Below you will find a weekly reminder of our Rules and partial FAQ. It's definitely a long read, but it's worth your time, especially if you are new to the community, or dropping by as a result of a link you found elsewhere. We periodically revise our rules, this weekly notice will help keep you informed of any changes made.
NOTE: These rules are guidelines. Some moderation discretion is to be expected.

Community Rules

1. Kindness Matters

Advise, don't criticize.

• Post with empathy, thoughtfulness, and constructive commentary rather than judgment. Don't be an asshole.
• Name-calling, slurs (including gender or race based slurs), and insults towards other community members will not be tolerated. Do not attack others for their personally held values, custody situation, marital status, physical distance from stepkids, or economic status; or on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, or ethnicity.
• No name-calling toward children, including the above-mentioned insults or the term "skids", or terms such as "mini-wife" or "mini-husband."
• Comments advocating spanking or any mention of wanting to harm children are not allowed.
• This is a support sub, not a judgement sub, assholes are not tolerated. Comments with terms used in other subs to pass judgement on assholes will be removed.

2. No Drama

This is a support sub.

• Bickering, nitpicking, and thread derailment will not be tolerated and will be subject to removal at moderator discretion.
• Do not repeatedly badger a poster demanding answers, or refuse to acknowledge an answer that's already been given.
• Do not use sensitive issues from past posts (either from this sub or other subs) to attack another user, as we are all discussing vulnerable topics.
• Crossposting anything from /stepparents to any other subreddit might result in a ban and may result in the original thread being locked. Brigading our sub will result in an immediate ban.

3. Report, Don’t Rant

No backseat modding.

• If you see someone breaking the rules, report the post or comment to the mods rather than engaging them in an argument. Failure to do so may be subject to comment removal at moderator discretion.
• No meta posts complaining about rude comments, DMs, or general sub issues.
• If you think someone is a troll or previously banned user, either use the report function or message the mods to direct their attention to the issue.

4. No Naming & Shaming

No userpings or links.

• Tagging/pinging users or other subreddits in an attempt to bully, harass, or complain will not be tolerated. Do not tag other subs, ever.
• If you want to complain about another subreddit being hostile to stepparents, do not name the subreddit. "Other parenting/advice/judgement subs" will suffice.

5. No Platitudes

Nobody knew what they were getting into.

• Comments like "You knew what you were getting into", "Love them, love their kids!", "They're a package deal!" and "You have to love them like your own!" will be removed.
• Comments suggesting that OP is not cut out for stepparenting will be removed at moderator discretion.
• Comments like "This is just a part of parenting, deal with it!" will be removed at moderator discretion.

6. No Trolling

We have zero tolerance for trolls.

• This is a support sub. Our subscribers do not have the time, nor inclination, to provide support to internet trolls. Posts that are suspected to be trolling attempts will be immediately removed, and the poster banned.
• Concern trolling, devil's advocating, gish-galloping, sealioning, and general asshattery are subject to immediate removal and banning without warning or notice.
• Any attempt to circumvent the ban by creating a new username will be reported to reddit admins and possibly result in account suspension.

7. No Personally Identifiable Information

Use discretion when posting.

• We highly recommend using a separate account for support subs to help prevent being doxxed. Do not post any information that may allow others to figure out your identity.
• Do not post photos of children, or any other photo that could be used to identify you or another user on the sub.
• Any image that contains a name or other identifying information should have the name or identifying information blurred out. This includes drawings, notes, and screenshots.
• Do not link to social media or any articles/blogs where you or another user on the sub is mentioned by name.

8. No More than 2 Posts per 24 hours

Use the daily threads.

• We are not a huge sub, but we are no longer a small sub. If you have multiple grievances to air, use the daily discussion threads instead of multiple posts.

9. Follow Reddiquette

Remember the human.

• Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.
• Read it in full here.
• Downvoting is reserved for comments that don’t contribute, and shouldn't be used to indicate disagreement.
• If you believe someone is in violation of the subreddit rules, please either use the report function or message the mods to direct their attention to the issue.
• Suspected brigading will be reported to reddit admins.

10. No Porn, Spam, Blogs, or Research Studies/Surveys Without Mod Approval

Just don't.

• This is a SFW subreddit. Posting pornography will result in immediate post removal and permanent ban.
• Advertising on the subreddit (outside of Reddit's own advertising) is not allowed.
• No personal blog posts are allowed without express moderator permission.
• No advertising without prior mod approval.
• No asking for money/posting fundraisers/etc.
• For links to parenting research studies or surveys, please message the mods for permission before posting.

11. Disputes in Modmail Only

Don't argue with the mods on the sub.

• Any issues specifically related to how a mod is moderating should be addressed to the full moderating team via mod mail. This ensures that all mods are aware of any concerns and prevents disintegration of the topic thread at hand.
• This means to do not message or send chat requests to individual mods. All discussion and complaints about mod actions need to be done in mod mail ONLY. Failure to follow this rule can result in an immediate permanent ban.
• Comments in threads asking about mod decisions are subject to removal without notice.

12. Moderator Actions

We aren't kidding.

• Users are expected to know the rules before posting. If you are warned or banned for violating the rules, ignorance is not an excuse.
• Moderators will remove posts and comments and/or lock threads in accordance with the rules above. Typically this happens when threads have gone off-topic in a way that is not productive for the OP, or comments overall have become contentious or disrespectful.
• If a poster continues to argue or to willfully violate these rules, temporary and permanent ban procedures will be followed. Any attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban. User bans will not be discussed in the sub. Questions posted about user bans are subject to removal and the poster subject to warning/ban procedures. The mod team will not discuss a specific user ban with anyone other than the user involved.
• New accounts are subject to manual approval until they are no longer deemed "new" by the mod team. This helps to weed out trolls and ban evaders.
• We rely on Automoderator to scan for specific words and phrases that are not welcome here and notify the mod team to review the comment or post. This includes slurs of any type and platitudes such as "Love them as your own!"
• The mod team uses a combination of blacklisting and banning when dealing with trolls.
• We employ the use of a bot that automatically bans anyone who comments in subs that have historically harassed our users. If you are picked up by the bot for telling trolls to get fucked, reach out via mod mail and we'll get you sorted out.
• The rules above as well as ban procedures are considered guidelines only; some deviation may be necessary on a case by case basis and/or at the mod team's discretion.

13. Ban Procedure

These actions are at moderator discretion.

• Pornography will result in an automatic permanent ban.
• Extremely egregious content will result in an immediate permanent ban.
• You may receive a 7 or 30 day temporary ban for first and second rule violations, depending upon severity.
• Continued rule violations will result in a permanent ban.
• Willful attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban.
• We recognize the reddit site-wide rules of using alt names to get around bans and will ban those as well as report them to reddit admins.

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FAQ - About the Rules

What does Kindness Matters mean?

• Shortest version? Don't be an asshole. People come here for support and advice, they do not come here to be yelled at or told they are the reason everything is going sideways. There are ways to point out that someone may want to do some reflection on their own actions and reactions without being an asshole about it.
• The purpose of this subreddit is to provide support and a sense of belonging for struggling stepparents. We aren't here to pass judgement, but rather to offer support, empathy, and constructive commentary. That does not include "hard truths" or "tough love." Stepparents get enough of that in every other subreddit, we're not passing it out here. Be respectful.
• Remember, most people aren't going to come to a sub like this when everything is going great and everyone is getting along. People are coming here when they are down, when they are feeling defeated and stretched to the limit. Kicking someone when they are down is shitty behavior and we don't tolerate it.

What about being kind to the kids?

