Does chlorine help acne scars

so i dont really know how reddit works i just need advice with what i should do. so growing up me and my mom had a good relationship. i think? we were living with someone she was on and off with, lets call him "pat". and truthfully? yes, there was a lot of...arguments!.. she would throw something he would sometimes throw things but they would always throw the same things yknow? like candles, glass, TV's, forks, remotes, etc. so growing up me and my mom always counted on eachother? she would jump infront of a train for me. i know that. but when we moved away from him we struggled. my mom went down this rabbit hole..she thought everyone was a peeping tom or that everyone was against her and that someone was always watching us. so gradually as we got settled in where we were staying (for free) she started taking her anger out by yelling at me, since "pat" wasnt there. screaming yelling. thankfully no throwing but she definitally knew how to scream. even if it was hurtful. she refuses to work because she swears she already has a job with military???? which i can confirm; she does not. she claims that she owns a buisness and that shes been adopted by a state???? and that were filthy rich! and that the people around her keep hacking and stealing her identity so she never gets any money. shed claimed "pat" was always out to do "things" with me. well! about a year where we're staying and she meets someone. she loves him so soooo much that we'd have arguments about him. if i said i was uncomfy around him she wouldnt care. instead she yell, scream, cry, slam things. it sometimes go so bad that if i said "i dont like him" shed scream in my face saying my dad doesnt love me. or "youre just like your dad!' or "you really are the devil" or, my personal favorite! "youre just like your dad. you never want me to be happy". annyways. a lot of times she'd go to his place and stay the night on a school night (she drove me to school). if it wasnt obvious by the "she refuses to get a job" we werent that well off. we didnt have a lot of food and i had'nt gone to the doctors in...a while. so it felt like she was leaving to go have a different life with a man who never actually cared about her? i was very scared to stay alone in the house so if i called her crying she'd come back screaming at me. so anyway. finally, the moment came. we got kicked out! my mom had no money but we had friends and a car. so we slept at some places back and forth for a bit. on maybe the 5th day i started getting worried and scared. so i called my father during fall break. and made plans to go! i packed and went and i had fun. kind of? i ended up staying and having an ok fresh start. although having my dads girlfriend take some things from me wasnt so fun. she was easy to talk to. it was wel. i was getting to know my family and everything i always hoped for. but me and my moms relationship got worse. constant calls and messages of her arguing with me. i never back talked her. its what i was used too. until my sister pointed out something was wrong. i started paying attention to what my mom was saying and started getting more..concerned? but also tired. it wasnt until christmas i got a call from my mom saying she'd be more than happy to call cps or put me up for "adoption to someone in the family" she never said "to someone in the family" but claims she did so lets just go with that. after that phone call i went to sleep. and i woke up to my other sister calling me at 9 am. i wasnt ready to wake up so i ignored it. welp. bad idea. my sister messaged me and start arguing with me for how i talk to our mom saying things like i was bratty and spoiled and that my last name was "bound to kick in" well after that i blocked my sister and started getting more mad??? i didnt want to keep taking what my mom kept saying to me. i got more of an attitude and actually started back talking her more. which probably wasnt the right thing but i was tired of it yknow? she would belittle me or threaten to hurt herself or turn my words against me. so here i am now. my mom has no job, cant understand that she isnt rich. i know theres something wrong and she needs help vut she never accepts it because whoever tells her she needs help is the bad guy in a master plan trying to kill her. well ive been having a hard time where i am now and want to move back with my mom. (she doesnt have a house either btw) ive been incouraging her to get a job and get a house so shes not on the streets and so maybe i can move back with her in the future?... but i know thats never happening. just today we got in an argument because i was manipulating her and abusing her and that she could never trust me because im with "them"?? and that shes turning everyone in. who's she turning in? idk, ig everyone she knows. for what? idk. this is longer than i expected and maybe i started to rant. and im sorry. i assume my family is tired with dealing with her so i dont want to bother them with this. but what should i do? im tired of this and just want a normal life. i know nothing is "normal" and maybe its selfish of me but idk. im scared and concerned for my mother. so please, any advice. anything will help

