Hello All,
I'm going to try to explain my situation in a little bit of detail and try to get advice on how to complete my case. I hope if anything that this can help the next person figure out the proper path to go down.
In my military service as a 91B all-wheeled mechanic I completed a sleep study and was approved confirmed as having sleep apnea. Prior to my service I got excellent sleep but during my service I started to feel extreme lethargy. Multiple times I would fall asleep while driving (one time being during a convoy), I would have constant headaches, and many more of the symptoms from sleep apnea. Prior to service I was 220lbs but during the time-frame I was 185lbs with abs and in the best shape of my life. According to my service records I was obese which was the furthest from the truth. I was diagnosed with mild- sleep apnea during a sleep study with a VA referred institute.
Fast- forward to last year in June where I submitted a new claim that had a recent diagnosis of servere sleep apnea from the VA (with a CPAP prescription). I also submitted for retrocalcaneal bursitis for an injury I suffered in service. I did a C and P examination in November for both. The examiner was a traveling nurse that had no clue she was doing examinations that day (I'm not sure if this is relevant or not). It went by fast and she was kind.
Early January I got my decision letter for the retrocalcaneal bursitis and was approved for 10%. My sleep apnea portion was deffered because they needed more information from the examiner.
Around mid January I was denied for sleep apnea. One of the reasonings was that "There were no findings related to sleep apnea." See first photo attached of the denial. My VSO and I surmised that the cause of this denial was that they didn't receive my sleep apnea exam while in service. Also, they claimed I was obese during that time-frame.
I found the hospital I completed the original assessment in, obtained the assessment, found photos of myself from that time-frame disproving the obesity claims, and sent a personal statement in as a supplemental claim on January 31st.
After months of waiting from January 31st to this past Friday May 17th I finally got a response on my supplemental claim. See second attached photo of my most recent denial response.
My ultimate question is what's the next step? Is there anything else I should submit as another supplemental claim or do I have a case for a higher level review?
I hope I explained everything and would love some advice from anyone experienced in this. I appreciate the assistance so far.

TL;DR: Luigi and Saiko have the potential to be a pairing with fun contrasting personalities and character growth potential while working with what's there in canon already without much if any change.
Time for something a bit... different for this sub, at least from what I can tell. I only just joined yesterday thanks to Medi's recent video.
Before we begin, I want to start off by saying that this is in no way a "my ship is better than yours" post. You are all free to like what you want, all I'm doing is trying to spread love for a pairing I hold so dear, and why I wish more people knew what's special about it. In other words, don't take this the wrong way. With that out of the way...
Saiko Bichitaru is my favorite SMG4 character. It took a bit for me to appreciate her, but as a fan of the show since 2013, as her debut year of 2018 went by and she continued to develop into a core cast member, I thought that for a show like this it was a very well-executed character arc, with a pretty heartwarming conclusion to boot. In the years since, besides perhaps 2019 which I thought was pretty good for her character, she took a step back in favor of other characters getting the spotlight, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but part of me does wish they got to utilize certain dynamics with her more. Tari and Kaizo are obvious ones, but another obvious one that I think is largely unnoticed these days is her dynamic with Luigi.
Luigi is my other favorite character, for generally being likable while still being entertaining, but there are other, niche-er reasons too I will get into later. For now I will say that he has has a sort of "magic" about him, in that despite his cowardly exterior (occasionally gigachad moments aside, which are mainly done for comedy's sake) he has a big heart and tries to see the best in people. In SMG4, him becoming Saiko's friend during her darkest hour (heh) is one of the biggest examples of this. It started an unlikely friendship between a timid but kindly plumber and a tough and passionate rockstar, something that remains to this day, but mainly in background cameos. Despite this, I've noticed that the larger fanbase doesn't really acknowledge this much, likely to due A. the lack of major usage since 2020 and B. some fans weren't around when those videos were new. But that's why I'm here today: I am here to talk about what makes this dynamic work so well, but also that I legitimately think that while considering that, Luigi x Saiko is a pairing that can work extremely well given what's already there without much interference. Again, I'm not saying that it's "better" than other pairings involving one of these two, only that it's one of the more "realistic" pairings as a whole in my opinion. To start with, let's go over Saiko's character arc again.
PART 1: SAIKO
I don't want to turn this into a recap, so we'll go over her story briefly before getting into the parts involving the green Italian man. A fictional rockstar in a dating game from the band KS-2 brought in by Boopkins due to his loneliness, Saiko started off as an extremely clingy yandere, violently demanding attention from others if even a second was put away from her being the center of attention. After about six months of her being a villain, eventually she realized that she has a problem and became depressed over it, only fro a certain someone to come in and kickstart her redemption, slowly but surely becoming nicer and becoming friends with the SMG4 gang, notably Tari and Meggy.
I personally feel like a lot of Saiko's POV is understood if you saw certain videos happen as they aired, but it all started with Luigi's Lesson, where the usually cowardly Luigi learns about Saiko's problems and tries to help her become nicer. As you may know, he succeeded for the most part, with her doing a good deed by the end (saving Mario from choking on hot dogs), and she slowly became nicer over time. The thing is that Luigi was Saiko's first true friend, someone who saw her potential for being a good person before anyone else. In this case, I don't really count Boopkins since while he did care for her, after her debut he tried to stay away as much as he could and didn't really attempt to help her until after Luigi kickstarted that whole thing. Beyond that though, there were still moments throughout 2018 that showed Luigi being the one to help Saiko improve herself, the main one being a small moment in The Mario Cafe, but even Mario and the Diss Track had Luigi be the one to tell Saiko the truth about Bob in that arc.
All things considered, my personal interpretation is that Luigi saved Saiko's life. Without him being there for her, Saiko would've continued scared off people with her violent tendencies, and she never would've found the "attention" she desired so much via the SMG4 gang. And it all started because some easily-scared plumber saw something more in someone even he was previously scared of. Speaking of which, let's talk about him.
PART 2: LUIGI
To start with, I wanted to mention that Luigi is bisexual, not homosexual. "Gay" can be used as an umbrella term for anyone in the LGBT+ community, and Luigi has shown attraction for both men and women throughout the series, with a lean towards men mainly for comedy purposes. The 2015 episode Love for Luigi is a very notable example of this, where Luigi falls in love with Daisy and tries to win over her heart, and he succeeds by the end... but did he really? Much like several other aspects of the series, this is something only really brought up when it's convenient (like the 2016 episode Boo Busters) but otherwise Luigi is portrayed as single. Since we live in an era where they care about canon a little more, I think the only plausible explanation for this is that they broke up.
While I imagine that Luigi is fine with this these days, to get into headcanon territory a little, perhaps Luigi still feels lonely to this day. I mean, he still shows attraction to people, even showing interest in romance (such as this one clip from a Mario Does Things video from a couple of years back called "luigi tries to get with the ladies" on the Shorts channel), so there probably has to be some level of desire for it internally. Maybe he feels lonely, which is why he could relate to Saiko's struggles at first. But that's enough about headcanons for now.
Another thing about Saiko is that she just fits Luigi's taste in general. Luigi is with Daisy in Nintendo canon, and she's a strong gal with a lotta passion for what she cares about. While Luigi is plenty capable himself, in SMG4 he still shows signs of timidness and cowardice every once in a while, and of course he tends to be the butt of many jokes that he can't do anything about. From a comedy perspective that's fine, but from Luigi's POV, considering the several other responsibilities he has, the dude is tired. Someone strong and passionate like Saiko has the potential to teach him about confidence and standing up for himself in return for him teaching her about kindness and being rewarded for it. Long story short, being with Saiko not only fits Luigi's own tastes in partners, but Saiko in particular could do something that helps him better himself. In turn...
PART 3: LUIGI & SAIKO
Everything discussed leads to a relationship between two contrasting personalities with their own problems, and getting together leads to both of them becoming happier in the process. And hey, who doesn't like a ship with contrasting personalities? The thing about LxS though is that the seeds were already planted in the show itself to build off from, with the setup given in Luigi's Lesson potentially giving us just that. As for their dynamic, the times they do show up together, as I said before, consistently have them friendly without any real holes or inconsistencies. A large part of that is due to their underusage together, but even in recent episodes, we have moments such as the 2022 Christmas episode where they were cooking dinner together, or a more recent episode that shows them together at SMG3's coffee shop.
One final major point though is that I think Luigi and Saiko being a couple could bring things full circle. Saiko, a woman looking for love and improves herself thanks to a certain person starting it all.... only for said person to fall for the woman that Saiko became, and in turn Saiko falls for Luigi for being the one who started her new life and for being a kindhearted person who understands her the most, next to Tari mainly shown in the KS-2 mini-arc from 2022. In other words, the person Saiko was really looking for was the person in-front of her the whole time. If you ask me, that's a pretty fitting note to "conclusively" end Saiko's original character arc, even if it already ended around 2019.
As a side note, Luigi and Saiko have potential to be really good parents, but with the "gender roles" switched, which is always fun. Luigi is timid, caring, and tidy, while Saiko is also caring, but also passionate, tough, and cares for her friend's well-beings, both like a mom and a dad respectively. It also has a lot of comedy potential as you have the two of them learning the ropes of parenthood, and it could lead to more interactions with other characters, mainly Karen (in which Luigi already gave advice to on parenting one time, showing that he already has the ropes to a degree).
CONCLUSION
Overall, Luigi and Saiko have a lot of potential for not only their dynamic, but also the idea of them becoming a couple. I wish more people knew about this since I feel that LxS is largely seen as "MxM's Player 2" given how you only really see MxM fans mention the pairing. That isn't a bad thing at all, I myself like that pairing, but I do wish that the pairing had a little more of a fanbase of its own. But hey, that's part of why I'm talking about this now. The good news though is that there has been something of a small resurgence of the pairing already despite the fact of content, mainly through the existence of RockRage8962's fankid characters Angelo and Rin, who were made into Gmod characters by Duz/Glithware and AnEyeArtist.
Despite this, I do wish that more people understood why this pairing is special, and I hope with this essay, more people can do so. You can still like whatever pairings you like, but whether this convinces you on the ship's idea or not, I hope you at least gain a little more respect towards it. If anyone has any questions or want me to elaborate on something, let me know and I'll likely respond, but if you made it this far, thanks for reading!
BONUS: A playlist of videos containing at least one Luigi and Saiko moment, from 2018 to 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDYLLnT8V-AT9AUb28cpE87_-a4CMbEed

