I was taking to this guy and we went out on a date. He admitted on the date that he got offered a job and was leaving most likely (he did). We kind of kept talking after he left and the idea of casual came up. Months later I was going to be in town and we talked about meeting up.. come to find out after dragging it out of him he was trying to get over a “brief” relationship as he had put it.
I struggle with my self esteem because I have never had a relationship and he was the first guy that’s ever asked me out (who I was attracted to). I already know I’m going to be single forever because I’m attracted to guys who are attractive… that’s unfortunate lol. He messaged me telling me this “ no, I’m sorry I should lead you on if I’m not in it”. That was after we tried to meet up for just casual.
Safe to assume this guy was never attracted to me?
The sad thing is I literally just had a dream about him and he reached out/messaged me telling me that he was going to be in town for his birthday (oddly specific details). I know it’s a dream and nothing more😂. The last time that happened it actually turned out to be true but he’s got no reason to reach out to me.

As a former member of the Freemasonry, I feel it is my duty to shed light on certain aspects of this organization that, in my experience, warrant a closer, more critical examination.
The fraternity often heralds the principle of brotherhood as one of its most esteemed values. The notion of a unified bond, shared across a diverse spectrum of individuals, is indeed an attractive prospect. However, my experience has shown me that this ideal of brotherhood can be, and often is, employed to establish an environment of exclusivity. It lends itself to a culture that, at times, appears more akin to a high school clique than an esteemed organization.
The charitable acts put forth by the Freemasons, whilst commendable on the surface, often leave one questioning the motivations behind them. From my perspective, these acts of charity frequently seem driven less by a genuine desire to help the less fortunate and more by a wish for social standing, tax benefits, or public image maintenance. Is this genuine charity, or a facsimile crafted for optics?
Let us then examine the Masonic emphasis on morality, a quality held in high regard by the organization. This focus on moral character and integrity would be praiseworthy, were it consistently and authentically adhered to. Regrettably, from what I have witnessed, this ideal is often compromised in favor of personal gain or advancement within the organization. Such actions are, in my view, a stark betrayal of the very principles the organization claims to uphold.
Finally, we come to the so-called secrets of Freemasonry – the cryptic rituals, the coded languages, the concealed knowledge. These aspects are often presented as profound, yet my experience has led me to a less generous conclusion. Could it be that these 'secrets' serve primarily as a means of fostering a sense of superiority among members? A grand facade, perhaps, designed to add a sense of gravitas to the proceedings, but ultimately hollow?
While my observations are rooted in personal experience, I believe they invite a much-needed examination of these aspects of Freemasonry. It is not my intention to belittle or vilify, but to challenge, to question, and to promote a more thorough understanding of an organization that carries significant influence in our society.

Throwaway account, as i don't want this connected to my other accounts.
My thoughts are erratic, forgive me for bouncing all over the point but I'm trying to include everything I've been thinking and feeling with my reasoning so please bear with me. Gonna be a long one. If you take the time to read all this and provide genuine, thoughtful feedback, know that I'm beyond appreciative.
I had my first child at 19, and his mother and I didn't stay together. He was given a hyphenated combination of our last names, and now all these years later his mother is engaged to another man with their own newborn, and my son calls said man "his other daddy". I understand that as even though i am active in my son's life, my own dad wasn't around and i ended up calling my temporary step-dad "daddy" for a period of time. My son's mom and her fiancé of course have been living together for a while so i don't see anything wrong with that, nor am i bothered by it as long as my son and Mr. Fiancé don't forget who his actual father is.
All that to say that this has led to me being unwilling to have my other children calling another man "daddy", which is one of a few reasons making me feel like i have to stay in my current relationship and eventually tie the knot with my girlfriend - even if i am currently unhappy more often than not and feel as if marriage would be dooming myself to a life of tolerance rather than contentment.
I feel like my current girlfriend is a great person, friend and mother, but many of her tendencies and thought processes tend to irk/frustrate me. I know no one is perfect and any relationship requires work and effort, but I can't help but feel as if there would be someone out there better suited for myself, or if I would just be better off alone.
Before I talk (or complain) about everything I'm unhappy about, I'd like to make it known that I've been 10 relationships before my current one, and i ended 8 of them with 2 of them ended by the girl- much to my chagrin. Those 2 had a pretty big impact on me but not as much as 2 that i ended due to being cheated on. The rest I ended i guess out of boredom? This made me feel as if I wasn't cut out for relationships and I should be alone, but then I end up lonely wanting a relationship. I ended one relationship with a cheater right before the relationship that gave me my firstborn. I never took the time to heal from that and I wasn't ready for a child at the time, so even though i love my son and have always been active in his life, i never thought his mother and I would have a longstanding relationship.
We separated and then i met and began a relationship with the second cheater. At the time I was 21 and she was 33, but i could've swore she was the best thing to ever happen to me. Thing was, she was still living with her ex and I'm sure you can imagine how that went. That whole relationship left me feeling emasculated.
I left that relationship and began a relationship with my current girlfriend not even 3 months later. Needless to say I did no healing, took no time for myself. To make things worse we moved in together within another 3 months, and she found out she was pregnant by the end of the year.
I was actually perfectly content with my only child and had no desire to sire another child at this point in time, but my girlfriend had gotten pregnant in her previous relationship and ended up losing the baby, so her baby fever was at an all time high and she would get depressed whenever we would have sex and I'd cum anywhere other than inside of her. She'd roll over and put her back to me and sulk about it until she went to sleep, sometimes even crying about it. This made me feel Tee-totally terrible so I eventually just 🤷🏾‍♂️ and started finishing inside her to give her the child she wanted. This pregnancy gave me my daughter and I love her to death, she's amazing. We were staying in an apartment complex with roommates, but after finding out she was pregnant we went to stay with her mom. I broke up with her after welcoming the baby due to feelings of discontentment, although we got together again a few months later.
We got our own place and stayed there about a year and a half before I broke up with her again because i felt like i just wasn't the man for her. I told her i didn't want to marry and i don't want anymore kids, mainly just to drive the point as these are things she wants. We separated for 3 or 4 months this time, in which period of time I had sex once with an ex and she had sex once with a coworker. Despite that, we got back together because i had "thought about it" and decided that i didn't mind marrying and having more children. Fast forward a year and we moved to a better home and welcomed our second child together, my 3rd child and 2nd son.
I've thought about and pretty much accepted the concept/fate of marrying my girlfriend. She's been insistent bordering on impatient which I understand. This last time we got back together I told her we'd be wed before our son got here, which was rash on my part. I rush a lot of things but marriage isn't one of them.
I don't know if it's because my girlfriend is the partner in question, but marriage just feels like a huge shackle to me and divorce is a hassle from what I've heard. I don't want to marry just for it to be unhappy and end up in divorce.
Back to: I feel like my current girlfriend is a great person, friend and mother, but many of her tendencies and thought processes tend to irk/frustrate me. I know no one is perfect and any relationship requires work and effort, but I can't help but feel as if there would be someone out there better suited for myself, or if I would just be better off alone.
Here comes the complaining.
I'm an introvert, through and through. I like reading books, i like quiet time, i enjoy having time to myself, I enjoy doing/accomplishing things alone.
My girlfriend has to be the antithesis. She can talk on and on and on for hours on end without nary a breath in between. This isn't as much of an issue as the subject of her conversation- most of the time, there isn't one. It's like 95% of her thoughts come out of her mouth and she expects me to reply and vividly react to it all. It's really kind of draining. I get that as the man i should be glad that I'm the one she's talking to, but sometimes I'd rather enjoy the song that's playing or just have time alone with my thoughts. So most of her dialogue has no real meaning to me, and she often talks/asks questions about things that would be clear to her with just a little observation on her end. A little thought. She's so busy spitting out that 95% thought that she can't use the remaining 5 to come to her own conclusions.
For example, we're riding in the car. It's sunny outside, yet starts to rain. She says, "The devil must be beating his wife". I just look at her like 😐 while internally doing the wtf Jackie Chan face because what kind of sense does that make? She says, "What you've never heard that?" No, because it doesn't make sense. The devil is in theory beneath us so even if he did have a wife and beat her, why would these tears be coming from the sky? Perhaps I'm just a dull rock and too analytical but i feel like we could've both saved our breath on that whole exchange.
Another example. We went to eat, i got a coke to go. It was riding in the front cup holder until i finished it, and threw the empty cup into the trash. A whole ten, fifteen minutes later she asks, "Did you finish your coke?" I just look at her like 😐 while internally doing the wtf Jackie Chan face because are you telling me you didn't see me throw it away while you're right beside me? Do you not see the empty cup holder? I say yea, to which she asks me to hand her her water bottle. I just feel as if she could've taken the time to do some looking and thinking on her own, and just ask me for her water.
We're driving with a gps, she says that she needs me to help her because she doesn't know if it's this exit or the next one. 😐 idk if i can do this for the rest of my life. The route is highlighted on the screen, instead of oh so many feet, the distance is point something miles, and the exit number is on the screen. I tell her to think about it. She takes the wrong exit and gets mad at me.
Other times she is literally just voicing her inner dialogue like "I want a coke", "I'm hot, need to turn on the air", "My head is itching" and she just looks at me waiting for me to say something when I feel like none of this really warrants a reply. I hate small talk but maybe I'm just a stick in the mud.
She asks for help ridiculously often when she doesn't really need any. She could do things on her own most of the time just by freeing up one of her hands or literally thinking about the issue more. She probably tells me "hold this" 15 to 93 times a day. Just put it down? We were eating chinese takeout one night, and with a table right in front of her, she tells me to hold her plate. You know they give you enough food to feed a small village in those flimsy ass trays so the styrofoam bends and she drops her plate on my legs and in the floor before i can get a hold of it. I can't tell you how many times she's asked me for help with something that literally has instructions on it; she just didn't take the time to read it. I point it out and she's like "Oh 😜". It's gotten to the point where other than "think about it", when she asks for help i ask "do you really" and when i feel like she doesn't i resort to a childhood saying of my mother: "USE YOUR NOODLE! And when you're done with your noodle, put it back in your soup and finish your dinner".
To sum these points up, my pride doesn't want my kids acknowledging yet another dad, my girlfriend spits faster than Eminem when I'm a quiet guy, and her problem solving skills are near nonexistent when I'm a self-dependent, figure it out type of guy. I guess these personality differences might stem from our upbringing, as she was raised in a volatile home with her brother, bouncing between her mother and grandmother who both talk just as much as she, while i was raised alone with my mother who also enjoyed quiet time and liked reading and such. BUT-
In addition to this, I don't feel like my girlfriend and I are as sexually compatible as we could be. Our preferences and things we want aren't that different, but i have a much broader taste than she does and I don't ever think I'll achieve sexual freedom with her. I know that some of my fantasies are off the table for her, and others I'm too ashamed to even open up about due to what she's made clear of her stance. She doesn't like the lights on during, she doesn't like eye contact, she isn't very vocal. I wanna see her, look her in the eye, when i talk to her she doesn't talk back and doesn't mention it till we're done. These differences probably come from our experience and lack of with porn and sexual partners. I think I'm her third or fourth relationship. The guy before me she was with for 5 years. I started watching porn at 12 or 13, was running a NSFW tumblr page before tumblr stopped being cool, regularly masturbated. I don't think my girlfriend ever really touched herself before me, and the only time i know of her masturbating was to send me a video like 2 years ago. I want more from out sex life but trying to bring it up is met with mild disgust before rejection. Ideally I want my partner to want to masturbate sometimes, for us both to have toys, for us to explore with ourselves and other people and explore our fantasies. My girlfriend doesn't even have any. This makes me reluctant to marry because I don't wanna give up on all of this without having experienced it.
On top of this is her style of living. Bathroom sink and tub full of hair. Throwing something away- KOBE! -she misses and doesn't pick it up. Preparing food and leaving the scraps and trash on the counter for roaches, rats and ants, i can't stand it. Her side of the bed looks like the empty water bottle monster threw up and she loves to eat before bed but rarely takes her dishes to the kitchen before sleeping, and just throws her trash in the general direction of the can without bothering to just lean over and place it in or at least see if she made it. I'll say something and she'll do better for 2 days and a half, then i feel like i wasted my words. 8 used wash rags left in the shower, not flushing the toilet, she just really kinda sucks at cleaning up after herself until the stars align or mercury is in retrograde or some divine intervention where she wants to do everything in a day. She's a manager at McD's now so she's working a bit more, but she used to be a server with multiple off days through the week while I've had the same job for 6 years working 6 days out the week from 7a-3p, sometimes working 3-3 or 7-7 and it's frustrating to come home with her having laid on the couch all day amidst a house that a torndado ran through. Then when I get home she wants us to clean together, nah I'm tryna sit down somewhere. I still help pickup but why could you not do this in the 10, 12 hours i was gone? At least start on it and i can come in with the assist like an alley-oop.
To top it off is her style of parenting/communication. Her dad is a loud man and he's to thank for the genes I guess, but she's quick to resort to yelling whenever things bother her or the kids don't listen, as if the louder you are the easier it is to understand. Like I said I'm a quiet guy and i consider myself rational so i like to slow down and calmly talk about things, talk to kids with a level head and tone when they're wrong and talk to her in a calm tone whenever we have any altercations. She normally beats me to the punch with child reprimands since those thoughts have been bubbling in her mouth, and i don't like the yelling at all. After she gets done yelling I'll usually come behind to tell the kids what went wrong and why it was/why they shouldn't do that. But due to my level-headedness she sees that as me not caring, and when i ask her to calm her tone she says it's just how she reacts when upset. The kids act drastically different when they're alone with me versus alone with her, going from minding to whiny/crying whenever she gets to yelling.
Besides the yelling and too high expectations for small children, i do think she's a good mom, i just wish she'd handle things differently sometimes.
To sum these points up, I'm worried about sexual fulfillment, cleanliness (having to pick up after 3 kids and an adult), and temperament/attitude once married.
I know these things take effort but I feel like she just isn't as conscious about it as I am, and when i try to explain why i think she could/should do things differently/more efficiently, she takes it as me criticizing her and belittling her. It feels like I'm in a relationship with a child sometimes as far as her tendencies go.
Is marriage really the best option? Should we spend some time apart or end things for good?
Despite all of this we don't have a bad 1 on 1 relationship, when it's good it's great but when it's bad i can't help but wonder. I get pensive. Is marriage the best course of action for my life, for her life, for our kids? Would we all be able to grow and develop better with mom and dad separated? Is there someone better for me, someone better for her out there?
I've already gotten the supplies I had in mind ready to propose to her in a way she would love and i am happy with, i just have yet to buy a ring. It's a huge commitment that i don't want to end in disaster and resentment.

