I bought an RG35XXH from Aliexpress recently because I wanted a device that was pocketable with nice snappy controls. I bought it as a kind of upwards-diagonal-sidegrade from my modded R36S, since I was overall pretty happy with that device since I modded the d-pad and buttons with new membranes and so I was mostly interested in the H for the pocketability.
When I received it a few days ago though, I was pretty underwhelmed. The OS options seemed awful compared to ArkOS on the R36S, GBA gameplay was stuttery and weird (turns out it was the issue mentioned in the most recent Taki video) and worst of all was the screen. The R36S, for all its faults when stock, has an amazing screen. Not overly saturated, just good contrast, deep blacks, and a good pop to the colours. By comparison, the RG35XX-H seemed pretty dull, with decent greens (though this also meant there was an overall green tinge to the screen) but lacklustre reds and blues, poor contrast, and brownish blacks. It wasn't awful, and if I hadn't gotten used to the R36S perhaps it wouldn't have bothered me, but as a photographer, I'm pretty sensitive to these things.
TLDR: How to fix it
Go into shaders in Retroarch, go to the "Misc" section, then select the shader towards the bottom of the list called "Simple_Color_Controls". Then go into the Shader Parameters and change the following values:
Color Temperature in Kelvins: 9311 (this will give the screen a more neutral temperature, which allows the colours to pop without it being too warm)
Gamma In: 2.40 to 2.10
Green to Red Hue: -0.01 (one tick to the left)
Brightness: 1.05
Contrast: 1.00 to 1.28 (biggest change)
Black Level: 0.01 (one tick to the right)
And voila! You now have a far better looking screen on your RG35XX-H. If you're using Batocera or Knulli as your CFW, then you're going to want to first set Shaders to "None" in the Batocera game settings menu, then save the shader preset as a core or global override in Retroarch, otherwise it will delete it everytime you restart the device. If you really want to see how much of a major difference this makes, try setting a Toggle Shader hotkey and switching back and forth. The change is pretty drastic on my unit.
Some of these settings are of course up to personal preference, some might like a little less contrast than what I went with, and some may even want to mess with the Saturation value to make those colours reeaaally pop. I imagine there may also be some screen variation amongst units, and some might need to make slightly different changes than I did. Either way, just wanted people to know about this in case they were disappointed in their screen, since for once this wasn't mentioned elsewhere by people like Russ or Taki. Other than it not getting bright enough (the R36S gets about twice as bright, which is better for playing outside), I'm now perfectly happy with the screen, so it fixed my biggest complaint other than OS and stuttery gameplay, which after fiddling around with Knulli is also mostly dealt with.
Let me know what you think!

I bought an RG35XXH from Aliexpress recently because I wanted a device that was pocketable with nice snappy controls. From reviews it seemed like it was a perfect match, so I was looking forward to getting it set up. I bought it as a kind of upwards-diagonal-sidegrade from my modded R36S, since I was overall pretty happy with that device since I modded the d-pad and buttons with new membranes and so I was mostly interested in the H for the pocketability.
When I received it a few days ago though, I was pretty underwhelmed. The OS options seemed pretty awful compared to ArkOS on the R36S, GBA gameplay was stuttery and weird (turns out it was the issue mentioned in the most recent Taki video) and worst of all was the screen. The R36S, for all its faults when stock, has an amazing screen. Not overly saturated, just good contrast, deep blacks, and a good pop to the colours. By comparison, the RG35XX-H seemed pretty dull, with decent greens (though this also meant there was an overall green tinge to the screen) but lacklustre reds and blues, poor contrast, and brownish blacks. It wasn't awful, and if I hadn't gotten used to the R36S perhaps it wouldn't have bothered me, but as a photographer, I'm pretty sensitive to these things.
TLDR: How to fix it
Go into shaders in Retroarch, go to the "Misc" section, then select the shader towards the bottom of the list called "Simple_Color_Controls". Then go into the Shader Parameters and change the following values:
Color Temperature in Kelvins: 9311 (this will give the screen a more neutral temperature, which allows the colours to pop without it being too warm)
Gamma In: 2.40 to 2.10
Green to Red Hue: -0.01 (one tick to the left)
Brightness: 1.05
Contrast: 1.00 to 1.28 (biggest change)
Black Level: 0.01 (one tick to the right)
And voila! You now have a far better looking screen on your RG35XX-H. If you're using Batocera or Knulli as your CFW, then you're going to want to first set Shaders to "None" in the Batocera game settings menu, then save the shader preset as a core or global override in Retroarch, otherwise it will delete it everytime you restart the device. If you really want to see how much of a major difference this makes, try setting a Toggle Shader hotkey and switching back and forth. The change is pretty drastic on my unit.
Some of these settings are of course up to personal preference, some might like a little less contrast than what I went with, and some may even want to mess with the Saturation value to make those colours reeaaally pop. I imagine there may also be some screen variation amongst units, and some might need to make slightly different changes than I did. Either way, just wanted people to know about this in case they were disappointed in their screen, since for once this wasn't mentioned elsewhere by people like Russ or Taki. Other than it not getting bright enough (the R36S gets about twice as bright, which is better for playing outside), I'm now perfectly happy with the screen, so it fixed my biggest complaint other than OS and stuttery gameplay, which after fiddling around with Knulli is also mostly dealt with.
Let me know what you think!

I don't believe it is true that its all his fault but the common sentiment due to the types of dating advice you see is that people believe you have more control in who likes you romantically than you actually do.
I believe you can control how many people like you as a friend but do to the innate existsence of compare and contrast, and competition in dating I don't think you control who likes you to the degree that not having a woman interested is always your fault.
Beyond objective physical standards you are always competing with other men in a womans head, men that they don't even know exist sometimes especially when it comes down to attraction at first sight. You compete with guys in your social circle for whom they deem as datable and not datable to deny this would be to deny in a friendgroup there's guys the women would say yes to and no to in terms of dating. You compete with the good parts of her ex, which is almost always looks, sex, how exciting or interesting your life is/how charismatic you are and financial status. You compete with attractive men on tiktok or instagram if she views any or has enterained any in her dms, it just raises her standard for looks of her ideal man. This is partially the reason men prefer less of a body count with thier partner, less of an enviornment for tangible comparrison along side the MadonnaWH-complex.
On the more involved portion like already dating or progressing a relationship at different pace than previous. When men raise issue with being treated different from an ex date, lover etc or the timeline of events of how the relationship is going is skewed more so in the past date/lovers favor in terms of proof of passion. Women are always extremely eager to point out the mans lack in comparrison and have it be ok due to supoosed deeper feelings. "So what if she slept with him earlier than you or can acknowledge he's more handsome, she cares more about you and what you think so she is taking her time" the acknowledgement of the differences still proves the reason on why things not progressing the same pace is an overall issue; he is not up to par with the past lover interms of looks, sex appeal and possibly attitude.

