asked a girl to go get Italian food with me cause I like Italian and I showed up to pick her up and I was wearing baggy jeans and a T-shirt and she opens the door with what looked like an attempt at a seductive pose wearing a skin tight black cocktail dress with her makeup and hair fully done. I’ll never forget the horrified look on her face as she looks me up and down and then says “uhhhhh I’ve got to go change I’ll brb” lol. Still went to dinner with me, thought I’d managed to recover by blaming my bf who had advised me to dress casually but that was the last time we ever hung out lol.

I hate travel. I keep doing it. And I keep agreeing to travel ideas. But I hate it. So much. I thought I was so smart, booking my family and friend travel together. I’d only have to do the flying stuff for one round trip and get both things done basically for half the cost too! I really felt so smart and I should just never trust that feeling. Now all I want is to be home and I have more than a week left before my return flight. I’m not even through part one (family) of the trip and I have no idea how I will survive. I will because that’s like the only thing I do well. I live, not in a big fun since but just survival. Even when I try not to I still live. So I will survive. I know this even tho my insides feel like acid and I can’t see straight from crying. Silent crying. Because I can’t let anyone here know that I’m not okay. That would be worse.
I vented earlier, but now I think that was a mistake. Three of the people didn’t respond so idk if I upset people. But I can see now how sharing my immediate experience without asking if that was okay or if people had space might be bad. My little brother might just not really be… I know he has close friends who are queer and trans, but maybe I assumed to much about his real feelings when I vented about our other brother and our mom’s casual homophobia. I didn’t even say that word. I just said they were all very much not being allies and doing so loudly and I wanted to escape. But maybe that was too much. I know my friends that I vented to have their own family dynamics, it’s why I talked to them, they’re both queer with conservative families and would get it. I wish I had asked, but everyone is always saying to open up more and I’ve been trying and now that habit is hard to pull back on in the moment.
How do people do that? Have such good control of their emotions that they can make a choice in the moment to not close off but also not to just share immediately? And if I can’t, is just closing off the better choice? I don’t want to burden people and now that I’m slightly removed from the moment, I can see that’s what I did. But then those same people say to open up and let people be there for me. Maybe it’s fine and they’re busy but it’s been long enough and they’re both phone addicts (no judgment, most of us are) so I’m guessing this was too much. Maybe this is one of those autistic moments where I’m just supposed to know that when people say to share more, they don’t really mean it?
And while I’m worried about if my poor emotional control has ruined 3 relationships, I’ve been ignoring that my ceiling caved in. The cat sitter let me know yesterday and I did call maintenance, but they said it wasn’t a big deal or a concern really, just a thing that happens. That’s obviously bs, but what can I do? I don’t even know what I’d do if I were home. I feel so helpless. The cat sitter let me know more of the ceiling came down and that one of the cats peed on the floor. They’ve never done that. I don’t even know if they did or if it’s from the ceiling. I don’t know anything except that my home is not a great space for them, they’re anxious because I’m gone and because parts of the ceiling keep falling down. And no one in maintenance is doing anything about the ceiling. And unless I really break and just move my flight up and go home, which comes with a whole other set of problems, I can’t be there to make them feel better.
And when I decided to stop sitting in a stupor staring at my phone freaking out about the latest apartment/cat update, I went into the bathroom to see that my mom’s dog got into the trash. I had my period so there were tampons and liners in there and the dog definitely ate some of the plastic applicators as well as the cotton stuff. She just said, “oh well he’ll have to poop it out, nothing we can do now”. No vets will be called. So, I may have just killed a very nice dog.
I guess I’ll see my little brother and one of the friends I’m worried about over sharing with in a few days. Unless I totally fucked up in a bigger way than I know. So hopefully even if I did fuck up a little we can talk about it and be okay, but who knows.
I know I will survive this. But I can’t even send my therapist an honest message to ask for advice or anything because the honest truth is… I don’t entirely want to in this moment. And despite what everyone says about opening up, I can’t about this. If I tell my therapist, she has legal and professional obligations. I’ve already talked too much to friends and I know the issue I’m worried about is that I should have asked if they had space first, but how do you ask someone if they have space for this? Because asking is telling in that case. (“do you have space for me to talk about feeling like maybe being alive is not the best choice?” kind of gives the heaviest part away) And god forbid my mom knows how I feel, she’d probably just cut me out of her life again for the... fourth? fifth? time. So, I’m crying silently.
Actually I forced myself to stop crying and hide the tissues because it’s almost her bed time and she might come over here to say goodnight or whatever. I don’t know that I’ve been able to hide everything well enough all day. I was really not okay during lunch after everyone was just so casually homophobic….
She did come in just now. I’m really proud of me. I forced myself to make eye contact and smile and even laughed at a thing about pillows. All very good masking. She doesn’t need to know I’m autistic so even though I’m already struggling, I need to get better about masking. I didn’t make eye contact much at all during lunch. Strangely enough I think the only person other than my little sister I’ve been normal pleasant (not forced strained fake pleasant) is my mom’s husband. I’m not going to get into why it’s weird but it’s to do with my childhood and trauma, so ya know, not my favorite dude overall. But I have to mask better or all the shoving down the pain to avoid conflict will have been useless. Last time I saw my mom, before I even knew I was autistic, I said something that must have triggered that thought for her because she literally yelled “you’re not autistic!”. I didn’t even suspect I was at the time, so it really felt quite weird. Now I get it. But at the time it was very bizarre.
When I started typing this, I just wanted to vent to no one, but I realized I actually could use some advice. Especially on how other people handle the part where they share in a better, healthier way. I just can’t seem to find any middle ground. It’s like either I word vomit in the moment, or I go numb and can’t stand to talk about it at all after. So in the hopes that random internet strangers might be willing to read my rant and offer that advice, I’m going to make a reddit account and post this. If you are reading this, thank you for listening and sorry it was so poorly written. Also sorry if I did anything wrong in the posting of this, it's my first time posting something and fucking shit up seems like my main skill today.

I've had some issues with my periods for a couple of years. I'm nearly 20 now and have suffered from extremely painful periods for around 14-15 to the point where I have had to come home from work/school and not attend as I'm hunched over in pain and can't stand properly or vomiting. I don't always vomit, but it is an issue if I don't keep up on ibuprofen.
I keep doubting my symptoms, I've had horrible cramping during periods, cramping 1-2 weeks before my periods which is present after I run or jog up the stairs etc.
I finally went to my GP because I had some pain to my lower left side in the uterine region when I leant over a table and that area was pressed or on pushing into the skin in the area. At this point I also had to light pink bleeding with normal discharge, when I was not on my period. I was extremely put off going to the gp again because I was given another NSAID, which I took once and don't want to risk taking again because I'm scared it won't work and I'll be in pain and can't take my regular ibuprofen with, and told that I will grow out of it when I've had babies. I was also told no investigations can be done, because they wouldn't offer me a scan due to my age. This was mid-last year. And since then I've been taking ibuprofen, using heating pads and dealing with it.
I usually take around 1200/1600mg of ibuprofen a day on the first 3-ish days of my period.
I've recently started to notice symptoms like waking up with strong cramping pains and almost pelvic pressure which I notice during sleeping and which takes a couple of minutes to resolve when I wake up.
I wanted to see others thoughts on this and what I should try/do next.

I've taken multiple tests and want to know exactly what type I am. I'd like an extra opinion on what potential types I might have, as I'm not sure if what results I am getting are due to me wanting to be a certain type and a certain person, and if I am an unbiased enough source. I'm not even sure if my answers to the questionnaire are the most reliable, especially since I have a bad recollection of what I've thought of in the past or my behaviors, and I have a memory that is not ideal in certain areas. On tests, I've gotten INTP, ENTP, and I have a feeling INFP and ENFP might be strong contenders.

• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.

All I’m going to say about my age is that I am young and I’m a student. I am female. I don’t think I understand myself too much, but I’m trying. I’m not sure how accurately I can assess myself.

• Is there a medical diagnosis that impact your mental/comportamental stability somehow?

I have been diagnosed with ADHD.

• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?

That depends. I do it all the time and it really depends on how much I can do before getting bored. When I’m alone I can at least reflect on things, ideas, or whatever is going on in my head. I already spend most of my time alone because I have no social life and I find it hard to get to know people I click with, or people I can share my ideas with. Without other people, I can't discuss my ideas with other people and get their thoughts, which is something I like to have.

• What is your relation with movement and your surroundings? For instance do you prefer a sport or outdoors event? If an outdoors event what is it? And why? If not what type of activities do you tend to engage in?

I’m going to admit that I’m not the best at observing my surroundings. I have a tendency to walk too close to the counter and hit the side of my body against it, or smack my foot on a chair leg. I walk strangely. I’ve noticed that. That might be an ADHD thing.

• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?

I’d like to say that I’m curious. But am I? I’m not sure. What things about me, things that I question, my general outlook on life, what qualities found within me would label me as someone who's curious? What I’m curious about can change, I tend to hop from one thing to another, which leaves me with a large amount of surface knowledge, but I can never get too deep into anything due to my mind already getting preoccupied by something else. I'd say I have more ideas than what I can execute. There are so many different paths I can take, so many different ways I can write this, or do that. My ideas are more conceptual. I'd think of a way to write a story or an imaginary situation. I'd go into more detail, but trying to pull up exactly what my ideas are is hard. It seems like I tend to forget my ideas a lot, or until something triggers them again.

• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?

I don’t know if I’d enjoy a leadership position or not. I dislike having to wrangle other people into doing their jobs during group projects, and I don’t like doing work I’m not interested in. I’d rather do things myself just because only I can at least measure up to my lofty expectations, or at least conjure a small fraction of them. I don’t take leadership positions often, so I’m not sure how I’d lead others. I’d rather question and criticize the leader’s decisions rather than contribute any meaningful ideas to the project.

• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?

I am not coordinated. I run into things all the time, the edge of my desk, my door frame, the door handle, the countertop, a chair, etc. I walk super funny. I don’t mind working with my hands. It’s nice sometimes. I like working with my hands in the sense that it keeps my hands occupied. I move and fidget a lot. I can't sit still. It doesn't feel write when I'm forced to not at least move one part of my body repetitively.

• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particularly artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.

I don’t know if I’m artistic. I’ve created my own characters for a story, or at least the shreds of one, and I like to come up with imaginary scenarios. I like to create elements in settings. Oftentimes, I do need some inspiration, something I can take an idea and turn it into something else. I really enjoy music and stories. With music, there’s something about it that I love, how it can evoke something from me, oftentimes a moment of an imaginary story, if that makes sense. I enjoy stories because there is so much to get from it. It’s at least entertaining, and it’s interesting to see how someone, a character or a real individual ends in the way they do.

• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?

I have a bad memory, at least in certain aspects. The past is something I do wish I could remember better, at least to remember the fun and good things that happened, but there’s not much I can do about it. The future is something I fantasize about. I wonder what I’ll be, what I could be, and how unrealistic those paths and outcomes are. It’s a way to pass the time. There’s so much that could happen, so many ways my life could instantly change for the worse. There’s not much to say about the present. It constantly changes and it never stays for long in my memory. So I’ll just do whatever will keep me entertained for the moment. I have a sort of disconnect from my past self. When I think about myself, I have a hard time seeing any version of myself aside from my present self. It's hard to comprehend that I've changed, rather, I feel as if I've always been the way that I am.

• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?

That is heavily dependent on what exactly I am helping other people with. If it's anything involving heavy lifting, I'm not going to be too happy with it, just because I'm not going to be helpful. I help people due to

• Do you need logical consistency in your life?

I’m not sure. I like to get what I expect out of my work. Reality is unrealistic. It might be futile to expect logic to happen. It might be nice in some areas.

• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?

I’d be better if I were more efficient and productive, but I’m not. I’ll either be doing no work or forty hours of work within two hours.

• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?

Do I? I might. I might be doing it subconsciously. I find others that I’m not too familiar with. I know what members of my family like me better. So I’ll use that to my advantage. I know that while I’m awkward and have a hard time talking to people like a normal person, I’m aware that some people find it appealing, especially if I’m genuine (or at least seem that way) or nice to them.

• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?

My hobbies constantly change because I tend to bounce between multiple hobbies. One day I’m looking at airplane crashes. Next, I’m looking at birds or disasters. I’ll watch a whole bunch of media analysis videos because I tend to miss so many details when consuming pieces of media. I do have this whole fantasy world with a large number of characters I've made up, just due to how it encourages me to research other topics and I find it fun to implement elements from other pieces of media into it. I also have an addiction to TvTropes because I find looking at patterns in pieces of media quite fun, and it's fun seeing how certain tropes are a thing.

• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?

Funnily enough, I could never figure out my learning style. That was because I tended to pick up on subjects very easily, so I never could tell what worked with me better. I prefer a learning environment where I can ask questions and get clarification, and as much as I dislike engaging and working with groups, I find it easier to process things if I can at least discuss those subjects with other people.

• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?

I’m not that good at strategizing. I’d rather wing it, just due to my inability to think of ideas and paths to get things done. I can't get my brain in order and any plans I make will get derailed soon afterwards.

• What's important to you and why?

I thought about it for a little bit and realized that I don't have much of an idea about what I find important. I think I seek validation from people, as much as I don't admit it. I think I care about people's opinions more than I'd like to. But individual things that are important to me? I'm not sure. I've been trying to make some things important to me.

• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?

I fear rejection. I'm horribly sensitive to it and I'm not sure why. I can't name what I hate, but there are a lot of things that I'm frustrated with. I have some existential fears. I'm scared of what people could do to me. I fear what people think of me. I'm sure it's because people see me as strange. I'm alone, but I don't mind too much. But I still have that part of myself that has those fears.

• What do the "highs" in your life look like?

I'm enjoying new things, and new experiences.

• What do the "lows" in your life look like?

I'm stuck in an endless loop of days that seem to blend, doing the same mind-numbing tasks over and over. Then I start to wonder if this is all life has to offer me. Or I'm going through that downward spiral and I wonder if I can truly be valued, loved, or have any worth. I feel unlovable when stressed.

• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?

I am not attached to reality at all. I daydream a lot. When I daydream, my surroundings fade away. I’ve noticed that this happens when I’m focused on one task. I’ll often walk around, thinking about various subjects. I have walked past people I know well without noticing them despite knowing them well, just because I'm so deep in thought that I no longer notice things that are practically in front of me.

• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?

I’m not sure how I’ll react, but I have a few theories. I’ll just think about multiple things, like philosophical concepts, the latest form of media I’ve consumed, and random things. I’ll be thinking about all of my characters and potential plot points for a story. I’ll pace around while doing so because I’ll think better when my legs are moving and I’m walking around in circles. Eventually, I’ll get bored. Then I’ll contemplate a large number of things like when I’ll get to do something else because I need something to trigger the thought process. I might just sleep. Who knows. I might go down a dark spiral of self-pity, or maybe I’ll be confused about how I got into that room in the first place.

• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?

I wait as long as I possibly can because I’ll probably have no idea what I’m doing. I’ll make a decision and question it. I’d like to say I’d try and consider if it’s a good decision, but I’m going to need a little more context about what decision I’m making before I’ll know what my approach on making important decisions is.

• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?

I have a hard time regulating my emotions. So oftentimes, I’ll be wondering why I’m feeling that way, why I’m reacting a certain way. I tend to start overanalyzing my emotions and overthink things. A lot of the time, I can’t figure it out. I find my emotions to be rather annoying, I can be overly sensitive and easily overwhelmed by emotions. I’m pretty sure that’s partially because of my ADHD, after doing some research. I find my emotions strange because I often react emotionally in strange ways.

• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?

I don't remember doing this. There are other ways to keep a conversation going and it depends on if I really want to be talking with this person for any longer.

• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why would you?

I wouldn’t consider myself that much of a rulebreaker. I’ll pirate stuff. I’ll ignore stuff that other people say. I think authority should be challenged, especially since I’ve reasoned that oftentimes, authority does not know better. I’m too lazy to be outright defiant. If a rule’s stupid, I might ignore it.

*long post ahead but hoping you can hear me out
I recently matched with this guy in bumble. In our first exchange of convo, he immediately asked if I am available to meet up with him. Of course I declined bc I have plans. We didn’t talk about anything but matching our schedules to meet up (I never met up with anyone in bumble btw). Then there came a time that our schedules agreed so we decided to meet up. We transferred from bumble to phone texts/calls (this was new to me, kinda old school lol). We had calls almost every night (yes, just at night) and he rarely replies to my texts. He just calls without notice like I am a free person lol. When we plan on meeting up, he would suggest to go to his place but I always reject that idea because I’m not comfortable going to someone’s place. I would suggest to go to a mall or a park instead.
Fast forward to few hours before meeting up (we decided to meet in a mall), he took a raincheck for an urgent meeting at work. I was pretty disappointed bc it was my first meet up and I kinda expected something fruitful for us to discuss. He was sorry and also explained his side. Moving to the next day, he invited me again for a quick meet up (he also suggested his place again for crying out loud!!!) but I also told him that I’ll be meeting up with my friend prior seeing him. He agreed to wait naman and meet on a resto side of the mall that we both knew. I kept updating him my status and if I have booked otw there then he texted raincheck again just because I already ate?? But still I inisted to meet up with him to have drinks. We had a great conversation and ended the night well. I got home and as usual, he called and ended the call quickly too. Then the next day, i found out that he unmatched me in bumble.
I didn’t go deep into the details but i also understand that he is a busy person but not to the point unmatching me. I’m not also generalizing guys but are there really guys out there who are like this? Do you just stop and move on immediately or just have a last convo to properly end this?

**Reddit*\*: u/PentoshiPride
**Discord Name*\*: GreyOrith
**Name and House:** Jeanette (Nettie) Royce
**Age:** 19
**Cultural Group:** Andal (Valemen)
**Appearance:** Boney, wiry features for such a young age, light brown hair that’s always pulled back into a thick braid. She has sun-kissed skin, with dark grey eyes, and a sturdy, athletic build, carrying her strength in her arms and back from years of pulling bowstrings.
**Trait:** Agility
**Skill(s):** Bows(e), Ranger(e), Marksman
**Talent(s):** Fletching, herbalism, hawking
**Negative Trait(s):** N/A
**Starting Title(s):** Cavalier
**Starting Location:** Greyhelm
**Alternative Characters*\*: Beatrice Massey

AC
**Name and House:** Carolei Royce
**Age:** 42
**Cultural Group:** Andal (Valemen)
**Appearance:** Carolei has sharp, angular features, and keeps her dirty blonde hair, which is just starting to grey, pulled back tightly in a bun. She has watchful grey eyes, a strong chin, and rigid posture.
**Trait:** Strong
**Skill(s):** Polearms, Andal Knight, Riding
**Talent(s):** Cooking, tracking, mountain-climbing
**Negative Trait(s):** N/A
**Starting Title(s):** Captain of the Cavaliers
**Starting Location:** Greyhelm


