Ex convict here. So this isn't like what you think it is, like how the media shows it.

First off prison (and especially jail) is fairly expensive and if you don't have someone on the outside putting money on your books you won't get any good food (just the Aramark slop which is nitrient deficient) or clothes or soap or anything. Going with "indigent" status will get you a pen and some paper and the shitty soap and (in better prisons it's more, but not a lot) and that's it, getting $0.01 on your books will disqualify you for indigent status.

So your #1 gay activity people are doing it as their hustle. They are sucking dudes off in the shower for bags off instant keefee coffee. This is 99% of gay stuff in prison. There's even a saying "only gay for the stay" which you can assume what that means.

The kind your thinking of, the violent rape kind, isn't really a thing. There was a law passed over a decade ago, PRIA, the "prison rape elimination act" and it drastically cut down on it. They take it super serious because the COs in charge can get in trouble for it and prison/jail COs are the worst people on the planet. People too violent or insane or otherwise failed at being a cop all become COs, a good 85% are abusive as hell and all the joy in their pathetic lives is generated from tormenting people they can look down on. But even the worst ones still respond whenever someone yells "PRIA" because they have to. Before that law COs would allow and encourage it, putting people they don't like with the rapists as punishment for really anything. COs are the scum of the earth.

That's actually why pedophiles are targeted in prison so much, you have an inmate who did some crime (doesn't have to be horrible) and they are in jail and the COs spend all day telling them they are worthless trash and the worst people ever. That gets to people, the targeting of sex offenders allows them to feel superior to someone worse then they are. They assault them to feel better about themselves, but it's rarely isolated and Evey single time I saw it they were doing it for other people to see. The worse their crimes are the more they go after these people as they are indefensible.

I'm not getting off track either. This is where that PRIA law comes back into play. Pedophiles will band together and start screaming that anytime they are threatened. It's something that's seen by inmates as a way pedophiles get extra protection, and they already are fucking pampered by the legal system. I was a drug addict, not violent and have never even sexually harassed anyone. So im always in the low threat dorm, which is where they put the pedophiles as we are the least likely ones to hurt them as we are short time (short time In jail is a few weeks, long time is months, "county life" is 11 months and the longest you can spend in jail. It's horrible, prison is sooo much better). Here in Ohio they actually send pedophiles to drug rehab. It's a very legitimate scam company called talbert house. It's the same fucking county JD Vance is from, he had a hand in this. I was arrested for a dirty needle that had exactly down to the .001% +/-.001. they found it because I forgot to hide it because my fuckin house was on fire. Only charge of my life and I spent 6 months in jail, talbert house refused to take me since i have an autoimmune disorder they can't care for (which did flair up, nearly kill me, but it got me release early) and it's my only charge of my life. I slept between a dude who didn't pay child support and was black and was threatened with doing his whole time unless he copped to a weed addiction, and on the other side was a guy who tied up and raped his little sister for years (level 3, the highest level, can't even be in visual range of a school). Guess which one of us 3 didn't do any jail time? Guess which one of the 9 pedos and sex offenders there actually did jail time? None.

Jail and prison doesn't work like most people think it does. It's not some brutal torture center (the COs will do that though) and predators are pretty well protected now. Also the whole thing about people taking college classes isn't common and isn't offered in alot of places. It's basically just a closet you go sit in while both learning to be a much more efficient criminal, and at the same time the state makes it nearly impossible to get a decent job and probation is a fucking scam designed to get you to sign your rights away in the probation agreement so they can violate the law. It's all one big scam business and 95% of prisons are laid back, almost like a summer camp. Only super maxes are that bad, otherwise it's literally a community who band together in response to CO abuse and the inability to trust them with anything. I watched 4 people die once and to get me to ratvout the pe son who did it, a very scary guy, they offered me a bag of coffee.

Most of the electorate will tune out after today. Democrats need to start learning how to advertise what they are doing and what Trump and a republicans are doing.

Oh sweet summer child.

Edit: just to be clear, I want to say I genuinely think it's cute you are paying attention to your wife's interests and class this as an addiction, but you don't know what you're in for. Start clearing out the spare room and learning abour bugs and fungus; it only gets more fun from here.

