Short hair mullet

I am posting this in case it helps someone else. My daughter used to pick her skin (a lot) and a doctor suggested that she take 600 mg of N.A.C daily. Within one week she stopped picking, totally stopped. I was also told it works for people that pull out their hair too. It helps balance out the chemicals in the brain. N.A.C. is short for N-Acetyl Cysteine and it's sold online for often less than $10 a bottle. I found a company that makes the capsules smaller than the rest. I try and help people with info like this whenever possible.

As stated, I could use someone's voice before I head to bed and/or play Apex. I've been told that I have a nice voice if that means anything.
A little about me:

• I am vegan and have been for over 14 years
• I don't drink, use drugs and smoke anything.
• I exercise and bike, but been struggling to stay consistent lately.
• I view myself as a progressive.
• I'm relatively tall, but super skinny. My BMI is currently 20, so take a guess on my height and weight! I also have long messy hair ;)
• My background is Guyana. (Meaning that that my skin isn't white for you racists)
• I play Apex Legends too much, but apparently Bloons has something to say about that.
• I listen to Neoclassical(epic music), some Synthwave, OSTs of movies/tv shows(Going to see Jurassic Park in concert on Friday), Post-Hardcore/Metal.
• I have social anxiety issues and was diagnosed with bipolar 2 when I was 21, but I'm fairly certain that I don't have that. I'm currently speaking with a therapist, which has been great.
• I'm open, honest, kind, and affectionate. In other words, I'm amazing ;)
• I don't currently work and live with my parents if that matters to you.

There's more I can say, but I think these are important and I would prefer that we get to know each other over a call.
I do have some boundaries though:

• We will not discuss politics unless you are anti-NATO and anti-imperialist.
• Please don't bring up your love for meat. Veganism will not be brought up unless you're sincerely open to becoming one yourself.

P.S. Please leave at least a short introduction of yourself and why you chose to contact me. Thank you!

As stated, I could use someone's voice before I head to bed and/or play Apex. I've been told that I have a nice voice if that means anything.
A little about me:

• I am vegan and have been for over 14 years
• I don't drink, use drugs and smoke anything.
• I exercise and bike, but been struggling to stay consistent lately.
• I view myself as a progressive.
• I'm relatively tall, but super skinny. My BMI is currently 20, so take a guess on my height and weight! I also have long messy hair ;)
• My background is Guyana. (Meaning that that my skin isn't white for you racists)
• I play Apex Legends too much, but apparently Bloons has something to say about that.
• I listen to Neoclassical(epic music), some Synthwave, OSTs of movies/tv shows(Going to see Jurassic Park in concert on Friday), Post-Hardcore/Metal.
• I have social anxiety issues and was diagnosed with bipolar 2 when I was 21, but I'm fairly certain that I don't have that. I'm currently speaking with a therapist, which has been great.
• I'm open, honest, kind, and affectionate. In other words, I'm amazing ;)
• I don't currently work and live with my parents if that matters to you.

There's more I can say, but I think these are important and I would prefer that we get to know each other over a call.
I do have some boundaries though:

• We will not discuss politics unless you are anti-NATO and anti-imperialist.
• Please don't bring up your love for meat. Veganism will not be brought up unless you're sincerely open to becoming one yourself.

P.S. Please leave at least a short introduction of yourself and why you chose to contact me. Thank you!

As stated, I could use someone's voice before I head to bed and/or play Apex. I've been told that I have a nice voice if that means anything.
A little about me:

• I am vegan and have been for over 14 years
• I don't drink, use drugs and smoke anything.
• I exercise and bike, but been struggling to stay consistent lately.
• I view myself as a progressive.
• I'm relatively tall, but super skinny. My BMI is currently 20, so take a guess on my height and weight! I also have long messy hair ;)
• My background is Guyana. (Meaning that that my skin isn't white for you racists)
• I play Apex Legends too much, but apparently Bloons has something to say about that.
• I listen to Neoclassical(epic music), some Synthwave, OSTs of movies/tv shows(Going to see Jurassic Park in concert on Friday), Post-Hardcore/Metal.
• I have social anxiety issues and was diagnosed with bipolar 2 when I was 21, but I'm fairly certain that I don't have that. I'm currently speaking with a therapist, which has been great.
• I'm open, honest, kind, and affectionate. In other words, I'm amazing ;)
• I don't currently work and live with my parents if that matters to you.

There's more I can say, but I think these are important and I would prefer that we get to know each other over a call.
I do have some boundaries though:

• We will not discuss politics unless you are anti-NATO and anti-imperialist.
• Please don't bring up your love for meat. Veganism will not be brought up unless you're sincerely open to becoming one yourself.

P.S. Please leave at least a short introduction of yourself and why you chose to contact me. Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: As someone in their late teenage years, many of these mistakes have been made, and most of them have been learned from experience. This guide has been created to help educate anyone involved with drugs on how to best protect themselves against law enforcement, and to do this for a very, long time. However, despite this probably being the quickest and easiest method to generate money, the risk far outweighs the reward. You can put your family, friendships and personal life in jeopardy, and you will have to rely on too many stupid people not to get caught. If you or your friends don't mind that, then read this before you do:

General statements

-Keep business and personal life separate. This will depend on the anonymity of your business life. For example, keep your family separate by fabricating an alternate persona for your business life.
-Don't get high off your own supply. Consuming your own product may reduce any profits you make. For example, you buy a bag of product but inject it all in one day, now you don't have enough money to buy more needles and expand your business.
-Frequently test your product. Failure to do so in an unregulated business may eventually result in overdose, arrest and death. For example, you decide to sell a new batch of product your supplier has cut without reagent testing, and you are later arrested because your customer died of a fatal substance interaction.
-Invest and sell in bulk. Only invest in large quantities of product that have the highest profit margins and rate of purchase, while reducing the customer base to bulk buyers. For example, products bought in bulk such as benzodiazepines, cannabis, opiates and amphetamines will generate the most income.
-Trust no one. Don't engage in activities that require trust such as fronting people anything like money, or product. For example, if a junkie can't afford his addiction, don't fuel his debt.
-Loose lips sink ships. Unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information can be used as evidence against you. For example, your customers think it is okay to short change you because you've boasted to them about how many gucci belts you own and how much money you earn.
-Don't shit where you eat. Everything relating to your business should be dumped off your property or destroyed. For example, you should never be vulnerable if you get raided.
-Better safe than sorry. Never get comfortable, always analyse and improve your security. For example, imagine you are the prosecutor looking for holes in your defence in court.
-The aim of the game is to have no name. Make it known to your associates that you will not do business with anyone who discloses your name or any sensitive information. Cut everyone off who does, as this presents a major security issue for you. For example, if you have any unknown contacts for your business, then that is an indication you need to cut off one of your associates.
-Ignorance is bliss. The less you pretend to know about anything related to your business, the better. For example, intent to possess or sell product is usually required for law enforcement to charge you with an offence.

