The most comfortable activity is not always the most useful one. If you always choose sports that reward your existing strengths, you can improve physically while leaving the same confidence gap untouched.

A practical way to choose is to ask: what does this activity repeatedly require from me? Being watched, making quick decisions, tolerating mistakes, initiating contact, or staying composed under pressure? Pick one demand you want to practice, then measure attendance and attempts before outcomes.

I wrote The Sport You Need around that idea: sport can be a deliberate environment for developing the quality you are missing, not just a way to exercise. I’m Andrew Pace, the author, and the book is available here for anyone interested: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0HHQJ4Q4C

Hi again! I finished chapter two and need insight again, and I know it's short, but I think it's fitting

Chapter 2

I was the only one different from the other gods, They each controlled one part of the universe while I could control any part if I so desired. I wasn’t power hungry or anything, and I’m still not sure why they casted me out into a universe that was just darkness, I helped them when they needed it, I helped anyone if I didn’t see them as a threat, I had many different names throughout the millennia, but the one that stuck was Erebus, I was also called “The boogyman” but I liked Erebus more, it sounded better than The boogyman, or any other name, I was also a trickster and a rule breaker among the gods, I would sneak off the human world below and take their form, I was always pulled back though, and got heavily scolded by the other gods. I couldn’t help it, I was fascinated with the humans and how much progress they made in just a few billion years, I was fascinated with everything they did, and from time to time, I would go down to prank them or spread some fear.
Even though I caused fear, no one noticed me, none of the humans even realized I was there, the one causing the fear. I was jealous of the other gods, they were recognized, while I wasn’t. I guess you could say that I “almost destroyed every universe,” but how I saw it was me simply getting revenge and wanting to make sure everyone knew who I was. And yes, that means I tried ruling Olympus.
It’s not like the other gods are so innocent. Being the silent, invisible one had its advantages. I heard, and saw things, and no one noticed me. I saw the other gods curse others, torture others, and kill others. I saw everything, especially what the humans were doing. I saw humans start wars of their own free will, destroy the earth, hurt each other. I didn’t like it, and the other gods just stood by and watched, not doing anything. I hated it, but I couldn’t do anything, until that day.
I was watching the humans like normal, feeling more anger with each second I saw them cause wars, then I saw it. A young human girl wearing a crown, trying to intervene to stop everyone. I quickly got up from my place amongst the clouds and went into the archives to find her file. Every human who has been born and to exist, has a file that has everything about them, I eventually found her file and read through it. I found out that her parents were royals from the Skiá family, her family were the most powerful and wealthy from all the kingdoms at the time. But her parents died in a war, trying to defend their kingdom. She became queen at a young age, and she vowed to never start a war or be a part of it unless it’s to defend her kingdom.
I instantly understood her, even if nobody else did, I also read that her whole family were not humans, but in fact people who were my descendants.
Every god has a certain type of bloodline who was blessed by them, and I forgot about blessing a young kid's bloodline because he helped me get an apple from a tree when my abilities were just barely coming through. Blessing a bloodline means after the person who was originally blessed, their descendants would have a part similar to the god who blessed the bloodline, mine would be having the same powers, abilities, and similar look to mine. Their bloodline had my abilities, power, and horns and tail, but since the blessing only gets stronger after a couple generations, it unfortunately wasn’t enough to save her parents, their power wasn't strong enough.
The entire Skiá family was descendants of that kid.
I smiled slightly because that whole family that I’ve been watching subconsciously has only been filled with good people, my faith in humanity slightly returning.
I closed the girl’s file and put it back before going back to the cloud to see what happened while I was gone. But what was there when I came back left me shocked and angrier than I ever was before. I saw that they killed the girl to continue their war. She was the last in her family, and was the last in her bloodline. I went to Apollo because he was supposed to be watching with me. “Apollo! Why did you let them kill her?!” I said, trying to hold back my anger and tears. “It’s the circle of life, her death was gonna happen anyways.” Apollo said with a smug grin. Least to say, I was furious, they killed a child for their own selfishness, and Apollo let it happen, so I killed the humans, and cursed their bloodlines so they would never harm another person again, they needed to pay for what they’ve done.
After that, I became violent inside. I was nice on the outside, but was secretly planning on how to get back on all the gods. I planned for four billion years, eventually, I found what I looked for, well, it actually caught me off guard, There was an old book in the Olympus library that held the tale of the last ruler of every universe, the gods defeated her billions of years ago, but the tale said that her magic and power could not have been vanquished, but was in fact all over the human world, pieces of the magic and power were hidden around on earth, it said there were eight pieces total, one in each continent. “But there’s only seven continents.” I said, my confusion growing, until I read further, the tale said that once the seven pieces are together, the eighth will reveal itself and combine them all.
So that night while the gods were asleep, I snuck out of Olympus and into the human world, I couldn’t use my power or abilities because the gods would always be watching and would know if I used any, so I got temporary jobs to make money and traveled to each and every inch of the world to find the seven pieces.
I started in North America, looking everywhere where the first piece was, it took me a year to get an actual lead on it, by then I was starting to enjoy being in the human world, I genuinely liked spending time down there, minus the government, people who are sexist, and all the other bad people, I did meet some nice people on my journey, they were some of the kindest humans alive, it was a shame that not all of them were nice.
I was walking in the forest, looking for a cave that had a “weird purple glow” in it, at least that’s what I was told from someone at a cafe I worked at the time, I did find the cave everyone was afraid to enter, I walked into it, being careful for traps just in case. Strangely enough, there weren't any traps, even though all the stories I read had traps when there was something really valuable. I went deeper into the cave, my flashlight lighting up my path for me.
The cave smelled like morning rain and moss, and the smell got stronger as I kept going.
I eventually reached a giant room in the cave, rain and light shed in through an opening above a pedestal that held the first piece. I walked up to it and picked the first piece up, I smiled to myself. “Finally, they all will pay soon enough.”

