[2.2 Main story spoilers, please only read if you have finished the story. I have spoilered the first two paragraphs to prevent people from unwittingly spoiling themselves.]

I've read many posts in this subreddit objecting to Sunday's philosophy on the basis that Sunday's ideals deprive other inhabitants of Penacony of their free will. I think that this does not strike at the heart of why one should object to Sunday's principles. I happen to have some formal training on the subject, so I will try my best to explain why Sunday's beliefs are objectionable. It is important to not simply get the direction of our opinions correct, but also the reason for believing the way we do correct as well.
In this post, I will address>! Sunday's !!Sunday's!< arguments -- we can look at this post for example. Using concepts from real-world political science scholarship, we can find that Sunday's arguments are not morally wrong. I will proceed to provide actual criticisms of Sunday's arguments after addressing our intuitive feelings to agree with Sunday.
A key assumption I make here is that we agree with Sunday/Robin/MC that freedom is good, and we want to maximize freedom under any regime or philosophy we adopt. From this angle, both Sunday and Robin + MC are correct, albeit that Sunday makes a critical misstep in execution that undermines the legitimacy of his entire plan. I'll explain it in the following sections.

Decomposing Sunday's Philosophy: Two principles

Sunday's philosophy can be broken down into two main principles: (1) people should not have to suffer because of their bodily constitution/environment/wealth; and (2) people should have the freedom to use their free time however they like, to achieve their own goals. I'll refer to (1) as the "Firefly principle", and (2) as the "Weekend principle".
Intuitively, we may find that there is nothing wrong with these two principles I've mentioned. This is why we might feel like we should agree with Sunday's ideals. How do we justify our feelings using robust academic concepts?
We can look at this through the idea of "negative" and "positive" liberty by scholar Isiah Berlin. This is the idea that freedom can be defined in two forms: (1) freedom from interference by others (including the environment); and (2) freedom to do things by being empowered with the means to do a given thing.

Negative freedom and the Firefly principle

We'll start with negative freedom and how it is promoted by the "Firefly principle". Basically, Sunday's argument is that people will be more free if they are removed from constraints of health, social status and wealth. Intuition suggests that this is correct, and we are right to follow that intuition. No one should have suffer more than others because they're born into worse circumstances. The famous social justice philosopher John Rawls would say that this suffering due to circumstances not of our own making is arbitrary and unfair.
People affected by their circumstances enjoy less freedom than others because they need to work hardework longecope with more challenges in order to simply live. This extra strain, from factors they cannot control, can be considered interference on a given person. They are forced to suffer the reductions in resources (time, money, etc.) in order to deal with the interference. I call this the Firefly principle because Firefly is the example Sunday uses when talking about this. Firefly is forced to deal with Entropy Loss Syndrome inherent to her circumstances of birth against her will, and has stated that she'd lead a far different life if she weren't bound to her circumstances. The way these circumstances of health, social status and wealth affect a person, against their will, directly contradicts the idea of negative liberty and being free from interference.
On the other hand, Sunday's proposal of removing this factors is convincing because we can see that it really increases the negative freedom of all people. They can reclaim resources that would otherwise be lost to the effects of interference from their circumstances of (lacking) health, social status and wealth. Assuming that we all believe that a greater freedom is preferable to a more limited one, it is clear that Sunday's philosophy, or at least the Firefly principle, is desirable.
In sum, the injustice of this arbitrariness makes us feel that the constraints of health, social status and wealth are morally bad; it is why we feel repulsed by it and in turn attracted to Sunday's ideas.

Positive Freedom and the Weekend principle

We move on to the idea of positive freedom and how we get more of it by following the Weekend principle. The one line that is most striking to most players is Sunday's example of an eternal succession of weekends to replace the working week. This is actually an extreme example which has overshadowed the underlying political position that Sunday holds, which led him to say such a thing. Sunday just wants to give people more resources -- in terms of time -- so that they may be free to pursue their life goals/ambitions. In political science, we call this the "life plan": it refers to what people want to do with their lives, given the resources that they have.
The relationship between the Weekend principle and positive freedom is a simple one. Being given time empowers one (i.e. increases one's positive freedom) because one has access to more resources to accomplish more of what they want. Again, intuitively, we see this as a good thing. We want people to be able to better pursue their dreams, to do what they want to do. To do things requires resources, and Sunday's proposal frees up more resources for people to use on their life goals.

Sunday's problem -- Unilateralism

There is, in fact, nothing wrong with Sunday's philosophy insofar as we consider these two principles. It is the reason that March and Himeko mention that it is difficult to refute Sunday's philosophy in the scene right before the first time you fight Dominicus. If we appreciate freedom and believe it to be desirable for all, Sunday's proposal is morally consistent with our want and appreciation of widespread freedoms.
We set aside the question of whether something done in a dream is as real as something done in reality. It is my belief that the dream/reality thing muddles the scholarly debate regarding Sunday's philosophy, since it is conventionally difficult for one to believe that something done in a dream is more significant that something done in reality. That sort of discussion is probably better left to students of philosophy, who can better argue about the significance of dreams and reality, rather than students of political science. I will deal strictly with the political implications of Sunday's philosophy.
The main problem with Sunday's philosophy is unilateralism. People have been right to point out that Sunday "did not ask for consent". In scholarly terms, we call this despotic/undemocratic behavior. Sunday has not consulted with anyone; he has not engaged in public deliberation; he is using power to enforce the system of government he wants.
Lack of consent is a big issue of course, but a greater concern is dictatorship. Sunday claims that he will be the only person awake, or something along those lines, but it is really a fancy way of saying that he will be sole dictator to dreamland, albeit a utopian one. Ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle might actually agree with Sunday's ideas: they had a deep distrust of the follies of the masses, and would rather a capable hand steer the ship of state. This is likely the role Sunday envisions himself in. That is, Sunday sees himself as the enlightened person who will manage paradise in its inhabitants' stead.
The problem arises from the fact that there is no democratic consultation. Classic arguments against dictatorships will apply to Sunday: what happens if he makes an error in judgment? What if he is unable to adequately respond to peoples' needs, even with the power and networking of The Family and its members combined? These are very pragmatic issues that any ruling organization will face, which I imagine will be an even greater problem for Sunday's lonesome.
To tie this back to our objective of promoting freedom, we observe that under Sunday's arrangement, no-one is guaranteed their freedom. One may consider themselves free when Sunday's management aligns with their own interests and objectives, but we cannot guarantee the continuity of this alignment into the future. Those who have their goals misaligned with Sunday's vision of utopia will find themselves necessarily unfree, and with no recourse to alter, replace or escape Sunday's government. The prospect of becoming this group of people who are not adequately represented by Sunday undermines Sunday's entire project of increasing the freedom of the weak.