(note to teacher: you made a mistake by having one of the prompts be “what are you interested in”, get ready to experience the true power of an autistic hyperfixation. Warning for,, kinda vulgar lyrics? They’re important in the context of the song and it's actually really interesting. I swear I PROMISE I'm not insane.)
I will be analysing Will Wood’s song ‘Suburbia Overture / Greetings from Marybell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally’. which, for simplicity, most fans refer to as simply ‘Suburbia Overture’. This song is the first on his first solo album entitled ‘The Normal Album’, which came out in July 2020.
This song, in the most general possible terms, is a criticism of modern suburban life, how it is advertised as “the perfect life”, and how this advertising is incredibly false unless you fit the picture perfect standard that these facets of society seem to require.
The song itself is split up into 3 distinct sections, “Suburbia Overture”, “(Vampire) Culture” and “Love Me, Normally”. I'll be tackling each section one at a time in order to properly break down what each means, what different analogies they use, how they all relate to each other and the intended end result of the song and the message it intends to convey.
Let's begin with ‘Suburbia Overture’. This section of the song uses a lot of analogies that compare suburban life to a warzone, the first line of this section being “white picket fences, barbed wire and trenches”. This section also focuses heavily on the concept of the nuclear family, and it often literalises the term and uses analogies based around radiation and nuclear warfare. Such analogies can be found in lines such as “the snap crackle pop of the Geiger, camouflage billboards for lead lined Brookes Brothers”. Now there's a couple of terms that require definitions in this line. The first of course being “the Geiger”. A Geiger counter, which is what this lyric is referring to, is a tool used to measure levels of harmful radiation. This, paired with the concept of billboards advertising “lead-lined Brookes Brothers” when lead is a material used to deflect radiation, and the knowledge that ‘Brookes Brothers’ is an American vintage style clothing brand, this line really paints a picture of a seemingly post apocalyptic/post nuclear war but still consumerist and capitalistic suburban society. The last line in that verse is “buy now or die”, which ties back to the concept of safety equipment being advertised on billboards, while residents of this town have no choice but to buy the products. This all relates back to the hyperconsumerism that plagues our society, and runs particularly rampant in middle to upper middle class neighbourhoods. The very same neighbourhoods that are often referred to as “suburban”
In the second verse of this section there are a lot of hard hitting lyrics that to me really show that this perfect idealised life is far from perfect or even good, so we will work through them one by one because I feel that they all deserve proper analysis.
The first line that i want to point out from that verse is the line “takes a village to fake a whole culture” which is clearly a rip off of the phrase “it takes a village [to raise a child]” but it also references the fact that usually suburban towns are incredibly monotonous in both residents and architecture, and so it takes the collective effort of the entire population of the town to pretend that there is an actual culture to it.
The next few lines I'll speak on all come in quick succession of one another, essentially blending them into one line. “Your ear to the playground, your eye on the ball, your head in the gutter, your brains on the wall.” So let's break these down. This line is easily split into 4 distinct phrases, and all of these phrases have a few things in common, which I will point out later.
“Your ear to the playground” is a play on the phrase “ear to the ground” which essentially means that the person with their ‘ear to the ground’ is attempting to carefully gather intel about something. Someone having their ear to the playground simply reinforces the idea of this suburban “paradise” being. Not as paradise-y as one would hope, seeing as the people who use playgrounds most of all are children, so this line is demonstrating that the picture perfect life that this suburban town offers is actually corrupting children so young that they are still on the playground. The next phrase is “your eye on the ball” isn't a play on anything and is in fact in itself a common phrase. To have your eye on the ball means to be entirely focused in and paying attention to something, and not allowing anything to divert your attention. Given the last line this line very well could be another reference to the corruption of the youth and the idea that their every day play has already been tainted with the hostilities of modern life usually reserved for adults. Following this is another well known saying “your head in the gutter” which, as most know, someone whos head is ‘in the gutter’ is someone who will see some sort of innuendo or otherwise vulgainappropriate meaning in something that was intended to be entirely innocent, leading to others in the interaction telling the perpetrator to ‘get [their] mind out of the gutter’ And finally, in my opinion the most hard hitting phrase in this set, “your brains on the wall” which is clearly in reference to the notion of ending your own life with a shot to the head, which would lead to, well, brains being on the wall. These last 2 phrases come in stark contrast to the seemingly picture perfect life that suburban towns offer and advertise, the concepts of suicide and perversion are not concepts one expects to see or hear when imagining this idealised form of life.
There is one main similarity in each of the 4 phrases, that being that each phrase has some body part being on something else, your ear to the playground, your eye on the ball, your head in the gutter, your brains on the wall. This similarity almost offers a body horror aspect to the song, which when paired with the concept that this is written about a seemingly post nuclear apocalyptic town presents an interesting idea of possible mutation, but i'll be the first to admit that may be a little far fetched. However that's not the only similarity that these 4 phrases share, another is the fact that they are all directly, or only slightly modified versions of already well known phrases, a similarity that is found in many lines over this entire song, through all 3 sections.
I want to analyse a few more lines before we move on to the second section of the song.
This next line comes directly after the previously analysed line, and it goes “home is where the heart is, you ain't homeless, but you’re heartless” Sticking with the theme of using already existing and commonly used phrases, “home is where the heart is'' is once again a phrase that you could likely find as a cross stitch hung up on the wall of any of the homogenous houses you could likely find in this idealised suburbia. But what Wood is saying in this line is that home is where the heart is, and that while people in this town may not be homeless, they are certainly heartless, meaning that they in fact don't have homes. They have houses. Rows upon rows of houses that all look the exact same in the horrifying monotony that is suburban living.
Following this line is the lyric “it's the safest on the market, but you still gotta watch where you park it”. These lines seem to be in reference to buying a car. The car being the "safest on the market" is likely in reference to the fact that it may have a lot of safety features. But this is immediately negated by the fact that you “still gotta watch where you park it” meaning that the safety features could be a reason that the car gets stolen, rendering all the safety that those features offered useless because in the end it made the car and the owner less safe.
In the third verse of this section, you immediately hear the line “so give me your half-life crisis” which partially is a play on the term ‘mid life crisis’ wherein which one realises that they may have wasted their life up till that point and they're already halfway through, but the use of the term “half-life” instead of ‘mid-life’ is very intentional, as the term “half-life” can also be used to refer to the half-life of an isotope, which is the amount of time that isotope takes to lose half of its radiation, which ties back into the theme of radiation that we see mentioned a lot in this section.
Later in the same verse is the line “if it's true that a snowflake only matters in a blizzard”, which is interesting in a few ways, first, it brings up the idea of a singular individual means nothing on their own and that they only matter when they’re part of something larger or a larger group, but i also think that the use of the terms “snowflake” and “blizzard” instead of something like ‘raindrop’ and ‘storm’ is very intentional in the fact that snowflakes are known for being individual, none are alike, every single one is different. So saying that a snowflake doesn't matter unless it's in a blizzard is yet another hit at individuality, essentially implying that in this town individuality means nothing and is essentially rendered useless.
The final line in this verse is “everybody's all up in my-” repeated thrice, and on the third time the sentence is finished to say “everybody’s all up in my business” and before the word “business” can be finished its overlapped with the beginning of the chorus, the first word of which is a very loud “SUBURBIAAAA!”. I believe this is reminiscent of the fact that in towns like this, everyone cares so much about what everyone else is doing, they’re all so interested in everyone else's business, and i think that sentiment being stated and cut off by the word “Suburbia” is essentially saying that ‘this is the norm, this is just Suburbia, this is how it works around here.’
After the final chorus of this section, in the final verse, you'll find the line “chameleon peacocks are talk of the town” which particularly interests me because if you know anything about chameleons or peacocks you’d find that they seem incredibly different as animals. Chameleons blend into their environment in order to stay safe, whereas peacocks are known for parading around bright colours to make themselves look better, but if you think about it the term “chameleon peacock” actually makes a lot of sense, a person who blends into their surroundings in order to make themselves look good. This sentiment seems to perfectly describe the homogeneity of the people that live in these perfect towns, they're all the same, they blend in with one another in order to make themselves look good, or perfect.
Another line heard shortly afterwards is the phrase “he cums radiation”, rather vulgar, I grant you, but it's important because it is yet another literalisation of the phrase ‘nuclear family’. It could also be a reference to the general toxicity of this societal norm.
The final line in this section of the song is “the dog bites the postman, as basement eyes dream of a night at the drive-in, with an AR-15”. Which is another use of juxtaposition, intended to cause a kind of whiplash in the listener and reinforce the idea that while in this place there is scenarios that would happen in a hollywood movie esque picture perfect neighbourhood, like the dog biting the postman, there's also horrors that lurk below the surface. (although clearly not TOO far below.
Now let’s move on to the second part, ‘(Vampire) Culture’.
If you listen to the song, you’ll immediately be able to recognise where ‘Suburbia Overture’ ends and ‘(Vampire) Culture’ begins, due to the insane juxtaposition between the two. Where ‘Suburbia Overture’ is soft and sort of reminiscent of the 1950’s, ‘(Vampire) Culture’ is loud, jarring and grotesque, complemented with much raspier and strained sounding vocals compared to ‘Suburbia Overture’’s soft and melodic ones. The tone for this section of the song is immediately set with much more graphic lyrics, the very first line of this section (after the opening scream) is “i dropped my eyeballs in the bonfire, we fucked on a bed of nails” which absolutely sets the scene for how different this section will be to the previous.
This song immediately jumps into using cannibalism as a metaphor, with the first line after the jump start opener being “I caught kuru from your sister, and I'm laughing in jail”. While this line is written to sound like the concept of catching an STD from an act of adultery, Kuru is actually a disease only found in human brain tissue, meaning that you can only contract this disease by eating a human brain.
This use of cannibalism as a metaphor is used again immediately after in the line “smell those screaming teenage sweetbreads on that 4th of July grill”, ‘sweetbread’ is the term used to refer to the pancreas and thymus gland of an animal, usually a lamb, but in this particular case it is in reference to the human teenagers that supposedly lived in The Marybell Township, or a least they did before they were dissected, cooked and served at a neighbourhood 4th of July barbeque hosted by the same people that were once referred to as their neighbours.
This line adds an interesting level of patriotism to the song and criticism of how America utilises patriotism and their love for their country as means to justify harming the youth, however a 4th of July neighbourhood barbeque is also commonly associated with white picket fence gated community America, which ties us back to the base criticism of that style of life and how it is seen as the “proper” and “perfect” way to live. These cannibalistic sentiments are followed up with the line “smile and wave boys, kiss the cook, live laugh and love, please pass the pills.” which brings us back to the repeated use of commonly known sayings being taken directly or modified only slightly to remind the listener of the setting were in, that being a seemingly 1950’s era tight knit neighbourhood.
