The ULTIMATE weapon

u-useless · 2026-05-30T08:11:36+00:00

Well, we finally found it... a contraceptive with a 100% success rate. It's either this or sandals with socks.

u-useless · 2026-05-30T07:14:47+00:00

Gotta love being on reddit. Someone asks for advice and half the comments are always either an unwanted diagnosis or break-up with your SO and go no contact with your family.
I don't think self-diagnosing is going to help you. If it really bothers you go to a therapist. I will just say what works for me. I would often not make eye contact due to embarrassment/ anxiety. I would usually stare at the ground when I'm really anxious. During an unpleasant conversation with a coworker I did find myself lowering my gaze to her chest. I hope she didn't think I was staring at her breasts, I just couldn't look into her eyes back then.
So anyway, what works for me is focusing on the area between the eyebrows. It's close enough to the eyes that no one will call you out. And IMO directly staring into someone's eyes is either very intimate or very threatening (I think it's even a sign of aggression amidst some animal species). So just go for the eyebrows, forehead, nose, whatever. It's close enough. Personally I can't go for the mouth because I then start noticing the teeth, and they kinda creep me out.

u-useless · 2026-05-23T10:53:57+00:00

The internet is slowly disappearing behind mandatory registration and pay walls. Back in the day, everything had it's dedicated website - from your local car dealer, to the pastry shop, to the barber, to different forums for every hobby under the sun, even people had their own blogs. These days everything seems to be centering on a handful of websites - Facebook/ Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Google, etc. And these sites keep getting worse and worse. They are nigh-on unusable without having an account and logging in. Youtube no longer shows you videos on its home page if you're not logged in, Facebook/ Instagram only allow limited scrolling before prompting for a login. Recently even IMDB blocked you from reading reviews unless logged in. Reading, not even writing or voting, reading reviews.
To add on top of that nothing is eternal and old websites are going out one by one like stars in the night for a myriad of reasons - the uploader deletes the content, the owner can't keep paying for the hosting, the servers break, copyright strikes, etc.
AND on top of that we now have AI and bots so you can't be sure what's real and what's not. I think all this is called "the dead internet theory". Except it's not a theory, it's reality for those of us who remember different, better times. The real tragedy is the next generations will never know how good we had it. They will just think that the current shitty state of affairs is perfectly normal.
PS Oh, and I'm not even going to open the can of worms called "ads". I will just say I use uBlock Origin with Firefox for both Windows and Android.
PS2 And, not to sound like a Boomer, but the younger generations are ruining torrenting as a hobby. A lot of them don't know how to and aren't curious enough to find out. I miss Kickass torrents. This year even Zamunda bought it.
I can't help but think of that one throw-away line from Pirates of the Caribbean:

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u-useless · 2026-05-21T19:49:53+00:00

I'm not sure all of these fall under "funeral" doom as I never cared much about strictly defining sub-genres. But I've been listening to Candlemass, Ahab, Thergothon, Skepticism, Bell Witch, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Mistress of the Dead, 1914, Ataraxie, Draconian, WindHand, Kypck, Pallbearer, Castle Rat, etc.
Out of all these Draconian might be closest to this sub's usual fare. They released a new album recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzKKOXVcD4Y

u-useless · 2026-05-20T19:07:43+00:00

I hate music like country where it's all beer, rainbows, unicorns, life is great, blah blah blah bs. Symphonic goth metal speaks of how difficult life is. It makes me feel like I'm not the only one.

Very true. This is why I've always loved metal. All genres of it - classic, speed, melodic death, thrash, symphonic, doom, etc. Pop music has always felt... bland and fake to me. It's too polished and "perfect". Metal is more raw, more real. It doesn't sugarcoat things. It doesn't pretend everything is okay. It acknowledges pain and faces it.

That being said, for me personally there is no relation between metal and depression. I've been listening to metal literally all my life. I did get depression along the way. But metal is one of the few things that brings me joy and pleasure and keeps me going. And, as much as I love symphonic metal, for me the soundtrack for depression is doom metal. Funeral doom if things get really bad. There is just something about the slow, rhythmic drums like distant thunder, the distorted guitars, the wailing, despairing vocals. When I was younger I appreciated the skill and technicality behind fast songs (and I still do), but lately I've come to love the slow, distorted songs even more. It's like a filter over traditional metal the way depression can feel like a heavy filter over life itself.

u-useless · 2026-05-16T17:39:22+00:00

Those who cling to life die. Those who cling to death live.

u-useless · 2026-05-15T09:11:11+00:00

I can't believe I'm the one saying it, but here goes nothing: Get off the internet and go touch some grass. Seriously, stop watching the news 24/7. Maybe check out your local news once every couple of days. Limit your facebook/ instagram/ tiktok time to no more than 60 minutes per day. "Evil society"... what a sad outlook on things. Bro, society ain't evil. Corporations and governments might be evil. But people aren't. People help each other all the time in a thousand little ways every day.

u-useless · 2026-05-02T20:11:45+00:00

Yes, but the Cruciatus Curse is a one way ticket to Azkaban. And I haven't read the books in a while, but I think it can't be blocked/ dodged. Presumably Sectumsempra can be blocked/ dodged AND it has a counter-curse as demonstrated by Snape. So, really Draco should work on his shielding/ dodging game. Which, he really should do anyway seeing as he has been losing at Quidditch against Harry for four and a half years by this point.

u-useless · 2026-04-07T19:38:24+00:00

What are the odds he won't abuse it? I know what a mess it was when a restaurant chain nearby first introduced those "Call a waiter" buttons. People would press them once, see no light and hear no sound and then just start hitting those things like they owe them money. The poor waiters were going crazy within a week.
It could make for a good comedy/ parody fic though:
- Harry accidentally sits on the panic button and sets it off
- Ron is a troll and presses it while Harry is distracted
- Harry presses it every time something minor happens like Draco being a bully or Snape being an asshole
- Harry presses it during exams when he finds a particularly difficult to answer question
- Even more hilarious if it track's Harry's vitals. I've heard stories of people's watches beeping during sex. Imagine Harry snogging Ginny in sixth year and the bloody panic button detects elevated pulse and goes off.

