Day 1 A news report breaks in [REDACTED] New York about a man waking up the previous morning, and attempting to turn on his TV to watch the latest episode of his favourite show, only for his remote to crumble in his hand. Confused as to what was going on, the man would attempt to manually turn on his TV, only to accidentally pull a chunk of it off. It was at this moment, that the man would discover that his TV had been replaced with a hyper-realistic cake. The man would question his wife about where the TV went, and why there was a hyper-realistic cake in its place. However, his wife was just as confused as he was about the entire situation at hand. The man would attempt to report this to his local authorities, claiming his TV had been stolen and replaced with a hyper-realistic cake. Only to be laughed off as a prankster due to his ridiculous claim. Angry at this, he would take his story to the local news station hoping for justice to be served to whoever stole his TV. Once again, his claims were laughed off and published as a mere joke. The man would claim that there would be more cases of people’s items being replaced with hyper-realistic cakes going forward and that they would all regret ignoring his case.
Day 29 Police reports coming from all over [REDACTED] New York would reveal the man’s words to be correct. Starting after a young woman would attempt to open her purse, only for the zip to completely come off upon being pulled and quickly break apart, taking some of the modelling chocolate with it. Soon people would begin reporting all over the area that their items had been completely replaced with cake. Phones, laptops, bags, earrings, necklaces, rings and even stacks of cash were discovered to have been replaced with hyper-realistic cakes. Local authorities, having now clearly learned that this was no prank, are looking into the cases to try and track down these valuable items. However, one thing these cases all have in common (aside from the cakes being delicious) is the complete lack of evidence pointing to any suspects. No DNA evidence, no signs of forced entry, and no people in the area at the time. Nobody is even sure when these items were replaced with cakes. They all say they could've sworn they were real a second ago, only to suddenly be cake. Almost as if there was no thief and they had just suddenly turned into cake. Authorities are still on the hunt for a possible suspect in this case, even though the wider New York authorities laugh at them for humouring these absurd claims.
Day 47 The situation has escalated much further than anyone could've possibly anticipated. Now the reports of items being replaced with hyper-realistic cake have rapidly expanded to the rest of New York. Hundreds of people are reporting that their valuable items are being discovered to be hyper-realistic cakes. A man would take his phone out of his pocket to check if he'd received any important emails, only for his phone to crumble into pieces of cake in his hand. A woman would attempt to cash in a check of $100,000 to a bank, only for the modelling chocolate on the check to smash into several pieces when placed down on the counter. A couple would attempt to hurry their kids into the car, worrying they may be late for school. Only for the car to fall apart right in front of them, as the door is pulled off and falls to the ground. People are getting scared, they're worrying that at any moment, any of their prized possessions could end up being a hyper-realistic cake. Nobody is sure what is real and what is cake anymore, so they've taken to trying to cut anything they own, hoping to weed out the cake from the non-cake. Many have ended up accidentally destroying many of the things they own in the process of doing this. But those who still have their stuff have taken to putting stickers on them to ensure they know they're real. That was until an edible sticker was found to be on the back of a hyper-realistic cake emulating a mobile phone. Now, people’s only option is to place all their valued possessions into safes, covered in locks with an 87-number code that not even they know. The governor of New York has commented on the situation claiming that he's doing all he can to try and solve the hyper-realistic cake mystery, but he can only do so much to calm the fear and paranoia that has overcome New York.
Day 93 The situation has dramatically escalated even further somehow, as the hyper-realistic cake plague has now begun heavily affecting the nearby states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and even some parts of Canada. Reports are coming in from all over the USA and even some of Mexico and South America of people’s items suddenly being replaced with ominous (albeit, tasty) hyper-realistic cakes. The president is doing nothing to quell the fear of US citizens, claiming the whole situation is ridiculous and that everyone is a fool for buying into it. People are starting to riot in the streets believing the president is not doing enough to try and prevent the appearance of hyper-realistic cakes. Many other countries are beginning to consider closing off all travel to the USA out of fear, and some like Germany even going through with it. The safes people were using to hold their valuable items are no longer safe. Many have been discovered to have been replaced with hyper-realistic cakes, leading to even greater fear and paranoia among citizens. And the worst thing of all. The police officer who was in charge of the case in [REDACTED] New York was discovered by his wife the previous night to have been replaced with an identical hyperrealistic cake. There is no evidence of where he may have gone, and there is no evidence pointing to who might've taken him. He has seemingly disappeared without a trace.
Day 149 As fear was reaching its limits, a spark of hope managed to emerge. Tension has been rising as countries all over the world have been receiving reports of people disappearing, and being replaced with hyper-realistic cakes. Even including those that shut off travel to the USA. The president has continued to display pure apathy to the situation, claiming the whole thing to be a farce, until he discovered one morning his wife had been turned into a hyper-realistic cake. Outraged at this, he demanded the perpetrator be immediately found and caught. He banned the selling of any ingredients that could be used to make a hyper-realistic cake, including flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking powder, chocolate, honey, macaroni and cheese (he does not know how to make a cake, and decided it was better safe than sorry). But even then, hyper-realistic cakes continued to appear. Now even houses and everything in them were getting replaced with giant hyper-realistic cakes, twice the size of an average human being. The president was getting desperate now and was willing to do anything to catch the man responsible for this. So he had cameras set up on every street in every city in every state across the entire USA. And he had every cop working 24/7 on the sight of each camera making sure nothing was replaced with a hyper-realistic cake, and if they were to see hyper-realistic cake-related activities, they were to press a button, sounding the alarm. Yesterday, after weeks and weeks of nothing. An extremely tired officer managed to catch a woman attempting to replace a baby with a hyper-realistic cake. The woman, upon being caught, would quickly admit she was behind the hyper-realistic cake shenanigans. She was immediately brought to Washington DC where the president would proceed to scream and cry at her for hours before demanding she be placed in a holding cell so she could be questioned the following day. This was quickly announced by White House officials and the world began celebrating, praising the president as a hero who was able to end the hyper-realistic cake plague. The joyful people of the world are currently awaiting a word from the US president on who this mysterious woman is, what her motives are and where she’s keeping all these missing people.
Day 180 To the horror of everyone around the globe, the following morning, all hope was lost and all dreams were dashed. The woman taken captive last night was found to have been replaced with a hyper-realistic cake, just as everyone was. The president demanded a search for any evidence indicating how she could've escaped, but they were unable to find anything. Even the cameras meant to keep track of the woman had mysteriously failed to capture anything the previous night. This was the breaking point for the president, and as a result of this, he'd soon become wrapped up in an extremely insane conspiracy. He'd soon begin to believe the cake was a being that was more powerful than any of them, and that it needed to be eradicated at all costs. The presidents would proceed to declare Marshall law and cut off all transport to other countries. People, seeing exactly what was going to happen, attempted to escape the country by piloting the planes and boats themselves. Only to discover the planes and boats were all hyper-realistic cakes, that were unable to fly and would easily sink in water. The president would also declare that all cake is to be thoroughly burned, and anyone believed to be a cake is to be executed on sight, preferably by being cut with a blade. The president would have all secret service agents executed, claiming that they were conspiring with the cake and aided the woman in escaping custody. But even if this wasn't enough for the president, soon he’d begin believing that other countries were made of cake too and declared that any countries believed to be “cake countries” would be bombed off the map. Starting with Mexico, he sent wave after wave of bombs to the country until he was sure anyone inside was dead. He'd soon turn his attention to Germany, believing that it was also a “cake country” due to them previously closing off transportation from the USA there. Soon, Germany was no more, and the president would celebrate that he had destroyed another “cake country”. It seemed like to the president, that every country except the USA was a cake country, and no amount of bombing he did would change that. Everyone knew the sheer amount of bombs he was using was going to destroy the planet, but he didn't care. But just as quickly as this began, it ended. Yesterday, a large angry mob stormed the White House. The president would attempt to bomb the mob, only to discover the bomb launchpad had been replaced with cake. The mob quickly overpowered anyone left supporting the president with sheer numbers, and they swiftly beat the president to death in a manner too disturbing to even attempt to describe. Blood was everywhere, but they didn't care anymore, the dictator was dead.
Day 294 Shortly after the president's death, the USA descended into chaos. People were still being replaced with cake, and nobody had any way to contact people outside the USA, as every single phone was seemingly now a hyper-realistic cake. Many don't even believe there's anyone left out there, and that they were all killed by the president. People quickly began to believe the president was right, and that all the other countries were now just cake. But they took it one step further, they now began to ponder if the entire globe itself was just one giant cake. People began getting so scared of others being cake, that they would attempt to cut anyone they meet just to see if they were cake. There is no food left now besides hyper-realistic cakes, and many are so scared of them that they refuse to even go near them, let alone attempt to eat them. Many are dying from starvation, and those willing to eat the cakes are usually branded as “cake people” and killed on sight. There's still no sign of the people who went missing and were replaced with hyper-realistic cakes. Many believe they just vanished from reality itself or that they were taken by the cake. Some people have begun to worship the cake as a god and make sacrifices to it believing it'll bring their loved ones back. Reality is crumbling, society has fallen apart and it won’t be long until humanity is gone.
Day 334 Not even a year following the first-ever incident, the last human being on earth has died today. Alone, cold and afraid. There is nothing left. No trees, no grass, no water, no animals, no humans, nothing. The only thing that remains now is the hyper-realistic cakes. And that, is the story, of how I destroyed humanity with FUCKING CAKES! I guess in the end you could say… it was real.

I'm watching banshee chapter, which was literally recommended to me on here just a few minutes ago, so I thought I would ask Chachi BC what it's favorites are.
I'm going to watch all of these and report back:
Here are some obscure and low-budget found footage horror films that should provide a truly terrifying experience:

1. Found Footage 3D (2016)
   
   • A meta-horror film about a group of filmmakers who set out to make the first 3D found footage horror movie, only to find themselves in a real-life nightmare.
2. The Garlock Incident (2012)
   
   • A mockumentary following a group of actors who disappear while filming a movie in the California desert, with their footage revealing the terrifying events that led to their disappearance.
3. The Upper Footage (2013)
   
   • A controversial and gritty found footage film that presents itself as real recovered footage showing the aftermath of a drug-fueled night gone wrong.
4. The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan (2019)
   
   • A young journalist investigates an unsolved murder in a small town, uncovering more than she bargained for in the process.
5. Leaving D.C. (2012)
   
   • A psychological horror film presented as video journal entries from a man who moves to the countryside and starts experiencing inexplicable events.
6. The House with 100 Eyes (2013)
   
   • A twisted found footage film about a couple who film snuff movies, but their latest project doesn't go as planned.
7. The Triangle (2016)
   
   • A documentary team joins a commune in the Montana wilderness, only to find themselves trapped in a situation far more sinister than they anticipated.
8. 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck (2012)
   
   • A low-budget found footage horror film about a paranormal investigation team that encounters the spirit of a notorious serial killer.
9. They're Watching (2016)
   
   • A reality TV crew's visit to a foreign country to film a home renovation show turns into a nightmarish fight for survival.
10. Inner Demons (2014)
    
    • A documentary crew follows a young woman battling addiction, only to discover she might be possessed by a demonic entity.

These films are lesser-known and often fly under the radar but can deliver genuinely unsettling and terrifying experiences due to their raw and low-budget nature.

SHARING THIS. WINOOSKI RESIDENTS, PLEASE STEP-UP FOR THIS POOR PUP -- TW - ANIMAL ABUSE
Hey y'all,
To those peeps who've been following the dog abuse case in Winooski, Please email the mayor and city council! Luna, the abused dog, was getting beaten *again* outside of Chicks this afternoon on 5/21 per a witness.
Please email the mayor and city council utilizing the letter draft provided below!!
[klott@winooskivt.gov](mailto:klott@winooskivt.gov)
(Mayor)
[trenner@winooskivt.gov](mailto:trenner@winooskivt.gov)
(Deputy Mayor)
Council:
[cjudge@winooskivt.gov](mailto:cjudge@winooskivt.gov)
[ahurd@winooskivt.gov](mailto:ahurd@winooskivt.gov)
[boakleaf@winooskivt.gov](mailto:boakleaf@winooskivt.gov)
Reference statute "13 V.S.A. § 354" which states "the officer may seize the animal without a warrant" if an animal's life is in jeopardy. You can even just state your concern that this statute isn't being followed and multiple witnesses have seen this dog being beaten *again* as recently as 5/21. A few concerned community members are behind the scenes trying to get eyes on this dog and assist. I appreciate you. Let's flex some collective muscle to get some movement.
Script:
Hello, I'm expressing concern as a community member about the alleged dog abuse that occurred on 5/17 in Winooski, and is still intermittently occurring per witness reports, as recently as 5/21 outside Chick's Market. Statute "13 V.S.A. § 354" states "the officer may seize the animal without a warrant" if an animal's life is in jeopardy.(https://legislature.vermont.gov/.../section/13/008/00354....)I'm writing on behalf of this dog, who does not have a voice, so we can move this case forward. Another day living with beatings is a day too long. Thank you, -Name