Conclusion (or TL;DR I guess)

Not only does Sunday face significant problems in running Penacony as its sole manager, he also runs the risk of being unrepresentative due to his unilateralism. Inhabitants of Penacony cannot be assured that Sunday will remain a benevolent ruler.
We know that he would likely be one because we have glimpses into his mind through the omniscient viewpoint of the player. However, no-one else in the story can be sure that Sunday will remain a responsive governor of Penacony. Further, there are no accountability mechanisms to depose Sunday and replace him with another leader should he turn out to be tyrannical or incompetent down the road.
In the field of Political Science, this is the problem of centralizing governmental powers. Generally, we want a government that can respond to the needs of its people. Many systems of government will try to avoid putting too much power in a single person, such that there may be checks and balances that will provide some way for people to hold government accountable for their actions and competence. Being able to choose one's government and its policies is a very important freedom. Sunday's benevolent dictatorship fails this requirement.
So how do we fix this? I highlighted the Firefly principle and the Weekend principle because they cohere very closely to real life ideas of socialism. The idea that people should be free from their circumstances, and should be free to apply themselves to whatever life plans they wish to pursue are key tenets of socialism. The only difference is that under socialism, people will decide societal priorities and use of social resources together in democratic fashion. It's entirely fine when people decide, out of their own volition, that they should use resources in a certain way that enhances their freedom. It is, however, problematic when this decision is done unilaterally, such as in Sunday's philosophy.
Sunday really promotes some classic socialist ideas that are intended to address the moral badness of society's failure in addressing social inequalities and peoples' needs for self-fulfillment. He just needs more time to think over his philosophy and execute on it in a manner that is more democratic.
As a final word and to provide some further reading for those that have become interested in political science analysis, I recommend reading "Why not socialism" by scholar G.A. Cohen for a political-philosophical justification of Sunday's philosophy. It's a pretty short read (~20 pages?) and will help us better understand our intuitive agreement with Sunday's philosophy.

SPOLIERS FOR SEASON 3:Hii, other Liv and Maddie fans! i used to watch the show as a kid and i am now revisiting it as a teen and I'm on season 3. If some of you remember Liv and Holden had to break up because he felt like the relationship was kind've one sided when it came to his feelings which is valid but the way it happened irks me. So Maddie and Josh go on a date at goofy Gary's (I think that's the name) and an interviewer takes a photo of them together thinking it's Liv because when that interviewer talked to live on tv earlier in the episode Liv said she didn't have time for a relationship. The interviewer makes an update on that and "exposes" them by posting the photo saying that Liv lied and she actually does have a bf. Now Liv is very calm about the situation but Holden is upset because he doesn't want to hide their relationship and now everyone thinks she's with another guy so he asks her to fix it. But when Liv tells Maddie the situation Maddie tells Liv not to fix it because she doesn't want her ex bf Diggie (they broke up cause he went to Australia) to know she's with another guy through the internet. Liv listens to her and Holden is even more upset which leads to their breakup and its really sad, BUT, what irked me was that in the very next episode Diggie comes back to surprise Maddie and take her back after seeing the video and Maddie tries to play it off and say its Liv and not her but Diggie has always been able to differentiate Maddie and Liv from literally the first episode. Why would Maddie make Liv make that sacrifice if she knew (I know logically its for plot). Like she sabotaged Liv's relationship and if it weren't for what she did they'd probs still be together tbh.(or at least longer then they were) Sorry for the rant but if anybody else watches the show pls give feedback!! ((And also who do you think was the better twin?(in terms of sacrifices and understandings and stuff))

I find that when I randomly split on someone (for no particular reason) I become angry to an insanely unreasonable degree. I'm not talking about the reactive kind of anger that drives my impulsive reactions to conflict and is caused by my lack of emotional regulation, I'm referring to a simmering anger that's more long-term and less explosive, and is often caused by nothing at all. I just start to absolutely despise people practically overnight. Every single thing that the person does sends me into a rage, no matter how minor it actually is. The hatred lasts months, and has even lasted years in some cases. Sometimes I feel a very strong urge to hurt the person, though I'm confident that I can control these urges, thankfully.
For example, I currently despise my former FP, despite the fact that nothing's changed in her behaviour. She's always treated me slightly poorly, but I never really minded, and have distanced myself from her anyways, so her behaviour no longer affects me. That said, every time she posts on social media, or sends me a text, or does ANYTHING, I am filled with rage. Like, today she posted a random photo of herself on her story and I instantly felt a sense of all-consuming disgust and anger just by looking at her. Honestly, she could literally post a picture of a wall and I'd still find a way to get angry about it. Even the mention of her name pisses me off. Idrk how to describe it honestly, she just can't do anything right in my eyes at the moment, and I genuinely think I might need to block her for the sake of my own sanity.
Ik this all sounds pretty ridiculous and silly, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to deal with this unreasonable anger?