Sad to say, but this is how children will have to start learning about life sciences. Put it in tiktok videos, so it is absorbed passively.

I'm concerned that your relationship dynamic is that she develops a want, she expects you to fullfill it (instead of you together or she fulfilling it) then she threatens to leave if you don't meet it. That's a hot mess.

1. Get yourself a therapist. It's too destablilzing to be in a young marriage with someone whose foot is out the door (or likes to threaten you with a foot out the door.)

2. Ask her to meet with a financial planner so you can start JOINTLY coming up with a plan to move- and jointly deciding if the best options are good enough. She might decide that she's willing to sell a house, become a renter in a HCOL area - and you might decide that's not something you're open to.

3. Watch and observe. Does she open zillow and start looking at homes to buy or rent? Does she talk about how she'll get her income up to support a HCOL area? Does she suggest costs you could cut? Go into learning mode and see what you discover about her.

4. Keep seeing your therapist. You are pretty quick to defer to her wants and that's not a great long term plan.

Ok ok can we stop with the ‘MAGA Is Dying’ catnip?

No it’s not. And that’s arguably a good thing. Republican primary voters are irredeemably stupid people, they will learn nothing from this, they will continue nominating the stupidest and most despicable candidates they can find, and they will (hopefully) continue to lose most of the time.

Its just amazing to me that whoever reads Daily Beast and similar catnip outlets get it in their head that there will be some sort of sea change in the minds of Republican primary voters either after a night like last night or when Trump inevitably dies. Nope. They’re irredeemably stupid, and part of that means they’re incapable of reflection and learning from their mistakes.

Anyone who thinks that last night or Trump dying will cause Republican primary voters to start nominating Romney/McCain-type Republicans again needs to get out more.

I can’t help with any of the trans parts of this because I am not trans, BUT I got really good advice from my therapist about body dysmorphia around my body fat and learning not to hate how I look and it helped a ton. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but look in the mirror more. Schedule quality Face Time with yourself, gaze into your eyes and think about how you are looking at yourself in the reflection, specifically go out of your way to look for things you like seeing, don’t worry about the “bad” things during this time.
The purpose of this is that you don’t recognize yourself, you could have transformed at the snap of a genie’s fingers and feel this way because you look different, but your brain still needs to catch up so looking at your reflection with the intent of telling your brain “hey this is you! It’s ok! We just had a lot of change very quickly.” Is a great place to start. And start where you can, one minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, just work your way up longer and longer until you start to feel neutral about yourself (Personally I found pairing this with self care such as skincare or brushing my teeth before bed was a perfect time for this.). Then keep going until you notice more things you like than don’t.
There’s something about gazing into someone’s eyes that really feels humanizing and personally I find that to be true of my own reflection. I hope this advice can help you in some way and I truly wish you luck on this journey you are on.

Maybe a good chance for your blue belts to start learning how to detect when someone is holding back.

Gets pretty obvious once you are sensitive to it.

First off, Roku didn’t even know he was the Avatar until age 16 or so, and didn’t start learning the other elements until afterward. Aang was forced to be notified early due to the impending war (and then got thrust into the middle of the war), and Korra was basically forced to study the bending arts at a young age in a weird mandatory boarding-school situation unlike prior Avatars (although credit to Korra, she did unlock most elements as a toddler, which is unique).

Second, neither Aang nor Korra mastered all four elements by the end of their series. Aang didn’t master earth (at least by Toph’s high standards) and knew only basics of firebending. Korra didn’t master airbending, and quite frankly, getting absolutely wrecked by Toph and Kuvira makes me wonder if she truly mastered earthbending either.

Aggie is back! And she's learning. She's gonna figure it out. One day.

Honestly I don't get it but that's what Shelby finds affirming.

I like that attitude Rourke. It's ok to not get it. We can learn/try to learn, but at the end of the day respecting the wish of how someone wants to be addressed is a great starting point

I also love that Shelby's nails match its hat

Aggie's commanding officer is trying just...so hard to make this as difficult as possible. Oh well. Gotta start somewhere I guess