Does anyone else have this issue where your Q gets drunk they won't leave you the fuck alone. Constantly stumbling into the room or knocking on your door to ramble about nothing, then getting pissed off when you don't want to pay attention to their nonsensical crap. My father does this to me all the time, I'll tell him I'm in the middle of a phone conversation but he doesn't care, he'll interrupt me in the middle of a sentence and keep on rambling. Sometimes he resorts to over the top singing and dancing for attention. I try to stonewall him and I know I seem visibly annoyed. Sometimes I feel like a jerk because he isn't tecnically being mean most of the time, but this is every single night and I cannot stand listening to his drunken gibberish. Any tips on dealing with this? Thank you

Maybe that's a bit of a vague question so I'll try o explain exactly what I mean.
I know that not all pagans do witchcraft and not all witches are pagans. I've been interested in Paganism for years and learning as much as I can, but for some reason witchcraft is just one of those things that just wont stick. No matter what I read or watch no one has explained it clearly enough for me.
So what exactly goes into witchcraft? I've watched videos of people making different things using stuff like salt, different dried herbs, and just a bunch of other things. Same goes with different stones having different "properties" like healing or calming, etc. And sage burning.
On the surface it makes sense to me. But I don't really get the concept of witchcraft as a whole and how someone does it. How they actually think up something.