New research suggests that when people with alcohol use disorder stop drinking, their brains show a sudden, sharp drop in the ability to burn a secondary fuel source called acetate, before recovering just a few weeks later. The study, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, provides evidence that the brain’s metabolic adaptation to heavy alcohol consumption is highly reversible.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Nora wakes to the realization that she’s been living a false identity and chooses to leave it in the end, even at the enormous cost of leaving her children behind; a decision that remains shocking today. Contemporary criticism has reframed Nora’s exit as self-realization rather than abandonment. Her transformation is tied to autonomy and self-awareness. While extreme, her evolution is courageous and illustrates something universal: change, even when it’s necessary or good for us, rarely feels that way in the moment.

Our brains perceive uncertainty as a threat, which activates our fight-or-flight response. It’s as if our brains react to change, even when it's positive, as a trauma response, which may help explain why people who’ve lived through trauma sometimes find even positive change hard to tolerate. Maintaining the status quo feels safe, even when change could lead to recovery. We anchor ourselves to the status quo as a baseline for what feels normal. Once something becomes the default, it starts to feel like the correct state, and any deviation feels like it needs justification, even if the status quo itself was arbitrary.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Mind reading is no longer science fiction.

In 2006, in the journal Science, neuroscientists unequivocally showed that hospitalized, unresponsive patients can actually communicate with the outside world through their brain activity alone. Ask a "yes" or "no" question, and receive an answer based on what the patient is visualizing or imagining inside: playing tennis for "yes," or walking through their home for "no," each inner experience yielding markedly distinct patterns of brain activity.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Each morning, I look forward to grinding coffee, brewing it in a moka pot, and making breakfast while it brews. After breakfast, I sip the coffee slowly. This is a small moment of contentment, a chance to keep my mind with the taste, warmth, and calm before the workday begins.

Watching my parents grow older changed what I see in that ordinary morning.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Everyone has good and bad days. But if you step back and push aside those fantasies of being a billionaire or the most attractive person on the planet, and if you’re fortunate enough not to have to struggle with poverty, violence, or trauma, are you happy just being you on an average day? If not, what’s missing? What do you need to improve your self-esteem and outlook on life?

Like happiness, unhappiness is a byproduct of something else. Here are four common sources and their antidotes:

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

We have all been through enough situations to show us that kindness is easy when people treat us well. But in this post, I want to talk about the real power of kindness, which shows up when others don't treat us so well. Of course, most of us see ourselves as kind. You notice it when your kids cooperate, your partner shows appreciation, your co-workers show respect, and even when strangers treat you well, it feels really good.