I used to watch a lot of Klopp's press conferences, and from time to time, he'd say something insightful. Even though it's in the context of talking about football, they're nice lessons for life in general. I hope this isn't strange. Here's some:
"for me the only way I understand, the only way i can do it, is I have no idea what is in may, april, february, january. I have no idea, but I know that we play watford tomorrow. That's enough as a problem"
"I don't tell them (players) everything I know, I only tell them what they should know, to not overwhelm them and keep them effective"
"If my team wins, it is on them, and if we lose, it is on me."
"a game is a summary of momentum. When you have it, you have to use it effectively"
"for a really good game, you have to gain this really good feeling, step by step by step, and we never had that in the first half. It never felt really right for us. If we scored a goal to draw in the second half, it wouldn't have made the first half better, it would've just made the result better."
"We created a lot of chances, didn't score with them, now we have to create more and use them. When you don't score, it always has this impact... your mood drops, instead of going: who cares? A missed chance is just information, nothing else, but we don't do that well in the moment"
"there's no system in the world which is perfect, which means you can use these kind of things"
“We believe he has everything needed to fit into our way and adapt to the Premier League, both physically and mentally. He is a player who is hungry for success and knows you have to fight to get what you want. He is a fighter, no doubt. He’s a skillful team player who has always the goal in mind." on signing luis diaz
"The disruption I udnerstand. I think a lot of people on the outside who are not with us will be happy blah blah, it's your job to ask uncomfortable questions... The distraction comes from outside, but to get distracted, you always need two parts: the one who's distracting and the one who let it happen, and we will not let it happen."
"what did I tell him that he did what he did?" on taking responsibility for a player's performance
"you get the results, not the process. Don't forget" to journalist asking about transfer bids
"In the end, of course you wanna win a game, but it's all about the performance. Usually the mother of all results is the performance. If we're 1 nil down, let's win the second half, then we get a point, then we can try to win the game. But the good things we have to keep doing"
"We won the Champions League the next year, going again. We don’t win the league by a point, but win it the year after. So this period is a complete comeback, which is insane. We could have given up but it is just not in my DNA. I suffer like crazy after these things, just not for long. It’s how I said after the last Champions League final we lost. I decided before that, if it doesn’t happen, I will not waste a lifetime on suffering. I can’t do that any more."
Bonus (Mané about Klopp):
"He was talking too much and I said, 'Wow, this is going to be tough for me because I'm a little quiet.' Everybody loves him and that is more important, to be honest. He is a bit of a funny guy but at the same time he is a serious guy. Usually when I am talking to him off the pitch it is about personal things. Things about lifestyle and life - and that is important to me. I think I have somebody I can confide in."

I just want to get this out.

I'm going on my third year at this job. This girl joined about 1,5 years ago, she has 3 kids with a guy there who's been working there for 13 years. One of the people who has been working there the longest. Bosses respect him. And to be quite frank, even though I rarely see him, I always had a good relationship with him. Shake hands. I find him to be alright. But I don't know much..
From what I gathered, she's only with him because they have 3 kids. I don't see any sort of love between them. From what I have gathered he has cheated on her, or at the very least, has tried to see other girls, which teared her self esteem up and became a very frustrated person.
When I first started talking to her I would tell her that her boyfriend's the guy who should be promoted because he would do a greater job than most. Always complimented him. She'd agree. Until, fast forward, she wasn't so nice about him anymore.
Me and the girl started talking too much. I guess I became her go to, and made her feel very good. I always kept distance when it came to showing love interest, I always kept a step back. But my toxic, idiot side kinda wanted her to like me like that. Why? Idk. Self esteem. I actually had fun talking to her tbh. We had an actual lot in common. We hung out somewhere special once and it was a dinner with other friends. I saw it as just fun.
She lived near me and we started going home from work in the same car. Fast forward, maybe a month later, she decided she wanted to talk to me privately, and as I guessed, she went ahead and kissed me. After that, It became more sexual and she started going down on me. My behavior is so immature, I would be lying if I said I wouldn't have kept that up.
We kept talking and talking, but the reality is i couldn't find myself to have genuine love for her. I don't like her like that. Although I do care for her. Feel good when she's around, but it's the same feelings you have when you care for a real friend.
She would do everything for me. Gave me expensive shoes (110€) because she heard me speak about adidas shoes at that same dinner. She brought me other sht. Bruh she brought a rabbit and named it after a nickname she gave me.
I don't love her. I accepted that this was enough, so I decided to tell her straight. She didn't believe me. So she kept finding ways to get back to me. Like skipping work, or work in a different position or schedule so I wouldn't see her, just different ways to get my attention. I would fall for that everytime. Because the sobbing and tears didn't help. She even came to my house unannounced and wouldn't leave until I came out and talked to her. She said something about not feeling good. I felt afraid she'd do something stupid to herself or pass out from some illness she has. So I came out. Spoke to her, and gave out, we became good again, telling her I only saw her as a friend, but if she wants benefits too, sure. Again, me messing it up with selfishness again because I always knew she was hopeful for more.
Recently, i decided to once again see if I can separate myself from her. I told her I wanted distance and I got that. She gave me that, while always hoping I'd track back. When she's around bruh just knowing she's looking at me it makes me laugh. And she takes it as "he's playing hard to get but he's nervous and wants me", lol, no i just can't contain myself.
But I've managed to be avoiding that.
She wants my attention back everytime she sees me, but I haven't aknowledged.
Before the very last time I spoke to her, she told my friend that she was taking meds and hasn't slept because of me. After that, that same day while going home, she drove by me and got out, i told her to her face that I only saw her as a coworker and to keep distance.
In response, she stepped away from me at work. Unfollowed me on all social medias. And hopefully it stays this way.
After some time she told my friend that she was going to leave work. He told me this and the first thing I said was: "nah bro. She said this because she knows you'd tell me, and so I would reach out to her". And guess what, I was right. She went on her work vacation without telling anyone, and was furious I didn't reach out to her. I haven't fell for these sort of manipulations anymore. I have not texted. To this day, after a couple months, we haven't spoken.
Her boyfriend knew about all this I'm sure, but let it go. And is cool to me still. I'm not sure how love works in their house, but if there was no relationship, she wouldn't hide. So, she cheated with me, clearly.
My friend said that in every break up, one person always gets seriously more hurt. And I should accept this. And move forward. He also knows that she's very problematic and has been in situations where she's wrong but makes a scene to her bosses to make it seem she's in the right. Therefore that I need to be careful she doesn't start drama with me as revenge.
It is crazy that I have put myself in this situation. But my only solution is to keep this up, right? Simply not aknowledge her existence. I don't see any other way.
Tl:dr - Met this girl at work who is in a long relationship. She fell and obsessed over me. Now I can't get rid of her.I (28M) met this girl (34F) who isn't single and has kids, and messed up

