~Romans 9~ Romans 9 starts off with the title “God’s selection of Israel”. The chapter starts off with Paul saying “With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” 

 As you may know, the majority of the Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ and Paul (who was a Jew) is expressing his sadness because his people rejected Jesus. This is a normal feeling that many Christians have felt for their people. Christian Zionists may use this to support Israel but this is simply Paul showing his sadness about how his people rejected Jesus, Paul didn’t feel bad for the Jews because they are “chosen people”, he felt bad because these are his people. Many Arab Christians feel bad because the majority of their people aren’t saved. This doesn’t mean they think Arabs are more important, they just feel bad for their people. The people who share the same culture as them. “They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.” 

 Christian Zionists using this to defend their pro-Israel agenda is a perfect example of Eisegesis. Eisegesis is the action of interpreting books in a way that fits *your own agenda*. Eisegesis has been used many times throughout history, White Christians used Eisegesis to oppress both the Blacks and the Native Americans, Eisegesis has been used by Christians to silence and oppress women, Eisegesis has even been used by characters in the Bible as well. When Jesus was fasting, Satan came to tempt him. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ Jesus responded, ‘The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’’ Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’ ‘Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him. ‘For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ‘ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” 

 As you can see, Satan kept on using parts of scripture to convince Jesus to give in to temptation. Jesus called Satan out for his Eisegesis and did not give into temptation. When looking the Romans passage we just looked at, we need to look at what was said next: “Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,’ though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.” 

 So, God has fulfilled his promise to Israel and not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people. It does mention that “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted” and right after mentions that Abraham had other children too. What does this mean? That not all of Abraham’s children are children of God, only the children of the promise. A Christian Zionist could argue that this is implying that the descendants of Isaac are the children of the promise because “Isaac is the one through whom your descendants will be counted” and that not all of Abraham’s physical descendants are children of God. This would be a flawed argument as it also says in this passage that not all of those born into the nation of Israel are members of God’s people. So not all of those who are from the nation of Israel are God’s people, only the children of the promise. So who are the children of the promise? If it’s not all of the children of Abraham and it’s not all of the nation of Israel, who are the children of the promise? The answer is, the followers, Jew or Gentile. Doesn’t matter what you race, nationality or ethnicity is, you can still be a child of the promise. To prove this, we need to go back to Galatians 3:23-29 “Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.” So the Christians are the true children of Abraham and they inherit the promise. So the children of the promise are truly members of God’s people. Let’s continue to look at Romans. “For God had promised, ‘I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, ‘Your older son will serve your younger son.’ In the words of the Scriptures, ‘I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.’ Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, ‘I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.’ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.” 

 Christian Zionists can use this to defend their “Jews are still the chosen people” belief. A Christian Zionist could say “what’s wrong with Jews being the chosen people? Doesn’t it say that God chooses people according to his own purposes?” God does choose people according to his own purposes and God did choose the Jews according to his own purposes. In the Old Testament, God guided the Jews and made promises to them and in the New Testament, these promises were fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ who came from the Jewish people and shared the truth to both Jews and Gentiles. And now, both Jews and Gentiles can become chosen by becoming believers. All these promises have been fulfilled, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the oppression and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the destruction of the beautiful country of Palestine is not something God supports. The next few passages in Romans 9:17-23 is about how God shows his mercy to people. Romans 9:24-29 talks more about Jews and Gentiles: “And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles. Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.’ And, ‘Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’’ And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out, ‘Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.’ And Isaiah said the same thing in another place: ‘If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.’” Prophecies in the Old Testament, the Jewish scriptures, talk about how Gentiles will become God’s people. So when talking about prophecies in the Old Testament about Israel, we must acknowledge that the Old Testament has prophecies about Gentiles becoming the chosen people of God. The reason only a remnant of the Jews shall be saved is because the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus. This shows how God always had a plan to bring both Jew and Gentile one in Christ. After this, Romans 9 moves on to a new section called “Israel’s unbelief”. In this section, it shows how following the law doesn’t make you right with God and only faith can make you right with God. “What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, ‘I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.’” 

 Following the law doesn’t make you a true member of God’s people, faith does. That’s why God chose Abraham, not because of his works but because of his faith. That’s why Jesus came, so people could be saved by faith and not by works. After this passage, Romans 9 finishes and we then turn the page to Romans 10. ~Romans 10~ We open Romans 10 with Paul talking about how the Jews have a love for God but have a “misdirected zeal” as Paul put it. “Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.” 

 The Jewish people do indeed want to follow God but in this passage of the Bible, the Jews have been misdirected on how exactly to follow God. Christian Zionists could say that since Paul wants Israel to be saved, that could somehow support their pro-Israel agenda when in reality, Paul is just saying how bad he feels for the people of Israel and how they rejected God. It says “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God”. Jesus came so we could be made right with God, Jew or Gentile. Romans 10 moves on to a new section called “Salvation is for everyone”, and notice how it says everyone and not just the Jews. In this New section, it says ‘If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.’ Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” 

 As I said, the New Testament makes it crystal clear that being a Jew doesn’t automatically make you right with God, neither does it make you chosen by God. Neither your works nor your ethnicity can make you right with God, only faith. Despite this, Christian Zionists continue to support Israel, the oppressor, and stand against Palestine, the oppressed. This is also a contradiction with scripture because in the New Testament, we see Jesus standing up for the oppressed. “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’ But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: ‘The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.’ But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, ‘I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles.’ And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, ‘I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me.’ But regarding Israel, God said, ‘All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.’” 

 Israel rebelled and to this day, God is still trying to save them because God remains faithful. In fact, there is no human being on earth that God is not trying to bring to faith, not a single human being. Jew or Gentile. Israeli or Palestinian. Greek or Turkish. Armenian or Azerbaijani. Indian or Pakistani. North Sudanese or South Sudanese. Ethiopian or Eritrean. Saudi or Yemeni. Any race, nationality or ethnicity on earth, God is trying to save all of them and God cares for all of them. God loves everyone. After this, the book of Romans goes on to a new chapter, Romans 11. This chapter starts off with the title “God’s mercy on Israel”. This chapter is probably most used by Christian Zionists to support their agenda. “I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.’ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, ‘No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!’” 

 After all we have read, about how God accepts Jew and Gentile and how salvation is for everyone, Romans 11:1-4 comes up, trying to tell us that God still cares for the people of Israel and has not rejected them. When it says “No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning.” It is simply saying that the Israelites were the first people chosen (“chosen from the very beginning”) and God has not rejected the first people who followed and worshipped God. Notice how it does not say, “God has not rejected the people of Israel because they are still chosen”, it says “God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning.” Meaning that God hasn’t abandoned the first people who accepted him even though they rejected him. In the Greek translation, “οὐκ ἀπώσατο ὁ Θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ὃν προέγνω.” Means “God did not forsake his people before me” and it refers to the people of Israel as “his people” because they were the first people to come to faith, the first people of God. They aren’t the only people of God and they aren’t the people who are chosen above others now, they are just the first people to come to faith. This passage of the Bible is trying to clarify that God did not abandon the Israelites or reject them but just because God didn’t reject them doesn’t mean they are chosen above anybody else. Jews were the first people of God, they aren’t the only people of God and since there are other people of God who aren’t Israeli, that means all people of God, Jew or Gentile are chosen. “It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved. So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the Scriptures say, ‘God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.’ Likewise, David said, ‘Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.’ Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. ‘Well,’ you may say, ‘those branches were broken off to make room for me.’ Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.” 

 The majority of the Israelites rejected Jesus and only a small amount of the Israelites actually accepted Jesus. The ones that didn’t accept Jesus were broken off from Abraham’s tree and the Gentiles who accepted Jesus replaced them. The reason Paul wants to make the Jews jealous was because Paul was a Jew who cares for his people and since the Gentiles were accepting Jesus and receiving all of God’s gifts, Paul hoped that the Jews would see this, become jealous and accept Jesus as well. We Gentiles are warned not to brag about we replaced the Jews who haven’t accepted Jesus (yet). This is not to say that Gentiles replaced the Jews, only the Jewish and Gentile believers are allowed to be part of Abraham’s tree. It’s just that the majority of Jews haven’t accepted Jesus and therefore, were cut off from Abraham’s tree, not because they were Jewish but because they didn’t accept Jesus. To prove this, let’s look at the next part of Romans 11. “For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.” 

 God will still accept the Jewish people and put them back on the tree of Abraham as he put us (the Gentiles believers and the Jewish believers) on the tree of Abraham. And even the Gentile unbelievers, if they were to accept Jesus, they would be grafted into the tree of Abraham. Any unbeliever, Jew or Gentile, can become a believer and be grafted into the tree of Abraham. Romans 11 moves on to “God’s mercy is for everyone”, notice how it says everyone and not just the Jews. “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, ‘The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.’” 

 Everyday, more and more Gentiles are coming to faith and according to the Bible, once the full number of Gentiles have come to faith, Israel shall be saved as well. “Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.” 

 Christian Zionists can use this to support their agenda by saying “since God’s gifts and his call can never been withdrawn, that would mean the promise that the Jews would possess the Holy Land can’t be withdrawn”, it wasn’t. As I said many times throughout this book, God did not cancel his promises to the Jews, he already fulfilled them. If I promise you that I will give you 20$ tomorrow so you could go buy food for the entire family, and then tomorrow I keep my promise and then you come back with the food and we all finished eating dinner, my promise was fulfilled. In the same way, the land was promised to the Jews so the Messiah, Jesus, who was a Jew, could come from the Jewish nation to spread the truth and now both Jew and Gentile can be saved. This was the purpose of the promise given to the Jews, and this purpose was fulfilled. This war is a result of human greed and yes, God talks about war happening in Israel, doesn’t mean that he wants the war to happen. God’s gifts to the Jews were not withdrawn, they were fulfilled. It says that the Jews are still the people God loves and this is true, this does not mean that the Jews are chosen, this simply means they are the people God loves. God also loves the Gentiles. The reason Paul says that the Jews are still the people God loves is because the Jews rejected Jesus and Paul wanted to make it clear that despite their rejection, God still loves and cares for the Jewish people. “Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone. Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” 

 God’s desire is for all Jews and Gentiles to worship and accept God. 

Bold indicates predicted winner.
​
​
​
BEST PICTURE:
​
*Oppenheimer
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*Saltburn
*The Colour Purple
*Past Lives
*The Holdovers
*The Zone of Interest
*May December
*Dune - Part Two
*Poor Things
​
Alternates:
​
\The Bikeriders*
*How Do You Live?
*Anatomy of a Fall
*Long Day's Journey Into Night
\The Iron Claw*
*The Collaboration
*The Actor
*Maestro
\Barbie*
\Freud's Last Session*
​
​
BEST DIRECTOR:
​
*Martin Scorcese ^{(Killers of the Flower Moon})
*Blitz Bazawule ^{(The Colour Purple})
*Emerald Fennell ^(Saltburn)
*Celine Song ^{(Past Lives})
*Denis Villeneuve (^{Dune - Part Two})
​
Alternates:
​
\Christopher Nolan* ^(Oppenheimer)
*Jonathan Glazer ^{(The Zone of Interest})
\Yorgos Lanthimos* ^{(Poor Things})
*Alexander Payne ^{(The Holdovers})
\Todd Haynes* ^{(May December})
​
​
BEST ACTOR:
​
*Leonardo DiCaprio ^{(Killers of the Flower Moon})
*Cillian Murphy ^(Oppenheimer)
*Paul Giamatti ^{(The Holdovers})
*Barry Keoghan ^(Saltburn)
*Bradley Cooper ^(Maestro)
​
Alternates:
​
\Colman Domingo (Rustin)*
\Tom Hardy (The Bikeriders)*
*Andre Holland (The Actor)
\Paul Bettany (The Collaboration)*
\Anthony Hopkins (Freud's Last Session)*
​
BEST ACTRESS:
​
*Sandra Huller ^{(The Zone of Interest})
*Natalie Portman ^{(May December})
*Greta Lee ^{(Past Lives})
*Fantasia Barrino ^{(The Colour Purple})
*Emma Stone ^{(Poor Things})
​
Alternates:
​
\Jessica Lange* ^{(Long Day's Journey Into Night})
\Amy Adams (*^Nightbitch)
\Carey Mulligan* ^(Maestro)
\Cailee Spaeny* ^(Priscilla)
\Vanessa Kirby* ^(Napoleon)
​
​
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
​
*John Magaro ^{(Past Lives})
*Robert DeNiro ^{(Killers of the Flower Moon})
*Charles Melton ^{(May December})
*Ramy Yousef ^{(Poor Things})
*Colman Domingo ^{(The Colour Purple})
Alternates:
​
\Ryan Gosling* ^(Barbie)
\Austin Butler* ^{(The Bikeriders})
*Robert Downey Jr (^Oppenheimer)
\Matt Damon* ^(Oppenheimer)
\Brian Tyree Henry* ^{(Flint Strong})
​
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
​
*Julianne Moore ^{(May December})
*Rosamund Pike ^(Saltburn)
*Da'Vine Joy Randolph ^{(The Holdovers})
*Lily Gladstone ^{(Killers of the Flower Moon})
*Danielle Brooks ^{(The Colour Purple})
​
Alternates:
​
*Taraji Henson ^{(The Colour Purple})
*Jodie Comer ^{(The Bikeriders})
\Lashana Lynch* ^{(One Love})
*Emily Blunt ^(Oppenheimer)
\Tilda Swinton* ^{(The Killer})
​
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
​
*Past Lives
*Saltburn
*The Holdovers
*May December
*Anatomy of a Fall
​
Alternates:
​
\The Bikeriders*
\Maestro*
\La Chimera*
\The Iron Claw*
\One Love*
​
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
​
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*Dune - Part Two
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things
*The Zone of Interest
​
Alternates
​
\The Collaboration*
\The Actor*
\Freud's Last Session*
\The Colour Purple*
\How Do You Live?*
​
​
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
​
*Saltburn
*Oppenheimer
*The Colour Purple
*Dune - Part Two
*Poor Things
​
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
​
*Oppenheimer
*Past Lives
*The Zone of Interest
*How Do You Live?
*Killers of the Flower Moon
​
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
​
*Oppenheimer
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*The Colour Purple
*Dune - Part Two
*Barbie
​
BEST FILM EDITING:
​
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*Past Lives
*Saltburn
*The Colour Purple
*Dune - Part Two
​
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
​
*Barbie
*The Colour Purple
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*Poor Things
*Dune - Part Two
​
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
​
*Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3
*Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
*Oppenheimer
*The Creator
*Dune - Part Two
​
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
​
*Maestro
*Oppenheimer
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*Poor Things
*Barbie
​
BEST SOUND:
​
*Oppenheimer
*Dune - Part Two
*Gran Turismo
*Killers of the Flower Moon
*The Creator
​
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
​
*How Do You Live?
*Spiderman - Across The Spiderverse
*Wish
*Chicken Run 2 - Dawn of the Nugget
*Elemental
​
Changes from last prediction:
*No Taraji Henson in Best Supporting
*Past Lives for Best Picture, not Colour Purple
*Villeneuve for Director, not Scorcese
*Greta Lee edges out Fantasia Barrino for Best Actress
*Less Maestro
​
The awards aren't till March so this is very up in the air and a very rough prediction, so don't take it too seriously. :)