So apparently we scare them enough that they hire a company with bots to report us all to Reddit Cares
Let that sink in for a minute.
We scare them enough that they have a company meeting and someone thought this was a good idea to pitch, and then someone actually AGREED it was a good idea. Just put yourself in the room arguing for it “Hey guys what if we report them all as psychotic maybe that will make them stop.”
How ridiculous would you feel at your own workplace suggesting manipulating Redditors by reporting them all for being crazy? It’s just weapons grade NUTS.
I just assumed this whole time that they could kick the can down the road indefinitely via crime, and all I was doing by holding was making it more painful for them to do it.
But then I got to thinking, if that’s the case why the Reddit cares nonsense? Why spend the money or even the time talking about and executing the plan to do this? Why is the media saying we caused the interest rates to up and that we caused the inflation?
They really only have 3 options now if times are truly this desperate
Option 1: Crime Option 2: Convince us to leave Option 3: Pay us to leave
Option 1 seems to be breaking down otherwise why bother with Reddit cares?
Option 2 hasn’t worked, hence why they are trying Reddit cares to see if that shakes any of us off
That just leaves option 3 and unfortunately I forgot how to sell. The only way I might remember if I was able to buy a NFL team and a submarine yacht with my shares.
(Not financial advice I just like the stock)

Honestly I’m not a fan.
I’m sorry, I know how beloved they are but this relationship didn’t work for me, here’s why:
Monica wears the pants in the relationship and not in the good way, most of the fights they had she was always right no matter what and Chandler always had to apologize and go up and beyond for her. This relationship leans heavily on the popular double standards as Monica is never allowed to wrong even in cases where she was clearly wrong.
She is the reason he is missing a toe and a turkey dance will never make up for being vindictive. I actually found out that the original plan for the Vegas episode was for Chandler to cheat on Monica after being rightfully pissed about her having lunch with Richard. Thank god that Matthew Perry refused to film those scenes as that would have ruined the character. Love you Matthew RIP.
Also there were plenty of jokes where Monica was the parent in the relationship and she will always get her way no matter what which I didn’t find funny, I was actually insulted on Chandler’s behalf because relationships are supposed to be equal and we all know with Monica that she’s not happy unless she’s getting her way, her changing her mind about a expensive wedding notwithstanding.
This is a hot take I know, but I was nerve into their relationship because of the clear power dynamic and on principle I can’t support relationships like that, at least Phoebe and Mike’s relationship was more equal.
That’s my opinions on the subject, what are yours?

So my boyfriend invited me to come with him and the soccer fanclub on a day trip (leaving 10am, home by 1am) to watch the team play in Seattle. It's free and they have some spare tickets, but I'm under 19 (18F) so I need to sign a waiver from my parents. We're from Canada. It's a recognized fanclub of the soccer organization, and its all funded by them. Except for food lol.
I ask my mom and dad nicely if they can sign it, my dad is chilling. But my mom is not comfortable with the fact I'm going into another country. She's worried something may happen to me , and I'll be home quite late. She's HELLA religious, and( traditionalFilipino mom)to be honest I'm not. Idk, I'm figuring it out but it's a quite traditional Christian church.
I get my father to sign it since he's okay with it and excited for me. Hes not religious but jokes that "is Lord going to be with her!?" My mom just leaves the living room going like " she never sets aside time for God!" And locks herself in her room. Whenever she gets upset with something I do she'll give me the silent treatment.
She usually keeps our passports and I'm worried she would not give it to me at all cause I didn't "obey her". I was talking to my boyfriend about it and he sent me the law about how it is a crime to keep/conceal ones travel document.
She starts sending me texts "ur Dad consented to it I m saying I m out of the picture cause what you did is an outright act of disobedience of my will....yeah ur 18 and can go anywhere u want..abd whatever I say is garbage! Shame ur telling me about crime stuff...what about disobeying God s law? It s a crime more than a crime! "
I didn't realize, and she actually gave me back my passport, threw it on my bed. Didn't realize because I was in the kitchen. Apologized for making an assumption about a crime but, honestly. 😒😒😒
It feels like she is pulling the "God card" into making me feel bad for going to travel. I'm like 18, I have a part time job. I just passed and finished my 2 semesters in college. I'd like to travel more this summer and explore beyond my hometown.
I know parents aren't always going to agree with everything you do, but this is daunting. Like okay if I want to do something of my own, in this case traveling, she's going to make me feel bad about it? Even worse saying I'm "disobeying God" 🤣😭 Since I do live under her house, I have no choice to go with her to church. I've been going consistently, so I don't get why she's getting upset over a day trip.
Anyways, she's ignoring me full out. Silent treatment as always. I appreciate if you read this far, don't know what to do at this point. Part of me feels guilty for doing what i want, but I'm also tryna embrace it and not let her disapproval get over me. Not sure what to do and how long she's going to be acting like this around me. It's so annoying and makes me feel like she doesn't care about me because I chose something for myself.

The woke agenda depends upon a few factors:

• Shaming, guilting, bribing, or use of force to get others to buy in.
  
• Controlling one’s ability to openly speak truth.
  
• A group of individuals to paint as the enemy.
  

The woke agenda’s enemy of choice is the American Family—but deeper than that it’s the straight, white male. Western civilization is what the woke agenda looks to destroy, and unbeknownst to most it’s the very cornerstone of western civilization that the woke exploit—free speech. During tougher points in history, those pushing this crazy bullshit would’ve been labeled as mentally sick, and not given the time of day in most cases—but in the social media age their message can reach a larger audience at a moment’s notice.
Coincidentally, it’s that same principle of free speech which the woke are sometimes allowed to control. We have mayors openly playing the race card (Chicago and Baltimore) in major cities, and we have policies in place where criminal conduct such as illegal immigration and crimes up to and including assaults are going unpunished in some of the more woke-affected areas (think California, NY, and places with strong left leaning state and local governments).
For a woke agenda to set in, it has to be allowed to go uncontested—meaning they aren’t challenged by those of us who aren’t batshit crazy. Cowardly people allow stupidity and nut jobs like the woke to speak without any reality given back in the form of words that challenge. Stronger willed individuals fear nothing of being labeled or ostracized by these people whom most of us don’t want to associate with anyway.
In general, remember that we live in a western society that allows for freedom of speech. While the leftist nut jobs always seem to use that privilege our society gives them to spew hatred of the very society they benefit from and protects them, it’s often times that people who actually love and appreciate the society we live in who do not take advantage of that same privilege. I call on all who may read this to never apologize for being unapologetic in your values, and to never be silenced by those crazy individuals whom would wish to destroy the greatest standard of living at any time on this planet—western society.