I just read a post about how Eunchae should be protected more, and I could not agree more in that the vitriol towards her has gotten way out of hand.
In that post, I noticed that people kinda brushed passed the controversy of her teasing high school students as a non-issue (which, don't get me wrong, it definitely is), but I'd like to provide some cultural context because it was this specific moment that garnered the most hate for her among Korean kpop stans. Coachella doesn't even come close.
I want to explain why her comments generated so much outrage, and in particular, how her words were taken out of context and purposely made to sound so much worse.
The Situation (and the context)
On a 3/17 Weverse ~11min, Eunchae made a bit of a joke where poked fun at students having to get up early, saying that "That must be hard~ I had to do that too at one point too~~" and the conversation then continues onward with the other members about how difficult it was to get up that early during their student days.
This was combined with another live on 9/07 ~27min (though the context starts a few minutes prior) with Kkura. In it, the two of the discuss conversations with their non-celebrity friends. Boomer Kkura tends to just talk or text, which surprises Eunchae, since she almost always prefers to facetime instead (don't worry Kkura, same). Kkura mentions that the first thing she asks her friends are, "you haven't gotten married yet right?" whereas Eunchae says that her friends have been recently talking about becoming high school seniors. That topic closes with Eunchae talking about a recent conversation she had video call she had with her close friend, who complained that she had to get up early, upon which Eunchae teased her and says, "I start at 11 tomorrow! Hella lucky~"
Maybe a bit of a crass joke in the first clip, but nothing too major, right?
The Attack (and the twisting of facts)
This is where the usual suspects come in: Twitter.
Disclaimer: I'm going to be completely honest here. I don't follow Pann or FMKorea or all the other niche online communities except since the HYBE/MHJ situatio, but while researching this topic, I searched Eunchae's name on both sites to see how the situation unfolded (I can't really search theqoo very well because that site has the worst user-friendliness I've ever seen).
The situation blew up on March 15th (as far back as I can find), with this Twitter post blowing up and a Pann post (now deleted, restored w/ Wayback).
(Note, regarding the deleted Pann post, it was referenced in this YouTube video by one of those trash drama Youtubers and had 150k+ views at the time of their video)
There were also some pretty weird posts on Pann around this time, nitpicking her response in an EASY interview to say she thinks LSF was successful and spreading twitter posts of private documents to prove that she didn't get accepted to Hanlim (I will not be sharing this one.) Many comments at that point on Pann are still quite sympathetic to Eunchae, with the top comments defending her and telling the twitter bitches to go away (although the doxxing post still got 600+ upvotes and 300k+ views)
After this though, the narrative began to change, combining the clips above and turning it from Eunchae teasing students, to Eunchae teasing High School Seniors. And things began to take a huge shift.
After this began to spread, March 23rd, comments started to become more negative (example posts on March 17th and March 23rd).
Alright, I can hear you saying, students, high school students, so what?
Korean Seniors and the Suneung
If you're at all familiar with Korean culture, you know where I'm going with this.
The Suneung is the Korean equivalent of the American SAT, except it is so much more than that. If I had to explain it, the Suneung is your entire life. Imagine your college application, except screw your class grades, your extracurriculars, your letters of rec, your essay. The only thing that really matters is your SAT score.
It is a huge deal. The entire nation BBC article falls silent on the day of the Suneung. Stores close, construction stops, traffic is redirected, the stock market opens late. On the day of the Suneung, there are no flights.
It happens 1 time a year. Just once. If you miss it or get a bad grade, you repeat a year just to get a chance to retake it.
And high school seniors carry all of that stress. They are studying for a test that is the culmination of their entire education and determines their entire future. There are many, many stories of students falling into deep depression, even after doing well on the Suneung, because studying for that test consumed them to the point that they don't know what to do after it's over. These students study in excess of 15 hours a day, from 7am to 10pm.
You do not touch high school seniors, ever. There is a saying that even parents tiptoe around their kids once the test date nears.
Also, keep in mind that the primary demographic for kpop are young adults. People that are in school, preparing for this test that they will eventually have to overcome. Some of those people might be repeating a year (or two or three or four) while studying for that test.
And so, when the narrative shifted from Eunchae teasing a close friend about having to get up early to Eunchae making fun of High School Seniors for having to get up early, things turned ugly quick.
And then Coachella happened. And then MHJ opened her big mouth. And you guys know the rest.
So that's my little story. I hope this provided some insight as to why it seems like the hate for Eunchae seemed so particularly loud on the Korean side, and how she suddenly switched from nearly universally loved to the opposite.
In conclusion, fuck Twitter yo.
P.S. Is this post worth posting on the kpopthoughts subreddit? I'm split because it provides context, but also this has kinda flown by international eyes and I don't really want to accidentally add fuel to the flame. LSF and Eunchae have it hard enough as it is.
P.P.S. Sorry mods, I noticed the other post was removed. If this post breaks the rules, feel free to remove and I'll repost it in the weekly thread or something.

True Name: Sakamoto Ryouma
Class: Lancer
Source: Historical fact
Region: Japan
Gender: Male
Alignment: True Neutral
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Character Creator: Keikenchi
Character Design: pako
Character Voice: Kase Yasuyuki & Horie Yui
Appearance in Main Works: Fate/Grand Order

Strength: B	Endurance: C	Agility: B+
Magic: C	Luck: A-	Noble Phantasm: EX

Class Skills

Magic Resistance: C+
When Super Oryou gets serious, Oryou's hide prove quite the magical barrier, Ryouma!
Riding: EX
A special Riding Skill given to Ryouma for crossing the Bakumatsu period Japan riding the dragon that is the changing eras. It's a Skill exclusive for riding Oryou, existing separately from other Riding variants.

Personal Skills

Dragon of the Restoration: A
The man called a mystical dragon in a human body. His fleeting life briming of pride, crossing the Bakumatsu period Japan riding the dragon that is the changing eras solely for the sake of the people, was like a soaring dragon.
White Serpent of Takachiho: A-
The serpent who failed to become a dragon. The serpent, initially a black abomination held in contempt, aimed for the heavens in attempt to become a dragon, but ultimately, the serpent couldn't manage it.
Amanosakahoko (Pair): B
The pike of light fallen handle-first from heaven. The spear of the heavenly gods, which sewn together heaven and earth to seal the black abomination. Originally a single polearm, but taking the form of pair when weilded by the hero and the serpent.
The pike of light fallen handle-first from heaven is both a blessing and a curse.

Noble Phantasm

Ryuu yo, Wadatsumi no Hara wo Yuke (My dear, venture through the vast oceans)

Rank: EX	Type: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
Range: 2-70	Max. Targets: 700 persons

By offering the Amanosakahoko that Ryouma pointed at the heavens, the black serpent sheds her skin and grows wings, becoming a white serpent of such beauty that she could be mistaken for a divine dragon.
Clad in radiant-white arcanity from the Age of Gods, the White Serpent of Takachiho exerts tremendous power. This form possesses physical abilities beyond comprehension and can deploy a sturdy physical barrier, preventing any mediocre attack from hurting her, potentially making her the god of the new era.
Instead of becoming a dragon and soaring the skies, she chose to be the serpent travelling the sea with the hero.
Pronouns (Ryouma)

• First person: Boku/washi (in Tosa Dialect Mode)
• Second person: Kimi/oman (in Tosa Dialect Mode)
• Third person: Kare/kanojo
• Master: Master

Pronouns (Oryou-san)

• First person: Oryou-san
• Second person: Omae/name without honorifics
• Third person: Koitsu/are
• Master: Ningen/omae

Personality

Pretty much the same as a Rider. Oryou hasn't changed either.

Motives and attitude toward the Master

He wishes for his relationship with his Master to be like that between two friends from the same town. Oryou is relatively fond of them and doesn't mind helping out every now and then.

Dialogue examples

• Ryouma: "Let's get washing them all away, then." Oryou: "I'll scrub them hard."
• Oryou: "Yaaay. Oryou-san turbo peace."
• Ryouma: "Oh? Time for the Kaientai to go all out?" Oryou: "Right... Ryuu yo, Wadatsumi no Hara wo Yuke"
• Oryou: "Done. Time for Oryou's victory peace. You do it too, Ryouma." Ryouma: "L-like this?" Ryouma & Oryou: "Yaaay!"
• Oryou: "I am the White Serpent of Takachiho. For thy offerings, some frogs would be welcomed." Ryouma: "Hahaha, you can't keep a solemn face either, Oryou."
• Oryou: "Fine, I can let Izou ride the tip of my tail." Ryouma: "Make sure not to drop him."
• Oryou: "Now that you're a Lancer with no divinity, we can kick that Archer's butt. Good job, Ryouma. We're having frogs for dinner tonight." Ryouma: "I wish it were that easy."

Historical character and figure

A loyalist living through Japan's Bakumatsu. Born from a country samurai family in Tosa, he deserted his fief, studied under Katsu Kaishu, founded the Kameyama Shachuu (which would later become the Kaientai), intermediated the Satsuma-Choushuu Alliance, and devoted himself to the restoration of imperial rule, overall contributing a lot to the Meiji Restoration. However, his ideals fell to assailant's blade, thus he never got to see the age of Meiji.

Character in Fate/Grand Order

An aloof man on his mid-20s appearance-wise. He may be a master of the Hokushin Ittouryuu, but he’s actually a kindhearted guy who dislikes conflict to his very core. Instead, the mysterious belle by his side will take the lead.
His default Class is Rider, but circumstances lead to this manifestation of him as a Lancer.
This form, in possessing of the Amanosakahoko and one of the Three Knight Classes of the Holy Grail War, is a what-if possibility that Sakamoto Ryouma could have attained, and a Servant powerful enough to uphold the reputation of Hero of the Restoration.
If Sakamoto Ryouma is summoned as Heroic Spirit, he's restricted to only getting either the polearm or the serpent as a Noble Phantasm. That goes to show how much of miracle it is that he is capable of using both.
He is a master of the Hokushin Ittouryuu and his swordsmanship is a force to be reckoned with, but the course he practiced was for the naginata, so the Lancer class is where he can best put his prowess to work. In addition, Super Oryou is bursting with power. Together, they're an invincible Kaientai.

Regular weapons

• Ryouma: Amanosakahoko (because he snapped it in two, he has the ability to split it into two spears). Super Ryouma Gun (can switch into Sniper Mode). "And dontcha forget mah Mutsu-no-Kami Yoshiyuki¹".
• Oryou: Hyper Power-Up Oryou Martial Arts and easily spammable beams of something unknown.

Related characters

Okada Izou
His best friend in their town. He wanted to stay best friends but their relationship never recovered from their split. After an incident where he got punched, they managed to return to their nostalgic ways.
Takechi Hanpeita
Former fellows who split off due to ideological differences. Takechi holds Ryouma in such regard that he believes Ryouma's presence would have spared the Tosa Imperialist Party from its failures. After an incident where they got punched, they managed to return to their previous ways.
Tanaka Shinbei
Takechi's right-hand man. In life, Shinbei kept Ryouma away from Takechi. He was probably annoyed at the faith Takechi had in Ryouma.
Nakaoka Shintarou
"It wounds me to disagree with Nakaoka in a discussion. Nonetheless, if I can't discuss with him, there is no one else worth discussing with."²
While Ryouma was frequently suspected, he was trusted by everyone. He and Ryouma compensated for what the other lacked.
Takasugi Shinsaku
They share mutual respect, with Ryouma acknowledging Takasugi as The Unicorn Prodigy and Takasugi acknowledging Ryouma as the Dragon Soaring the Skies. They also envy each other, believing one has what the other lacks.
Voyager
Ryouma can't hide his excitement about a rocket that can fly to space. Oryou gets competitive and begins an irregular training regime to fly to space.

Comments from the illustrator

Have a nice triiiiiiiip!!! Feels great to see those two having fun. I can hope they don't break any property or any debt-ridden alcoholic anywhere they go, but I know that's not a realistic expectation. (pako)

Translation notes

1) Sakamoto Ryouma's favorite katana. The same he uses in his Rider version.
2) Historical from the real Sakamoto Ryouma.

Rule 509-3-.02 Basic Training Curriculum for Security Officers Effective January 1, 2022 a minimum of 24 hours of classroom instruction is required for all private security agency licensees and private security employees consisting of instruction in the following topics:
(1) Role of Private Security (a) Crime Awareness and Prevention (b) Private Security and the Criminal Justice System (c) Ethics and Professionalism (2) Legal Aspects (a) Principal Misdemeanors and Felonies (b) Overview of Title 43-38 as it relates to the Security Profession (c) Overview of Board Rules 509 et al (d) Arrest and Proper Use of Force (e) Liability (f) Courtroom testimony (3) Patrol and Observation (a) Patrol techniques (including but not limited to Koper Curve and directed patrol) (b) Information gathering (c) Crimes in progress (d) Officer Safety (e) Note taking and Report Writing (4) Incident Response (a) Responding to Emergencies (b) Crowd control and evacuation (c) Fire control and Prevention (d) Hazardous Materials (e) Bomb Threats and Terrorism (f) Response to an Active Assailant (g) Mental Health Awareness (5) Security Resources (a) CCTV Operation and Video Documentation (b) Alarm systems (c) Access Control (d) Electronic Article Surveillance (e) Working with Law Enforcement (6) Customer Service Issues (a) Public relations (b) Interpersonal Communications (7) First Aid Overview

So it’s been a few years since this happened. I won’t say this was my first time ever dealing with a crazy boomer, nor was it my first time dealing with a racist.
But it was by far the most direct and unsolicited example of racism that I have ever experienced.
So it was 2020. I had just quit my previous job a week prior due to demanding to much for the pay.
So I found myself in need of another job.
Started filling out apps hours at a time.
Found a local guy who needed a window washer of his all business.
Simple job, simple hours.
5:30am till $12:30pm, clean a maximum of 25 windows each per location, about 3-6 locations a day. And it payed a steady wage that was an improvement for me at the time.
The guy was overall very nice, very friendly, basically came off as much of a Non-boomer as a baby boomer can be without loosing the label entirely.
Or So it Seemed…..
Day 1: arrive to his house at 5:30, lets me in his house and says I can take a seat until he’s ready to go.
The first 🚩 reveals itself.
What is it you might ask is gonna drive a boomer to pay me to sit on my ass in his house? For what ended up by 30 minutes?
Fox & Friends
Had no idea what the show was at first, but quickly figured out knowing Fox News in a. General sense at the time.
On the way to the first stop, I think to myself “do I really wanna work for this guy? This guy? I guess it is just a tv show(how naive in hindsight). Would I be a bitch for quoting over a tv show?”
I push past these thoughts and just try to get to work.
He shows me how to clean the windows. I go about my day listening to music via my earphones, the rest of the day goes on without incident.
Day 2: arrive at his house again at 5:30, yet another showing of Fox & Friends.
This time I knew what they were discussing, and knew it was bullshit. I had read up on the topic previously for other reasons.
I use this opportunity to probe the boomer for his reactions.
He gives the exact type of response you’d think, but nothing too batshit. Stating annoying and selfish, but not overtly bigoted.
Next we go to our first 2 stops, get done pretty quick.
My earphones died on me. So no more music for the rest of the day. Gotta actually “enjoy” the presence with the boomer.
The second 🚩 Reveals itself.
That’s when out of nowhere he exclaims “oh we gotta change the channel” and changes the radio station quite rapidly.
I do not remember the channel nor the program. But they said directly “and we’re back with Fox News “——“. I’ll admit I was annoyed at this point with my music dead, it getting hot out, and didn’t wanna hear more droning on from Fox News. Sue me.
The day goes on from there. My annoyance begins spinning my head in circles.
I should just quit! It’s only been 2 days?
But this guy sucks! But don’t all bosses Suck?
I’m gonna hate it here if I stay! you’ll look like a bitch if you quit early!
On and on, back and forth. For hours.
It’s now 12:30pm, we are wrapping up our last stop. So old rich ladies gigantic England like era house. Way too many windows, each with the grids so it’s like dozens of tiny separate windows.
Literally I’m still questioning myself the very moment the third 🚩 Shows itself.
We both walk over to his truck with the supplies. Load everything up.
I am now standing across the trucks cab from the boomer. Both doors open, just prior to actually getting in the truck.
There are 3 young boys riding bikes through the neighborhood. 1 Black, 1 White, 1 IDK Mix.
They pass right by us.
The White kid was the one of the 3 boys playing music from a Bluetooth speaker in the basket of his bike.
It was some brand of Rap music. Idk not really my genre. But it wasn’t egregious or swearing.
The boomer Looks backward over his shoulder, then back at me as the boys pass.
“Why you gotta play that kinda of shit kid…….What Color are you???? did you Forget……”
To say I was Blown away by those words in That order. Would be a Frighteningly gross understatement.
So I glossed over the moment entirely, realizing I had no idea were in Wisconsin I was exactly and he was my ride home.
That was far more than I had ever asked for, but it was a definite “Fuck this Shit, I’m Fucking Out!”
So the moment we got back to his house, and my car was within reach.
I grabbed my stuff, and headed towards it.
He said “well that was a mostly good day, I’ll see you tomorrow”
I defaulted to polite Worker training to exit the situation. Thinking I wouldn’t be payed if I made a scene. So merely replied with “actually I don’t believe this job is for me, so I think I’m done”
Nothing else of not happened from there. I know this might not be the most thrilling story, but It was still pretty crazy to say I’ve lived through a crazy boomer story. And figured I’d share, people seem to mildly enjoy the story in real life when I tell it. I did my best to type this in a way to make it slightly more entertaining read, so I hope that came off well.