• "Won't somebody think of the children?" Pearl clutching isn't needed here. If you read the Kindness Matters rule closely, you will see that there is a clause in there about name calling children. We don't allow it. We also don't allow people rolling in telling OP that they feel sorry for their stepkids because OP is feeling overwhelmed and overloaded.
• If anyone is advocating slapping, spanking, or any other form of violence, report the comment immediately. We do not advocate violence towards children of any sort. The mod team does not advocate any sort of physical punishment at any time.
• Venting about behaviors is not the same as insulting the kids. However, if you see a post or comment where kids are being name called or dragged to the point of no return, use the report button. We try to catch the posts and remove them before they hit the sub, but we cannot see every comment without your help. Use the report button to bring problematic comments to our attention. Don't engage in a war of words on our subreddit.

Why is this sub such an echo chamber?

• Not allowing contributors to pile on and tell OP that they are a terrible human being who should never be around children does not equate to being an echo chamber. Many contributors here will offer OP suggestions to help them work through their resentments and frustrations, and the most egregious situations are called out. We simply ask that it be called out with respect.
• If you feel that a post is simply too much for you to handle without following the rules, move on to another post.
• If you believe that a post itself is crossing the rules report it. If the mod team has approved the post, it is because the mod team believes that the OP needs help from the community or needs a moment to vent and move on from their vent. That does not give you license to pile on disrespectfully. Unless it is proven that OP is a bot, assume that OP is a human being with real thoughts and feelings and has posted from a place of vulnerability.

Why can't I tell OP that they are an asshole?

• Because this isn't a judgement sub. We aren't AITA, we don't want to be AITA.
• Comments with terms like YTA, NTA, ESH, NAH will be removed.
• Don't start your posts with INFO either. We generally recognize that as a fishing attempt for more information to pass judgement on OP, and again, we are not a judgment sub.

But OP asked if they were an asshole?!

• Their post somehow got past our automoderator. Just use the report button. We will address it with OP.
• If you've asked if you are an asshole, a-hole, a*hole, a**hole, whatever, don't be surprised if your post is removed without warning. This isn't a judgment sub. If you want judgment, you know where to go.

What is a gendered slur?

• While it seems that everyone understands what racist slurs are, people struggle understanding the concept of gendered slurs. Generally speaking, we are talking about derogatory nouns or verbs that are used to negatively describe people or situations based on gendered terms.
• We've gone back and forth on this a few times, and the truth is, we get it, it's your safe space and you want to be able to vent about BM/BD how you want to vent about them, without us telling you how to vent about them. Fair enough. Vent away. What we are going to stick to here how people are referring to other users and to stepchildren.
• Examples that are not allowed:
  • "My SD is such a little bitch."
  • "She dresses/acts like a slut."
  • "My SS acts like a pussy."
  • "My SS is such a beta male."
  • "You are all fucking whores."
  • "Any dude who is raising some sluts kids is a cuck!"
  • "Little Lord Fauntleroy over here thinking he runs the house!"
  • "You're just the bangnanny, get used to it."
• Don't call users here names, don't call stepchildren names.
• Masking the term with asterisks or other neat little tricks might get you around the bot, but if we see it, we're removing it and quite possibly giving you a time out. The intended word is still there and you deliberately tried to skate the rule.
• As there is not enough space to list every term that is offensive and does not belong, nor every situation in which term or phrase may be allowable in context, this rule is enforced based on moderator discretion.

Seriously? You are the language police now?

• We're here to talk about stepparenting. And we would like for that to happen in a respectful way. Attacking each other doesn't help. Belittling stepchildren draws in trolls who don't understand your frustration, all they see is an evil stepmonster talking shit on the internet about a poor, innocent baby. Yes, even if that "poor, innocent baby" just robbed you blind and set fire to the house on their way out the door. That's just how it goes.
• We are aware that this is a relatively new rule and a lot of older posts and comments contain a lot of problematic language, including some from mods themselves. We are growing and evolving, and rules change as the sub grows and evolves.