Carolei Royce had only been 16 years old when the Conquest came to the Vale, and would never forget seeing Vhagar fly above Runestone after the battle and the fear, power, and awe the dragon invoked. She had trained as a warrior since that day, taking up a spear and shield and fighting astride her horse—a poor replacement for a dragon.
As she grew older, she began to travel the lands of the Vale as a wandering warrior, attempting to exemplify the traits of a true knight even though knighthood was out of reach for her. In 6AC, she travelled to the Misty Moor to drive back the Mountain Clan the Sons of the Tree. It was there that she met Creighton Corbray, the two having a romantic tryst. However, he was not the only one she had been with in that time, making the identity of the child’s father a mystery to her—not that she would ever tell.
It was later that she discovered she was with child, and begged him to marry her to preserve both of their honour and have the child not be a bastard. He agreed, and it was a private, quick ceremony. But their matrimony would not last for long—before the child was even born, Creighton would be killed in a raid by a group of Clansman while the two returned to Runestone.
Though she remained in the place of her birth, her nephew now the Lord of Runestone, she was left mostly to raise her child by herself away from the castle in a cottage. She had wanted to continue her training as a warrior and continuing to help people, but with the pregnancy and her young daughter, it put her life on hold.
So it wouldn’t be until Nettie had turned 7, in 13AC where Carolei felt she could continue. She would start recruiting all young women around the Vale who sought to fight with blades and shields, to join her knightly order—the Cavaliers. She rode from castle to castle, gaining those by her side and riding together to assist the needy and protect the helpless.
Travelling for some time, they would stop one day near the Gates of the Moon, as Carolei sought to petition recognition as a knightly order, and recruit possible funding from the Eyrie. During their waylay, the Painted Dogs grew bold and sought to test their luck against the ancient castle. The Cavaliers fought them back, defending the castle and protecting those within, allowing none to pass through the Gates. After this, the Cavaliers were granted the Gates of the Moon to defend and rest and recruit from.
She would train young warriors and assist them in their growth to be knights, as well as travel around several tourneys and placing well. She would raise Nettie at the Gates of the Moon, and never remarried.


Carolei often joked of her as the replacement of their real child, by a Grumpkin that came in the night and stole her original child away from the crib and left a strange one behind. Nettie didn’t speak for the first few years of her life, and walked with a strange gait, always on her toes. The milestones that the Maesters predict for children came to her much later than others. She was known to be a shy child, hiding behind her mother’s skirts.
Nettie would find her first love out exploring the woods and forests and fields, where she would stay long past dark, terrifying her mother. She would come back with muddy clothes and a bundle of things she had found to scatter around her home.
She took to archery from as soon as she was old enough to hold a bow. Though it started as a way to keep her occupied and for her guardians to keep her in one place, it turned quickly from practicing shooting to leaving home to hunt and hawk. She had a keen eye for marksmanship, and it was the only thing she ever wished to speak about.
As she continued to grow, it was soon she was leading small hunting parties of her own and searching for fowl and game to take down, never for trophies or sport, but to bring home to cook and share at the Gates of the Moon.

Timeline

16 BC – Carolei is born
0 AC – Carolei witnesses the Conquest as the Vale bends the knee, she begins training as a warrior after this
2 AC – Carolei leaves home, to the anger of her parents, to be a wandering hedge knight
6 AC – Carolei fights the Sons of the Tree. She has several romantic encounters within a short period of time. When she realizes she is with child, she begs Creighton Corbray to marry her to preserve her and her child’s honour. He dies before the child is born and she moves away to a small cottage on Runestone lands to raise her child
13 AC – With Nettie old enough, Carolei begins recruiting for her own Knightly Order, and campaigning for women to be granted Knighthood, named the Cavaliers
17 AC – The Cavaliers would travel and recruit for many years and would fortunately be at the Gates of the Moon when the Painted Dogs attack. For reward of driving them back, they were granted the Gates as their base, and to defend it from similar threats
18 AC – Nettie begins training with her bow
20 AC – Carolei and Nettie and the Cavaliers travel to many different tourneys to compete
23 AC – During a mission, Carolei recovers a long-lost artifact—the Gauntlets of the Winged Knight
Archetype NPCs
Ryella Coldwater – Castellan
Maggy Shett – General

*long post ahead but hoping you can hear me out
I recently matched with this guy in bumble. In our first exchange of convo, he immediately asked if I am available to meet up with him. Of course I declined bc I have plans. We didn’t talk about anything but matching our schedules to meet up (I never met up with anyone in bumble btw). Then there came a time that our schedules agreed so we decided to meet up. We transferred from bumble to phone texts/calls (this was new to me, kinda old school lol). We had calls almost every night (yes, just at night) and he rarely replies to my texts. He just calls without notice like I am a free person lol. When we plan on meeting up, he would suggest to go to his place but I always reject that idea because I’m not comfortable going to someone’s place. I would suggest to go to a mall or a park instead.
Fast forward to few hours before meeting up (we decided to meet in a mall), he took a raincheck for an urgent meeting at work. I was pretty disappointed bc it was my first meet up and I kinda expected something fruitful for us to discuss. He was sorry and also explained his side. Moving to the next day, he invited me again for a quick meet up (he also suggested his place again for crying out loud!!!) but I also told him that I’ll be meeting up with my friend prior seeing him. He agreed to wait naman and meet on a resto side of the mall that we both knew. I kept updating him my status and if I have booked otw there then he texted raincheck again just because I already ate?? But still I inisted to meet up with him to have drinks. We had a great conversation and ended the night well. I got home and as usual, he called and ended the call quickly too. Then the next day, i found out that he unmatched me in bumble.
I didn’t go deep into the details but i also understand that he is a busy person but not to the point unmatching me. I’m not also generalizing guys but are there really guys out there who are like this? Do you just stop and move on immediately or just have a last convo to properly end this?

So my wife and I have been together for 8 years, married for 3. Both in our mid-30s and now have a toddler. She works in the tech world, I'm in real estate. As a couple, we do well financially and contribute roughly 50/50 depending on how I do from year-to-year (sometimes maybe more like 60/40 in her favor, other times 60/40 in mine). We don't have any major issues though we still deal with little annoying arguments about dumb shit like most married couples with a new child.

• My wife has always been a little jealous of my work/life balance as my own boss and I understand why. Real estate can be a cushy gig when you're not greedy and decent at the job. The downside is that every day I wake up not knowing when my next paycheck is coming - which is definitely stressful at times. My wife (let's call her Elle) has a well-paid salary position with good benefits (namely FREE health insurance for her entire family). And about a year ago she finished a 6-figure masters degree to help push her further in her career and create more professional opportunity for herself. Unfortunately, she's miserable with her job. I get it, her boss sucks, the why is kind of irrelevant. For almost 2 months now she's emotionally drained every day and on the verge of tears almost every night. I'd want to leave too.
  
• So we came up with a plan. While I've been in my industry for awhile, I just branched off and started my own business within it about a year ago. It's gone well so far and should have a bright future but it's still very early and likely going to experience it's fair share of bumps in the road along the way. Also, I'm not super entrepreneurial and I only work as hard as I need to in order to enjoy the life we've created for ourselves (think 30-40 hours per week vs 50-60+ like the "grind & hustle" mindset bros on Insta). A healthy work/life balance is more important to me than retiring at 50 but being exhausted and missing my kid's childhood.
  
• Elle's Master's Degree is in Business Development and Marketing. What a coincidence - I have a company that needs to be developed and marketed, Elle wants to market a company and be in charge of it's growth/development. So I suggest "why don't you come grow my company and help me expand it? Not only will it help provide for us financially in the long-run but you will have that freedom that you've been yearning for since forever." She agrees it's a perfect fit. Likely two steps back to take three steps forward over the next couple years but totally worth the early sacrifices. So the next step is leaving her job. But that takes a bit of planning for a few reasons.
  
• One - health insurance/salary/bonus timing. We need to be smart about this so we don't end up taking the L for no reason if it's avoidable without much sacrifice. Two - alignment of some of my transactions closing and paydays associated. Three - we have a contract with a nanny until the end of July for our toddler that runs us roughly $3k/mo. The plan we ultimately decided on was to have her give 4-weeks notice at end of June / early July. If they boot her that day, whatever we can handle it. But losing her will be a big hit for them in her role so they'll likely have her help to find/train a replacement at the very least before leaving. Once leaving entirely by early August, she wants to be a stay-at-home-mom with our child for 6-8 weeks until they hit 1y/o and can go to daycare. It's a pivotal time in our child's development and being able to be a significant part of it will be wonderful for them both and I desperately want it for them.
  
• BUT! The idea has always been to come work with me full-time after that and sending our child to daycare during the work day. Our expenses are built on a dual-income household and we now also have 6-figure student loan debt from Elle's grad degree AND a new (to us) expense in health insurance for the family. If the work with me isn't a fit for her or we just can't seem to make the numbers work out after our runway has been used up, she would go back to corporate America and find a new job. We even took out a HELOC on our home just as a failsafe for liquidity if absolutely necessary so we wouldn't have to pull from any penalized/taxed retirement accounts.
  
• Well we found out this weekend that THREE sets of couples we are mutually friends with locally are transitioning to a single-income home with a SAHM for their new children. She told me tonight after chatting with them that she wants to take an extended leave from working full-time so she can spend important time with our child instead of sending them to daycare. When I asked Elle what that meant and how long she was planning, she said "indefinitely". Which to her just basically means "until I'm ready to go back". We got into a big fight because I explained to her that we are not in a financial position to support ourselves off my COMMISSION-ONLY income that can be highly variable with no benefits. Sure we could manage for a handful of months but not indefinitely. Our mutual friends choosing to do it have different circumstances - namely husbands in very safe and financially secure salary-based roles with benefits (and additionally wives with only moderate income jobs that won't be dramatically missed when accounting for the savings of childcare expenses).
  