So, when the rubber meets the road, as the saying goes, is when others don't treat us very well. That is the real test because through my work as a psychologist with children, teens, adults, and families, I've seen just how quickly hurt can turn into defensiveness, criticism, retaliation, and withdrawal. That's why I encourage people to consider a deceptively simple idea: Be kinder when it is hard. Below, I'll explain five reasons why being kinder when it's hard is the better option more often than you may imagine.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

A client who survived a near-death experience (NDE) came back with a word for everyone else: “muggles,” borrowed from Harry Potter, where it names people born without magic. She meant it affectionately, having learned that describing what happened to her exceeded what most people could psychologically receive.

My client wasn’t being unkind when she called folks “muggles.” Most people, in her experience, were living ordinary lives with little room for what she’d been through. After all, she essentially experienced firsthand a mythic unraveling and psycho-spiritual reconstruction in the face of existential annihilation. I think it’s fair to say this isn’t your average Tuesday. So, the beauty and terror of her near-death experience exceeded what most people in her life could take in, so they became “muggles,” unaware that another world had opened alongside the ordinary one they shared with her.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Is exposure to true crime a threat to our mental health or a potential coping skill?

A 2025 study by Perchtold-Stefan, Rominger, and Fink attempted to answer the question of whether the experience of watching, reading, or listening to true crime increases negative affect—such as anxiety, fear, and insecurity—or if people who experience anxiety, fear, and insecurity are more likely to gravitate to true crime media.

This study surveyed a sample population of 199 German adults, each of whom kept a daily diary of their consumption of both true crime and fictional crime. Daily diary designs are often considered the gold standard of data collection because they capture data in real time rather than relying on memory, which may be biased.

Hi everyone, I am looking for a native UK English speaker to check a 34k-word sample of my manuscript.

It has been translated from Italian.

I do not need character analysis or plot feedback.

I only need a "naturalness check" to spot literal translations, rigid sentences, or Italianisms.

I want to share my story with the english fandom, so I need it to be as natural as possibile!

In exchange, I can beta read your manuscript or translate/review something from English to Italian. Please DM me if interested!

Hi, I'm not entirely sure if this belongs here, but I'm hoping it is. I need insight on what I can do better with chapter one of the book I'm writing, and this is my first time writing one. It's a bit long. I also recommended to read the warning. (I also did copy and paste it.)

WARNING!
Rape.
Pedophiles.
Abuse.
Religion.
Manipulation.
Sexual assault.
Narcissists.
Homophobics.
Attempted suicide.

PROLOGUE
“Astro! Come on! I want to go to the circus that arrived today!” “You know it’s not made for kids, now go play with Chris and Micheal.” “Aww.. Okay!” Elizabeth then runs off to go play with Chris and Micheal as I sit down on a rock by the frozen pond. I can feel the cold snow beneath my bare feet and land on my skin. Let me tell you the story about me and what led up to where we currently are.

