So I don't smoke carts because of the heavy metals that are often found within them. Does making them homemade eliminate this issue or do the heavy metals come from heating the coil?

I pick a genre I am feeling and go try different artists from that genre. I also get music recommendations from my friends like god intended

I wish I could say it gets better man. The only advice I can offer is to keep doing what keeps you functional. I cannot count the number of times I had a breakdown because I forced myself to be in a situation I could not handle being in. If stepping away for a while and playing some piano works then it works. Its better than the humiliation of a crashout. If there is something you can do while in a room of people that is soothing I would recommend doing that as well. Personally I like to fidget with pens or metal spheres, I find the weight of them to be pleasant.

Edit: I almost forgot the best advice possible. Find a safe person. Connect with the people who normally attend family gatherings but connect with them in a more 1 on 1 setting. Text works for this just fine imo. Find someone who understands your struggle and go out of your way to hang out with them at these gatherings. I got lucky that one of my cousins is autistic so we just talk at these things and it keeps most people away from us bc we look busy. Its a great system

What part of Portland? Will check it out if its near me

A joint and a documentary. Probably history, nature, or mythology

Trans men might attempt to use duct tape to compress their chest while trans women might use duct tape to tuck. Both are a very bad idea

I think I'd commit crimes for that

Snacks

Either French Onion soup (because it is such a hassle) or Foul Mudammas bc its tasty af

Cannot stress this method enough especially for information heavy books. Listening while reading along can be slow but I understand and remember the information so much better

Unfortunately I am autistic and explaining something I think is cool. Only it gets interpreted as condescension :(

Its not always but its often enough