I was going to post this in Japan. But it's not allowed. So I thought of presenting this here to get more direct answers:
I was looking for news related to the Japanese monarchy. I stumbled into an English site dedicated to news from Japan:
90% in Japan support idea of reigning empress: survey
Here are the 3 comments under this article that stood out to me:

1. "What's the point when the Emperor or Empress has no power nor Empire?" (12 likes/9 dislikes)
2. "I support the idea of disbanding the entire imperial system, along with all systems of royalty across the world." [...] (15 likes/ 13 dislikes)
3. "The 90 percent that don't count, like so many other decisions in Japanese political, socioeconomic scene." (13 likes/14 dislikes)

I believe the article was deleted because it was littered with negative comments. I'm not sure if they are Japanese because they used English profile names and they commented in English. The article is very recent so it seemed unusual to delete it for housekeeping. Also, Japan Today is a Tokyo-based online newspaper. So this must be the Chrysanthemum Taboo phenomenon.
According to Wikipedia: "The chrysanthemum taboo is the Japanese social taboo against discussion or criticism of the Emperor of Japan and his family, especially Emperor Hirohito/Showa (1901–1989)."
This made me think: Do ordinary Japanese avoid discussions of the Imperial Family?
I went to a random Japanese news site to look for an article on the same topic:
90% of people are in favor of a female emperor! The momentum for the realization of "Emperor Aiko" is growing within the Kishida administration, causing concern for "Princess Kiko's feelings"
I translated the Top 3 comments under this article:

1. "If the Kishida Cabinet were to steer the ship while ignoring the will of 90% of the people, wouldn't that be a failure of democracy? Furthermore, I feel that Princess Kiko's feelings are irrelevant, and that she should instead be considerate of the Imperial Family." (45,000 I empathize/I see 383/Hmm 2767)
2. "The world is moving towards a new era. I don't see the need to be obsessed with male lineage. Above all, it's wrong to put pressure on women for something they cannot control, such as having to give birth to a boy. Now that we don't know what will happen in the future with the coronavirus, war, earthquakes, etc., seeing Aiko's Mary-like smile is very reassuring and healing. I sincerely hope that Aiko will become the Emperor." (11,000 I empathize/I see 36/Hmm 524)
3. "I think Aiko is a good choice. The Emperor and Masako were educated, so I think they will be able to be close to the people. It's the Reiwa era, so I want them to stop treating women as superior to men. Looking at Mako, Kako, and Hisahito, Aiko, who grew up in the Imperial family, is the best!" (32,000 I empathize/I see 103/Hmm 1324)

It seems like people are not only talking about the Imperial Family, they also openly talk about members they like and don't like.
But this does not extend to Japanese pop culture. They barely mention the Emperor of Japan or his family. Most of it was indirect. Known examples:

1. In the anime Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There! (2015) - The Emperor was hinted to allow the evacuation of civilians to the Imperial Palace.
2. In Sword Art Online (2012) - Kirito and Asuna were talking about the Imperial Palace's digital services being separate from the rest of the internet.

Weirdly, I can identify specific three older Japanese animation movies where the Emperor was directly mentioned:

1. In Hayao Miyazaki's Grave of the Fireflies (1998): A soldier committing seppuku cried out "Tenno Heika Banzai!" (Long live the Emperor!).
2. Memories (1995) - In the second part of the anthology, "Stink Bomb" mentions the Emperor refusing to leave Tokyo despite the mass evacuation of citizens.
3. A late 90s/early 2000s anime about the romance between then-Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako. I forgot the name.

In criticism of the monarchy, I know an Australian journalist wrote a book detailing the difficulties Empress Masako experienced when she was Crown Princess. Japan managed to control its release in their country, with the help of nationalists who harassed publication houses, but they failed to control/persuade the author. It helps that he is a foreigner.
A political breach of taboo could be the end of a person's public service. In Post-war Japan history, I read about ministerial resignations caused by leaking Emperor Hirohito's opinions on sensitive issues, usually related to foreign and military affairs.
After the 3/11 tsunami, Diet member Taro Yamamoto gave a letter to Emperor Akihito about the plights of the victims. Politicians demanded his resignation. He likely heard some things from crazy nationalists. But today, he is still a Diet member.
So the Japanese people do talk about the monarchy. The extent of their opinions on the Japanese monarchy is mostly limited to news and gossip and written in Japanese so foreigners do not immediately notice the discourse around them. Anything more than that, like publishing critical deep-dives on the monarchy, references in fiction, and fictional portrayal, is rarely done and prone to attacks from nationalists. But breaking the taboo isn't as serious as it was during the Showa period. What do you think?

I hope our His Majesty or the higher authority can investigate this matter seriously about all my submissions and the facts that I stated here, to prevent the same problem from occurring again, & also to prevent more victims like me from being treated unfairly by the judicial system in Brunei.
The purpose of writing this article is to awaken & raise awareness about the judicial system in Brunei. And I think people have the right to know the facts & inappropriate judicial system in Brunei. My case number is HCCS 136 of 2009 & Appeal no. COACV/4/2023. I hope people can read through the judgment, & I hope the court will not remove the judgment from their website following the publication of this article.
After the partial profits of $195,300.00 paid to me by the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs & I entered into a Deed of Settlement Agreement to resolve all our disputes. A few months after signing the Deed of Settlement Agreement, the plaintiffs filed the proceeding against me, they also made up 2 major evidence a fraudulent payment voucher of $195,300.00 & a confirmation letter, accusing me of owing $195,300.00. However, the Court didn’t rely on our Deed of Settlement Agreement in this suit. Then, what does the law rely on if the Deed of Settlement Agreement is rejected in Brunei?
I stated in my pleadings & substantiated it with a laboratory report issued by the Ministry of Health Brunei, that the plaintiffs forged my signature on 24 copies of Standard Chartered Bank transaction forms to transfer $352,456.68 from our joint name account to their personal account. However, the court made no mention of this key fact in the judgment. Can the court cove conceal the pleadings & the facts that were submitted by the party in the judgment in Brunei?
As stated in the judgment, the court admitted & regretted that the court is unable to provide the hearing audio recording as the court did not arrange the audio recorder & a transcriber for our hearing ( 1 week of hearing), as a result, the correction of the inaccurate hearing transcription (notes of proceeding) provided by the court is therefore impossible. Thus, I applied for a retrial, but I was forced by the court of appeal to proceed with the appeal. Isn’t the hearing audio recording & accurate hearing transcription (notes of proceedings) are significant/ important evidence when it comes to appeal in Brunei?
In the judgment, the court of appeal rejected all 2 major evidence the fraudulent payment voucher & the confirmation letter submitted by the plaintiffs as the plaintiffs failed to comply with the Court Order to surrender the original Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 to the Ministry of Health Brunei for forensic examination (the plaintiffs told the court that they had lost the original Payment Voucher of $195,300.00), the court also rejected the Deed of Settlement Agreement & evidence submitted by me. Nevertheless, the court deemed the $195,300.00 as a loan to me without specifying any reason/ ground in the judgment. Isn’t it the judge’s obligation to specify the reason/ ground of their decision when it comes to judgment? Can the judge make a decision without giving any reason/ ground for the judgment in Brunei?
One of my counterclaims that I clearly stated in my pleadings against the plaintiffs, is that the plaintiffs will surrender all business accounts that they hid from me, & pay the balance of my profits from 2006 onwards as clearly stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 6. However, the court made no mention of this specific counterclaim in the judgment. Does the court have the right to simply waive/ delete/ conceal the counterclaim that was submitted by the party in the judgment in Brunei?
I am the defendant in the news that was published by the Borneo Bulletin on 28^th Dec 2023. The most crucial sentence of the article stated that “Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong, sitting with Justice Michael Lunn and Sir Peter Gross, rejected Tan’s appeal, addressing issues regarding inaccurate notes of proceedings, reliance on the Deed of Settlement, credibility concerns, and the absence of forensic evidence for a payment voucher”. Apparently, this news was published a few months ago, but, the higher authority did not take any action to rectify the problems.
This is a business dispute between the 2 plaintiffs (my business partners) and me. The 2 plaintiffs, Foo & Lai had hidden the business accounts from me & refused to pay my profits of around a few hundred thousand since 2006 onwards, as a result, we had frequent quarrels, & our partnership turned sour. Sometime in December 2008, I again quarrelled with the plaintiffs over the profits they owned me, the plaintiffs didn’t have a choice but to pay my partial profit amounting to $195,300.00 subsequently, we entered into a Deed of Settlement Agreement in April 2009 prepared by our lawyer to resolve all our disputes & my resignation from the company. All agreed terms had been clearly stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement. Therefore, the court should rely on our Deed of Settlement Agreement in this suit.
In our Deed of Settlement Agreement, the partial payment of $195,300.00 was not mentioned it was a loan to me, on the contrary, the amount of $195,300.00 will be reinvested equally by 3 of us, which is $65,100 per person, to furnish the balance commitments/ outstanding bills of the company upon my resignation from the company, which is clearly stated in Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 4a, and the plaintiffs have to pay me the balance of the profits that they hid from me from 2006 onwards after the auditor finalizes the business account as clearly stated in Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 6. After we entered the Deed of Settlement Agreement, I complied with the term Clause 4a, I reinvested $20,000 from the part of the $65,100 & I asked the plaintiffs to surrender all business accounts to the auditor as agreed in Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 6, so that they could pay the balance of my profits. The plaintiffs then told me they had lost all business accounts, apparently, the plaintiffs do not want to surrender all the business accounts & pay me the balance of my profits. A few months later, the plaintiffs forged my signature on a fraudulent payment voucher of $195,300.00 & a confirmation letter, filed a proceeding against me & accused me of owing them $195,300.00
The plaintiffs’ case/ allegation is, they claimed that the $195,300.00 is a loan to me, and the $20,000.00 that I reinvested is a part payment of the loan, and thus I owe them $175,300.00. The plaintiffs submitted their 2 major evidence in this suit, a fraudulent payment voucher of $195,300.00 & a confirmation letter. I told the court that the plaintiffs forged my signature on the alleged payment voucher of $195,300.00 & the confirmation letter, subsequently, the Court Order was issued, ordering the plaintiffs to surrender the original Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 to the Ministry of Health Brunei for forensic examination, the plaintiffs then told the court that they had lost the original Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 & therefore failed to comply with the Court Order. Despite the court of appeal rejected the 2 major evidence the fraudulent payment voucher of $195,300.00 & the confirmation letter that the plaintiffs submitted, the court of appeal also found no evidence showed in the Deed of Settlement Agreement that the $195,300.00 was a loan to me, BUT, the court of appeal deemed the $195,300.00 to be a loan to me without giving any reason/ ground in the judgment.
My case to the court of appeal is,
1. As the trial judge, Judge Faisal didn’t arrange for an audio recording & a transcriber during our hearing (1 week of hearing), and he also provided an inaccurate hearing transcription (notes of proceeding) to us, as a result, the correction of the inaccurate hearing transcription ( notes of proceeding) is therefore impossible. This is clearly a BIG mistake made by the court. I told the court of appeal that only the hearing audio recording can prove lots of lies made by the plaintiffs & all the answers gave by both parties during the 1 week of hearing. Since the court is not able to provide the hearing audio recording, accurate hearing transcription & other grounds substantiated, I applied for a retrial. However, my application was rejected, & I was forced to proceed with the appeal by the court of appeal regardless of the absence of the important evidence the hearing audio recording & accurate hearing transcription.

1. The $195,300.00 was not a loan, & it was not stated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement. I told the court of appeal that the plaintiffs would have stated this in our Deed of Settlement Agreement if the $195,300.00 was a loan to me. In fact, the $195,300.00 was a partial payment paid to me, & the balance shall be paid to me after the plaintiffs surrenders all the business accounts to the auditor as stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 6. Moreover, if the fraudulent Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 that the plaintiffs submitted (their major evidence) was duly signed by me, the plaintiffs would not have told the court that they had lost the Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 when the Court Order ordered them to surrender the original Payment Voucher of $195,300.00 to forensic examination.
   
2. I substantiated with the laboratory report issued by the Ministry of Health Brunei that the plaintiffs forged my signature on the 24 copies of the Standard Chartered Bank transaction forms to transfer $352,456.68 from our joint name account to their personal accounts. I have filed this proceedings against the Standard Chartered Bank & the plaintiffs Foo & Lai, which the case HCCS 78 of 2012 is currently handling by the judge, Judge Soefri, & police case Ref. BKS/C116/2011 Is currently handling by Commercial Crime Investigation of Royal Brunei Police since 2011 ( it’s been 13 years). It is clearly submitted in my pleadings. However, the court simply waived & made no mention this specific critical point in the judgment. The court covered up/ concealed the facts in the judgment.
   