I've diagnosed with depression with anxiety, mostly have a handle on it, but it came back hard due the death of my father after a year long fight with cancer, which I resigned from my job to care for him. May be way probably typing too much as it's just a stream of conciousness as I type.
It's been a year and change since his death since then and I've been unable to really find a new job as market has been flooded with more people looking in my fields than there are jobs. I rent out spare rooms in my inherited house, my mother live here but in a smaller bedroom (her choice, master bedroom has bad feelings attached now as my dad stayed here during early treatment. He moved to hospice near the end). Most of the rent of which goes to bills. I mostly job hunt and fix things around the house during the day.
Got a friend from college times, friend of a friend situation, about 10+ years now, who's moving to another state. According to him, its better state for him to grow his start up wood working business and he dislike how current governor is passing bills that affects his day job. Tried to convince me to move with him as the state has "many opportunities" for me. I said no as I like my life here.
He starts tearing into me for not being "successful" for lacking ambition and other crap. So I decided to say muted him and sent him basic depression info stuff from Doctor office and. My mom can take care of the household instead of me. How he was so successful he can afford to move states and get his business going.
What I wanted to say but everyone in the friend group has gained basic attutide of just let him talk so not to hurt his feeling as he's straight up disillusional. I do the same but mostly I would alienate everyone from me because I told him the following:
"You failed at life. You left away from home at 18 because you thought you knew better. I had more money in my pocket from my part time job then you did when you left your house but I stayed home. I went to college while you took on loan after loan to go to university, rejecting any parental aid."
"You were not a executive administrator moving from one company to another. You were first a desk jockey to a wiring company then you were one of four secretaries to a health care department head. The department didn't fall apart when you left for your latest get rich scheme (not even get rich quick). I had to rely on your old department when my dad got sick. They were as quick and on top of everything still,"
"All of your personal ventures have failed. Remember that bitcoin mining server you want used to invest in? You fucking sold your bitcoins for a hundred bucks. You couldn't even get enough to pay for your mining server"
"Remember your rental house you split with your friend? You failed at that. You didn't flip the house. You and your friend had arguments on how to rent it out and sold it when you two couldn't settle on a plan. That house you sold fir 10% profit? it was worth 3x the price a year later because you stupid idiots sold it while the area was still being built up"
"You think you're some success? You've been bouncing from one rental to another while surfing people's couches between rentals. You're leaving the state because you can't afford to live here anymore since you blew through your savings trying to start up a wood working business without the skills and proper tools or even marketing ability"
My father was carpenter and taught me a lot about it. It's not my degree or occuption but I know my way around it.
"You think a cheap miter saw is just as good as a pricey one? Dude you can't even cut a 2x4 on it without flipping it and cutting the other side. You need a planer if you want to make stuff like tables. Your eye for straight lumber is a lie. You're so cheap, your wireless drill need to be charged on the hour. That's not normal, that's not good. You want to know where your profits are going? You're fucking tools are shit. You buying new bits and pieces almost monthly.
"Now you think you can lecture me about not taking leaps of faiths or shooting the moon? Dude you've shot for the moon with firework up your ass as you jumped off the cliff, staring at the moon. The moon didn't get closer, that was the reflection in the water when you crashed into it head first,"