• Elle feels like I'm not supporting her and said she feels very pressured to continue working and "provide" with a stable salary and healthcare. She doesn't want to miss important moments with our child and feels like the only way to ensure that happens is if she stops working full-time and instead does little "side hustle" type work in the evenings after the baby is put to sleep. As a reference, the side hustles are learning affiliate marketing, blogging, paid reviewing, selling old stuff on FB marketplace, etc. It's not like she wants to start her own company on the side instead of working for mine. She also keeps bringing up how she supported me in my professional transition into real estate many years ago and carried the brunt of the financial obligations but I won't do the same for her. Which I feel like is an unfair comparison. I was transitioning from one career to another and working part-time jobs during the 6-8 months it took me to get ramped up into my very real full-time position in real estate. She wants to transition from work to no work and have me agree to support that.
  
• I can't seem to help her see that logically it's not about a lack of support. I showed my support for her transition into a career with more personal freedom when I told her she could quit her job tomorrow as long as she had a plan for when the baby went to daycare in a few months. Whether that's a new job in the corporate world or working with me to grow the family business or any other income-replacing endeavor. I don't care what it is as long as it's bringing in legitimate income or working towards that with a light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like THAT is supporting her choice to leave her toxic circumstance. But what I don't support is committing to a single income when we are just not stable enough to handle it. And when she said she felt pressured I explained that her statement seems selfish because she's asking ME to take on all of OUR financial responsibility with a young child so that she can stay at home and not work while I also pay for our new healthcare obligations AND pay off her student loan debt that she just got. It literally makes zero sense to me why she can't see that this is our reality and I would also choose to not work if it was an option but unfortunately it puts far too much burden on the now sole-earning spouse to handle it all. I know a lot of people do it but it's not as impactful if a spouse goes from being a teacher at $40k/yr to a SAHM that saves the family $20k/year in childcare. It's only a $20k net loss. Elle is a comfortable 6-figure employee so I just don't think it's fair to ask or even realistic to expect me to agree to. Sure I COULD work 80 hours a week and make more money by investing more time but why should I have to? She's always been very professionally driven (hence the recent Master's Degree) and it seems unfair to build a life on the expectation of two incomes just to bail as soon as our obligations get more complicated and then expect me to pick up the slack by myself. I would not expect Elle to do it for me so I'm frustrated that she thinks it's ok.
  

Anyways - Am I being the asshole here by telling her that she's being selfish and that we can't afford to drop down to a single-income household?

Race information

• What? RBC Brooklyn Half
• When? May 18, 2024
• How far? 13.1 miles
• Where? New York, NY
• Website: https://www.nyrr.org/races/2024rbcbrooklynhalf
• Finish time: 1:40:XX

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 1:38	No
B	Sub 1:40	No
C	As far sub 2:00 as possible	Yes
D	Run really fast	Yes

Background

I was an athlete, but never a runner. Growing up I played baseball and soccer, then lacrosse and football. Running was something done in laps, and it was a punishment. I went on one run as a teenager, but it was with a girl I thought was cute, and I could barely keep up with her. Then, at 17, I tore my ACL. At 18 I had two surgeries for post-op infections from the ACL surgery. At 19, another surgery to remove one of the original screws from the ACL. At 20, I tore my meniscus and had a partial meniscectomy.
A few years later, I started running a little. Nothing regular, or structured. Then I made friends with a triathlete and was inspired to sign up for some races. I hated the swim, liked the bike, tolerated the run. I don’t think I ever ran more than 6.2 miles for the entirety of my 20s.
By 30, I couldn’t run. Osteoarthritis had kicked in hard and athletic stuff was too painful to enjoy. By 32 I was talking to orthopedic surgeons about a knee replacement. Injections didn’t work, and PT was prehab. Daily life was too much. I couldn’t sleep through the night, I was icing my knee at my desk during the day, stairs were a thing to be avoided if possible and navigated carefully if required - the whole bit. Keeping up with two toddlers was impossible.
A medium-sized miracle happened. I was accepted into a clinical trial, the “Atlas Study” for a new surgically implanted device that offloaded the medial side of the knee. I was nearly the last of 50 patients in this study - and definitely one of the youngest. Atlas was successful, and another trial followed, and then FDA approval just before the six years anniversary of my surgery. The device is now known as the MISHA Knee System.

Training

I ran somewhat irregularly, 8-10 miles in a good week, post-COVID. We got a treadmill in 2020 because my wife used to go the gym solely to run. So I made use of it, and never ran outside, 2020-April 2024.
I got it in my head to run a half marathon around the holidays. I was feeling good, and wanted a new goal. I started climbing again in September 2023, and wanted another, complementary challenge - something more concrete. I started my training the second week of January. I had no idea what I was doing. I just hoped I could train successfully, and without triggering knee pain.
I looked at the Hal Higdon Novice 1, and tweaked to my purposes - 3 days a week of running, three days of climbing, and some kickboxing classes thrown in for good measure. Plus a two week ski trip at serious altitude in late March - I’ll come back to this. So: Monday and Wednesdays were shorter runs, Saturdays were long runs. Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday were climbing days at my local gym. Plus a goal of a weekday kickboxing class and a weekend kickboxing class, which meant some days were a double. It was a big jump in training volume.
Monday and Wednesday runs started out at 3 miles and built up in half mile increments to 5, according to Hal’s plan. Dearest Hal says next to nothing about pace, so like an enthusiastic but naive child I just ran as close to my goal pace as possible, over the distance specified, hoping to get the treadmill to an average of 6.6. I basically negative split my runs at threshold out of the gates. And Saturday runs? The same thing. Trying to get to 6.6 on that treadmill. From no consistent base.
Then at the end of January I tore my TFCC - plus two other ligaments in my wrist. No climbing for 8 weeks, no kickboxing for at least that long. Cross training plans are out for a while.
Nothing but running to keep me sane, for a bit. Stuck with three days a week. I skipped racing the 5k and 10k in the plan and just advanced the long run to the next mile. But that ski trip hit, right after I ran 10 miles for the first time. Two weeks with a ton of cross training, and almost zero running - I tried one run, but at ~9000 feet instead of home at ~20, I died after about 2 miles.
Post trip, I had six weeks to race day. Climbing was back in as cross training. Shorter runs were all 5 miles, Saturday runs were 9, 10, 13.1, 10, 3, race day. I started reading Reddit voraciously and my TikTok feed started giving me running coaches and I discovered this wild idea called “zone 2 running” - wow was it easier! So weird. For the first time I did some intervals, some threshold work, a 10 mile progression run, and actual easy runs. It was in early April when I realized my original goal - break 2 hours - was the wrong time altogether. That 13.1 mile run was my second run off a treadmill. I had downloaded Strava but didn’t know it could tell me my times in my headphones. I just went out for an 11 mile run, felt good, extended it, and found out afterwards that I ran a 1:42:XX. I was shocked, my treadmill pace had never been that fast. And I was trying hard, but maybe not as hard as possible. I set new goals.
The next weekend I did a 10 mile progression run outside, with Strava telling me times. I had basically no time to learn what different paces felt like, so I negative split 10 miles and tried to remember what felt good, and what felt like too much.
Before you know it, it was time to taper. Another new experience for me. One climbing session, no kickboxing, 3 mile runs.

Race Day

I drove myself nuts trying to decide whether to run in my assigned corral, 1L, or drop back to 2A. Passing thousands of people or open roads? I’ll never know if I made the right call.
Slept horribly. Maybe 3.5 hours. Multiple wakeups and I was up for good at 4:10. I tried to use everything I learned about nutrition in the days leading up to the race - I was so hydrated, and had so. many. carbs. I had a very upset stomach on race morning and went light with food, had some Imodium, and focused on trying to follow the routine I laid out.
Commute was fine, getting checked in was fine, adrenaline was starting to kick in. Positioned myself at the front of L, and suddenly realized how many people were out there. It felt like forever to start moving, and then the slow walk… and around the corner, which I didn’t expect, and I started Strava early. And we’re off!
Within a minute it’s obvious that I am not going to be able to set my own pace against the prevailing tide of humanity. Maybe half a mile in I see a few people using the sidewalk on the right - nah, I think, then about 15 seconds later I’m blocked ahead and to my left and so say fuck it and go. Good decision.
My focus on the first 5k was not to go out too fast, but not to get bogged down in traffic. 7:58 mile average per NYRR. Mission accomplished.
My focus in the second 5k was to control the hills, but not burn out. And not create a big time deficit. And not get bogged down in traffic. 8:00 per mile average. Mission very accomplished.
10-15k, I wanted to open it up a bit. Not full throttle, I was worried about leaving something in the tank. And not getting bogged down in traffic. It was spacing out a bit more, but I was still running on the left side for clearer roads most of the time, and working right to get to the water stations. 7:27 average. Mission accomplished, and feeling good
Now we’re between mile 9 and 10. I take my third gel just before the aid station, and start to think about how fast I can go. Mile 10 of that progression run in training was 6:47. That’s the goal now. In retrospect - it was also with a vest, uncrowded Central Park roads, no slowing for aid stations. Repeat after me: you should not be upset with actual results. Mile 11-12 sucked. It was probably the only time I didn’t negative split. But: 15k to 20k - 7:21
Home stretch - I did not pay enough attention to the map; to Reddit, to NYRR’s descriptions. The big right on Surf Road? A surprise. Started my kick. The ramp to the Boardwalk? I guess it was new, but man did it feel terrible. Second attempt at a kick. Do not get bogged down. Smile! We’re through. 7:02 pace.

Post-race

Would I have run faster in Wave 2? We’ll never know, and hopefully never find out. Passing thousands of people because I guessed wrong about my time was weird. I used a lot of energy and ran a fair bit of extra distance because of it. 17 seconds to beat 1:40? Maybe. Or maybe I needed to pass people for motivation.
But more than anything, as I reflect, I am grateful. I’m grateful to be able to run at all, because I know what it’s like to struggle to walk.I am grateful for my doctor that referrred me to the study, to my surgeon, Dr Andreas Gomoll, to all the people behind the MISHA device. I’m grateful to Abby Bales, my PT for prehab and rehab from surgery, and everyone who has been a part of my crazy orthopedic history.
I caught the running bug. I’ll be back. Sub 1:35 feels like the next step. I’ve only just begun, and I achieved my biggest goal - run happy. I have the race photos to prove it.
This post was generated using the new race-reportr, powered by coachview, for making organized, easy-to-read, and beautiful race reports.