I woke up to another day off work, super surprising. Two days in one week is rare. I started my day off watching some inspirational game dev youtube videos. They help me keep my hopes up when I feel like i’m a useless wad. Then I opened Godot and opened my lessons.
I ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE I’M LEARNING STUFF. In the lesson the guy had a couple parts where he was like “pause the video and see if you can do this yourself” and each time I did it. I know how to instantiate child nodes, I know how to key frame any kind of animation, I know when to use sprite2d or node2d. I know how to adjust my velocity.y in my physics engine. I know this stuff, omg.
I created my physics for the tappy plane, I created pipes and lasers you are supposed to jump through. I created hit boxes and that other thing like a hitbox that detects if you go through it. I animated the lasers and the plane’s jumping. In total i have a scene with mountains in the background, a plane that flies up and falls down, and a single pipe and laser to jump through. Super cool to see it coming together.
Side note, trying to get into a college for computer science. I wanna get a bachelors degree in it, and get a nice job in the field. I want to pursue the knowledge mostly, and having that diploma would help me get nicer jobs. Mostly, i just love learning this stuff, it feels like a dream.
Lets hope I have tomorrow off. I am super excited to finish the game, but it’ll take a full day to do.

I woke up with food poisoning so I called off work and spent the day learning. I finished all of GDQuest, which took a long time but was very interesting. It doesn’t teach everything unfortunately but it teaches a lot of the basics.
I started working on my first project in my udemy course which is actually building a flappy bird game called tappy. It’s just flappy bird with a plane instead.
I built the main scene and the plane(character) scene. I also setup a standard mountain background, but i’ll be setting up a parallax background later.
I wish I had more free time for days like this. I love learning this stuff.

I just realised that the A1, A7SIII and many Sony Cameras all output 16 BIT Raw.
You know what this means... much more dynamic range.
As someone who has two Z9 cameras, I was sad to find that the A1 does 16 bit photos, while the Z9 only does 14 bit, maybe that's why we have such good rolling shutter. :)
It does actually make a slight difference in very low light settings like you would for Astro Photography.
Anyone else used both and noticed a difference?

Context: I’m a 21f trying to live my life for Christ. I don’t use most social media platforms, not that there’s anything wrong if you do. but personally I’ve found that having them makes me not act or think in a way pleasing to God. I’ve had IG, Snapchat, FB, and TikTok accounts in the past. But as of late, Snapchat is basically dead, save for ppl that like to send/request explicit pics, which isn’t something I’m into considering I’m waiting until marriage. Additionally I’ll admit, I basically have a scrolling addiction. For reference, I will scroll on TikTok and Instagram for hours, not necessarily watching anything bad, it’s often funny vids or even Christian humor, but with Instagram specifically, im lurking on people’s pages to compare my life to theirs, thinking of how I’m better, and sometimes how their lives are better, neither being Christ like or good for my mental health. And I basically won’t live my life because I’m so invested in lives and decisions of others. Think of the whole ‘you are quick to point out the small splinter of wood in your neighbors eye but can’t seem to see the piece of wood in your own’ analogy. Anyways over the past year I’ve really been trying to break out of that because that isn’t Christ like at all and I need to get my time back so I can do things I need to do for my own life. I’ve tried to come back, thinking that just some time away will do the job but when I come back, I start doom scrolling again and then my screen time is basically up 80%. So going back to these platforms just isn’t possible for me, I lack self control, and better to cut the whole thing off than risk falling back into it. Additionally, I’ve really enjoyed the peace I’ve gotten from not being on IG, not feeling the stress of having to take the perfect photo for Instagram, post pictures often enough, to show that I’m doing as well as my peers, etc. Anyway, I truly think it’s much better for me to not have those social accounts.
Recently a guy approached me (21f) in the grocery store and asked for my Instagram. I don’t use Instagram anymore. I tell him that. So he asks me what socials do I have. And I suddenly realize I don’t have any and it never occurred to me when I deactivated my socials that this would be a problem when it came to meeting people. He ends up asking for my number and I was about to give it to him like I actually typed it in correctly but then I realized there’s a lot you can do with a phone number so I chickened out and changed the last two digits so obviously he can’t find me. I was wrong and feel bad about that and that’s another issue entirely. But back to the main point, I was trying to figure out if there are either alternative social media platforms I can use to chat with people so if I’m i meet someone but don’t want to give them something as personal as my phone number because we’re basically strangers instead or if I was being paranoid and you really can’t do any damage with just a cell number.

Context: I’m a trying to live my life for Christ. I don’t use most social media platforms, not that there’s anything wrong if you do. but personally I’ve found that having them makes me not act or think in a way pleasing to God. I’ve had IG, Snapchat, FB, and TikTok accounts in the past. But as of late, Snapchat is basically dead, save for ppl that like to send/request explicit pics, which isn’t something I’m into considering I’m waiting until marriage. Additionally I’ll admit, I basically have a scrolling addiction. For reference, I will scroll on TikTok and Instagram for hours, not necessarily watching anything bad, it’s often funny vids or even Christian humor, but with Instagram specifically, im lurking on people’s pages to compare my life to theirs, thinking of how I’m better, and sometimes how their lives are better, neither being Christ like or good for my mental health. And I basically won’t live my life because I’m so invested in lives and decisions of others. Think of the whole ‘you are quick to point out the small splinter of wood in your neighbors eye but can’t seem to see the piece of wood in your own’ analogy. Anyways over the past year I’ve really been trying to break out of that because that isn’t Christ like at all and I need to get my time back so I can do things I need to do for my own life. I’ve tried to come back, thinking that just some time away will do the job but when I come back, I start doom scrolling again and then my screen time is basically up 80%. So going back to these platforms just isn’t possible for me, I lack self control, and better to cut the whole thing off than risk falling back into it. Additionally, I’ve really enjoyed the peace I’ve gotten from not being on IG, not feeling the stress of having to take the perfect photo for Instagram, post pictures often enough, to show that I’m doing as well as my peers, etc. Anyway, I truly think it’s much better for me to not have those social accounts, so reactivating is basically off the table.
Recently a guy approached me (21f) in the grocery store and asked for my Instagram. I don’t use Instagram anymore. I tell him that. So he asks me what socials do I have. And I suddenly realize I don’t have any and it never occurred to me when I deactivated my socials that this would be a problem when it came to meeting people. He ends up asking for my number and I was about to give it to him like I actually typed it in correctly but then I realized there’s a lot you can do with a phone number so I chickened out and changed the last two digits so obviously he can’t find me. I was wrong and feel bad about that and that’s another issue entirely. But back to the main point, I was trying to figure out if there are either alternative social media platforms methods I can use to chat with people so if I’m i meet someone but don’t want to give them something as personal as my phone number because we’re basically strangers instead or if I was being paranoid and you really can’t do any damage with just a cell number.