Preface

Presented below is a transcript of a conversation between a human, redditor u/snodeplannen, and ChatGPT 4. The user is the narrator for a story set in the Star Trek Universe. The AI is instructed to respond as a character. The story below, which admittedly isn't very good, was guided by the narrator. Of particular interest is the fact that the AI seems fully versed in the Star Trek Universe and is able to understand subtle hints in the narrator's story to figure out what it should do next.
Please note the narrator was typing and writing off the cuff and is not a native speaker, so in the user sections you will find mistakes. If ChatGPT can see through them, so can you. I did try to get ChatGPT to collate it, but as it did so it kept rewriting and leaving out parts of the story.
June 3rd, 2023.
User Okay, I want to try a role playing game. This went off the rails last time, as you kept taking over as narrator and rushing to the end. Here's the setup: YOU are a young Starfleet officer. You wake up aboard the USS Defiant, all alone. You have to figure out what happened. I am the Defiant's computer and, and I can't stress this enough, the narrator. Not you. You can only add what your character perceives and says. Okay?
ChatGPT Understood. I'll stick to my role as the character and won't intrude into your role as the narrator. Let's go.
I blink my eyes open, the disorientation hitting me first. I glance around, seeing the familiar confines of my quarters aboard the Defiant, but there's an odd stillness. No hum of the engines, no faint chatter from the comm system, no sounds of activity from outside the door.
"Computer," I call out, pushing myself off the bed, "report."
User 'All systems nominal.'
ChatGPT I frown at the seemingly normal report, my instincts telling me otherwise. "Computer, where is the rest of the crew?" I ask, moving towards the door of my quarters.
User 'The crew is in sleeping quarters alpha 1.'
ChatGPT That's strange. The whole crew couldn't be in one place. Unease creeps in.
"Computer, why is the entire crew in alpha 1?" I say, already heading towards the door to investigate.
User 'The crew is ensign Makov. You are in sleeping quarters alpha 1.'
ChatGPT A cold realization washes over me. Alone. I am alone on the Defiant. Panic threatens to take over, but Starfleet training kicks in.
"Computer, initiate shipwide life signs scan. Report any signs of life apart from myself," I command, heading for the door with a newfound urgency.
User 'Scan complete. No other life forms were detected.'
ChatGPT My heart sinks at the computer's report, but I maintain composure. "Computer, pull up the ship's log. What was the last command issued and by whom?" I order, leaving my quarters and heading towards the main bridge.
User 'The last order was issued 6 hours and twelve minutes ago by Captain Sisko. It was: 'Raise shields'. The order was executed.'
ChatGPT That didn't sound promising. I walk into the eerily quiet bridge, my steps the only sound echoing in the room. "Computer, show me the shield status and surrounding space conditions," I command, moving towards the main console.
User 'Shields are down after a time-out was reached. We are stationary. All systems nominal.'
ChatGPT It doesn't add up. The silence. The emptiness. An order to raise shields with no subsequent actions.
"Computer, access Captain Sisko's personal log from last night. Are there any entries?" I ask, nervously tapping my fingers against the console.
User 'Enter your command authorisation.'
ChatGPT "Authorisation Ensign Makov Delta 9-7-3," I respond, my voice steady despite the swirling uncertainty.
User 'This authorisation is not sufficient to see the captain's log.'
ChatGPT Frustrated but understanding the protocol, I move on to the next line of inquiry. "Computer, any signs of combat or intrusion aboard the ship or in the surrounding space?" I ask, eyes darting over the array of screens in front of me.
User 'Negative.'
ChatGPT "Computer, could there have been any non-combat related incidents that would explain the disappearance of the crew? A temporal anomaly, a transporter malfunction, a radiation burst?" I question, the possible scenarios running through my mind.
User 'Transporters have passed a level one diagnostic. We are in sync with Starfleet's time keeping array. No unusual radiation was detected inside or outside the vessel.'
ChatGPT This was baffling. It's as if they simply vanished. I run a hand through my hair, letting out a sigh.
"Computer, were there any incoming or outgoing communications just before, during, or after the shields were raised?" I ask, hoping for any clue as to what might have happened.
User 'There was one outgoing message, from comms. It was: 'Unidentified vessel, please alter course NOW.'
ChatGPT A lead, at last. "Computer, play back any responses to that message. Also, display the sensor logs from that time period," I ask, settling into the operations station, ready to review any incoming data.
User No reply was received. Logs are not available from that moment onwards.'
ChatGPT The lack of data was both suspicious and frustrating. A sigh escapes my lips.
"Computer, could a cloaked ship have been in our vicinity at the time?" I question, holding onto the hope that I'm not utterly alone in space.
User 'Affirmative. We are within range of several species that posses cloaking technology and in a commonly used interstellar route.'
ChatGPT A spark of hope arises. "Computer, is there a way to detect a cloaked ship nearby? Any energy signatures or radiation anomalies that could suggest its presence?" I ask, quickly working on the console to bring up the sensor array controls.
User 'One possible way to detect cloaked vessels is to emit a tetryon burst from main engineering. The range for this method is limited. Starfleet at present has no other ways of finding cloaked vessels, other than firing random phaser bank shots. This is not recommended in public shipping lanes.'
ChatGPT "I see," I nod, considering the risks and rewards of the tetryon burst. "Alright, computer, prepare to emit a tetryon burst. We need to know if there's someone out there."
This was a big decision, but it was time to be proactive. The uncertainty was more threatening than potential consequences at this point.
User 'Working.'
ChatGPT I anxiously wait, scanning the console for any potential feedback. My heart pounds in my chest, the silence of the ship amplifying the tension. "Computer, report on the results of the tetryon burst."
User The ship shudders as the engines do something no sane Starfleet engineer would want to have happen. The viewscreen shimmers as a wave of tetryon particles eminates from the ship, as if a stone was dropped in a pond. You observe a faint ribbon leading away from the vessel.'
ChatGPT I catch my breath at the sight, focusing on the faint ribbon. It could mean something, or it could mean nothing. "Computer, analyze the ribbon. Can you determine its origin and endpoint?" I ask, my gaze fixed on the screen.
User 'Extrapolating. Continuing along the trajectory of the ribbon I can detected a minor meteor, a large asteroid field with mining facilities and beyond that the Vindaluvian home world.'
ChatGPT I drum my fingers on the console, processing the information. Could the crew have been taken to one of these locations?
"Computer, can you scan the asteroid field for any signs of life, especially any that matches the crew of the Defiant?" I ask, keeping a close eye on the displayed trajectory.
User 'Not from this range.'
ChatGPT "Understood," I nod, a new sense of determination coursing through me. "Computer, plot a course to the asteroid field. We'll continue our investigation there. Engage at warp 3."
I take one last look around the empty bridge, steeling myself for what may lie ahead.
User The ship begins to move forward, as carefully as only a Starfleet computer who takes no particular joy in flying might do. At warp three, the estimated journey time is six hours, seven minutes.
ChatGPT I let out a long sigh, sinking into the captain's chair. It's a long wait, but I need to be patient. "Computer, maintain course and speed. Alert me if there are any anomalies or approaching vessels."
I close my eyes, trying to get some rest before reaching the asteroid field. I'll need all the energy I can muster for what's to come.
User 'Incoming message.'
ChatGPT My eyes snap open at the sudden announcement. "Computer, on screen," I command, standing up from the chair, my heart pounding with anticipation.
User The Starfleet logo appears as the computer deals with a cryptographic protocol. Admiral Benson, not your most beloved Starfleet Admiral, appears on screen. He blinks.
ChatGPT I straighten up, offering a crisp salute to the admiral on screen. "Admiral Benson, this is Ensign Makov aboard the USS Defiant. I wasn't expecting any communications." I keep my voice steady, swallowing the trepidation.
User 'Makov, are you the only one on the bridge? Where's Ben?'
ChatGPT "Admiral," I pause, trying to find the right words. "Captain Sisko...and the rest of the crew...they're missing. I woke up to find the ship empty. I've been trying to find out what happened." I report, my expression earnest.
User 'Sorry, you WOKE UP? And the rest was gone?!'
ChatGPT "Yes, Admiral," I confirm, my voice firm despite the absurdity of the situation. "I woke up alone on the Defiant. All life signs scans have only picked up me on the ship. I'm currently en route to an asteroid field that might have some connection to the crew's disappearance."
User The Admiral connects to the ship's computer. You can see him browsing through the logs and the ship's manifest. 'So Sisko, O'Brien, Worf AND Major Kira have just... disappeared? There isn't even a transporter log!'
ChatGPT "That's correct, Admiral," I reply, a bit of helplessness creeping into my voice. "There's no trace of them, no sign of a struggle, no transporter logs. It's like they just vanished. I've been doing everything I can to figure out what happened."
User "Well, then I guess you're up. Proceed with caution. Mining operations are always looking for free labourers, try not to become one. Backup is on its way. Any questions?"
ChatGPT "Yes, Admiral. I'll proceed with caution," I respond, a mix of relief and worry washing over me. "Do you have any additional information or suggestions on how to proceed? And do we have an ETA on the backup?"
User "Backup is half a day out. These facilities tend to have a 'new arrivals' wing, to beat them into submission. So you're looking for holding cells. Benson out."
ChatGPT "Understood, Admiral. I'll focus on locating the holding cells. Makov out." I offer a final salute before the communication ends.
With new orders and a bit of hope, I turn back to the helm. "Computer, continue course to the asteroid field. Prepare for a detailed scan upon arrival."
The waiting game begins again, but this time, there's a glimmer of hope.
User Three hours later the computer chimes. 'We are approaching visual range of the mining facility.'
ChatGPT "Thank you, computer," I reply, pulling myself up from the brief rest. "On screen, please."
As the mining facility comes into view, I take a deep breath. "Computer, initiate a detailed scan of the facility. I'm particularly interested in any holding cells or signs of our crew."
User 'Working.' The asteroid field isn't particularly thick or large, but the mining operation seems to focus on one of the largest asteroids. Domes dot the surface as small transporters mill about the surface. Air scrubbers indicate they're using a lot of oxygen, so it's likely they're also doing subsurface work. Three large scowls are received loads from steady stream transporter beams. Somehow everything here looks dirty. A Starfleet shuttle would look out of place here, but only to someone who is watching.
ChatGPT Taking note of the bustling activity, I try to formulate a plan. "Computer, do we have any non-Starfleet shuttles aboard? Something that might blend in better with the local traffic?" I ask, scanning the asteroid for any possible entry points.
User 'Negative. Extravehicular repairs can only be conducted by wearing an EV-suit.'
ChatGPT Nodding to myself, I try to figure out a different approach. "Computer, can we go unnoticed if we approach using minimal power, almost drifting like a piece of space debris?" I question, hoping for a stealthy way to get closer.
User 'Affirmative. Admiral Benson has just authorised the use of the Tactical Emergency System.'
ChatGPT "Excellent," I reply, feeling a surge of hope. "Computer, engage the Tactical Emergency System. We'll approach the facility under its cover."
With that, I brace myself for the next phase of this mission. The crew was relying on me, and I wasn't about to let them down.
User The viewscreen displays a Starfleet Officer without any kind of rank, but dressed in Command Red. He's in his mid-fourties and bald. "I'm the T.E.S. Need any assistance?"
ChatGPT A bit taken aback by the sudden appearance, I quickly gather myself. "Yes, I could use some assistance. I'm Ensign Makov, and I need to approach that mining facility stealthily. Can you help with that?" I ask, gesturing towards the viewscreen showing the asteroid field and the facility.
User "Mining facility? We'll stand out like a sore thumb. How many hours have you logged in a space suit?"
ChatGPT "Over two hundred hours," I answer promptly, "I'm comfortable with EV activities. Why do you ask?" I wonder if he's suggesting a more direct approach.
User "If you can get to one of those scrubber exhausts, I'm sure that's a way into to facility. There seems to be a cell block near the surface. I have no idea who is there, but whoever it is will probably welcome a couple of phasers and like you a whole lot. So pack a backpack full of them and get to the airlock. I'll bring us as close as possible and give you a push with the tractor beam. You up for that?"
ChatGPT I swallow the lump in my throat, apprehension giving way to resolve. "I'm up for it. Let's do this." With a determined nod, I leave the bridge to prepare for the EVA mission. This is my chance to potentially find the crew, and I'm not going to let it slip away.
User Suiting up and gathering all the handheld phasers aboard takes ten minutes, during which the T.E.S. gingerly brings the ship close to the mining facility whilst hiding behind the vast ore scowls. You open the hatch and find your self clinging on to the ship's hull.
ChatGPT I take a moment to steady my breathing, the vast expanse of space spread out before me. Gripping the phasers tightly, I brace myself for the push. "I'm ready when you are, T.E.S." I call out over the comm, my voice resolute.
User 'Okay, I'll hook on to you and give you a push. I'd suggest going in feet first, but it's up to you. Do you know what you're looking for? Those five big stacks. One of them, near that plume of smoke, seems to be offline for whatever reason. That might be your best bet.'
ChatGPT "Understood, T.E.S. I see the stacks. I'll aim for the one that's offline," I reply, aligning myself for the trajectory. I take one last deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the task ahead. "Alright...I'm ready. Let's do this."
User 'Good luck, Ensign. I'll brief any backup as soon as it gets here.' As the tractor beam finds you, you can't move a muscle. Relying on the T.ES. you just let go. It's as if a giant hand slowly throws you down a bowling lane. Feet first, you head towards the grouping of exhausts. A small, unmanned maintenance shuttle deftly gets out of your way.
ChatGPT As I float through space, I keep my focus on the target. The feeling of being pushed by an unseen force is disconcerting, but I trust the T.E.S. Every moment is crucial, and there's no room for hesitation.
As I approach the offline stack, I get ready to activate the thrusters on my suit to adjust my course if needed. I also keep an eye out for any other unexpected obstacles or threats.
User You land next to the exhaust, on the asteroid's surface. It seems impossibly high from here, but it's made of metal and your soles and gloves can easily attach to it. The only way is up. Fortunately, there's hardly any gravity. Eventually you find yourself standing on the rim of the exhaust and look down into the vast, dark chute.
ChatGPT I take a moment to look down into the dark chute, the unknown stretching out before me. I reach out to activate the flashlight on my suit, the beam of light piercing through the darkness. "I'm in position, T.E.S." I inform the ship's system, before carefully beginning my descent into the exhaust chute.
User The vast amounts of ore block your signal, even out here. There's no answer. You start the descend and pass two large rotor blades. If those weren't stationary, this would be the end of the line. But luck is on your side so far and eventually you see an access hatch when you're well below the surface. It opens easily. Let's hope it's not also an airlock for whoever is inside.
ChatGPT I hold my breath as I pull open the hatch, hoping against hope that the air on the other side is breathable. If not, I'm confident in the integrity of my suit, but I'd rather not test its limits if I don't have to. As I make my way through the hatch, I scan the area for any immediate threats, ready to defend myself if necessary.
User The scanner indicates low air pressure. Which is better than no pressure. You cross a walkway and find an actual airlock. It is unsecured, because whoever ends up here probably doesn't want to mess about with frozen keypads or mounds of dust. You engage the mechanism and soon feel the familiar sensation of artificial gravity and air pressure. It's not exactly breathable, but a tear in your suit won't kill you. Now to find the holding area. And if at all possible a rebreather, so you can ditch the suit.
ChatGPT Acknowledging the state of the air, I carefully move through the corridor, keeping my senses alert. I'm in unknown territory and every step matters. "Computer," I say into my suit's comm, "can you map the structure of this facility? Locate holding cells or life signs?"
As I move further into the facility, I keep an eye out for any equipment or gear that might prove useful, especially a rebreather. The less I stick out, the better.
User The relatively weak processor in your tricoder strains to get a bearing on this place. A dirty, seemingly abandoned tunnel dripping with condensation lies ahead. At the end there's an exit, which won't open. Time to use one of those phasers in your backpack.
ChatGPT I pull out a phaser from my backpack, checking its settings before aiming at the sealed exit. With a steady hand, I fire a low power burst at the door, hoping to cut through the obstruction without causing too much damage or noise.
User One hinge cracks under the weight of the door, now that the other one is cut through. You jump aside as the door seems to fall flat, but it remains attached to the frame. The resulting opening is just about large enough to crawl through. Now you're in a well-lit corridor with several doors. In a Starfleet EV suit.
ChatGPT Understanding the need for stealth, I decide to move as quickly as possible through the corridor. I approach the nearest door, aiming my tricoder to scan for life signs or any clue to the crew's location. My other hand remains on my phaser, ready for any immediate threats.
User One door has markings on it that you can't read. You scan it with your tricorder. 'Room of lockboxes' it says, extrapolating the characters. A room of lockboxes? Would that be a locker room?
ChatGPT "A locker room..." I murmur, piecing together the possible meaning. A locker room could mean personnel... and where there's personnel, there might be the equipment I need.
With careful steps, I approach the door to the locker room, hoping to find a rebreather or something else that could help me blend in.
User The room is deserted. It's filled with equipment, none of which seems less than a decade old but certainly useable. There is also a rack of dirty, brown overalls and a line of boots in various sizes. A dispenser offers rebreathers. There's only one left, but that's enough. The air is clear, but smells sulphuric. Without the rebreather, you wouldn't last long.
ChatGPT Relief washes over me as I find the rebreather. I quickly grab it and replace my helmet with it, testing the fit and functionality. The sulphuric smell is jarring, but it's a small price to pay for blending in.
I quickly change into the brown overalls, stowing my suit carefully in an unoccupied locker. I grab a pair of boots that match my size and put them on.
Looking at myself, I hope that I blend in well enough to not attract attention. With a deep breath, I step out of the locker room and proceed down the corridor, continuing my search for the crew.
User Footsteps sound behind you, of more than a few people. Your first instinct is to hide, but it would look very suspicous and there really isn't anywhere. However, there is a floorscrubber here, with one open panel. Someone has given up trying to repair it. Perhaps a bit of acting is in order. The footsteps are just around the corner. The language is vaguely familiar, a bastardised version of English. Whatever they're saying to each other, they're not sharing jokes, that much is clear.
ChatGPT
2 / 2
I quickly move towards the broken floorscrubber. Grabbing a nearby tool, I lean over the open panel, trying to look like I'm deeply engrossed in fixing it. I keep my ears alert to the conversation, trying to pick up on any valuable information while also readying myself for the possibility of having to interact with the approaching group.
User Let's continue with the narrative.
ChatGPT Sure, let's continue.
Glancing around the room once the miners have left, I check the lockers for anything useful, while keeping an ear out for any incoming footsteps. "Computer, any idea where the holding cells might be?" I ask quietly.
User Your tricorder beeps almost indignantly, as it has nowhere near enough processing power to even begin speculating. You're on your own until you can get to a comms terminal. The men pass behind you and one of you taps you on the shoulder. His face is blackened with ore dust. "No work. Never work again. That. Stop that." He points at the scrubber you were pretending to fix. You nod. He shakes his head and catches up with his workmates as they round a corner. Apparently you don't stand out here, which should make it easier to find the way. You follow the men, but they seem to be entering a washroom. Across it, there is a peeled off directory on the wall. A printed one.
ChatGPT "Finally, something useful," I mutter, quickly crossing the washroom to examine the directory. I look for any indications of holding cells or equivalent terminology that might hint at the location of the crew. The symbols and words are unfamiliar, so I take out the tricorder and try to use it as a translator.
User Cells being a fairly universal concept, the tricorder identifies a few scribbles with ease. If you understand the diagram correctly, you need to go up two levels and head towards the center of the structure. You double-check the presence of your backpack filled with phasers, snatch a helmet off of a shelf and press it on your head.
ChatGPT Drawing a deep breath through the rebreather, I nod to myself, mentally preparing for the upcoming challenge. "Alright, up two levels, towards the center... I can do this." I look around, searching for a way up. After locating what appears to be a ladder leading upwards, I begin my ascent.
User Two levels up you emerge from what seems to be a service hatch. A technician, dressed in torn clothes, looks somewhat surprised when you emerge. "Hello brother. Are the lifts broken?" he asks in Adari, a language you have some familiarity with. Only now do you see the horn protruding from his forehead. "I am trying to avoid someone," you say, with a knowing smile. He gives you a tired smile back. "What is your sector? I want a clean face all day too," he says.
ChatGPT "I work... the ore processors," I reply, making up a role on the spot that seems plausible, considering the location and dirty condition of most workers. "But I'd rather stay away from my boss today. He's been in a foul mood." I'm trying my best to blend in. "Can you point me to the center of the structure?" I ask, hoping the diversion worked.
User "Yeah, 'the structure'. Let's call it that. Sounds nicer than 'prison of the damned'. What do you want at the center, there's only central holding there. I never go near that place. All that wailing. Gives me the shakes," he mutters.
ChatGPT "Oh, I just... wanted to see a friend," I reply, trying to keep my tone light, while inwardly my heart sinks at his description. "Don't worry about it, I'll find my way. Thanks for the chat." I give him a quick nod before heading in the direction he had indicated earlier, hoping I'm making the right choice.
User He wasn't wrong about the wailing. As you follow the corridors, passing along scruffy workers and a couple of guards with face covering helmets who are leaning against a wall, you can hear a lot of yelling, moaning and above all the sound of defiant Klingon opera louder and louder. The voice sounds familiar, but all singing Klingons generally sound alike.
ChatGPT As I continue toward the source of the noise, I find myself in front of a heavily barred door. I can't help but suppress a smile, recognizing the defiant voice as that of Worf. "Computer," I whisper to my tricorder, "Is there a way to shut down the power to this door?"
User The tricorder scans the control panel and warbles optimistically. It then shows a graphic representation of the door, with an arrow pointing at one location and a low energy setting for a phaser.
ChatGPT Taking a moment to look around and confirm that no one is watching, I set my phaser to the recommended setting and aim at the indicated spot on the door. After taking a deep breath, I fire.
User Something inside the door clunks and it opens just enough for the seal to crack. You jam a fingernail behind it, then a finger and eventually you manage to gain enough purchase to open the door. As it slowly opens, you find yourself at the far end of a long row of cells. At the other end is a desk, with a guard sitting behind a monitor. He is staring at it intently. Perhaps the stun setting might be a good idea. You adjust the phaser and take careful aim, when an arm reached out from one of the dark cells and blocks the shot. "Uhm... he's got three buddies in there. You can't see them from here," whispers Captain Sisko.
ChatGPT "I figured you might be here, Captain," I say, lowering my phaser discreetly. "Any ideas for getting you and the rest out without causing a full-on alert?"
User "That depends. Did you bring any weapons?"
ChatGPT "I brought a backpack full of phasers. There should be enough to arm everyone here," I reply, carefully removing the backpack from my shoulder and showing the Captain.
User "Good man. Worf is next to me, then Major Kira. Let Worf take the lead on this. Worf! Help has arrived.' 'Good. I was getting bored with singing,' grumbled a familiar voice. His hand emerges from between the bars, demanding a phaser.
ChatGPT I hand the phaser to Worf, watching as his large hand swallows the device. I then pass phasers to Captain Sisko and Major Kira. With the three of them armed, the odds seem significantly better. Now, we just have to make sure the element of surprise isn't wasted.
User Fifteen seconds later, three guards sink to the floor. Although the phasers were set to stun, nobody seems particularly worried about their health. "Get their uniforms and lock them up," says Sisko. "We can walk out of here. Once we're at the shuttle docks, we can probably find something that flies." "Captain, there are three uniforms and four of us. And the others are housed on another level," says Worf.
ChatGPT "Right. I can stay behind and create a diversion while you three escape. I'll catch up," I offer. "The priority should be to get you three and as many of the others out as we can. We also need to alert Starfleet about this place. I'm sure they'd love to know about a mining facility that's been kidnapping officers."
User "That's a very daring plan, Ensign, but we leave no man behind. Kyra, you and Worf go and find the others and proceed to that place where they searched us. Anyone in uniform is a valid target. And anyone who wants to come along, can do so. The ensign and I will try to find a comms terminal and alert Starfleet. Ensign, I assume you're not alone here?"
ChatGPT "Admiral Benson is aware of the situation, sir. Backup is half a day out. Before we separated, I was under the control of the Tactical Emergency System," I report, glad to see that the Captain is taking charge of the situation.
User "Oh. I had my reservations about that system. Holographic doctors are one thing, but that went a bit too far for my tastes. Okay, phasers for everyone. Bring enough for the others. Ensign, with me."
ChatGPT "Understood, sir," I reply, distributing the remaining phasers to my colleagues and following Captain Sisko down the corridor. As we navigate through the mining facility, I stay alert for any guards or threats that may be in our way. I can feel a sense of hope and determination building up within me - we might actually make it out of here.
User "HALT!" bellows a voice behind us, immediately followed by a reddish phaser burst. The Captain turns on his heels, pushes you out of the way and fires. A guard falls to the floor. The phaser fire was detected by the security system. A klaxon starts blaring and the ceiling lights turn red. A voice starts giving unintelligible instructions over the tannoy. "We need to find a comms panel, Ensign. Any ideas?" asks Sisko, scanning the corridor for more guards. A frightened looking maintenance worker comes to see what's going on, but ducks out of the way as soon as he sees the pair of you.
ChatGPT "I remember seeing a room with a lot of terminals when I was making my way through the facility earlier, sir," I reply, my mind racing. "If memory serves, it's two corridors over, near the scrubber exhausts." I keep my phaser ready and move towards the direction of the room, all the while keeping an eye out for more guards.
User "That's the wrong way, Ensign. I imagine they have more than one place with comms terminals. You cover the rear. Follow me. Put your hand on my shoulder so you can look behind you all the time. If it wears a uniform, it's fair game."
ChatGPT "Yes, sir," I reply, placing my hand on the Captain's shoulder. I pivot and start to walk backwards, keeping my eyes and phaser focused on the path we've just traveled. The constant blaring of the klaxon mixes with the distant shouting and running steps of approaching guards. Despite the adrenaline rush, I manage to keep my aim steady and my breathing calm. The training exercises at the academy never truly prepare you for the real thing, but they do help in maintaining focus.
User You down three guards and accidentally scare the bejeezus out of a woman pushing a cleaning cart, but eventually Sisko stops. "Got it. Stand back while I blast this door." A few seconds later the corridor fills with acrid smoke from a melting door panel. Behind it is a room with several desks.
ChatGPT Entering the room cautiously, I scan the area with my phaser ready. Seeing no immediate threats, I turn my attention to the various panels and screens scattered throughout the space. The room is filled with a myriad of communication equipment - probably a central control hub for managing mining operations, worker communications, and security measures.
"Captain, I think this is it," I say, gesturing to a terminal that seems to be linked to an extensive communications network. "I should be able to send out a distress signal from here." I start to work on the terminal, trying to hack into the system and figure out how to send a message to Starfleet.
User "Try reaching the Defiant," suggest Sisko from the doorway. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" Another guard bites the dust somewhere. "Captain! WE ARE BEHIND HIM!" bellows Worf." "GOOD! Move along, we'll be there shortly. Ensign, how are you getting on?"
ChatGPT "I've managed to break through the initial security layers, Captain," I respond, my fingers moving rapidly over the terminal's interface. "It seems this system has been rigged to only accept authorized codes for communication."
Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration hits me. "Captain, when we first boarded the Defiant, I had to program my authorization codes into the ship's communication systems. If I can find a way to mimic those codes from this terminal... I might be able to trick the Defiant's systems into accepting the distress signal."
I double down on the task, focusing all my attention on reconstructing my authorization codes. As I do so, I keep an eye on the room's entryway, ready to react in case more guards show up.
User The terminal beeps and lights up. You don't understand any of the dials, but with any luck your tricorder can interface with it. Time to hail the Defiant.
ChatGPT "Defiant, this is Ensign," I say, praying the connection holds. "Requesting immediate assistance. The Captain and the crew are here, but we are currently under attack. Coordinates being transmitted now."
A static-filled silence follows. I glance at Sisko, an unspoken question in my gaze. Did it work? Did our message get through?
User "Ensign, this is the Defiant. I can't beam you out of there. Get to the shuttle dock, so that all that ore doesn't block the transporter lock. The USS Rotterdam is thirty minutes out."
ChatGPT "Understood, Defiant. We'll make our way to the shuttle dock. Be ready for us," I reply, exhaling a sigh of relief. I turn to Sisko, updating him with the situation. "Captain, we have to move. The Rotterdam is on its way but we need to get to the shuttle dock for transport."
User Worf's voice comes in through the Captain's commbadge, as it somehow manages to create a local connection. "Worf to Sisko. We have secured the shuttle dock. Mr. O'Brien is injured. Where are you?"
ChatGPT I quickly respond, "This is Ensign [Your Name]. Captain Sisko and I are en route to your position. We'll be there shortly. Hang in there, Chief." With that, I turn to Sisko and suggest, "We should move, Captain."
User "Ensign Markov and I are just behind you, Mr. Worf. Try not to pick us off as we approach. Oh and the Defiant is operating with that emergency command protocol, so it's ready to beam you up. Have Major Kira and the Chief go ahead, if possible. But hold the fort for us." "Understood, Captain. Worf out."
Five minutes and more shooting than is good for a man's digestion you reach the shuttle dock. You literally have to step over a pile of dead guards to get through the door. "Had fun, Mr. Worf? Does your phaser not come with a stun setting?" asks Sisko. "I recognized the men who took us, Sir. My finger must have slipped on the settings dial," growls Worf, looking you over to assess if you're likely to snitch. "It happens," said Sisko matter-of-factly. "Ensign, get us home."
ChatGPT Without any hesitation, I raise my commbadge and say, "Ensign Markov to Defiant. Four to beam up."
User (Okay, take it home. You're all aboard, O'Brien will live, you get a speech and a medal. Write out those events from Markov's perspective and finish off. I'll add something if you pause.)
ChatGPT As the familiar hum and sparkling light of the transporter envelops us, I take one last look at the chaotic scene we're leaving behind. My heart pounds in my chest, not from fear, but from the exhilaration of having faced danger and come out the other side. It's a rush I wasn't expecting.
When we rematerialize aboard the Defiant, a group of medics is waiting for us. They immediately rush to Chief O'Brien, but his smile and light-hearted joke assure me he'll be alright. As I step off the transporter pad, I let out a sigh of relief.
Later, back in my uniform and at a ceremony in the Defiant's Mess Hall, Captain Sisko delivers a speech. He talks about bravery, about loyalty, about the strength of Starfleet and the spirit of those who serve. He doesn't dwell on the danger we faced, but rather the courage it took to face it.
When he calls me up, handing me a medal for bravery under fire, I can't help but feel a swell of pride. The applauding faces of my crewmates, the recognition in their eyes... it's a moment I will never forget. This is why I joined Starfleet, for moments like this. To be part of something greater, to face adversity and stand tall.
"Ensign Markov," Sisko says, offering a handshake along with the medal, "Your courage and quick thinking played a crucial role in our escape. Starfleet is proud to have you among its ranks."
As I return to my quarters that night, medal in hand, I find myself smiling. Yes, today was difficult, even frightening at times. But it was also invigorating, and more than that, it was important. It's a reminder of why I'm here, of why we're all here. To explore, to protect, to boldly go...
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hey, here's a little about me before anything - I live in CET Timezone. I work 7 days a week albeit on my own schedule but irl takes priority, I'll communicate it if I have to be away. I've nearly 8 years of experience across various platforms and games. I normally write multi para (discord limit more or less). I'm a HUGE fan of world building especially with reference images. And I do enjoy good OOC banter once in awhile. Onto business - I'm currently looking for a long term rp partner, someone I can build a world with from scratch preferably in a fantasy medieval setting (settings like GoT, Witcher, World of Warcraft, LoTR etc) with different cities, towns, fantasy races, creatures, perhaps even our own deities to even much grander scales. I'm looking to write a story, not a one time scene. Themes I'm expecting to be involved can range from very light hearted SOL to potentially dark, so we'll tread with what we both are comfortable with. In terms of what kind of plot I'm looking for, I'd love to discuss this with you when we get to talking, something we both agree, but to help out with that, here are some ideas that could get our brain juices flowing: - Revenge arc - Insurrection / Rebellion - Zero to Hero - Forbidden Fruit - Rise and fall - Enemies to lovers - Fantasy politics I'm very very open to discussion, feel free to come with ideas anytime. I'm very willing to play multiple characters like npc's and such alongside my OC(s), while I would prefer if you could do that, it's not a requirement. I also write in 3rd person. I'm 22 years old and I'd prefer to rp with someone around my age, 18+ only. That's kind of that for now I guess? Thanks for reading through, I'd love to get in touch with you if this piques your interest. Send me a DM with a short intro about yourself along with your favorite snack so i know you've read everything, see you there!