Transactions

-Only do business with virtually untraceable currency, such as cash or bitcoin. This will prevent law enforcement from using money as evidence for any purchase or sale of illicit products. For example, any cash that is seized by law enforcement requires evidence to determine if it is illegal money.
-Never let anyone know your property. This is because your property will link back to your personal life and compromise your anonymity. For example, no one should know where you live, what car you drive or firearm you possess.
-Never handover product first, without the handover of money. Customer could receive product without releasing funds. For example, you give a crack-head a bag of product and he runs away with it.
-Don't do business with anyone you don't know. A verification system must be used to qualify people as associates such as customers, suppliers or employees, where a person requires at least one successful transaction to be able to make direct purchases or sales, and people without verification should not be able to contact you. For example, you can be relatively certain that a potential customer is legitimate if they have made a successful transaction.
-Use third parties and dead-drops for high risk transactions. These techniques make it difficult for law enforcement to create links because they separate you from any transaction. For example, your middleman was able to retrieve your product because law enforcement did not have the resources to constantly surveil the dead-drop.
-Never come under control by other people's property. Doing so reduces the chance of you being able to escape a robbery or arrest. This includes things such as cars and houses. For example, you give money to a person inside his car in exchange for product, then he hands you a bag of dog biscuits and drives away.
-Dictate the location/time of every transaction. This reduces the chances of being robbed or arrested. For example, choosing a time closer to a transaction, and a location further away from a station would give less time for law enforcement to act.
-Keep all transactions public and discrete. This reduces your chances of getting robbed. For example, think of creative ways to make a transaction in public more appropriate and efficient.
-Don't use your vehicles for business. Vehicles have number plates which can be traced back to you through registration. For example, you can get pulled over and charged by law enforcement should there have been reasonable suspicion to search it.

Communication

Don't use unencrypted or any particularly insecure methods of communication. This includes anything that can be used to identify you with your business, such as mobile phone numbers, email services and social media. For example, you were arrested because your phone was tapped by law enforcement while under investigation, or you were caught selling product online when Facebook granted law enforcement access to your account.
-Force any encryption onto electronic communication between yourself and anyone related to your business. This includes customers, suppliers and employees. For example, you can use encrypted anonymity tools for communication such as Tor and Wickr to conduct business.
-It is best only with verified associates to discuss sensitive information in person. Using electronic communication in this case is more vulnerable than communicating face-to-face, given that you can't be certain of who is on the other side. For example, it is important to treat personal communication as a layer of security if you have reason to believe your electronic methods of communication have been compromised.
-Never leave any electronic device to hibernate while you are accessing sensitive information related to your business. Other people can retrieve your sensitive information from devices such as computers, phones, hardrives or tablets while you are not present. For example, a house mate gains access to your sensitive information because you left your laptop to hibernate while you went to the toilet.
-Use a logless VPN to change your IP address (physical location) to hide from your ISP (internet service provider) from your electronic devices when in use. This is so that your communications and browsing history cannot be linked with any of your business online. For example, accessing the same website through both business and personal ISP accounts without a VPN may link your personal internet traffic history to your business activity elsewhere, making you a potential suspect for law enforcement.

Evidence

-Don't store your entire stash on your property. Even if the stealth was so impeccable that you could not find its location yourself, drug dogs in a search warrant will.
-Keep all things related to packaging hidden and separate from product when not in use. This is so that they cannot be identified by law enforcement and linked with the sale of product. For example, written documents, clip seal bags, scales, mail, cutting agents, heat sealing devices and drug paraphernalia.
-Ensure product during processing is disposable at all times. You should be able to dispose of product in the process of packaging before law enforcement can get to it. For example, you flushed the product down a toilet or sink before police could seize it during a raid.
-Move stash frequently. Repeated visits to your stash creates a pattern which can be traced if you are under investigation by law enforcement. For example, the police followed you to your stash from home, planted cameras near your stash and acquired evidence for the stash being in your possession.
-Don't let anyone else apart from yourself know where your stash is located. Doing so will most likely result in a robbery, and it can also result in your arrest if that person became a police informant. For example, your stash goes missing, your employee gets arrested or robbed, unable to return funds or product, and snitched on you after having informed him where your stash was located.
-Wear gloves, hairnets and long cloths when handling business. Biometric evidence such as fingerprints, hair follicles and skin can be used to gather evidence for possession of product. For example, your fingerprints on that bag of product is evidence of you possessing it.
Destroy (wipe) all digital evidence after use. You can wipe hardrives clean with programs such as DBAN, and wipe any digital documents and photo metadata with software like Tails, and learn how to factory reset your mobile devices. Ideally, all digital information must be temporary, amnesic and self-destructing.
-Destroy (burn) all physical evidence after use. Do not dispose of evidence inside your property's garbage bins, as it is routine for law enforcement to search them. For example, if you dispose of evidence such as clip seal plastic bags and documents in your bins, it could be used against you as evidence after law enforcement have collected it during a search warrant.
-Regularly wipe electronic devices that may contain information related to your business. This is so that law enforcement can't use that evidence against you if they have a search warrant to seize and analyze your digital belongings.
-Build a team that live in the same property. Living with other people that work for you increases business availability, and ambiguity for the prosecution after a search warrant. For example, any product found requires evidence such as fingerprints to discover who exactly is in possession of it.
-Remove all physical and digital evidence from property if you believe you are under law enforcement investigation. You must take every precaution necessary so that law enforcement cannot find a shred of evidence of your illegal activity if they execute a search warrant. For example, the prosecutor couldn't press charges on you because they found no evidence to support their case.

Game over

-Don't talk to police. Anything you say can and will be used as evidence against you. Suppose you said everything right, talking to law enforcement is still a no win situation. For example, you could have said everything right in the police interrogation, but the prosecution can still claim that you weren't cooperative since you had essentially denied everything.
-Know your rights. State nothing except for your name, date of birth, and right to silence and an attorney when being interrogated by law enforcement. You will most likely incriminate yourself if you fail to do so. For example, police stopped questioning you when you exercised your right to silence and an attorney.
-You know nothing. Do not admit to knowing or remembering anything. For example, if law enforcement ask you if you remember anything about a package they found in your property during a search warrant, your defence can be a complete lack of knowledge and intent for such a claim.
-Play dumb. You don't know or understand anything about the law, the morality in breaking it or the likely risk of engaging in activities that do. The less culpable (guilty), and the more naive you are about the law, the better chance you have of winning in court. For example, defences such as mental insanity and impairment are successful when the defendant demonstrates that he does not understand the morality of the charges.
-Don't appear guilty. Become void of all body language as not to raise suspicion of your guilt. For example, defensive postures, eyes that stray left and right and feet that point toward the door are all signs of guilt that law enforcement will detect. Leave all emotions out of the process, especially guilt. For example, you confessed in an investigation room because you broke down after being told how many years in jail you're apparently going to serve, and that all further charges would be dropped if you confessed. Don't be that guy.

You're in trouble

-Don't talk to federal agents. Say nothing of substance; anything you do say can be falsified, editoralized or misinterpreted. Believe it or not, at this level law enforcement are willing to lie in order to convict you. For example, a federal agent tells you that you won't hear from them again if you cooperate with police, then you get a call later from a prosecutor detailing your court date.
-You are guilty until proven innocent. The investigation process is no longer about guilt or innocence. For example, federal agents at this level care more about catching you out on a lie than determining your innocence.
-Don't deny anything or behave surreptitiously. Anything you say is now open to further investigation. For example, federal agents opened up an investigation on your associates because you avoided sharing information about them.
-Always divert federal agents to your lawyer. Whether they are dropping their business cards on your car window, turning up to your front door, or in an interview with you, always have a lawyer to engage them on your behalf. For example, a federal agent threatens you with a grand jury-subpoena if you do not talk, you tell them to address your lawyer about it.
-Record any encounters you have with federal agents. The only advantage you have over them is relying on their ability to lie or make errors, since they are not legally allowed to record you, other than in their peer reviewed notes.
xmr wallet:
89aasxtTqyX6V5dfhEtfqJhPaxgqRgd2a7hjA65attcpZg6ySj1iPMNcgP4EfouasdHUZwgCauU2WbVswbNAyjnkGtStuma