4. My counterclaim against the plaintiffs is, a payment of the dump truck, the plaintiffs failed to submit the evidence, whereas I submitted a solid evidence, the clearance letter & payment history issued by Baiduri Finance which was clearly stated that I fully paid for the said dump truck, and the said dump truck is clearly stated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 4d. However, the court rejected my evidence which was issued by Baiduri Finance & ignored the term stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 4d.
5. My other counterclaim is also, a Toyota Land Cruiser. It is clearly stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 5 that, the said Toyota Land Cruiser belongs to me, & thus the plaintiffs shall pay the proceeds to me after they sold the vehicle. But the court rejected & ignored the Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 5 & evidence.
6. My other counterclaim is, the plaintiffs will surrender all business accounts that they hid from me & pay the balance of my profits from 2006 onwards as clearly stipulated in our Deed of Settlement Agreement Clause 6. But the court simply waived & made no mention this specific counterclaim in the judgment.
I have written several letters to alert the court about all the legal points as mentioned above, BUT, I was ignored by the court.
Lastly, I do not know what would happen to me after the publication of this article, one thing is for sure, at least one man must have the courage to step out & tell the facts about flaws/ deficiencies in our judicial system in Brunei, make things change & improve, in order to prevent more victims suffering from the false judicial system & injustice. I am confident that our His Majesty, as a kind & fair Sultan, would investigate this case thoroughly & make rakyat feel safe again with the judicial system in Brunei.

First Previous Wiki
Penny gazed at the quartet of Elders. They were all wearing the merchandise she remembered from the last Judgment, which was exceedingly awkward. Mainly because they were wearing shirts with her face on them. But it was also oddly endearing, in a way. Until now, she hadn't seen too many Elders that were on her side.
Elders that weren't just Kashaunta or the familiar faces she already knew, like Spentha or Rho and Sai, actually showing appreciation of her, felt odd. Even if these ones went a little too far in it.
"You're even more beautiful in person, Liberator," one said.
"Uh, thanks. I appreciate that. I'm glad that you all like me. Rho and Sai told me that you all are interested in something I can give you?"
"Yeah. Maybe a short interview? We won't be like that airhead reporter. We'll ask the good questions."
"Yep, we will."
"Right then," Penny said. "Well, I'm glad to meet you."
"Thank you. Now that we're here, we'd like to know how you plan on taking care of the gang leaders."
"Well, presumably by imprisoning them. I don't think they deserve to die, even if others do. I'll leave that decision up to Justicar and his various judges in the criminal system."
Penny didn't like having to lie blatantly. She wanted to kill the slavers quite brutally, but doing that was a bad idea right now. Saying it also was a bad idea, for a similar reason. And Justicar's system was worryingly preferential to Elders, from what she'd looked up after the meeting with Pundacrawla.
"Aren't you worried that the Judges won't give proper justice?"
"I trust Justicar to do everything that is necessary."
Another lie. Justicar would do whatever he could to maintain his image. Hopefully, that wouldn't be at the cost of the Alliance's very existence.
"Got it. By the way, what's it like being human? Walking on only two legs. It seems kind of unstable. Do you fall a lot?"
A genuine curiosity from them was another breath of fresh air. It was the kind of question a quadruped would definitely ask, which put her more at ease about the nature of what they were trying to do. Even more than their evident support of her, with all the merch they were wearing. Penny felt a smile crack at the corners of her lips, unbidden.
"Not really. We can use our arms to steady ourselves pretty well. Obviously it's not as easy to balance on our two legs as it is with your four, but it's still good enough. In fact, the sprinters in the Olympics use all four limbs, since running as fast as possible also requires pumping our arms. As for what it's like to be human, it's hard to describe. For many of us, it will feel colder or warmer than Sprilnav would feel in the same temperatures, due to thinner skin. Our eyesight is more frontal than yours, given our lack of snouts, so our blindspots are a lot bigger. Our feet require shoes for rough ground, and we heal slower than you by around 20%. We can't really clack our jaws to the scale that you can, though we can make them meet."
Penny bared her teeth, showing as she opened and closed her mouth. It was nice to be able to talk about things like this.
"The Olympics?" one of them asked.
"It's a competition about athletics," Penny said. "Running, jumping, throwing, diving, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, and a lot of sports. There's specific divisions, too. Like how there's a 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, and even an 800 meter dash for those with high levels of psychic energy. Though really, psychic energy and genetic editing have been messing with the events for a while now. And there's a Winter, Summer, and Space Olympics, each with different sorts of events. They move from city to city, though the Space Olympics are pretty much always on either Luna, Ceres, or Mercury. There's a lot more information out there on various events, but it's an old cultural practice revered by the entire species. Even more so since Phoebe's increased the prize pools for everyone."
"How does your species handle space in general? I know that you guys did things way differently before First Contact."
"We did. Mining companies kept tight control on all asteroid mining, while nations controlled planets like Earth and Mars and large planetary bodies like Luna. Supposedly, a few people planned for a cloud city on Venus, but we couldn't risk having such a vulnerable population because they'd have to rely on giant balloons to survive. That would probably be the least secure way to live, given the existence of rogue organizations and all that.
As for spaceships, most of them since we really colonized Luna come equipped with spacesuit bays, zero gravity water and food packs, oxygen tanks, emergency seats, specialized anti-micrometeorite hulls, and radiation shielding. A lot of the older military ships also were equipped with big radiators until World War Three, when it all became masses of drone warfare, with the big ships kept mainly for cargo and lanes where mass drone control was impossible.
Once the Vinarii came and we got shields, we started building big again. After all, it provided a huge number of jobs, and in the post-war economies, especially with VIs in place, a lot of people needed work. But we still go and do asteroid and moon mining, star lifting, and energy gathering. We built an orbital ring around Mercury, the closest planet to Sol, to help with all of that. It doubles as a production hub, too. Now, it's all in more systems and with a lot more friends."
"Speaking of aliens, what theory does your people have on why so many creatures resemble one another? Our jaws are adapted for hard shelled creatures, and we're told that many planets have oddly similar variations of those."
"Crabs."
She guessed what they were getting at.
It is odd, isn't it? Nilnacrawla observed.
Perhaps that is another one of the Source's whims, Penny thought.
Maybe.
A few of the Elders made exclamations of shock.
"You even have a word for them that directly translates!"
Penny chuckled. "Yeah, carcinization is a bit of a meme in the science community. But I've heard the most mainstream theories since the First Contact are that the Source itself is uncreative. It has a certain template of creatures which it largely doesn't alter, though it can take in inputs from beings close to it, perhaps even influencing them."
"Influencing them?"
"Yes. Modern depictions of wendigoes, folkloric creatures from North America, a continent on Earth, are shockingly similar to the Knowers in appearance. The internet depictions of them in particular like to emphasize canine qualities, and often show them with skulls visible directly, and with dark brown or black fur. Recent depictions, as in the past 300 years, differ from their original appearances quite significantly, with the canine characteristics in particular being enhanced.
We have sorted through all known images of these creatures and found roughly 80% similarity with the Knowers and tens of thousands of images that are literally exactly the same as Knowers. The ones we searched all came before World War Three, far before even the First Contact with the Vinarii, much less the Knowers who were entirely underground at the time due to the radiation of their home star. We believe that the Source managed to influence this facet of human culture with the actual existence of a real creature.
Other examples exist, like how the Trikkec look very similar to Komodo Dragons, Vinarii look very similar to insects known as a mantis, and the Acuarfar look exactly like insects known as wasps with the single exception of their furry snouts and green instead of yellow markings. The Sprilnav species itself shares high amounts of similarity with a fictional species known as Elites in early 2000s culture, particularly with your jaws, though you all have red skin instead of grey or brown.
The Junyli, Dreedeen, and the wanderers are the main species without high amounts of appearance in our cultures at some point. This correlates with the idea of the Source being the influencer, as their predecessors all were used to fight it. Many species of the galaxy look like parts of our culture or Earth's creatures. The proximity of these examples makes this far more suspicious than if they were across the galaxy.
But since they existed first, the only answer must be that the Source brought the influence to us first and planted the ideas in our heads. As for the ones which look like Earth creatures, all of them are old enough evolutionary branches that copying from them to Earth makes more sense. Though the references centering around the early 2000s is quite odd, it is also roughly when the internet came into wide existence, so it is also possible the Source gave the ideas a push so they would propagate, for an unknown reason. Like if it seeded the ideas that propagated across the early global network Humanity used."
"Hmm. Fascinating. We've seen evidence of the 'seeding' process among some historical nations near the galactic region of Earth before. So the Source re-uses and alters depictions of life and also life itself?"
"Maybe," Penny said. "Unless the Source is more directly tied to life than we think. There's a conceptual Death, but no conceptual Life. Isn't that odd?"
"Conceptual Life died in the Source war."
How did that really work, though? Penny asked Nilnacrawla.
Imagine a conceptual being. A few of the Progenitors, as well as Narvravarana, went up to try to harvest its power. It refused, and Narvravarana used its unique abilities to try and force the deal.
Why was your civilization like this?
Excess and greed, partly. But we couldn't really do much more expansion. Vertical expansion also had its limits if we wanted to remain relevant for the remaining lifespan of the universe. So Narvravarana, along with a few of the greatest rulers and leaders of Sprilnav society, started looking to other dimensional planes. They figured it was best not to let the problem get too much worse. Or at least, that is what they say. I believe it was to harvest more resources to use against our surrounding enemies.
You didn't have any allies? Penny asked.
At that time, all the powers of the universe were enemies. All the allies eventually merged through millions of years of normalization. We happened to get on the universal stage the earliest, so other civilizations we encountered had little choice but to surrender their independence. Some fought, others didn't, but the outcome was the same.
That seems terrible.
It was, though the other universal civilizations were no better. Some of them just exterminated all alien life they found that couldn't fight back. In that sense, the pre-war Sprilnav civilization was one of the greatest, and that's why I fought for them. Obviously, I'm biased in that regard, though.
Thanks for telling me, father.
No problem, Penny.
She refocused back on the conversation at hand.
"But a thing cannot be alive if it dies. The concept of life doesn't work that way. So maybe the Source just... took in the concept of life? Or absorbed it into whatever psychic energy really is, considering that it's responsible for all of our existence?"
"That's so crazy it might actually be true," one of the Elders said. "You're incredible, Penny."
"Uh, thanks. You're all pretty great too." Her eyes drifted to the images of herself on their clothing. She couldn't really help it.
"I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what I'm fighting for?"
"I assume since you're asking it here, you don't just want a one word answer," an Elder said. "I would say yes, and for the liberation of the Sprilnav from the stain of slavery. Though going deeper into your history, you have also fought for other species, either in wars or just generally moving around. It does look aimless, mostly, since the galaxy's so big. But I'm sure you've got a way through that."
"In some way. Part of why I'm here isn't just about my people. It was at first, I admit that. But as I have lived here, on Justicar, for days and weeks, I've seen you less as alien. It makes it easier for sympathy and easier to break out of simple mindsets. So far, there are many problems, but there are distinct pieces. The first is that many people want to uphold slavery. I'm not sure why, but they do. It isn't profitable, and it isn't moral. Robots are cheaper in every way, and don't need food or water.
That means it's illogical or emotional. So I could try and solve the problem with violence alone, but it won't be addressing the cause, only the symptoms. I need to get to the heart of the matter. And I think it has to do with Elders' memories and the gradual woes they have accumulated going through life. I don't want to tear that away or drug them into believing they're fine. I want to find a way to outlet that productively. The second part I have identified is scale. The galaxy is enormous, and your species is incredibly numerous. I could fight planet by planet for the rest of my life, and liberation would still be difficult.
That also means I'd need a better way of doing things. Maybe an economic or political incentive. Emotional reasons will not work permanently, nor will logic, since we are in this situation. I have found several ways to address this. Sadly, since the gangs are likely monitoring this feed, I can't just outright say my strategy. All I can ask you all to do is to believe. Believe that I have a solution, and that I and those who stand with me are working on it. Believe in me because I believe in you."
None of the Elders questioned or ridiculed her words. Most of it was because they were fans of her. But one of them, an Elder named Rahautiti, had a distinct glint in his eye. Their gazes met only momentarily, but Penny could tell he knew.
And so she appeared in the mindscape, even as they concluded the interview, which would be the first of many. It was a ploy to just talk about human culture and ideals a bit more, to get it out there. Because the hivemind's theory was correct.
In the universe, ideas had power. That power could be weaponized against those who previously stood to gain. The first part of it was the image: Nova as an unbeatable bastion. Lecalicus as the Beast, a monster capable of star-crushing rage. Twilight as... whatever she did. Penny wasn't really familiar with the Progenitor's image too much, and the various names, like the Silent Night or the Smiling Darkness, were just so unbelievably edgy she cringed every time she recalled them.
But Rahautiti understood so she moved her mindscape avatar to see him.
"Hello again, Penny. I am no threat."
"I know. I'm glad that your group is led by someone as capable as you, as well as the other groups you dabble within."
"Who discovered it?"
"Phoebe. You met with Ezeonwha, and the android wanted to ensure you weren't a way for Yasihaut to kill him."
"Yeah. We did get approached about that, actually. We're supposed to kill Ezeonwha when you walk into the Judgment hall. Of course, we won't do this, and she won't be able to retaliate against us easily while there."
"Thank you for your honesty, Elder," Penny said. "It seems I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense. 2,839. That is the number of children I have had. 2,626. That is the number of children of mine which were enslaved. The remaining 213 died in unrelated incidents, with nearly half of those involving slavers killing them. I remember all of their names, and all of their faces, Penny. I want all the slavers in this universe dead."
"I cannot achieve that."
"You cannot," Rahautiti agreed. "Not with my help or even that of Kashaunta and Lecalicus. And certainly not right now. I have not lived this long to be incapable of compromise or patchwork solutions. You show great promise. I understand your aversion to killing and the circumstantial reason why you are not doing so now. I will not grow upset if you do not resume killing when the Judgment ends. Nor do I harbor a grudge against you for the speeding space entity you left outside the room to avoid uncomfortable publicity. You are incredibly young.
A sliver of a life. But you are strong, and you are mature. That sliver of your lifespan already outshines all I could do with a trillion more years, Penny. You are right in that this isn't something you can punch your way through. Trauma is part of why slavery still exists, despite it being a wholly unjust reason for the Elders to make such a sport of it. I am sure you know the story of the war, with a great hero in your head and Kashaunta at your side. My line of work is what I started to help you. Every thought about you being the Liberator, every eye that glances on you freeing slaves, helps you to gather conceptual energy. My talent happens to be great enough to sense the Pact of Blades you have, as well. If you want, I can teach you how to hide the mark on your soul and your mind."
"I would like that, yes," Penny said. "And thank you for being so reasonable. I will ask Kashaunta to protect you from what consequences come for refusing the offer on Ezeonwha."
"There are going to be attacks on him, you know. Him and your ship."
Penny felt an odd feeling in her soul. Cardi's power flared around him, and she squinted at the sky. She just barely saw a sliver of a tentacle. Most would have mistaken it for a normal speeding space entity. But here? On Justicar, with Exile obviously not being the cause?
Only one being would cause that. Fate.
Given the subject of their conversation, it was obvious what was going on.
Penny tapped Rahautiti's jaw, adding a thin mark of conceptual power so she could easily find him again. She focused on the conceptual mark she'd left on Ezeonwha. A twinge of conceptual energy came from it. It was accompanied by various impressions, like fear, pain, and acceptance.
"I have to go," Penny said. "I will be back later. Displace."
She appeared next to the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office but not next to Ezeonwha. It was carnage everywhere she looked.
"Champion!" an unknown Elder yelled. "I am Elder Na-"
Her rising fury surged, and it took all she had not to dismember him. The distant thought of the Judgment stayed her hands, though only just.
Penny's fist collided with the Elder's jaw at twice the speed of sound. A piece of his jaws flew free. Bone fragments hit the ground behind him. Hundreds of soldiers fired on her, and she slammed them to the ground with pure will. Penny tore their guns away and sent them each to pummel the Elder in front of her with as much brutality as she could. His powerful armor wasn't as capable of defense against physical attacks as it was against her psychic energy, and so he fell.
"You... cannot save him," the Elder spat. Fields of psychic suppression fell upon her, reducing her power.
"Manipulation through Determination," Penny growled. "De-"
No! Nilnacrawla said. Do not kill him! Not yet!
"What goes up will go down."
Air hardened around the Elder and accelerated rapidly.
The Elder smashed into the shield five miles above with a speed just slow enough that he wouldn't die. He fell from it and then hit it again at a more modest speed. He'd bounce on that until the Guides came to get him.
But Penny had another target. One she had to save instead of attack.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
High Judge Tassidonia awoke to the sound of explosions. He grabbed his swords, his main gun, and the personal shield he reserved for only the most dire occasions. The sky was erupting in war all around him, and buildings were already falling nearby. The spires of skyscrapers rained down upon the entrances to the Underground, crushing thousands of fleeing Sprilnav under their wide impacts.
His implant identified members of the gangs nearby, making their way to his home.
"Retribution Cycle!" Tassidonia cried. A hidden door opened, and he boarded a small hovercraft that sported a high amount of defensive and offensive technology, a gift from Justicar for dealing with all that he had related to the Judgment. Only this time, he wouldn't be on the next one. But already, the destruction was spreading.
Micro-missiles rained upon friend and foe alike. Several detonated against the layered shields. The mounted turrets on the side of his hoverbike shot lasers into the enemies his implant identified.
"Elder Tassidonia!" an Elder cried nearby. "For the crime of defying the will of-"
Tassidonia called his fury to bear. He rammed his mind into the enemy Elder, disorienting her. She reeled, about to attack, when a thick laser smashed into her chest. It pushed her against the wall, and Tassidonia kept the pressure up until her body melted. He listened to her screams impassively, occasionally sending blasts from his gun at the gangs when their members started to stray too close.
The thick red beam did its work within twenty pulses. His swords began to float beside him, keeping pace as he sped away from his home. The entire apartment complex shuddered and began to lean, its foundation being destroyed by some effect below. Tassidonia abandoned it with only minor regret. He'd known this moment would come. Everything he needed was already with him.
He linked into the Guide network, directing squadrons to attack the breaches he'd identified. Orbital strikes fell upon them in quick succession. Thick beams of light pierced through the lower planetary shields from orbital platforms, their guns honing in on Justicar's enemies. Tassidonia's implant was linked to the grid as well. So when he eyed buildings occupied with too many gang members, orbital strikes fell on them a few pulses later.
Fire and plasma rained all around him. Explosions and smoke blossomed all around him. More missiles fell from his hovercraft. A fighter ship appeared beside him, its simple stealth revealing itself to his eyes. Tassidonia waited for the pilot chamber to open, and his craft stowed itself behind him when he got in. It was fully equipped, so soon, Tassidonia was in full control of a weapon of war.
His first order of business was detecting the gangs' most fortified areas. He peppered those bases in shield-weakening mines, followed by bunker-buster missiles. Several anti-air turrets hit him, but his shields prevented them from taking him down. He dropped three high-end Butcher Androids into the fray of the largest battles.
One of the adjacent fighter wings in the separate shield sector dropped a nuke. At that moment, Tassidonia made a decision.
Whatever insanity was going on right now wasn't worth staying here on his own. He turned his ship upward, narrowly avoiding nearly fifty missiles shot from another gang fortress, which was really just the lower floors of a supermarket. Thick slabs of concrete were being set up by androids and slaves from the Underground. All he could do was watch from above and attempt to mark those that might be a problem.
Justicar's Grand Fleet was moving in, though only the carriers and their escorts were doing anything of any scale. The armies were mobilizing, and it seemed that war had finally broken out. Justicar, while isolated due to the Judgment, would have to win a war that threatened to topple his rule entirely.
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Ezeonwha woke when the walls around him shuddered.
An earthquake?
Groggily, he activated the lights in the room. Phoebe's android was charging in the wall. Her limbs swayed with the motion. The walls shuddered again, and the lights went out. Thin, tiny cracks spread in the walls, increasing his worry factors massively. His implant notified him that this wasn't a dream. Distant screams reached his ears, and he went to the window.
Hordes of Sprilnav were running on the ground, tripping over each other to escape. He heard the thump of footsteps approaching from outside. The android activated, standing up.
"Move away from the doo-"
An explosion tossed him across the room. A Sprilnav carrying some sort of mouth weapon faded into view for a moment, smoke recalibrating the stealth field. And then he was gone. Phoebe smashed into the Sprilnav, her fists pummeling the assassin faster than Ezeonwha could comprehend.
Phoebe's arms turned into swords, and she stabbed the Sprilnav at least fifty times in a single pulse. She turned to grab him, but before she reached him, a second explosion sent him flying out of the now-shattered window.
The massive skyscraper loomed large, and he saw the ground beneath it ripple. Dull thumps sounded from below, and large, circular caverns opened beneath the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office. The whole building started to list forward, and Ezeonwha frantically activated his emergency personal shield as he started falling faster and faster. A bullet hit the shield. And then a second one. Gunshots echoed out in the distance, and he saw other Sprilnav falling from broken windows in the falling skyscraper. Gunfire erupted on the streets as Guides engaged a growing army of attackers bubbling up from basements of shops and businesses.
He saw spurts of blood exit the Sprilnav nearest him, bullets tearing holes through the woman's body. Piercing screams surrounded him, a terrible chorus that reminded him of the worst wars he'd fought in. But here, his training could do nothing. She was already dead, and he knew that he was the target of this whole attack. His eyes watered, and Ezeonwha felt so powerless. So useless.
A Corrector emerged from the side of the tilting skyscraper, eyes fixed on Ezeonwha. Then he looked down. Somehow, Ezeonwha knew when the orders had been sent. He knew that it was Astipra in the distance, a jetpack on his shoulders burning a thick flame beneath him.
Astipra looked back at the building and flew toward it. Ezeonwha felt the wind rushing past the shield as pressure. Astipra, far above, vaporized falling chunks of the skyscraper with blasts from his arm cannons. He pressed back against the skyscraper, the jetpack going into overdrive. The metal bent inward, and the groaning and twisting structure continued its fall. Blasts of light from Astipra again vaporized the set of falling chunks.
"Penny," he said. It was almost a prayer, really. His desperate mind was scrambling for whatever it could get. "Please, save me!"
He didn't know if she could hear him. Logically, it was impossible. And in a battle such as this, unlikely as well. Rippling explosions erupted across the facade of the falling skyscraper as rockets struck it. More explosions bloomed as lasers from distant police vehicles, Guides, and Astipra destroyed more of the fast-flying missiles and rockets. They pounded on the world around him, a horde of madness threatening to break his brain. He could feel the wind and gravity equalize as he reached terminal velocity.
And all he could see was the world descending into war around him. The 102nd Visitor Welcome Office continued to slump and lean against Astipra's best efforts. More bullets hit Ezeonwha's personal shield, and peppered the Guides moving over to save him. Air ambulances were shot from the sky. Even small fighter crafts were shot down by powerful ground lasers. EMPs thumped, disabling all the higher functions of his implant before he could think to use it.
A much larger explosion bloomed out, and Ezeonwha followed the rocket's trail to an Elder on the ground, standing in the wreckage surrounding a sudden tunnel opening. The Elder stared at him in glee, and he lined up another shot. Two Guides fell upon the Elder, who flew up using a jetpack to cut them in half with his sword. A hard light hologram lifted a large gun, pointing at Ezeonwha as he fell.
His eyes widened. Ezeonwha did everything he could. He angled his legs and arms. He pushed at the air. He even hefted the meager psychic energy he had, struggling with all his soul to escape the death he could feel was coming to him.
Guides swarmed beyond the shield appearing, while gang soldiers died by the hundreds to carpet bombing. Personal shields sprang up to block the explosions, and the Elder had survived. A thick red laser cut one of the fighters in half from the smoke. Above him, the collapsing facade of the skyscraper consumed Astipra entirely, though large gouts of plasma and thick explosions emerged from within. He could survive if it fell upon him, but Ezonwha could not.
Penny materialized far below, closer to the field of battle. A sweeping wave of gang members began disappearing. A bullet smashed into her head and her stomach, detonating in bright explosions. A personal shield flared and disappeared. Missiles and lasers slammed into Penny by the thousands as psychic energy gathered. A constant roll of words fell from her tongue, but without his implant, they were not translated.
Missiles crumbled into dust. Lasers impacted raw space in front of Penny before bending down and back to their origins, destroying automated turrets. Bullets still hit Penny and the Guides by the thousands, firing too quickly and densely for her to entirely block. But the large ordnance from the gangs continued to work against them.
Penny looked around, confusion evident on her face. But amidst the thousands of wounded and dead Sprilnav falling from the broken windows, Ezeonwha was hidden too well.
Shattering glass could be constantly heard, and he could feel the distant screams in his soul. A bullet smashed into his personal shield again, disabling it. A pulse later, he lost feeling in his legs.
He tried to reach out to her mind, but the war in the mindscape was equally intense. Too many Elders and Guides battling it out along with various suppression artifacts made it all impossible. He could sense Penny's influence, but couldn't directly reach her.
He let out a breath, knowing it to be the final one.
I'm sorry, Penny, Ezeonwha thought.
I wish you luck in the Judgment, and I am sorry I caused this to happen to you.
Penny finally appeared in front of him, eyes wide-
Blood erupted. A searing pain in his head told him his implant had just shorted out. And in the mindscape, he saw a mental attack heading for him, its brutal power evident. He closed his eyes.