I 20 questioning, have had problems with gender since i can remember. i live in a small town in alberta, extremely conservative city, family, and environment. i came out as lesbian at a very young age, maybe 12? very shortly after is when my gender dysphoria had begun. i had thought a lot about my childhood and how i had acted, my interests, the way i would dress. even when i was so so tiny it was always hot wheels. spider man and toys intended for little boys. the movies and shows i liked. even my friends had always been boys. my entire life i was very uncomfortable with my body and not only others perceiving it, but myself as well. i would wear hoodies throughout all of elementary and middle school in the blazing heat because of how i felt in my body. to this day i refuse to wear shorts or skinny jeans. i have gotten better with wearing shirts but i feel the most comfortable is men’s large shirts, despite my build being quite petite. i had came out as trans when i was 13, i had asked to be called a new name and to be referred to with he/him pronouns. i kept it a secret from my family due to fear of a bad outcome or to a bad reaction. i had made a post eventually on my instagram stating i am trans and that i wished for everyone to use the terms i’m comfortable with. it had gotten to my parents and immediately things went south. i had been told to delete the post, i wasn’t allowed out of the house, allowed to go to school, see my friends and had all my electronics taken away. they scolded me and told me it was a phase, that is was not the truth, and told me i will regret telling people this. they were angry and they had told me i am a disappointment. after a few months it had all slowly been forgotten. everyone went back to referring to me as she her, my birth name and i had began building a relationship with both my parents again. still being uncomfortable with my body and who i was, i had done what i could to try and force these feelings away. when i had my first girlfriend, before we started dating she had been my bestfriend for years, she had always told me she was straight despite my attempts at starting something more than friends. one thing lead to the next and we did end up together. it was extremely toxic, she had cheated on me with boys, many many many boys. it sent me back into this mindset that i was disgusting for being who i was. i felt extremely envious towards the boys she had liked, “why not me” was always the thought. and it had always went back to because i’m not a boy. why cant i be a boy. i wish i was a boy. we ended things and it continued to my next relationship. through both relationships i had many sexual problems. i hated being touched, i hated being seen. i had to top always and using a strap felt so euphoric. through the years i had always felt not okay with my gender. fast forward to 19 i am about to move in with my 3rd girlfriend. we had been talking for years, i love her so much. we were having some issues very early on in the relationship, she began having feelings for a coworker, a trans man. it broke my heart and it felt worse than when my previous gfs have had feelings for cis men. i was so jealous. and a lot of it had to do with the fact he is trans. i no longer hold resentment towards her, it was a long time ago and we have resolved our past issues, now better than ever. but there are still times i think about him. how i wish i could be like him. i have recently cut my hair, a lot. and it feels so so good because i was never able to when i had lived with my parents. i have been researching a lot about testosterone, and surgeries i could get. i have came to the conclusion that i am going to be talking to my doctor about hrt. i believe i am trans masc. i’ve always been very masculine, but i don’t know if i’m a trans man? i very much could be but i have a lot of past trauma that may cloud my judgement, and i am dealing with some denial. i haven’t told my girlfriend yet and i am nervous to, she is so accepting and i know how much she loves me. it’s just nerve racking. i’m nervous about starting t and having physical changes because i see my family pretty often. although i want those physical changes so bad, i’m worried at putting my relationship with them at risk again. i am on cipralex (lexapro) so i’m not sure if t will interact with that. and i don’t know much about the side effects, such as nausea or headaches or anything. i’m worried a lot about how i will be perceived by my friends (a lot of them being the same friends i had when i had came out as trans the first time), perceived by strangers or people i know. i’m thinking about either gel or shots, but i don’t know a lot about pricing either. i’m not sure what is and isn’t covered by healthcare and i’m not sure the steps i have to take to begin hrt. i know this was a lot, i’m just looking for some advice and help with everything i’ve talked about.

Obviously there's always a ton of questions regarding how to become a catdet, what it means to be one, and so on...
Well, here's the chance for the Jupiter Community and also whoever is keen to be part of the Jupiter community to join in and co-construct this notion of Catdets together. Get in at ground-zero...
*
Last week we hosted our first Catdet Townhall in the Discord, right after the weekly Jupiter Ecosystem call.
It was a great turn out and huge love and thanks to all those who joined us for the discussion. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The community chatted about the sort of rules, guidelines and ethos that Catdets should abide by, and the ideas were co-contributed into the a public collaborative sticky notes tool (Padlet)
https://padlet.com/ccusic/catdet-brainstorm-board-16v90dxm2fzmg45v This is a live, public document. Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas to it!
This effort is really really important for the Catdet Work Group because it is the first step in the process of listening closely and working with the community to co-create. Together we will craft a concept and vision of what being a Catdet mean. A strong Catdet core and culture will serve to accelerate Jupiter’s mission to bring the decentralisation meta to the world.
We will continue this iterative process next week, on Tuesday 9am EST with a public co-working session in the Jupiter Discord, where we will go over the ideas in the Padlet and distil them into the first draft working document.
Look forward to seeing the community join us in this! LFGrow!!!!!
Here’s the link to the Discord event: Discord and Twitter post: https://x.com/JUPCatdets/status/1792321926096187404

It was a normal day playing random rec. I load into a game on my honorable 7 ft glass cleaning 3-level threat. Check my matchup. Another scummy purple plate 6'8 center with 91 steal. "No big deal, I can dominate him in the paint" I tell myself, like an idiot. My 4 proceeds to spend the entire game in the paint trying to post up like Hakeem, but he only knows how to drop step.
Our 4 actually scores the first possession, so naturally the floor spacing slashers at the 2 and 3 think he's the answer and keep feeding him inside. His bag only consists of drop steps and behind the back passes though, and he racks up bricks and turnovers.
I'm forced to guard the bastard purple 6'8 on the perimeter, he only takes open shots and makes smart passes. Luckily for me, he gambles too much for steals, but somehow I only get hit twice for the open 3 in the entire first half.
At half time, I'm 10-7-4 with 2 blocks on 100% shooting. Our PG has a pretty nice line as well. The 2-way floor spacing slasher at the 2 is 0/5 though, and getting cooked for 25 by his drippy-faced matchup, who gets player of the half. We're down 12 and I feel a sense of dread.
Early in the 3rd quarter is when the miracles arrives. The 2 and 3 leave, and their AI's are actually good. PG realizes the steal hungry 6'8 people scumbag at the 5 isn't respecting my jumpshot and hits me for a series of open jumpshots. PF slows us down a bit by demanding the ball from the AI's for more of his terrible post-ups, but even he seems to want the win more than his Stateline as he stops in the 4th.
We complete the comeback to racious applause from the fake crowd crowd in the rec and I finally progress my build to brown.