Hello, friends. For a little background, I used kratom for about two years before discovering Feel Free. I had never been an addict before kratom, although I have had a problem with alcohol in the past that I was able to quit relatively painlessly. I was taking 2-3 of the MIT45 shots per day for two years (at $20/piece, do the math 🙀). Eventually, I quit them for a short time (about one month), then discovered FF. I saw it marketed as a safe, natural alternative to alcohol. I knew before I took it that it had kratom in it. I knew I was playing with fire. I have been using 4-5 FFs per day for over a month now. I hate myself for ever buying that first stupid fucking bottle. They have much less kratom in them than I was taking before, but somehow seem stronger and MUCH more addictive (someone make this make sense?). I have tried all the "tried and true" methods for quitting addictions, so I'm not even going into that here. The mental hold that this little blue bottle has on me, my life, and my finances is something I've never experienced before. It's polluted every single area of my life in such a short time. I'm even having mild health issues like hair loss, liver pain, extreme thirst, vomiting, extreme fatigue, and dry/itchy skin. I make very strong (empty) promises to myself every single night. Morning comes, and it's time for my first dose, and I seem to have forgotten about the mental anguish I was in the night before that led to me making such promises. I hate this sick, stupid cycle. I hate myself and the liar and manipulator I've become trying to cover up my kratom addiction for years. My family knows, and everyone is incredibly supportive! I have every single piece of arsenal that I need to quit this stupid addiction for good. I guess I'm here looking for support. I'm so glad this thread exists. ❤️

I cancel almost everything. Hang with friends? I’ll find a reason. Nobody ask me to hang anymore bc I pretty much refuse to. I’ve only been dates. Nothing since last year. I’ve focused so much on trying to find a boyfriend. Not I’m not even doing that. I cancel most job interviews bc I’m afraid of a toxic work environment bc i won’t speak up for myself bc I don’t want to seem like a bitch. I’d rather just quit. The job interviews I do go to I don’t feel good enough bc I cut my hair short and don’t know what to do with it. I won’t go because I’m afraid everyone has an alternative motive. I’ve watch enough true crime, horror movies, etc to know you can’t trust anyone, like the 14 year old girl who was tortured for 4 hours and for what? Bc they’re sick. I’m scared of success bc who am I to deserve everything I want, who am I to deserve that. What happens after that? I’m just scared. I haven’t always been this way.. but I’ve been like this for a while. Advice. Pls