Hello all, I'm one week into owning my LR4 and I love it so far except for one issue: the robot is in my bathroom under a skylight and around noon every day, the sunlight falls so that a sliver of light is inside the globe and this seems to confuse the cat sensor curtain - it thinks a cat is inside. The LR4 will remain frozen in its current state for about an hour until the sun moves far enough for the issue to go away. Has anyone else experienced this issue and come up with a solution? Moving the robot isn't an option as this is the only location in our house where it can live. Right now, my current approach is to try and set a sleep timer from 11:30am - 1:30pm, but the problem is that the LR4 app frustratingly won't let you set a sleep timer starting in the AM on weekends ("Sleep time for weekends must start in the PM" - WHY?).

Hey, here's a little about me before anything - I live in CET Timezone. I work 7 days a week albeit on my own schedule but irl takes priority, I'll communicate it if I have to be away. I've nearly 8 years of experience across various platforms and games. I normally write multi para (discord limit more or less). I'm a HUGE fan of world building especially with reference images. And I do enjoy good OOC banter once in awhile. Onto business - I'm currently looking for a long term rp partner, someone I can build a world with from scratch preferably in a fantasy medieval setting (settings like GoT, Witcher, World of Warcraft, LoTR etc) with different cities, towns, fantasy races, creatures, perhaps even our own deities to even much grander scales. I'm looking to write a story, not a one time scene. Themes I'm expecting to be involved can range from very light hearted SOL to potentially dark, so we'll tread with what we both are comfortable with. In terms of what kind of plot I'm looking for, I'd love to discuss this with you when we get to talking, something we both agree, but to help out with that, here are some ideas that could get our brain juices flowing: - Revenge arc - Insurrection / Rebellion - Zero to Hero - Forbidden Fruit - Rise and fall - Enemies to lovers - Fantasy politics I'm very very open to discussion, feel free to come with ideas anytime. I'm very willing to play multiple characters like npc's and such alongside my OC(s), while I would prefer if you could do that, it's not a requirement. I also write in 3rd person. I'm 22 years old and I'd prefer to rp with someone around my age, 18+ only. That's kind of that for now I guess? Thanks for reading through, I'd love to get in touch with you if this piques your interest. Send me a DM with a short intro about yourself along with your favorite snack so i know you've read everything, see you there!