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Thank you to u/SabbyofSableWine for the inspiration to make this, that's why I tagged it as Writing Prompt and not Original Story since I do borrow one or two ideas (they're very good ideas.)
First time posting on this sub so if I screwed anything up please lmk in the comments and happy reading!
Part 1:
It was a bittersweet day on the ship, Xoll had taken an early retirement to go home and take care of their sick parents, I knew I wouldn't be seeing much of them anymore, which devastated me as over our 3 Stellar Periods working together we had become quite close friends. Xoll was a friend to us all, that's the Om for you. After giving them a proper send off we anxiously clamored just outside the airlock to hanger bay 2 to see who the federation send to replace them.
The shuttle docked making a loud mechanical THUNK that reverberated through the metal corridor and the airlock hissed as it sprung into action, we all cleared the door. It spun to life, gears turning and lights flashing as the doors prepared to open, and out stepped of all things, a Human.
We all gasped in shock, we had all learned of stories about their brutal engagements in battle, engagements that rarely left survivors, and only as to serve as a messenger to the rest of the fleets. We had all heard of rumors about how they eat and drink some of the most volatile poisons known to the universe like it's nothing. I wouldn't be lying if I said we were all terrified deep down that this human would bring nothing but trouble.
"What you all standing around murmuring, this can't possibly be your first time meeting a human."
The crowd pushed me to the front, and I thought to myself Oh come on, you're really just gonna make me have to talk to him.
"Hello" I said sheepishly.
"Oh, I take it you've all heard the stories." He said making a weird sound I later came to learn as chuckling.
My eyes darted to the floor, so did everyone else's.
"Well, my name is Dr. William Schneider, but you can just call me William, I'm your new engineer, I was in fact born on Earth and I graduated top of my class and Terra Polytechnic and I just got assigned to your lovely ship. I look forward to getting to know you all."
He stuck out one of his hands, such peculiar things, all boney and rigid with these weird round lumps all over the 5 protrusions. I had no clue what to do with it, do I touch it, do I hit it?
"I take it your not familiar with the hand shake, it's a human custom, we grab each other's extended hand and shake it up and down"
How strange I thought, extending one of mine to join him in this strange custom. I shook his hand up and down, side to side and all around.
"Woah they're slow down you're gonna break it off! Just up and down, not too aggressively."
Don't hear about a human saying that very often now do you.
"Okay look it's probably wise to just resume whatever you're supposed to be doing, I'll say hi whenever I run into you"
"Why would you be running into us!?" Said Hlxop quite startled, he was of Avian classification and had quite fragile bones.
"Figure of speech, just means whenever I see you, no need to be concerned" William answered.
We all returned to out stations, being and navigator I went to the ships bridge along with a dozen or so others, William oddly enough though had disappears off to stars know where in the ship.
"Hey, does anyone know where William went?" I asked the group, William was a relatively mid rank officer and was required to be at the bridge for his introductory tour.
"Wait" said the Captain Reloxyn, turning around to look for him, letting out a deep exhale she said "Looks like we'll just have to make a few calls when we get to to the bridge, lets just hope this isn't some weird human thing that he'll keep doing, planets know it's already getting on my nerves." she said, with her hair undulating purple, indicating stress.
After getting to the bridge, we made a few calls before Hyldron (who sits next to me) tracked him down in the reactor, and of course they sent me to fetch him since he was being incredibly stubborn about insisting on meeting all the other engineers first.
After having had to march myself down to the reactor to find him mid conversation yammering on with the head of reactor ops about possible improvements to the Tritium harvester or something like that.
“What are you thinking you need to have your orientation tour 20 minutes ago!” I was borderline shrieking. “The captain’s hair has been undulating deep purple since I left!”
“If you insist." the human - I mean - William said quite begrudgingly.
After arriving at the bridge the captain, in a furious conversation demanded answers as the quote, "What in the goldilocks zone were you thinking just disappearing like that!?"
To which he replied with a "I figured that getting to know what the ship is like from the perspective of the other engineers instead of the captain and some fancy tour would make my presence here a bit less jarring, I know what your preconceived notions about Humans are and I know just how much you all revered Xoll." Admittedly I was on his side after hearing him talk, he seemed quite nice, and I wanted to get to know him better.
After eventually capitulating the Captain (though in protest I must admit) let him continue with his unusual methods William turned to me and said "Shit, I totally forgot to let you introduce yourself to me at the airlock, what's your name?" Shit was a uniquely human word, we didn't have a good translation into any other language, primarily due to it having a plethora of different meanings.
"Oh!" I said, almost jumping out of my seat. "My name is Tromō, Im a navigator here on the bridge, and I specialize in surveying pre-FTL worlds."
"Wonderful" he replied, "Nice to meet you” he said with this beaming smile that could just light up a room adorned across his face.
Pt 2 coming tomorrow!