Phrases like “live laugh [and] love” or “kiss the cook” are both phrases that could easily be seen in a setting like this, especially “kiss the cook”, as this is a phrase commonly associated with aprons worn by grillmasters at neighbourhood barbeques, not unlike the cannibalistic 4th of July barbeque that this particular neighbourhood seems to be hosting. These phrases being immediately followed up with a sentiment such as “please pass the pills” serves to entirely undermine the pleasantries that, until a moment ago, seemed to be plastered all over the faces of the people living in this fictional town that Wood has created. I think that final phrase brings the listener back to the realisation that not all is right here, quite the opposite in fact, and drags them from their momentary paradise. Circling back very quickly to the phrase “smile and wave”. I felt the need to point out that this phrase has been used for centuries as a way to say “stop talking and act normal” which once again reinforces that these people are pretending to be something they’re not in order to fit in.
We enter the next verse with the repeated phrase “it's only culture”, after that line is repeated three times we hear “sulfur, smoke and soot”, which could either be a reference to how dirty and disgusting the ‘culture’ is, or it could be a different way of saying that this culture and the people participating are going to hell, as per the common phrase ‘fire and brimstone’ and the fact that sulfur is another way of saying brimstone, and smoke and soot are both byproducts of fire.
The last line of this verse and the first line of the chorus blend into each other, so I’ll speak on them both.
First, the last line of the verse. It goes “you cocked and sucked your lack of empathy, pulled the trigger with your foot to prove you've got-” Putting aside the clear innuendo, this line refers to the idea of ending one's own life with a long shotgun. According to the media, by the time the gun is cocked and the barrel is in your mouth, you're not able to pull the trigger with your hands due to the length of the barrel. This line instead presents the solution of pulling the trigger with your foot to end your life.
So this person “cocked and sucked” the gun (cocked the gun and put the barrel in their mouth) before pulling the trigger with their foot to prove they’ve got-
And here's where the verse blends into the chorus.
Because the first line only consists of one word.
“Blood”.
The person who was shooting themselves with a shotgun only to prove that they bleed. Which is where the title of this section comes in. “(Vampire) Culture”. This section seeks to portray either the people in this culture or, the more likely option, the culture itself, as metaphorical vampires, who aim to destroy those around them. This knowledge makes the next line “didn't they want your blood, so why apologise for being blue and cold” make a lot more sense. After all, if these culture vampires have drained you of your blood, is it not their fault that you’re now “blue and cold”, as bodies tend to be if they lack blood flow. However if you look at synonyms for the words “blue” and “cold”, you could also interpret this phrase as meaning “sad and apathetic”. A sad and apathetic person doesn't seem to be the kind of person this ‘culture’ seeks to enlist however, and so one who is “blue and cold” is shunned as an outsider. What Wood is getting at is that if this culture is the one who made you sad and apathetic, then you should not apologise to it for being so.
The next verse is short, and like the previous one, also blends into the chorus in the same way, by having the last line of the verse cut off right where the chorus would finish the sentence with the word “blood”. However in this verse, there's an interesting line. “It's only culture and it's more afraid of you than you are of it”, which is a sentiment usually used by adults to attempt to subdue a child's fear of something, usually insects. However it's interesting in the fact that it brings up the idea that this culture that has caused so much damage and harm is actually incredibly fragile, and would, in theory be very afraid of the concept of the individual, because if this ‘culture’ is only being held together by the silent agreeance that everyone will simply pretend, then the idea that there is people who refuse throws the whole idea into jeopardy.
This line is followed up however, by the line that blends it into the chorus. “Go on drink that-”, clearly intended to be finished by the first line of the chorus, making the full line, “go on drink that blood”. This line is in reference to the phrase “drink the kool-aid” which essentially means to pledge your undying loyalty to something, a concept, a person, a god, etc. and it derives from an infamous mass cult suicide where over 900 people drank poisoned Kool-Aid and subsequently died for the cult. It is not a far cry to believe that this event and this phrase is what the line is referring to, as it's something that Wood has referenced in other songs, so it only makes sense to believe that this is what he means here.
After that chorus we move on to the bridge, which begins by listing 3 pairs of names, all famous or semi famous, and each pair being similar in one right but opposite in another, the line goes as follows; “were you Nabokov to a Sallinger, were you Jung to Freud or Dass to a Leary”, so let's break down these pairs one by one.
First “Nabokov to a Sallinger”, these names belong to Vladimir Nabokov and J.D. Sallinger, both authors who wrote famous books that both surround the theme of innocence, but in very different ways. Nabokov’s book “Lolita” is a story told from the perspective of a grown man about his sexual obsession and attraction to a little girl, and his desire to ruin her innocence, exploring the theme of innocence in a grotesque and frankly horrifying way, which is in stark contrast to Sallinger’s book “The Catcher in the Rye”, which explores the topic of innocence through the main characters desire to preserve their little sisters innocence, and in that desire displays hesitancy at the idea of sex themself. Both books explore the topic of innocence, however while one seeks to preserve it, the other seeks to destroy it, two sides of the same coin.
The next pairing is “Jung to Freud”, meaning Carl Gustav Jung and his mentor Sigmund Freud, who once again are similar in one right, but opposite in another. Jung and Freud both had theories on the nature of the human mind, but where Jungs was all about the concept of spirituality and how that ties into the collective unconscious, Freud's approach was much more focused on the individual unconscious and the concept of sexuality.
The final pairing is “Dass to a Leary”. both psychologists, both at the forefront of the ‘Harvard Psilocybin Project’ (before they both got dismissed from harvard entirely following controversies around the project) Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary were both psychologists and eventually authors who studied the effects of psychedelic drugs on the human mind, and while they were co workers they ended up with pretty conflicting views. Dr. Richard Alpert, who apparently ‘died’ and was ‘reborn’ as spiritual guide Ram Dass, centred his teachings heavily around the concept of living in the moment, (in fact his best selling book, written in 1971 was titled ‘Be Here Now’) and he believed that psychedelic drugs were not needed and that a permanent version of the same effects could be achieved through meditation. Whereas Dr. Timothy Leary advocated heavily for the use of psychedelics, believing that LSD specifically had great potential for therapeutic psychiatric use.
All of these pairings and examples utilise the concept of duality and speak on how every coin has two sides, which can easily be tied back to the idea that the picture perfect suburban life is just one side of the coin. This idea is then reinforced by the next line, “were you mother, daughter, subject and author?”, The use of the word ‘and’ here shows that it's possible to be two sides of the same coin at once, just like how this town, which is perfect on one side of the coin, is still terrible on the other side of the coin. The line is stating that it's possible to be both at once.
The very last line in this section is; “you don't make the rules, you just write them down and do it by the book you throw around”. This line combines a few relatively well known phrases. The first being of course ‘i don’t make the rules’, which can have two distinct meanings. The first is to express a kind of sympathy for someone being punished, and the second is to absolve yourself of the blame for that person being punished, a sort of ‘don't shoot the messenger’ situation.
The ‘rules’ that are likely being referred to here are the societal norms and expectations forced upon people who reside in these towns, the standard for ‘perfection’.
However, following this sentiment up with the phrase “you just write them down” is essentially saying that while it's not the fault of the people in these towns, they didn't create the norms, they still enforce them. They expect everything to be in line and perfect at all times, they follow these ‘rules’ to a T, and they shun and punish anyone who doesn't fit the standard and/or refuses to follow these ‘rules’, which is where the line “do it by the book you throw around” comes in, doing something ‘by the book’ means to follow rules strictly and to the letter, nothing out of line, and to throw the book at someone means to punish them as severely as possible, usually used in the legal sense to mean punishing someone for their crime as severely as the law will allow. So in all, the lyric “you don't make the rules, you just write them down and do it by the book you throw around” ends up meaning ‘you didn't create these norms but you still enforce them by following them to an absolute T and punishing anyone who doesn't.’
With that we enter the third and final section of the song, entitled ‘Love Me, Normally’, a title it shares with another song on the album, but of course this song is partially meant to serve as an overture for the whole album, meaning it shares some similar lyrics with lyrics from other songs on the album, so sharing a title isn't all that surprising.
The first lyric in this section is “do you know the difference between blazing trails and slash and burn?” which is another instance of duality in this song. Trailblazing or being a trailblazer means doing something no one has done before, paving the way for other people to follow in your footsteps, it comes from the literal act of creating a trail in the woods for people to follow, usually by creating notches in trees or setting small fires, hence ‘blazer’, as blaze is another word for a fire. However “slash and burn” is a method of deforestation that involves cutting down and burning a section of forest to create a field. Both examples include using fire to change something, but where one is seen as progress and positive, the other is negative, and seen as a means of destruction. Once again, two sides of the same coin, innovation and destruction.
This is followed up with the line “going against the grain and catching splinters”, which is a line i particularly like because while it is something that literally can happen, if you run your hand along wood in the opposite direction to the grain, you're more likely to get a splinter because you're essentially pushing your hand against the chips of wood, but it also is another metaphor for the dangers of not being the same. Going against the grain in this instance means daring to be different, not going the same way everyone else is going but instead the opposite of that, and in this example splinters are the consequences one would face for being different, especially in a setting like this perfect town, where everyone is the exact same as everyone else.
A little bit later you hear the line “well Lot he had his lot in life, Job his job and i guess you’ll too, and die”. Lot and Job are both figures found in the Bible, whose names both share spelling with common English words, but are pronounced slightly differently.
Job, from the Book of Job, was a man that was tested by God, made to suffer to test his loyalty, his ‘job’ was to believe unendingly in God and see Him as always correct no matter what.
Lot, from the Book of Genesis, was a man who went through a lot, and the phrase ‘my lot in life’ is a phrase commonly used by people to write off/explain why they don't have it as good as others, they say it's simply their ‘lot in life’.
The end of this line “i guess you’ll too, and die” i believe refers to the fact that everyone will have their own job and their own lot in life, and then everyone in the end will die.
This theory is solidified by the fact that the next line is “The Lord looked down and said ‘hey, you're only mortal’” which is a play off of the phrase ‘you're only human’. Wood himself said that the phrase ‘you're only human’ has always felt weird to him, he says, “cause like, of course I am, aren’t we all? How is that fact supposed to help? I still feel bad. What does being human mean to you?”. He follows this up by saying that the idea of God saying "hey, you're only mortal" offers the same kind of sentiment, but in a “cosmically condescending” sort of way.
The following line reads “giveth and taketh away, till things come out a certain way, leave you wondering when they might go back to normal… leave you wondering why they can't have just been normal”.
This line presents a sort of hopelessness in the realisation that things are constantly changing, nothing is any more ‘normal’ than anything else, there's no such thing as ‘normal’, which is an overarching theme found throughout the album. Once again bringing back the fact that for all intents and purposes this song is an overture for the rest of the album.
To conclude, ‘Suburbia Overture’ is, in my opinion, one of the greatest criticisms of suburban, middle class, gated community, nuclear family life i've ever seen, it highlights the problems in that life and showcases how this kind of lifestyle in its incredibly rigid and restrictive standards is incredibly harmful to the very concept of individuality, because the expectations and unspoken rules set in communities like this and the widespread idea of forced normality seeks to crush any individuality before it even has a chance to blossom.
The use of metaphors and phrases that are well known and are likely to be seen in settings such as this gated community suburban town that Wood has created really paint a subconscious picture of what this community looks like, the use of duality, how every story has another side, and how nothing that is seemingly perfect from the outside is actually perfect on the inside.
Will Wood is an incredible lyricist and the fact that he was able to cram so much symbolism and such a powerful message into a song just over 6 minutes long is genuinely incredible.
Thank you for listening to my/reading my autistic hyper fixated rambling, i hope i didn't melt your brain too badly.