Sunday, June 4, 2023
Ask Me Anything with u/humbledbyit
Welcome to this non-real time meeting of Overeaters Anonymous!
I’m u/CAM075. I’m pleased to introduce today’s OA Fellow u/humbledbyit who will be qualifying today:
Suggested guidelines for sharing:
As you share your experience and strength in OA, please also share your hope. Please confine your sharing to your experience with the disease of compulsive eating, the solution offered by OA, and your own recovery from the disease, rather than just the events of the day or week. If you are having difficulties, share how you use the program to deal with them. If you need to talk more about your difficulties and seek solutions, we suggest you speak to your sponsor and other members after the meeting.
Feedback, crosstalk, and advice giving are discouraged here. Cross talk during an OA meeting is giving advice to others who have already shared or speaking directly to another person rather than to the group. Feel free to reply to posts in this thread with questions for our AMA Speaker, and they will answer.
QUALIFER:
Since I was a child food and eating brought me comfort like nothing else. I was hooked. I used it to feel better when I felt out of place or just didn't feel right in my own skin. I used it to escape my feelings and numb out. However, my body showed signs of it & I was overweight as a child. Went on my first diet at age 12. That began my career as a "shape shifter." Throughout my life my body would undergo extremes of weight loss and gain and my closet had varying size of clothes because my weight was always a moving target. The ability to maintain a healthy weight was always out of my grasp for some reason. In college I was under a lot of stress to do well, compulsively ate a lot & became morbidly obese. I tried many things to control my eating and weight including therapy for eating disorder (mine was binge eating with compulsive exercising), hypnosis, pay & weigh programs, cutting out sugar and carbs, plant-based diet, personal trainer, nutritionist, energy healing, on and on. With many of these I lost weight and thought "I'm on my way.” That was until I reverted back to compulsive eating. When I hit rock bottom my mental obsession was in full force. Sometimes I’d wake up & my first thought would be of food or how disgusted I was with my body because of how I ate night prior, during the day what excited me was “what am I going to eat later” and sometimes I’d even dream about food.
A therapist suggested I try OA. When I came to OA I learned that I am not alone and that I have a broken "coper.” That when life happens I just don't know how to deal with it so eventually I "use.” I use food to numb out or escape my thoughts and feelings. I tried some ideas that were recommended to me in OA. What I learned is that food plan or any kind of controlling of food just causes me more mental obsessing about what to/not to eat. If I had learned anything up to that point it was that I can't stick to a plan of eating forever, I always fall off. I don't have the power to stick to any plan of eating for good and all. Also, I have a mental blind spot and I blank out on the consequences of compulsive eating & when it comes down to it I can compulsively eat any food. I discovered that ingredients such as sugar or food types like carbs aren’t my problem and I don’t have to cut out any food groups. My problem is behavioral in nature, it’s about what I do with food – I compulsively eat to make myself feel better.
As a result of getting a sponsor and working the 12 steps out of the big book I now have freedom and neutrality around all food. My mind is much more peaceful. I can actually eat in way that nourishes my body and it does not feel like a struggle at all. There is no white knuckling. I can still enjoy food without using it to cope with life or to comfort me. Also, I get to help other compulsive eaters, share the solution that worked for me and sponsor them. Now, I have a new way of dealing with life. I know this program works if I work it and I am so thankful to have found this solution. I am a grateful recovered sponsor and am happy to help! Feel free to DM message me if you would like to chat more.
Closing: By following the Twelve Steps, attending meetings regularly, and using the OA Tools, we are changing our lives. You will find hope and encouragement in Overeaters Anonymous. To the newcomer, we suggest attending at least six different meetings to learn the many ways OA can help you. The opinions expressed here today are those of individual OA members and do not represent OA as a whole. Let us all reach out by private message to newcomers, returning members, and each other. Together we get better.

For some unintended reason my MYLR mirrors have started folding when I arrive at the portion of my driveway just outside my garage. This is most annoying and requires that I stop driving in order to go to the controls screen and click on Mirror Unfold. Does anyone out there know how to stop this automatic action? I’ve tried following the directions given in the owner’s manual, but it changes nothing.
Many thanks for your help.

I live in Virginia, and the Library of Virginia is the place that is very likely to have records that I'm unlikely to find online. I want to have a plan of attack when I make the drive to Richmond so that I can maximize my time there. Does anyone here have suggestions on the types of questions I should try to research in a place with centralized records?
These are the specific questions I intend to try to get documents for, but I am open to any suggestions any of you have. The first obvious one is to get the death certificate of my father's maternal grandmother, since it isn't online, and I have no idea who her parents were. That document, if it exists and is filled out, will eliminate one brick wall. The next document I'd like to find is the manumission document for my great-great-great grandmother, who was freed sometime between 1840 and 1850. Knowing who freed her could open up another avenue of research. The third thing I'd like to find is any evidence of my father's paternal grandfather's mother prior to 1880. I don't think she's actually his mother (she would've been 49 when he was born: difficult today, probably impossible 150 years ago). The first record I have of his existence is a census record from 1880. She has a very common name (think Mary Jones) that makes it difficult to narrow down exactly which Mary Jones I'm looking for.
My dad's side has the most brick walls, so this trip I intend to focus on just his father's side (for the most part). His mom was born in NC, and it is a mystery why her mother was in Norfolk when she died (she is buried here so I assume she died here). I've got pretty good records for his maternal grandfather, and if I need more then that's a trip to North Carolina.
Thanks in advance for y'all's help.

Any help is appreciated. Also, how does the blue dot at the end of personalization works? Is the middle suppose to be a speaker?

So long story short, me and my husband have been married for just over 4 years and we've been talking about starting a family. He is really eager to and so am I, I just don't feel like we are ready. Financially and emotionally. I didn't have the greatest childhood and I want to make sure my future kids have the best future possible for them. The last conversation we had about this was about a month ago and I told him I was firm in waiting a little longer. He was disappointed but respects my decision to wait.
Okay here is where the red flag is going off. Yesterday my coworker was stressing about finding a babysitter for her 3 month old next week and I offered to babysit on me and my husband's days off and she was incredibly grateful. I was really excited about it actually because I wanted to see how me and my husband work together with a baby. Like a test run before we decide. When I got home and told him we would be babysitting for a couple of days he immediately started to complain. He said he didn't want to be spending his "resting" days taking care of a baby. When I reminded him that he really wanted to start a family and I figured it would be nice to see how we did together, he said "yeah, but not with somebody's else's baby, I don't see how that's the same" and basically told me he would be playing video games while I babysat since that's what he does on his days off.
This whole thing is making me want to hold off on having a family even longer, it doesn't sound like he's ready. If he thinks my coworker's baby is burden for him, will he think that way about our child? Please help :( I love him in every way but now I'm scared if we do have a kid I'm going to be doing all the work