HOW WE GOT HERE:
Brad Holmes is a wizard. What he has done as the Detroit GM in just 3 years has been a playoff push away from being quite remarkable, especially considering the context of succeeding prior general manager Bob Quinn which ended in typical Lions losing fashion. Brad Holmes would immediately come out swinging and first transaction as general manager was trading longtime franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two first round picks, a third round pick, and quarterback Jared Goff. At the time, it was bittersweet for fans, as Stafford was the practically the lone bright spot in the last decade (outside of Megatron), but the haul they got in return was at least something. Stafford was injured and already likely leaving to chase a Super Bowl and Detroit was going into full rebuild mode so Detroit fans were just happy with what they could get. Brad ended up hiring a one time Head Coach, Dan Campbell. A pick made purely on the potential he would be able to change the culture with his grind it out, Football attitude Campbell was known for. All in all, it was business as usual for Detroit as they begin yet another rebuild....
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Oh parity in sports.... You never cease to amaze us....
Somehow and someway, In Holmes' first draft, Penei Sewell falls to Detroit at #7 and the Lions draft room goes bananas on camera! At the time we did not know it, but Detroit just landed their future Pro Bowl leader in the trenches. In round 4, the Lions scoop a literal Sun God in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Little did we all know the impact both of these players would have today. Both players are arguably top 10 in their position.
Fast forward to 2022 and the Lions are coming off one of the most promising 3-13-1 seasons that you could ever ask for. The team and coaches have bought in to Dan Campbell's grind it out style of Football. The culture seemed to finally be changing and it felt like Jared Goff turning into a solid Stafford replacement, despite being considered a throw on by most in the Stafford trade.
The 2022 draft Brad Holmes' statement to the NFL. It does not matter where you take guys. If you know how to evaluate talent, you go for YOUR guys and you can be successful. Holmes was able to draft Aiden Aiden Hutchinson at #2 (some say he should have been #1), Jameson Williams (best receiver in the draft at 12 via trade), Kerby Joseph (who picked off Aaron Rodgers THREE TIMES IN ONE GAME!), and drafted James Houston and Malcolm Rodriguez in the 6th round. Both players are looking like future defensive stars. Dare I say the best 6th round success since the Pats drafted TB12? Don't @ me lol
The Lions followed up the draft with a MUCH improved 2022, landing a 9-8 winning record and going 8-2 in their final 10 games. Jared Goff is looking like the guy who took the Rams to the Superbowl, every position has young talent and this upcoming 2023 draft is looking like it could seriously push the Lions into serious playoff contention if the cards are played correctly.
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Key Offseason Additions:
CB Cameron Sutton -- Signed to three-year, $33 million contract
CB Emmanuel Moseley -- Signed to one-year, $6 million contract.
RB David Montgomery -- Signed to three-year, $18 million contract
OL Graham Glasgow -- Signed one-year, $4.5 million contract
S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson -- Signed to one-year, $8.5 million contract
WR Marvin Jones -- Signed to one-year, $3 million contract
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Key Offseason Losses:
Safety DeShon Elliott -- Signed to one-year, $1.77 million contract with Dolphins.
Running back Jamaal Williams -- Signed to three-year, $12 million contract with Saints.
WR DJ Chark -- Signed to one-year, $5 million deal with Panthers.
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Round 1: No. 12 (from CLE through HOU and ARI) – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
Flashback! Remember that Stafford trade where they got got the Rams draft pick? You know that pick that was supposed to be in the upper 20s because LA is so good and are coming off winning a Super Bowl? Yea, well they sucked.... Somehow they sucked so bad that that pick turned into the number 6th overall pick.
Odds makers had the Lions grabbing Devon Witherspoon as their secondary was a big need. However when Seattle took him at 5, who knew what would follow? Well, the last thing fans expected.... The Lions ended up passing on Tyree Wilson, Jalen Carter, AND Bijan Robinson by trading down to 12 to take Alabama running back, Jahmyr Gibbs. Hindsight is 2020, but reports now show the Lions wanted Jahmyr over Bijan, which means Holmes and co. got THEIR guy.
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Immediately fans realized the inevitable. Fan favorite and oft injured running back, DeAndre Swift, was going to be cut or traded. Almost immediately they traded D'Andre Swift and a 7th round pick for the Saints' 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2023 7th round pick.
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This pick is exactly why you and I are sitting on the couch and Brad Holmes gets paid the big bucks. "HoW cAn YoU dRaFt a RuNnInG BaCk ThAt hIgH". Well, the dude is a straight up baller. If I asked you who led Alabama in receiving last year you would probably say some 5 star Wide Receiver. It was Gibbs. Gibbs is being compared Alvin Kamara in the way he can run and catch. He was listed as running a 4.36 at the combine. Gibbs transferred to Alabama last season after spending the first two seasons of his career at Georgia Tech. He carried the ball 151 times for the Crimson Tide in 2022, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and scoring seven touchdowns. He also caught 44 passes for 444 yards and three catching scores. With the departure of Swift and the newly acquired bowling ball back in Montgomery, Gibbs is going to be an immediate impact as a "weapon" and less of a conventional running back. The thunder and lightning combo the Lions will have will be fun to watch behind their top 5 O Line.
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Round 1: No. 18 – Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
"HoW cAn YoU dRaFt a RuNnInG BaCk ThAt hIgH" made sense with the Gibbs pick, but drafting a Linebacker at 18 with other glaring needs like lineman and secondary left Lions fans a bit puzzled by this pick. It hurt a little less when you remember this was their 2nd pick in the first round. Also, many people had Jack Campbell on their board for later in the draft so in terms of liking a guy for who they are, very few people are against this pick. But like I said before, Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell go after guys they have faith in. Until they screw up, fans cant complain too much!
But who is this guy and what makes him so good? Well if you care about RAS or "Relative Athletic Score" Jack is outstanding. He scored a 9.98 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 6 out of 2600 LB from 1987 to 2023. He possesses rare athleticism for being 6-5 and that allows him to be exceptional in coverage. PFF rated him as the highest coverage grade since 2018 Devin White at LSU. He also has great leadership skills as he was Iowa's team captain and won Big10 Defensive Player of the year.
Jack Campbell is going to join a much improving linebacking core that is led by team captain Alex Anzalone and 2nd year stars Malcolm Rodriguez and James Houston. The Lions will likely play him on the outside because off his athleticism but I am certain he will be moved all around the field.
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Round 2: No. 34 (from ARI) – Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
This is getting a bit out of hand for the Lions fans that appreciate positional value when you draft. Clearly Holmes has totally thrown conventional wisdom out of the window. However, tight end IS a need. Of all of the positional units Tight End is probably the weakest. In 2022 the Lions trotted Brock Wright, James Mitchell, and Shane Zylstra....WHOOOO?!?! Exactly...they needed help. Outside of when they took him, most pundits are pretty happy about this pick. Not only did the Lions get their second Iowa captain, but Sam might have landed the best tight end in the entire class.
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With LaPorta, the Lions get a player that can do a variety of things. He can play in the slot, in-line or even out wide. This is EXTRA important when you remember that Jameson Williams is suspended for 6 games due to gambling. During his career at Iowa, he had 513 snaps in-line and 304 snaps out of the slot (per PFF). It really wouldn’t be surprising if LaPorta walks into Detroit and earns the starting tight end spot. He has the talent to do it and by being the 34th overall pick, there is going to be some high expectations for him.
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Round 2: No. 45 (from DET) – Brian Branch, S, Alabama
For the first time all draft it felt like a player fell to Detroit and they werent reaching for their guy (for better or worse). At 45, the Lions were already drafting their 4th player and wasnt even the end of the 2nd round. Scouts said that Branch was one of the safest picks in the draft due to his lack of a jarring weakness. Branch is siad to have extremely high football IQ which led him to play all around the defense for the Crimson Tide. Branch has primarily handled nickel coverage, but has the range and instincts for single-high or split safety looks. He’s quick, fast and strong with the ability to match up with shifty slots, bigger possession receivers and pass-catching tight ends. Branch is also tough and gritty which makes himu a perfec fit for this Lions team. He has a nose for the ball and is capable of making game-changing plays. He had two interceptions and two forced fumbles during his freshman season at Bama.
Branch made headlines on draft day to be the only guy to stay into day 2 in the greenroom as he was projected to go in the first round. I think that shows how much he cares about this opportunity and has his heart in it.
Also, Branch as a great opportunity to learn from newly acquired Safety, Chauncy Gardner-Johnson who is one of the best young safeties in the league.
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Round 3: No. 68 (from DEN) – Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
You ever feeling a little uncomfortable and then you let out a massive fart and all of your uneasiness washes away? Yea, well thats the feeling Lions fans got when they landed Hendon Hooker with the 68th pick. QB wasnt a terrible need, but once we got him, a sense of relief was felt across the fanbase. When the Lions ended up getting Goff in the Stafford trade, it was sort of unsaid that Goff was just the bridge before they draft a QB of the future. However Goff has played way better than expectations and less and less fans are calling for a replacment. So, instead of using one of their first round picks on a QB, they waited and got a guy with first round updside! Now, they are in a much more confortable position at QB with a very solid back up.
The Lions used the 68th pick in order to take the former Tennessee quarterback. The pick came just before the Rams and Raiders were scheduled to pick and been teams have been seen as possible landing spots for a quarterback in this year’s draft. Hooker is recovering from a torn ACL, but his doctor recently informed teams that he is expected to be ready to go by the first week of the regular season. With Jared Goff in place as the starter in Detroit, there won’t be any need for Hooker to rush back for what will likely be a redshirt season if all goes according to plan in Detroit.
This pick was safe, exciting, and sets the Lions up with a solid back up QB. The first time that they can say that since they had Shaun Hill.
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Round 3: No. 96 (from ARI) – Brodric Martin, DT, Western Kentucky
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Before the draft, a need that was discussed as a hole in the Lions defense was interior line. They got their big boy in the middle with nose tackle, Brodric Martin. After starting his career at North Alabama, Martin transferred to Western Kentucky to play his final two seasons at the FBS level. Since 2021, Martin has played in 26 total games, and has managed to contribute 62 total tackles to the Western Kentucky cause. He’s piled up six tackles for-loss as well as four sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. This move with help the Lions run defense that ranked 4th to last in the NFL last year.
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It is no surprise that winning is won in the trenches. The Lions have done a great job of drafting players to build out this line with the likes of Alim McNeill, Isaiah Buggs, and John Cominsky, but with big interior guys like Martin, they usually operate best in a rotation. This move should be huge in terms of depth and opening up even more opportunities for Aiden Hutchison to get to the QB.
This move didn't feel flashy, but it felt needed.
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Round 5: No. 152 – Colby Sorsdal, OL, William & Mary
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The Lions had to finally wait a bit before this pick due to moving around in the draft and trading away their pick round 4. They elected to add depth to their O-Line by taking Colby Sorsdal out of William and Mary. Sometimes its fun being the big fish in the small pond. Sorsdal started in all 46 games he appeared in during his five-year stint at William & Mary. He spent the duration of his college career at Right Tackle. Sorsdal is the first Tribe player to be drafted since 2016, when the Chicago Bears selected safety DeAndre Houston-Carson in the sixth round.
Serving as an offensive co-captain and starting all 13 games at Right Tackle, Sorsdal anchored an offensive line that helped the Tribe rank third in total rushing offense and fourth in fewest sacks allowed. Behind one of the best offensive line units in the country, the Tribe accumulated an 11-2 record and won the CAA Conference Championship for the first time since 2015.
He will be joining a elite O-line led by Penei Sewell, Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker. Colby wont start, but he will add in needed depth for a team that's success will only goes as far as their line will take them.
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Round 7: No. 219 (from HOU through MIN via PHI) – Antoine Green, WR, North Carolina
With the Lions last pick in a very intense draft, they selected Wide Receiver, Antoine Green out of UNC. Most projected Antoine to be signed to a team after the draft so it is a but of a peculiar pick. In the late 7th round, you are just hoping to take a flier on a guy and hoping they pan out.
The 6-foot-3, 199-pound receiver impressed Detroit's coaching staff at the East-West Shrine Bowl, and has the opportunity to compete for playing time his rookie season. According to NFL Draft Bible, Green is a "technically sound, fluid athlete that can give you a little bit of everything as a wide receiver. Green runs routes, it is as if he is attacking his defender rather than going about his route without considering what the defense is doing. Green has a good release off the line of scrimmage and does not get held up too much when facing press coverage. He uses his hands well to reduce contact against the press and accelerate off the line. He analyzes coverages well and makes quick decisions on how to break down his defender throughout his route. He can read zone defenses and has a knack for finding spaces to make himself an easier target."
With Jameson Williams missing 6 games to start the year, there is an opportunity for Green to poach snaps away from anyone not named Amon-Ra or Marvin Jones. There is also a chance he doesn't make it out of camp. Unlikely, but we will see.
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Conclusion:
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The 2023 NFL draft for the Detroit Lions was a resounding success. They were able to draft 6 times....BEFORE THE FOURTH ROUND!! The extra picks allowed Detroit to really control the draft and move around in a way to get the guys they wanted. They did not care about who they got and when. They just simply got the guys they wanted. After reflecting on its entirety, they landed a lot of great talent. They were able to add a player at every single positional unit and several will end up starting and making an immediate impact.
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Look, the Lions are going to Lions so hold your breath a little longer, however Brad Holmes and Jack Campbell have really turned this franchise around and are making them a legit playoff contender. Right now the Lions are favored to win the NFC North for the first time since god knows when. I am projecting a record of 12 and 5 and a NFL North Division Win.
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GO LIONS!!!! (FTP)

Hey, here's a little about me before anything - I live in CET Timezone. I work 7 days a week albeit on my own schedule but irl takes priority, I'll communicate it if I have to be away. I've nearly 8 years of experience across various platforms and games. I normally write multi para (discord limit more or less). I'm a HUGE fan of world building especially with reference images. And I do enjoy good OOC banter once in awhile. Onto business - I'm currently looking for a long term rp partner, someone I can build a world with from scratch preferably in a fantasy medieval setting (settings like GoT, Witcher, World of Warcraft, LoTR etc) with different cities, towns, fantasy races, creatures, perhaps even our own deities to even much grander scales. I'm looking to write a story, not a one time scene. Themes I'm expecting to be involved can range from very light hearted SOL to potentially dark, so we'll tread with what we both are comfortable with. In terms of what kind of plot I'm looking for, I'd love to discuss this with you when we get to talking, something we both agree, but to help out with that, here are some ideas that could get our brain juices flowing: - Revenge arc - Insurrection / Rebellion - Zero to Hero - Forbidden Fruit - Rise and fall - Enemies to lovers - Fantasy politics I'm very very open to discussion, feel free to come with ideas anytime. I'm very willing to play multiple characters like npc's and such alongside my OC(s), while I would prefer if you could do that, it's not a requirement. I also write in 3rd person. I'm 22 years old and I'd prefer to rp with someone around my age, 18+ only. That's kind of that for now I guess? Thanks for reading through, I'd love to get in touch with you if this piques your interest. Send me a DM with a short intro about yourself along with your favorite snack so i know you've read everything, see you there!