Satta King stands out as a unique platform that attracts a significant number of enthusiasts daily. However, it’s important to understand how Satta King, particularly variants like Sartaj Satta King and Raj Darbar Satta King, differs from other conventional betting sites.
Understanding Satta King
Satta King is not a typical betting site. It originated from a form of lottery and betting that was popularized in India. Unlike traditional betting sites that may offer a wide range of sports or casino games, Satta King focuses primarily on a single number-based game. Participants select a number from a set range, and if their number is drawn, they win a substantial amount of money.
Sartaj Satta King and Raj Darbar Satta King
These variants of Satta King, Sartaj Satta King and Raj Darbar Satta King, add to the diversity within the Satta King ecosystem. Each variant has its own set of rules and prize structures, creating a rich tapestry of options for players. This specialization in number betting differentiates Satta King from more generalized betting sites.
Key Differences from Other Betting Sites
Simplicity and Focus: Traditional betting platforms often provide a wide array of options including sports betting, poker, blackjack, roulette, and more. Satta King, on the other hand, is highly specialized. Its simplicity – picking a single number – is part of its appeal. This focus on a singular game type makes it unique compared to the multifaceted nature of other betting sites.
Cultural Roots: Satta King has deep cultural roots in India, making it more than just a betting platform. It's a part of the local tradition and social fabric in many parts of the country. This cultural connection is something most other betting sites do not have.
Regulatory Landscape: The legal status of Satta King is quite complex. It operates in a gray area where it is neither completely legal nor illegal, depending on specific regional laws. In contrast, many other betting sites are fully legalized and regulated in their jurisdictions. This difference in the regulatory environment significantly impacts how Satta King is perceived and operated.
Risk and Reward: The risk factor in Satta King is often higher compared to other betting forms. The odds of winning in Satta King are lower, but the rewards are proportionately higher. This high-risk-high-reward model is distinct from other betting sites, which might offer better odds but with relatively smaller payouts.
Community and Communication: Satta King has a unique community-driven aspect. Players often share tips, tricks, and insights within local networks or online communities. This communal approach to betting is less common in the more solitary or algorithm-driven environments of other betting platforms.
conclusion,
while Satta King, including variants like Sartaj Satta King and Raj Darbar Satta King, shares the common element of betting with other platforms, its distinct approach, cultural significance, regulatory ambiguity, and community involvement set it apart. Understanding these differences can help players make informed choices about where and how they choose to engage in betting acti