I’m fortunate to have an office right now. I have equipment for my own small businesses that I’m considering renting out but I’d like to help out those who need it most and maybe find and link up some people with like interests and complementing needs to look out for and help each other.
I’m not sure exactly what would be wanted/ needed. Or what the arrangement would be exactly. I’m open to suggestions. Per my lease I have to be here the entire time a guest is present, basic cleanliness standards and reasonable and respectful noise rules are really the only restrictions.
I have a laser printer, laptop with Adobe suit, Cricut Maker, hat press, heat press, mini press, button maker, sewing supplies, needle point supplies, screen printing supplies, painting supplies, leather making supplies, beading supplies jewelry making supplies.
Tools including, drills, rotary tool, hand tools, circular saw, multi-tool, reciprocating saw, sander, router, etc. Some will need to be used at the park or after business hours in the parking lot.
I have and can get the extra attachments as needed to make anything the Cricut Maker 3 is capable of. I have vinyl, t-shirt making vinyl, sticker paper, laminate, color card stock, paper of different weight, etc.
I can offer some things at the clearance prices I pay for them and you can bring your own. We can also discuss your needs and to be able to put an order in together to make is cheaper at a bulk rate or such.
I’m also looking for a graphic designer to make a few graphics for me. Cannabis friendly artists please link your portfolios. You do not have to be local.
I also work in Neurofeedback and will need a new trainer soon. I’m looking to meet any nurses that may want to be on call for in home appointments. I’m looking for good heads. Those clients are a little high maintenance, think wealthy and neurodivergent. Uniform is scrubs with branded logo (I can put it on any type you like or a branded t-shirt and black joggers)
I’d also like to see how a group could shop collectively in bulk to save money and allow for higher cost things to be divided to allow a treat but at a lower price. For example use my Costco card buy the pre discussed list and then buy individually at the bulk price.
For anyone interested I’d like to find divers who can trade and sell me their scores. It’s sometimes impossible to save so much food from going to waste. I’m happy to buy/ trade direct from divers and divide as needs as well, open to ideas and suggestions. Ooo Maybe using the park grills to cook it all and serve to who shows up. We can charge a dollar to those who don’t contribute so those funds go to what wasn’t covered by diving and such. Time could be a little restrictive because of work schedules but I have kids (fiancés who live with her) who love to be at the park for hours and if anyone messages an “order” I can have a plate for them to pick up from me or someone closer to them after their shift.
I also have a gym membership that I can get guests in with. As long as you can be respectful and clean up after yourself appropriately we can meet there so you can get access to a shower and even work out. Bonus if you can motivate me to do some lifting and stretching lol I only go once or twice a week so maybe a few bucks a shower as well to make my time worth it. Let me know if that doesn’t sound fair and what does.
I’d like to meet at a park a few times before making any choices and arrangements. I’m thinking of BBQing at a park. Food on me and anything anyone would like to contribute. A chance to get to know each other in an informal way so everyone is more at ease and comfortable.
A little about me, I’m in my early 30s, grew up on a ranch in SoCal, said goodbye to my abusive parents and have been enjoying my sinful lesbian life style since/s My long term goal is to buy a ranch and set up a commune to do all of this and more to help people. Then teach those who are intreated to buy and run their own, creating a network of ranches and farms all over for houseless, vagabonds, car dwellers and travelers to take a break, make some repairs, and find some community.
I’m not the type to be fucked with. I will have no problem or second thought defending what is mine. I’m not an easy target so if you needed to read this move on to your next victim. I’m not them. The building has 24 hour security. I’m an easily well liked person. I’m friends with all and have their numbers. They will know when anyone is scheduled to be here and text and call to check in.
If you’re interested comment your ideas or intended use of space and a little about you. Please include, sex, age, job history, where you’re originally from, interests, etc. And answer the question, what are you proud of doing? There’s at least one thing even if it was brushing your teeth this morning or something from when you were a kid. I wanna hear about it. I won’t be responding to any messages. Comments only right now.
Stay safe out there 🤙🏻

I’m playing a shadar-Kai horizon Walker, and having a blast with him. He’s basically Nightcrawler, and even before the HW teleport feature, between Blessing of the Raven Queen and Misty Step, he can teleport pretty much at will. He has a longbow, and is sniping at range most of the time, but also has a rapier, so he’s just fine in melee when he wants to be. Picked up Piercer, which helps in either scenario. My spells slots mainly go for Hunter’s Mark, and Vortex Warp (not on the ranger list, but my DM let me take it for thematics).
I’m coming up on level 11, where he gets the Distant Strike subclass feature. This will allow him to teleport 10 feet, with no resource cost or limit on use, before every attack as part of that attack. It also allows an extra attack if he attacks two different targets. So, if he’s got three or more enemies, he can: teleport, longbow target one, teleport, longbow target 2, teleport, longbow target three, along with regular movement and a bonus action. He gets Haste at level 9, so that’s another teleport and attack, plus obscene movement speed.
So I’m absolutely going to 11 in ranger. I can’t decide where to go after that. I’ll have pretty much all the spells I’ll want by that point, and the 15th level HW feature can be replicated elsewhere… namely Rogue. I feel like going into Rogue after lvl11 has a lot of benefits. Evasion and Uncanny Dodge, an expertise, and most importantly, Sneak Attack. There seem to be a ton I gain going Rogue, and not too terribly much I’ll miss by not progressing with Ranger.
Does that seem like a good plan? Is there anything I’m missing by not going 12 or higher in Ranger? What Rogue subclass would be best for this character?