I took a drop last year in Neet, had 516 last year and am scoring around 680 this year which is equivalent to maybe last year's 650-670. Just wanted to share a few thoughts regarding the current scene of competition and surrounding distractions in our lives.
I was in tenth to eleventh from 2020-2021 and this period and half of 2022 was only spent on online classes and on internet, I was wasted, i don't want to brag, nor someone overly forcing helping out to you people.
I just want to this to be out there because I eventually came out of that mess and in Diwali '23 I saw some of you peeeps' fucked up stories of this over indulgence on the internet, and this one girl who wasted on the internet on gore and shit, a serious backlog in her studies and useless tension now on her mind. I know there are a lot of you there morning 8 to 12 schedule internet, reels, shorts, games, some of you peeps go a level higher and it's just films all day, to the point where you are a walking talking Wikipedia of films, the delete reinstall cycle of games, wanking everyday, I know you, you may not be doing the same thing but it's the same cycle at any level, basic to it being the device and internet usage, it's only an overconsumption whether it be on reddit, fucking around on discord or on 4chan.
First off, there is a clear, definite, rational fucking answer to this, DO NOT fuck up your mind over this shit, regardless of everyone's u ique and different case the basic answers are the same
1.SEEK HELP: parents first, but if the environment in your house is a bit negative one please reach out to a psychologist, or even me, I'll try to help in whichever way I can, a good psychologist, actually gives you decisive answers and rational decisions best for your future
Clearing it out with your parents brings you all on a common ground. I was in a hostel and still the fallout and consequences of my usage had not appeared until l8tr after which I approached one(these "consequences" are not exactly withdrawal symptoms, but the fucking way this poisonous shit percolates into your mind, the changed perspective of yourself and the world through all this usage actually affects you BECAUSE REAL WORLD IS NOT LIKE THE ONLINE WORLD, i know you feel it too, whenever you sit down to study, you first try to study very seriously....and then you mind....drifts, thoughts and imaginations of your world involving the shit you saw or you recapping the films and getting and kicks out of that smiling on your study table, in your own world. Normalpeople are not like that, you need to stay in this real world, face these real problems, get kicks out of life, but don't worry cos the only difference between you and "normal" people is just a little effort, don't worry.
2.POSSIBLY CHOOSE A HOSTEL: the hostel environment helps you cut off from all distractions and especially a toxic environment around you if you have one and only makes you focus on the goal, it's a beautiful realisation of your capacity to do things and you can see in clarity how better you can be and how every moment you can utilise to being a better you. For my repeat I was at Sanjay Ghodawat Atigre which has got the benefit of reducing fees depending on your neet marks (sometimes even to the extent of 50k to 1 lakh)but you get all the exact same benefits as regular students which get into there for fucking 4.5 lakhs for two years
3.LASTLY remember a lot of people can just cut off from this shit but NOBODY can just sit idly without tasking your mind something, the mind is NOT made like that man, even if you do you'll find yourself drifting in your thoughts of this entertainment you sought earlier(the fallout of this shit that I faced earlier). Substitute it. Choose healthy habits, choose life man. Especially at this age (hoping you all are in 16-22) the body is damn active, when I did, i used to run 3-3.5 kms in 30 mins it felt amazing to devote the time to something like this, you actually tire yourself in good things(haha this is literally what even actual addicts do too, its just choosing to get your kicks out of other things, healthier things). You literally start noticing changes in your mindset too, tbh you guys maintain a very toxic environment here, which is actually sad because real life just ain't like that, anything and everything here distorts your perspective of the real world, even i, used to have Dr. House and shit as someone to be like but that ain't real, now it's people like Tatya Lahane, Baba Amte and Sindhutai Sakpal, those are real heroes no joke.
KEEP A POSITIVE MIND. You know that meditation, brahmakumaris and shit? Do that. Nah i don't believe in it either but trust me, the mind is no ambiguous thing it's just a restless little fish with infinite capacity and innumerous sensing, taking in all that you give it, so feed it good, and especially, trap it. That's where this meditation and shit comes in, it's just tricks man, see, a guy with a really bad reputation sits in front of you verbally abuses you and leaves, with your entrance exam on the near(even two years means near btw), what is the least fucking thing you can you can "do", brahmakumaris says "forgive em" pretty fucking stupid right? But that's the trick(on your mind) At this stage, rationally, without any emotion, you have to ask yourself what actually fucking matters, and trust me, they fucking don't, saying you forgive them means you LET GO of the hate of theirs you hold in your mind and CHOOSE yourself and your goal over them, or else you would be literally wasting your time too even when studying thinking over this person, trust me this isn't any different than the Stoic ideals of Marcus Aurelius and shit you read online, here it's just brought into effect ina different manner. They preach about God and to let go and give up control, surrender to them, how's that useful? That bitch cheating from your paper, your bus coming over late, you acting nice to a person but them not reflecting the same, let go, that shit wasn't in your control anyway. It's just little shit like this that helps in the long run.
AGAIN I'm not a psych or doctor, please seek actual help, communicate, reach out. I especially felt writing this out after parents literally took me to see their kid and he had been yabbering abiut a totally different problem but all about his room were the reflections of my life two years ago, that laptop, screen down, headphones connected, a phone nearby and a router, I knew immediately what the actual problem was, you guys spent so much time online that even when you do study, the actual things going on in your mind aren't the same. Him and that girl I read about on this place in Diwali, I hope for her, please keep a positive mind throughout all this, all of life indeed, you all are beautifully strong people. REMEMBER effort and discipline goes a long way than motivation and intelligence in this profession AND to focus only and only on the process, the effort, the goal and ambitions, all the time, even at the level of thought. Everyone and everything else will stay the same but you will "be like a rocky promontory against which the restless surf continually pounds; it stands fast while the churning sea is lulled to sleep at its feet". Love you all man, all the best.
P.S. I had to whore for some karma b4 posting here, so I joined a few subreddits, please don't judge me on that, I'll be here once a while if you guys want to reach out, but mostly I'm leaving this toxic place too.