Throwaway account, as i don't want this connected to my other accounts.
My thoughts are erratic, forgive me for bouncing all over the point but I'm trying to include everything I've been thinking and feeling with my reasoning so please bear with me. Gonna be a long one. If you take the time to read all this and provide genuine, thoughtful feedback, know that I'm beyond appreciative.
I had my first child at 19, and his mother and I didn't stay together. He was given a hyphenated combination of our last names, and now all these years later his mother is engaged to another man with their own newborn, and my son calls said man "his other daddy". I understand that as even though i am active in my son's life, my own dad wasn't around and i ended up calling my temporary step-dad "daddy" for a period of time. My son's mom and her fiancé of course have been living together for a while so i don't see anything wrong with that, nor am i bothered by it as long as my son and Mr. Fiancé don't forget who his actual father is.
All that to say that this has led to me being unwilling to have my other children calling another man "daddy", which is one of a few reasons making me feel like i have to stay in my current relationship and eventually tie the knot with my girlfriend - even if i am currently unhappy more often than not and feel as if marriage would be dooming myself to a life of tolerance rather than contentment.
I feel like my current girlfriend is a great person, friend and mother, but many of her tendencies and thought processes tend to irk/frustrate me. I know no one is perfect and any relationship requires work and effort, but I can't help but feel as if there would be someone out there better suited for myself, or if I would just be better off alone.
Before I talk (or complain) about everything I'm unhappy about, I'd like to make it known that I've been 10 relationships before my current one, and i ended 8 of them with 2 of them ended by the girl- much to my chagrin. Those 2 had a pretty big impact on me but not as much as 2 that i ended due to being cheated on. The rest I ended i guess out of boredom? This made me feel as if I wasn't cut out for relationships and I should be alone, but then I end up lonely wanting a relationship. I ended one relationship with a cheater right before the relationship that gave me my firstborn. I never took the time to heal from that and I wasn't ready for a child at the time, so even though i love my son and have always been active in his life, i never thought his mother and I would have a longstanding relationship.
We separated and then i met and began a relationship with the second cheater. At the time I was 21 and she was 33, but i could've swore she was the best thing to ever happen to me. Thing was, she was still living with her ex and I'm sure you can imagine how that went. That whole relationship left me feeling emasculated.
I left that relationship and began a relationship with my current girlfriend not even 3 months later. Needless to say I did no healing, took no time for myself. To make things worse we moved in together within another 3 months, and she found out she was pregnant by the end of the year.
I was actually perfectly content with my only child and had no desire to sire another child at this point in time, but my girlfriend had gotten pregnant in her previous relationship and ended up losing the baby, so her baby fever was at an all time high and she would get depressed whenever we would have sex and I'd cum anywhere other than inside of her. She'd roll over and put her back to me and sulk about it until she went to sleep, sometimes even crying about it. This made me feel Tee-totally terrible so I eventually just 🤷🏾‍♂️ and started finishing inside her to give her the child she wanted. This pregnancy gave me my daughter and I love her to death, she's amazing. We were staying in an apartment complex with roommates, but after finding out she was pregnant we went to stay with her mom. I broke up with her after welcoming the baby due to feelings of discontentment, although we got together again a few months later.
We got our own place and stayed there about a year and a half before I broke up with her again because i felt like i just wasn't the man for her. I told her i didn't want to marry and i don't want anymore kids, mainly just to drive the point as these are things she wants. We separated for 3 or 4 months this time, in which period of time I had sex once with an ex and she had sex once with a coworker. Despite that, we got back together because i had "thought about it" and decided that i didn't mind marrying and having more children. Fast forward a year and we moved to a better home and welcomed our second child together, my 3rd child and 2nd son.
I've thought about and pretty much accepted the concept/fate of marrying my girlfriend. She's been insistent bordering on impatient which I understand. This last time we got back together I told her we'd be wed before our son got here, which was rash on my part. I rush a lot of things but marriage isn't one of them.
I don't know if it's because my girlfriend is the partner in question, but marriage just feels like a huge shackle to me and divorce is a hassle from what I've heard. I don't want to marry just for it to be unhappy and end up in divorce.
Back to: I feel like my current girlfriend is a great person, friend and mother, but many of her tendencies and thought processes tend to irk/frustrate me. I know no one is perfect and any relationship requires work and effort, but I can't help but feel as if there would be someone out there better suited for myself, or if I would just be better off alone.
Here comes the complaining.
I'm an introvert, through and through. I like reading books, i like quiet time, i enjoy having time to myself, I enjoy doing/accomplishing things alone.
My girlfriend has to be the antithesis. She can talk on and on and on for hours on end without nary a breath in between. This isn't as much of an issue as the subject of her conversation- most of the time, there isn't one. It's like 95% of her thoughts come out of her mouth and she expects me to reply and vividly react to it all. It's really kind of draining. I get that as the man i should be glad that I'm the one she's talking to, but sometimes I'd rather enjoy the song that's playing or just have time alone with my thoughts. So most of her dialogue has no real meaning to me, and she often talks/asks questions about things that would be clear to her with just a little observation on her end. A little thought. She's so busy spitting out that 95% thought that she can't use the remaining 5 to come to her own conclusions.
For example, we're riding in the car. It's sunny outside, yet starts to rain. She says, "The devil must be beating his wife". I just look at her like 😐 while internally doing the wtf Jackie Chan face because what kind of sense does that make? She says, "What you've never heard that?" No, because it doesn't make sense. The devil is in theory beneath us so even if he did have a wife and beat her, why would these tears be coming from the sky? Perhaps I'm just a dull rock and too analytical but i feel like we could've both saved our breath on that whole exchange.
Another example. We went to eat, i got a coke to go. It was riding in the front cup holder until i finished it, and threw the empty cup into the trash. A whole ten, fifteen minutes later she asks, "Did you finish your coke?" I just look at her like 😐 while internally doing the wtf Jackie Chan face because are you telling me you didn't see me throw it away while you're right beside me? Do you not see the empty cup holder? I say yea, to which she asks me to hand her her water bottle. I just feel as if she could've taken the time to do some looking and thinking on her own, and just ask me for her water.
We're driving with a gps, she says that she needs me to help her because she doesn't know if it's this exit or the next one. 😐 idk if i can do this for the rest of my life. The route is highlighted on the screen, instead of oh so many feet, the distance is point something miles, and the exit number is on the screen. I tell her to think about it. She takes the wrong exit and gets mad at me.
Other times she is literally just voicing her inner dialogue like "I want a coke", "I'm hot, need to turn on the air", "My head is itching" and she just looks at me waiting for me to say something when I feel like none of this really warrants a reply. I hate small talk but maybe I'm just a stick in the mud.
She asks for help ridiculously often when she doesn't really need any. She could do things on her own most of the time just by freeing up one of her hands or literally thinking about the issue more. She probably tells me "hold this" 15 to 93 times a day. Just put it down? We were eating chinese takeout one night, and with a table right in front of her, she tells me to hold her plate. You know they give you enough food to feed a small village in those flimsy ass trays so the styrofoam bends and she drops her plate on my legs and in the floor before i can get a hold of it. I can't tell you how many times she's asked me for help with something that literally has instructions on it; she just didn't take the time to read it. I point it out and she's like "Oh 😜". It's gotten to the point where other than "think about it", when she asks for help i ask "do you really" and when i feel like she doesn't i resort to a childhood saying of my mother: "USE YOUR NOODLE! And when you're done with your noodle, put it back in your soup and finish your dinner".
To sum these points up, my pride doesn't want my kids acknowledging yet another dad, my girlfriend spits faster than Eminem when I'm a quiet guy, and her problem solving skills are near nonexistent when I'm a self-dependent, figure it out type of guy. I guess these personality differences might stem from our upbringing, as she was raised in a volatile home with her brother, bouncing between her mother and grandmother who both talk just as much as she, while i was raised alone with my mother who also enjoyed quiet time and liked reading and such. BUT-
In addition to this, I don't feel like my girlfriend and I are as sexually compatible as we could be. Our preferences and things we want aren't that different, but i have a much broader taste than she does and I don't ever think I'll achieve sexual freedom with her. I know that some of my fantasies are off the table for her, and others I'm too ashamed to even open up about due to what she's made clear of her stance. She doesn't like the lights on during, she doesn't like eye contact, she isn't very vocal. I wanna see her, look her in the eye, when i talk to her she doesn't talk back and doesn't mention it till we're done. These differences probably come from our experience and lack of with porn and sexual partners. I think I'm her third or fourth relationship. The guy before me she was with for 5 years. I started watching porn at 12 or 13, was running a NSFW tumblr page before tumblr stopped being cool, regularly masturbated. I don't think my girlfriend ever really touched herself before me, and the only time i know of her masturbating was to send me a video like 2 years ago. I want more from out sex life but trying to bring it up is met with mild disgust before rejection. Ideally I want my partner to want to masturbate sometimes, for us both to have toys, for us to explore with ourselves and other people and explore our fantasies. My girlfriend doesn't even have any. This makes me reluctant to marry because I don't wanna give up on all of this without having experienced it.
On top of this is her style of living. Bathroom sink and tub full of hair. Throwing something away- KOBE! -she misses and doesn't pick it up. Preparing food and leaving the scraps and trash on the counter for roaches, rats and ants, i can't stand it. Her side of the bed looks like the empty water bottle monster threw up and she loves to eat before bed but rarely takes her dishes to the kitchen before sleeping, and just throws her trash in the general direction of the can without bothering to just lean over and place it in or at least see if she made it. I'll say something and she'll do better for 2 days and a half, then i feel like i wasted my words. 8 used wash rags left in the shower, not flushing the toilet, she just really kinda sucks at cleaning up after herself until the stars align or mercury is in retrograde or some divine intervention where she wants to do everything in a day. She's a manager at McD's now so she's working a bit more, but she used to be a server with multiple off days through the week while I've had the same job for 6 years working 6 days out the week from 7a-3p, sometimes working 3-3 or 7-7 and it's frustrating to come home with her having laid on the couch all day amidst a house that a torndado ran through. Then when I get home she wants us to clean together, nah I'm tryna sit down somewhere. I still help pickup but why could you not do this in the 10, 12 hours i was gone? At least start on it and i can come in with the assist like an alley-oop.
To top it off is her style of parenting/communication. Her dad is a loud man and he's to thank for the genes I guess, but she's quick to resort to yelling whenever things bother her or the kids don't listen, as if the louder you are the easier it is to understand. Like I said I'm a quiet guy and i consider myself rational so i like to slow down and calmly talk about things, talk to kids with a level head and tone when they're wrong and talk to her in a calm tone whenever we have any altercations. She normally beats me to the punch with child reprimands since those thoughts have been bubbling in her mouth, and i don't like the yelling at all. After she gets done yelling I'll usually come behind to tell the kids what went wrong and why it was/why they shouldn't do that. But due to my level-headedness she sees that as me not caring, and when i ask her to calm her tone she says it's just how she reacts when upset. The kids act drastically different when they're alone with me versus alone with her, going from minding to whiny/crying whenever she gets to yelling.
Besides the yelling and too high expectations for small children, i do think she's a good mom, i just wish she'd handle things differently sometimes.
To sum these points up, I'm worried about sexual fulfillment, cleanliness (having to pick up after 3 kids and an adult), and temperament/attitude once married.
I know these things take effort but I feel like she just isn't as conscious about it as I am, and when i try to explain why i think she could/should do things differently/more efficiently, she takes it as me criticizing her and belittling her. It feels like I'm in a relationship with a child sometimes as far as her tendencies go.
Is marriage really the best option? Should we spend some time apart or end things for good?
Despite all of this we don't have a bad 1 on 1 relationship, when it's good it's great but when it's bad i can't help but wonder. I get pensive. Is marriage the best course of action for my life, for her life, for our kids? Would we all be able to grow and develop better with mom and dad separated? Is there someone better for me, someone better for her out there?
I've already gotten the supplies I had in mind ready to propose to her in a way she would love and i am happy with, i just have yet to buy a ring. It's a huge commitment that i don't want to end in disaster and resentment.
Sorry for the book. Thoughts/advice greatly appreciated.

Ive only been playing valo about 2 months but i have a love/hate relationship with it. As with every elo, there's smurfs and throwers. But its a WHOLE other level in Iron. Obv theres bad teammates but whatever. Ill take that. Theyre trying. What i wont take is meeting 4 throwers and 2 smurfs in the same DAY. i had a guy in my most recent game who baited the entire team for knife kills and MISSED and when i called him out on it, he made mocking baby noises at me. He then proceeded to throw the WHOLE game. What was at first just baiting turned into a temper tantrum where him and his duo would stay at spawn and do nothing. So it was a 3v5. And we actually did alright but ofc we failed. Im at an utter loss of words. How can someone be such a loser? Feels like every 4 games theres either a smurf or a troll. Playing unrated from now on and doing aimlabs 🤷

Sorry in advance for the long post. I'm rambling a bit but trying to give you a bit of insight to what is going on in my head and why I am avoiding sticking to the plan most people here and on other fire or bogglehead forums use.

Background

I have done some entrepreneurial stuff and have gotten very lucky but for the most part I have little to no real transferable job experiences. I cashed out some of my riskier investments to move to a more stable portfolio but regretting it a bit. I feel there's no real place I want to put my money for long term growth and due to my age I don't have faith in the 4% rule to support me until I die. Really even if I lowered it to 3% the problem is I worry about going through an era of stock price stagnation like many other countries have seen. I gravitate heavily towards cash flowing capital assets.
I don't really have any real job prospects or any type of skills that could get me a 9-5 career with potential for growth. If I did, I would just get a regular job throw everything in VTI and call it a day. I wont get social security at the moment because I never paid into it. Everything ive paid in taxes is considered passive income.
I would look to reeducate myself or do further education but honestly I think the influx of money at this age hurt my work ethic and desire to work. I also simply just don't know what I would enjoy doing for a living or what I enjoy doing in general. I have a bachelors in economics but a low GPA because my mind was on other things during school, which hurts the chance of me getting some sort of further degree.
I was thinking about buying some commercial real estate for the cashflow but im in a HCOL area (suburb of NYC) and not a whole lot you can buy even if I had access to the whole amount so if I bought in another area id be relying on a property manager. Also id be heavily tied to one area and who knows what the real estate market there would be like in 30 or 40 years. Side note I don't like REITs for the most part because of their leverage and would most likely just own mine debt free and treat it like a bond that pays a coupon but has an underlying value that keeps pace with inflation.