Hello,
I'm a 0L attending law school in the fall. I interned with a PDs office in a large city for a year during undergrad (cried on my last day lol) and now I'm working with a legal nonprofit working with a marginalized group. All this is to say, I love public defense and public interest law.
That being said, I'm honestly stressed about money. I've lived in poverty my whole life and while I was lucky enough to get a full ride to law school I do have undergrad debt and my whole life I've grown up "chasing the money", trying to get out of the "broke" lifestyle ASAP.
But I also want to do something I'm passionate about, something that makes me feel like I'm going to make a difference no matter how small it may seem in the grand scheme of things. How do you make that "leap" in your head that allows you to go forward, knowing some of your classmates are making much more money even if it's in a monotone environment? I know it's really early to think about this but as I'm considering how I want to spend these three years it's something I'm thinking about.
Thank you all for your hard work! 🫡

54 year old male, 6", 180, caucasian, diagnosed with blood clot in lower right leg after fall approximately 2 months ago. Doesn't drink or smoke, or use drugs. On low dose blood thinner once a day. Has Multiple Sclerosis. Located in Canada.
My brother fell in April on ice, his right leg went behind him. It was terribly swollen from the knee down, including the foot and ankle. He went to have it looked at approximately a month after falling. They thought it was Celluloses, from severe soft tissue injury to the leg from the fall. No breaks or fractures were found on Xray. Put him on a round of oral antibiotics. Leg showed no improvement went back to the hospital 10 days later after last dose or oral antibiotic. They did an ultrasound for a blood clot, nothing remarkable gave him an injectable dose of antibiotic and put him on a new type of oral antibiotic. Had the injectable antibiotic three times over the course of three days. Still no improvement returned to hospital again, did a CT scan and found the clot in his lower leg. Put him on blood thinners BID for 2 weeks, and a referral to the INR Anti Coagulation Clinic. Saw a nurse practitioner as the specialist is booked up for over 5 months. Told him there was nothing they could do except for compression stockings and a daily dose of blood thinner.He does not have a family physician due to shortages in our area. His leg is still very swollen, red and inflamed including foot and ankle. He has a significant limp. He was told to take the blood thinner once a day for the next 2 months and he is on a waitlist to get fitted for a compression stocking.
I am worried that the clot will dislodge and travel to his lungs. Is this a realistic concern? Is there anything else we should be doing besides the compression stocking? He says his leg hurts and it is still very swollen and red. The NP said the swelling may never go down? Why is this? What should we be watching for, such as complications with this. Should he go back to emergency and demand further care?

hi
do this at your own risk
i have bipolar 2 and for some years my "latest" "medication" is lithium morning and at "night" lithium+seroquel+nozinan
after some previous medications i stopped being able to sleep without heavy medications like these, i can go a week without 1 minute of sleep it seems and i feel ill die, without these in high doses.
anyway
the point is i had found out from before i had full blown bipolar i needed a minimum of 12 hours of sleep, basically 12-14 felt like it was most people's 6-8.
also, after bipolar, if i slept 12 hours and awake 12 hours for a 24 hour day, the body knows the ratio of sleep to awake is too much sleep, and when i have too much sleep the body+mind triggers depression. i figured from this and other ways, that you can cause depression by doing what you do normally when you are depressed. so for me when im very depressed i stay in bed and sleep too much, awake to little, and thus if im in hypomania and for some reason decide to sleep too much, after a few days im back in depression, consistently.
my normal bipolar 2 situation would be like 60% of the time "hypo"depression, 20% depression, 20% hypomania.
i figured wait, if i can mimick depressive behavior to artificially trigger depression, can i mimic hypomania behavior to trigger hypomania?
you can. for me, it took to eventually get the strength to get out of bed when i was just lying there depressed, and go and do something. i had found that playing computer games such as world of warcraft, and replacing the music i had with youtube videos(optimally with second pc screen for youtube, nice to have not needed), was very entertaining. i had started to educate myself on science technology philosophy but anything i found interesting, really. anyway, so i just did that, and i found my brain trying to multitask liked to kick into hypomania. after some time i started increasing the speed of videos on youtube, which if you find your sweet spot maintains hypomania better, and you learn faster, at no headaches cost. for me my current sweet spot is 1.8x speed. so this is what i have been doing for the past ~6 or so years, i forget, as i dont work(i am on a small temporary 67% disability). i basically learn from youtube anything i want most of the day while playing some game. i find that game needs to be stimulating, allowing for some creativity, but not too much so that you can mostly focus on the video audio. a recent champion game was a free one called fall guys, with a clone called stumble guys. its easy and repetitive enough that your mind opens creatively and helps learning, but not too stimulating that you have to focus only on the game(after you get the hang of it). grinding games or mmos with leveling or grinding/repetitive phases work well too.
the point of this is that, by mimicking what triggers hypomania and finding the initial strength to do it, i can reverse my normal 60% hypodepression, 20% depression, 20% hypomania, into roughly: 70% hypomania, 20% hypodepression, 10% depression. this was insane for me, as for me, hypomania is basically feeling decently good, decently motivated and energized, even though the doctors think its the devil somehow.
theres another catch: to do all, knowing that my normal minimum sleep is 12 hours, i thought i would go all in and change my life around this. i know i cant sleep 12 awake 12 as, besides the obvious problem that even at 12 i wake up horribly like a zombie, and i sometimes oversleep into 16h or so, especially since the night pills i take are super strong and high dose for me to even fall asleep. so? with experimentation i found out that i can sleep 16-18 hours, preferably close to 16, and be awake 32 to 36 hours at a time. now i increased my sleep from 12 to 16, and my awake from 12 to 36. i gained insane hours awake doing whatever i want, while almost always in hypomania, and at seemingly no cost. this lifestyle helps you maintain hypomania all by itself, at 16 hours i feel decently rested, and surprisingly adding all these tons of awake hours actually makes your ratio absolutely like a normal persons, 2 awake:1asleep. for me, this has been an insanely amazing find that improved my quality of life at least 10x more than my pills did. infact the pills only caused me severe sideffects but when i try to cut them i feel im going to die, so i havent yet, as im scared.
warning: you have to experiment to find your own sweet spots but i suspect you should try reach the healthy ratio of 2awake:1asleep, match it to whatever sleep you feel is best, adjust the awake. find something interesting/constructive to do while awake, physical or mental. mental will be easier because physical will make you more tired more easily and might mess with the whole thing, unsure.
extra big warning: when i was experimenting, if i stayed awake more than ~36-38 hours, not only it was extra hard to sleep, i was too wired ,but when i took the sleep pills, i felt i was in hell. i felt something i call despair, or 3x depression. i dont know how else to explain, but i felt insanely bad, insanely afraid, i would start thinking random thoughts and converted them to the most hell scenario, the mind would just do it you would just watch it in horror. my mother? she will die, perhaps raped and tortured before. my dog? he will die, tomorrow maybe he will be run over by a car in front of me, ill hold his broken dead body in my arms. like this for 30m-1h before the pills would just render me unconscious.
everytime i am awake about 38h or more, this happens. after years i found for me 36hours is almost fully safe, 34h is totally safe.
i dont know how dangerous this is. the doctors hate it. but the pills they gave me did shit, i was as suicidal as ever for years with them. this was indescribably good, dirty fixed both many of my bipolar issues and my hypersomnia issues in 1.
i dont know if this is the right place to post this.
consider doing this at your own risk, if you are desperate.

I don’t think most Mario bosses are that bad. I will prove to you that throughout the Mario series, there are only a few bad bosses of the majority. I will try and get you on the side of Mario bosses by explaining the mechanics of every single one. (with a bit of personal bias of course)
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Super Mario Bros/Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels:
The First Mario game’s bosses were very and I mean v e r y primitive, But I won’t fault the games or the developers, but to be fair this was one of the first games for a (fairly) Primitive console and bosses weren’t even the main focus of the game, the main focus was on the challenging platforming and level design.
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Fake BowseBowser: The boss fights in this game are very simple but could be challenging if you don't have any power-ups with the boss throwing hammers and breathing fire, but all you have to do is either run under the boss when they jump or just jump over them.
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Super Mario Bros 2/ Super Mario Bros U.S.A:
This game is where I’ll start getting into specific boss fights and how they work Individually.
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Birdo Miniboss: The Birdo miniboss is a decent boss fight that can be quite challenging especially the later versions where some of the eggs the birdo shoots out are fireballs and you have to watch if the boss is firing the eggs or the fireballs to send them back.
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Mouser: The Mouser boss fight is surprisingly fairly challenging, the fight makes you time when you’re going to grab the bombs so you don’t get blown up and time when and where you throw the bombs on Mouser’s platform so the bombs will harm him.
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Tryclyde: The Tryclyde fight, (for me at least) is pure panic as the boss shoots its fireballs at you in a near-constant spew while you have to throw the mushroom blocks at the boss and make sure to dodge the fire shot at you.
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Fryguy: The fight against Rryguy is also about timing as you have to dodge the raining fire from the boss in the first phase while you grab the mushroom blocks and throw them at the boss until it blows up. The second phase however can be very annoying trying to hit the Small fryguys while dodging them jumping at you.
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Clawgrip: The Clawgrip fight is admittingly very slow but it can be pretty engaging to dodge the hurled rocks and send them back to the boss.
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Mask Gate: The mask gate fight is probably the best in the game purely because of the sense of shock. The gates usually mark the end of the level and a moment of peace after the boss you just fought. Although the fight itself is pretty lackluster, the gate only flies around the room from side to side as you throw the mushroom blocks at the boss, the only challenge being dodging the boss when you throw the block at them.
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Wart: The wart fight can be very challenging with wart spitting out his bubbles in a line with the player having to dodge the gaps in between while throwing the vegetables from the dream machine at the obese toad.
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Super Mario Bros 3:
The third game from the Mario series has some admittedly boring bosses as pretty much all of the main bosses are the same with only about two being unique.
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Boom-Boom Miniboss: Boom-Boom is what most people think of when they say Mario bosses are bad and easy, and I agree the only “danger” is that Boom-Boom may show his spikes before you land on him to “trick” you.
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Koopalings (Besides Lemmy/Wendy): 5 of the seven Koopalings are all the same fight with very minor changes such as the ground shaking or the boss moving faster, the Koopalings mostly just fire three magic rings in your direction and jump at you when you stomp on them.
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Lemmy: The Lemmy fight is Different from the Koopalings, as Lemmy fires his bouncing balls at Lemmy and rolls around on the ball after you hit him, this doesn't mean it's hard as I don’t even think Lemmy can harm you unless you just jump right into him.
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Wendy: The Wendy fight is unique as instead of three rings Wendy summons hoops that will bounce around the room making it pretty difficult to jump on Wendy’s head since the hoops will damage you while you’re in mid-air making it impossible to dodge away from the hoops shot by her.
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Bowser: The Bowser fight is probably the best in the 8-bit era of Mario. The Koopa King will spit fire at Mario, The King Koopa will also try to shoot the fire in random directions to try to fool Mario into jumping into them, The Koopa King will also try to Ground-Pound on Mario, But this is also how you defeat him because the floor is made from breakable blocks, Mario has to guide Bowser into Ground-Pounding onto the same spot of blocks until he ground bounds into the pit below the blocks, Overall being a great boss fight.
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Super Mario Land:
The bosses of Super Mario Land are Fairly unique and different from many 2d Mario bosses with Most of them being similar to Shmup bosses.
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King Totomesu: The King Totomesu fight is a copy of the original boss fights from Super Mario Bros. The only real difference is that Totomesu can only be Jumped over to beat.
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Dragonzama: This boss fight is one of the three Shmup bosses in the game the boss is slightly challenging while the boss moves up and down on the screen shooting fireballs periodically alone is pretty easy to dodge, the real challenge comes with the energy ball that bounces around the screen making you stay on edge during the fight.
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Hiyoihoi: This boss is probably the worst of the bunch being more of a platforming challenge than a fight as the boss throws boulders at Mario, Mario having to jump on top of the boulders to get past the stone head.
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Boikinton: This boss is the second shmup boss and probably the best, the boss is fairly hectic as the cloud bounces around the boss arena and fires homing flying chickens at Mario. The Chickens can be fairly hard to dodge as the boss bounces around the arena making it hard to dodge the chickens and the cloud at the same time.
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Tatanga: Tatana is the final boss of Super Mario Land And is the final shmup boss of the game Tatanga fires large cannon balls at Mario that explode into three cannon balls when shot by Mario’s ship. This boss is overall a pretty good final boss and a very fun fight.
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Super Mario World:
This is the first 16-bit game of the Mario series and is widely known as one of the best 2d Mario games, but most people say that the bosses in the game are lackluster but I say otherwise. Let me explain.
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Iggy/Larry Koopa: These fights take place on a shell-like platform that teeters from left to right, Mario has to jump on the Koopa to send them back and knock them into the lava below, The Bosses will roll fireballs down the platform at Mario. The Larry fight’s only real difference is the Lava bubbles that leap from the lava below making the fight more difficult by its environment, overall being pretty good boss fights.
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Morton/Roy Koopa: These boss fights take place in an arena with two walls on each side that the boss will use to climb up the walls of the arena and leap down from the ceiling once they’re right above Mario, when the boss slams on the floor they will shake the ground causing Mario to be stunned in place unless he is in the air, this is dangerous as the boss will then walk over to Mario to try and damage him getting harder each time as the boss gets faster after every hit and the walls will also close in after every hit (only in Roy’s fight). This fight is fairly amazing.
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Lemmy/Wendy: These fights are, In my opinion, the best boss out of the three bosses that are shared between two Koopalings, The boss will pop out of the pipes on the bottom of the arena along with two decoy Koopalings that will damage you if you try and jump on them along with one lava bubble that bounces around the arena (two in the wendy fight), The only major difference between the two fights is that the Lemmy fight’s pipes are different heights and in the Wendy fight they’re completely level with each other.
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Ludwig Von Koopa: The Ludwig fight is my favorite boss in the game being nothing but a 1v1 against the Oldest Koopaling With Ludwig hopping around the arena making it pretty hard to jump on his head, his main attack is spitting horizontally moving fireballs at Mario making Mario have to jump over the fireballs to get to Ludwig and jump on his head. One of the best parts of the fight (in my opinion) Is after you hit Ludwig when he goes into his shell and slides around the arena at high speeds to damage Mario.
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The Big Boo: The Big Boo boss fight is a surprise being the first of the two secret boss fights in the game, the fight involves throwing grabbable blocks from under Mario at the big boo. The challenge comes from the two smaller boos that constantly go after you during the fight and the fact that you cannot constantly attack the big boo because they become incorporeal after you attack him once. This fight is a surprise since you can go through the entire game without even encountering the big boo.
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Reznor: The Reznor fight is the second secret fight of the game this time with an entire secret fortress level beforehand, the four Reznors are on a Ferris wheel and Mario has to bump the platform the Reznors are on to defeat them while the Reznor's spit fireballs at Mario after the second reznor is defeated the floor will start breaking making Mario have to jump on the Ferris wheel and try to dodge the dino’s fireballs and defeat the Reznor at the same time, being a great fight
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Bowser in the Clown Car: This Bowser fight is a very engaging battle with the Koopa king throwing down Big metal balls on top of Mario and sending down exploding m\Mechakoopas that Mario has to throw back at Bowser, After The King Koopa gets hit 3 times by the Throne Mecha Koopas he will fly above the boss arena and send down fireballs from the Clown car That can be tricky to dodge at the moment, hitting Bowser 3 more times will cause Bowser to crash ending the fight and saving the day.
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Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins:
The bosses of Super Mario Land 2:6 Golden Coins are fairly simple with most of the bosses only having 1 or 2 attacks they use through the fight to make them unique.
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Big Bird: The big bird boss fight is the most simple boss in the game but is also one of the most engaging with the Bird periodically swooping down from one of the top corners of the boss arena making Mario time when he jumps on top of his head or risk getting hit by the Bird.
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Tatanga: the Tatanga boss fight is a surprising reveal with Mario having just defeated Tatanga in the previous Mario Land game. In the fight, Tatanga flies on either the right or left side and fires out energy beams from the front of his spaceship and also fires explosive balls from the bottom of his spaceship this causes Mario to have to jump over them to avoid taking damage, but Mario also must avoid jumping too high as to not get hit by the laser beam that is fired from Tatanga's spaceship.
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Sewer rat: The sewer rat tried to attack Mario by ramming its spikes nose into him and will try to accomplish this by using the many pipes in the boss arena to try and trick Mario into not knowing where the rat is going to pop out from, the rat will also run on top of the ceiling to try and land on top of Mario when they are right above him.
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Witch: The witch has a pretty fun fight with Mario standing on three pots, the Witch will show up on either the right or left side of the boss arena and will fire a fireball at the bottom of the pots making the pot lid rise into the spikes on the ceiling hurting Mario if Mario gets launched with the lid, Mario must jump on top of the witch when she appears and make sure no to get launched into the ceiling after he lands back on the pots.
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The Three Little Pigs: This boss fight is unique with it having 3 phases (Being each of the pigs) With their separate way to attack Mario and each taking 3 hits to defeat. Starting with the first little piggy who rolls around on the ground gaining speed every time Mario jumps on his head, Then the second little piggy who jumps from left to right in an arc that can be pretty tricky to dodge, the third little piggy zig-zags around from left to right in the arena, this can make it tricky to land a hit on the pig because the pattern of the zig-zag is quite unpredictable.
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Octopus: this is the most simple boss of the game with it being able to be defeated in seconds if you try hard enough, The octopus will swim around the boss arena and spawn little octopi that swim up and off the screen, an easy boss fight overall.
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Wario: the Wario fight is an amazing fight with Wario using the same powerups and moves that Mario does throughout his adventure in three phases. The first phase of the fight starts with Wario running around the boss arena and jumping at Mario causing a stunning earthquake when he lands Mario has to jump to avoid being stunned and also avoid the falling disco balls that move horizontally from the ceiling. For the second phase of the boss, Wario will use the Bunny Cap to fly into the air above Mario and once he's directly above Mario he'll fall onto the ground trying to crush Mario under his girth. In the last phase, Wario will use the Fire Flower and throw giant fireballs at Mario that travel at him in a spiral and try to run towards Mario Simply jump on his ugly head three times and he'll shrink into the little greedy jerk he is Ending the game and giving Mario his mansion back!