First Previous Next
Chapter 6 - From the Ashes
Winrow, Vanstead Dukedom of Augustein, Year 991
She remembered the sounds of screaming. That day came to her in flashes of disjointed images and sensations. In one moment, there was the usual constant chill of the facility, and then in the next there was a burning heat spiraling outwards, climbing up the walls and dying the grey into red.
She remembered twisting shadows and contorted figures. Those magicians, distant and immoveable figures for so much of her life, collapsed to their knees and choked on smoke.
She remembered smaller figures writhing in the flames. A hand crushed beneath debris reaching towards her. A smoking corpse she couldn’t recognize.
She still wondered, sometimes, lying on the cot and staring up at the wooden ceiling, if it had been Tom or Ben. She would focus on the little details of the figure, laboring over the smoking limbs and the exact hunch of the shoulders. She never did know for certain.
She supposed it didn’t matter in the end.
—
Joan inhaled, tightening and loosening her grip on the tray of food she was carrying with her. Once she was done mentally preparing herself, she pushed back her shoulders, gripped the door handle, and turned it.
The door opened with a loud creak. Joan had decided to leave it unoiled on purpose; Amara never responded to knocks, so the least she could do was give a very obvious advance warning when she entered the room.
Joan plastered on a large smile, ignoring the numbness that had been growing on one side of her face, and stepped over to the figure seated on the bed. Amara didn’t even turn, her eyes fixed on the open window and the flowing curtains. It was a bright day, the towering white clouds drifting peacefully across a vast expanse of blue. The sight was particularly welcome after a week of non stop rain.
“Good morning,” Joan said in her most cheery voice. She set the tray down on a small table placed beside the cot. Slowly, Amara turned her head to stare at her. Joan swallowed.
Ever since Amara had woken up, she’d barely spoken or even acknowledged her surroundings. All her movements were dulled, as though she was wading through water, and Joan had yet to see any true reaction from her.
Even when she’d first quietly explained what had happened, that the building was gone and that there weren’t any other survivors, Amara had just listened quietly, perfectly still and unmoving. When Joan had finished speaking, all she’d said was, “Can I see the ruins?”
Joan hadn’t known how to respond to that. Part of her suspected she still hadn’t fully processed what had happened and seeing the destroyed building might provide closure, but she also had to be honest and tell Amara that she was in no condition to move. Amara hadn’t responded to that, but she would still ask, every now and then. Those were the only times she would speak without first being prompted. Besides that, she only ever answered in short, clipped sentences, never referring to Joan by name and never saying more than necessary.
When Joan had confided in Leila, the watchman had made a sympathetic noise and shaken her head. “Poor thing must be in shock,” she’d said.
It was the most obvious explanation and the one Joan had immediately jumped to as well. And yet, the longer she spent around her patient, the more she started to wonder if that initial assessment was wrong.
Despite how dulled her movements seemed and how little she spoke, Amara’s eyes never had the same look to them. Even when she stared off into the distance, there was a constant sharpness there, a hardness that seemed at odds with the rest of her behavior.
Even now, seated on the hospital cot, Amara studied her with that same uncanny perceptiveness, a gaze that always made Joan feel like she was being judged. She forced her own eyes to remain steady instead of darting away like her first instinct was. She briefly considered how absurd it was for her, a former Rose, to be intimidated by an injured patient who was probably half her age and barely old enough to no longer qualify as a “girl.”
Joan cleared her throat, the sound seeming to echo in the pervasive silence.
“How are you today?”
A silent stare was her only answer. Joan suppressed the urge to sigh, instead keeping her smile plastered on. She nodded at the tray of food and stood again.
“Well, if you need anything, I’ll be right there doing work.”
Some time after Amara had woken up, Joan had gotten some neighbors to help her move a table into the patient room so that she could keep an eye on her while working. Amara hadn’t voiced any complaints about it, and it made Joan a little less uneasy, so she’d stuck with the system.
Joan settled down in her seat, squinting down at the stack of letters. She didn’t start reading, however, until she heard the familiar clink of silverware as Amara finally ate. Her shoulders slumped in relief, and she leaned over the table and began to work, ignoring the sensation of eyes on her back as she did so.
—
“You’re healing well,” Joan commented as she carefully inspected an unwrapped wound. She was sure to move slowly and with deliberate gestures, not missing the way Amara’s eyes followed her hands whenever she checked her injuries.
As Joan moved on to the next bandage, she once again considered how lucky Amara was to have survived the explosion. Though she hadn’t seen the building collapse herself, a few of the onlookers had told her that it was sudden and violent. “What do you think happened?” one of them had asked. Joan had told him that she didn’t know. Truthfully she suspected it had been an experiment gone wrong, but she hadn’t wanted to reveal Amara’s secret. As far as the other villagers were concerned, the building was just a lone orphanage that had suffered an unfortunate accident.
“Can I see the ruins?”
Joan frowned. “Not yet,” she said slowly. “Not until all your bones are healed.”
When she looked up again, Amara had turned her head away and was staring at the sky again. Joan sighed and continued the check up.
—
A knock sounded from down the hallway. Joan set down the shirt she was patching and stood with a frown.
“I’ll be right back,” she said before rising and hurrying to the door.
When she opened it, she found not another patient, but Leila still in her watchman uniform. She blinked at the woman, eyes briefly darting over to the basket she was carrying, then back up.
“Leila, it’s good to see you. What’re you doing here?”
“I was patrolling around the area and thought I’d stop by. Here.” She raised her hand and passed the basket over. Joan took it and peered down at its contents. Inside, she found various ripe fruits, some bright flowers that Leila must’ve gotten fresh from the florist, and a small pouch that, when opened, contained an array of glinting coins. Joan’s eyes widened.
“Leila, you didn’t have to—”
“They’re from the watchmen,” the other woman interrupted. She smiled. “I told them I was stopping by and they pooled together some money to help out.”
A warm feeling rose in Joan’s chest. She swallowed, carefully closing the pouch again and setting it back inside the basket beside a bright yellow blossom. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Please tell them thank you for me.”
Leila reached out a gloved hand and patted her shoulder. “After all the times you’ve had to heal us, this is the least we could do,” she joked. She glanced behind Joan at the hallway and lowered her voice. “Speaking of which, how’s she doing?”
“She’s healing well,” Joan said. “I estimate she’ll be able to walk around within the month.”
“You really do work miracles.” Leila shook her head and stepped back. “I ought to get back on patrol. Remember, if you ever need anything, you can ask me.” With a wave, the woman turned around and walked away.
Joan watched her retreating back, shaking her head with fondness before moving to close the door. Basket carefully balanced in her hands, Joan made her way back down the hallway and to the patient room.
“I’m sorry about that, Amara,” she said as she stepped through the doorway. “Leila visited and—”
Joan’s voice cut off.