i've gotten into a bad situation and need some insight into child laws in texas. to clarify, this woman is extended family not actually my mother. although she kinda takes on that role whenever she feels she can benefit from it. the only legal power she has over me is power of attorney. she has cut my actual guardian out of the picture and my contact with her is very limited as i have to hide any calls/texts. all my contact with the outside world is controlled and monitored. i'm 15 and without getting into all the details a physical altercation occurred with this woman where she attacked me first and i reacted in self defense. this is not the first time this has happened. even though i reported this to a youth service immediately after, i guess an outside party called the police and reported me as the perpetrator in a family assault incident. investigators showed up to my house and talked to me and basically explained that in texas because she is an adult she is able to discipline me however she wants and i can't fight back unless it's deadly force. also i had other adults present at the time in my defense and basically if they weren't there i would have been arrested. to be fair the investigator was nice but this is so shocking to me. now i have to go to court in a few days and feel like i have no power because i'm a minor. i wrote a statement to defend myself and express the hostile household i live in but i don't know what more i can do. has anyone dealt with a similar situation or know anything about child defense laws in texas??

So, long story short. A table and chairs set in lawn and garden fell off the top shelf and crushed my chest and left shoulder. I have a contusion on my chest wall, a separated shoulder, along with many other strains. I immediately reported it to my TL, who then contacted the only coach on duty at the time to file the incident report. The coach didn’t know much at all about how to complete the form or about policy regarding these type of situations. I spoke with the triage nurse who recommended I go to the hospital (the occupational medicine doctor approved by Walmart works out of an urgent care that was already closed for the day). Went to the hospital, still on the clock, BY MYSELF. Fast forward to the next day, I went to the urgent care. The doctor had me out of work till 6/3, I go into the store to give my people lead the paperwork and my AP coach looked at it and said “this isn’t going to work”, called the doctor, demanded he change the date to the 30th. He agreed although on the new form he said I couldn’t walk, stand, type, etc. My AP coach asked the doctor “what does answering a phone have to do with a chest and shoulder injury?” this isn’t the first time she’s displayed this type of unhinged crackhead behavior. She also said I wouldn’t be paid for going to the urgent care because I was already paid for going to the ER. My question(s) is, isn’t it Walmart policy that a salaried member of management take me to get medical care? Aren’t we supposed to be paid for all doctoER visits? Is she allowed to contact the doctor and demand he change the return to work date? Something is off with this situation. If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know.