Net worth

I have about 1.5mm in cash sitting in a money market account, another 800k in crypto Id probably not touch for tax and philosophical reasons. I also have about 1.2mm split between some QOZ funds which I cant really touch for 10 years but unless the fund goes belly up during a construction phase, I should start to receive distributions in a couple years (one of the funds I'm in for 400k is already distributing at about 4% a year). However roughly 400k is owed in taxes on this money in 2027.
If I'm lucky the 1.2mm in OZ funds will appreciate (original estimations are 2x-2.5x in 10 years tax free due to OZ law) but with the current commercial RE market ill be happy if there's no loss of capital across the funds I invested in. I also have about 100k in another real estate bridge loan fund which pays 8% and about 200k equity in a tiny primary residence worth about 500k that id probably just rent out if I upgraded at some point. Sitting on a 3% 30 year fixed mortgage so no reason to pay it off.

Cost of living

With the money market and some other of my investments im probably making around 80k-100k post tax but losing principal in real terms due to inflation. So trying not to use that much money earned.
In general I actually use very little money and have a low cost lifestyle. I mostly spend my money on games and collectibles. I probably only spend $50,000 a year and that includes my mortgage payment but I'm a bit of a hermit and would like to have the ability to spend 100k-120k a year without worrying about eating into principal if at some point I start to travel and see the world more. Anything I didn't spend id just reinvest.
Its also not 100% necessary but at some point id like to upgrade my house because I really only bought it as a starter home while I figured things out. I would probably wait until I saw how my OZ funds panned out until I did that though.
I'm wondering if maybe I just bite the bullet and DCA into VTI over a year or so and try to get a crap job paying very little in the mean time to max out a ROTH while I figure things out. I worry about asset prices if we see a recession or market pullback so if interest rates go up again, maybe DCA at a slower pace?
What would you do if you were in my situation? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Just looking for some sort of guidance or path forward.

Long story short, my aunt had to move out of her place with a lady that was verbally abusive towards her. My aunt has a known drinking problem as well so it was going to be incredibly stressful on me to take her into my home. I told her it was temporary until she found a place of her own and that she couldn't drink at the house.
She moved her things into my guest room and for the first couple of weeks she didn't drink and I was very proud of her. I told her she was doing great and we had long conversations about life and our family and did a lot of fun things together like watch a bunch of comedies and binge watching Netflix shows and just bonding that I haven't had with her in years. I was so impressed that she was taking care of herself that I was ready to tell her that she could stay here as long as she would like as long as she kept on staying health and taking good care of herself.
Then 3 weeks ago, something dramatically changed. I noticed she didn't immediately come home from work and she was getting in late, like at 9PM. I didn't think much of it since she is an adult and is free to go wherever she wants but she started doing it everyday and I started to get worried. I knew that she was drinking for several hours at a local restaurant/bar but I had no idea how to approach her . I didn't want to sound like her mother and go "what have you been doing?" with a disappointed look on my face. So I just pretended that she was okay and as long as she didn't drink at my house or didn't fall over drunk, I'd just let it slide.
Well, this newly started routine she did ultimately culminated into a shit show last Thursday. She told me she was going out with her friend from work and she asked if I wanted to join her. I politely declined and said that I was making keto friendly beef stew for myself and that I needed to go shopping. I figured it was just like any other night she had been out. However, it started getting real late, like past 9:00PM and going into 10PM. I started getting worried about her and incredibly angry that she was doing this to me again. I was so concerned and freaked out, I couldn't even enjoy my dinner I spent 2 hours making so I texted her asking her if everything was okay, where was she, etc. I got no response. So that made me worried. Did she still have her phone? Was she still at that restaurant this late? Did she crash at her friends place for the night? Did she drive drunk and crash somewhere? Did someone take advantage of her? All these thoughts raced through my head and I couldn't take anymore.
I decided to go to bed, so I lock the doors and turn off the lights. Suddenly around midnight, I hear a car pull up and I hear 3 men, and I hear a woman that sounds like my aunt but with slurred speech and repetitive sentences. I look out the window and it is my aunt with random men I've never seen before. She's sitting there and not going to my door for some reason. She ends up calling her 9 month pregnant granddaughter to pick her up. She's so loud that the whole neighborhood could hear her FaceTime conversation so I go outside to see what's going on.
I approach the car and it takes like 30 seconds for these men to see that I'm standing there next to them so they must have been drunk. They go, who are you? I tell them that you have my aunt in your car. I walk up to my aunt and I ask her, what is going on? She didn't have anything to say to me so that's when I finally let out my frustration.
I told her, I'm sick and tired of this and I don't want to deal with this bullshit anymore. You can't stay with me anymore so tomorrow when you're sobered up, you can come by and get your shit and get out of here. I'm so sick and tired of dealing with your shit.
Then one of those randos walked up to me and told me "how dare you say bad things to this lady" and I was like.... WHO THE FUCK TOLD YOU TO GET IN OUR BUSINESS? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU? YOU COULD BE ANYBODY. I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Finally my aunt's granddaughter comes by and picks her up, with a 2 year old in the backseat. I was thinking, that's just sad. I told my aunt that I hope she gets help but as of tonight, I can't help you any longer. I did try.
It's been a couple of days now but I still feel bad that I let my aunt go and told her to leave. It was definitely the right thing to do since she was making my life stressful and making me frustrated and angry. I think she needs to realize that I'm not a pushover and I'm not going to let her do whatever she wants while she's staying with me. I'll support her when she's not drinking and recovering. Anyway, that's been my crazy weekend. I haven't been able to talk about it with anyone so I hope someone replies with encouragement. I could use it.

Hello fellow travelers and locals. I'm currently on a mission to find the perfect spot for a special life event - proposing to my girlfriend. She's a native and has been to Đà Lạt a few times and absolutely adores the city, so I'd love to make her dream come true by asking her in a location that holds meaning.
However, I'm trying to keep this a surprise and would prefer spots that don't scream "proposal spot" at first glance. I'd really appreciate your personal recommendations for romantic, yet subtly charming locations around Đà Lạt. Thanks in advance!

Hey fellow gamers,
I just had to share this special moment with all of you because it feels like a dream come true. After years of being a dedicated PC player, I finally took the plunge and bought myself a PlayStation 5. I can't even express how excited and grateful I am for this new addition to my gaming setup.
Growing up, I never had the financial means to own a console. It was always a distant dream that I could only admire from afar. But with perseverance and some saving up, I managed to make it a reality. And let me tell you, it was worth every penny.
One of the things I've always admired about consoles is the simplicity they bring. As a PC player, I spent countless hours tinkering with graphic settings, trying to find the perfect balance between performance and visual quality. But with the PS5, I can just plug it in and start playing. The plug-and-play experience feels so good, and it's a breath of fresh air.
Now, I was always under the impression that 60fps was the gold standard for a good gaming experience. And while it's still incredibly smooth, I was blown away by the level of immersion and smoothness that the PS5 provides, even with fidelity turned on. It's a testament to the power of this console and how far gaming technology has come. It's truly an awe-inspiring experience.
But let's talk about the DualSense controller for a moment. Wow. Just wow. I can't stress enough how good it feels in my hands. The haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and overall design are truly a game-changer. It adds a new layer of immersion to my gaming sessions, and I find myself enjoying games even more because of it. Sony really hit the mark with this controller.
I know this might seem like a small thing to some people, but to me, it's a milestone. It's a symbol of achieving something I've wanted for so long. It's a reminder that dreams can come true with dedication and perseverance. And it's a testament to the incredible advancements in gaming technology that continue to blow us away.
So, if you're someone who's been on the fence about getting a console or if you've been a die-hard PC player like me, I highly recommend giving the PlayStation 5 a chance. It's a game-changer in every sense of the word. It has rekindled my love for gaming in a way I didn't think was possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read my heartfelt post. I hope it inspires someone out there who, like me, has been dreaming of owning a console. Keep chasing your dreams and never give up. Happy gaming, everyone!
TL;DR: After a lifetime of being a PC player, I finally bought a PS5. The plug-and-play experience and the smoothness of gameplay with fidelity turned on have amazed me. The DualSense controller is a game-changer. It's a milestone and a symbol of achieving dreams. If you've been contemplating getting a console, go for it. Happy gaming, everyone!