I found out I am iron deficient about 3 months ago. I started supplementing with liquid iron at the beginning of April, and then at the end of April, I developed a painful swollen lymph node under my chin. A few days later, around May 10th, I got a bad cold that hasn’t yet gone away and now I believe it’s turned into a sinus infection. I’m 37 years old and I haven’t had a sinus infection since I was a teenager! I have heard that iron can feed bacteria and viruses and am now afraid that upping my iron is going to make me sick all the time. My hematologist wants me to get an iron infusion but now I think would rather feel like shit constantly than get sick all the time with infections.
Has anyone else dealt with something similar?

I spent a few years living in my car. This has led me to be an expert at traveling light, and has taken away any "car fatigue" that most people seem to experience.
I'm with my friend on his first road trip and the contrast is extreme.
He brought multiple large bags compared to my two small ones- one of mine is exclusively tools and such I wanted to bring in the car just in case.
He wants to follow the map pretty strictly whereas I have been making random turn-offs based on road signs, just to see something interesting, and letting the gps compensate for it.
He wants to lock up the car every time we stop, even if we're gonna be taking photos right next to it at a roadside attraction.
I drove all day. We arrived at our destination last night and he dragged himself to his room and crashed right away. That car fatigue got him. I went out walking around town, picked up breakfast stuff from the store, made it to my bed a few hours after him. I've been up for an hour now, made breakfast, and just watching it get brighter outside. I'm not gonna go pound on his door and wake him, but I'm ready to go do tourist stuff!
There's nothing wrong with the way either of us are doing things, I just think it's funny how different everything is after being "seasoned."

Record temperatures, starvation, zombie fires, Ukraine’s exhaustion, and bird flu mutations. ‘Tis the season—of Doom.
Last Week in Collapse: May 26-June 1, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 127th newsletter. You can find the May 19-25 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
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Cyclone Remal, which has killed 50+ people between India & Bangladesh, was one of the longest-lasting cyclones (36+ hours) to lash Bangladesh. 20M+ people were also left without electricity. Delhi broke its all-time temperature record last week, with 50.5 °C (123 °F). A state of emergency was declared, and 14+ people died in India from the heat so far.
A series of freak lightning strikes in Colorado killed one human and 34 cattle. Meteorologists were already looking at a few potential hurricanes days before the record season was expected to begin (1 June to 30 November).
Brazil’s savannah has suffered deforestation worse than much of the Amazon—and most of the clearing was done illegally. About 11,000 km2 of the Brazilian savannah was deforested last year (equivalent to the size of Jamaica), an increase of 68% compared to 2022.
A study in Science Direct looked into permafrost melt in Tibet, and concluded that alpine meadows are the most sensitive region to changing temperature patterns. Melting permafrost is more responsive to annual temperatures & wind speeds, while the upper soil levels respond more to month-to-month changes in temperature and precipitation. Another study from Biogeosciences examined the terrible effects of bottom-trawling stirring up carbon from the seafloor.
A small village in central Papua New Guinea was covered by a landslide, reportedly burying over 2,000 inhabitants. Estimates of the dead range from 100 to 670. Data from the U.S. say 2023 was the highest heat mortality year since records began, with 2,300+ Americans perishing. One heat expert said the encroaching heat “seems like it's coming faster….{and} more severe than we expected." The UN claims women are 14x more likely to die in a climate disaster, compared with men—and are affected by other negative effects are a far greater rate.
Record nighttime temperatures across Central America, around 29 °C (84 °F). Hundreds of cities in the American Deep South broke temperature records for spring with temperatures in the 80s °F (27-29 °C). Radical changes to our consumption patterns would be necessary to avert a large-scale catastrophe for our species. And a heat wave in Pakistan brought temperatures of 52 °C (126 °F).
Temperatures in northern Finland surged beyond 27 °C. A number of Saharan nations set new May records for day & night. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe (pop: 17M) is asking for emergency food aid for 9M people through March 2025 after El Niño ruined about 70% of their expected corn harvests. In nearby Zambia, a devastating Drought has resulted in severe hunger for millions of locals, as well as impacting its electrical production (95% of its electricity being hydropower). Scientists are reassessing the baseline temperature used for 1850-1900, and some believe that the pre-industrial temperatures may have actually been a quarter of a degree Celsius cooler than previously believed—meaning that our current global temperatures represent an even larger gain in the past ~150 years.
The COP29 slogan has been revealed ahead of the Azerbaijan climate conference: “In solidarity for a Green World.” The United States is delaying the retirement of coal plants in order to power the massive electrical demand fuelled by AI processing.
A paywalled study from the American Meteorological Study postulates that the January 2022 eruption of a Tonga volcano may have affected the climate of the entire decade, worsening local ozone problems and contributing to a wetter-than-average summer later this year. Another paywalled study from Science reports that human development has resulted in accelerating decomposition rates for organic matter in waterways—releasing carbon into the waters and atmosphere faster than expected.
A new theory has been developed to explain zombie fires and their fearsome spread—spontaneous combustion, triggered by atmospheric warming. Scientists believe that microbes may generate heat up to 80 °C (176 °F), and/or that rapid shifts into heat waves may also activate a heating process that soon combusts.
Mexico City is nearing its doomsday for water. Some 40% of water is allegedly lost through theft and leaky pipes before it even gets to households. Observers believe the “day zero” could come by June 26, and what will happen to the almost 22M people living in the metro area is anyone’s guess. About 60% of its water comes from underground aquifers which have been increasingly exploited and depleted. The rainy season starts at the end of June…but what if it isn’t enough? Meanwhile, South Korea’s groundwater is expected to run out by 2080.
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Brazil’s historic flooding has resulted in a dangerous side effect: the spread of disease, with 54 confirmed cases of leptospirosis and hundreds of others suspected. 169 people were confirmed killed by the flooding, many schools completely flooded,
The American Lung Association released its 2024 State of the Air in late April, and its 161 pages assess the safety of air across the United States. California remains particularly hard hit by ozone & particle pollution. People with asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease, as well as pregnant women, are at especially high risk from air pollution.

“39% of Americans—131.2 million people—still live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. This is 11.7 million more people breathing unhealthy air compared to last year’s report….Extreme heat, drought and wildfires are contributing to a steady increase in deadly {particulate matter} pollution, especially in the western U.S….Bakersfield {California} also continued as the metropolitan area with the worst level of year-round particle pollution for the 5th year in a row. Los Angeles remains the city with the worst ozone pollution in the nation….