We've finally made it... at last, we're on the Last Story. All 3 hedgehogs have had their stories lead up to this. How will it all end? Well, we're about to find out! Let us begin:
Somewhere in Soleanna's forest, Mephiles manages to get his hands on the purple Chaos Emerald, one which we haven't seen throughout this game. He finds Elise and Sonic walking through the field, and using the blinding power of the gem, comes up from behind the two when they least expect it, and (yes, I'm using language here, NO SHAME)... FUCKING KILLS SONIC by launching a beam of energy straight through his chest. Distraught by this, Elise manages to cry, unsealing Iblis after all these years. With the two halves of Solaris now freed, Mephiles calls on the Chaos Emerald he has to unite them together.
Meanwhile, in Dusty Desert, Team Dark is surrounded by a puddle of dark liquid from the army of Mephiles clones they took down at the end of Shadow's story. As he picks up and puts his Inhibitor Rings back on, the green and yellow Chaos Emeralds that were resting on the ground begin to glow, and the screen cuts to black. The next cutscene dramatically plays out, with Mephiles having all 7 Chaos Emeralds surrounding him (which I have NO clue where he got the blue and red ones from), and the two halves of Solaris finally coming together. A bright flash of light engulfs the entirety of Soleanna, where Amy, Tails, and Knuckles currently are.
Now in an endless void, all of the characters are found to be together, even Silver and Dr. Eggman have somehow appeared. Trying to figure out what was going on, Shadow and the others piece together the clues that Solaris has finally been reborn, but how is that possible? They then turn to see the dead body of Sonic resting against Princess Elise, realizing that this was all part of Mephiles' plan so she'd cry, and that EVERYONE, including Dr. Eggman, were played like cards in his hand.
As Amy mourns over the loss of the beloved blue hero, the princess senses Sonic's spirit in the wind, knowing that he's not dead yet, and that there's still time. Silver then comes up with the idea that he can be revived using the Chaos Emeralds' power, believing in the princess that she can bring him back. Dr. Eggman then analyzes where the fabled gems have gone, noting that Solaris scattered them all across time, and that the crew has to split up. Firm on their resolution, the group splits up, each setting out across the void to find them before it's too late.
And now it's time for... the End of the World. This final stage brings all 7 remaining characters - Tails, Omega, Knuckles, Silver, Rouge, Amy, and Shadow - on their quest to find the Chaos Emeralds before reality is destroyed by Solaris. This massive adventure split up into 7 sections, the first being with Tails in Crisis City as he searches for the yellow Emerald. His section plays out similar to Silver's level, with one major difference that can be considered the "gimmick" of this level.
Across all 7 portions of the stage, you'll come across these holes - called the "Eyes of Solaris" - that try to suck you in or toss objects at you. I really do like this idea as I think it's like Solaris' way of stopping you as you make your way towards each of the Chaos Emeralds, and one hit INSTANTLY kills you, even if you have Rings. You can briefly make them go away by touching a statue that lights up an orb, but it isn't long before they come back again. What I DON'T like, though? Well, that's coming up in a bit.
After Tails gets the yellow Emerald, the perspective switches to Omega, who's located in Flame Core as he's searching for the green Emerald. Again, it's mostly the same as before, and I believe you're in... I wanna say it's probably Shadow's part of the stage, but really, I have no idea since I feel like all the characters can share the same damn level at times like with White Acropolis, so I don't know which part you're exactly playing through. Anyways, Omega's hover ability will really come in handy here, as you can use it to skip most enemies (which is DEFINITELY recommended since time is literally of the essence here to save Sonic). Make your way up the lava-fall and grab the green Chaos Emerald and get the heck outta there!
The 3rd part of the stage takes place in Rouge's and Silver's Tropical Jungle level, only this time you're controlling Knuckles. Once again, you'll want to take the same approach as you did in Tails' and Omega's sections and not worry about combat and instead trying to find the cyan Emerald that's hidden somewhere here. Use the gliding ability that Knuckles has to land on certain platforms and you can skip basically the entire section. You may have to do some climbing on walls to glide to where the Emerald is, but other than that, his section should be a breeze. Grab that gem and GO!
I should also mention that the Eyes you come across can also suck in enemies and nearby objects, which can be incredibly helpful and harmful at the same time when you're trying to make it through the stage as quickly as possible. I do like how not even Iblis' monsters themselves are not safe from the wrath of Solaris, so it's like EVERYTHING is trying to stop you from making it to the end. But they won't stop the hope to revive Sonic!
Keeping on with the stage, the 4th section has Silver navigating through Sonic's portion of Dusty Desert, using his psychokinesis and hover abilities to make his way through the treacherous landscape and find the silver Chaos Emerald. And... well, I'm just gonna say this: I didn't like this section at all. Not one bit. Why is that, you may ask? Well, it's surprisingly simple, and it's a reason that'll come up again with another character not that far down the line:
SILVER IS SO FUCKING SLOW
I swear to God, he moves at the speed of freakin' molasses, and that's not exactly helpful when you're trying to dodge those Eyes that try to suck you in and KILL YOU IN ONE HIT. It's even worse when objects come flying out of nowhere, hit and knock you back and into the things you can't even see and give you no chance of escape! There are quite a few points where I was literally saying to my TV, "COME ON, MOVE IT, SILVER!!!" because he's just moving along at a strolling pace when he should be, I don't know... running to get the gem? Ugh.
Thank God he has the Teleport Dash upgrade you can buy for him in his story, as it'll be quite helpful when trying to escape the pull of Solaris. I believe this is the only time in the game I actually found that ability to be useful for him, because I barely remember using it AT ALL in his main story other than trying it out at various places in Soleanna's hub areas. But, anyways, you get through his section like all the ones before him and the ones after him: make it to the end and avoid any enemies that come in your way, using the orb thingies to temporarily cause the Eyes of DEATH to go away. Get the silver Emerald and meet up with the others!
The 5th section sends you to Tails' portion of Wave Ocean as you glide across the waterways with Rouge in search of the purple Emerald. You can use the same strategy here that you did with Knuckles since you don't need to worry about combat and should climb the pillars, jump off, and glide on through, only really landing to activate the orbs. Compared to Silver's section, this part is actually quite a breeze, so make your way to the gem like the good treasure hunter Rouge is and now there's only 2 more left to get!
Things are getting rather chilly, as now we're in White Acropolis for the 6th portion of the stage with Amy making her way towards the blue Emerald. She's finding herself on the lower route of Rouge's and Tails' segment, and she has to use her hammer and double jumping prowess to get by. 6th verse is somehow same as the 1st, so try to get by all the enemies doing as little combat as necessary and focus on using the orbs and making your way towards the Emerald. However, there's one major problem I have with this section that also happens with Silver, and it's that just like her partner, Amy is SO UNBELIVABLY SLOW. I don't know why this is, but this really bothers me especially when I'm trying to get away from the Death Eyes which still instantly kill you. The good news is that this section is relatively short-lived, so the pain doesn't last for very long. Get that blue diamond and now it's all up to the Ultimate Lifeform!
The 7th and final section of the stage revolves around Shadow as he makes his way through the ruins of Kingdom Valley to find the red Chaos Emerald, the last of them to be found. Much like Flame Core's segment, I have no idea which character's part of the stage you're going through, because I'm mainly trying to make it to the end of the stage. Just like before, make it to the end of the stage doing as little combat as possible and use the orbs to take out the Eyes of Solaris, ride the eagle, and complete the stage as you grab the final Chaos Emerald! And... that's a wrap on the End of the World!
Wow... what a stage. I will say this about it: Even though there were a few problems I had with this stage, which included the slowness of Silver and Amy, sometimes the wonkiness of the camera causing you to get hit by things you can't even see, and getting a Game Over on ANY section - yes, even the last Shadow section, which DID happen to me - causes you to do the ENTIRE thing again starting back at Tails' Crisis City segment. But those issues didn't stop me from enjoying the stage as a whole, as I did enjoy the gimmick of traversing through nearly every stage of the game (except for Aquatic Base and Radical Train) only with Solaris hot on your trail. This is one of those levels that would indeed work had this game been given more time in the oven, because this was quite the fun trek!
With the cast reunited and all 7 Chaos Emeralds gathered, Princess Elise says a prayer, wanting to talk to Sonic and save the world once again. She then kisses Sonic (why?...), and that, with the power of the gems, revives the blue hero and transforms him into Super Sonic. He thanks Elise as he falls to her knees, and then Shadow and Silver join in and transform themselves. With the 3 super-powered hedgehogs transformed, they blast off into the sky, everybody cheering them on from below.
And here it comes... the final battle. The battle is split into 2 phases and every character is used in their own way. You start with Super Silver and use the meteors that Solaris throws at you and damage his left arm. It may not do much damage, but keep it up and it will eventually shatter. From there, switch to Super Shadow and use the Chaos abilities he has and damage the right arm in the same way. Just remember to keep moving! Once that's done, switch to Super Sonic and keep boosting into the core and Phase 1 is complete!
However... it's not over yet. The god comes back up and goes absolutely out of control as an orchestrated version of "His World" plays in the background. You need to constantly switch between all 3 hedgehogs and deal damage to his core, but it's best if you attack it while it's firing a laser at you since it exposes the weak point. Silver may unfortunately not be of much use here, so you'll want to rely on Sonic and Shadow. However, keep it up and he goes down, ENDING SOLARIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!
As the 3 hedgehogs land back in front of the other heroes, time and space is restored and we eventually see the Duke and young Elise come across the true form of Solaris. He explains that once it grows, they can eventually get control of time and that Elise can eventually see her mother again. As they walk away, the current form of the Princess and Sonic walk up to the flame and take it into their hands. She says that if they were to blow it out, the Flames of Disaster incident would have never happened and that everything would continue on, but that she would have never met Sonic. She tears up slightly saying that the truth is that she doesn't care what happens to the world, but Sonic tells her to just smile and that it'll all be okay.
With that, she does so and blows out the flame, sending everything back to the Soleanna Festival that was seen at the start of the game. Sonic can be seen running by at one point, wanting to get a view. As he speeds by, he creates a wind which Elise calls somehow familiar to her. One of the feathers from her hair floats up into the air and passes in front of the moon, which Sonic is viewing from a rooftop, and the screen fades to black, ending Sonic '06.
And that's the game. Hard to believe it all ends with it acting like it never existed in the first place, but it all ends where it all began. I don't have anything else to say other than this game surprised me more than I initially thought it would. I came into this game expecting it to be bad and what I came across was something that had tons of potential that never got to be fleshed out.
So... what do I think about this game as a whole? Honestly... I simply don't know. It might take me a bit to decide what I truly think about it all, since this game did quite a few things good and a few things bad. But all I can say is, I'm glad I can finally put this game behind me and I don't have to play this game again... unless I decide to play Project '06 in the future, that is, and I probably will... once I find a way to.
Now, I think it's time I play a LOT of Sonic Generations. I'll see you all next time with another take on a new Sonic game!!

Well, it sucks to be here… but here it goes. My wife and I have been married for 4 years. We started dating 2.5 years before we got married.
A couple months ago I felt the need to ask my wife if she’d ever cheated on me before. I was specific in clarifying that I meant “have you ever” including when we were dating. She hesitated for a moment before insisting that she had not. Over the next few weeks I couldn’t shake the hesitation so I asked again one night and she broke down and began admitting that she had cheated on me with her ex.
Apparently, 3 months into our relationship she spent a night at his apartment. A short time after that they had dinner at her apartment and discussed the possibility of getting back together but it turned into an argument and he left. A couple months later from there, she moved in with me in a town an hour away & at some point while living with me she met her ex in a parking lot where she says she cried and they talked and kissed but nothing more. This was easily 7-8 months into our relationship. Then about a year into our relationship she sent him a picture with her shirt up. This picture I actually found on her phone back then but she insisted that it wasn’t sent to anyone… I knew better but we moved past it. Fast forward 5 years later and I’m just now learning about all this.
So, I obviously wanted to know all the details about their communication and conveniently she can’t remember a lot of it but she says that the day before we got married she texted all of her exes to inform them that she was getting married (wtf?). Then, about a year into our marriage her ex texted her and they had a nice little catch up conversation where she shared a picture of her recently colored hair as well as our dog which she got when she was dating him.
I’ve never had any suspicion of her being unfaithful in any way besides when I first found that photo. I’m so hurt and so angry. I have no idea how to move forward. It feels silly to consider divorce for something that happened so long ago but it happened during what I consider to be the foundation of our relationship and it feels like all the happiness we share today is predicated on a lie. If I knew any of this before we got married I would not have married her.
I am desperate for some advice from someone with a similar experience as this is not the same as an affair that happened during marriage or recent cheating. Idk. I just need help.