(Yes I am using a throwaway acct bc I don't want people to harass me on my main lmao.)
So basically, there's this one ktuber I used to look up to a lot: vixxo. I loved her videos, and would follow her on twt, always stay tuned for her lives, etc. but recently (well for the past year) she's done a lot of things that hadn't sit right with me and I'm really disappointed bc I used to look up to her so much. I don't really know how to deal w all this. I already unfollowed her and blocked her on all platforms but since I used to be so obsessed w her content it's rlly hard not to check back in sometimes, and what I noticed is everyone constantly kisses her ass and acts like "the only reason people hate you is because they can't handle critical opinions about their faves" and it feels very invalidating.
Here's a list of things she's done I dislike. Honestly I know some of these things aren't that bad but I just wanted to talk about everything that made me stop liking her. - she just has a very self centered attitude in general. she’s very smug and seems to think she can never be wrong. whenever someone has a positive opinion on a song she dislikes, she implies that they’re forcing themselves to like it. - one example of this: once some guy named berts bayou said that get up (nwjns) was the only kpop ep he liked. then there was a hit tweet quoting him saying “the reason why it’s the only ep you can listen through is bc it’s 12 minutes and your attention span is too low for anything else” or something like that. vixxo replied to that qrt calling it “fucking hilarious” and i just find it so ironic bc she constantly whines about how people don’t respect her opinions, but she can’t respect others. - her account is just a constant cesspool of negativity and it gets rlly tiring after a while. she’s always complaining about how music has gone downhill, there’s no real vocalists in kpop anymore, etc. and yeah ig she can post what she wants but it’s just tiring like girl nobody is forcing you to consume newer kpop. (again it’s ironic bc whenever someone rightfully complains about a hate train their fav group is going thru she’s like “idc i have no sympathy ur responsible for what u consume” ok then that means it’s ur choice to consume newer kpop and u don’t need to shit on it every 2 seconds. also again she has complained about hate trains HER faves went through so it just feels hypocritical) - she has some kinda weird views? like she said it’s “definitely not” okay for a 17 yo and an 18 yo to date each other even if they’re both in high school. like girl be so fr 😭😭 - she talked shit about a bunch of other ktubers when she was 19 and the other ktubers were like 13. like im sorry that’s pathetic behavior 😭 how you an adult and bullying people who just became teenagers like. she was also extremely xenophobic towards them, mocking the way they phrased things and how their voices sounded when english wasn’t even their first language. tbf she did apologize, but she also deflects and victimizes herself every time it’s brought up instead of just admitting she did wrong and people have a right to not want to support her after what she did, especially if they’ve had to deal w xenophobia in their personal lives. she also stays friends with someone who also participated in talking shit about those ktubers and even blocked the victims, AND i saw her initial responses to the victims and they were gaslighty af. “let’s just all do the mature thing and move on” girl what do you mean “let’s” when you were the one who started it and who do you think you are telling literal children they’re being immature for rightfully feeling betrayed. - she cannot ever admit she is/was wrong. one example is the garam situation. basically she wasn’t on garams side (which i think is understandable at first bc it did seem like the evidence was against her) but she also acted like she was a terrible, irredeemable person (ironic asf bc like i said it’s not like vixxo has never bullied anyone before) and referred to her supporters as “followers who cannot construct an original thought”. then when it came out that garam was the victim and was just defending her friend from sexual harassment, vixxo never apologized even though she said she would if garam was proved innocent. when someone brought it up she was like “im not gonna apologize for supporting the victim lol check yourself?” like no you need to apologize for hating on an innocent minor eventually causing her to lose her career, and defending a sexual predator. - she also constantly complained about how garam stans brought her up to praise her after she left lsf, but meanwhile she brought her up even after she left the group to HATE ON HER. she stated that she had “sinister energy” (very weird to say about a minor ESPECIALLY when you’re an adult) and made a tweet about “i cant believe hybe made garam the center when chaewon was in the group”. this was all after garam left the group btw, it’s giving obsessed. if you’re going to drag an innocent girl even after she stopped being an idol, don’t get mad when people support her after she left lesserafim. - when moonbin and sua performed my ear candy together, she commented about how it was “weird” and “creepy” for siblings to perform that song together. then after 4/19/23, she rted a tweet talking about how the performance was so cute. like girl maybe apologize and hold yourself accountable instead of being fake? - she claims to be a “girls girl” but has done many things proving the opposite. for example when illits final lineup was announced, she liked and rted a tweet calling them “r u rigged” and “I’ll-flop”. she also once said something like “no 16 year old except boa and britney has ever slayed hard enough to be called mother” like why are you putting down 16 year old girls if you’re a girls girl? also it’s just pathetic bc she was like 21 when she said that - she supported addison rae (a tiktok influencesinger with a long history of antiblack racism) even after KNOWING about her actions. and i don’t just mean listening to her music, i mean actively supporting, calling her mothecunty, responding “teehee <333” to a comment that said “laurve you being a low key addison rae stan”, and rting her new years eve post. she eventually unstanned her (for a very good reason, idk if im allowed to say why tho) but it just hurts that she didn’t think antiblackness was a big enough dealbreaker. (she’s white btw lmao) - she went along w the nwjns eta conspiracy theory despite the fact that it’s literally based on right wing propaganda?? also it’s just really stupid in general so idk how vixxo sees herself as some great critical thinker when she goes along w whatever people say just to hate on a group. even though this narrative literally feeds into the oppression of basque people, she doesn’t care - once some guy posted about margot robbie in i, tonya and said something like “i always find it so amazing how actors basically have to become just as good as the profession they’re playing” and vixxo responded very rudely like “open up the schools… you don’t know what a stunt double is?” like no girl, not everyone is as smart and educated on film as you are 😱😱 you could’ve just explained instead of being unnecessarily rude. someone pointed out in her retrospring that it wasn’t that serious for her to be rude and she, again, responded rudely, saying something like “he’s literally spreading misinformation” acting like he had some malicious intent. and idk i could be overthinking but the whole incident felt very racially motivated imo (the guy who made the original post was black, vixxo like i said is white). idk it just feels like a white person who doesn’t see black people as worthy of respect so when a black guy gets something wrong, her immediate response is to be hostile and act like he has bad intentions / is purposefully trying to spread misinformation rather than correcting him in a respectful way. like i said i could be overthinking but the way she treated him definitely felt at least slightly racist. she probably didn’t intend to but that’s how it came off - she made a video about problems in ktube where she talked about nonblack people using aave. during it, she provided a list of commonly used aave terms and said something like “ive used these terms before im sorry and ill never use them again” which would be fine… except for the fact that she used some of those terms again (ex. slay) AFTER making that video. tbh im so used to nonblacks using (or misusing) aave so im not even mad at her for that, im more mad at the fact that she KNEW it was wrong and did it anyway. just feels v performative - she constantly encourages her viewers to have a parasocial relationship with her (which is weird bc she’s not a celebrity) by referring to them unironically as vixxonators, responding stuff like “teehee i love this <33” whenever someone admits to having a parasocial relationship with her, etc. but whenever someone criticizes her she pulls the “some of you guys expect too much from me im not media trained nor do i wish to become a celebrity” card. like you can’t encourage people to have a parasocial relationship with you but then complain about it ad soon as you’re criticized for your actions. also you don’t have to have a parasocial relationship with someone to criticize them - I think there’s a few more things but ive already written a lot so that’s all for now
So yeah. Like I said idrk how to deal w these feelings. It almost feels like she betrayed me, and I know this is a dumb/delusional view to have, but it just sucks bc I used to look up to her sm. Feel free to comment advice, tell me what you think of her actions , validate me, invalidate me, etc.

Hi all, this is my first year making over £1k as a freelancer from having multiple low paying gigs! My question is whether I have to report all of these gigs as separate trades?
For example, I consistently do some gardening, then there's delivery work, dog walking, surveys from Prolific, paid game or survey offers from Swagbucks/InboxPounds, weekly tutoring, data annotation, etc.
I make sure to keep records of every payment, but there are so many different gigs? Can I group the miscellaneous online survey stuff and swagbucks/inboxpounds together? What would I call them? Miscellaneous online work?
I want to make sure everything is done right, but the freelance stuff is my only income and I doubt I'll make over the personal allowance so can't afford an accountant. I would really appreciate if someone with more experience could offer some advice. Thank you!

TLDR: Doran has a different father to Elia and Oberyn. Both fathers were Free City nobles. Doran's father died in the 251 RHPR. Elia and Oberyn's father died in the 260 WOTNK. This would explain why no one has mentioned them yet and the Martell's interest in the Free Cities.
Quick Note: My headcanon name for their mother is Neria. Just saves me typing "Doran's predecessor", "Oberyn's mother", "former princess of Dorne", etc.
The strongest and most sensible assumptions I've made about this subject are:

1. The fathes died before 273, the year Tyrion was born, during which Oberyn went on his betrothal journey with "my mother, her consort, and my sister Elia" (ASOS Tyrion V). It makes no sense for Oberyn to refer to his own father or Elia's as a consort.
2. Doran and Oberyn never mentioning their fathes points to a lack of sentiment in regards to them, which in turn points to them dying before the brothers were old enough to remember them much, and given their ~10-year age gap, they must've had different fathers for this to be true. Conversely, Elia and Oberyn have about a year between them, so they likely shared a father.
3. Both fathers were openly married to Neria, since there is no in-text speculation about the three siblings' legitimacy or paternity, and the likes of Joanna and Aerys II would never have considered marrying their heirs to anyone of questionable birth. You can't be pulling the Mormont "my children were fathered by bears lol" schtick when you're trying to betroth your daughter to the crown prince.
4. Both fathers were from prestigious enough backgrounds to marry the heiruler of Dorne but on individual levels were so unremarkable that even their own sons don't namedrop them from time to time.
5. Excluding the Martells, all the great houses and Dornish houses can be ruled out. Quentyn, Arianne and the Sand Snakes never mention any living cousins besides each other, and if either of their paternal grandfathers had been a non-Martell Dornish nobleman, Arianne would've mentioned his house when thinking of who she could trust to help her while imprisoned. I think it's also safe to write off the houses Elia and Oberyn visited on their betrothal voyage (Daynes, Redwynes, Hightowers, Chesters, Grimms, Hewetts, Serrys and Crakehalls).

With all that in mind, let's move onto some candidates:

Martell Man/Men

Consanguinity is common enough in Westeros: Tywin and Joanna were first cousins, and Cregan, Edric, and Rickard Stark show it's not taboo in the North, so unless the Rhoynar had an aversion to it that was carried pver into Dornish culture, there's no reason to think the Martells would be against it.
From the reign of Daeron II to that of Aerys II (i.e. 99 years), the Martells had close ties to the Targaryens. Though the deaths of Baelor Breakspear and his children put an end to the main Targ line having Martell ancestry, the "several heirs" (TWOIAF - The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II) Daenerys had borne for Maron were half-Targ. Though highly unlikely that they began to practice sibling incest, it's likely that in order to keep their Targ blood (and in turn the possibility of marrying back into the royal line) strong, some of Daenerys' grandchildren and great-grandchildren were married to each other. Neria might have been subject to this tradition, and therefore either her first husband, second husband or both could have been a descendant of Daenerys. This would help explain why the current Martells seem to be so small in number, as well as why Elia was chosen to be Rhaegar's wife over every other noble lady with Targ ancestry (really hard to imagine that all descendants of Saera, Baela, Rhaena, Elaena, Daella and Rhae at the time were either male, married, menopausal or less Targy).
However, Doran and his children point to this not being the case. If this tradition existed, then why was Doran not subject to it? If second-degree incest (is that what you're supposed to call it? I don't know, you get what I mean) was the Martell deal now, then why did Arianne feel so "uneasy" and ashamed when internally recalling her childhood crush on her uncle (AFFC The Queenmaker)? Furthermore, if Quentyn was the product of such intentional inbreeding, not only would it have been really stupid for him to not tell Dany this, he likely wouldn't have been burnt. If my calculations about Ben Plumm are correct, then he could be as little as 1/16th Targ, which is evidently enough dragonlord ancestry for dragons to take to a person (ASOS Danerys V). Rhaegal did not take to Quentyn, which means he must have less Targ ancestry than Ben (or perhaps there's a big difference between a dragon being cool with sitting on your shoulder and a dragon being cool with you screaming at it while cracking a whip). This is also why I don't believe that Doran is Aerys' bastard (along with there only being a four-year age gap between them), but what of Elia and Oberyn?

Aerys II

I don't think Elia and/or Oberyn are Aerys' bastards, though I understand why some might come to that conclusion. "Joanna Lannister was not the first lady to be dismissed abruptly from Her Grace's service, nor was she the last" (TWOIAF - The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II), Neria was one of Rhaella's ladies, and it would explain why Elia, out of all the noble women in Westeros and the Free Cities, was chosen to be Rhaegar's wife. However, Aerys would've had to have been 12-14 when they were conceived, it is unlikely he was interested in a woman old enough to be his mother when he was known to be "exceedingly fond of young women", and given that Aerys lost interest in his lovers quickly and both he and Neria seemed to have fertility issues, it's very improbable that they produced a child together, let alone two. The risk of trying to pass off your unborn child as legitimate only to be forced to admit you had a fling with the teenage crown prince after it pops out Valyrian would be such an insane one to take even once, and it's hard to imagine the mother and mentor of Doran doing such a thing.

Brynden Tully

This theory was mostly just me slamming two big questions together - who was Neria's husband/s and why did Brynden never marry - in hopes of forming an answer to both. For a short time I was gripped by the idea that Elia and Oberyn's father was a veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings and IIRC my thought process went something like this:
"Didn't the Blackfish fight during the WOTNK? GASP That's why he never married: he was already married to Neria! That's why he left Riverrun: he felt guilty for fighting for the side that ended up killing his daughter! That's (partially) why Doran refused Hoster's invitation for Arianne to visit Riverrun! Black fish, red viper, "colour" "animal" moniker, THIS MAKES TOTAL SENSE!"
As much as I'd love it to be true because the idea of Catelyn and Oberyn being first cousins is hilarious to me, it can't be. Among many other reasons, we only know him to be near Dorne in 260, 3-4 years after Elia and Oberyn were born. Now I think their father did not survive the war, just as Doran's father was killed in the 251 rebellion of the Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig, which took place when he was around three. Their fathers dying while they were still toddlers would explain why they haven't been mentioned yet.

Free City Noblemen

I think this is the strongest theory. It explains why we haven't heard anything about them; Westerosi nobles don't seem to care much about Free City politics, and the few examples of FC nobles marrying into Westerosi houses don't seem to elicit much intrigue outside of xenophobic villainisation and scapegoating (Larra Rogare and Serala of Myr come to mind).
It is possible that Aliandra Martell's marriage to Drazenko Rogare started a trend of Dornish nobles marrying and/or making paramours of FC people, particularly those of Lys. I believe Ellaria Sand's mother is Lyseni, since she is described as "exotic" (which is never used to describe the Dornish), worships a Lysene goddess and the names of her two youngest daughters, Dorea and Loreza, sound Lyseni (Dorea is one letter off of Doreah, the name of Dany's Lysene handmaid).
I don't think either Doran's or Elia and Oberyn's father were Lyseni, though it is one of the better options. The Free Cities I've written off as options are:

1. Lorath. It's too insignificant to marry into, not to mention far away.
   
2. Norvos. Would've been mentioned by now since Doran married a Norvoshi noble. Also Norvos is probably the poorest Free City after Lorath, so not a great match for a Dornish princess.
   
3. Tyrosh. Could've easily been mentioned when Doran told Arianne about his plan to send her to the Archon of Tyrosh. Also it was the Blackfyre stronghold, so unlikely to be an attractive option to the Martells.
   

That leaves Braavos, Pentos, Qohor, Myr, Lys and Volantis. Myr was close to being the fourth written-off city because having ties to Myr after the Defiance of Duskendale would've likely put the Martells in grave danger of Aerys' paranoia. On top of that, along with Tyrosh and Lys, Myr is a historic rival of Dorne's for dominion over the Stepstones. However, Taena of Myr looks a lot like Arianne, and she could be one of Dorne's "friends at court" (ADWD The Watcher). Perhaps she is a cousin?
Out of the six, my preference is that Doran's father was Qohorik while Elia and Oberyn's father was Volantene.
Qohor is one of the most fascinating Free Cities and yet we know so little about it. We don't even know what type of government they have. It would fit Doran's character to partially hail from such a secretive city.
Elia and Oberyn's father being a Volantene noble would explain why Elia was chosen over every other highborn girl in Westeros and the Free Cities to be Rhaegar's wife (maybe they descend from Saera's son by a Triarch?), as well as how Oberyn got behind the Black Walls so quickly and got away with fathering a bastard by a woman "of the noblest blood of Old Volantis". One might wonder why no one has mentioned this, especially since their nephew Quentyn was in Volantis, but technically he's not related to Elia and Oberyn's father any more than he is Nym's mother, and if Oberyn left Volantis on bad terms, it'd probably have been best for Quentyn to not use his connection to him as leverage.
Together with Doran's marriage to Mellario, that would give the Martells connections to Norvos, Qohor and Volantis, the three Free Cities that are located along the Rhoyne, their ancestral home. Funny, that.