Hey!
I come from a weird angle. I've been a minimalist for a while; I have way less anxiety with less belongings & don't overspend if I know exactly what I own and what it's used for. I am also (slowly) renovating a van as a tiny home. I've been homeless before so no matter how far I get from going back I'm happiest when I'm prepared. I'm also single, no children & dangerously unmedicated (joking).
With that out of the way -> I've always used these 6 heavy duty storage boxes to store my life. Most are currently empty! https://imgur.com/a/VzDJqtE
I've got a LINK much older version of this bag & I've been easily running my life from it for the past two weeks - without decanting or any other weight reduction or space reduction strategies. I'm confident my life will condense into 25-40L (Plus those boxes can store seasonal clothing, cookware & stuff that wouldn't volumetrically work in a bag).
Meditating; (drinking copious amounts of coffee and reading reviews) has got me thinking genuinely - I could go leaner. I'd like to incorporate sink washing & a capsule wardrobe whilst living from a bag prior so I'm further acclimatised to living in a vehicle.
Another bag I have been eyeing off is the GoRuck GR2 -> This think genuinely looks gorgeous. I'm confident it won't fit the kind of laptop (I game a lot) I'm looking at transitioning to (Razer blade 14 or similar, 16.5+). It's also cost prohibitive but I'm open to being convinced. I really liked the orange interior of the Synik 30L and another laptop protected bag I saw recently here but I didn't save a link. The high contrast interior helps cause i'm colourblind & can loose stuff that's right in front of my eyes.
I also spotted this whilst grabbing bin bags from Amazon. I swear they listen in on my discord conversations - LINK. Mark Ryder, seems like an import special - It's super affordable & expandable for when I need to hit the gym for a shower, but I worry about the longevity. It's also missing the insertable frame; I personally hate the floppiness of an unfilled bag. I'd like something that retains it's shape when not filled. I don't have the on ground experience here - The Hook&Albert I use for work trips is canvas and flops around unless packed up. This is another reason I haven't splashed out for a Tom Binh
I'd rather something slightly more expensive with reliability and resistance to damage - I'd be using this bag every day. I'm expecting to have a different storage location for my day to day clothing - I work in sales so majority is WFH (or WFV) but I will still need my suits & oodie for the foreseeable future. This would probably contain the all gear no idea merino wool clothing for when I have to actually leave the van looking like a human.

• 16.5+ sized laptop storage
• Daily use living from the bag for extended periods of time
• open to suggestions regarding organization - I go with the flow I can purchase more individual zippered containers or use installed tech
• High Vis interior would be cool
• Water resistant would be very cool
• Size is flexible as I'm not intending on traveling on a plane in the next 10Y but I'll also just adjust wardrobe to fit ongoing. 30L seems ideal but could go 25-40? Rules are Rules (3-4 shirts, 2 shorts, 1 longs, 5 Briefs, 2p Sockies) *Oodie to be worn :)* (Toiletries:28*9*14cm/11*3.5*5.5inch with Tbrush/Floss/Roll on/Ear Tools/One blade/Drugs) (Laptop, Charger, Mouse, Ipad mini + cable + cable for phone) (Phone, wallet, Keys) (Vitamins: fit into 8.94 x 2.3 x 1.16 inches)

If you have any suggestions on a bag that might fit these requirements or any opinion at all - please share! I've reached that 20/80 rule or whatever and need to rope in assistance.

I [23M] recently decided to resume my university studies. I ended up returning to school for winter quarter, and as such, typical on-campus housing arrangements were mostly unavailable. I had some savings from the job I worked over COVID and I enjoy working and playing video games late at night so I thought I would try to find a living arrangement where I at least had a single room to myself in order to avoid disturbing other people who prefer to sleep earlier.
Availability for even off-campus housing was low mid-year so the best choice ended up being a long-term AirBnB. The cost (2000 USD/month) is very high for what is a very small single room in a house with housemates.
Before moving in, landlord 'Christopher' [M60s-70s] sent an email abt rules for living in his house. Regarding noise, the only guideline included was "Please remember that I live in a quiet neighborhood and be respectful of my neighbors especially when in pool area as well as in the evenings." This seemed like a reasonable level of noise/quietness to expect from tenants; I read it as 'don't throw parties that will make the neighbors call in a noise complaint.'
This turned out to be a significant under-representation of the level of quietude that would be expected. Upon moving in I found that one of the long-term housemates was the landlord's daughter 'Christina' [F30s-40s], who lived in an adjacent room to mine. Christina is a very light sleeper who sleeps from about 9:30 pm to 5 am. Christina is such a light sleeper that she will be woken up if I talk at normal conversational volume in my room at times past her bedtime.
I decided to try and accommodate these constraints. As such, past 9:30 I would attempt to only whisper into my headset microphone while playing video games with my friends online, etc.
This strategy seemed to mostly work. However, very occasionally over the last 5.5 months of my stay, I would forget and speak at normal conversational volume for brief periods after Christina's bedtime, which would wake her up. So far, over the last 5.5 months, this has happened 4 times.
Christopher and Christina are very unforgiving regarding 'quiet hours.' This most recent time it happened, two days ago, Christina claimed it had been an issue '5-10' times and Christopher had said he would charge me 100 USD for each subsequent violation of the 'house rules' (I know this is unenforceable). They think it's extremely unusual that anyone would be awake at any time past midnight. They claim I have a 'special schedule' due to sleeping from 2-9 am that I should make the fact that I have this 'special schedule' very explicitly clear when searching for future living arrangements.
AITA for talking at normal conversational volume in my room at all past ~9:30pm, let alone only 4 times over the duration of my lease? Am I the one being unreasonable here e.g. by not more-explicitly warning Christopher before I moved in that I intended to occasionally stay up until 2 am?

The answer might be obvious to some of yall but hear me out. I, (17 Female) have had a rough childhood. Always abused and screamed at. I am convinced my mom actually hates me. a few years back, when I was 6 or 7, my step dad beat me with his belt. Multiple hits as I cried in the corner of my walls. Through the whole thing, I only yelled for my mom to help me. I knew she was nearby. My yells should have definitely reached her. After he stopped and walked away while cussing at me. I cried for 30 minutes and then went to go find her to see why she didn’t come. I couldn’t believe what I saw. She was on the couch the whole time SMILING and LAUGHING while talking to her friend. I asked her why she didn’t help me. She acted confused as if it was meant to happen to me. She then said I deserved it for being bad and to go away. I stood there with my puffy red eyes. tears dripping down and that’s when it hit me. I now knew she definitely would trade me for anything that day. As years passed by things turned worse. One thing good happened though. I got stronger from all the abuse and fought back. one thing I can’t handle is her screams. She hurts me. we fought a lot throughout the years, she always guilt trip me and acted like a victim when my step Dad gets involved. Even when she started or hurt me more, she would always say I hurt her more. One time she even drew blood on my skin with her own nails. Then laughed it off and walked away. I pretty much hate her every move. When she breathes, when she laughes, when she walks, etc. A Lot worse happened. But today I’ve had enough. My friend came over unexpected and I was so happy. We hung out and she excused herself to the restroom. the amount of shame I felt when she told me what happened in indescribable. She said she saw bloody undies On the ground. I looked at it and gagged. No one should be ashamed to have their period but this was just disgusting and shameless. I told my friend to kindly leave and that I need to speak to my mother. when I came in my moms rooms, she started yelling at me. she said “WHY WOULD YOU LET HER SEE” or “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT”. I was so confused and asked her what she’s talking about. She said I let my friend see her Underwear and kept blaming me. I’ve had enough and told her that she’s unhygienic and disgusting. It sucks living with her and having to shower everyday because just the thought of her makes me feel the need to shower. I said more but I don’t wanna get into it. My step dad came home and yelled at me. Wouldn’t get out of my room. He kept getting close to me but I didn’t want to get harmed so I just told me to please get out while crying. and guess what? He still wouldn’t. I pushed him out and shut my door fast as he pounded on it. I cried out for him to go away. After an hour of my arms being sore from holding my door so that he couldn’t come in I just cried while sitting on the floor. I heard my mom laughing and telling him that he put up a great fight. I am sad. Miserable even. I have one job that doesn’t pay well along with school to pay attention to. I’m trying to graduate early and I’m almost 18 in a few months. why am I trying to graduate early you ask? Well I have this friend in another state whos dad is a college professor. He said he can get me Into my dream college fast if I come to his state. i believe him because he did it before except I had to turn it down because I had other plans in the past that didn’t involve going to college. But now i know that college is my only freedom, escape, and future. I have 896 dollars saved up So far. I need enough to buy a flight and then rent an apartment. I hate to ask anyone for help but my cashapp is $Iambm9 and every cent helps. If anyone wants updates let me know.