The summer I turned 10 was the best time of my life. For years I’d had trouble making friends with other girls, and out of nowhere I was accepted into a group of boys. We would ride our bikes everywhere, play games, and sit up all night just talking about superheroes. I loved it, and I started enjoying coming to school.
That summer was the first summer we went to Everett’s cabin. We biked up there with his dad and spent three days hiking, fishing, telling stories, building a treehouse, and chowing down on hot dogs. It was amazing, and probably the first time in my life where I truly felt like part of a group.
For the next few years, we went back up there every summer. Sometimes we’d get another member, sometimes we’d lose one. People came and went, but we biked up there every summer nonetheless.
​
They became my best friends. I was one of the “original members” alongside Everett and Sam, but one year we had Lewis, another year there was Owen, and so on. But me, Everett, and Sam? We were always there. The originals.
By the time we all turned 14, there was another girl joining the group; Sam’s girlfriend Josslyn. I’d had some trouble getting along with other girls, so I was a bit hesitant about having Josslyn come along. But I was hilariously wrong. Within a couple of weeks, Josslyn became my best friend. She was like the sister I never had.
The year we turned 16 was the last time we would go there as a group. By then, everyone was growing up. Some were going to college; others were getting a job. Hell, Sam and Josslyn had just broken up and could barely be in the same room. Spending the summer in Everett’s cabin became one of those things that you just stop doing. We promised we’d go back there someday and celebrate summer the right way, knowing full well that would probably never happen.
And then, nothing. And as with all names and faces, they started growing distant. We kept in touch every now and then, but Sam, Everett and Josslyn all went on with their lives. I did too.
​
That was until a few years ago, when we all turned 30.
By then, Sam was about to move out of state. His startup company had gained some traction, and they were moving their main office. He was hitting the big leagues.
Josslyn was planning a move to Scotland. She’d met this guy at the university that she fell head over heels in love with, and the two of them’d had a long-distance relationship for close to a decade.
Everett, well, he’d tried to play the family man. He had a four-year old son and a two-year old girl with a woman who was divorcing him. Oof.
And me? Well, I wasn’t dealing with my aging very well. I’ve had anxiety all my life and haven’t celebrated a birthday since I was 14. I can barely look myself in the mirror, horrified of the possibility of seeing a grey hair. I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, truth be told, and I imagine feeling all kinds of cramps and pains because of my age. And yes, I know 30 isn’t that old. Doesn’t matter.
​
But that summer, Everett sent us a message out of nowhere. His family was selling the cabin, and he figured one more trip down memory lane would do us all some good. The whole area was being sold off to a logging company at the end of summer. Personally, I just think the divorce was getting to him.
At first, I wasn’t going to accept. But after seeing both Sam and Josslyn agreeing to come, I couldn’t say no. Maybe it would distract me from turning 30.
​
So one sunny day in late June I drove down from Morgantown back home to Juniper (WV), not knowing what to expect. I figured I might get a nice weekend out of it.
And as I met up with Sam and Everett, it was as if nothing had changed. They hugged me. We laughed, we joked around, and we laughed some more. Everett had rented us mountain bikes. I got the blue one.
Sure, they looked a bit different. Sam had put on a few pounds and had a thick pair of glasses. He was already sweating. Everett, who used to have dreadlocks, had this short and neat office-type haircut, and his eyes looked darker. But that was all just appearance; they were the same guys. Same humor, same smiles, same favorite superheroes. Wonderful.
​
We stopped at the supermarket. I was comparing beef jerky prices when Sam walked up to me.
“Josslyn went on ahead,” he explained. “The roads are all dug up, so we’re taking the tunnel.”
“The Rosewater tunnel? By the railroad?” I asked.
“Yeah,” nodded Sam. “Shouldn’t take long. Josslyn is already up there.”
Made sense to me. Josslyn was the outdoorsy type. She was probably up there making a fire by rubbing sticks together or something. But just in case, I bought myself a Firestarter. You never know.
​
And then we were off. Riding bikes with the same people, down the same roads. Sure, it all looked different, but it really wasn’t. After all these years, I was still just me and the guys. For a moment, I felt this surge of optimism; like everything, somehow, might turn out all right.
Everett took point. We followed a trail deep into the pine forest, sweating under the summer sun. The canopy was a blessing, hiding us from the afternoon heat. It took us a bit over an hour to find the railroad tracks. We followed them north. Sam was sweating like he’d never even seen a bike before.
​
Then we got to the tunnel. The old Rosewater tunnel wasn’t long, but it was old. Everyone knew about it, but it was the kind of place that parents refused to let their kids go near. The place was probably covered in mold. Still, biking through it wouldn’t be a problem. You could feel the draft coming through.
The tunnel had a slight curve to it, so we couldn’t see the other side. Still, Everett took point and howled with joy as he entered. The echo bounced off the walls, reaching into the mountain. Sam followed suit, shrieking just as loud. We dove deep into the dark with the rhythmic thumping of the railroad tracks beneath us.
Our bike lights shone as bright as they could, but the tunnel swallowed them. It was getting colder and colder, almost to the point of my breath showing. Little dust particles danced in the weak light. The sound of spinning bike chains and thumping wheels echoed, and the air tasted like old moisture.
​
Suddenly, Everett stopped. Then Sam. And soon, I could see why.
We were in the middle of the tunnel, and there was something covering the ground.
Snow.
​
We were all standing there dumbfounded. Snow? In late June? That didn’t make a lick of sense.
“That’s just weird,” said Sam. “Let’s keep going.”
“Wait,” said Everett.
He stepped off his bike and walked around for a bit. I leaned against my handlebar, feeling the weight of my backpack. I hadn’t even noticed how out of breath I was. Everett leaned down, looking at the snow.
“What’s up?” Sam asked. “We going?”
“Yeah, yeah,” nodded Everett. “It’s just… I dunno.”
“Dunno what?”
“Like… where’re the tracks?”
“You’re sitting on ‘em” I added. “What’s the deal?”
“No, Josslyn’s tracks.”
​
Now I could definitely see my own breath. And Everett was right, the snow was undisturbed. Josslyn couldn’t have come through there, unless the snow had recently settled. But what, an inch and a half of powder snow in late June, in less than a day? Nah.
Everett got back on his bike.
“Let’s just keep going.”
We biked through the snow. About ten minutes later, we got to the edge of the tunnel.
​
It’d collapsed in on itself.
The ceiling had caved in and filled the entire tunnel with a steep slant of solid rock chunks. It didn’t look recent either.
We just turned around. There was no reason for us to keep pushing forward, so we decided to just go back out and follow the (if somewhat broken) main road instead. We had bikes, we could go pretty much anywhere. Still, I couldn’t help but notice how Everett seemed a bit distraught. We all were.
On our way back through the snow, I got the sense that something was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. But right then and there, I was just happy we were leaving.
​
Except we didn’t get far.
The path we came in through had also collapsed.
​
“Did we make a… a wrong turn?” Sam asked. “I thought this… this was just a straight line.”
“It is,” said Everett. “This, uh… this doesn’t make sense.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” I gasped. “I didn’t hear a goddamn thing.”
“This is old. There’s dust. It didn’t just collapse, this is… ,” insisted Everett.
“So we must’ve gotten turned around somewhere,” smiled Sam. “So we backtrack.”
​
It took us about 45 minutes to move from one end of the tunnel to the other; but both ends were definitely collapsed. How we entered in the first place was mind boggling. It didn’t make sense.
At some point, we just stopped. We stepped off our bikes and sat down. Sam used his phone as a flashlight, illuminating the dancing dust particles. The air tasted stale.
“No bars,” Sam said. “Tunnels suck.”
“It doesn’t make sense!” groaned Everett. “We got in, we can get out!”
“How?!” I asked, throwing my arms out. “I’m not seeing any exits! It… it fell!”
“That’s impossible!” spat Everett. “There would be a… a goddamn ear-bursting pressure! There’d be so much dust we… we wouldn’t be able to breathe! And there wouldn’t be goddamn snow all over the ground!”
​
We tried to get our phones to work. We tried moving the rocks, but the thick moisture in the air had frozen; making them all stick together like bricks and mortar. There was no way.
We wasted hours, and the temperature just kept dropping. I’d started shivering, and Sam’s breath had frozen into little icicles in his beard. Everett paced back and forth, trying to come up with a plan.
The snow was either expanding, or we kept coming back to it. Either way, it was everywhere. And the temperature kept dropping; fast.
​
At one point, that strange feeling in my stomach came back to me. I removed my bike light and used it as a torch. I noticed something in the snow.
I could see our tracks. Both from our bikes, and our shoes. But there was something else; a slight impression. Two thin parallel lines, running next to the wall. They twisted and turned at times, but I couldn’t make out what it was supposed to be. I called Sam and Everett over to help me, but we suddenly got distracted.
​
Somewhere deep in the tunnel, I heard something.
A voice.
​
“You should be helping me.”
​
It came from further in. Without a doubt in my mind, and after all these years, I could still recognize Josslyn’s voice. We tried to pinpoint where it came from, but the tunnel made it impossible.
“Joss?” Sam called out. “Joss, you there?”
Nothing. We looked at one another. It took Everett a few moments to even attempt to accept this.
“Joss!” Everett finally called out “Josslyn!”
Still, nothing.
​
We looked for her. I could feel myself growing more desperate as the air got colder. My teeth had started to chatter, and no amount of rubbing my arms changed a thing. My hairs were standing at attention, as if listening for warmth.
Sam and Everett kept calling out to her, but we got no response. And all over the snow I kept seeing these two parallel lines, just barely scraping the top of the snow. Either they’d been there for a while, or whatever was making them were something extraordinarily light. But there was no way of telling where it came from.
I have no idea how many hours we spent walking up and down that freezing tunnel. At some point, we all gathered in a circle and wrapped ourselves in sleeping bags. I tried to use my Firestarter, but we didn’t have much to burn. We piled up some of our extra clothes and spent the better part of an hour setting it on fire. It burned for less than ten minutes.
​
At some point, we just stopped trying. Our hands were raw, and I started having cold sweats. We’d turned off the lights to save on battery, but my restless eyes kept moving. I could feel myself going cross-eyed, my mind confused by the pressing dark.