Unfortunately it seems likely that the non-Muslims who comment on the Gaza war don't understand Islam, and that the Muslim commentators don't admit that they have a bias, meanwhile Islam in fact plays a role in the Gaza war. A relevant summary:
Muhammad started his own religion when he was forty and immediately came into conflict with the other religious people of his community, mostly polytheists and Jews. Muhammad became a war general and spent the next ten years of his life trying to kill off the other religions around him. He succeeded.
During this time, every day he in essence gave war pep-talks to his troops. As most of their fighting was against Jews, most of the war pep-talks were against Jews. His followers wrote down everything he said every day, mostly in the form of scraps of paper containing short segments. When he died, his followers swept these scraps of paper together to make first the Quran, then the Hadith, as there were thousands of these scraps of paper.
The entirety of the Islamic literature reads, therefore, like a slow, hypnotic rant against Jews, and also against Christians, against polytheists, against other now obscure and defeated religions, and against all non-Muslim "disbelievers" in general.
Mostly though, it focuses on Jews. The first two main chapters of the Quran in fact are about Jews: chapter 2 "The Cow", criticizing the Jews for once worshipping a golden calf, and chapter 3 "The Family of Imran (Moses)", meaning all of the Jews. There's not much difference between any of the Quran or Hadith chapters though; they all continue along mostly in the same way as the first two and are titled variously by the scant amounts of other concepts sometimes explored in the chapters. Mostly it's all a slow, hypnotic rant against all Jews and other non-believers.
If you don't believe any of this, check it for a first time. You'll be shocked. Islam is an inherently discriminatory religion toward Jews, and that's really the basis of the aggression that comes out of Gaza and other places toward them.
Most revelatory of all in this regard is the fact (if you check your history books) that the Ottoman Empire participated in attacking Britain and the allies in World War 1, and Britain won over them, obtaining what is today the Gaza, Israel, and West Bank areas. There was never any Jewish theft. Britain wanted to let the Jews move into that land afterward, and it was their choice to do so, as it was the Brits' land.
The Jews were met with immediate violence from the Muslims, whose religion tells them to attack Jews. It got worse. Sick of the violence, the Jews declared independence for their territory and formed a state. This was fair and appropriate. Immediately, large groups of Muslims combined armies to try to massacre the Jews. They were repelled.
It never stopped. The Muslims tried to combine armies and massacre the Jews again, in '67. They were repelled that time too.
Then in 2007 Gaza started the Gaza War against the Jews, and have fought it every day since, including today. They've been rocketing Israel constantly since 2007; October 7th was just a sort of culmination.
By the way, declaring independence and forming a state was the pattern set for and by every other territorial area that was formed out of the Ottoman Empire- resulting in every Middle Eastern state you see today- Israel did nothing different, and did not need a reason to do it- Gaza and the West Bank have always had the same ability, but have torn themselves apart fighting each other instead, while the world continues to wait on them. Also, they need to not form a government that declares war against Israel as part of its foundation. That’s the other reason they haven’t formed any real states yet. No one would stop them from doing so if they did it without any war declarations. The concept that anyone else in the world would somehow be able to give them a state is bogus.
The real problem will be solved when the world has a conversation with Islam, telling them to give up the part about cursing non-believers: approximately half the content of the Islamic religion. Then the Gazans can live non-aggressively with Jews next to them. So as well with the West Bank, Jordan/Iraq/Syria/Libya/Yemen/Iran, the twenty-or-so other nations that don't accept Israeli passports, etcetera.
Before any moderators, members of this site, or non-members of this site, try to get me banned or give me -100 karma points, insisting that I’m biased or that I’ve made this up: I challenge you to read or watch any summary of the life of Muhammad and the first ten years of Islam, then to read the first hundred pages of any English translation of the Quran, then to read the sub-chapter “Fighting Jews” of the chapter “Jihad” of the Al-Bukhari hadith book, then to read Gaza’s government charter “The Hamas Covenant”. If you put in a few minutes a day it’ll take you about two weeks. Don’t complain about me asking you to do this much research; it’s not much and it’s a bare minimum I can think of for you to check my work. Then you’re going to ask the same question I asked, “Why haven’t I heard of this from anyone or any side reporting on the Gaza war?” I believe the answer is several-fold: one is that there is simply a shocking lack of bothering to do much research by even those most vocal about the conflict. Two is that those who know about this know that no outsider asked for support of Gaza would sympathize with them if they knew about this. Three is that this stuff is outrageous, and no one wants to be the deliverer of that outrage, or get accused themselves of making this up. Four (and you’ll have to read to understand this) is that the believers are told in general to not trust disbelievers, which would include not telling them the truth. If you believed someone else was going to Hell, but that they didn’t know about it, would you tell them? They’re not gonna like hearing it; why tell them? Count the number of times Muhammad says all Jews and disbelievers are going to Hell in the Quran. You’ll lose count by about page 25 and it just keeps going like that.
All the resources mentioned are easily available online for free in pdf form or otherwise; just do a search for each, and youtube has lots of good videos on Muhammad’s life. I also highly recommend you watch overhead-battle-analysis-style videos (like Kings & Generals channel & similar) to review every single early battle of Islam, in order. You may also want to watch some on the first few battles of Abu Bakr also, the guy who picked up Muhammad’s war banner after him and carried on the violent conquest of the entire Arabian Peninsula, eradicating one by one what used to be a diverse array of now-extinct local religions. You could check out a copy of the Quran translated or order one, which I also recommend. I have Pickthall’s translation as a hard copy and I recommend it; I also used three different online Qurans and three different online Al-Bukhari hadiths (I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making any mistake by reading some bad translation; turned out nope they all read like that).
And before anyone says, well, that kind of stuff is said in the Bible too… First of all, find it; second of all, if it says that kind of stuff even a handful of times in the Bible, that’s different from Islam’s thousand times saying it, over and over again- it’s really a different sort of book.
I want to say last that the Muslims aren’t “like this”; rather, they’re told to be like this, by a high-pressure, demanding religion. They’re also told I’m sure, as for Gaza, by their friends, parents, neighbors, grandparents, local TV stations, and government, what is truly an altered version of history, wherein the Jews “stole” Palestine. They’re taught to distrust anything that the West says against that, because they’re taught to distrust disbelievers- of course the disbelievers would lie about this stuff- “hasbara”. The Jews “stole” Palestine, so, they’re “occupiers”. They don’t want to sound racist because they know discrimination is not tolerated in the disbelievers’ world, so they say “Zionists”, in place of “Jews”. Underneath it, they’re not saying much to the outside world- just enough and in just the right ways to sound presumably appropriate and reasonable, legitimate. It’s like a big game to try to get what they want (Jews expelled or killed), or, as discussed above, it's that they unfortunately don't know any better cause they've been lied to themselves. To the extent that anyone knows this stuff though and hasn't mentioned it, I would feel that we’ve been lied to and played for fools, and it makes me want to say screw the Squad, Sanders, and the campus protests... all right here on American soil!!!! I trust the vast majority of Muslims are not like this. I think they are too afraid though to voice any opposition to any of the Muslims who are hardcore about this stuff, of which Gaza and the West Bank have become the best examples- I told you to read the Hamas Covenant so I’ll trust you’ll do it; meanwhile I’ll add that the guy who ran the West Bank, Abbas, wrote his own dissertation as a youth on his conspiracy theory that the Jews “did the Holocaust to themselves, to create false international sympathy and a pretext for stealing Israel”, and he has continued to educate the West Bank’s people with this line of reasoning, making “Nakba day” into a sort of mockery of anyone else’s Holocaust remembrances. Meanwhile Iran continues determined to one day lead the eradication.
If you care about caring, do the right thing- help educate others on what’s really going on in Gaza. It’s bigger than the past few months, it’s bigger than October 7^th, it’s even bigger than tens of thousands of casualties, and if we don’t do the right thing (demand and converse about how disbelievers have rights too), one day far in the future that total may be millions or billions. The time is now to resolve this between all of us, with words. Learn about and then be vocal about the unfairness of Islam. Demand rights. Have conversations.
To add to this goal, I offer the following:
I make this contract with Islam, whether they agree or not:
Disbelievers’ Bill of Rights:

1. The disbelievers have rights too.
2. The disbelievers have wonderful and diverse cultures of their own, that are not to be eradicated; Earth is good when its cultures are diverse and not homogenized.
3. The disbelievers are not going to Hell for disbelieving Islam.
4. The believers are not going to Paradise for eradicating the disbelievers.
5. There will be no “final day” where all the Jews are killed.
6. Jesus will not show up on the final day to personally kill all the Jews (Islamic eschatology).
7. Disbelievers have the right to not be discriminated against or degraded by the believers. Any disbelievers neighboring believers are not to have rocks thrown at them, suicide attacks launched at them, rockets launched at them, rifles or pistols fired at them, etcetera.
8. Disbelievers have the right to not tolerate any literature that discriminates against them or is derogatory or degrading toward them, or that advocates any sort of violence against them, or that proscribes any mistreatment of them.

Furthermore, I liberate all Muslims, with the following lines:
You don’t have to surrender to Islam, completely, if any of it seems wrong to you. For that matter, you can pick any religion, you can pick no religion, you can make up your own religion, you can institute your own renewal of Islam and start a new chapter on it; you can do anything you want on this planet, and no lightning bolt will strike you from anyone’s god. If the afterlife is real, then you’re going to it whether you believe in it or whether you disbelieve in it. If there’s Heaven and Hell, you’re going to Heaven for being a good person, Hell for being a bad person.
Also, Muhammad may have said that his teachings were “a Book”. However, Muhammad did not give any specifics instructions to make any book exactly in the fashion in which the Quran and Hadith and others (Kitube of Shia, Wahhabiism’s books, Salafist works etcetera) were made, and, I believe that Muhammad would have seen the error in making them in those exact ways- this would cause problems later- the format is too heavy on the disbelievers- it will someday make for a problematic relationship between different faiths- you should feel free to rearrange any and all verses, excluding as many as you like, reinterpreting any you like, to make any new Book that makes more sense for use as an every-day, all-time religious book: one that focuses on “the good stuff” and not the bad. Muhammad needed to rally an army every day. We don’t need that in our daily lives now that we’re all trying to put war away. This is the 21^st century. Nine nations use nukes, and two of them are Muslim (Pakistan, Kazakhstan). We need to right now make decisions that will put away all war inclinations between us forever. If you don’t like my way of doing it, come up with something better and suggest it. I say we can do it by having a conversation where disbelievers stick up for themselves and believers listen.
And, I suggest this interpretation: perhaps Allah wanted to include a sort of test, within Islam, to separate hypocrites from believers- Allah included a bunch of stuff telling you that disbelievers are bad and to attack them. Maybe it’s to see who rejects that, to send them to Paradise, and to see who decides to act on it, to send them to Hell.
There is plenty of evidence that this is true in Gaza right now. Why would Allah punish them unless they were bad? They have relentlessly attacked Israel for years. Maybe this is Allah’s punishment.
Also, you are free to associate with disbelievers, at any time and place, whatever they’re saying at the time. You can date and intermarry with disbelievers if you like. Try not calling them disbelievers and you’ll have luck.
I also state that I am a learned scholar (college degree earned, floor-to-ceiling stacks of nonfiction books read, research published) and I am authorized to make fatwa (judgments) and to issue tafsir (commentary/interpretations on holy works).
As a warning to angry-comment-posters: you may find that I can back up with references and examples every point I’ve made! Watch out!
That being said, am I wrong about anything? Please tell me if I have anything wrong; I can only do so much research and then sweep it all together off the top of my head. Let me know. I’ll apologize if I get something wrong and perhaps adjust my thesis.