The cot where Amara usually sat was empty, the wrinkled sheets haphazardly pulled aside. Joan’s eyes darted frantically around the room, landing on her desk table, where her sewing box was overturned, its contents spilled across the table, chair, and wooden ground. Fabric strips, threads, pins, cushions of needles.
And there, a few feet away from the desk, she could just barely make out the top of a head poking out from behind the bed.
The basket fell to the floor.
“No no no—”
Joan didn’t think, immediately sprinting towards the back of the room, cursing herself for being so stupid. Am I too late?
“Amara!” Joan called, stumbling as she leapt onto the cot and peered over in dread, her heart pounding against her ribcage.
There, seated on the ground with her back supported by the bed, sat Amara. She turned her head to face her, and Joan saw that in one hand she held a gleaming pair of scissors and in the other, a thick bundle of wavy hair that lay half scattered across the ground, blown around by the wind billowing into the room.
“You’re back,” Amara observed. Her gaze was as sharp and perceptive as ever.
Joan’s eyes rapidly scanned her, but there were no new injuries to make note of. The only change was her hair, which had been cropped short so that it sat in an uneven line below her chin.
All at once, the tension bled away and Joan slumped down.
“You cut your hair,” she said weakly. Her head throbbed, and she absentmindedly rubbed at it.
“Yeah.”
Joan released a long breath and slowly straightened. She closed her eyes for a moment, calming her rapid heart rate. When she spoke, she forced her voice to remain as still and calm as possible, though she couldn’t entirely mask the slight tremor in her voice.
“Amara, the next time you want to cut your hair or—or do anything, please tell me first. Please.”
Amara stared at her, quiet for a long time. She shifted her position, and for the first time since she’d woken up, something in her eyes changed.
“Okay,” she said.
—
It was a windy day. Joan shivered and pulled her cloak closer, but she didn’t remove her gaze from the figure walking just beside her.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Joan asked. Amara just nodded, not even turning to look her way, and Joan sighed and shook her head. She faced forward as well, eyes following the dirt path and remembering the last time she’d walked along it.
The closer they got to the ruins, the more Joan’s unease grew.
Amara had continued to heal at a rapid pace, and when she’d first started being able to walk around on her own, she constantly did so, moving with a silent, steady determination. The end result of that persistence had led them to their current situation, on the road to the ruins, Amara with only a few bandages left on her skin and walking by herself, albeit a bit slowly, and Joan, whose eyes kept darting over, watching for any reaction.
As far as she could tell, there were none. Amara moved with remarkable calm, shoulders relaxed and eyes steady.
Joan exhaled and kept walking. Ever since the scissors incident, as Joan had dubbed it in her head, Amara had started speaking more. She was still mostly quiet, but she seemed a little more engaged, more interested in her surroundings. She’d even requested Joan teach her how to read, after Joan had given her a tour of her little home and shown her the library. When Amara was sitting there quietly, listening as Joan taught her basic letters and spelling, Joan could almost tell herself that she was just an ordinary, curious young woman if not for the array of scars on her skin. Joan had tried to heal them, but form magic couldn’t alter colors, and so the marks still lingered.
That near normalcy, however, was where the doubts had begun. Initially she’d assumed Amara wanted to see the ruins to give her closure so that she could move on, but what if it had the opposite effect? Joan wasn’t a fool, she knew Amara’s behavior was in no way normal. She had to be repressing things, or perhaps the truth hadn’t really settled yet. What if seeing the ruins caused her to break down?
The longer they walked, the more the doubts grew. Joan quickly became lost in her thoughts, so much so that she didn’t immediately notice when they stopped walking
“Which way?”
Joan blinked and looked up, seeing that they’d reached a familiar fork in the road. Her heart sank and she swallowed. “Left,” she said, voice hoarse. She cleared her throat. “It… it’s just past that hill.”
Amara nodded and turned without hesitation, slowly making her way up the slight incline in a steady rhythm. Another breeze blew past them, carrying scattered tree leaves with it. Joan watched Amara reach the hill top and begin descending until she’d disappeared from view.
Joan stared at the path, limbs suddenly heavy. She tightened her grip on her cloak.
“Get it together,” she muttered. There was no reason for her to be so nervous, she told herself. It was absurd, after all the things she’d already seen throughout her life. But Amara had an uncanny ability to make her feel like a lost child again, someone completely out of her depth.
Joan waited a little longer, listening for any sounds, but there were none besides the wind and rustling flora surrounding them. And so, after a deep breath, Joan lowered her head and made her way over the hill.
When she looked up again, the ruins were in sight. She slowed her pace as she approached.
Where once a simple sturdy grey building had stood, there now lay a pile of debris. Only the bottom sections of the buildings remained standing, jutting out from the ground like broken blades. Charred, splintered wood lay strewn about the grass, and large chunks of shattered stone formed crude boulders.
Surrounding the ruins, colorful blossoms grew in bright patches. Originally someone had suggested burying the bodies—at least the ones they’d been able to recover—there. But Joan had shuddered at the thought of forcing the experiment victims to rest eternally near the broken facility, so she’d requested they move them to Winrow’s graveyard instead. Thankfully people hadn’t questioned her, though the move in the burial site hadn’t stopped people from planting flowers around the area as a memorial.
Joan’s eyes scanned the ruins, finally landing on a single figure standing just in front of the collapsed building. Slowly, Joan approached until she was a few feet away, her footsteps crunching as she stepped over debris.
Amara’s back was turned to her. She didn’t move, simply standing there staring at the destruction before her. The wind blew her now short wavy hair against her neck, and her cloak billowed. The movement caught Joan’s eye, and she caught a glimpse of Amara’s hands hanging at her sides, balled into tight fists that shook barely perceptibly.
Joan opened her mouth and closed it, not knowing what to say. Hesitant, she took another step forward.
And then, all at once, the trembling stopped. Slowly, Amara’s fingers loosened, uncurling themselves until they hung limply at her sides. She raised her head, lifting her face towards the deep blue sky. Joan saw her whole body breathe as another wind blew past them, as though she was trying to fill her lungs with as much air as possible.
A few seconds passed, and Amara’s shoulders fell as she exhaled. Her head lowered back down to eye level, and slowly, she turned around.
Strands of hair lay strewn haphazardly against her face, mussed and twisted by the wind. Her posture was perfectly relaxed and casual, not a trace of tension in sight. The scars running up her arms seemed almost to move in the shifting shadows cast by her cloak. Her sharp eyes, a bright green that gleamed in the sunlight, were piercing.
But what caught Joan’s attention the most was her smile. It was bright, unreadable, and utterly unfamiliar.
“Joan,” Amara said, voice calm. “Let’s go back.”
​
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Don't ask why I want to do this, but I need to. I have Windows 11, and I need for the About PC page to show that I have Windows 10, even if it's just the name in this page. I tried looking in regedit something that could help me, but so far, nothing. I found the ProductName under CurrentVersion, but it says "Windows 10 Home", and it does nothing when I change it. Please, I need this rather urgently.