Let's just get to the gist to it. There's this boy, who we're going to call glasses. We both have fourth period math together with each other and sit right beside each other. We sit in groups of four in the class, and our table is centered towards the back of the room. Every day I had to help him with his work because he has trouble with understanding the lesson we're in. It's not like I'm a super smart student, but at least I understood the material. It wasn't a big deal for me. His grades overall for math and science are terrible. It's not a secret, the teacher has even made jokes before in the class about his grade. Everyone else at our table was pretty much the same way, so I felt bad that he had to sit with all of us.
I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but at one point, I was basically doing his work for him because he said he didn't understand anything, and in all honesty, I don't think he even was trying to do it. He had to have had some knowledge about what he was doing though, because when he finally did his own work, he would get every answer wrong. That didn't stop him from making dumbass remarks, using his phone to look up the answers to the questions, and watching tiktoks on his phone. The only reason I would have been helping him out, is because it makes the class more enjoyable. If you're just sitting there by yourself, the class can be really boring. He has this habit where he would just say the most randomness statements. For example, once we were in the middle of doing an assigned online lesson, he just randomly turns to me, and tells me I'm gay. He has no filter on his mouth. I don't pay him any attention, as I have never felt attraction to a guy.
Not saying he's ugly or anything, he's pretty average looking. I've seen worse looking people. He's got this nice taper haircut, and looks good when he keeps it freshly trimmed, he wears those clear glasses, and has a pretty nice big nose. Not in a bad way, but a good size, and shape. I don't think I've ever seen him without a black or grey hoodie. I'm pretty sure he has an addiction. He has a pretty average body too, a little skinny, but it suits him. It's not like it's bad or anything. I don't judge anyone on their looks. We're both about the same height, with him being about an inch taller, maybe? His personality is probably his most unique..? Interesting? attribute. He's not one to hold back from sharing his thoughts. Sometimes I have to put up with him making fun of me and my personality. Sometimes in a playful way, but I have a few traits that can be picked on. One thing that is probably his biggest flaw is his over confidence, and the fact that he thinks he's the best at everything.
He's constantly bragging about things. He's the kind of person that makes you want to punch him. Not the worst thing in the world, but not the best. When we first started having conversations, it was pretty casual and chill, but then it escalated into him getting to the point of being aggravating. He would say the stupidest stuff. He would make fun of the way I looked, my clothes, how tall I am, and just the way I spoke. I'm not a super social person, so it's not that hard to make me uncomfortable. But still, when he wasn't annoying me to the point of begging the teacher to move my seat, I could have some decent conversations with him. He wasn't all that bad. He just didn't have the filter between his brain and his mouth. That's something I respect about him. It's a good trait to have. He's the type of person that will always be honest, and won't sugar coat his words. Even if it might be considered offensive. We'd have a lot of occurrences when he would say something funny. I can't even count how many times he made me smile, and even laugh. I was never embarrassed or ashamed about laughing. Not once.
I can tell he likes the way I laugh. Whenever he gets me to laugh, he'll be staring at me with this big grin on his face. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants to stare at me. When he says something funny, and he gets my attention, he'll give me a smile. It's not a forced one, it's natural, and I can tell that he genuinely means it. Sometimes I'd feel him looking at me and I'd catch him staring. It was usually a quick glance, and he'd turn his head away. But I could see him looking. At first I was confused, but I eventually got used to it. I'm not going to lie, it does make me nervous. I don't like being stared at. It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. But I never told him that. He was probably just trying to get my attention.
He's got a very strong sense of humor, and a lot of the things he would say, even the most serious and inappropriate things, are actually really funny. The way he speaks, and how he carries himself, I can tell he has a lot of self confidence, and a big ego. He's not afraid to show it either. It's almost like a form of self expression. It's hard to explain. The way he expresses his personality, it's something you have to see. The funny thing is, he's not even a good student. I have no idea why he was placed in a class that was obviously above his grade level. The only reason he's probably passing is because the teacher lets him goof off. The way he talks and acts, I'm pretty sure the teacher knows that he's a big distraction to the class, and doesn't want to have to deal with him. So she gives him the benefit of the doubt. I have no idea why he even cares so much about his grades. He always talks about how he doesn't care, and that his grades don't matter. The thing is, his behavior shows the opposite. Every day he'll come into class, and sit there waiting for the teacher to finish instruction, and when we began to work, he asks me if I can help him. Sometimes he'll just copy my answers. I've never said no, and have always helped him out. I've tried giving him hints and suggestions about the material, but he just doesn't listen.
It's not like it matters to me anyway. If I'm not helping him, he'll ask another student. He's a real pain in the ass, but I don't blame him. If I were in his situation, I'd be the same way. He's not the best student, and probably one of the dumbest kids in the school. The funny thing is, is that he acts like he's so much smarter than me. Like he's better than everyone else. But he's not. He's just a stupid, annoying kid who's not very smart. But he tries. And that's what's important. So once again, we're sitting at our table, doing an assigned lesson, and everyone else is talking to the table mates or doing their own thing. I'm pretty sure the teacher was helping out other students who was stuck on a question. We were sitting right next to each other. I was doing my work, while he was on his phone and had barely even began the assignment. That's when I felt a hand rubbing up and down my thigh. I was wearing some heavy baggy jeans, and could feel his hand moving up and down. I looked and stared at him while removing his hand. He looked at me with this knowing grin, and turned his attention back to his phone. I couldn't even concentrate at that exact moment. He was just acting like nothing had happened. I could feel my heart beating fast and my face was hot. I don't know why, but it was.
A few more minutes went by and the hand returned to my thigh. I tried shaking it off, but he wasn't having it. He wasn't letting go. So I gave up and left his hand there. I couldn't even finish the problem I was on, I just sat there letting his hand rub up and down my thigh. I looked over at him, and he was just staring at me with a grin on his face. His hand was just gently rubbing, up and down, up and down. Then he stopped, and he slowly removed his hand. He turned back to his phone. I don't know what I was thinking, but I reached my hand over to his thigh. I didn't look at him, and just placed my hand on his thigh. It was a pretty firm squeeze, and he flinched slightly. It was almost as if his entire body stiffened. I practically froze up since I forgot to do the whole rubbing motion. It was probably the most awkward moment of my life. It wasn't the way I wanted to react, but my body did what it had to do. I started slowly, but firmly massaging his thigh, and could feel him starting to relax. His eyes were glued to his phone, and he wasn't paying attention to the hand that was rubbing up and down.
Eventually, I removed my hand as the end of class was nearing. He and a few other students started standing up and gathering their things. I remained in my seat, as I felt a slight stiffness in my pants. My heart was racing, and I could feel my hands starting to get sweaty. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. It was awkward, but I had this.. lustful feeling in my stomach. As I sat there, he went on the other side of me and slyly pressed his crotch up against my shoulder. I could feel heat radiating from his body. It was obvious why it was so warm, and I knew what was happening. It was a weird sensation. It's hard to describe. I could feel the heat from his pants on my shoulder. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to get me really flustered. I was starting to feel a little anxious. After that, the bell rang and everyone quickly gathered their belongings and left the room.
It was a weird feeling, and I couldn't even focus in class. I could barely think straight. I couldn't even finish the lesson we were assigned. I didn't know what to do. I was just caressing another guys leg. What was even worse was that the guy I was caressing, was the same guy who was always making fun of me. I was starting to panic. Was it wrong to have done that? Am I going to get in trouble? What if he tells someone? The only reason why I did it was because I was curious. What if someone saw us.
I'm really confused and I don't what to do. We've only have a week left of school, and then we'd have summer break. I want to ask him for his number. And I don't know why I want it. To talk? Hang out? Something else? What do people usually do to have fun with people like him? Should I ask him for his numbers?

confused
hey everyone, im new to this subreddit and im grateful for any sort of advice or tips!
so, my periods are very irregular and heavy, they have been ever since i first got my period when i was a teenager. at first i thought i had a hormonal imbalance, pcos, a thyroid issue or that i was infertile.. but i had my bloods done multiple times and everything is good. i’ve been trying for a baby 11 months now and having s3x 1-2 times weekly with my partner and so far ive had no luck, the thing is i can’t tell when im ovulating and even if i am ovulating because my periods are so far apart. it had been 6 months without my period until about 4 weeks ago when i had a regular flow period, unusual for me as i haven’t had a normal period for about 2 years, normally it would be heavy for me. i couldn’t tell if i was just spotting because at first it was so light, then it was heavier as the week went on so im almost 100% sure it was a normal period.
anyway, the past 2-3 weeks after my period ended i’ve been feeling off, overall achy and unwell and extremely tired to the point where i’ve had to call off from work as i’ve been sleeping 15 hours a day, which isn’t like me. i wondered if i was pregnant but the odds just seem so low because ive been trying so long. however i woke up 2 days ago with some pinky-brown blood-ish? i’m not entirely sure what it was as it wasn’t like discharge but it wasn’t like blood, clearer than blood but thinner than discharge. i googled it and it seems to look like implantation bleeding, and it usually occurs 2 weeks after impregnated. im trying not to get my hopes up because i don’t want to get excited, but im getting a pregnancy test after work tomorrow, wish me luck!
i was just wondering if anyone else has been in my situation and has got pregnant too, and if im not pregnant tomorrow, does anyone have tips for conceiving ?

My GF went to the emergency room in January because her hemoglobin levels were at 3.9, and she received a blood transfusion. She had been dealing with severe period blood lose, painful cramps, blood clots, for a few months.
Turns out she had 3 fibroids. After a few Dr. visits she was finally scheduled for a procedure to remove them. A week before, during her pre-op appointment, they told her to go to the ER right away: her hemoglobin levels were at 5.3 and she received another blood transfusion.
A few days later (this past Friday), right before her procedure the Dr told her to go to the ER instead of the surgical center because he felt the EHospital would have better equipment, so she went there instead. After a few hours of waiting she went into the OR.
30 minutes later the Dr. brings me a picture of what he called a "mass", it was 7.5 cm and another smaller one at 1.5 cm. He told me she's fine but she bled so much when he cut them out that she needed another blood transfusion. He wouldn't know what they were until they were dissected (hence the title of my post).
She's home now, only has light bleeding, no cramps and only pain from the procedure. She told me the Dr. called her on Saturday and explained everything to her and turns out he had to cauterize her where he removed the fibroids.
Does anyone have any experience with something similar? How could they not see the fibroids had grown the 2nd time she went to the ER? Did he cut out the fibroids, why would he now call them a "mass"?