Hi everyone, apologies for the long story. I've had flat feet for as long as I can remember. I pronate, likely excessively and it never bothered me much until my 30s (I'm 33). Due to other more serious hip injuries I didn't care much and prioritized fixing my hips. Had a hip surgery about 1.5 years ago which required crutches for 6 weeks. After returning to weightbearing, I very quickly developed bad tarsal tunnel syndrome and likely PTTD in my right foot. I had general pain 24/7 from the tarsal tunnel syndrome with inner ankle pain when weightbearing.
Made the switch to minimalist shoes about a year ago. Saw a foot PT, and Podiatrist at the same time. Both said my right foot was extremely dysfunctional, and the ankle was completely collapsing through my gait cycle. I was told I have forefoot varus causing the overpronation. Podiatrist told me I need orthotics for life and should never walk barefoot again. I couldn't accept that, so I went slow, ramped up my walking combined with PTTD targeted exercises (single leg calf raises, tib raises, short foot, single leg hopping, ankle inversion etc.). The tarsal tunnel syndrome and ankle pain persisted, but lessened over 9 months. It seemed like the more walking I did in minimalist shoes, the better my foot and ankle felt. The minimalist walking was a go-to pain reliever for me, which was odd but I didn't complain.
For the last 3 months, my foot has been completely symptom and pain free. I've been averaging at least 8-10k steps a day for over 6 months now, and I've been exclusively in minimalist shoes for longer. I've been going on very short runs as well (~2km) for a few months, and honestly have felt more limited by my rehabbing hips than my feet. I have been ecstatic and honestly never thought I'd be pain free after the horrid case of tarsal tunnel syndrome I had and what I was told by "experts". I still pronate a lot, but it is definitely less than a year ago, and my arches are more pronounced, though still pretty flat.
All of a sudden maybe 2 weeks ago, I noticed inner ankle soreness after a short run on both feet, right foot being much much worse, with pain along the medial arch and a bit on the top of the ankle. Since then, it has not improved after a short period of rest. I've very recently reintroduced my PTTD exercises as well, but they are actually painful to perform versus bringing relief like before. Walking longer than 10 minutes results in pretty intense ankle and medial arch pain. My daily steps have decreased significantly, and running is out of the question. Even just standing barefoot for longer than a few minutes brings on the pain. I'm confused at how it has gotten this bad so fast.
I am doubting that this is just a flare up and honestly debating getting orthotics to settle things down, or maybe just to accept this might be how it was always going to go. I'm just finding it hard to believe the current reality given all the pain I already endured in the last year and a half and recovering to a point of being completely pain free for months. Any stories or advice anyone can offer?

So my ex and I were together for 2 years and everything was great. From the beginning we were almost everyday together and last year we even sort of lived together in his student room. He is a lovely boy who is always positive, brings a light into the room and made me feel the luckiest girl in the world. I had some bad relationships in the past and he was finally the one who loved me and cared for me in a way I would never imagine.
We both were students when we met and lived the typical student life: partying, drinking, going on vacation, etc. I graduated last June and had a job by the end of September. In the summer vacation we both went on a road trip together for 2 weeks and it was amazing. From the moment I started working, the relationship was not so exciting anymore: I came home, cooked dinner, ate together, we watch tv together or he is gaming with the boys and I’m doing my thing and then we went to sleep. My routine after work was boring if I look back at it, but it was new for me too. In the meantime we did some fun things, but not so often like we used to. I was into the adult life and even considered by moving in together and that kinda stuff.
Everything was fine and even the living together stuff was all fine by him too. We never argued (maybe 2-3 times in 2 years) and he always said “yes” or “fine by me” on everything, even if I asked his opinion 10x. So I thought we were still good. Until a couple weeks ago I came home from work and I noticed there was something wrong. I asked him a couple times and finally he said, out of the blue, that he had doubts about our relationship. I freaked out and cried so we couldn’t talk properly. He went home to his parents and the next day he came back to talk. He said he still wanted to be with me but some things had to change, for example my temper (I have a high temper and can get mad for the smallest and dumbest reasons and lately it did occur often that I got mad really fast). I said that I will work on it because it was true, it gotten worse and it wasn’t pleasant for the both of us, but he had to work on his communication as well. His doubts came for me out of nowhere because he never communicated with me about things that bothered him.
Our relationship went forward and I worked on myself and so did he. I thought it went good until 2 weeks laters the same conversation came up. He said he still have doubts about the relationship. I asked him why and what he wanted to do about it to fix it but everytime I got the answer “I don’t know”. So I suggested that we move on like we did but saw eachother less (like leave 2-3 days in between). So, then we did that because he agreed with the options I gave him to try and work things out.
Again everything went well. Couple weeks ago he was in his student room and I was at home by my parents. I noticed he wasn’t online on any social media and haven’t send me a message in 2 hours or so. Because of my past I panicked and spammed him with messages and phone calls asking what he is doing and where he is. I did this a couple of times and he got mad for my behaviour. After that, I came back to reality and realised that my behaviour is not healthy and apologised. He eventually calmed down too and said it’s okay and I love you. Later that week, we met up and he said “I think we shouldn’t see eachother for a time” and I broke down. The next day he deleted all my pictures on Instagram and removed me from the family groupchat so I was confused because this seems like a breakup instead of a break/pause. He came over and would only say “I made the decision so I stand by it”. So it was done.
Couple days later I went to his student room, where we ‘lived together’ to get my stuff. I made him a long letter which I read for him to say thankyou. After that he comforted me and we cuddled really long. We constantly kept eye contact and he admitted that he still loves me, felt butterflies in his stomach, felt happy, etc. I felt that he really had a hard time of keeping his hands of me and letting me go. At the end, we gave eachother a big goodbye kiss and it was magical. Despite all that, he still says he couldn’t be with me. He also said “maybe in the future” and “not right know” and that kinda stuff. I suggested that we go no contact for 2-3 weeks and then meet up again to see if his feelings have changed.
It’s been 2 weeks and he asked to meet up this tuesday. I want to feel hopeful, but in the meantime he deleted me on Snapchat last tuesday and unfollowed me on Instagram the same evening he asked me to meet up, which was last friday.
I have the feeling he is running away from his true feelings and is scared to get back because he thinks things will get better for 2 weeks and then the same conversation will end up. I am convinced we needed this because now I can truly see what behaviour from me is wrong and I need to get help to fix that for me. I already took the step to go to a psychologist. But he is stubborn and is convinced that it won’t work anymore.
I don’t know what else to do or say to him to get him back. I really love him and he is the man I see a future with. He does get the best out of me and supports me in things to make myself happy. I really think that if we gave this another chance it can work and we can get better out of this if we both work on our communication. How can I convince him that it can work between us and he doesn’t have to run away from his feelings? What do I do or say to him this tuesday? Is there a chance for us? I want my sweet boy back…