My father is 76 and suffering from undiagnosed dementia. He refuses to see a doctor. He lives alone and I live several states away. I am his only involved child- and we’ve been close all my life- but I am also the target of his paranoia and delusions. I’ve tried everything to get his trust back but all I get is cruel rejection. My brother is less involved and also lives out of state, but remains in my father’s good graces. I’ve made a decision to walk away from this situation and default to my brother, who is estranged from the whole family except for a couple visits a year with my father. I have no idea what will happen now that I’m dropping my efforts. I don’t know why I have to be the one to help when my brother is equally as capable and doesn’t have the added complication of being the target of the paranoia. My father has made it clear he does not want my help but I’ve insisted because I feel like the only one willing. Anyone else have a similar situation?

I am autistic, so please bare with me on the odd title. It's difficult for me to explain what I am looking for here.
I have been trying to find books that cover something I don't see much but a lot of media has it in the background.
Like in Mass Effect 1, you can talk with someone who does financial engineering to help the Shadow Broker.
Or for more real-life examples: how the CIA supposedly operates through NGOs, how did the Black Hand in Serbia actually work on an organizational level (did local Serbian politicians support them?), how does the corruption operate in some small mining town in Montana, etc. Of course, I don't need literal answers to these, just hope it shows the ideas I am trying to get to.
One of the closest things that touched some of what I am looking for is Andor. But a lot of that was outright covert operations. However, Luthen establishing networks, Mon connecting with banks, the administrative meetings of imperial agents, etc. is what I am after.
While I am fine with some covert ops stuff, what I am mainly looking for is understanding the financial, administrative, and bureaucratic infrastructure behind political intrigue, black ops, corruption, crime, genocide, etc.
The book can be non-fiction or fiction, textbook or casual.
Also, I get some of this is broad. Look, I am after anything that can give me an ounce of this. I don't need something that hits everything, just like I can enjoy Andor when it was still heavily about the direct covert ops.
[Note, I get a feeling people might recommend Dune. I have already read Dune, so no need. But it's also NOT what I am looking for. Dune doesn't quite hit what I am after. It's too actiony and not enough intrigue or true talks about how the financing of CHOAM works. Like, I literally read the minutes for the HUAC committees, and that is closer to what I am after in a sense.]

I am autistic, so please bare with me on the odd title. It's difficult for me to explain what I am looking for here.
I have been trying to find books that cover something I don't see much but a lot of media has it in the background.
Like in Mass Effect 1, you can talk with someone who does financial engineering to help the Shadow Broker.
Or for more real-life examples: how the CIA supposedly operates through NGOs, how did the Black Hand in Serbia actually work on an organizational level (did local Serbian politicians support them?), how does the corruption operate in some small mining town in Montana, etc. Of course, I don't need literal answers to these, just hope it shows the ideas I am trying to get to.
One of the closest things that touched some of what I am looking for is Andor. But a lot of that was outright covert operations. However, Luthen establishing networks, Mon connecting with banks, the administrative meetings of imperial agents, etc. is what I am after.
While I am fine with some covert ops stuff, what I am mainly looking for is understanding the financial, administrative, and bureaucratic infrastructure behind political intrigue, black ops, corruption, crime, genocide, etc.
The book can be non-fiction or fiction, textbook or casual.
Also, I get some of this is broad. Look, I am after anything that can give me an ounce of this. I don't need something that hits everything, just like I can enjoy Andor when it was still heavily about the direct covert ops.
[Note, I get a feeling people might recommend Dune. I have already read Dune, so no need. But it's also NOT what I am looking for. Dune doesn't quite hit what I am after. It's too actiony and not enough intrigue or true talks about how the financing of CHOAM works. Like, I literally read the minutes for the HUAC committees, and that is closer to what I am after in a sense.]