Bird flu has recently spread across dairy farms, but experts say this is only “the tip of the iceberg.” Seals, sea lions, pigs, and other creatures are worryingly infected, too. Now alpacas at an American farm have tested positive for H5N1, in addition to feral cats in New Mexico. An experiment done by feeding infected raw milk to mice found that they exhibited the signs of avian flu and tested positive for high levels of the virus. An egg farm in Iowa is culling 4.2M hens after a number of birds tested positive. The strain of bird flu in a recent case of a Michigan man found slight mutations “associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts.” At least scientists are optimistic regarding new mRNA vaccines under development & testing.
A study from China about microplastics found the tiny particles in blood clots in human hearts and brains, elevating the risk of stroke or heart attacks. Chile’s Atacama Desert has become a dumping ground for clothes of the world. And about a third of Americans know someone who died from a drug overdose.
A look into major corporate carbon offsets found that a great deal of their offsets are worthless junk offsets. A 36-page report on Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) in 2024 claims that the overall market actually declined for two years in a row, and the sum paid for each ton of CO2 was down from 2022.
A study on Long COVID effects over the course of three years found that some effects fade over time—and others may persist. Airways and the nervous system appear particularly impacted. “Altogether, our findings show reduction of risks over time, but the burden of mortality and health loss remains in the third year among hospitalized individuals,” the study concludes. Meanwhile, forecasters predict AI will impact the job market as much as COVID did.
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Myanmar’s border with Thailand is becoming a more active warzone, as rebels, and junta forces, contend for territory. Thousands of people have fled across the Thai border.
A 69-page annual report on violence to local officials across the world came out two weeks ago, pointing to Myanmar, India, and Mexico as particularly dangerous sites for political violence. France saw a particularly high spike from 2022 (1,170%, according to the report), though Latin America & the Caribbean was the only region where overall attacks increased.
Sudan’s government made a deal with Russia: Sudanese soldiers receive weapons in exchange for allowing Russia to build a “military fueling station” on the Red Sea. The “noose of War” is tightening around El Fasher, in Darfur, where humanitarian facilities have been attacked and militants are trying to block exiting humans. If the RSF take full control of the embattled city, observers fear large-scale ethnic reprisals unto civilians. Egypt is trying to broker a peace but many armed groups currently prefer the contest of arms.
Across the world, particularly in Europe, spying is surging. Observers warn about the theft of secrets, particularly from Russia & China—and all countries are trying to crack down. A number of Russian sleeper cells are also allegedly coming online, part of a wider effort to add political, economic, and psychological friction to Western nations.
Ukraine is reaching a crisis point in its War. Russia is outproducing weapons, and sourcing others from its allies, and leveraging its greater manpower to grind Ukraine’s army down. Another 300,000 soldiers are expected to take the field for Russia during their coming summer offensive. Russia even raised income taxes on its wealthier population to fund the War. It is not economically viable for the West to shoot down every Russian missile, and a serious manpower shortage has left the front lines stretched, demoralized, and exhausted.
A staredown between Putin and European/American leaders is emerging after a number of leaders have granted Ukraine permission to strike targets within Russia. Putin’s forces launched another strike in Kharkiv, killing three; Ukraine reported large numbers of Russian soldiers taken out in the same day, if you believe it.
Thousands protested in Armenia, demanding the resignation of the PM who conceded territory to Azerbaijan. Thousands protested on Spanish islands over opposition to unsustainable mass tourism. North Korea’s latest attempt to launch a military satellite failed when it exploded in the air. Burkina Faso extended its junta rule by 5 years, against earlier declarations to hold elections this July.
Though Israel’s population still demands the total destruction of Hamas, a majority also believe the War has become unwinnable. Divisions within the country have become bolder over controversies about the warwaging. A strike on a tent camp killed at least 37 people, but did not impact the resolve of PM Netanyahu to continue the War.
Shooting between Israel and Egypt killed one Egyptian soldier. Houthi attacks in the Red Sea continue, even against ships bringing cargo to Iran; US/UK retaliations continue. Aid being brought to Gaza’s new floating pier will be delayed after the pier was damaged as a result of extreme weather. People are beginning to die of starvation in Gaza. One of Israel’s presidential aides claimed that the War could last through the end of the year.
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Things to watch for next week include:
↠ EU member states vote for the EU Parliament starting on 6 June, and polls indicate fairly small gains for conservatives across the continent. The most important issues appear to be the Ukraine War, the economy, migration/asylum, and climate change. Voting ends on 9 June.
↠ Mexico votes today for its new President, who will take office in September. At least 20 candidates have been killed this election season, Mexico’s deadliest. Hundreds of others were subjected to threats. Meanwhile, India’s PM is expected to win another term as President; results will be announced on Tuesday.
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-It’s gonna get really, really bad, if this thread, a cross-post of a thread in climatechange is to be believed. This resourced comment lays out a beginner’s guide to our carbon emissions catastrophe.
-The Thwaites is toast—judging by this temperature anomaly comment by u/FYATWB on an article about the rapidly melting Antarctic glacier. “When it collapses, it could raise oceans worldwide by 65 centimeters, or just over 2 feet.”
-Central Germany is suffering from inflation, stronger storms, a Collapsing animal population, and a desperate surge in elder care, according to this weekly observation. And the insects are vanishing, leaving behind a quiet, dying land.
-Tough times have come to China if this rare weekly observation from inside China is to believed. Economic difficulties, discrimination, rumors of WWIII, heat waves, rising police activity, and increasing food prices.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, hate mail, free COVID tests, doomy geocaches, drought-resistant seeds, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Hi everyone, I’m 33 years old and here’s my situation:
Symptoms: - Since 6 months abdominal discomfort - Since 4 months pain in liver area that comes and goes on the front, side and back - Since 4 months loss of appetite - Since 2 months floating stools and diarreea - Since 2 months burping a lot after food and feeling of indigestion - Since 1 month nausea that comes and goes, usually it gets better when eating - Since 3 weeks read palms that feel very warm at times
Examinations: - MRI december 2023: pancreas normal, multiple small milimetric liver cysts in both liver lobes - MRI february 2024: same findings as previous - CT march 2024: pancreas normal - PET/CT march 2024: pancreas normal - MRI april 2024: pancreas normal, multiple small small milimetric liver cysts in both liver lobes - Ulatrasound may 2024: pancreas normal - Multiple blood tests: most of the time normal, 2 times too much iron which was back to normal 2 weeks after - Stool test: showing steatocrite and too many fatty acids, elastase level was normal - endoscopy: showing little irritation of the small interstine. Biopsies show no Chrone’s disease, no bacterial overgrowth, no gluten intolerance etc.
As you can see they already did a lot of examinations in different hospitals, always describing the pancreas as normal. Still my symptoms are all pointing towards possible pancreatic cancer metastased to the liver. Between february and april I’ve lost around 4kg, then the specialist prescribed heavy antidepressives and I gained 5kg in less then a month.
They tested me for almost everything: Chrone’s disease, gluten intolerance, all types of parasites, viruses, bacteria etc. All came back negative so they can’t explain my symptoms.
The reason I’m afraid it’s pancreatic cancer is that all my symptoms are pointing towards this and almost all other possible diseases are ruled out. I’ve read that it happens quite often that pancreatic cancer is missed on scans. Furthermore I’ve read that pancreatic metastasis to the liver are usually seen as multiple milimetric lesions and that it’s hard to differentiate from liver cysts due to necrosis inside of the lesions. Also my grandfather died of pancreatic cancer in his 50’s.
Does anyone of you have experience with missed pancreatic cancer? And is there any advise out there? Because all of the specialists I saw are not worries because of the negative scans and know the only thing they ask is if I take my anti depressives well enough..
Thank you for sharing your experiences x

Hey. Got two HUGE deals so need advice on Air Wattage comparing Samsung Jet 90 Complete (200aw) vs. Tineco ONE S15 (120aw)... replacing a dyson v10 (150aw).
Is AW suction measured the same across brands? Is 200aw truely stronger than a 120aw? Or, could motor utilization, design, etc etc all come into effect? For instance, HD TV contrast ratios are useless selling points as theres no industry standard and how tv utilize xyz tech differs.