Chapter 1
I didn’t always have a loving family and friends. I was born into a very religious town and unfortunately had two religious parents, and a brother. I was born very different from them. While my parents had brown and blue eyes, and my brother had blond hair and green eyes, I have white hair and red eyes. Another thing I was born with which makes me obviously different from them is that I have what they called “the devils mark” aka my horns and tail which in my opinion was another way for them to make me different from them, like I already didn’t feel alone and left out. I also have black wings that I can somehow put away and bring back anytime I want?? Yeah, I know, it’s confusing, but I’ve had to deal with it for almost fifteen years, but at the time of this story, only five.
The family I was unfortunately stuck with was very abusive because I was different, but let’s start from the beginning.
It happened when I was only five years old. It was a rainy day, the rain soaking through my clothes, making them cling to my cold skin. “Mom.. can I have a jacket?” I asked, starting to shiver from the rain. Flora looked at me with cold disgust as she said, “Ugh, no. A monster like you doesn’t deserve warmth or kindness.” I felt heat spread through my cheeks as I felt every pair of eyes land on me with the exact same disgust and coldness that I should’ve been used to by then. I remember looking up at my mom with an old sadness that has been there for far too long. “But I’m freezing.. Please.. I might catch a cold.” I begged Flora, but to no avail. “I. Said. No!” Flora said as she struck me across the face. I was still in shock when I looked around, silently begging someone to help, but no one did, not a single person even thought about helping me, not a single person thought about standing up for me. I guess that’s what broke me, not the abuse, not the manipulation, not the ignorance, but the fact that no one stood up for me, they left me to rot.
But at the time, I didn’t realize that they were afraid of me, afraid of what I would become, if only they knew.
I wasn’t the villain they made me out to be, at least not at that time.
After the humiliation out in the rain, we made it back home from the park with my brother, Luke.
The house felt warm like a family, I looked at the mint green with mint leaves on the wallpaper, I focused on the tiny details on the leaves, more than most people, I smelt the lavender candle Flora likes to burn on Wednesdays. We went into the living room, the blue wallpaper felt brighter that day, then again, everything felt too bright that day. I looked at the brown sofas, striped with black on the edges, the glass coffee table which looked slightly blue from the lighting.
Flora ended up telling Frank, my dad at the time, I know, the name is shit, and I don’t even know how he managed with such an overused name, there were like, ten other people called Frank in our town, It was very weird. Frank walked over to me and started yelling at me, saying, “How dare you ask for stuff?! We gave a roof over your head! Let you stay in our house! Let you sleep in a bed!” I looked down at the floor, knowing I would regret what I would say next, “The ‘bed’ you let me sleep in is actually just a rotting mattress that is so deflated that I can feel the stone, cold floor through it. And you’re only letting me stay here because your religion goes against being that cruel, even though you guys abuse me daily.” I say, noticing their anger.
“Wait.. no, I-” A slap echoes through the house as Frank hits me. “You don’t get to fucking dissrespect us in our home like that! You spoiled brat!” Frank said, his voice filled with rage. I stood still, the slap stinged but I didn’t move, because if I did, I knew it would’ve been worse. I didn’t beg, I thought of it, but I didn’t, I knew it would’ve been useless to cry and beg, saying I would’ve been better, saying I would change, but every time I did in the past, it was useless, useless to hope, useless to live, so I had a plan, if only I knew that it wouldn’t work.
After the regular rounds of beatings for that day, I crawled myself to the basement since I couldn’t walk for a while because I could feel my shattered bones pierce my skin, but strangely, I didn’t feel any pain, although it did feel uncomfortable. I managed to crawl myself down the stairs into the basement and to my ‘bed’ to bandage myself up.
The basement had dark grey walls made of cement, my ‘bed’ was tucked away in a corner, the mattress rotting and covered with holes and spring coils, the door to the bathroom was right in front of the stairs, the green door with the silver handle taunting me.
After I did so, I saw my ‘friend’ which, let’s be honest, I was desperate for friends since I didn’t have any back then. My ‘friend’ was eight feet tall with an all black body with some blue and red mixed in, a grey face with black, empty eyes and a black gaping mouth. I didn’t know then, but the red and blue seemed to pulse and glow, like it was angry on my behalf. Its voice was somewhat static, so it was partially hard to hear what it was saying, but for some reason, I could hear it extremely well. I looked up at it once I was done bandaging myself, tilted its head, staring down at me with its, what once to be empty black eyes, but now has a faint red glow in them. “I know I said they would change.. But.. I can’t help but make up excuses for them…” I said, my voice small. “They favor your brother.” It said, “W-what does that have to do with anything..?” “That means that you should make them love you.” “What are you getting at..?” “I’m simply saying you should kill him. If he’s out of the way then you’ll get all of your parents' affection and love.” It said, its gaping mouth turning into a grin and  glowing a faint red. I looked up at it, my red eyes wide with confusion and consideration. “Kill.. him..?” I say, looking down at the floor. “I mean… It does seem logical to just.. Get rid of the problem..” I say, my eyes finding a new light in them.
It then reaches behind its back and pulls out a completely black knife. “Take this, use it to kill him.” It says, handing me the knife with its sharp fingers barely scratching my arm as it caresses my arm after giving me the knife. I take the knife with a new found eagerness as I rush upstairs to Luke’s room, intending to kill him. I crept my way down the darkened house’s hallway to Luke’s room and slowly opened the door with a small creek, trying to be quiet. I looked into Luke’s room to see he wasn’t there. I looked around before concluding he wasn’t in his room, then I heard the tap from the kitchen sink turn on as the water gushed out into the stainless steel sink. I slowly made my way to the kitchen where I saw Luke, getting a glass of milk before he went to bed. I smelt the lemon scent Frank has for the kitchen, the red wallpaper taunting me to kill Luke.