The rift between them has caused a lot of tension in my family and now my mom wants to be in the life of her newborn grandson but refuses to address or try to mend things with my wife.
Little history: I probably introduced them too quickly. My grandmother was in town in south Florida about to move here from Illinois for a retirement community. My wife, girlfriend at the time, came with cookies or some form of baked goods like she usually does when visiting someone as a sign of affection and respect. Where it went wrong from here I have no idea. I suppose the initial crack was when wife scheduled a skitrip for her and I to have as a 1 year of dating anniversary present. We are not rich, this is a huge gift that made sense to her since I refused to let her pay rent. Our combines salaries are barely over 120k. So wife calls mom 6 months in advance because she is a planner for the sole purpose of asking my mom to watch one of our four dogs. Wife has already paid in full for the trip. Yet Mom decides it is a great idea to instead use the opportunity to hop on and take a family trip because it is the last time the family will have for a family vacation - I am the oldest of two boys and two stepsisters, my mom married the guy she left my father for who has twin girls of his own that were in the womb during the infidelity. Anyway mom completely takes over and decides to make our one year gift a family vacation, so she books tickets for a hotel nearby. Wife is bold but at the time not bold enough to stop my mom in her tracks for overstepping a boundary. At this time she still respected my mother and kind of let herself get steamrolled.
Probably skippable Family history: Now I have always had issues with my mother, resentment for leaving my father for my stepdad behind my own fathers back and constantly trying to keep brother and I from seeing “Disneyland dad who doesn’t do any of the work but gets all the fun.” my mother was very strict growing up, always bringing us to church and making my father feel guilty for not bringing brother and I on his weekend. So mom marries stepdad age 11, divorces him around 13 after asking me advice for her relationship and i encourage her to move out. Then remarries him and moves us back into his house age 15. Here I begin rebellion and normal teeenager stuff but stepdad won’t butt in because he isn’t my “biological father” so would have my mom intervene brother and i from behind the scenes. For example, I am young and messing around on the piano because music is important and I never had any formal training and mom comes in to tell me stepdad “wants to know when the concert is going to end because it is a little annoying.” Anyway, they have me prescribed adderall at 16 and in the parking lot holding my first prescription I am told that they would like me to move out and in with my father, who had chased us every time mom and stepdad moved several miles away (5 moves from age 5-15 all in one county). Anyway, brother and I are recovering alcoholics with (my) slipups triggered from interactions or visiting my mom, which mom claims is genetics from my father alone and has nothing to do with her. Maternal grandfather, mother, and I have some nasty temper problems which certainly are exacerbated by drinking (at least mine and moms).
Skitrip revelations: Wife and I are on the way to brothers graduation in Chicago, and wife has yet to reveal to me that my mother has taken over her massive investment of a couples ski vacation and it will now be a family vacation for mom, stepdad, brother, two stepsisters who are all getting out of gradschool. On the way to the airport I am told the news by future wife of my one year surprise. So I get upset and call my mom to call it off. She obliges my request and now holds resentment against me and now wife for “ruining her last family vacation.” Fine, whatever. Mother never says a word about it for months until we are out for a distant family members birthday dinner and at a table of about 8-10 people that are having a group conversation and gets real close to my wife’s ear and tells her privately along the lines of “you deprived our family of our last family vacation.” During this time my wife is frantically tapping my leg under the table because my mom can get a little aggressive. My mom saw this and later (privately to me) mocked her for doing it to my leg under the table.
Christmas blessings: Closer to Christmas maybe 2/3 weeks later we went to go see my mom and my mom had a couple drinks in her (not an alcoholic like brother and I just very sensitive to a couple glasses of wine and occasionally some hidden sips of wine or something) and invites my wife to Christmas church and out to dinner after because the family needs photos for a Christmas card and future wife “will be the photographer for it.” Now this can easily be a nothing comment but given the way my mom had been making future wife feel, it was taken as an insult. So wife declined church and showed up to family dinner just in time for photography session to be over.
The distance: Then mom moves to a fancy house up the coast and invites us up to visit. At first it is ok to bring the 4 dogs then the day before she says they will not have dogs at the house and we can easily find a sitter. 2 Dogs don’t get along, they need to be separated always as there has been two attacks on one from the other, so we can’t trust someone to come to the house and keep them separate and we won’t board 4 dogs it’s too expensive for us. Anyway we go back and forth being invited with the dogs then they retract the offer and say pick one dog to bring and leave the others and it’s just annoying, so we say forget it and don’t go. But my brother becomes engaged and decides to throw his engagement party at my mom’s new place near the beach. Great. First all the dogs are welcome, then day before they say it is too chaotic and she will pay for a small hotel room for one night for future wife and her dogs and my one (the attack dog) can stay in a crate at the house with me but I may not leave the dog to stay with her. And no reasonable cheap hotel in the area is going to accommodate 4 dogs. Anyway wife is stressed but feels obligated to come because I am the best man and I stay at the house while she checks her dogs into the hotel. Wife had made a cheesecake and brought it up in a separate car from me, 4 hour drive by the way, and night of.. my mom says no desserts for engagement party dinner, the dessert is themed or some crazy stuff. Wife shows up to dinner a little later and very flustered because of the situation plus I had relapsed on a bottle of whiskey a couple days prior to seeing my mom. Related, I don’t know. Anyway. Mom has had a couple drinks and future wife and I are talking about having children and religion comes up. Mom asks what we were thinking of doing about baptism or not and I jokingly said (guiltily to get on my moms nerves a bit) that he would have a bris and would love it if she would come to the bar mitzvah. now my wife’s mom was forced to convert from Catholicism to Judaism for her own mother in laws acceptance for a failed marriage so wife is not religious, but it hurt my wife and reasonably so when my mom replied “oh, son, I raised you better than that.” Still no acknowlegement of fault from that comment and mom thinks wife is “overly sensitive, dramatic, and childish” for wanting an apology for it.
Weddings: Future wife becomes current wife. We had gotten engaged on our next anniversary trip she planned for us. I proposed on our bike and barge through tulip season in holland with our feet in the water of the North Sea after a picnic in the dunes. her family business manufactures photo albums for professional photographers, so aside from our families all being divorced, estranged, difficult, and us trying to save money, we did not have a wedding, we just did the paperwork within a month of the proposal. I had already decided to have a baby with her before the trip so we were trying. 2 weeks before brothers wedding in Tennessee we become pregnant, so we break news immediately as to not steal limelight from brothers expensive wedding. Mom says she will cover cost of rental car so we can save money. Ok great. She books the tiny car and we pack it and head up the Smokey mountains to the cabins we are staying at. Two cabins for grooms family, one for his mother and one for his father, ten paces from each other: they havnt spoken but twice im since divorce in 1995 but through lawyers. Grandmother, mother, stepdad, 2 stepsisters and one boyfriend stayed in mom’s side. Wife and I stay at father’s side cabin with just his wife. His Wife’s 3 daughters and family’s stayed a town away down the mountain among extended family. Anyway, beautiful wedding takes place. My wife is sent into town to collect flowers and run errands for my mom which she happily obliged to since she is a solitary person and did not want wedding day drama. Day after, we are loading our rental sedan with our bags. Mom and grandma need a ride to the airport and our flight is before theirs so they will drop off the car for us 4 hours or so after we go to the airport 5 hours from current time. We’re loading the car. Stepcousin passed out in mother’s cabin night before and needed a ride. Disorganized brunch for 20 people is trying to be made. Father’s wife’s daughter books a reservation for 10 people which include her family, her sisters, me, my wife, dad, and their mom. My stepdad had left for home at this point as he had taken his own suv instead of flying with my mom and 90 year old grandma. So mom is trying to pack grandma in the car with bags and my wife and stepcousin. At this point mother asks stepmother if she and grandma are on reservation for the brunch. Stepmom says no they are not, she wasn’t sure of their plans. Mom says under her breath “fucking assholes, so typical,” and she goes into a bit of a rage to which my stepmom says here “it’s ok I will call and add you two it’s no big deal.” So we continue packing the car and realize we won’t all fit. So my wife tells my stepcousin to go ride with my father to the restaurant 10 minutes away we will meet you there. Mom says to wife, “no you go with the father.” Wife says “no I am going to ride with my husband” mom gets close to her face with her finger and says “this is my car, you can fucking Uber!” Wife is 6 weeks pregnant at this point and it all escalated from here. wife and mother start yelling at each other swearing at each other and we get into the car, mom behind wife who was in shotgun. 