TheBananaKing

I had a shitty abusive childhood with zero social contact, so I never really learned how to have friends, or thus how to need or really derive much fulfilment from them; all my emotional needs and regulation had to come from within, and I am the part of a person that's left when all the bits that can't survive that are gone.

I got out of there eventually, but by that time it had kind of grown over; I eventually learned to be (slightly) social, but honestly it's a bunch of work for empty calories; I can spend the whole weekend's time/energy/spoons on some group activity but don't get to recharge and it's like not getting a weekend at all.

so in answer to your question I do a lot of hiking.

I'm atheist, and my partner was Muslim when I first knew her.

People say it doesn't mater - but honestly it really fucking does.

Imagine being in relationship with someone who never really left North Korea, deep down. There's so much fear, so much fear-driven obedience, and so much fear-driven defense of the indefensible.

I never really understood the concept of freedom of conscience until I was arguing with one of her friends about Amina Lawal, the Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery - with her sentence delayed until her baby was weaned. Despite being really very progressive at heart, my partner ended up arguing in favour of it - and then later on was seriously pissed off at me for making her defend that.

She ended up deconverting several years later (certainly not at my behest), and things got immeasurably better from then on.

But that's not a possibility I'd recommend banking on. My honest advice is just don't go there, it's far more stressful than you think it is.

Brilliant, thank you, I can't draw for shit

You don't actually spoon the whole way, just up to the waist, leaving a bit of a gap between your chest and partner's shoulders.

Upper arm goes round partner as normal, lower arm rests elbow on mattress, forearm vertical across their back, hand holds their upper shoulder.

Plenty of contact still, but your arm doesn't die, you don't get their hair tickling your face all night and you get to use your own pillow.

They're just setting the tarriff to half the 'trade deficit' percentage.

Where the actual trade amount is trivial, this leads to ludicrous results.

I worked for a company once that installed a remote-activation killswitch in their drivers, as a secret weapon to force the customer to stay current on their maintenance contract.

The CEO was a fuckup however, and the code killed their system even without being activated - resulting in a bunch of angry phonecalls and some of the most egregious lying I've ever heard.

god, he was a piece of shit

.... just don't use instagram?

I never have, and I don't feel like I'm missing out

So the assault isn't some necessary part of their plan to target Hamas, it's just a fucking holocaust they're using as a threat.

Good to know.

Protesting near a hospital: bad and evil.

Shelling a hospital: Quick, hand those people another billion dollars!

Fuck off, Penny.

Children are being bombed, you smug piece of shit.

Nothing else needs mentioning.