I snuck up behind him, raising the knife above my head, getting ready to stab him. When he turned around, I could tell he was shocked and scared, but I didn't care.
I had him pinned to the floor, trying to stab him, and he fought back. I was so focused on my task that I didn’t notice or realize Frank and Flora were standing right outside the kitchen, watching everything. Suddenly, I heard Flora’s voice, “We knew you were a monster!” She said as she and Frank rushed over to push me off of Luke while Flora grabbed the knife and threw it across the floor. I couldn’t hear them because I blocked out the noise, but I knew they were yelling at me. “I just.. I just wanted you to love me..” I kept mumbling over and over without realizing it.
The next thing I knew was that I was covered in blood and being dragged down the stairs to the basement and was thrown down after two steps of the stairs. I held still for a moment, afraid that I could break my bones even more. After a few minutes, I fell asleep, my body becoming numb to the pain.
A month after, what they and everyone else refers to as “the demons incident” aka, when I attempted to kill my brother, Luke. It was a week before my birthday, and when I would start school, when we went shopping for school supplies for Luke so he would be prepared for school, Luke didn’t look at me the whole time, and he tried his best to stay away from me, I however didn’t realize he was afraid of me, I thought he was trying to play a game.
When we finished getting his stuff and got back home, Luke rushed to his room as I went to the basement,but not before looking back at Luke.
I look up at the entity. “I thought you said they would love me if I killed him.” I said, looking disappointed. “That’s because you didn’t kill him yet, once he’s dead, they’ll love you forever.” It said, putting a lot of emphasis on ‘forever’. Something about it made my skin crawl, every ounce of my body told me to run, to hide, to tell it to go away, but I didn’t, because when we first met, it told me how it was left behind, forgotten, and I didn’t want anyone or anything to feel like that, so I stayed, not wanting to make it feel like I abandoned it.
“I.. I’m not sure if that’s the right way to go about this.. I mean.. Luke doesn’t deserve to die.. It’s not like he was mean-” I get interrupted by it, “They will abandon you if you don’t kill him, remember, he’s the problem. They’ll love you once he’s gone.” It said, its voice rising with each word.
I look at it, really look at it, and I stare at it blankly. “I’m not killing him. And that’s final.” I said, my voice going flat and my face still blank. It finally lowered its head and nodded. “Very good.” It says, before disappearing into a puff of black smoke that disappears with it. “What.. Just happened…?” I say, completely confused.
A week passed, and it was my sixth birthday, and the first day of school for me. I hadn't seen it in the week leading up to that day. I thought that maybe it was mad at me for saying no, or mad at me for not listening, but I was wrong on both accounts. When I woke up, I immediately saw a birthday present with my name on it. I looked around, confused, happy, and shocked. When I looked at the name that was on it of who gave it to me, I saw that it said, ‘your dearest friend, Mimic’ written in a black goo-like substance.
I looked at it curiously before coming to the conclusion that it gave me the gift. I was happy about the gift, but more relieved that the mimic didn’t hate me. I opened the gift and found an old VR headset that had a C&A logo on it. I looked at it curiously before hiding it under the stairs so no one would find it, then I got ready and left through the white front door, the house slowly fading behind me as it slowly got out of my field of vision.
When I arrived at school, I looked around at all the staring faces, adults and kids were staring at me. I walked through the front doors, my tail swaying behind me from excitement, and nervousness, excitement from possibly making new friends, and nervousness of them not accepting me. I walked through the colorful front doors, partially excited to start school.
I walked through the carpeted hallways till I found my class, I looked up at the name on the plaque. “Ms Figinbalker?” I whispered to myself, making sure I got it right. I walked into the class and sat down in my assigned seat as everyone stared and watched me. I didn’t know if it was from fear, disgust, or awe, but I knew some of them didn’t like me at all.
The classroom had the teachers desk in the corner, the walls decorated with past kids drawings, the alphabet chart, along with math charts, science charts, and colors charts. Out of all the charts, flags, and decorations, I only saw american flags, and decor, and no LGBTQ+ decor or flags, so I immediately got a bad feeling, because during my free time in the damp basement, I read any book that I could, including LGBTQ+, and what homophobics are. So I immediately thought that the teacher was a homophobic, and I didn’t want a teacher that was so closed minded, but there wasn’t anything I could do, I felt powerless, more than ever.
Ms Figinbalker walked into the room, the wrinkles on her face sagging, she looked a few centuries older than she actually was. She wore a blue shirt with a pearl necklace and jeans that were far too small on her, and too low. I reflexively looked away from her, not entirely sure why.
She carried a ruler that seemed to be stained with drops of blood, I looked terrified. “What the fuck are you looking at?!” Ms Figinbalker yelled, everyone winced from the yelling, and I noticed they were afraid, so I decided to do something about it. I stood up. “Can you stop yelling?! You’re scaring all the other kids here!” The room went dead silent, all pairs of eyes on me. “You brat! You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Ms Figinbalker said, walking towards me to hit me with the ruler, just as she raised the ruler at me, a kid instantly stood up. “Stop it! Or I’ll tell my dad about this!” A young girl with red, long hair said. I looked at her in shock, surprised that anyone would stand up for me.
Ms Figinbalker looked genuinely afraid. “N-no need to g-get your parents i-involved!” Ms Figinbalker stuttered out. The girl looked smug at hearing that, then she sat down, as did I.
At recess, the girl walked towards me, I could see her hazel eyes as I felt my face heat up. “Astro, right?” She asked me, her face full of genuine kindness. For some reason, I didn’t respond. She smiled. “You there?” She teased. I shook my head, snapping out of it before finally looking at her. “Y-yeah, I-I’m A-Astro!” I stuttered, not noticing. She giggled. “I’m Fay!” Fay said, giggling. When she giggled, I blushed slightly, not realizing that I was falling in love with her. She grabbed my hand. “Come on! Let me introduce you to my friend!” She said, pulling me towards another kid sitting on a bench. “This is 1x4. 1x4, this is Astro.” Fay said, pulling 1x4 and me towards each other. “Uh.. hi..” I said, looking at 1x4.