Hello guys, girlfriend of an addict here. I hope after you read this it will make you rethink your choices in regards to porn and how badly it ruines relationships and your significant other (IF THEY DISSAGREE).
So, here's my story:
Me and my boyfriend have been together for almost two years and at the beginning of our relationship I briefly asked about porn and said that I don't agree with it at all to which he told me that he doesn't watch it nor need it. Fast forward six months we were both watching tik toks and he without a shame kept checking if girls there had onlyfans to which I was very confused so I asked him again if he watches porn, to which he said that he just checks their profile because they look like they do sex work so I said "Alright" even tho it really hurt my feelings. For context in the story (meaning why it's so important to me and hurts me terribly) I have terrible mental issues (diagnosed all that jazz won't get too much into it).
Now here we are 3 months after that event; I looked at his phone while he was using it and he had twitter and telegram(also searches of onlyfans girls on instagram) and then he said (as if there was absolutely no problem) that yes, he does watch it. I couldn't help my reaction. I started crying like a kid and unironically went to hide because I was having a panic attack. Afterwards we spoke about it and the reply was: "It's normal, men have urges.". And so I gave into it and basically said okay but in the course of 4 days I couldn't stop regularly crying and shaking violently at the thought that the guy I was very much in love with actively looked at, checked and searched for content of specific women that he saw on tik tok, by the second day we stopped speaking to eachother(we spend most days at eachother's houses meaning we are almost always together). On the fourth day he drank and cried his eyes out and begged for forgiveness saying he would never do it again saying he still has his own beliefs about it.
The second time I caught him it was exactly the same but ofc it felt way worse. He (who was at fault for this whole situation after lying to me for months) wanted to leave my house at three in the morning with me desperately trying to make him stay because I just couldn't do it, I couldn't accept the betrayal nor him leaving after it was his fault and I had done nothing wrong(I just cried and etc). In the end he did stay but it ended up with me physically not being able to speak for 3 hours because of how intense it was for me. In the end, this time too, he had the same beliefs and this whole ordeal ended up with him telling me "Well if u just want me to not do it at least provide an alternative"(I think u alrdy know what the alternative is: pics, videos, etc.). So I did it thinking this time it will finally be over. I also started therapy and worked hardly on getting past it and trying to redeem my self esteem and fix our relationships. I truly did absolutely everything possible. I forgot to mention our intimate life was never ever bad and we did it every day.
The third time I caught him it was the exact same but ofc worse because of..well you know, betrayal, lying and also started feeling completely worthless because I knew he had me on his phone and still chose those other girls(we even had vids with the both of us). Same thing, same reactions from me yet it still felt like I was worthless because he always comforted me and was very kind but he never ever stopped. And man, that fucking hurt.
The fourth time I caught him was on our one year anyversity but I let it go because I saw only one video on twitter, no searches and all that.
I completely forgot to mention he also has bad mental issues and says it's his "coping mechanism" for depression but I am not dumb enough to believe that and it doesn't add up. I mean u see me being that destroyed because of you doing that to me over and over WITH ALTERNATIVES and u still just go and stab me in my back.
And well the final one, meaning the most recent one is way more complicated so Imma start.
Soon after our aniversary in January he left to go to Germany because of family matters that I won't discuss here. Things seemed to be going pretty well with him even regularly asking me for stuff and with our promise he made and all. He even said that I cured him of an addiction that will never return. But hey, here we are, right?
So, point of this post being: If u are a girl and experiencing the same thing I am experiencing please, for the love of whatever you believe in just leave..they never change no matter how many alternatives u provide. Even if they are the most amazing loving person on the planet( I think that of my boyfriend even tho I didn't reiterate that here because I think this isn't the point of the subreddit, this is one of his deffects even tho he has the kindest heart I've ever come across) do not trust them. No matter how many breakdowns they may have in front of you and how much it seems "it's hurting them too" trust me, at the next oportunity they will just go behind your back and lust at other women and beating their meat 4 times a day to that crap. Please if you value yourself and your mental health's well being, run. I know it hurts and it's very hard, my heart goes to all of you out there going thru this right now and please remember YOU ARE NOT ALONE, CRAZY or "CONTROLLING". It is your right to set YOUR boundaries in relationships and stick to them. Be strong!
Now, if you are a boy I hope this post shows you at least 3 percent of what your significant other goes thru because of what you do. You cannot keep blaming this on your addiction. IT'S ALL YOU. Staring at provocative videos wondering if the girl has OF or Twitter, checking her account, WANTING to see another girl other than your own fully naked while you beat your meat to it all while knowing how it would affect your significant other. Knock it the fuck off. You have no idea how much it affects us. And in my personal opinion that IS cheating.
That's all everyone, I hope this post helped at least one person today, then I've done my job.