Thank you for reading this.
I recently got some great <$1000 Integrated amplifier suggestions, but for some reason I'm drawn to the idea of separates, especially the Topping 90 stack (LA90 power amp, D90 DAC, A90 headphone amp or Pre90 preamp). I like the ability to ensure each part of the signal chain is a quality product as well as the ability to slowly upgrade over time.
I'm the millionth person to get a Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo turntable, a pair of Kef LS50 Metas and a Kef KC62 subwoofer. I'm coming from Yamaha HS8 studio monitors (still keeping at my desk) and also have a Focusrite 18i20 audio interface (at my desk). I'm looking for as neutral and accurate a sound possible for my living room setup, for casual listening (TV / game / streaming), as well as more critical listening (vinyl / streaming / music production). Listening distance is 11 ft in a medium sized open apartment living room (connecting to kitchen), at low to moderate volumes. I'm more interested in clarity, neutrality, instrument separation and soundstage than loud volume. The last thing I want is hearing loss. I also don't want to upset my neighbors.
For now, I'm considering just buying a Topping LA90 power amp (or similar, open to suggestions) and a Pro-ject Phono Box S2 (or similar, open to suggestions). And incorporating my 18i20.

1. Can the LA90 reasonably power my speakers given my listening conditions? I used a dB SPL meter app at my listening position with my terrible TV speakers. 55 avg and 75 max SPL seems pretty loud but OK to me for regular listening. Are these apps not accurate - I thought they were? Am I missing something? How are people listening at 85dB average? Right now I'm at 40avg, 50 max and this feels very comfortable? I also played some test tones which measured at 60dB at 11 ft and it's quite loud? Is this just up to preference or am I missing something?
   
2. For now I'm thinking about incorporating my 18i20 as a DAC / Preamp. Is it a decent preamp? I'm slightly suspect on routing the phono pre into it, but the 18i20 has direct monitoring so does that mean it won't color the sound much? The 18i20 is 40 ft away from the TV / turntable / speakers / amp.
   
3. Does this signal chain make sense:
   

• A.) Turntable RCA out > Phono preamp RCA in (via short RCA cables)
• B.) Phono preamp RCA out > 18i20 quarter inch / XLR in (via 40ft RCA to quarter inch cable)
• C.) TV optical out > 18i20 optical in (via 40 ft optical cable)
• D.) 18i20 quarter inch outs > KC62 RCA line in (via 40 ft quarter inch to RCA cable)
• E.) KC62 RCA line out > LA90 quarter inch in (via RCA to quarter inch cable)
• F.) LA90 out > speakers (via speaker wire)

This would allow me to use the KC62 high pass filter, which people seem to recommend?

1. Instead of using the 18i20 as an input selector / Preamp, should I just use it as a DAC? By instead plugging the phono preamp directly into the LA90. And plugging the 18i20 into the LA90. Then taking the LA90 outs directly to the speakers, as well as the high level inputs on the sub in parallel? This would mean no HPF for the speakers right? It would also mean a shorter cable run out of the phono pre amp. Would that mean I use 8 wires on the 4 LA90 output posts?
   
2. In the future (or now) would it make sense to buy a streamer, a D90 and a Pre90 (or similar) to avoid the long cable runs and incorporate the sub's HPF? Do these long cables I mentioned even exist / would they work well? Should I just bite the bullet and buy these now - it's not out of the question. Does this setup even make sense? Am I a complete idiot for all of this nonsense and should I really just buy an integrated? I'm really drawn to the reports of super neutral sounding separates. I'm also averse to buying parts and then wanting to upgrade it very soon... I'm hoping to keep the setup unchanged for at least a few years.
   

Thank you so much for your help.

Just went through a pretty hard breakup a little over a month ago. In every conversation I've had with friends and family, I've mentioned that I really don't want to be in a relationship for the foreseeable future. And it's true. I'm tired of being the shelter dog that gets picked out and then returned after a short period of time. I'm tired of being a placeholder, fulfilling their needs while they search for the person they actually want. I'm tired of being someone that gives and gives but gets absolutely nothing in return. I want to be selfish and do things I want to do. I want to work schedules that I like working and not what fits best for the other person. I want to go on adventures that appeal to me. I want to work on hobbies that I've been putting on hold for the other person. I don't want to cry over some dumb boy that is immature and lacks communication skills. I don't want to beg anyone else to stay.
I feel like my mental health thrives when I'm single and not looking. I know that in relationships, I have a hard time putting myself first. I put all of my hobbies, all of my passions on the back burner to make sure my partner has what they need and want. I do everything in my power to make them happy and satisfied. I know it's unhealthy. I shouldn't put someone else's wants before my own needs. I shouldn't be afraid to tell them that no, I don't want to watch some stupid movie, that I'd rather go for a walk in nature. Or that I want to take some time to draw and if they'd like to keep me company they can, but that they don't have to.
Even after I explain this, I get told over and over again that I'll find The One. As soon as I stop looking. It's gonna happen. But what if it doesn't? What if I never find The One? There's plenty of people that never have serious long term relationships, let alone get married. I'm sure many of them live feeling very self fulfilled. I would rather be single than ever invest my time, love, and energy into someone that makes me feel like shit and if that means that I never get into another relationship, I'm okay with that. Yet everyone around me acts like I'm being cynical, that it's a bad thing to be single for the rest of your life. That something is wrong with me for not really wanting to go on another date in my entire life. Or that I'm not valued the same if I decide to be single for the foreseeable future.
I just want to be happy and right now, being single makes me happy. I'm not concerned with finding The One. I thought I had found The One. He checked all the boxes initially. Meeting him felt like the beginning of a cheesy romance movie. He was everything I had ever dreamed of. And you know what he did? He cheated on me and made me feel bad about myself. He made me cry myself to sleep on multiple occasions, and by the end of our relationship, I had so much self hate that I nearly checked myself into a mental health hospital.
So yeah, please stop telling me I'm going to find The One. Maybe, for me, The One is myself. I would rather work on building a life that makes me happy than focusing on finding someone that probably doesn't exist.