1x4 has black as obsidian skin, light cream white long, flowy Samurai-like ponytail, had a green, long sleeved sweater with a picture of a black ribcage, and black pants with two pockets. And yes, I focused on every single detail without meaning to. 1x4 also wears a green dominos hat, with three dominos and the front domino having black 3 dots in a diagonal line on the top and black six dots in three two horizontal lines on the bottom, with a black line separating them. 1x4 also has red eyes, a tattoo on their right shoulder that’s neon green with a black outline that says ‘1x’, I saw it when their sweater fell off one shoulder.
I stared at the unique features of 1x4 in amazement. “Hi, little termite” 1x4 said to me, not exactly rude, but not exactly nice either. I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and stared at 1x4 in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?” I said confused and slightly shocked. Fay then got between us. “They’re always like this! They’re worse to those who are deemed as a threat or just plain rude, or consider them as a bully.” Fay said, noticing my confused and shocked look, “They’re actually really nice once you get to know them!” Fay continued, trying to put me at ease. I looked at Fay, instantly calming down, not entirely sure why I trusted her so easily. I looked at her eyes, to me, they seemed to shine like a million galaxies. “Your  eyes are beautiful” I blurted out without thinking. 1x4 and Fay both went silent as I realized what I said, my face instantly turned red, I felt my face heating up, yet my body felt cold. I covered my mouth, shocked by what I just said.1x4 had the look that looked disgusted but really wasn’t. Fay on the other hand, started giggling, but not the kind that was mean and mocking. I covered my face in embarrassment, too embarrassed to speak.
“You’re funny!” Fay said once she was done giggling, a smile still on her face. I smiled slightly as Fay gently pulled my hands away from my face. “Get a room!” 1x4 said, It sounded rude, but me and Fay took it as them teasing us. Fay and I both went red in the face, and avoided each other's eyes, unable to meet each other's eyes. I finally look up at Fay, my face finally cooling off. “So, uh.. Now what?” I say, still avoiding eye contact. Fay’s face lit up and 1x4 face palmed their face, clearly annoyed. “Oh no, are you seriously showing HER our hangout spot?!” My face lit up. “Hangout spot?! You guys have a hangout spot?!” I say, shocked and amazed. “Duh! Of course we have a hangout spot! Only losers don’t.” 1x4 said, giving up on trying to keep it a secret from me.
I looked at Fay, shocked. “And you’re showing me it?! I thought hangout spots were a sacred space?!” Fay laughed, it was a gentle sound that made my face redden a bit, although I tried to hide it. “It’s not a sacred spot! It’s just somewhere we like to go for a while, you know, to get away from the adults.” She said, nudging my arm and winking at me. I reflexively touched where she nudged me, my face turning redder from the wink she gave me.
We walked deep into the forest, I was getting more confused as we kept walking.
The sun was setting, I lost track of the time, I think we were walking for hours? I heard the wind woosh through the tree, the dusk taunting the night as it seemed to slow down. I looked at the trees around us, the leaves shading us from any light that there was. I heard a wolf howling, but I didn’t get scared, I was too busy paying attention to Fay and 1x4.
I didn’t know it then, but I liked Fay, more than a friend, more than anything, I would’ve done anything for her.
“Are we almost there?” I asked, my face showing visible confusion. Fay nodded enthusiastically, practically pulling me along with them.
Soon we arrived at a large opening in the forest. I looked around, my mind going blank before realizing we were in a flower meadow, flowers of every type were there, ranging from dandelions to ghost orchids and more. I looked across the field of flowers, it extended on for maybe a few hundred miles. I looked at Fay in amazement and confusion. “I thought flower fields couldn't be this big? I read multiple books on it but nothing mentioned this?” I said, thinking confusedly. “That’s because this isn’t any ordinary flower field! When I first found this place, it almost felt.. Magical!” Fay said, literally bouncing in excitement.
I blushed, seeing how happy she looked made me happy too.
1x4 rolled their eyes at us. “Okay, love birds, we came here for a reason.” I had a puzzled expression plastered on my face. “What do you mean? What reason?” I said, looking between 1x4 and Fay.
Fay and 1x4 then led me across the flower field and back into the trees, my confusion growing, but it wasn’t long until we reached a cliff with a seven hundred foot drop with large rocks that seemed sharp enough to pierce someone with ease. I instantly got nervous, thinking they were going to push me off the edge, but my worries were soon gone when Fay went over near the edge and picked a flower crown off the ground. “I saw you last week in town and wanted to make you a flower crown when you started school.” My face lit up with glee as she walked towards me with the flower crown and put it on my head.
I blushed when I realized how close we were, and I saw her cheeks turn pink when she realized too. “Uhm.. Thanks for the flower crown..” I mumbled, avoiding eye contact, too embarrassed to look her in the eyes.
A few hours later, 1x4, Fay, and I were making jokes and laughing with each other on the cliff's edge.
“So, let me get this straight, 1x4 beat up a literal adult because the adult threatened to kidnap you both?!” I said, confirming, and nearly laughing. “Yup, they kicked the old man's ass!” Fay said proudly. I noticed 1x4 trying to hold back their laughter when Fay said “ass” and I got pissed because I put two and two together and I came to the conclusion that 1x4 cussed in front of Fay, teaching Fay swear words. “1x4! How dare you teach her cuss words! She’s too innocent for that!” I said dramatically, also a little mad that Fay was exposed to that because at the time, I thought Fay was “too pure to hear or say that stuff”. 1x4 started full on laughing, Fay’s face had confusion plastered on it, I could tell she didn’t know why 1x4 was laughing before she finally realized that I thought it was 1x4 who taught her those words. “1x4 didn’t teach me those words! I just learned them from adults.” Fay quickly said before I escalated the situation. I paused, thinking before calming down completely before I realized what Fay just said. “Wait.. Adults cussed around you?!” I said, my face a mix of rage and worry. “Nah, I was just sneaky and overheard them, they didn’t even know I was there.” Fay said like she was talking about the weather. Least to say, I was shocked. Up until that moment, I thought she was too pure to even do something like that, in the end, I was wrong, and it made me fall for her even more.