First off, feel free to comment about your own experiences. I would love it if anybody can relate. I'm also open to questions, advice, whatever you wanna write. This is gonna be a bit longer, just fyi. Excuse lack of proper chronological order and maybe some wonky sentences, English isn't my first language.
I was parentified.
For context, my mother has three children, I'm the youngest one, then there's my older half-brother (30) and my older half-sister (36). Their father was a violent alcoholic with schizophrenic tendencies (official diagnosis), luckily I never met him. I refer to them as brother and sister. I'm 21 now. I'm the only child of my mom and my dad, my dad has three other kids who are in the same age group as my maternal siblings. Lots of history with divorces and family fights, I'm the center of a complete patchwork family, everybody moved towns a lot, it's all a bit messy and disorganized.
My mother has severe borderline disorder and has massive trauma from several age stages, especially involving men. She was heavily parentified and yet socially cast out by her family herself. I don't remember a time where I didn't act like her father, emotionally. This is made worse by the fact that I'm trans so I was like her bestie before I began socially transitioning in my early teen years. Of course, this was a massive issue for her. She told me she had only ever wanted daughters. Materially she was taking care of things until I was about 11 - walked me to school and took care of the household, used to work, everything.
I remember sitting next to her during a talk/fight she had with my dad while she was sobbing, I can't have been older than 3 or 4. They got divorced around that time. As I grew older, I came to be my mom's sole emotional support person. We had moved to an isolated village with my step-father and she developed a severe agoraphobia for some time. My step-father avoided all emotionality with both her and me and therefore I was now her only friend. I overheard conversations that she shouldn't be having with her child next door and was told about her most severe fears and traumas from a young age. I was lashed out at on a near daily basis and punishment came unexpectedly. It would consist of being screamed at for minutes on end until I would cry and hyperventilate, but she wouldn't stop then.
In spite of her idea of punishment and raising children, she was incredibly attached to me, still is. This would include massive anxiety fits when she didn't know where I was or when I was getting into activities she didn't approve of. One time, when I was about 17, I went to a party in my friend's basement. She knew about this and approved it, knew my friends and where they lived. I didn't have any signal in that basenent so she couldn't reach me. She proceeded to look up my other friends' parents' phone number and call them to contact me. There was nothing she wanted except to know that I had arrived there.
Whereas my other siblings had long left the household years apart from eachother, both with specific and complex fights and banging doors and screaming fits, I was, as the youngest child, turned into a confessional and a therapist. I would mediate fights from a young age. I witnessed physical violence between my brother, my mother and my sister. My brother was the perpetrator for the most part (however, I was neither hurt nor threatened myself). Nobody proceeded to remove me from the situation or stop me from getting involved. From then on, every fight and every drama caused me intense bouts of anxiety and it, to this day, remains to be the only thing that makes me cry and/or lash out.
In a household full of anger, my anger was not tolerated. I was raised with some old-timey sort of black paedagogy (I'm German so it is something of a generational curse for some): I was to have unwavering respect for my parents, I was expected to be obedient, "let him cry it out" type stuff. At least when I was a younger child. When I got older, my emotions did not matter either. After stressful situations or fights that I proceeded to witness for most of my life, nobody ever asked me how I felt or explained to me what had actually gone down. I was left alone while not being left alone at all.
If I failed to provide emotional security for my mother or even attempted to call her out, I was made to feel immensely guilty. This could range from her crying/yelling things like "Why is it always me that must suffer" to guilt-tripping texts and blocking my contact for a while to very action-based suicide threats, depending on the situation. Her emotions were forced to be my emotions if I wanted to "stay alive".
At the same time, I still proceeded to excel in school. I felt like dying but nobody, and I tell you, nobody, noticed. I was a teacher's pet, I still had some loose friendships, I visited my dad once a month or more ever since my parents divorced. Nobody realized what I felt. I felt alone and had the worst depressive episode of my life when I was 13. I neglected personal hygiene. I never opened up to my father for many years. To this day I think he doesn't know everything. Especially during covid, him and my ex-stepmother were my safe space. When I first opened up to them, they welcomed me with open arms, my father was very strict and cold when I was young, but he softened, changed, and is everything and more I could ask for in a father. He is among the most positive examples of masculinity and especially of fatherhood that I know in my circles. He sends me postcards several times a month, wants me to visit, hugs me and tells me he loves me and that he's proud, gives me space. The dad who remembers the names of our childhood stuffed animals. Literally. I love him to death. He was also the only parent who engaged in activities with me and would play with me, later on take me to the movies, go to bars and restaurants, go to museums with me etc.
My mother got worse both psychologically and physically, she is chronically ill and needs immense support in a lot of things now. For about a year, my stepfather worked in a town far away and only came home during the weekends. This was during covid. Within a year, I developed a hatred so deep for my mother that I had thoughts that scared me. I took care of our pets and the household, was not allowed to get into any activities after school other than coming home and spent hours after my day listening to her rants, anxieties, fears. I get hateful goosebumps when I remember the way she used to call my name when she wanted me to do something for her. Sometimes she would make me stay awake for longer, knowing that I had to get up at 6am again. It was usually already around 12 at night. She wanted me to walk the dog before SHE went to bed because otherwise it would ruin her otherwise horribly insomniac circadian rhythm. Therefore I was not allowed to go to sleep. At that point she had not worked for more than 6 years and stayed home all the time. My stepfather and I did grocery shopping. She rarely ever leaves the house if she can avoid it. This was during the German version of my GCSE's.
I was denied medical care that could have potentially fixed my posture issues and other orthopedic issues. My mother deemed physiotherapy as inefficient and got mad when I asked her about it again. Money was always an issue. We were evicted once. I was denied certain things and never asked for extra cash because we ran low on money, my stepfather was blamed for smoking and consuming a lot of meat (which indeed is pricy), but my mother never reflected on her online shopping addiction and I'm aware that she is in an ongoing debt. Has been for years now.
Things got a bit better when my stepfather moved back and Covid cleared up somewhat. Regardless, I used pure spite to continue studying hard while they were yelling at eachother from the top of their lungs for hours on end and did the best I could to get the hell out of there. I've had therapy with several years' of breaks for a total of nearly 3 years now, that I partially applied for myself and I'm working on tackling everything. I live in a different city, studying subjects that I love. I get all my shit done, for the most part, I know how to do paperwork and know how all of the chores work. I can regulate myself in terms of sleep and food and cheap thrills. I have a (milder) case of anxiety. I keep meaningful friendships in which I find myself capable of avoiding all the harmful behaviors and attitudes I was taught. I'm learning to stand my ground and take responsibility for my own decisions and actions.
When I establish my boundaries with her now, she turns into some sort of anxious-attached mess. She over-apologizes to me. She puts me on a pedestal and I'm living a life that she is jealous of. She is intensely attached to me and considers me her favorite child and also hasn't properly gotten over my father, over 15 years of them being divorced. She will do anything to support me materially and then tear me down emotionally. Everything I tell her is followed by her mourning the life she doesn't have and never had instead of properly celebrating with me. She gets noticeably sad when I refuse to give her my full attention, she yearns for what she considered a deep and important relationship to me. But it was all just emotional neglect and emotional abuse. Now I sometimes can't help but meet her with the same attitude she gave me.
This is not perfectly chronological and all over the place. I have complicated relationships with my siblings and other relatives, which I don't mourn, but feel guilty about. My father and I are very good with eachother although I need to confront him about some things as well. With my mother I do the bare minimum to avoid conflict, yet without throwing my sense of self out of the window again. She is the only human who can easily cause anxiety attacks in me, no matter where or when. I sometimes wish I was not in contact with her. I have a tendency for smoking too much weed and being just a bit too careless with other drugs (although I rarely do those in comparison), but I also try and regulate this heavily (e.g. not finding a dealer but asking friends every once in a while etcetc). I think this stems from these experiences. Apart from that, I think I'm coping very well.
To everybody: it does get better. It does. Even when your emotions are a rollercoaster sometimes. You will be in a different place, maybe you already are, and you'll escape from these structures. I think the hardest pill for me to swallow is that I create my own reality and that nobody will give me my stolen childhood back. I am an (albeit young) adult now and I must do everything I can to avoid becoming like her. Her life is not a life I want to lead. There's hope and you won't always be in this place.

I’ve written to you a million times. In letters, poems, prose, and art. I’ve built temples and stars, worlds and universes with words that you’ll never hear, read, or believe.
I tried so hard to not love you, and yet I did. I moved past you, but your memory just walked by me, step by step. And I remember a kind woman. I remember being loved by her. I remember feeling like starlight with her. But she isn’t you. No. You’re something else now. Someone else now. You wake with other people, you don’t think about the past and possibilities of the future.
You don’t hurt like I do, and I don’t think you ever will. I wouldn’t want you to. You would think I would’ve learned by now. To not… hope for more. For your return. For who you were. But I think I’ve always known who you are. I had my turn. My chance. My love. My time. I just wish it wasn’t so.
Standing on deck, I wait for a woman who I lost long ago, and just because you look like her, speak like her, and smile like her, doesn’t mean you are. Now I look for a woman who will love me like she did. I think the distinction is important.
Whoever she will be, I will love her more than I have loved before because she can see who I am, and all this hurt that I’ve been through, and love that about me. Love how I wear it, how I smile through it, and how I love past it.
Je t’aime Elle. Bon voyage.
Time to find port.
Farewell,
Captain Keeper