There was too much ground to cover. There might be some side tunnel that we might’ve missed, but we were losing hope. I didn’t know what to make of it. Sam and Everett had gone through several cycles of arguing, making a desperate effort, being anxiously hopeful, and then back to arguing. Now they were just quiet.
I would’ve preferred an argument.
​
“You… should be helping me.”
​
We all looked up. It was distant, but not as distant as last time. I could hear Sam shuffling as he got up. He called out to Josslyn again and again, but there was no response. Sam was growing more and more desperate, and his screams got louder. At some point, he stopped calling out to her; he just screamed.
The arguing started again as Everett tried to shut him up. But I heard something. I looked up, concentrating on the sound. There was a slight reverb, like the sound bouncing off something metallic.
I put my bike light back on and looked up, letting the bright cone answer my question.
There were drainpipes running along the ceiling of the tunnel.
​
“Some… some kind of drainage, or a run-off,” said Sam, looking up. “That’s gotta… wait. This wasn’t at the entrance.”
“So it started further in,” I said. “Maybe there’s a maintenance area.”
At that, Everett got up.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, that makes, uh… that makes sense.”
​
We followed the pipes, and I couldn’t help but notice that the parallel lines in the snow that seemed to be going the same way. They were roughly following the way the pipes were running in the ceiling. Sam and Everett didn’t seem to notice.
“There might be another way out,” said Sam. “Like a… maintenance entrance.”
“Yeah,” agreed Everett. “They can’t have people running in and out of here when the trains are coming, right?”
My stomach turned. The stress was getting to me. I wasn’t usually the quiet one of the group, but crawling around in the dark just weighed my entire mind down. It wasn’t supposed to be cold. It wasn’t supposed to be dark. We were supposed to be making hot dogs by the cabin.
​
There was a faint tapping sound. Something banging against the pipes, somewhere up ahead. Sam and Everett pushed forward.
And there it was. A maintenance door.
We all got excited. We ran up to it, and the moment Sam put his hands on the handle, I shouted at them to stop.
​
They just looked at me, barely illuminated by our combined electronics. I could see the parallel lines running in the snow leading into the maintenance door. I pointed it out to Sam and Everett, who didn’t pay it no mind. Sam thought it was water drops from condensation. Everett didn’t care.
It couldn’t be water drops. It was too cold, and too consistent. Something in me screamed at me to just… not go further. This was bad.
​
But the door flung open, and we stepped inside.
There was an awful smell in the air. Chemicals; mostly ammonia. It took some time getting used to, but we pushed on. There was a small corridor leading us further in, branching into maintenance tunnels that were so small that we had to move sideways to fit.
We explored, as a group. We couldn’t find an obvious way out, but we could make an educated guess. We just had to find a way that pointed us either straight forward, or straight back; following the curvature of the Rosewater tunnel.
​
At one point, we hit a dead end. As we turned back, I was suddenly first in line. Then we heard it again.
“You should… be helping me.”
This time it was just down the hall. It was so close it chilled me more than my freezing breath. And for a split second, I could swear I saw something move just at the edge of the light. Something that retreated into the dark with a rhythmic sound. And it was leaving behind those strange parallel lines in the frost-covered floor.
​
We got back to one of the maintenance hubs. The drainpipes coalesced, leading us further in. We stopped for a while, as Sam was out of batteries.
“They will come looking for us,” said Sam. “We should just go back and wait.”
“We’ll freeze,” I said. “It’s absurd, but we’ll freeze.”
“She’s right,” agreed Everett. “We… we gotta push.”
“Then I go second. I don’t have a light.”
​
We agreed.
And as we turned around, there was Josslyn.
​
We could barely make out her shape at first. She looked taller, and her hair clung to her face like she’d crawled out of a cold bath. She just stood there, barely keeping herself upright. Sam and I stood there in shock, but Everett burst into action. He sprinted forward towards her.
In a whiplash-like motion, Josslyn was pulled back into the dark. She didn’t make a sound.
I noticed two things.
One, that her legs didn’t move.
And two, that her feet barely touched the ground; leaving parallel lines in the frosted floor.
​
Everett rushed after her, screaming her name over and over like a desperate parrot. I was right behind him, and Sam was trying his best to keep up. We ran, seeing whiffs of her hair disappear further and further into the darkness. She was moving, fast, and we could barely keep up. Just seconds later, as we came to a four-way junction, she was gone.
Everett fell to his knees, panting. I stopped short of tripping over him.
“She… she’s here,” Everett panted. “S-something’s wrong.”
I spat and tried to stay in motion to keep my sweat from freezing. The salt stung my eyes.
“Why… why is she doing this?” he asked. “What’s going on?”
“Wait,” I said.
I turned around.
“Where’s Sam?”
​
We backtracked. We tried to mentally map those labyrinthian halls, but we just came up with dead end after dead end. Sam was gone. Disappeared into the dark.
And somewhere, far ahead, we could hear something again.
​
“Yooooouu~ should be… helping me.”
But this time, in Sam’s voice.
Sam’s broken, drawling, drawn-out half-voice. It made the drainpipes reverberate, shaking with excitement.
​
This time, we turned the other way. We couldn’t keep getting pulled further and further in. We made a silent agreement that whatever was in there was something we didn’t want to see. We had to keep going, and once we got out, we could help.
“We… we have to follow the pipes,” said Everett. “They have to lead outside at some point!”
“Or they’ll just… just lead us further in!”
“We can’t keep running in circles! We pick a path, and we stick to it!”
He grabbed my shoulders. Even with barely functioning light, I could see the panicked size of his pupils. I nodded. Whatever it took for us to stick together.
​
We must’ve walked for hours. And finally, it opened up into another junction. This one with only two adjoining corridors. But by now, we’d moved around so much there was no way to tell what was north, south, or in-between. We could only guess.
“You pick,” said Everett.
And I did.
​
We followed one of the halls, and I could hear my footsteps growing louder. The echo was increasing. Moments later, the halls opened into a kind of hub area where all the drainpipes coalesced. It was much large than expected, with solid concrete walls and floors. Dozens of pipes lead us here.
Everett was about to rush forward when I put a hand on his shoulder. I looked around for a bit, but he brushed me off and kept going.
“Wait!” I called out, pointing.
There was something up ahead.
​
It was impossible not to recognize Sam. His body hanging limp, inches off the ground like a stringed-up puppet.
His skin white as snow, with icicles hanging from his beard and hair. He didn’t move.
“You shooooould… be helping me,” his body groaned, without ever moving his mouth.
​
The shadows behind him moved.
The very dark of the room; it moved.
​
And at that moment, I realized there was something oil-slick and dark slithering along the pipes; holding Sam up like a ventriloquist dummy.
​
“Sssssshould. Sssssshould be.”
​
I could see Josslyn’s bike, snapped in half and thrown into a corner. Strange flowers grew along the edge of the wall; like little sunflowers, frozen and blue.
I could see Josslyn’s backpack torn open and thrown across the floor. The hot dogs, trampled and abandoned. And there at the very edge of my light, I could see Josslyn’s frozen hair splayed across the concrete in a pool of frozen blood.
Unnatural hands crawled across the drainpipes, causing a rhythmic thumping. And just as the horror of this vision sunk into me, my mind exploded into panic. It was like watching through my eyes like a passenger, surrendering completely to whatever power would get me out of there. My mind lit up the world with fear, as a real and tangible threat started coming our way; and it was dragging Sam along.
​
I bolted back out the door. Something was right behind me, but I didn’t know if it was Everett or… that Sam-thing. I didn’t care. I didn’t care the slightest.
I turned a quick corner. Everett followed. The Sam-thing couldn’t keep up, and whatever held him just tossed him aside. I could hear his body shattering like a gypsum statue; his body frozen solid.
Another corner. A quick turn.
Too quick.
​
I tripped on my own feet. I fell, and Everett fell right after me. We ended up on our sides, lying face-to-face. Something in my elbow broke, and I couldn’t get up.
Then, Everett stopped. I did too. I held my breath, waiting for whatever pain there was to come. Everett looked at me, slack jawed.
​
His breathing stopped. A long mosquito-like appendage had extended down from the drainpipes, piercing the back of his skull, like popping a water balloon. It was sucking out his warmth, making his skin lose its color. Eyes sinking into his skull, freezing. Nails and tongue turning black. Skin cracking like porcelain. Membranes shriveling into nothing but dry meat.
“Yooooooou~ “ it started. “… yoooOoou… heEeeeeEelping me. Help. Helping meeeee.”
​
I couldn’t look away.
But as my light dwindled, all that was left was the cold of his touch, and his words; frozen in time.
“Shhhh… shhhhoooOo… should be. Be. Be.”
As my light went out, all that was left was one desperate plea. And for a moment, it sounded just like him.
“Helping me. Helping. Helping me. Helping… me.”
​
I must’ve stayed there for hours, growing colder by the minute. I just lay there, listening to him slowly learning how to talk with Everett’s body. My tears had frozen my eyelids shut, and my shivers had subsided to a deep throbbing pain.
At some point, Everett was lifted off the floor. And as a cold spike poked against my skin, I realized I could barely feel it. I was too cold.
The creature must’ve thought the same thing, as it left me there. I had no warmth left for it to feast on.
​
I was no longer interesting prey. I’d accidentally strained my elbow as I fell, and I could barely feel my legs. Further and further away, I could hear the rhythmic thumping as the creature moved along the drainpipes. The pleas of what remained of Everett grew more confident, and distant.
At some point, it wasn’t interested anymore. I fumbled down corridor after corridor, trying to keep my eyes open.
And out of nowhere, the tunnels just seemed to... open up.
​
On the other side of the Rosewater Tunnel, the light blinded me.
The sun of late June promised me that I was finally safe.
​
Now, this was all about… five years ago. Law enforcement insist that we were “urban explorers” who messed up. There had been reports of rockslides near the Rosewater Tunnels, and they figured that Sam, Everett and Josslyn got caught in it somewhere deep in the abandoned side tunnels. They didn’t take any other report or indication of wrongdoing seriously. That I had frost burns in late June didn’t seem to bother them.
I’ve been holding off on writing this story as it was technically open for investigation until last September. They finally closed it, officially classifying it as a kind of spelunking expedition gone wrong. They swear they’ve investigated the tunnel, but I have yet to see a single squad car anywhere near it.
I don’t think this is over.
​
I’ve since left it all behind. The town, the people, the past.
And whatever future I have left, I will cherish.