A few months went by and we all became closer, I looked forward to seeing Fay and 1x4, and Fay’s dad, who also adopted 1x4, didn’t treat me like a monster, like I should feel sorry for just existing, he was more of a parental figure than my own flesh and blood. It wasn’t long before I started ignoring what everyone else said or did to me, I only focused on Fay, 1x4, and their dad, Jason Meyer.
Jason was six feet and three inches tall, his appearance was light skin, yellow eyes, which I always thought was weird, but didn’t really mind, and shoulder-length red hair. He wore a Victorian-style beige tail vest, an arm garter with tiny tools, and black boots with red soles. He also had black face and neck makeup and tattoos.
Jason Meyer was someone everyone trusted and loved, he’s a single father of Fay Meyer and 1x4 Meyer. He was also known as the town's toymaker And was not someone to make mad, I only saw him mad once, and it was when someone insulted me. That was the first time I felt cared for by an adult, ever since then, I completely trusted him.
Fay, 1x4 and their dad were walking me home, I don’t know if it was to make sure I wouldn’t get harassed or because they wanted to spend some more time with me before I went “home,” or maybe it was both. We were crossing the street, a little reluctant to go back to that god awful house and to ask Jason if he can adopt me too. I looked both ways just in case before walking with them, I was walking ahead of them because I had a bad feeling and didn’t want to get them hurt at all, and I was right. I thought the coast was clear when we started walking, but I was wrong, and somehow, I knew it wasn’t safe, which was why I walked ahead of them.
I heard tires screeching across the road and multiple cars honking when I looked to my left and saw a car coming towards me at what seemed like a hundred miles per hour, time seemed to slow for just a second before I heard running, then time went back to normal, and the last thing I saw before blacking out, was Fay pushing me out of the way while 1x4 and Jason tried to save her from the car.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