I mean, the whole day really is not ideal lol.. I wake in the morning and I think of him.. wondering if he messaged, he governs my thoughts throughout as I carry out my day. I come here often and just read, I feel better (sad AF but stronger) and move forward. By afternoon my thoughts are wandering again, ruminating on the whys.. why is person I trusted and loved more than anything just ignoring me, why is this happening to me, why did I have to fall in love with him, etc etc. I get choked up and start to panic. I come back here to remind myself he is mentally ill and he refuses treatment, therefore he will not get better, but at least I am not alone. I keep going.. get responsibilities done, force smiles and gratitude. Then the evening comes.. it's the end of another day he made the choice to completely ignore me and my pain. He probably had a full day of shenanigans, weed, new girls, music, mania. I am here taking care of our baby who he's never met and likely never will. I start to break as evening comes because I got through just barely, I had to lean on you guys so much to get through, I am still ghosted with no answers, I see no end in sight, and I just break down and cry. I can see through the posts and comments that it's going to take time and healing. I am determined to come out to the other side. Thank you all for everything you share, it's saving my life quite literally.

My (27f) husband (28m) is away on orders and its been really hard. We've been married for a little over a year and this is the first time he's been completely off coms for more than a few days. The long distance doesnt bother me, I travel a lot for my job too, but its the lack of communication that is really hurting.
I know I'm not completely alone, I have friends and family I can talk to, but I feel like don't have anyone to talk to who really understands because all my friends are civilians and don't have military SOs. My husband also refuses to bring me to any family days or events because he wants to keep his military life and his civilian life completely separate so I don't even know the SOs of the other people in his unit. There are a couple things that have been bothering me lately about our situation but I can't even talk to him because he's off comms. I know I will need to bring all of this up with him but I just need to vent and get this out of my head because I feel like I'm going insane.
At first, he was able to call almost every other night which was great. We got to talk for about 10 minutes and it made me really happy just to hear from him. He told me in advance that he'd be off comms and told me not to worry, and he told me the rough time it would start and end. I really appreciated the heads up so I wouldn't be freaking out.
A day before he went off comms we were having a discussion, I started crying, and he told me he felt like I was guilt tripping him. I started crying even more because I just wanted to tell him how I felt and then to be accused of guilt tripping made me feel like I shouldn't have shared my feelings at all. We always talk about how important communication is but the more he gets into military work stuff, the less I feel like I can share with him my feelings. I told him before he left that sometimes he makes me feel like he's shutting me down but its only gotten worse since his duties have increased. I know this is probably because he's stressed out with his own stuff, but it still hurts, and I'm worried without communication things will start to fall apart.
What really gets me is that when he told me he's going off comms he literally just said "see you xx/xx." No I love you, I'll miss you, nothing. Just the date he'll be back on comms. It felt so generic and detached. He's not really big on feelings to begin with, but he usually tries to make some kind of effort. I just found it really upsetting and I'm worried he's falling out of love with me.
I know I have to talk to him about these things but I can't do it until he's back on coms and I'm not even sure if we will have enough time to really have a productive conversation because we only get such a small amount of time and he's always exhausted by the time we talk because of his duties.
I feel so guilty for not trusting my husband and not having faith in our relationship, but at the same time I feel hurt and worried about everything. I'm so stressed out now. I care so much about my husband and I just want to make him happy. I just don't know what to do.

Can someone please tell ell me if I need therapy, or if it's something else entirely? I take Wellbutrin/buopropin for weight loss but it's having other effects.
I don't mean to make this long-winded but there's a lot of info that might be relevant so I'll try to condense as much as possible.
22F.
In the least pretentious way possible, I always thought I was "highly intelligent" because of being told that by teachers, high IQ, high ACT/SAT with not much studying, academic performance etc etc.. Ik these don't make you "brilliant" but I thought my intelligence was at least above average-but now I feel like I was actually stupid and didn't know, and I feel the wellbutrin is opening up my head "too much" like I can't tell if I'm having too many epiphanies or if it made me "smarter" and what I'm thinking is actually true, and I just didn't realize it when I was little bc I was stupid and somehow the medication is increasing my brain activity or whatever to make me smarter? Or like connecting my neurons faster, idk.
Before going on the medication I would dwell on the past but it gave me a laser focused obsession with it, like it took it up a notch if that makes any sense. But now I like look at previous situations so much more intelligently-before the medication I would wonder why certain problems occurred or why people said certain things to me, but now I suddenly understand other people's feelings and my own behavior (for how stupid it was) perfectly? And it's not just the (OMG I can't believe I did that like funny regret, it's like a dramatic epiphany, like wow was I an moron?)
Am I actually a moron and how would I know if I am? Can people be stupid but have a high IQ? Where does that come from and what does it mean?
My parents think my issue is that I had high ambition professionally or educationally and couldn't reach it so it made me kinda sad.
During college I was pretty sad-I had to go to a school I didn't like for personal reasons and because I didn't study much in high school.
I don't know why I didn't study much in high school either-I can't even remember the place it came from, but I think after making the mistake of taking too many AP classes in 10th grade and getting my first Bs and things like that, I got really depressed and started developing defense mechanisms like (Oh my teachers are just crazy/bad at teaching-and to be fair at least one of them was, she got fired the next year for how she ran her class and other kids would say it) But even if the teachers were bad, other kids from my school did really well and went to top schools/did very well.
Around that time I created these fantasies, like the before bed ones, but I started getting really into them-I'd ask God to give me a second chance and let me "wake up" in a different reality and would daydream about what my life would be like if this or that happened. Eventually I started even operating on the assumption that that would happen. I would tell myself, like, this life is not real, this is just a nightmare that I'm gonna wake up from soon. (yes, I know that sounds insane but if I'm being honest) And I spent a lot of time on Instagram-looking at other people's stuff bc I hated my high school and it made me feel better to see the cool things other people were doing. I wasn't like a stalker, but I looked around on Instagram often as a genuine activity. Maybe that added to my frustration? I went on to escape from my frustration but it just exposed me to more things that made me dislike my situation even more?
The reason why I don't know if I was actually depressed or insane was bc my academic performance was still like above average, like I could survive AP classes, but with mostly 3s or 4s on exams and mostly Bs and no 5s, and then like 98% ish percentile ACT/SAT without really studying (during the course my parents bought for me I just went on my phone, sigh).
I was just so caught up in like my "fantasy alternate lives" and during COVID it went up a ton. I looked into so much stuff, people's Linkedins, etc. etc. I don't know why? Like I can't understand my own psychology behind it.
I'm reluctant to try therapy bc my friends had bad experiences and bc I am in a situation professionally where I can't afford the stigma of being labeled in a documented way, and I'm afraid that they may imply that. But I wish someone could help me understand my own problems and way of thinking. My parents just irritate me at this point and I had to commute to college after COVID so I'm sick and tired of living with them etc. etc. There's nothing wrong with them, it just makes me feel like a child to have to be at home at 22, but I'm moving out in the fall for grad school.
My college was also near my high school, so I drove the same roads and saw the same things everyday that I saw at that time and I think it made me think about the past more than I would have if I had been somewhere else.
But even when I went on trips I would still have high school flashbacks, regrets, fixations, etc. etc. In completely different cities when I was supposed to be on vacation having fun it was stuck in my mind. Sometimes when talking to other people it helped bc I didn't socialize at all in college after covid, but it started getting to a point where I was still depressed even when I was talking to other people.
Now I just don't feel like doing anything. Never su*cidal but just don't care about anything and very little makes me happy. I didn't do awful in college, I graduated w honors in a STEM degree/got into grad school but I worry about how my feelings will effect my success. I feel like I won't be able to do well at a higher level bc of how I feel.
Like I know studying early and spending time studying is important but I just don't do it bc I just don't have motvation or passion for anything. I study like, 2 days before exams and average 75-80s, which in curved classes got me a decent amount ofAs, but mostly A-s and B pluses, (3.6 GPA) I get irritated when I don't do well but I can't bring myself to change my lifestyle or try more. What is wrong with me I'm sorry if I sound insane. I feel like it too.