Someone posted this on Reddit as a response to a person who was struggling. I liked it a lot and I tried to google it but I wasn’t able to find anything, google just spammed me with mental health resources bc of the quotes context.
“So, you’re experiencing a crisis. I understand. I’ve been there, many times. And I want you to understand no matter how dire the situation may seem, no matter how slim the odds, there is hope. There is a way through this. But, I also won’t lie to you. If you genuinely want out, you’re going to have to fight your way out. The hard truth is that in all likelihood, no one is coming to save you. So, if you won’t work the problem, no one will. It’s important therefore that you approach this crisis with the proper mindset. A mindset of acceptance. You’re here. The problem is real. It’s happening to you, right now and it’s not going away. You don’t have to like it or pretend that it doesn’t upset you, but you must accept it. Because when you accept your circumstances and assume ownership over the state you’re in, something crucial happens. Your perspective begins to shift. Instead of viewing the situation through the lens of the luckless victim, you approach the problem with the mind of an appraiser. You begin to see the situation for what it is. The variables begin to emerge and with them, a more complete understanding of the problem comes into view. Through acceptance consequences, constraints and root causes all become clear. Armed with this knowledge, you’re ready to make the next mental shift to move from the mind of an appraiser to one who is focused on solutions. And with this mind you’re ready to work. A solution oriented mindset focuses on identifying pathways rather than dwelling on obstacles. It enables you to approach life’s challenges with a proactive attitude. Instead of becoming overwhelmed or stuck, you actively seek out answers, think creatively and explore options. By focusing on solutions, you avoid getting caught up in negativity or unproductive thought patterns. Above all, adopting a solution-oriented mind helps you stay focused on what is most important during any crisis. And that is taking action. Without action, there is no movement and without movement problems remain what they are. If you’ve calibrated your mind to seek out solutions, you must pair this mindset with a bias toward action. When the pressure is on and the crisis is real, staying put is never a winning strategy. You need to move and move with a purpose. If you’re feeling fear, anxiety or despair as a result of your present circumstances, you cannot allow these feelings to paralyze you. Instead, use your emotions to fuel your efforts to meaningfully execute upon the solutions you’ve already identified. When things get hard, you shouldn’t go at it alone. Sometimes, the problems we face are genuinely bigger than ourselves. To make progress toward addressing such problems, it’s ideal to seek out help from family, friends and colleagues who can compliment your strengths and supplement the areas where you’re struggling. Remember that many hands can make light work of weighty problems. Don’t neglect the resources available to you out of a mistaken notion that only you can carry your present burden. While others likely aren’t coming to save you, they may be willing to assist you if you’re humble enough to ask for help when it’s needed. Just remember to show the proper gratitude when aid is rendered and always pay it forward. I know the challenges before you are difficult and the long climb to a better outcome will be tough. But this isn’t the end for you. Not yet. You still have some fight left in you. Your strength isn’t spent. If you’ve accepted where you are and have identified where you need to be, the only thing left for you is to put boot to ground and take one determined step after the other. In time, and with the help of those around you who care, you’ll walk your way out of this mess. And perhaps someday, teach others to do likewise. Hang tough and know that whatever happens I’m rooting for you.”

The myths of Aries always concur on the theme of action, enthusiasm, adventure and valiant efforts. The sign conceals a special meaning that is often forgotten in the simplicity of its planetary ruler, Mars, which explores the theme of outward, direct, unidimensional and raw expression of the instinct to conquer and attack. The underlying theme with Aries can be grasped once we take into account that it is the first sign of the zodiac, the life force and resurrection of the constellations and the path of the Sun into a new astrological year, following closely after the mystic and universal dimension of Pisces which seeks to integrate and unify opposite forces through subconscious processes. The force of the ram lies in its horns, which signify regeneration and rebirth. Here, the theme of unity and The Self or The One can be seen: Aries is the unmoved mover in the turning gears of existence. In this way, the planetary energies that match this idea are Mars and also the Sun. It’s the breath of new life which gives joy and excitement for exploration an adventure. The enthusiasm that comes with beginnings and the sense of awe coming from new places and new settings. Aries, along with Aquarius, are the signs most tied with the concept of freedom: the desire for the individual to be restricted by nothing. With Aquarius, the sense of freedom is more linked to independent thought, purity and the human right; with Aries, it’s expressed as a desire venture out into a world full of excitement and surprises, to become a traveler of the lands and seas, to be the optimistic newcomer eager to see the landscapes and meet the world with their own eyes.
Aries is the recruitment of the entirety of our selves in order to exert oneself with determination. It implies digging into the unconscious and resolving our doubts and fears in order to attack. This ties perfectly with its ruler Mars, a planet that lies in the personal unconscious of the individual and represents desires, anger, and need to exert oneself as well as embrace our own nature without fear. Aries modus operandi is by acceleration, physicality and impulse. It tells us that in order for our minds, bodies and spirit to work as one we need to exert ourselves physically — and truthfully, there is a lot of health benefits that one can obtain from physical exercise and liberation through the body. One can help heal and release pent-up emotions or even physical ailments unknown to us, and use them for a better purpose. One emotion that can make us quickly forget fear is anger, and the raw and blood-raising physical state of anger gives us the capacity to act with no hesitation, restraint or regard for consequences (whether for better or for worse).
Traditionally, the Sun has been regarded to anatomically rule both the heart (Leo) and the head, which is Aries. This gives insight into understanding that the significations of the Sun contain both the meaning of heart, purpose and pride (Leo) as well as direction, action and principle (Aries). The Sun is not just the raison d’etre, the muse and creative life force that keeps on giving life and joy and brilliance in what we do, but also the existential fact of the consciousness, the self and the trials, challenges and path we must go through in order to fulfill our purpose; the sense of meaning and transcendence to our existence which is reflected in our choices and actions.
The exaltation of the Sun in Aries, then, represents the latter part of this signification. It is the self in its most basic sense, the oneness that inhabits in every spirit of a human being, the idea of the self, and the reflection of God being succeeded in his own image by the first human or character. From here, the idea of hero's journey can be associated, for Aries represents the individual who steps foot into the world and must become a hero to resolve its own story - it is the act of mustering up the courage, casting away all doubts and focusing on a single idea in order to become and achieve. Unlike with Leo, the sign can only function psychologically exist once there is a world to go out to, forces to with which contend and obstacles to overcome.
With the sign of Aries, one has no doubt and has absolute resolve. It is the power of the will over matter, drawing upon the virtues of valor and heart and acting out these principles. There is a sense of impending danger and urgency, and yet a greater amount of courage and decision. One knows they have to act now or never, needing self-definition. This connection to all-or-nothing, do-or-die mentality is what ties it to the themes of Pluto: the destruction of things in order to be born again. There is always the latent ability in Aries to be reborn, to go back into the depths of the self and give life to one’s core. The downfall to this is absolute stance is the lack of nuance and long term sustainability, which is the reason why the archetype also implies impulsivity, short-sightedness and the immediate and excessive waste of one’s energy and running out of stamina.
The downfalls of Aries are easy to pinpoint: lack of measure, unnecessary aggression, the need to step on others and the kind of person who perceives everything as a threat. The typical Aries can be the man with an inferiority complex that feels the need to show off as a macho, belittling others and trying to establish dominance to make up for low self-esteem; the male who has never felt manly enough on the inside, who feels like his entire value as a person is how much he can physically exert himself over others, typically going to extremes just to prove this, something which gains him no sympathy and some enemies, in which case he becomes the person which others antagonize, then being actual villain that he thought was fighting.
This is related to the common mistake of Aries which is forgetting its code and moral reason, to get too caught up in the thirst of battle and letting the fight become the end itself, letting oneself go to one’s instincts and lower nature, and forgetting the cause. Similar to the other fire signs, it is not particularly intelligent either, suffering from an overly simplistic view of things which lack depth, while also insensitive to others and to feelings in general, which they may regard as "weak" and "unnecessary".
An even darker side of Aries is observed especially with its before mentioned connection to Pluto, and particularly to the Aries point (the first degree of the sign) along with the first decan, ruled by Mars. It’s the turning point of transformation of the zodiac; the point of creation and destruction. Therefore a Plutonic Aries may be the person whose need of self-exertion is so animalistic and raw that it destroys everything other than itself - brutal force that exterminates everything in its way. The need that will never be satisfied until it reaches the ends of the world. It would be the country that is at war and then decides to annihilate the rest; to see the world flatten and become shreds of what it once was, whether out of incalculable amounts of pent up resentment that finally releases or just wanting to see the world burn.
There is the running theme of duel and contention with Aries. Along with Libra, the sign works from the perception of contrasting opposites. If we take the meaning of its ruler, Aries is the instinctual force and energy that overcomes the obstacles that are ahead of us. With its connection to the Sun, it's the relationship between the anima or higher self-consciousness paired against the shadow of the subconscious. It signifies the development of the individual and transformation, the dialogue that occurs constantly between self/other, between conscious/unconscious.
The sign has similarities to the word exaltation itself, representing the pace-gaining process of elevation and of accomplishment; to perception of opportunity and advantage. Similar to it being the beginning of spring, the point where the days start becoming longer than nights - where light starts taking over the darkness - it’s also the solar self gaining control over the saturnine shadow, being the process of evolving and displaying our higher qualities, with the promise of reaching a realm of serenity, wisdom, honor, consciousness, dignity, morality, victory, confidence and self-importance. The solar qualities of Aries are the journey of self-development, of one’s defining core, values and unbreakable principles; the process of integration and resolution of the personality, and the rewards we obtain from facing our fears.
So a typical image of the Arian hero is the one who ventures into a duel against the dark lord or monster that dwells in the caverns. On this level, Aries bestows the ability to become aware of one’s existence, sense of purpose, moral code and the willingness to act upright and with honor, to act as a hero in the names of others, and keep one’s core safe and wearing our heart on our sleeve. To face the challenge no matter how daunting it may seem. It’s the energy that gives us the courage to sacrifice our lives in heroic acts. It’s the brave step we take in order to confront what’s unknown, mysterious and possibly bigger than us, but nevertheless necessary.