I went round to my aunts house today, played with my cousin, nothing overly notable other than it being incredibly exhausting. Little kids have SOOOOO much energy, i forget sometimes lol.
My aunt has never had an issue with me being trans at all, and i transitioned very shortly after my cousin was born (she's 5, I'm 15) so to her I've pretty much always been me as I am now (a guy, im ftm). It's never actually been explained to her that I was trans simply because it's never had to have been, which i have no problem with. However there are numerous pictures of me pre-transition around their house (i have no issue with this) and apprently my cousin has recently been asking my aunt why I used to have long hair and wear girls clothes in those photos. Again, not an issue with this.
The answer my aunt gave her was "boys can have long hair and wear girls clothes too" which again i don't have a problem with, this is true after all. HOWEVER apprently her reasoning behind giving this answer was that my cousin really looks up to/idolises both me and my (cis) sister and she doesn't want my cousin to transition/start wanting to be a boy just because she wants to be like me? She said that if my cousin chooses to transition when she's older she's fine with that, but doesn't want her to do it just because I did, is essentially what i gathered. (I heard this all from my mum on the drive home BTW, not from my aunt herself). Now intially I didnt really think about this too much and thought "oh yeah sure, that's fair enough" but after having some more time to think on it, it feels a bit odd. If I were cis and had a girlfriend for example would my aunt not tell my cousin just in case she suddenly wanted a girlfriend too? Should I take out my piercings when I see my cousin in future just in case she decides she wants her ears/nose pierced because of me too? I'm not sure if these are reasonable comparisons.
(My cousin has also asked about my piercings before, and decided for herself that she'd never get her ears or anything pierced because she "doesn't want it to hurt, even a little bit". To which I obviously said something along the lines of "that's ok, it's up to you what you do", so it's not as if she genuinely wants to do EVERYTHING I do.)
I still don't think my aunt ment any ill will regardless, and at this point my cousin knowing whether or not I'm trans really doesn't bother me either way, but I can't help but draw comparisons to things like "don't tell kids gay people exist, because they'll want to be gay too!" with what she said. Am I justified here?