Good morning from the UK.
Here's my story though I feel the first part may be irrelevant.
In August last year I woke up with a horrible pain in my chest, it was sharp and I ended up on Google and worried I was going to have a heart attack. Later that afternoon I felt like I was going to die, my entire body felt a rush of warmth, my vision blurred and I felt like my heart was going to stop so I called an ambulance. They said I was in SVT and decided to take me into hospital but after a normal blood result and 3 normal ECG's I was sent home, but they said they'd make a referral to cardiology for further checks.
In October I experienced a similar thing except I had left arm pain and again called for an ambulance. They too said I was in SVT, took me into hospital for bloods and ECG's but again, sent home.
A couple of days later I was shopping in my local supermarket when I felt like I was going to collapse, I was lightheaded and felt short of breath. A staff member called an ambulance and this time the paramedic said he noticed something on my ECG which annoyingly I couldn't remember what he said but be mentioned that his colleague had the same thing and ended up having an ablation and was all good. That scared me slightly but I thought at least I'd get some answers.
In November I recieved my cardiology appointment and they arranged for me to wear a 24h heart monitor. It showed some episodes of tachycardia including 7 beats at 3am when I was sleeping which hit 123bpm. They were unsure what that was about, but as it only lasted for 7 beats weren't too concerned. However for peace of mind they said they would refer me for an echocardiogram and another 24h monitor.
Anyway, as I said I feel that is all irrelevant (personally feel a lot of it was anxiety) to where I'm at now.
Late December I felt really unwell and went to my GP but they said it was most likely a viral thing and to see how I went. At the beginning of January I noticed my heart rate hit 166bpm by just walking up the stairs and I immediately called my GP as I still didn't feel any better.
After some tests I was diagnosed with pneumonia caused by the bacteria; staphylococcus aureus. I ended up taking 3 lots of antibiotics in order to get rid of it, but I noticed my heart rate would hit ridiculously high numbers doing the simplest of things since and it didn't ever do that prior, even when I went to hospital those 3 times.
It makes me scared that I'm just going to drop down dead at any point. The only time I feel safe is when I'm sat or lying down, but even then I sometimes will feel a bit dizzy, it's a very strange feeling. But it makes me afraid to do things that usually I wouldn't even need to think about like going to gigs, travelling alone on a bus etc.
I keep telling myself I'm not dead yet and it's been 6 months so there's hope I won't die, but it's always in the back of my mind.
Just walking at a slow pace it will hit between 135-150bpm. I had a small kick around with a football 2 weeks ago, and I mean literally WALKING with the ball and kicking it for around 5 minutes and it hit 174bpm. Then last night when brushing my teeth I felt like my heart was thumping and checked my watch and it was 159bpm.
A lot of the time I don't physically notice it, but when I check my watch I get a shock of how high it has gone and it honestly terrifies me.
I had an echocardiogram last week but that was to do with the hospital visits and not to do with the fast heart rates I've been experiencing since January. Though I did mention to the sonographer about how high my heartrate has been, in the hope she'd pass that on. Unsure when the results will come back or if POTS would even be visible on it, as I'm not sure that's not something they are necessarily looking into.
I'm a sucker for Google, mainly because I just want answers and I don't feel the doctor's take my concerns seriously, which is how I found out about POTS and discovered this subreddit.
Part of me is hoping it IS POTS as it seems the better option compared to some of the things I have come across, but I don't feel I necessarily fit the criteria. I can have 2 good days in a row where my heartrate will be what I consider normal (mainly if I don't leave the house) but then I can have a really bad day followed by one not quite so bad etc. I often don't notice my heart, occasionally will feel some chest discomfort and wouldn't stay shortness or breath, but I do feel like it's harder to breathe if that makes any sense?
Anyway, thank you if you've read this far. I appreciate I've written an entire essay and that was me trying to keep it short! 🙈

Can you boost your immune system and being more prone to viruses/bacteria and flu with subliminals? This week I was a bit exposed to coldness and in a day I got a sore throat and fever. And it's about the 5th time this year and I have a wedding today but I cannot go. I did blood test and regular check ups couple of times and everything was well in order (the last checkup I had last week).

I just visited and compared to ten years ago it's much improved to the point it exceeds hk in many aspects. I remember when I visited a while ago it was very rough around the edges, sketchy vibe, people staring at me etc. Nowadays its developed and even just walking around is a much more relaxing experience than being in hk.
Food: A substantial and tasty meal for 16 RMB where a similar dish in HK would cost triple the price and have smaller portion size. Not to mention it tastes really good too.
Transport: The subway in sz is just as clean, less crowded, and more pleasant to take. I also thought hkers thought themselves to be more 'civilised' but the mtr in hk is full of crowds, people pushing on, noise and yammering idiots. In contrast, sz metro was clean, quiet and a much more pleasant experience. Always got a seat.
Cleanliness: Streets were clean, wide and quiet. Almost similar to Tokyo in some aspects. Not many crowds. In contrast, HK streets are grimy and crowded. I also encountered more second had cigarette smoke in hk than shenzhen. Which I never thought I'd say.
Service standards: Better than hk, but that's not hard. I think it goes without saying. Why would anyone choose to stay in hk to eat mediocre and expensive food, poor service (with 10% service charge included thx), and do their grocery shopping at ove overpriced Park Slop/Wellcome cartel?
Also the bus I went on from hk to Lok Ma Chau was packed and couldn't even take people on at the stops along the way.

Here's a table to start.
Shield is one of the most powerful spells in the game with builds shaped around its access, so I put together this to visualize exactly what the influence of that is, plus various other fundamental defensive tools available to the different casters. Without multiclassing (or feats), there are clear lines drawn, with only the full arcane casters (who get no armor proficiencies) able to access all the powerful defensive level 1 spells. The primal casters are defensive all-rounders (medium and shield, but never heavy armor, plus absorb elements), and contrasted by the possibly slightly higher AC clerics and paladins who do not get elemental defenses.
Separated on the right are some lower impact things that tend to be easier to access and less defining, but still act as extras for multiclassing. The cantrips and lv1 spells are a bit abstracted and subjective; I cut Faerie Fire because it's a step behind but Entangle, Command and Dissonant Whispers might be closer to that than the rest of these, in identity if not power. Not a huge deal though. Cantrips are mostly just "do you get guidance". "Utility" and "Attacks" cover multiple good options in that category, like Minor Illusion and Mold Earth for utility, and Fire Bolt and Toll the Dead for attacks. Dex saves aren't notably worse than wis probably, so those could both be yellow, but I liked the tri-split when possible. None of these categories have a consistent level of power for each colored tier.
Note this doesn't compare the classes whole-sale, including how powerful they are on lower levels (Sleep ensures that low level sorcerer is definitely not bad, but doesn't play into how good it is as a dip). It is primarily to show fundamental access to defensive tools and the benefits you could get from multiclassing into it (underlined are classes which get subclasses at level 1 for even higher instant reward).
Explanations aside, I was surprised by how absolute the Shield vs armor proficiency access was! Hexblade and fighteartificer subclasses are AFAIK the only ways to combine Shield with a good base AC (which is where the +5 is more impactful). It gave me really good confidence in the treantmonk homebrew rule, where you can only cast a class spell if you're wearing armor you got from that class. Those limits would then be much stronger, and only the right-hand extras would remain as incentive to do these dips or feats like magic initiate. Maybe 3 levels outside your class is still too low a cost, I'm not sure. Hexblade as a level 1 subclass remains busted, but at least it's a sourcebook option and the OD&D making all subs lv3 alleviates it.
Any thoughts welcome. I did the table on a whim and thought I might as well post it here. Hopefully my thoughts are parsable and my ratings not too distractingly disagreeable!