2 occasions on the trip I had to stop the car because mom had taken off her seatbelt to stand over the seat and scream in my wife’s face with so much vigor that spit came on to her face multiple times. I’m trying to tell them both to behave and mom sit down shut the f up. Mom is telling wife to get the f out of the car and find a ride, she has no right to speak because she’s “new here” (dating and living together for 3 years at this point). The following brunch she apologized in a crowd with a hushed voice at a table of 20 people trying to have a group conversation again privately to my wife “I’m sorry you get so upset” and my wife told her “that is not an apology.” The following several hours in the car with grandma and stepcousin and wife were some of the most uncomfortable moments of my life. At a gas station I pulled my mom aside and said I need ther to give a huge apology, that it was so nasty and inappropriate, my brother and I are used to abusive language and aggressive behavior but to my pregnant wife and any other human being it is disgusting and unacceptable. Sitting in the car was quiet for many hours until we got to the airport. No speaking about what happened just mom happy go lucky about Tennessee and Dollywood and wife and I in shock, cousin still half in the bag from a fun wedding, grandma 90 years old probably confused about what happened.
The family groupchat: Im waiting on an apology from my mother to my wife who is extremely hurt and expressed to my mom loads of time she needs to reach out and apologize. We’re not talking until she will do so. It is bugging me and keeping me up at night. My appendix flares up and I am admitted to the hospital with emergency appendectomy. Still pregnant Wife suggests I reach out to mom to let her know what’s going on. So I text mom I’m at the hospital and will have surgery. I send a pic or something that on my end says hasn’t gone through. Mom group texts our family group with stepdad, his daughters, brother and his wife, and grandma that I am in the hospital and attaches the pic I sent of me in there. Then she continues to rave about the success of her startup company and how they got FDA approved clinical trials finally completed or some pivotal moment that made the text about her. Wife and I are in a hospital so the picture comes up on moms end as unable to have been sent. Mom assumes that my wife has blocked her phone, so mom removes my wife from the chat. Wife is rushing home to take care of the dogs at this point and is not alerted on her phone, but on everyone else’s phone it clearly reads “(mom) has removed (wife) from the chat.” Immediately I text my mom and basically say how dare you do that to her she is the one who insisted I let you know out of respect and mom responds with blah blah she did this she did that I will not have it. So I go back to the family chat and remove mother. At this point I let everyone in the chat know what my mother has done and how she refuses to take responsibility for how she made my wife feel, address her feelings, apologize or do anything at all to reach out about the wedding incident or even inquire about the wellbeing of the pregnancy for her first grandchild. Stepdad finally steps in and tells me “enough.” Grandma says “shame on you.” I am dumbfounded. This is a hush hush family that hates to have anything out in the open and likes to maintain a picture perfect image. For examples; 1) I and wife were on the family Christmas card of a photo taken at the wedding that the whole world received except for wife and I. 2)brothers alcoholism was to remain hidden from the family as was his rehab treatment and how it affected his career. Now understand that they like to keep things quiet but that is not how I want to handle my problems, these things trigger alcohol use and violent outbursts on my part that I no longer wish to live through. Now appendectomy’s are pretty simple so I recovered quickly (it don’t rupture we just took it out). But during the time I was scheduled to be under anesthesia, stepdad reaches out to wife to have a chat and clear the air. Wife waits until I come to so i can be there and I hear the conversation. He claims to be here as a middleman like a business meeting to fix things once and for all. Wife and I are like wow great. He then proceeds to double down on my moms behalf that they will not be apologizing or meet any of her demands as she had already apologized as confirmed by 90yo grandma who was in the car and my mother herself. The term he used was stalemate to describe the situation. Wife and I are shocked but she has me keep quiet to show me what he will say. He proceeds to yell at her and they were screaming at each other, again steamrolling the conversation assuring us that he was down the middle yet maintains that mom has made a sufficient apology that needs to be accepted and wife needs to grow up and move on, then wishing her luck with the baby and a nice life. Next day I call stepdad to see how it went. He reassures me that he has done all he can and everything is back to normal. At this point I call him out and tell him I was conscious and explain to him what an apology is. But there is no dialogue with this guy like there is no dialogue with my mother. He proceeds to talk loudly over me like she does and basically call me a piece of shit for the amount he and mother have done for me. I speak to him first time like I never have before by calling him a hands off father and a pussy of a man who finally reaches out while he thinks I am under anesthesia to yell at my wife then pretend it’s cool, and I basically tell him he has never done a single thing for me to try and develop me into a man or nurture me as a child into an adult, but he thinks taking me on fishing trips and ski vacations are equivalent to love and nurturing growth and development just like my mom does. I reassure him that he has no right to talk about family being that he ruined his own as well as mine and couldn’t even tell my dad to his face that it was him who was sleeping with my mom behind his back when my dad came to him very upset as a friend when he got an anonymous phone tip at work one day. Then him and my mom laughed about it in court when my dad brought it up during the divorce. We ended with swearing and I felt very happy for finally giving my true feelings to him.
The birth: Months go by and nobody has said a thing. I can’t sleep at night seeing how much love I am getting from my father and his side for the baby, and my wife’s family, then thinking about how my own mother hasn’t reached out a single time. I’m dreaming about beating up my stepdad and it’s driving me mad. So weeks before the due date I reach out to my mom begging her to clear things up and apologize to my wife. Nothing. A week later i tell her how disappointed and abandoned I feel and want her in the family. Nothing. Baby comes a couple days early. Everyone is excited. Mom texts me begging for photos and to let everyone know. I tell her my brother and two stepsisters have received photos. I ask her to please reach out to wife she still needs to make amends for what’s happened between them and all she needs to do is reach out. Mom’s responses have been defensive, derisive, projecting, playing victim and referring to herself as a kicked puppy. Telling me my wife needs to apologize to her and making the conversation about mother son instead. She is beating around the bush. And she is sending me photos of my own baby that I did not send her. Her friends are congratulating me that I did not tell. Again she is pretending that everything is ok and it is not. She asked me to apologize to her husband for what I said on the phone that day. I said ok, watch this. So I sent the guy a message that was very apologetic and not passive aggressive or backhanded comments in any way. Still my mom won’t say anything.
Now: Baby is 6 days old. He is the best thing in my life and I wish my family were involved but it seems like I am living in a fantasy world where everyone can be happy together. I can be a jerk and have a terrible relationship with my mom, but I want more than anything to just feel loved enough where she can swallow her pride and make amends with my wife. Thats it. And she asked the other day to put a family group chat so everyone can be involved… for real? I know she is stressed with a high pressure job, but it seems heartless to me. She asks what big items she can get for the baby. Mom, baby is here we have everything for a couple months already. I said the biggest thing you can do is reach out and have a heart to heart with my wife so this rift can end and we can at least be cordial if you two can’t get along. I don’t think it will happen.
How do I mend this relationship between my wife and my mother?