I want to start this post by saying that I almost bought an R1 at launch. The only reason I held off was because by the time I had heard of it, Rabbit had sold out of the first batch or preorders and figured if that was the case I might as well wait and see what the early adopters thought. I really want the R1 to be what was promised, but it will never reach that point with the current leadership's priorities, especially if that leadership solely consists of Jesse Lyu.
Jesse Lyu is really good at raising hype, securing funding, and then leaving. He's a con artist at worst or a un-invested entrepreneur at best. Before he started Rabbit or GAMA he created a tech startup in China called Raven which he at a later point sold to Baidu. On YCombinator*, Raven is described as a "a startup which focus on artificial intelligent, big data and the next generation operating system." It's pretty hard to find much information of substance regarding the company, but I found two products that were made in collaboration with Teenage Engineering: the Baidu Raven R and the Baidu Raven H.** Both were marketed as smart home devices like an Amazon Alexa or a HomePod but uniquely featured a dot matrix display and in the case of the R, six axis of movement. As far as I'm aware however, only the H ever shipped (the Raven website is raventech.cn but I couldn't get it to ever load. If someone else can access and learns otherwise please let me know). This means that before at least two of the three products he announced shipped, Jesse left the company. He got his money and got out.
*YCombinator notes that the founder is Cheng Lu who is Jesse who also posted about it on a personal YouTube account.
**Baidu mentioned a Raven Q in this blog post, but I'm not sure that it ever shipped and when it was announced it was still under development. It's also worth noting that the most recent information I could find about it was from 2017-2018 that still said it was under development.
At a later point, he announced GAMA, a crypto project utilizing Unreal Engine. What GAMA was supposed to be is a convoluted mess, but what's important about GAMA is that Jesse created the minimum viable product, got his money, and left. In order to lessen discussions of GAMA being a rug pull scam, they 'open sourced' the software which used Lyra, a sample game that they did very little to add to or change. If you want to read more about GAMA, here is a really detailed look into what it was promised to be, what it actually was, and what happened to it.
Most recently, Jesse announced the Rabbit R1. A promising handheld AI companion device intended to be separate from your smartphone unlike the competing Humane AI Pin, another failure whose founders are now looking to sell the company. From the marketing and demos, the R1 seems like a dream come true, but just like GAMA, the Rabbit R1 over-promised and under-delivered. The handheld can and has easily been ported to Android phones eliminating the fee for the hardware component and the LAM that was promised might not exist at all, and if it does, it's not on the R1. The R1 uses hardcoded playwright scripts to navigate websites meaning that as soon as anything varies from the exact steps they've programmed it to follow, it will break. This has been discussed before on this very same subreddit by multiple people. It's only a matter of time until Jesse has made all the money he wants and he dumps this project too, which is really sad. Even though LAM works conceptually, it probably wouldn't work in concept but I have no problem with people trying as long as they're being honest about what's going on. Jesse hasn't done this. He's made so many promises and failed to deliver almost all of them including promises that lie at the core of what makes this device so appealing.
If Jesse has been so unreliable in the past, how has he gotten away with it? I think the main answer is false credibility. There are many examples of Jesse trying to make himself seem credible throughout his career history. In the case of the R1, there's a whole section on their website devoted to their 'research' complete with references, charts, and videos supposedly 'proving' the LAM is real and works. The first batch was likely intentionally small so he could say they had sold out of their first batch and brag about pre-order numbers, which did at least partially legitimately explode. GAMA used its supposed millions in funding to add credence to its claims that it could change the world, and the Baidu Raven products (and the R1 for that matter) were designed by Teenage Engineering, which while a controversial brand due to its pricing, is known for creating products with some of the finest industrial design and its unique product lineup that is used by huge musicians with few comparable options in terms of workflow and portability.
People need to stop supporting Jesse's companies so more people aren't harmed in the future. While in Raven's case it's not a huge deal because it seems to have actually worked and it was backed by a large company that likely wouldn't risk releasing a half-baked product, especially not in the US (DigitalTrends claimed it would be available in the US which to my knowledge never happened) where the reception to Chinese-based technology startups is already shaky, the other two companies have done a lot of harm. Many people have gone bankrupt or lost vast amounts of money such as retirement funds or life savings on crypto scams similar to GAMA in the past and the R1 is marketed in such a way that it seems like a premium technology product, but is priced very competitively so that even in the case that there weren't any people who wouldn't normally have bought the R1 but splurged due to the low price and high promises bought it and lost money they could've used otherwise to live more comfortably, those who got it received a product plagued by the lies of its creator.
This post wasn't intended to offend or insult people who did buy the R1 or were involved with any of Jesse's previous companies, but to attempt to explain some of Jesse's predatory practices and persuade people not to support him in the future. If it came across otherwise, I apologize.

Question
SPF doesn't protect against spoofing the sender info (the component of the "from" field in an email ( abc123@xyz789.com)), it is to identify if you are allowed to use a particular domain, right?
Note: As I understand DMARC is the actual mechanism that uses the results of the SPF in letting the email through or not.
Context/Background
Recently the company I've worked at has gotten several emails from people spoofing their identity as other staff, there was nothing unusual about the incident concerning how it was carried out, the emails weren't from our domain but had the sender info set to a staff member's name (so think "Bob Smith abcd1234@xyz987.com"), while the email address looked to be a random array of letters and numbers from a legitimate domain (haven't checked the headers yet).
I had set up the DMARC records for the company a few months ago, prompted by a grey hat that sent an email warning us of a bad configuration and due to being open to learning stuff was given the task to fix it up (Software Dev that's been roped into everything due to a bad case of not keeping my mouth shut and being overly keen to learn stuff), and have been kept in the loop of this because of that.
Here is where my question comes in, our external IT company is recommending tools like SendMarc, along with changes to our DMARC setup (I hadn't set quarantine or reject due to up the chain being concerned it'll break things relying on the bad configuration and they would get back to me) to stop these issues.
I did reading to understand what I was doing when I updated our DMARC records since we were provided with a guide from the grey hat, but I was not going to trust what some random suggested we do without knowing exactly what I was doing.

‼️🚨‼️🚨‼️🚨EXPLANATION OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO HERE, THIS IS DUMBED DOWN TO EASY TERMS FOR EVERYONE EVEN PEOPLE WHO ARNT INTO STOCKS AND ARE HERE FOR FUN CAN UNDERSTAND TAKE 5 MINUTES THIS WEEKEND AND TRULY UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS INFORMATION ‼️🚨‼️🚨‼️🚨 CREDIT: BIG BRAIN APE MAXIMUM PURPOSE
Please read this I copied and paste it from a super smart ape!!!!
Please read this I copied and paste it from a super smart ape!!!!
Alright lets get into it.
But before we do, I need to explain exactly what it means for a company to be "shorted" and as a response, be "short squeezed"
Ill explain in monkey speak first:
Imagine a store has a supply of 100 bananas for sale at 1.00 per banana.
Now, a certain animal (lets call this animal a bear) thinks that the cost per banana will drop from 1.00 dollar to 0.50 cents. They go to the store and they borrow 50 bananas promising to return them. The bear, now in debt to the store, sells those bananas at 1.00 each and collects 50 dollars. Then, the market price for a banana drops to 0.50, they go and buy back the 50 bananas (now at 0.50 cents) paying 25 dollars, then return them back to the person they bought them from. This relieves the bears from their debts and they pocket 25 dollars in the process.
This is the process of shorting a company. They will "Borrow" or "Short" a companies shares when they think it will drop. They sell those shares. The market price drops. Then they buy them back at a low price. Then return them to who they borrowed from and make some serious money.
Typically, this is done to companies who are not looking like they will have very much growth (i.e., GameStop in an increasingly electronic world. Or FFIE in a world where Chinese electric cars are being restricted from sales in the USA for foreign policy reasons.)
Now, a short squeeze happens when another animal (lets say a bull (or maybe an ape would actually be better)) decides that they don't really want the price of bananas to drop because they really really really really like bananas. So the ape goes to the store and buys all the available bananas as well as buying them from the bears. Now, since there's no more available, and bananas are in demand, the price rises up to 1.50, instead of dropping.
Now, the bears are in a dilemma. They need to return the bananas to the person they bought them from. If they don't, the person they borrowed from is going to start charging them late fees for every day that they don't return the bananas.
As you can imagine, the bears would be SUPER angry about this, and fight the apes tooth and nail to try to get them to sell. They will tell everyone (via the media) that the apes are bad. They will publish false information about the cost of bananas. They will try to borrow bananas from other people to make it seem like bananas arent worth anything.
BUT, if the apes hold onto their sweet, juicy bananas, then the bears cant get find any to buy even if they wanted to. So the apes eventually will say "I will give you my bananas back for a premium cost of 10 dollars. Now, the apes who bought all the bananas for 100 dollars will sell them back to get 1000 dollars instead.
Essentially, the apes can make the price whatever they want, because the bears are paying a late fee for every day that they don't return the original bananas. At some point, the late fee will become so expensive that they will pay whatever it takes to get the bananas back.
This is known as a short squeeze. And the apes can potentially make lots of money on those bananas.
Applying this to the market, if FFIE is being shorted, and you all decide you want to squeeze them. Then hold, your shares, the shorter will pay whatever it takes to get those shares returned.
Now, there are a few things that are required to make a short squeeze happen:

1. There needs to be an entity (hedge funds) who shorted the stocks, betting the price would decline. Very simple to find out as it is public information.
   
2. There needs to be an entity (You mad lads) who wants to make money off their shorts (this is a bit harder as y'all get scared of the fight back by them and sell out).
   
3. Time investment to make the hedge funds sweat about losing money on the shares they borrowed.
   

PHEW! That was tough. You did good though, Now, you are all experts on the idea behind a short squeeze.
Lets see if FFIE has the requirements needed to begin a short squeeze:

1. The shorts. On April 30th, and in my Last Post , I showed an image that the company FFIE was absolutely being shorted. In fact, 98% of the total shares of the company were being shorted. So yes, FFIE met requirement number 1.

Now, there has been ALOT of debate regarding the current number of shorts. And I'll help resolve WHY this debate has been ongoing. I believe that much of this debate lies in the differences between the terms "short volume" and "Short interest"
Many have been screaming that the short interest of a company is only posted every 2 weeks. Which is absolutely true.
Others have been posting that the shorted volume of FFIE is at VERY high numbers. Which is also true.
For those that don't understand the market, the short interest and short volume are interchangable. That is why so many of you have been so confused.
Im here to tell you, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.
There are very clear differences between the two numbers and their reliability, in terms of a squeeze is extremely different. Ill try to make it simple for you and put your questions and confusions to bed.
STRAP IN! THIS IS TOTALLY NOT GOING TO BE BORING!
Official definition online for short interest from the fintel website:
"collected by FINRA from brokers twice a month and distributed by the stock exchanges. So, twice a month all the brokedealers add up all the short positions held in all of their custodial accounts — that means yours, mine, and all the hedge funds — and send the totals to FINRA."
Yawn am I right?
Yeah that was literally ctrl. C then ctrl . V onto this text. Doesn't seem too intuitive does it.
What the heck does this mean? Ape speak please?
The short Interest is the number of shares shorted by all of the different hedge funds. It is a comprehensive list of all the numbers of the total number of short shares.
However, it only represents a snapshot in time. Typically, it is a snapshot in time from the day that it is required to be reported. The most recent numbers came on today (5/24).
In general, this number can be manipulated. Think of it like taking a picture. Because that number is based on a snapshot in time, and hedge funds know when the picture will be taken, they can hide the number of shorted shares during the picture, and then once the camera takes its picture, they go back to normal. It is a way that the bears can lie about the fact that they borrowed shares.
Official definition online for short VOLUME from the FINTEL website:
the accumulated trades published to the consolidated tape. Every trade that is made is published in real time to the tape. At the end of the trading day, every trading venue publishes their volume numbers, which includes both Short Volume and Total Volume.
Jesus. That was a difficult read. Are you still awake?
Okay again. Super easy to understand. Right? Right? Yeah not so much. I hate the technical terminology used but I guess I can explain.
The short VOLUME is is a more accurate measure of how a particular stock is being shorted. I think of it more like a video tape. It is a collection of all shorting trades made, and is posted every day. It is a lot of information to sort through, but the numbers speak VOLUMES to the efficiency of a possible squeeze (haha volume. Get it?)
In the end, if the VOLUME of shorted shares remains high, then the company is relying on the price of the stock to decline, or trying to hold out when a squeeze is happening in the hopes that the price of the shares drop again. This is the number we care about. This number is COMPREHENSIVE of all shorted stocks (including off-exchange/darkpool numbers and retail shorts)
DONT WORRY ILL EXPLAIN WHAT OFF EXCHANGE/DARK POOL IS LATER
Here is another explanation in terms a dumb ape would understand:
Okay so using the previous "APE vs BEAR banana in supermarket example"
Lets start where the Apes have purchased all the bananas and we think the bears have shorted banana sales.
So, lets imagine that the laws require that the Bears post publicly exactly how many bananas they borrowed from the lender. They are required to post this information every 2 weeks. They know they have to post soon. Therefore, to scare the apes into thinking they aren't actually squeezing, they take their picture of their borrowed bananas and post it. In the picture (since they had time to organize their efforts) it shows that they, in fact, didn't borrow any bananas. Now the apes would be panicked right? They have all these bananas for no reason. But a SMART ape would understand that they could use that photo to manipulate us. They obviously just quickly hid the fact that they borrowed bananas for the picture. The bears used the required "short interest picture" to scare you all into thinking your bananas were worthless, and encourage you to sell them.
Instead, its better to look at the security footage of the bears hiding their borrowed banana receipts. We'd be able to catch them red handed! Thus, we look at the "short volume" of bananas. The problem is, each bear individually posts their volume every day, and doesn't compile it in one clear video for us. Why would they? The more we know, the more we can charge for our bananas.
Plus, there are also dozens (if not hundreds) of bears all posting, accurate, but misleading, numbers. They make a united effort to throw as many confusing, and non-relevant videos into the mix to divert our attention.
This is EXACTLY what you have seen posted all week. Various people posting different volume numbers. And while each volume number they posted is accurate, they are only a partial truth.
FREE BANANA TO ANYONE WHO CAN TELL ME WHERE WE GET THE COMPILED, ACCUATE DATA.
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Well, with the report of the "snapshot" that is released every 2 weeks, we also get another bit of information. The total number of exchanged shorts "off exchange."
Are you still following? This is where it gets even more confusing.
With the report, FINTEL also publishes a number known as the "off exchange short volume"
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This number is the most accurate number to describe how many shares of a stock are currently being shorted. As we learned above, the "short interest" isn't reliable as the bears can hide their numbers during the picture.
However, at some point, some smart person (probably being super angry at how the bears could lie using short interest pictures) made a law that requires them disclose the number of currently exchanged "off market/dark pool" exchanges that were made.
An off market exchange is what happens when a bear decides to trade with another bear out of the public eye.
Why would they do this?
Back to our "ape speak" example
Okay so the bears know that they have their upcoming (2-week) picture that gets released. They want to make it seem like they don't have any owed bananas.
What do they do? How can they just lie for a picture?
The answer is in off market exchanges. You see, the bears found out that they can trade their shorts WITH EACHOTHER.
So for the picture, Mr. Black bear gives all his receipts to the polar bear. Then, when the Mr. Polar bear takes his photo, he gives them to Mr. Black bear (since he already took his photo).
These off market exchanges tend to SKYROCKET during a few times. One of which, is when hedge funds try to hide how much of an investment they have in their shorted shares.
So, over the next few days, we will see many people posting "OMG THEY ARENT EVEN SHORTING BECAUSE THE SHORT INTEREST IS DOWN FROM LAST POST"
Well, of course its lower. The last posted information, the hedge funds didn't know they would be squeezed. Therefore, they didn't feel the need to hide the short interest. Now, they need to hide it to scare you. So they create fear by lowering that number. But when that short interest number goes down, and off exchange goes up, it means they are still holding shorts, but just covering it up for their short interest reports.
Okay, so lets look at these numbers and see what it means for squeezers.
LONG STORY SHORT, THEY HAVE NOT NOT RETURNED THEIR SHORTS. They are simply trying to manipulate us into believing that they did.
In fact, they went from 36 million shorts UP to 64 million shorts (likely a bit less as this number includes transfers of shorts both ways).
But still, they have hope. Let's strip it away from them and make it KNOWN that they are manipulating. Time to HOLD and TIME TO BUY.
When you hold/buy shares, then the second requirement and third requirement for the squeeze are in our hands entirely.
Now, I know there's alot more to say, but I know people are waiting for my post so Im going to cut it short here. Ill make another post this weekend regarding the specific trading patterns we saw on the day-to-day that imply that the bears were trying to make us panic sell our shares.
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Good Luck everyone. DMs are open for questions and corrections that might be needed.
With love,
MP- guardian APE