Grew up on ino. Figured I’d love working there too so I applied. I prepared for a high intensity job cause I know how busy they are but that’s an understatement of what this is. I’m talking heart pounding, dripping sweat 10 minutes after clocking in, I’m talking being told to do x,y,&z while you’re literally mid a, b, &c. I’m talking don’t even have time for a sip of water or using the restroom. I’m talking the second you go to fix the DR a cust comes in and you have to go right back when you literally haven’t even wiped one table yet. And then right after that order they tell you right away again to go to the DR as if I wasn’t already doing that if you would just let me finish what I was currently doing. I could go on. I’ve had literal panic attacks before from losing my nametag&clip because they act like it’s the end of the world if you slip up. I literally feel like the Marine Corps is stricter. I can’t do this anymore I refuse to be undervalued & overworked for 19.75. I also dislike the work environment, it’s very much unprofessional judgmental high school clique-like and if you don’t kiss their ass understand their inside jokes and lingo well boohoo you’re not part of their club gtfo. There’s one girl who is so mean to me for absolutely no reason that I brought to the managers attn which he replied that they meant to handle her and now absolutely will be doing so and that multiple other people have issues with her and I am not alone. So they just pick favorites and let shit slide ? Lmao absurd & y’all should’ve been had said something to her not now after multiple complaints wtf?Yet when I was interviewing she asked what ?s I had for her I asked about the work environment and she said “it’s great we pick the bad apples out as soon as we can!” Not when yall show favoritism y’all don’t! These mandatory store meetings at the crack of dawn on my weekend off is absurd. I’m sorry but I really don’t care like that to get up at 7am to meet new hires and clap for graduates and play communication games. As a customer my orders were perfect, as an associate?! Fuck you lol! Even HR doesn’t give a fuck!😍 I called and they literally said there’s nothing we can do about it but they can let the manager. Which you’re still not helping lol right your wrongs please. Why I gotta have HR tell you the same damn thing y’all should listen to me my associate voice should matter. It’s sad that they don’t care when you’re an associate all the sudden. Which really sucks! Cause one of my favorite things about ino used to be the customer service but seeing they don’t care about their employees experience makes me sad. I order light fries and they’re nearly crunchy. I order a protein style and get bread. I order no tomato and I get tomato. I order a light fry and it’s a measly 10-15 fries put inside the burger paper wraps. I order 2x extr lett and get regular lett. Hell, i order a fry and I get FUCKING HAIR IN MY FRIES TODAY. I’m so damn over it. Y’all can find someone else to undervalue and dehumanize. The company doesn’t care about you out of 100 other employees and they’re constantly hiring so leaving won’t have an effect in the slightest. It’s absolutely always something. If it’s not one thing it’s another. Down to even crazy shit like what I’m allowed to wear when I exit/enter. Can’t even wear the hat/shirt when leaving or entering apparently. Like damn you can’t breathe at this job. Lol, literally. If it’s not one thing best believe it’s something else. Genuinely how does anyone put up with this? Does the pay at higher levels just become worth it or something? Do y’all have literally no other option?I feel bad for taking sometimes time away for my 7 trained shifts last month but I didn’t know it was gon be so hellish hopefully they’re not mad at me. HOLY FUCK update in live real time I can’t believe this I just found more hair in my burger too. Cherry on top bruh I’m out . I get the memo now that ino only cares about you if you’re a customer smh. I’ll return as a customer but I regret thinking working for them would be great. It’s been nothing of the sort. I will & I know it’s the right thing to do but I barely wanna put a 2 week notice in I never want to go back after today I’ve had it. I gotta go I am definitely not built for all this. I genuinely am curious how & why people work here or if this is an isolated experience cause ?!

Hey everyone!
I’m working on helping my fiancé realize how enmeshed his family is. He’s not a big reader and I feel like handing him a “self-help” book may be a little too much for him.
Does anyone have any suggestions on good movies or tv shows that feature or show an overbearing/needy mother and/or family? This Is Us comes to mind for me, but his father passed a little over a year ago and I think that might be a bit much too soon for him. I think this could be a good way to keep the conversation going a bit more.
Thanks in advance!

My dog Leo is a Corgi/Blue Heeler mix and we've had him ever since he was a puppy. He's almost 3 years old now and my wife and I have been having a lot of issues with him recently. Whenever I descend or ascend the stairs of our home he will get extremely aggressive: growling, snarling, nipping and excessive barking. He even barks and snarls when I walk past the top of the stairs when he's at the bottom.
He only does this when my wife and I are both home. If it's just one of us he's a perfect little angel and is just as cuddly and loving as I'd ever wanted him to be. But as soon as both of us are home he starts exhibiting this behavior. We believe it's an extreme case of seperation anxiety and I genuinely don't know what to do.
At first we tried distracting him with play, where my wife would throw his toys or play tug of war with him whenever I would go upstairs but he'd quickly run over as soon as he noticed and begin barking and snarling.
Then we tried distracting him with treats, where we'd bring him away from the stairs with treats and have him lay down and only give him the treat after he settled down. But that only seemed to associate a reward for barking as whenever he starts barking and snarling now he runs over to the area we give him treats at and starts begging for treats while barking and continuing this behavior.
At this point I don't know what to do. I've tried muzzling him, holding his jaws shut, kenneling him, shouting at him, just about everything that I know won't help but I'm just so out of my league I don't know what to do. It's so stressful to have to go through this every time I try to welcome my wife home from work, grab dinner, go to work, or anything involving the downstairs. It feels almost like I'm imprisoned in the upstairs.
And I am just so angry with myself, I don't want to hurt him or scare him but it's the only thing I know how to do and I hate hurting him. I just end up going upstairs and crying in the shower and hating myself even more whenever I do and I'm trying to be better and not do that. I love him so much and I don't want to have to give him up.
At this point we're trying to get our Vet to prescribe anti-anxiety meds which they suggested he may need but it's been a struggle as they say they don't want to until he's older but I don't think there's another option.
I know I'm new here, and I know I've done a lot wrong but I genuinely don't know what to do and I only want what's best for him. He's such a little angel and I really do love him. I hope I can find some good advice here so I can try to find more constructive and helpful ways of curtailing and dealing with this behavior.

I always overthink social situations especially negative ones. I can’t help but think every friend I’ve had didn’t like me or thought I was annoying. Does anyone else feel this way?