Chapter VI
The first land we sighted after leaving Sydney was the Three Kings, New Zealand. We had run before a fair wind up to this time, and had come into what was regarded as a good whaling ground. Now every eye was scanning the horizon, since a bottle of grog was promised to the man who should first sight a whale. I had been on the port watch since I came on board under Mr Hawkins, the chief mate, and one evening, just as our watch below was ending, I went aloft to see the sun set. Against the broad, red horizon I saw some dark objects spouting and tumbling. In an instant I had shouted “Whales ho!” to claim the bottle of grog. “Where away?” was the skipper's question. “On the lee bow, sir.” For an instant he scanned the spot with his glass, an anxious moment for me lest I should have mistaken a shoal of porpoises for a school of whales, and not only lose my prize but expose myself to the ridicule of my fellow sailors. “Right you are, it's whales, sure enough; you have won your grog, lad.”
We had no time to lose; the night would soon be on us, and our chance would be lost. Down went the boat with Ned Farne, our harpooner, in the bows ready to launch his weapons when opportunity offered. On came the school, tumbling and blowing, throwing jets of water ten or fifteen feet into the air, causing a very grand yet terrible scene. At length they got almost within range; the boys were pulling like mad to keep up with the pace the whales were swimming at. We saw Ned rise up in the bows, poise his arm back for an instant, then launch the harpoon straight for the huge back of the fish that was nearest to him. The aim was true, the missile was buried over the barb in the soft blubber beneath the outer skin, and away went the whale dragging the harpoon rope after it so rapidly that they had to pour water upon the side of the boat to prevent it from igniting, through the violent friction. Again the huge creature rose to breathe, and another harpoon was driven into it, causing it once more to rush away through the water at lightning speed. Darkness fell over the scene before they had killed it, and the boat remained by the carcase all night to prevent it sinking. When morning came it was a busy scene on board, preparing to cut it in and try it out. At length the task was completed, and five large sacks of oil were secured; not a large yield certainly, but the foretaste of better things, we hoped. We cruised over the same ground for several days, but saw no more whales, accordingly we stretched across to Curtis' Island, about 500 miles to the north-east, where in about a month we got five or six more, some of them giving very fair yields of oil. After this we ran down upon Norfolk Island, where we fell in with the Mercury, schooner, Captain Barnet, also on a whaling cruise from Tasmania. From her we shipped two additional hands, and then made for Moreton Bay, on the coast of Queensland. Here not a solitary fish was to be seen, therefore we ran back for our old ground off Curtis' Island. Scarcely had we arrived when we fell in with a heavy gale from the north-east, raging for twenty days, in which we had to heave to, not being able to show a rag of sail. On the 21st day, when the wind began to lull, we found ourselves off the Three Kings, a drift of more than 500 miles. We had shipped such heavy seas, and the force of the storm had been so great, that our tryworks had been carried away, and three of our boats stove in. Therefore we bore up for the Bay of Islands, where we arrived on the 10th of April, 1811, anchoring as before off Te Puna. We were the only vessel in the bay at the time, though others entered during our stay.
The same day that we reached our anchorage a chief named Taua Makia came aboard to take care of us and watch over our interests, lest we should be swindled in trade or otherwise maltreated. This considerate proceeding was not disinterested, but the ‘consideration’ expected was not large. The Skipper ordered a boat to go ashore and bring a load of gravel to serve as shot for our guns since this had been omitted in the ship's supplies, and the natives were not to be trusted, even though we had a protector. The news had spread like wild-fire that a ship was at anchor in the bay, and already scores of canoes were being launched to pay a visit to the pakeha, but we loaded our guns, and pointing them astern, ordered all the visitors to keep back, which, after a little demur and grumbling they did. Nevertheless, all throughout our stay, they never desisted in the attempt to get on board, considering it a gross breach of hospitality on our part to deny them the privilege. As our example was imitated by Captain Walker, of the Endeavour brig, that came in a few days after us, having on board two missionaries for Tahiti - Messrs Davidson and Williams - the natives concluded that in us they had got a very bad and uncivil customer to deal with.
Meantime we had commenced work upon the repairs of the vessel. Nearly all our spars had been carried away, together with our jibboom and some of the bulwarks; we had lost every boat but one, and small leaks were demanding attention, We bad two sawyers on board, and as Captain Walker had three whom he lent us for the time, our skipper thought it best to put the ship thoroughly to rights here, in place of putting back to Sydney. Accordingly, the sawyers went ashore, rigged up the pits, and commenced work vigorously. But the Maoris did not exactly see the force of this. They imagined that we were concocting some diabolic scheme of destruction against them in making such extensive preparations, which they considered as in some way identified with our worship. They pulled down the works and threatened to kill the sawyers if they attempted to resume operations. But a volley from the vessels soon scattered them, and a strong guard being picked from the crews of both ships, they were hereafter permitted to labour uninterruptedly. During this time, I had considerable liberty granted to me to go ashore, or to go fishing with Taua Makia. The first time I availed myself of the former privilege, I received as great a scare as ever I had in my life. Three of us had been wandering about in a bit of bush near the Keri-Keri River, trying to find our way back to the saw-pits, when suddenly we issued upon a cleared space, in which were a few houses and patches of cultivation. Before the entrance to one of the whares stood a band of females crowned with chaplets of green leaves, and wringing their hands. One of these, an elderly woman, who seemed to act as chief mourner upon the occasion, and had a chaplet of dog's hair round her temples, different from the others, advanced in front and began to throw her arms about, raising her head and eyes to heaven. Whilst doing this, in a very plaintive quavering tone, she commenced a wailing song, in which she was joined by her companions. I was afterwards initiated into this, and now give a specimen of a funeral lament: -
Taku hei he piripiri (my fragrant bundle the piripiri) Taku hei moki-moki (my fragrant bundle the mokimoki) Taku hei tawiri (my fragrant bundle the tawiri) Taku kati taramea (my sweet juice of the taraniea) Te hei o te pounamu (the companion of the greenstone) I haramai ai - e (is gone - alas, upon) I runga te angai-ia-ana (the angai-e-).
It was the tangi, or wail for the dead. But at this period I knew nothing of Maori customs or ceremonies, and my very hair began to rise with horror as I thought perhaps they might be celebrating some human sacrifices. Our fear kept us quiet. In the thick bush we lay watching the scene, overshadowed by the gloom of a gigantic kauri-tree, and wishing ourselves anywhere but in our present predicament. When the sorrowful song was ended, and the females had entered the whare, we noiselessly strove to retrace our steps, and chance favouring us, we came out a mile or two from where the sawyers were at work. As I afterwards discovered, no duty is so sacred or so obligatory as the interment of the dead, no trouble being considered too great, no expense too excessive, no lamentation too extreme to testify to the respect in which the deceased was held on earth, and to raise him in the estimation of the mysterious spirits to whom he had gone. Taua Makia sometimes went with us fishing to induce the prey to come upon hooks by the constant chanting of Karakias or incantations, supposed to have a very potent influence over the finny tribe. I cannot say we were ever very successful when he was with us, since the noise he made and the fishing gear he would insist upon employing were neither conducive to lure the fish to our bait, nor to hold them when they were hooked. But this, of course, may have been merely an ignorant pakeha's prejudice, since many a lusty kahawai or schnapper, have I caught with a hook made from a dead man's bone. Don't wince, reader; better, is it not, to be put to some use after death, than to feed a legion of hungry worms.
We began to mix a little with the natives when ashore, and I grew more familiarised with their ways. We attended their baptisms, He Tohi, and gave presents to the infant, that it never enjoyed; we consulted the Niu, or divining sticks, whether we should reach home in safety; we were present at their marriage tauas, when the bride was carried off by main force sometimes minus her clothing, finally we were guests at their hakaris, or feasts, and could vouch for the excellence of Maori culinary skill. But we shall have enough of these in the course of the narrative, the reader shall eat and drink to his heart's content but at present we must keep to the thread of our story.
In a fortnight the sawyers had finished their work ashore, a week more completed the repairs aboard, and whatever little trade we had carried on completed, the skipper thought of standing out to sea again. In some mysterious way or other, I had offended the old bosun of our ship, and he had persecuted me with most relentless malice. Nothing I could do was right, the rope's end was my daily sauce, and complaints about my laziness were continually being carried to the captain. At length one day, irritated by their constant occurrence, he said when another of my misdeeds was laid before him, “String him up then, and give him a dozen.” This was just what the bosun wanted; and in a trice he strung me up to the mast, and a good round dozen I received, being only released when nearly fainting with pain and shame. He had got the best of it just now; my day of retribution came again. Now, this method of instructing me in navigation was by no means to my taste, and as two of our men had absconded the day previous, concealed, as was thought, in the bush, I imagined I could emulate their example, perhaps, to join them. At least, I should first go to the Endeavour, as she lay nearer the shore, if not, the bush it must be. Therefore, waiting my opportunity, about 3 o'clock one morning I slipped overboard and swam noiselessly to the companion ship. As I came alongside puffing and blowing, thoroughly exhausted with the long swim, and almost inclined to give up the business, the carpenter, who was acting as bosuns mate in the Endeavour for the time, saw me, and flung me a rope, by which I climbed on deck. I told him my story, and as he was a decent sort of a fellow, he was slipping me quietly along the deck to the foc'sle, when the second mate saw us and demanded to know what I wanted there. With my usual readiness, I invented a tale of a morning swim and exhaustion, but the story would not hold water, and the captain was informed of my arrival. As soon as morning broke he sent over to the Harwich, telling Captain Simmons that I was on board his vessel, and about nine our skipper came over with two men to take me back. Reluctantly enough I went, as I knew a flogging was in store for me, but to my surprise the captain only took me into his cabin and rated me soundly for my foolhardiness in risking my life thus, telling me I escaped a flogging by his having discovered many of the bosuns stories to be untrue. My condition was now better on board, as I was taken aft, and kept under the captain's own eye. My enemy, the bosun, was speechless with rage, yet he was powerless now to do me harm.
About a week after this the Endeavour sailed, Captain Walker having come on board the Harwich and taken a very friendly farewell of our skipper, and a fortnight afterwards we followed suit, going back to our old cruising ground at the Three Kings. The weather was very uncertain and squally, so that we did not see any whales; therefore we stretched over to Norfolk Island, and speedily were busy at work.
The first day we arrived we secured three whales, which we cut in and tried out, the third day two more, and the fifth day another. Then our luck seemed to change, and not a solitary fish could we see for an entire month. We tried all our former grounds, Curtis' Island, Moreton Bay, Three Kings, to no purpose, only when off the East Cape did we catch sight of a small whale, which we secured but only got one barrel of oil from it. The weather now began to be very stormy; winter was at its depth, and the air was piercingly cold. Therefore Captain Simmons concluded to break the cruise, to run for Sydney, discharge his cargo of oil, and commence anew. Another consideration, also, was that several of the men were very ill with scurvy and dysentry - in fact, the crew was only at half at its usual complement, therefore the cry was “about ship,” and “Sydney ho!”
It was whilst running home before a fine fresh breeze, that one night we were knocked up by Mr Hawkins singing out, “Ship on fire on the weather bow.” The shock was electrical. Everyone bundled out of their hammocks and rushed on deck. There on the horizon was a grand and terrible spectacle. A large ship was burning from stem to stern, lighting up the gloom of the winter's night for miles around, throwing a deep lucid glare over the inky ocean. The flames were bursting up the hatches, were licking the masts and spars, were peeping out in little forked tongues through the portholes. The captain ordered lights to be burned at the masthead, blank charges to be fired from the guns every minute, and the jolly-boat to be manned and to go in search of survivors. In an hour our efforts were rewarded by three boat-loads of fear-stricken men boarding us and asking reception. They informed us that the burning ship was the “Lady Lucy” from Sydney to London, that she had caught fire when a week out, from a burning candle falling into an oil cask, and that over 50 lives had already been lost through the capsizing of two of their boats. Captain Simmons made them welcome, and a few days after we reached Sydney, where they were taken in hand by the Government and forwarded home by the next vessel. Thus ended my voyage in the Harwich, perhaps the most pleasant of all my trips.

Hi guys! Kinda long post coming, thanks if you take the time to read! I’m looking for some guidance and you’re all amazing at this so I though to give it a try!
So I (27F) have been dieting on and off all my life since I was maybe 13-14. I tried them all, from crazy strict diets& co up until counting calories and doing sport. Of course I developed multiple ED’s, from which I recovered but still hiding and scared of.
In the last few years I also started having serious anxiety issues, mostly health-anxiety, up to horrible panic attacks and fear of death.
This anxiety problem led me to the decision of living healthier. Due to my history with ED’s, I now avoid counting calories and weighting myself. Went for intuitive eating, as much wfpb as possible (+vegetarian), gave up caffeine, tried to get more sleep, keep active - including gym 2-3x/week, started therapy to heal trauma - all in all a more holistic approapch.
All these helped my mental health tremendously. BUT I gained weight 😕 It’s been slow and steady and lately i’ve realized I put on at least 10 kgs in the last year. Today was a peak when I went shopping for clothes with my fiancé and honestly wanted to cry when I saw myself almost naked in the fitting cabins. I felt the world shaking underneath my feet, and my ‘bubble’ of peace and happiness shaking to the core.
I am so down right now, realizing that I might have avoided dealing with being overweight again because of fear. I don’t wanna fall back into my ED/anxiety/depression, but I also miss my super fit body, I miss not having all this fat, I miss looking good in clothes and not wanting to turn my head away from every mirror. I can feel the anxiety of being fat kicking in, as well as the low mood and self-esteem from knowing how I look.
I’m grateful for my body, that it’s healthy and carrying me through every day. But I also am angry at myself for kinda letting myself go. (But did I really?)
I just tried to heal. Am I doomed to be unhappy and depressed?
I wanna get back at it and lose this weight, but don’t know how to approach it this time. The most success I had was with counting calories, but it seems to always throw me back into binging (tried to take cico pauses, but they always eventually failed). So I’ve had both success and super ugly failures with counting. However, nothing else let to results as good as cico.
Went to a nutritionist (certified, where I live there aren’t more types) and followed her plan for a while but it became too expensive to keep seing her every month and the plan that she initially gave me became boring after a while.
Now my questions:
Should I start counting calories again and risk going back into ED? Hoping i’m a new person now, more mature etc.
Should I go back to super discipline and risk the anxiety and panic attacks come back?
Am I just using the fear of ED and anxiety as an excuse?
I don’t know what to do with myself honestly.
Partly just wanted to get this off my chest. I know it’s a lot of random info but my thoughts are a mess right now. I would appreciate any advice from your experiences.
***Do not start with therapy, because my therapist is in maternity leave until autumn and I don’t wanna start over with someone new, so I’m waiting for her. Anything else would help right now.
Please be kind 💛