There have been a few posts lately talking about goths and I wanted to share what actual goth is/was for our generation. This isn't me gatekeeping- this is me trying to share something I love with people who may not have been exposed to it or have misconceptions.
I'd start with what goth isn't (or wasn't)- it wasn't Marilyn Manson. I think this is the biggest misconception about goths. The first thing someone might say if I told them I was a goth in the 90s would be, "Oh like Marilyn Manson." Well yes and no. Goths listened to a lot of industrial music too, but that isn't goth music. Same with NIN, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, etc. I love those bands but they're not technically goth.
It's also not symphonic metal (Nightwish, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania, Within Temptation). Again, some goths might ALSO like those bands but that's it's own thing.
It's absolutely, positively NOT EMO. I can't stress this enough. The only thing goth has in common with emo is a flair for the dramatic. It's also not Evanescence. Wearing dark clothes and heavy eye makeup doesn't make you goth. Otherwise KISS and Stevie Nicks could be considered goth.
So what IS goth? It's a genre of music that came after the punk scene and originated with bands like Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, etc. A lot of these bands moved away from this original goth sound.
By the time our generation had taken up goth we were in the early to mid 90s we were in the 2nd and 3rd wave of goth. These were bands like Fields of the Nephilim, Rosetta Stone, London After Midnight, The Shroud, Switchblade Symphony, Diva Destruction, and a ton more. It was a big thriving scene that still continues.
So how many of you were goths in the 90s? What do you remember about the scene and what were you listening to? What clubs did you go to? I went to Numbers in Houston and The Atomic Cafe in Austin. I'd really like to hear from other people who were into this stuff at the time and still are. What are you listening to now? New bands I really like are Hante., Night Sins, Twin Tribes, She Past Away, Boy Harsher, Ritual Howls, and way more than I can list off here.

Hi again (potential) friends!!
I'm a full-time artist with a STEM degree that I never used...apart from that time it gave me a british accent. Funny that.
I'm super spiritual (not religious), in the sense that I like to think there is a reason for everything and there is joy to be found in most situations. Big into tarot, astrology, conspiracy theories and true crime.
PLEASE BE 29 OR OLDER! Also if you have pets and/or house-plants, we're besties already, I'm sorry. Big-time feminist, LGBT+ (i'm Pan) and pro-choice. Extra bonus if you come from/grew up in a different place than me cause that way we get to exchange fun stories. Also PLEASE be able to hold and carry conversation, I'm too old to do the heavy lifting for us both lol
I'm sadly not at all into anime and gaming, which seems to be the key common element with a lot of folks on here 😅 Also I'm not looking for anything romantic at this time!
Chat only, no messages. Please open with something about yourself and a picture, cause I likely won't respond unless I know you're an actual person haha
And finally, it me: https://imgur.com/a/DkyivDm