Several years ago (ca. 5-7), there was a dude on youtube making videos about narcissistic abuse. His videos were always simply him on his bedroom talking straight to the camera. Nothing flashy, nothing moving. It was a young, white dude with dark hair. After watching several of his videos, he on occasion reveal that his narcissist abuse experience came about from his father.
Does this ring a bell to any of you?
His videos were pretty good. Lots of substance. Short to the point. There is so much trash now...

Please be single. After a couple of messages I'd like to swap face pics. It's nice to put a face to the woman I'm chatting with. I’m looking for a friend or more and open to meeting up in the future. Here's a bit about me:
-Single
-Loves to travel
-Open to new things
-Gamer (mostly video games but board games are cool too!)
-Foodie
-Enjoy watching shows on Disney+/Netflix/Hulu especially Mandalorian and The Last of Us!
-Also likes cuddles and hanging out with special ladies! Physical details: 6’4" Short black hair, glasses, bearded, slender, White/Asian

Please be single. After a couple of messages I'd like to swap face pics. It's nice to put a face to the woman I'm chatting with. I’m looking for a friend or more and open to meeting up in the future. Here's a bit about me:
-Single
-Loves to travel
-Open to new things
-Gamer (mostly video games but board games are cool too!)
-Foodie
-Enjoy watching shows on Disney+/Netflix/Hulu especially Mandalorian and The Last of Us!
-Also likes cuddles and hanging out with special ladies! Physical details: 6’4" Short black hair, glasses, bearded, slender, White/Asian

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good week so far and you're looking forward to the weekend!
I love meeting new people and getting to know one another. I really enjoy voice chatting as I feel like it helps me build a better connection with someone. I have been told I have quite a deep, soothing voice too. I actually really enjoy making other people happy too and making someone laugh or smile always makes me smile too.
Physically, I'm 6'1, with short brown/blackish hair, deep blue eyes, fairly broad and keep myself in good shape. Physical attraction is important to me so I'm happy to swap pictures as soon as we start talking.
Ideally I'm hoping to find someone in the North West however, I'm open to talk to anyone from anywhere! I'm open to relocation too.
I'm a big fan of gaming, martial arts, going to the gym, board games and watching films/series on Netflix. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. I'm always open to new recommendations!
I'm happy to talk about anything at all. No topic is off limit - I'm an open book.
I would describe myself as intelligent, ambitious, passionate, kind, caring and very affectionate with good communication skills. I love making my partner feel loved, safe, wanted and cared for. Just making them happy would be my number one priority. In the bedroom, I'd definitely describe myself as dominant and I enjoy taking charge and being in control, but again, making sure my partner feels cared for too.
If any of this has piqued your interest, please message me!

I’m a 24 year old male and about two years ago I got my first stye. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world but it was definitely annoying while it lasted. Since then I’ve had maybe 4 more each one getting progressively less annoying but I don’t know why this is happening to me. I again have one today. I read online most people will get one or two in their lifetime so I’d like to know what might be causing this. I take showers daily and of course wash my face. I do think I have some kind of skin condition but I’ve never been diagnosed, I just know that if I pinch my skin it eventually leaves a noticeable mark for a short while. Also whenever a barber cuts my hair with a razor they will ask “are you okay? is it too hard?” Because my skin will make some kind of reaction.
Any input appreciated, thanks.

Hello,
I am new to this community and happy that I found it. I had thick, curly hair all throughout my life. I permed it couple of times and never had any problems with it. In the last 5 years or so, my hair started thinning but it also grew in length. It was the longest I have ever had it. I went to the dermatologist who diagnosed TE caused by post surgery trauma which seemed normal. She prescribed 2% minoxidil. I started it then stopped using it because the haishedding loss had stopped. I went on with my life, noticing some hair shedding and I thought it was completely normal. I never dye my hair, don't use any heat on it. I forgot about my hair until last December. I went through a lot of stress/anxiety from July 2022-December 2022. I was not eating or sleeping well. I lost a lot of weight and so when I noticed that my hair was falling at an alarming rate I just thought that it was because of my stress, depression, not eating..etc. I was shocked when I looked at my hair from the back with a back mirror!! It was so thin! I had clumps of hair strands that we very short, as it they had snapped and that was the hair I was loosing. Some of my hair strands had nodes in them, so I loose 3 or 4 hair strands all clumped together. My hair had different lengths and many strands looked as if someone had cut them with scissors. It was worse on the right side. I went for a hair cut and the hairdresser was shocked, she has seen the beautiful long locks I had in June and now it was so lifeless and chopped. The look on her face made me cry and I realized that the situation was very bad. I asked her to cut my hair to above the bra strap and she did. I cried so much, my hair is my beauty. I am a very accomplished woman with a PhD, a great job but have always been insecure about my looks. Having that long black hair was a confidence booster and now it was gone and getting worse. I am also 42 and single. Menopause is around the corner and that adds to my worries. I live by myself, my family is in another country and have few friends so my support system is not that strong. I am by myself 100% of the time if I am not working so my mind goes around and around thinking and thinking about my hair problem. I went to a dermatologist in January who prescribed 5% minoxidil. She did not diagnose AGA, she only said that the pull test was negative and that I had some kind of hair loss. She prescribed 5% minoxidil and hair vitamins. I was very skeptical about the minoxidil especially since it says on it that it does not treat hair loss from temple, and I do have hair loss on my temples. I focused on upping my nutrition and reducing stress levels. I am under way less stress since January, have been eating very well, taking all kinds of supplements including Viviscal Pro, Biotin, Vitamin C, Ferritin, B complex, vitamin D, calcium, zinc..you name, it I take it. I also have been very careful with how I treat my hair, changed all my shampoos since I suspected a protein overload, oil my hair, use onion juice, rosemary oil and rinse... I do it it. My hair is still falling, I have short pieces of hair falling every time I move my head. Some of the pieces are tiny and very thin. I am not sure if it's baby hair. My hair is very coarse from the root and straight from the middle to the end because of a treatment I did in August. And no, the treatment did not cause the hair breakage, the lady who did the treatment noticed that I had a handful of short strands on my right side and she showed them to me, she also noticed that my hair was falling. So, I had the problem from before doing the treatment. Three of my aunt on my dad's side, my dad, my brother and my aunt on my mom's side have AGA. So I have a genetic predisposition to it and it might as well be what I have now. Today, I consulted the Belgravia Center in London, they diagnosed me with AGA and I am totally devastated, I suspected that I had it but was probably hoping that it would spare me. A part of me is thankful that I did not get it my 20s or 30s and that enjoyed the curly, full, long hair for all these years. Another part of me is sad, in shock and crying. My hair was my pride and joy, me who never felt beautiful in my teens, and twenties have been feeling good about myself the last couple of years because my hair was beautiful and I received so many compliments about it. And now this! Yes, it could have been worse and I should be grateful that it's not a terminal illness, but my vain self is so sad, mad and depressed. There is no one I can talk to. I cannot even get myself to say the word AGA, let alone tell someone about the diagnosis. My consult with the Belgravia center and their treatment cost $700 for a year treatment. They prescribed 4% minoxidil with Medroxyprogesterone (MPG) 0.0125% to be used twice a day for 6 months along with some hair vitamins. They will check on me after 3 months to see the progress. I researched them after I paid and found out that their treatment works for some people and doesn't work for others. So, I contacted them to get a refund and I am not sure if I will get one. I am so lost, can't wrap my head around the news, can't eat or sleep which will probably exasperate my hair loss and there is no one to talk to. I am sorry if this is long but I needed to talk to someone, even virtually. I am also kicking myself for not starting minoxidil when the doctor prescribed it which means that I have already lost hair that won't be replaced. I will buy it tomorrow and start it. Not sure I will go ahead with the Belgravia treatment because I just don't trust after I did some digging especially on MPG (Yeah, I should have done my homework before paying that amount of money). Thank you for listening to me