This file comes from accounts of the [REDACTED] incident that took place [REDACTED].
The memories of [REDACTED] were successfully acquired for the best possible retelling.
The account:
PROLOGUE
Weather reports are saying a massive blizzard from the northernmost parts of Alaska will begin making its way down the west coast. Most are saying that the storm will hit us next week. People are calling it the storm of the decade, so sorry folks it looks like spring hasn’t sprung just yet.
The reporter continued but I stopped listening as my dad sputtered out: “Why in the heck do they expect me to believe that? This is bull crap I’m telling you complete bull crap. Blizzards don’t happen in April!”
Part of me wanted to stop and explain to him why the newsman was probably right but I knew my dad wouldn’t believe me. You see, in his old age, my dad had become quite well crazy. He didn’t trust anyone or anything and had gotten really into conspiracy theories.
“Dad, you can’t just dismiss facts and science like that,” My sister Gretchen said.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. They don’t know what they’re talking about, if you had only seen…” My dad was yelling before I cut him off, “Shut up!”
“Why the heck do you think you can talk to your daughter like that!” I screamed at him.
“What the heck, you’re talking like she wasn’t the one who was trying to tell me what to do!” He yelled again, and at this point, I gave up and left the room.
I found Gretchen. She stood in front of the mirror in the hall I stood next to her and looked into the reflection despite me and Gretchen being 9 years apart and having different moms we almost looked like twins. We both had short straight black hair, dark brown eyes, pale complections, and stood nearly the same height.
“I miss how he used to be,” She said somberly.
“I know me too sis,” I said leaning in and hugging her.
“Let's go,” She said softly.
I nodded and we both left, not bothering to say goodbye. I drove the short 20-minute drive to our house.
When Gretchen was 8 her mom died and my dad remarried a year later and they had me. They bought a small 1 story house in a nice rural neighborhood, then two years later they divorced and my mother got authority over us kids. Me and Gretchen never really moved out, because well the house was big. Despite being one story it was quite spacious and oddly built. It was much longer than it was wide. One long hallway ran the whole interior from the fireplace on one end of the house. To the fireplace on the other end of the house. It had a small kitchen, dining room, and four bedrooms along with a tiny library. In addition, it had a basement. The basement was like a large studio apartment with a kitchen/dining room, 2 bedrooms, and a large hang-out area.
Me and Gretchen walked inside and were immediately greeted by May, Moore, and Herman, our three dogs. May and Moore were both Australian shepherds, and Herman was an absolutely massive Saint Bernard.
Herman jumped up onto me, almost making me topple to the ground.
“Woah, easy boy,” I exclaimed, giving the big dog a pat on the head as I pushed him off.
“Hi sweeties,” I heard our mom say from the kitchen.
I stepped into the kitchen and saw Mom busy making dinner. Our mom was short with long brown hair and bright blue eyes
“Hi Mom,” I greeted, stepping over and giving her a huge hug.
“Where’s Chloe?” I asked quickly.
“And where’s the kids?” Gretchen asked after also hugging Mom.
“Chloe's downstairs playing with the kids,” Mom explained.
We both hurried down the hall and then down the stairs into the lounge. A mess of legos was on the floor and playing in this mess was Gretchen's sons.
Her first son was named Alby. He is 8 and is rather quiet, he usually has his head in a book and the only thing that consistently gets him outside is the dogs, or going fishing with his dad. Like his mom, he has straight black hair. He wears rectangular glasses and has hazel eyes.
The Second is Alan. Alan is 5 and is always wanting to play having a seemingly endless amount of energy. He had dirty blonde hair with hazel eyes and is fairly tall and stocky for his age.
Third and last is Aaron. Aaron is 3, and he doesn’t talk much. He is almost like Alan's shadow following him along and doing the same thing as Alan. He is tiny with blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
Alan and Aaron were seemingly having a war with Lego dinosaurs, Alby seemed to be constructing a car, and sitting on the couch behind them was Chloe.
Chloe is very pretty with light silky blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders, icy blue eyes that seemed almost impossible to look away from, pale skin, and an adorable smile.
The moment me and Gretchen were down those stairs Alan and Aaron had run up and hugged her.
“Mommy mommy!” They both yelled in excitement.
Chloe perked up and gave me a huge smile.
“Hi babe, didn’t know you’d be back so soon.” She exclaimed as she got up and hugged me.
“My dad yelled at Gretchen,” I said simply and we left it at that.
The blizzard people are now calling snowmageddon should hit us tomorrow and will likely cause a complete loss of power, and the government is mandating that by tomorrow no one is allowed to exit or leave town. They did not try to better explain this…
Chloe clicked off the tv. The storm was already making her nervous enough and she wanted to hear nothing more about it.
“Are you sure we have enough firewood?” Chloe asked, looking at me worried.
“We’ve got enough firewood to last three winters, babe,” I exaggerated.
“What about food, do we have enough food?” She asked, my words not getting to her.
“We could use a few more things, but I’m going to…” I was saying before Chloe interrupted: “Let's go now I want to make sure we have everything we need.”
“Ok babe, I’ll go get my jacket,” I said standing up from the couch and walking over to the bedroom.
I grabbed my jacket and shoes and met Chloe upstairs by the front door. She seemed excited that she wasn’t sitting around worrying and I think that’s why she wanted to go so bad.
“Hey Mom, Gretchen, we are going to the store, do you guys need anything?” I asked them both who were sitting in the kitchen.
“We need batteries, Joey.” My mom responded simply.
“Ok, batteries, anything else?”
“Nope,” They both said quickly.
Me and Chloe stepped outside the house and walked over to my jeep and got in. I pulled out of the driveway and looked around, our neighborhood had a very interesting layout. The houses were spaced out but not an extraordinary amount, just more than you’d see in the average neighborhood. Each house was probably 400 feet apart from each other. Our neighborhood also had a lot of trees, so many in fact that it was hard to see your neighbor's house through them. I could vaguely make out the Marley's house to the right, and to the left, I saw the Richardson's house. Both were older couples that had far much more than they needed.
But the more important thing I observed was that it seemed everyone was packing up. Multiple cars were out in their driveways with people hurriedly rushing in and out of the house with things. I pulled up next to the Richardsons' car and rolled down the window.
“Hey Greg, y'all leaving?” I asked, giving him a polite smile.
Greg Richardson looked over from the back of his van: “Yep, some people are saying the mountains are going to slow down the storm and that it could be here for a few days, so we’re leaving to be on the safe side.” He explained.
“I haven’t heard anything about that,” I exclaimed, a little more concerned about the blizzard now.
“Yeah, well y’all be safe,” He said, giving us a smile and a wave.
“You too,” I said, giving him a wave and then continuing our journey toward the store.
“Wow, there’s a lot of people leaving,” Chloe exclaimed with a slight shock and fear in her voice.
I let my eyes wander while trying to keep my eyes on the road. She was right, almost everyone was leaving town.
“Do you think we should leave?” Chloe asked me, eyeing the packed cars.
“No point, even if we wanted to, the storm would probably catch us in traffic because of all the people leaving,” I said and noticed her momentary worries dissipate.
After a couple of minutes, we pulled in front of the store. It was old, still styled like a store in the 80s. It was very busy today and me and Chloe had to park on the street. As we walked toward the store I felt a chill in the air. I could tell Chloe felt it too because she wrapped one arm around me and cuddled next to me as we walked.
We entered the store and it looked like a tornado had gone through it. Things were lying on the floor and almost everything was gone. There was a long line in front of the counter where the cashier sat. I knew the cashier, her name was Lacy, she was 17 and the daughter of the owner. Just then the owner Carl appeared from around the corner.
Carl was a very short guy with round glasses, dark brown hair, and a very poor attempt at a comb-over.
“Hey Joey and Chloe,” He greeted a large smile etched on his face.
We both smiled back, “How are you doing Carl?” Chloe asked.
“Doing the best I can, basically everyone who’s staying in town has come to stock up.” He explained, “You two staying in town?” He then asked.
“Yeah, just going to hold out,” I grinned a little excited to spend a few days not having to do anything.
“Alright, well if you need anything just give a holler,” He instructed before hurrying off to do something.
Me and Chloe grabbed baskets and split up to get everything we needed.
We met by the register after and waited in line during which I got a call. I pulled my phone out and saw it was from Dad. I thought about not answering but decided I’d better answer.
Before I could even greet him my dad had started on a rant: “Joey you and everybody need to get out of town right now. You gotta get out of there, they’ll escape from the lab and kill you if you don’t… their creatures they’ll kill you…” He tried to continue but I interrupted him, “I don’t know what you're going on about but I’m done.”
I hung up and Chloe gave me a worried look: “Who was it?”
“My dad, going off on his ramblings again,” I told her simply.
She nodded: “Anything I should know?”
“No he’s just being paranoid,” I explained.
We both stood there for a minute watching more people around the store fill their carts with things. One woman behind us had a shopping cart full of toilet paper. Then I noticed Chloe’s head turn toward the window.
“Hey look, it's started,” She exclaimed looking out the window.
I looked out and saw snow slowly beginning to fall to the ground, and I felt a deep sense of dread as it did.

I have a very basic understanding of physics and biology so for example I get why certain things work like why I see light and colors and everything around me. So I was reading about theory of relativity. It's almost 4 am and I start to read and research about some interesting stuff and start to fry my brain trying to understand the words on my screen. It just hit me how weird it is that the walls are lit when I turn my lights on. Anyway, my questions below might be stupid and I'm sorry when they are but I'm curious if there is a valid or hypothetically "correct" answer.
I started thinking, imagine you are in your room standing still looking at a light bulb projecting light on a wall and you're able to to see light as a moving particle (like little tiny lasers or something i don't know). It moves towards the wall at the speed of light, so what will you see?
Then imagine that you're in a spaceship and you move away from a light source like the sun at lightspeed. You have matched the speed of the particles of light that first moved past away from you, meaning that you stand still with light like two cars beside each other both going exactly 60 mph. So how would you perceive light when you look out the window of your spaceship compared to when you're in your room?

Hello, kpopthoughts! Originally this was posted in twice but one of my friends said I should crosspost it here — so here this album review is.
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Intro

To preface the review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very long read. Going through it myself for the fun of it takes around 30 minutes — it's almost 7k words, including lyrical references. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this, play the album while reading, and set a good amount of time aside.
And yes, this is 9 months late 😭 I'm not sorry — when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
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Between 1&2 💞

Album Review
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TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
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Talk that Talk 🎙

Producers by collapsedone and MRCH
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One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICE’s best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths — the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like, Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if they’re some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyun’s voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references — these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
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Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
A to Z da malhaebwa
But shijageun ireoke have
Talk that Talk ttak han madi
Talk that Talk L-O-V-E
deullyeojweo ooh
Now now now now now yeah~

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During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines there’s this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo ooh…
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoung’s part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely — although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON… Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect — the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable “pop” voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that shouts out loud that this is THE chorus. This is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. The production also helps with this effect, cutting out during what you to emphasize Nayeon's voice before crashing back down, double the pause at Jihyo's intro.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
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The simple words “I love you”
That’s all I wanna hear
Without hesitation, I’ll go up to you
I’ll make it simple
And just tell you I love you

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The word “love” is said for the first time in the song. There’s a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoung’s part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-résistance: this final double chorus is exceptional — 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery Talk that Talk, Momo comes out of nowhere with oh yeah it sounds so good! — you’re damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
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han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~

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Nayeon outright shouts Tell me what you need and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Tzuyu and Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh!
What a party. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• The synths of all time
• The chimes during Talk-that-talk~
• Jeongyeon’s pre-chorus going into Nayeon’s chorus
• Rich harmonies and fun ad-libs
• The entirety of that magical final chorus and outro

Needs Work

• The opening hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be “catchier”

Core Memory

• Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played at a K-pop club

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Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICE’s last comeback, they’ve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This song’s chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish, there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering What is Love? and imagining their crush responding with Yes when asking them out — and now concluding with the phrase Talk that Talk, [Talk that] L-O-V-E, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults — to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonet’s vocals and the song's production. This is the third draft I’m writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICE’s roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger that’s easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
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WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
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Queen of Hearts 👑