Hello,
I'm looking for advice on how to properly handle firing my current attorney and transitioning to a new one. Here are the key points:

1. I retained my current attorney almost two years ago and am now planning to replace them due to an ongoing pattern of neglect, instances of misrepresentation, and an overall absence of transparency in communication with my ex’s counsel.
   
2. I just received my first statement of the disbursement of my retainer, despite our Agreement stating I should receive one every sixty days. I have concerns about several charges that appear to be superfluous, supported by email records.
   
3. My current attorney provided me with the following documents: Affidavit of Service, Action for Divorce, Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law, Settlement Agreement, Statements of Net Worth, and Plaintiff Affidavit.
   

I asked if these were all the documents needed to file, and they said yes. However, my new attorney has informed me that while these are necessary for the initial filing, more paperwork is required for the judge’s review and final judgment.
I need advice on: - How to communicate the termination to my current attorney effectively and professionally.

• How to address the issue of the delayed retainer statements and excessive charges. My new attorney has indicated that I may be entitled to at least a partial refund of my retainer by virtue of current attorney’s neglect in sending periodic statements as per our Agreement. Does this sound legitimate?
  
• Any other steps I should take to ensure a smooth transition to my new attorney. We have a meeting scheduled for later this week to formalize our working relationship.
  

Thank you in advance for your help

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As the shiny weekend comes to a close, I and I'm sure many others have played a lot of endless the last few days. While I do love this game, I can't help but notice how much of a drag endless is. Endless is basically just one big gambling simulator where you get dopamine when you get a shiny or legendary and it keeps you playing long enough to get the next hit. As someone who enjoys both making and balancing games, I wanted to take some time to dive into why endless has the problems it does and how they can be fixed. My hope in sharing these ideas is that endless will eventually be revamped into something more fun in the long term instead of just a shiny grind. So strap in as we discuss the problems with endless and how to fix them.

Part 1: Why play RogueLites?

I think the first step to understanding what is wrong with endless is to understand why we are even playing this game in the first place. I hear the terms roguelite and roguelike used interchangeably a lot so I wanted to quickly address the difference between them. The short of it is roguelikes complete reset your progress in between runs while roguelites have some progress carry over. This puts PokeRogue firmly in the roguelite category, since you can unlock new starters, and as such, I will be operating under the assumption that having progress carry over between runs is important to the game for the remainder of this post.
As for what makes roguelites fun, I think there are a few different factors. First and foremost is replayability. Since a run is never the same as any other, the genre has infinite replays built in, so long as you don't get bored of the core gameplay mechanics. However, the enemies and rewards you get during each run are not the only thing that can change between runs.
This leads me to my second point which is the fun of trying new builds. Most roguelites have a wide variety of weapons and approaches to progressing that can either be chosen at the start or unlocked during the run. Because of the random nature of the genre, even similar builds will fluctuate run to run and trying to get your build to function perfectly like you want it to is a fun challenge. You may have an idea of what you want to use but then you get an item that changes the way your build works and so next time you play this build, you actively seek out this item because it was a cool adaptation. Being able to not only try, but succeed, with a variety of strategies and builds is incredibly important to the long term fun and replayability of roguelites.
The final factor in why roguelites are fun is because you can constantly push for a new record. This is specifically something unique to endless. The game can never truly be beaten. You as the player set a goal for yourself and compete against that goal, trying to achieve it. When you eventually do, you set a new goal and push for that one. These goals can be personal to you, like trying to reach a certain round or seeing how far you can progress with a specific build, or they can be more competitive, like trying to push for a record in the highest round ever achieved.
Roguelites are addicting and fun because you never truly beat them, you just find new ways to play them. Now that we understand a bit about why roguelites are fun, let's look at PokeRogue to see how it matches up.

Part 2: Endless is a Solved Game

First, let's look at the good parts of endless. Endless has good rewards for playing it. As you go deeper into endless, you get more and more rare starters. Right now, starters are the only thing that carries over between runs so endless is the best way to progress your account. In theory, this should increase replayability as you can do an endless run, get new starters, do a run with your new starters, rinse and repeat. In practice though this simply isn't true.
While the progression endless gives your account is good, it's ultimately pretty meaningless and most of the actual experience of playing endless isn't fun at all. When you get deep into an endless run, which is arguably where most endless players will aim for since otherwise you would play classic, the game becomes stagnant. You one shot everything or you get one shot. Type matchups don't matter. Stats don't matter. Nothing matters except being able to oneshot the opponent through whatever tokens or abilities they have. This isn't a problem in itself but if we look a little deeper it becomes one.
There's nothing wrong with different builds simply being different ways to oneshot. What is an issue though is when the core mechanics of Pokemon stop mattering and there is only one way to win battles. Type matchups are arguably the most important mechanics in Pokemon, right after catching new Pokemon. The fact that these eventually are rendered useless means that there's no reason for this to be a Pokemon game in the first place. Additionally, even just having a really strong Pokemon that can cut through everything with strong STAB doesn't work because the only late game strategy that works is fixed damage and sturdy. When you finally reach rounds that push the limits of where you've been before, these should be the rounds that your build is online and being tested. Instead, you are forced to transition to a Pokemon with sturdy and metal burst or fixed damage like salt cure plus soak. There is no room for trying different builds to push boundaries because the game has been solved. We know what the best and only strategy is and if you aren't using it, you can't compete.
The fact that only one strategy is viable means that any progress you make between runs doesn't matter either. Why use new starters when you're just gonna end up using gargancl with salt cure or metal burst blissey? This means that the only thing that endless is actually good for, making your account stronger, is made irrelevant by the same mode. This is the biggest problem endless has but there are a few smaller ones I'd like to quickly address.