My timeline- neck shingles- one week and still getting worse 40s
Sunday- sore neck
Monday- sore swollen gland on neck
Tuesday- 4 bumps develop in hair behind ear
Wednesday- red blotches on neck. Go to urgent doctor get vaclovir and panediene
Thursday- work taking lots of panediene for pain, end up exhausted and disoriented. Neck blotches blister. Ear starts to swell. More blotches appear
Friday- even more blisters, pain
Saturday- even more blisters and stabbing pain and numbness. Go to urgent doctor. Have secondary ear infection, prescribed antibiotics and amitripilene for nerve pain (it’s as bad as early labour)
Sunday- ear has a smelly gash from bacteria. Rash in more of hair and down back of neck. Less pain at least
I feel like my body is broken, a whole week and it’s raw and sore and I’m now taking so many medications. This is such a nasty virus

so i thought I had appendicitis cuz the pain was exactly on my right lower abdomen and i was feeling N* and shivering. I go to A&E becuz 111 doctor tells me to. so im waiting there and theres a bunch of people with buckets in front of them and being there stresses me out cuz what if they have a sb and i get it. anyway wait for 3 hours to be seen at this point my pain decreased but ive been waiting 3 hours and nobody tested my urine yet. then suddenly someone behind me v i dont turn around i am petrified i hear everything its awful. i wake my bf up say we need to leave but i cant turn my back to go to the help desk cuz i dont wanna see or walk close to V. so i start crying hyperventilating my bf talks to them they say to go to the nurse and gibe it. and my nurse was so full of hate she just sounded like she wanted to kill me. i tell her i need to leave asap i am crying i think she thought i was just being spoiled? anyway she says she can quickly test my pee and goes in a room then comes back after 4 seconds and says its clean and i leave. what im panicking abt: i got fp or sb sitting in the a&e and will be s later the nurse lied and didnt test my urine and i do have appendicitis and i will be S later because i was so petrified of v and am so sensitive about my health i went to a&e waited hours fucked up my and my bf s sleep right before exams and potentially exposed myself to new virus/bacteria sitting in the waiting room just because im aa lame ass coward i really hate myself rn and am feeling v paranoid

So it’s quite the well-known fact that of Willo’s talent: Blastflower, is Willo’s best talent, at least statistically it does well. I won’t say it’s not because it is just that much better than her other two talents. But there’s a huge “why?” to it. In general, the factors of why talents are good or bad when compared to one another come from three factors: Their actual upsides, their actual downsides, and how they make someone play.If anyone takes a look at most talents in the game you’ll notice that most don’t list a downside, the “downside” of taking Darkstalker is the fact he’s not using either of his other talents, that and my technicality certain cards don’t work the same as they would if they were on a chained Netherstep and so this example sucks and I didn’t want to change what I had written, but that’s not the point. All talents have this drawback- the fact they’re not other talents. Some talents in their upsides come up short of their peers. Sometimes they’re not even a problem and it’s that one talent overwhelms the others with its sheer power- I’m not saying Blastflower needs to be nerfed even if the bar graphs are showing that (though it should on principle), that’s not what I’m saying.
The final issue is the playstyle that is incentivized by both Nightshade and Scorn actively making them contrast with their intended and more effective playstyles, I should say that Nightshade is less egregious than Scorn thought it still has problems.
They yellow/gold represents a increase in a stat, The red represents a decrease the red spots represent a potential decrease. Top left is the default.

Nightshade

By increasing the damage Nightshade does you make it an easy-to-land damage tool, in the previous guide I mentioned that Nightshade doesn’t have falloff, and that makes it incredibly useful for helping new players land it, however, it also gives the impression that you should use deadzone for dueling, which you shouldn’t since you’re now no longer using it for Area Denial or Crowd Control, however, if you don’t use it to fight squishies and just use it as normal you end up risking the chance you effectively have a non-talent since unless you save it for only hitting targets you might end up never taking the shot at all, that mixed with Deadzones cooldown makes it incredibly hard to use effectively for a reward that’s more or less able to be caught up with via Blastflower, even with a specialized build for Nightshade, my best advice for when to use this (outside of never) is to use it on TDM where the lack of tanks and objective gives plenty of room to use this for deathmatching.A side note, Nightshade is considered ability damage which ignores AP and instead can only be stopped by flat DR or AW.
In conclusion, in the case of Nightshade, risks, by its incentivised damage amp rewarding using it for fighting targets rather than stopping healing, means it possibly loses out on the area denial, however, it still is capable of doing this job even if the reward of the talent may be lost, so the red isn’t a full stop, though the talent also risks not using the damage however, you will rarely not gain value from deadzone denying heal, and if you use it on a tank or a shield, that damage still exists so it won’t be losing out on its value since you still have use cases of Crowd Control, and Ensuring kills where you’d have used the ability in the same way regardless.

Blastflower

Willo’s meta talent, and by a large margin as it gives Willo the means to duel enemies more easily (without using deadzone to do so) gives her more damage against health pools and generally has no real downsides. It’s to the point it’s more or less self-explanatory but I shall elaborate regardless. Blastflower as a Talent works regardless of whatever else you have going on, by the nature of it being attached to her primary attack with no special gimmicks beyond just hitting the same person multiple times, this and its ability to consistently get this stacking damage even with splash damage (though increasing 125 damage by 90% still doesn’t kill anyone any time soon so still aim at target) means you can easily ramp up damage and land the absolutely lethal 900 damage, while normally these guides won’t be used for balance discussion I will say that they should reduce the max stacks by 1, capping Willo’s damage to 800, to allow for duels, and some tank shredding while at the same time not doing 900 goddamn damage. Since I genuinely believe any attempts at balancing Nightshade in its current state are hopeless and giving her scorched earth (perhaps at a weaker value or without the cooldown reduction to not entirely gut point tanks with a single ability no matter how little uptime it has) it’s hard to advise people about Blastflower beyond just hit your shots.

Scorn

Okay so while I personally never looked at Scorn beyond it being just a weirder weaker version of the already weak accelerant, it was Snake (the person who does my math for me and helped me make this guide via his time on Willo) who made me realize the problems with it. We’ll talk about the positives first, it’ll be quick.

1. It does over 3500 damage if all seedlings hit
2. It’s easier to use aggressively
3. They are considered ability damage like Nightshade so all the same benefits apply.

And we’re done, the issue with Scorn is that by the nature of seedlings, they’re inconsistent in where they land, and the possibility of them spreading too far out or being evaded (they are only reduced by 0.5 seconds means while they are easier to use aggressively they still aren’t doing anything for a decent while, and this means certain techniques that can be done with normal seedlings become much harder on Scorn. This and using them for area denial can end up being pointless since while they still last for 1.5 seconds they disappear sooner which means you can drop your shields sooner, and go on through sooner.They make area denial harder for the incentive of killing a default AFK Barik in 1.5 seconds, which anyone with a brain can easily mitigate the damage they take and make space, and even with decks that focus on spamming seedlings, shields easily eat up the damage they offer and without these builds you end up with a similar long cooldown issue that Nightshade faces without the use cases to use the cooldown on actually mattering since you’re throwing them in hoping for the best. Oh, and you feed Terminus’ siphon more than throwing normal seedlings at him already does which you know… they won’t complain about.
Tommorow I'll make a post about Willo's best and worst cards, and further elaborate on builds.