Produced by LDN Noise
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If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
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You ain’t ready for it
Watch me go~ watch me go~
Rule the world
Know you never doubted baby
I’mma go run the whole universe~

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Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
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Baby I was born to rule~~
Yeah I’m the Queen, I’m the Queen
And it’s all because of you~~
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps — it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line And it’s all because of you. But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
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And now that I’m surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls

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It sounds really lovely — in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should — the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
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Screaming out my name
See it in the stage lights
Feel so lucky just to have ya
Cause I know deep down I was meant for something bigger! Greater!
I know you’re seeing what I see
Yeah I’ll be everything you need
I know I’m gonna walk the walk
And talk the talk to be~ [the Queen of Hearts]

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This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. It’s meant to be loud. It’s meant to be unapologetic. It’s meant to be sappy. And it’s all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centre stage in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
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So thank you for the memories
You’re all the ones who made me~
So thank you for the memories
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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I still can’t believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
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THE GOOD

• Adorable fucking lyrics
• Unrelenting, roaring chorus
• English and vocal flex
• Intoxicating guitar riffs

Needs Work

• Chaeyoung rapping in English in their Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in their English songs, nonetheless, in QoH, it fits with the sound of the song

Core Memory

• Walking home from a K-pop festival with this song playing, felt like a Queen of Hearts

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I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I don’t love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyo’s final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICE’s other rock songs — it’s a 9/10 for me.
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I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
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Basics 🌈

Lyrics by Chaeyoung
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Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself — an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020’s silky Handle It — Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
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dareun aedeulgwaneun dalla
Ain’t beggin’ for love
nappeun geon anijana ige naraseo
eodiro twilji molla
Like rainbow bubble gum
geureoni nal kkwak butjabadweo

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Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English — this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoung’s bag. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
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I wanna wanna wanna take it to the Basics
da weonhae weonhae weonhae? seodureuji ma Baby
ppeonhae ppeonhae malhae mweohae da al tende
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah

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That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: wanna, weonhae, and ppeonhae all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding ah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeah comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
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taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende

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Translating to:
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Above the hot, burning desert
It’s like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously

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The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesn’t let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, it’s just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
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THE GOOD

• That sweet summer vibe of a chorus
• The spaceship post-chorus is killer
• Chaeyoung devoured this song
• Sure-footed, confident lyrics

Needs Work

• Perhaps an alteration of that ah yeah ah yeah line
• The way Jihyo did her pre-chorus line is good, but Mina’s is great

Core Memory

• After donating my hair, walking down the rainbow-coloured areas of downtown Toronto with this song playing was very… fitting

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This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. It’s dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning spaceship post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, it’s an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic — it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and I’m happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
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BABY WE’RE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
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Trouble 💃

Lyrics, vocal direction, and background vocals by Jihyo
Produced by Jihyo and earattack
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One of the most enjoyable songs I’ve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces Let’s go, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasting with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat mixed with a sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
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• Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
• The blooming of the house piano takes centre stage and the song ascends into euphoria
• A random drum roll capped off by a cymbal crash
• Jeongyeon’s growling pronunciation of the word Trouble
• Chaeyoung slyly admitting I like this Trouble
• The entirety of Tzuyu’s tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
• Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
• Jihyo leading the vocals during the synchronized T W I C E chant

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This chorus is perfect. Toronto’s residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
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gamchweo bwatja geugeon Fake
ppajin hamjeongeun Sweet cake

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During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
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You cannot resist this
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
Ima put it down down
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss

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Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, I’m not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where it’s:
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Triplet-triplet
Quadruplet-triplet
Quadruplet-doublet
Doublet-quadruplet

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Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isn’t groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice — if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, it’s this. The addition of that first quadruplet for cannot miss this in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG ‼
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words they’re saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all — with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
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Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble be-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-beh
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trou-ble

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Like, come on, Nayeon’s imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• The theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
• Sana and Mina’s melody in the pre-chorus
• Whole neighbourhoods full of house
• You cannot resist this, cannot miss this, such a bliss
• Wees and woos

Needs Work

• Mina’s line of falling down, falling down, falling down low in verse 2 feels a bit too abrupt of a change

Core Memory

• While writing Trouble's review I had this song on repeat for my whole subway commute and I must've been so distracting, just head-bopping and being so invested in my enjoyment

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Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best “international” sounds they’ve put out. Actually, I haven’t listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work they’ve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019’s Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well you’d think that this is TWICE’s bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyo’s magnum opus. What a song.
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BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
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Brave 💖

Produced by Slow Rabbit
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I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members — this song is PRETTY.
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The night that was unusually dark
Above this terrifying world, felt so lonely
The world has grown in the time of wandering
So hard to breathe

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Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely, that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet — I was not expecting the song to become this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them Brave that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added — there’s even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of the chorus, acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
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Oh na na na neon nal naige hae
On and on and on
Brave Brave Brave for ya
Oh na na na neon nal sum shwige hae
On and on and on oh trust me babe

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Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
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THE GOOD

• Special lyrics
• Pleasant sound to vibe out to
• That gentle break after the first chorus
• 3MIX poppin' off at the end
• Just very pretty vocals throughout

Needs Work

• Potentially hard to comprehend without translating the Korean lyrics

Core Memory

• Form of Therapy’s life motto revolves around the word “brave” — I don’t know where I got that from, but I remembered it right before watching his album reaction (yes, this is very random)

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I’m actually spoiled with the TWICE members’ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases don’t do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I can’t help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart — we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:

• 7/10s are songs are ones that are simply good throughout or great songs with apparent flaws
• 8/10s are great songs with distinct killing parts
• 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes can't comprehend how great they are
• And 10/10s are the best of an artist's discography, songs that encapsulate their ethos perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way

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I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
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Gone 💨

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
It’s getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt as of this review, they’ve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020’s Go Hard is. So it’s surprising to see they’ve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing what’s yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build, but — it doesn’t. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, until…
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I see the LIES on the top of your tongue

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The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
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All the fate I had towards you
Fades like a fog, Gone, Gone
Your flipping mind of doing this and that
I’m tired of it, it’s meaningless
In the beginning, it was hard to believe
With that, hatred increases

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The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort they’ve put in since the beginning, but their “partner” is so unconcerned that they’ve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyun’s thing since 2020’s Bring It Back, 2021’s Cruel, 2022’s That’s all I’m saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me — emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if she’s survived through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do try to do your job better.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus — a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, it’s Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
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I can’t stand it anymore
My patience, invisible
I can’t find it, it’s all Gone
Even if I try to turn back, it’s too late
There’s no use anymore
It has left, it’s long Gone
You, with flipping mind, you are out
I know that you know what I’m talking about
Nothing you could say that could turn this around
I’m Gone

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Building upon the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that she’s finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that there’s no point salvaging what love was once there. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that there’s no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and there’s no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoung’s rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the Gone in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, there’s no way I’m not going to talk about Momo’s vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeon’s belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
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THE GOOD

• They’ve still got their surprises
• Thundering chorus
• 2nd rap and bridge combo
• A bitter, crumbling relationship theme

Needs Work

• I’m not a huge fan of the mixing during the first post-chorus, where Momo's vocals were fighting with the production, which is disappointing because Momo is capable of an insane flow
• The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens

Core Memory

• Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between GOT7's Not By The Moon, BLACKPINK’s Love To Hate Me, and Dahyun’s Bring It Back. I don’t know where I got this thought came from, but it stuck

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Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me — see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyun’s light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, I’m happy they’re still finding new ways to explore what they’re capable of. And for that alone, even though I’m not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding “big”, Dahyun’s lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
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INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
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When We Were Kids 🧸

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. I’m totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I don’t know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song — this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, it’s one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in:
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Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world

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The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies pour in.
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Remember When We Were Kids
When We Were Kids, we didn’t know
If we could go back
I will love it even more
Remember When We Were Kids

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Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production — if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeon’s — this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount and range of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so textured, stable, and projected — but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
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I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me

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Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus — this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs don’t want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeon’s high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize — a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
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Oh, we were kids

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Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• Heavenly vocals throughout
• Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
• Euphoric chorus
• Great closer to the album

Needs Work

• Refrain after the last chorus, Back When We Were Kids, could’ve been executed better

Core Memory

• For an album titled Between 1&2, I don’t think anything hits harder than finishing the song reviews, with this song in particular, during your 21st birthday

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I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didn’t want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me — I didn’t want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing life’s obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICE’s original meaning was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-pop’s all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers — it was about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICE’s 7th anniversary, I don’t think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. It’s these nine women or none — 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable — Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
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Epilogue

And finally here is the end. If you made it in one sitting then I commend you, because I could not write this mess in one sitting. As alluded to, I started writing this album review sometime in October, after a series of edits the first draft was finished in March, and now here's the final draft in June.
I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter — there's such an eclectic mix of pop music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close — it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs — I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and here is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.