u/AdvancedPrompt9245

Found this while scrolling. Felt important to my feelings right now. I will say that I think maybe actually hurts way more than no. Like a wound that can't heal, maybe leaves the hurt open while no allows healing. However, I really enjoyed this poem.

"No one has a firmer hold on you than a person who doesn't want you but will not let you go.

The sharpest claws disguised as the dullest edges.

While everyone around you says "just leave"

But you can't.

Because there's still a chance that they'll want you after all.

But just as sure as the sun will rise in the East, their mind will not change, and you deserve better.

They don't want to have you but don't want to lose you and both of those things can't be true at once.

But you let them.

You make exceptions.

So you sit in the middle of the two of you. While you're sure and they're not.

Because when someone doesn't want you, maybe will never be yes and it hurts a lot less than no.

So you hold on to the maybe like a kid on monkey bars with blistered hands.

And you're firm but you're hurting and the only person you can choose to let go, to land on the ground with two feet, is you.

And just as sure as the sun will set in the west, it will hurt.

You will wonder what would have happened if you held on a little bit longer.

But in the same way they were never sure with you, they will never be sure without you either.

You are the one who gets to be sure that you made the right choice."

Over a month ago, my comet partner invited me to join him on a business trip. It was far enough from me that flying would be preferable, but driving is possible. (Roughly 850 miles each way)

He sent me a message today saying that his wife had decided she wanted to come on the trip. I would have been driving next Monday. She was unaware of our plans and very rarely joins him on business trips. Their dynamic is that family comes first and he didn't want to tell her no because he does travel quite a bit and she doesn't always get a ton of time with him either.

I get it. I really do. And I accept that family comes first. But... Fuck, man. Do you know what it took for me to make this happen? Changing doctor's appointments, taking days of work, my husband working his ass off the last couple of weeks so that he could work a shorter week when I was gone. Making arrangements so the kids had adequate child care. I had planned out which audio books to listen to and what snacks I wanted to bring.

I'm disappointed. And sad. And I miss my friend. And I love my meta, she takes such good care of our partner, but I really wish she hadn't changed the plan on me. Yes, yes, I know that my partner could also have told her no. I don't need advice. I just needed to get that out.

Edit to add: I'm not mad at comet or meta. I'm not looking to change the comet nature of the relationship. He always reminds me before inviting me to meet him that sometimes things change or emergencies happen at work so plans can change. It's happened before but on a smaller scale. He didn't tell his wife before hand because it wouldn't have affected her. They are hierarchical and that's something he told me right up front she comes first. I've accepted that.

I was just really looking forward to this trip and needed some sympathy. Thank you to those that gave me that.

When Carl got the kangaroo costume he had to hop everywhere. This is like Jamal's life goal. Quote from book 7 chapter 15: "I don't see why Jamal shouldn't be able to hop. It is something Jamal always wanted to do"

Once he could take it off why didn't Carl just give it to him? It seemed so obvious and then it never happened. Jamal even asks about the costume.

I want to see a hammerhead shark in a kangaroo costume! So much joy to be had!

In book 6 they talk about what day it would be on Earth when someone gets a hold of an ipod or something like that and they decide that it is mid March something.

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Did anyone account for the 20 days assigned to floor 7? If there are no crawlers left on the floor does it collapse early and everyone gets out of stasis or do the remaining 20 days still have to happen? I feel like the floor doesn't actually collapse until the timer runs out because there is a description of feeling the dungeon shake once the timer ticked down to zero between level one and two. But maybe that's just because there were still Crawlers on the previous floor?

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I personally am leaning towards that all the Crawlers got put in stasis for those 20 days between Prepotente breaking the 7th floor and the beginning of the 8th, HOWEVER:

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Book 8 spoilers: >! The AI talks about how the mudskippers had to scramble because the 8th floor was starting so quickly !<

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If anyone has any clarity from the books it would be much appreciated!

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My husband and I opened our relationship a little more than 2 years ago. The first person I was with, I fell hard for. When things ended with him, I was heart broken but didn't want to stop looking. As I've searched for the past year and a half I haven't really found anyone that I connected with long term.

I miss the emotional intimacy that came along with the physical and the more experiences I have, the more I realized that I need the emotional as much as I need the physical.

I don't consider myself demi- sexual, but I want to know and like the person I am with. It's really hard to find that.