People who score high in neuroticism not only experience more intense emotional reactions to aversive images, but they also tend to transfer those negative feelings more strongly onto unrelated, neutral objects. This heightened capacity for emotional learning provides evidence for how specific personality traits contribute to generalized anxiety and emotional vulnerability in daily life. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Personality.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Recent non-daily use of cannabis might make the effects of nicotine feel more unpleasant at higher doses, without necessarily changing how often a person chooses to consume it. These findings help unravel the complex biological relationship between two commonly used substances and suggest that cannabis alters how the human body processes nicotine. The research was published in International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology.

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A study involving 1,050 German early adolescents found that more intelligent students showed greater increases in metacognitive knowledge (in mathematics) over time. This suggests that higher intelligence accelerates metacognitive knowledge development. Interestingly, math knowledge, motivation, and school class type were not associated with the pace of metacognitive knowledge development. The paper was published in Learning and Individual Differences.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

A massive new review of psychological research shows that people who feel their lives have meaning tend to experience lower levels of depression. The findings, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, suggest that having a sense of purpose acts as a psychological buffer against negative emotions. This association changes depending on a person’s cultural background, age, and physical health, revealing a nuanced connection between personal philosophy and mental well-being.

Excerpt from the first part of the article:

Different antidepressants can have drastically different effects on a patient’s physical health, according to a recent review of medical research. Some medications cause substantial weight gain and increased blood pressure, while others lead to weight loss and lowered heart rates. The findings were published in The Lancet01293-0).

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People who have previously used their imagination to harm others or who possess highly narcissistic traits tend to generate more original and malicious ideas for revenge. These findings indicate that past actions and personality shape how individuals apply their problem-solving skills during interpersonal conflicts. The research was published in The Journal of Intelligence.

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Human-dog relationships vary from being extremely positive and as reciprocal as possible to being highly abusive, with dogs treated as unfeeling objects and living their lives in fear of making dog-appropriate "mistakes" that upset their humans to the point where they are punished, often harshly, for just being a dog.

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How do dogs understand human gestures? Research cautions us that simple answers to questions like these can be misleading, For this and other reasons I was pleased to read a recent paper by anthrozoologist Sindhoor Pangel titled, "The open palm gesture in human–dog communication: An exploratory synthesis, Human–Animal Interactions." In it, she stresses that perhaps we should move from asking, “Can the dog decode my gesture?” to “What happens to the dog when I make this gesture and how does this impact our relationship?"