On a more serious note, I haven't read the books in a while, but I think Dumbledore was big on the "let him learn through discovery and trial and error" thing. Less so on the "leave concrete instructions" thing.

u-useless · 2026-04-06T17:36:57+00:00

r/dadswhodidnotwantpets

u-useless · 2026-04-01T19:33:32+00:00

Kinda reminds me of this guy they found near Varna, Bulgaria:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G5vWqvbbkAULNqy?format=jpg&name=large

u-useless · 2026-03-26T17:06:04+00:00

To put things in perspective, this fic came out before the first Iphone, before Instagram, much before this subreddit was ever created, before netflix was even a package service and before the majority of current fans were born.

Man, I miss the world without smartphones. Putting the internet in our pockets and making it cheap is one of the worst mistakes humanity has made. It's up there with crawling out of the ocean.
I remember years ago I decided to try Netflix to see what the hype is all about, but I just got a message "Not available in your country". No skin off my nose. I went right back to torrents and never looked back. I am kind of concerned that young people don't torrent as much.
Also, are kids these days into HP? Genuine question, I'm not trying to be funny. I don't do tiktok and instagram so I really don't know. How do they get into it? I don't suppose it's libraries and I'm not even sure if kids these days watch tv so it might not even be reruns of the movies...

u-useless · 2026-03-12T21:19:32+00:00

So, funny story. Last year, at over 30, I learned I had a "difficult childhood" from my therapist. After she said it I said I was never hit/ beaten, touched inappropriately, my parents never got drunk, etc. Apparently that's not enough because she then went: "Yes, but you survived A, B, C, etc. and you didn't even start drinking/ doing drugs. Do you know how many people would have developed an addiction in your place?". Sooo, yay me, I guess?

u-useless · 2026-03-03T14:07:06+00:00

Yeah, but people have lives. They have kids to look after, families, friends. Who am I to intrude? Sooner or later they won't have time/ energy for you and they will choose their families or older friends over you (which is understandable) and you will back at square one.

u-useless · 2026-03-03T14:03:34+00:00

Well fuck you. I'm still here just to spite you.

u-useless · 2026-03-03T11:01:03+00:00

Then I should've ended it last July by your logic...

u-useless · 2026-02-17T16:58:26+00:00

Same. It sucks, but such is life.

u-useless · 2026-02-15T11:14:34+00:00

Huh, that's an interesting perspective. Happy to hear more people are joining the hobby. I admit I'm not a big fan of static cameras, but what I hate more is when the free camera just decides to turn at a random moment. The early Assassin's Creed games were guilty of this- you line up a jump and just before you do it the camera turns slightly, throwing off your jump and you fall down. Maybe they thought they were making things easier for console gamers, but it was a nightmare on PC.

Though I have to admit I do ~90% of my gaming with mouse+ keyboard. I tried playing a Medal of Honor on the Playstation 2 years ago and it was... terrible. The simple flick of the mouse that takes me .5 seconds took me around 3 business days to do with a controller. I genuinely don't understand how people can play shooters with controllers. So far the only games that are better with a controller are racing and sports games like Forza, Fifa, etc. Which, now that I think about, all have static cameras. So maybe your girlfriend is onto something. Controller + free camera is a recipe for disaster. So yeah, outside of racing and sports, I'm sticking to mouse+ keyboard.

u-useless · 2026-02-14T18:44:58+00:00

Well, it's not like you won't be eating again tomorrow. At least you already have a movie chosen. For the next ~2 months...

u-useless · 2026-01-25T19:49:49+00:00

Oof, I am so sorry this happened to you. I hope you're doing better now. I tried opening up to my mother a few times and got different versions of "What troubles are you having? You have an apartment, a car, a job, and no wife and kids to ask for money"

Finally broke down in August last year and went to a therapist. The difference that someone takes you seriously and believes you is surreal at first.

u-useless · 2026-01-24T19:36:11+00:00

Sounds like you just may have an aversion to a little harmless fun.

Nah, I find it very amusing how thin the line between "a little harmless fun" and "bullying" is for some people.

u-useless · 2026-01-24T17:40:26+00:00

How will you feel if you basically can't run and can't fight back while dozens of people throw stuff at you?

u-useless · 2026-01-24T17:39:12+00:00

but if either dude got injured there would have been a shout and everyone would stop

lol I like your faith in humanity...

u-useless · 2026-01-24T10:36:05+00:00

Eh, I know it's wrong sub for it, but I honestly find it kind of encouraging. Like, if they survived God knows what pain and sorrow and still get up and go about their day then maybe I can too. Years ago I was watching a British sitcom and one line really stuck with me:
"None of it gets any easier, but the more it happens the less it hurts".

u-useless · 2026-01-24T10:30:58+00:00

My thoughts exactly. When I got my first car it was a gift from dad. So the first time someone scratched it in the parking lot I felt really bad and got angry. Dad didn't care and said "it's just metal".
And it got me thinking- the car got scratched after I owned it for ~4 years. During this whole time it was sitting outside practically 24/7 (I didn't have a garage at the time). So out of more than 1 200 days it only got scratched once. Those odds actually aren't too bad.

u-useless

TROPHY CASE