(Sorry this is long. I haven't posted here before but really find it helpful reading other people's stories).
I had my first pregnancy/miscarriage back in March of this year. I didn't even know I was pregnant until it was already happening (I had an IUD for 2+ years and an ultrasound confirmed the IUD was perfectly in place....just crazy luck lol). Husband and I didn't want kids for a few years yet so I completely panicked when we found out, but only for a day before we were so excited. Obviously, my risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy was super high so I got into the OB right away and it only took 3 days of testing my HCG to know that I was miscarrying. Our best guess (since I hadn't had a period in 2+ years) is that I was 6 weeks pregnant when I miscarried. We never were able to confirm if it was ectopic or not because they couldn't see a sac on my ultrasound (probably got seen too late), but I had blood testing every 2 days for WEEKS to make sure my HCG hit 0. I really struggle with feeling like my miscarriage "counts" because I wasn't planning/expecting/wanting a baby. I didn't know he/she existed until it was almost gone. I don't think they even had a heartbeat. We never confirmed it wasn't ectopic. Plus we only knew we were pregnant for 5 days before I had it confirmed that it was a miscarriage (we suspect I started miscarrying 5 days before my positive test).
The problem is I FEEL like a mom and my whole world shifted in the short 5 days that we knew they existed. We didn't want kids for at LEAST another few years, but now I want to start that journey so badly. I feel like a mom without a baby and the soonest we would be able to try again is October (gotta finish grad school first). We didn't tell many people outside of immediate family so nobody even knows the level of grief that is going on. I thought I handled it really well right after it happened, but ever since the day before Mother's day, I've been a crying/grief-stricken mess. I work at a daycare so I'm around kids/babies all day and it didn't bother me until this last week. Same with hearing other people's pregnancy/birth announcements. I handled seeing babies and hearing pregnancy announcements perfectly fine but today I couldn't even look at babies in church without fighting back tears. Has anybody had it hit them months afterward?
I'm considering getting a bracelet/necklace with a November birth flower and a heart honoring my miscarriage but also keep convincing myself that I'm overreacting and that my miscarriage doesn't "Count". And I'm not sure if a keepsake will draw extra attention (I've been asked so many times since March if I have any kids, if I am pregnant, or if I plan to have kids, and I don't really want to have any extra questions). I keep thinking about how far along I would've been and have a phantom "nesting" phase where I get obsessed with researching baby products like strollers and car seats. I'm about to start my period (only the second one since my cycle came back) and I'm pretty terrified of the emotions that come with it. This cycle was already weird enough knowing exactly when I was fertile and that I'm about to have proof that I'm not pregnant again. But it just feels like such a huge reaction/impact for such an early loss that wasn't planned and that we didn't know about until after it was too late.

So I (19F) have noticed changes in my discharge the past few months. It is a lot more frequent and a lot of it is yellow (which I know is normal) or tinted red. Sometimes a lot comes out of no where. Today it was yellowish-brown. As far as I know I’m healthy. I used to work out alot but I’m busy so now I stick to regular walks. I have a balanced diet and don’t restrict myself any food. I will say I lost someone in February and stoped eating and moving. As a result my period was 3 weeks late. Adding that in case it means something. I’m worried because the discharge was a lot. Usually it’s a small amount but sometimes, like today, it was a large amount. Should I be worried?

“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Bio
Name: Taylor Bennett Armstrong	Date of Birth: 04/03/2024
Age: 15 years old	Gender: Demiboy (he/his, they/them)
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual	Nationality: Canadian
Ethnicity: Irish-Jewish	Languages: English, French, Japanese
Hometown: Toronto, Canada	Demigod Conundrums: ADHD

Family:

Name Relation Age Occupation Relationship ------------
Benjamin Armstrong Father 42 years old Artist Taylor shares a special bond with his father, Benjamin Armstrong. Despite being a single parent for much of Taylor's life, Benjamin always made sure to provide a loving and nurturing environment for his son. He recognized Taylor's unique talents from a young age and encouraged him to explore his creativity without limitations. Benjamin's own passion for art and innovation served as an inspiration for Taylor, shaping his worldview and igniting his love for invention. Benjamin supports Taylor's dreams and ambitions wholeheartedly, even if he doesn't always understand the mechanics behind his son's creations.
Eliza Armstrong Stepmother 43 years old Graphic Designer She brings a different perspective to Taylor's life. As a graphic designer, she values precision and order, which sometimes clashes with Taylor's more spontaneous and chaotic approach to creativity. However, despite their differences, Eliza cares deeply for Taylor and wants what's best for him. She worries about Taylor's safety and well-being, especially when his inventions go awry and cause unintended chaos. She often finds herself playing the role of the voice of reason, urging Taylor to think things through more carefully before diving headfirst into his next project. Despite their occasional disagreements, Eliza recognizes Taylor's potential and admires his boundless imagination and ingenuity.
Rachel Armstrong Half-sister 10 years old Student Rachel Armstrong, Taylor's half-sister, adores her older brother and looks up to him with wide-eyed admiration. From a young age, she was fascinated by Taylor's inventions and artistic talents, often trailing after him like a curious puppy, eager to learn and explore alongside him. Taylor sees Rachel as the most precious angel in the world and is very protective of her. He takes great joy in teaching her how to sketch, build, and code, fostering her own love for art and invention. Rachel, in turn, idolizes her big brother and cherishes their time together.

Appearance

Faceclaim: this Picrew Voiceclaim Walter from Spies in Disguise

Features	Description
Height	5’8 feet
Weight	157 lbs
Hair	Ginger
Eyes	Blue
Skin	Tan
Build	Lean, slim
Scent	Ink, paint, oil
Attire	Gamer Aesthetic

Overview: Ginger Hair: One of Taylor's most noticeable features is his vibrant ginger hair, which seems to have a life of its own. His locks cascade in untamed waves around his head, framing his face in a fiery halo. Despite occasional attempts to tame it, Taylor's hair always manages to retain its wild, rebellious spirit, reflecting his own untamed nature. Taylor's eyes are a mesmerizing shade of blue. They sparkle with curiosity and intelligence, constantly darting from one point of interest to the next. Across Taylor's nose and cheeks are scattered a constellation of freckles, like tiny stars dotting the canvas of his face. Despite his intelligence beyond his years, Taylor's face retains a youthful charm and innocence. His features are soft and rounded, with a hint of boyish mischief lurking behind his bright smile. There is a sense of wonder and curiosity in his expression, as if he is forever on the brink of discovering something new and exciting. Taylor's fashion sense is a reflection of his personality, blending comfort with a hint of geeky flair. He favors graphic t-shirts adorned with characters from his favorite video games, showcasing his love for gaming and pop culture. His hoodies are oversized and well-worn, providing both warmth and a sense of familiarity. Taylor's cargo pants are practical and utilitarian, offering plenty of pockets to store his tools and gadgets for tinkering. His sneakers are his constant companions, scuffed and worn from countless adventures and late-night gaming marathons.

Personality

“Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” Dorothy Parker
Quality Traits Positive Optimistic, Creative, Kind-hearted, Spontaneous, Resilient Neutral Naive, Chaotic, Impulsive, Eccentric, Idealistic Negative Gullible, Overbearing, Impatient, Inattentive, Stubborn
Overview: Taylor radiates an infectious positivity that lights up any room he enters. He greets each day with boundless enthusiasm, seeing every challenge as an opportunity for adventure and growth. His optimism is unwavering, even in the face of adversity, and he has a knack for finding the silver lining in the darkest of situations. Taylor's sunny disposition makes him a joy to be around, and his genuine smile can brighten even the gloomiest of days. Taylor marches to the beat of his own drum, embracing his individuality with gusto. He has never been one to conform to societal norms or expectations, preferring to chart his own course through life. Taylor's free-spirited nature is reflected in everything he does, from his spontaneous inventions to his unconventional approach to problem-solving. He thrives on the freedom to express himself creatively, unbound by rules or conventions. Taylor's energy is boundless, and he approaches everything he does with an infectious sense of excitement and wonder. He is easily captivated by new ideas and experiences, often bouncing from one project to the next with the fervor of a child in a candy store. Taylor's excitable nature fuels his insatiable curiosity, driving him to constantly seek out new challenges and adventures. Despite his youthful exuberance, Taylor possesses a keen intellect far beyond his years. He is a natural problem-solver, able to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to even the most daunting of challenges. Taylor's mind is a whirlwind of ideas and possibilities, constantly buzzing with new inventions and artistic endeavors. His creativity knows no bounds, and he revels in the thrill of bringing his imagination to life. Taylor's intelligence and creativity have instilled in him a healthy dose of confidence, bordering on cockiness at times. He knows his worth and isn't afraid to show it, often speaking his mind with a brashness that can catch others off guard. However, Taylor's confidence is tempered by his humility and genuine humility. He is quick to acknowledge his mistakes and learn from them, never allowing his ego to overshadow his humanity. At the core of Taylor's personality is a deep well of kindness and empathy for others. He genuinely cares about the people around him and goes out of his way to help those in need. Taylor's compassion knows no bounds, and he often puts the needs of others before his own. He is quick to offer a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, and his unwavering support has endeared him to many. Beneath Taylor's cheerful exterior lies a vulnerability that he often tries to conceal. He is sensitive to the opinions of others and fears being rejected or misunderstood. Taylor's insecurities stem from a desire to be accepted and valued for who he truly is, flaws and all. Despite his outward confidence, he struggles with feelings of loneliness and self-doubt, yearning for genuine connections and validation. Taylor's drive for excellence can sometimes border on perfectionism, leading him to be overly critical of himself and his work. He sets high standards for himself and is often disappointed when he falls short of his own expectations. However, Taylor's perfectionism is tempered by his resilience and determination to persevere in the face of failure. He sees each setback as an opportunity to learn and grow, refusing to let obstacles dampen his spirit. Taylor has a gift for communication, able to express his thoughts and feelings with clarity and sincerity. He is a natural storyteller, captivating audiences with his animated anecdotes and infectious enthusiasm. Taylor's ability to connect with others on a deep emotional level makes him a trusted confidant and valued friend. He listens intently to others, offering words of encouragement and wisdom when needed. Taylor approaches life with a sense of adventure, always eager to explore new horizons and push the boundaries of what is possible. He thrives on the thrill of discovery, relishing in the excitement of unknown possibilities. Taylor's insatiable curiosity drives him to seek out new experiences and embrace the unknown with open arms. Whether embarking on a daring quest or simply trying out a new recipe, he approaches each adventure with the same sense of wonder and excitement. Taylor has a playful sense of humor that often borders on mischievousness. He loves to joke and laugh, finding joy in the absurdities of life. Taylor's playful nature brings levity to even the most serious of situations, helping to ease tension and lift spirits. He delights in pulling harmless pranks and sharing witty banter with friends, always with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face. Taylor is incredibly adaptable, able to thrive in any environment or situation. He approaches change with a sense of curiosity and excitement, eager to embrace new challenges and opportunities. Taylor's ability to adapt to different circumstances has served him well throughout his life, allowing him to navigate the complexities of both the mortal world and the realm of the gods with ease.
Preferences
Favourite... Item Food Macaroni and cheese, mango milkshake Colour Electric Blue Season Summer Weather Sunny, warm, clear skies Music Pop, rock, orchestral, jazz, celtic Animals Bunnies and Cats Book/Movie Genre Fantasy, Sci-fi, Romance, Slice-of-life, Adventure, Action Media Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Kingdom Hearts, Legend of Zelda, Genshin Impact, Honkai Impact 3rd, Honkai: Star Rail, Pokémon, a scary amount of anime, etc…
Hobbies:

• Drawing
• Painting
• Crafting
• Sewing
• Video Games
• Cosplay

Demigod Info

Powers

Name	Type	Description
Psychometry	Domain	The ability to glean information from a particular object relevant to the parent's domain, especially its material make-up and method of creation. (Crafts, Mechanics and Art)
Enhanced Skill Proficiency	Domain	A trait where one is naturally adept in the skills lorded over by their parent. (Crafts, Mechanics and Art)
Summon Tool	Domain	The ability to summon any small tool. (Once every 5 minutes or per turn.) (Duct Tape or Superglue)
Machine Communication	Minor	A trait where one is able to understand and communicate with automatons and machinery (includes code).
Electrical Resistance	Minor	A trait where one is able to resist electricity to a such degree that they are able to withstand badly interacting with small appliances.
Machine Manipulation (Technokinesis)	Minor	The ability to directly control mechanisms, machines and automatons.
Basic Enchantment	Major	The ability to imbue weapons, crafts, machinery and automatons with magical properties (modmail for specific enchantments). Options: Weapon Transformation—into a mundane item; Monster Hunting Proficiency for a) Fleshy Monsters—Sharpness, b) Armored Monsters—Bludgeoning, c) Ghosty Monsters—Absorption

Weapon of Choice: Bastard Sword
Fatal Flaw: Naivety Taylor's fatal flaw lies in his inherent naivety, stemming from his trusting and optimistic nature. Despite his intelligence and creativity, Taylor often lacks the worldly wisdom and discernment needed to navigate the complexities of the world around him. His naivety makes him vulnerable to manipulation and deception, as he struggles to see the darker intentions lurking behind the smiles of others.

Items and Equipment

Name	Age	Description
Sketchbook	7 years old	Taylor always carries a sketchbook with him, filled with doodles, sketches, and designs inspired by his vivid imagination.
Art Supplies	3 years old	As someone who enjoys art, Taylor keeps a collection of art supplies like pencils, markers, and colored pencils, allowing him to bring his creative visions to life wherever he goes.
Tool Kit	5 years old	As a budding inventor and tinkerer, Taylor carries a compact tool kit with him at all times. It contains essential tools like screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, and a mini soldering iron, allowing him to repair gadgets, fix mechanical issues, and work on DIY projects on the fly.
Nintendo Switch	2 years old	Taylor never leaves home without Nintendo Switch. He keeps a selection of his favorite games in his backpack, ready to play whenever he has a spare moment to indulge in his love of gaming.
Music Player	3 years old	Music is a constant source of inspiration and motivation for Taylor, so he always carries a portable music player loaded with his favorite tunes.
Cat Headphones	1 year old	High-quality headphones that allow him to escape into his own world of music whenever he needs a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They are cat-themed for no reason other than Taylor felt like it.

Trivia

• Zodiac Sign: Pisces
• MBTI: ESTP-T (The Entrepreneur)
• Enneagram: Type 7 (The Enthusiast)
• Love Languages: Words of Affirmation (receive); Acts of service (give)
• Quirk: Doodling on almost every surface he sees when bored.
• Fears: Hurting People, Big Animals

Backstory

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure.” ***Brené Brown*
Taylor Bennett Armstrong was born into a creatively vibrant family. His father, Benjamin Armstrong, was a dedicated artist who often spent hours in his studio, painting and sculpting. Benjamin's work was deeply inspired by classical art, and his studio was filled with references to mythological themes and ancient techniques. This environment planted the seeds of creativity in Taylor from a very young age.
Taylor’s biological mother was Techne, the goddess of art, craft, and invention, but he had no knowledge of her divine heritage. His mother left shortly after his birth, leaving Benjamin to raise Taylor on his own. Despite the absence of his mother, Taylor's early childhood was filled with love and encouragement from his father.
When Taylor was five, Benjamin met Eliza, a talented graphic designer, at an art exhibit. They quickly bonded over their shared love for art and soon married. Eliza embraced Taylor as her own, though she struggled to understand his unique, often chaotic way of thinking and creating.
Even as a young child, Taylor showed remarkable intelligence and creativity. By the age of six, he was building simple machines and drawing intricate designs. His father was both amazed and slightly concerned when Taylor began to take apart household appliances to understand how they worked. While Benjamin encouraged his son's curiosity, Eliza worried about the constant mess and occasional accidents that resulted from Taylor's experiments.
Taylor’s half-sister, Rachel, was born when he was five. She looked up to her big brother with admiration, often following him around and watching as he created his various inventions. Despite the occasional mishap, Taylor and Rachel shared a close bond, with Taylor frequently making small toys and gadgets to entertain her.
School was both a blessing and a curse for Taylor. His intelligence allowed him to excel academically, but his unique way of thinking and his constant tinkering often got him into trouble. Teachers labeled him a "problem child" due to his inability to sit still and follow conventional methods. Taylor's inventions occasionally caused disruptions, further cementing his reputation.
Socially, Taylor found it hard to connect with his peers. His enthusiasm and intelligence often intimidated other children, and he was frequently taken advantage of by classmates who used him to boost their own grades. These experiences left Taylor feeling lonely and self-conscious about his naivety, although he never let it dampen his cheerful spirit.
Taylor's life took a dramatic turn when he was 15 years old. One day, while working on a particularly ambitious project in his makeshift workshop, he was visited by Oleander, a satyr sent by Camp Half-Blood. Oleander had been observing Taylor for some time, noting his extraordinary abilities and his connection to the divine.
Oleander revealed to Taylor the truth about his mother, Techne, and his demigod heritage. At first, Taylor was skeptical, thinking it was some sort of elaborate joke or fantasy. However, Oleander's ability to demonstrate his satyr powers and his deep knowledge of Taylor's unexplained talents eventually convinced him.
Explaining the situation to his family was a challenge. Benjamin, who had always suspected that there was something special about Taylor, took the news in stride. Eliza, though worried and confused, ultimately supported the decision, understanding that Camp Half-Blood could provide Taylor with the guidance he needed. Rachel was both excited and scared for her brother, worried about the dangers he might face and she would miss him.
Thankfully, despite the huge distance he and Oleander had to travel from Toronto to Long Island went calmly, for the most part, with not many delays or monsters attacking them.
Well, at least until they reached New York. After that, the whole “calm journey” was out the window. It almost seemed like all the monsters decided to wait until they were close to their destination to suddenly appear one after the other. First they had to somehow avoid a cyclops. Then they were attacked by dracanaea. And finally, they were chased by harpies until they crossed the border of Camp Half-Blood.
By some miracle, they were still alive.
What a way to be introduced to demigod life.

Present Day

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun” Mary Lou Cook
Taylor's arrival at Campbell Half-Blood was… something, alright.
You know, being chased by monsters from New York to Long Island, passing out in between attacks and then waking up in the Medic Cabin feeling like you've been hit by a truck and maimed by a cat at the same time was, in short, not fun. It also didn't help the fact that he had to stay in bed to get treated for what, hours. Which, for someone like Taylor, was absolute torture. Good for him then that demigods, apparently, had magic healing and he didn't have to stay for days instead. At least Oleander was around to explain every detail about the world he's been thrust into now that he was out of danger. And as a plus, he was also claimed, so yay! He had no clue who Techne was, but he was sure he would learn soon enough.
So, what does Taylor do after getting patched up? Does he wait and rest for a bit just to make sure everything is okay with him? Does he stop for a moment to process everything that has happened to him in the last 24 hours?
No! Of course not! This is Taylor, after all. Him staying put for more than 10 minutes would be a miracle already.
Instead, he just went off on his own to see what this Camp Half-Blood was all about. He just had to get to his cabin first, which would be relatively easy with Oleander's instructions, and then he could explore this place to his heart's content!
Hopefully, Camp Half-Blood would be ready for the chaotic force Taylor would prove to be.
[OOC: Hello, everyone! Say hello to my new character, Taylor! Feel free to interact with him literally anywhere at Camp, he's probably going to be there at some point anyway lmao. Thanks for reading;)]