Part 3: Smaller Endless Problems

I'll try to keep this section brief and run through these problems quickly.
First, generic encounters are too time consuming. There is no reason the random, non-boss Pidgeott should ever take more than 5 seconds to defeat. Generic encounters serve the purpose of giving you a few rewards to make you stronger before the next major fight. Endure tokens waste so much time. If I'm overkilling this raticate by 5000%, I shouldn't have to sit through 30 seconds of dialogue telling me it endured the hit, raised all its stats, flinched, and then need to select my move again. Even boss encounters don't need endure tokens. They are already gated by segmented health bars. These are actually good and mean you have to think about how to get through them. Why then, does the boss get to live with 1 hp when I've finally overcome it? Simply put endure tokens need to go.
Second, boss battles are too repetitive. I don't mean pokemon labeled "boss" but instead the bosses you encounter every 50 floors. These should be the rounds that test your build but instead, it's the same as every other "boss" you encounter in the run. These rounds need to be made harder and all other rounds should be easier, that way there's a clear distinction between fodder and challenge. The Eternatus encounters are actually pretty good from a challenge perspective since they regularly take a while to beat. If the 50 floor encounters were more like this, and the Eternatus encounters were varied with some other Pokemon so you need multiple strategies instead of just a fairy/steel to wall it, the boss fights would be pretty good.
Finally, if you can't oneshot an enemy, it shouldn't be able to oneshot you. Essentially, bosses need to not be able to be oneshot. What this means though is that you will take hits and in that case, you need to be able to survive them. Damage Reduction tokens are actually ok but damage multipliers just make every move a oneshot. Boss fights should play out more like VGC matches, where there's constant switching of your Pokemon to have an advantageous type matchup. Your switches need to be able to survive hits when they come in, or else you need a way to correctly predict when you can make a switch for free to get a better Pokemon out.
I could go more in depth on all these problems and maybe I will sometime but for now just know they are there and will influence what the fixes need to fix.

Part 4: The Fixes

Now that we understand what's wrong with endless, let's talk about fixing it.
The first and easiest change is that endure tokens need to be removed. This speeds up the game and gets you into boss fights faster. Simple, done, this one change makes the game so much more fun and less tedious.
For some bigger changes, let's take a look at the rest of the tokens. Status tokens mean nothing since your Pokemon will always have infinite lum berries once you get 3 berry pouches and a mini black hole. Fusion tokens are cool. These throw wrenches at you and are fun and should stay. Damage reduction tokens are ok. These tokens prevent you from oneshotting the boss and as we discussed before, that's good. Damage multipliers increase the problem of oneshots though and for that reason need to either be heavily nerfed or removed. If my defensive Archaludon is getting onehshot by vine whip, that's a problem. Finally, recovery tokens are alright. The make it so you can't just stall out a boss completely. You have to constantly be damaging them so they don't heal back to full. I would limit these though to heal a smaller amount. Something like 1/16 of max HP every turn should be the maximum that recovery tokens can do. This is the same as leftovers in the main series and that is one of the best items for survivability in the entire game.
I would make the following changes to tokens: remove endure tokens, remove status tokens, remove damage multiplier tokens, heavily nerf recovery tokens, keep fusion tokens, and keep damage reduction tokens. Also, remove all tokens from any Pokemon without a boss health bar. You may think this is too big a nerf to enemies but in conjuction with this, I think the mini black hole also needs to be changed or removed. With status tokens gone, it's more important than ever that status is meaningful when it is inflicted. Without the mini black hole, you need to actually think about what to do about status instead of just letting your infinite lum berries solve it for you. Maybe now you need to spend some of your post encounter rewards on lum berries or items other than rare candies since you can't just steal them off wild pokemon for free. Of course, things like magician and thief still exist but these are ok because they are niche. The grip claw is also alright since it isn't guaranteed to steal something, it just gives you a little more breathing room.
Next up on the list is boss fights. For this section, I'm only referring to the every 50 floor ones. The token changes I believe would solve a lot of the problems with this fights but there are two big changes I would implement. First, these fights should all be 2v1 double battles like the final battle of classic. This gives room for more strategy and makes switching out more of a viable option if you can predict which slot the AI will target. Second change is to increase the movepools of all bosses. This may be controversial but I think bosses should not be limited to 4 moves. Bosses having a wider variety of options makes them much more formidable and means you need to prepare for more threats. As for what these movepools would be, I would say any egg moves or level up moves should be fair game. Maybe some tms as well but those would need to be hand selected which is harder to implement.
The last few changes I'd add focuses on making starter choice important and allowing for cooler builds. There needs to be more variety in held items. The main series has so many cool options to draw from and adding them makes for a lot of variety in what a given pokemon can do. Imagine a Pokemon with sniper and 3 scope lenses to always crit. Or a Pokemon with a bunch of leftovers and rocky helmets and rough skin. In return for the wider variety, there would need to be some limit on how many non-berry, non-consumable held items a pokemon could have. Without a limit, the best strategy would still be to just stack all the items on one Pokemon and let it sweep. I think 20 would be a good place to start though this could be changed. It also adds an opportunity cost. Your sweeper can't also be tank with 3 leftovers because you need to use those item slots for offensive items.
Finally, I would add one new item to the game with a unique effect. Similar to the DNA splicers, this would allow you to combine two Pokemon to get a stronger one. The new item would be ability capsule and here's how it works. The ability capsule allows you to select a pokemon from your party, sacrificing said Pokemon and adding its ability to another Pokemon. The catch though is that the ability can only be added to a Pokemon that was selected as a starter for the run. Some abilities would have to be non-transferable like wonder guard or stance change but I think this goes a long way in making really cool combinations to aim for late game. It also makes your starter selection more important since you can think about what abilities you want to add to your starter later.

Conclusion and TL;DR

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. To those of you who just scrolled to the bottom, here's the TL;DR of changes

• remove endure tokens, status tokens, damage multiplier tokens
  
• nerf recovery tokens
  
• remove mini black hole
  
• remove tokens from non-boss Pokemon
  
• Make every 50 floor encounter a 2v1 battle
  
• Increase the movepools of 50 floor encounters
  
• Add more held items from main series
  
• Limit non-berry, non-consumable held items to 20
  
• Add an item that allows you to sacrifice a party Pokemon to add its ability to one of your starters
  

I want to be clear that I love this game and am not trying to be super negative. I just want to see it do well months and years from now and believe these changes are the first step towards doing that. I have a lot more I could say but this post is already long so I'll leave it at that. If any devs happen to read this and want to hear more in depth explanation or thoughts on solutions to problems with the game, I'm happy to talk more. In the meantime, I'm gonna go back to my endless run and keep trying to get a shiny Rayquaza.

Open to advice as always but since I’ve been through this before, I’m mainly just curious to see if anyone can relate to this scenario or if I need to start thinking of other options (that I really do not want).
I’ve posted in here before about introducing my older cat, MaryLouise, to the younger one, Lenore (both adults with 2ish year gap). After a 4 month introduction, and a week-ish reintroduction after that, the past 8-ish months have been in relative harmony. They play with each other a lot less brutually than they used to, MaryLouise will often go up and start grooming Lenore, they’ll sleep right next to each other, they’ll both cuddle with me, they’ll eat side by side without fighting, etc. I do believe they genuinely like each other.
Unfortunately, today I fucked up when I accidentally stepped on ML’s paw. She screamed, I yelped cause it startled me, and she immediately ran straight for Lenore and proceeded to chase her while yowling and clearly wanting to harm her. I managed to wrangle ML and put her in the office for a couple hours. When I got back home I tried to release her with some treats to peace-make, but she immediately went for Lenore again. I’ve seen this happen before and know it means they need a reintroduction, especially with how fearful Lenore was to ML’s smell after Fight Round 2.
Just because I’ve done this before, I do think they CAN be reintroduced okay (the second intro went way quicker than the first). I also left a voicemail for the vet to get em both a little gabapentin (ML has been on it before but had been weened off it for like the past 6+ months?). Maybe it was my mistake to think ML could ever go unmedicated, even without another cat involved in the mix, due to her own anxiety/instability from whatever life she had before me. It’s just so defeating to have to go through this a third time, especially knowing it’s my own fault. I definitely wonder if I made the right decision of the second cat. But even the vet seemed impressed when just two weeks ago, I brought them both into the office, and they were totally fine!! Even after being poked and prodded for bloodwork, ML didn’t attack Lenore either at the vet or at home.
Maybe I’m just looking for a “your cat needs meds” or a “I had to introduce my cats 8 times, it’s normal”, I don’t know. I’m just trying my best for them and need a better safety net for when stuff like this happens, and the knowledge this too shall pass without the word “rehoming” brought into the mix.