What does No Drama really mean?

• Pretty much what it says, do not bring drama from other subs into this sub. Do not engage in vote brigades. Do not try to incite other subscribers to riot in a different sub. Don't follow posters into this sub from other subs to continue to harass them. Do not badger someone or derail threads. Do not harass community members because you don't agree with them. There's enough drama in the daily lives of subscribers, more isn't needed.

What is thread derailment?

• When a comment chain has devolved to the point where all you are doing is arguing back and forth with someone about the same thing over and over again, you have derailed the thread. Also known as bickering. It's what children do. We assume if people are in a stepparent role they are adults. We expect you to act like it.
• If you aren't a stepparent, or in a stepparenting role, consider that perhaps this subreddit isn't for you. If you want to participate, do so with respect. Thread derailment, arguing, bickering, and nitpicking are not allowed.

But what if they didn't answer my question?

• No one has to answer your questions. This is a support sub, not an inquisition. Jumping on a bandwagon with "OP is evading the question" in a 20 comment long chain is the epitome of thread derailment. You'll find more information about trolling below and how this might be considered such.

Why am I being silenced? I'm just asking for a back and forth!

• Thread derailment, badgering, and nitpicking are considered harassment. Continued harassment of either community members or mods will get you banned.

Why can't I look at someone's post history and comment about it?

• No mod in the history of this sub has ever once said post histories are forbidden. What we do frown upon is using someone's post history to attack, belittle, or otherwise harass someone.
• Example Post: "My stepkid's mom really hates me. How can I make this better?"
  • Okay: "Based on the timeline and your post history, it looks like this may have started as an affair. Unfortunately there's going to be outstanding issues for a long time due to that. Try focusing on yourself and how you can move forward without worrying about how someone else feels about you."
  • Not Okay: "Holy shit! You were the OW! What the hell do you expect, homewrecker?!"
• Example Post: "I am completely overloaded and feeling very down about myself."
  • Okay: "In your post history you mentioned that your spouse wasn't really helping around the house. Has that changed at all?"
  • Not Okay: "LOL, you already got the answers you need in your post on relationships. You are stupid for sticking with your lazy spouse."

Why can't we crosspost stuff to other subs?

• We can't stop you from doing so. The problem isn't that something has been crossposted, it's when the community that it's been crossposted to feels the need to come over here and harass OP. When we see that happening, we lock the post and start passing out bans. If you did the crossposting, you'll be banned. If you participated in the brigading, you'll be banned.

What if it's my own post?

• Again, we can't stop you from doing so. We prefer that you don't technically crosspost, but rather just copy and paste your post. Why? Because inevitably the above will happen. Redditors from other subs will follow you back to /stepparents and start attacking users here. It just happens.

What is "brigading"?

• Reddit defines vote manipulation and brigading as follows:
• Using multiple accounts, voting services, or any other software to increase or decrease vote scores.
• Asking people to vote up or down certain posts, either on Reddit itself or through social networks, messaging, etc. for personal gain.
• Forming or joining a group that votes together, either on a specific post, a user's posts, posts from a domain, etc.
• We, along with pretty much every other subreddit that has ever had to deal with this nonsense, further define brigading as this: You saw a post on another sub that linked to our sub either via a link in a comment or a crosspost. It was basically saying something along the lines of "OMG, check out these assholes over on /stepparents! They literally hate all their stepkids!" And then you and your friends come over and start hammering on OP and telling OP how much they suck. Congrats, you have just participated in a brigade.

What is this whole Report, Don't Rant thing about?

• If you see a post or comment that breaks the rules, instead of engaging, report it. When you report it, it sends notification to the mod team. We will act on it where appropriate. Engaging with bad faith users may result in your comments being removed. If you repeatedly do so, you may end up being banned.

What if I see an obvious troll?

• Report it.

What if they are being really mean in comments?

• Report it.

What if they are harassing me in private messages?

• Step 1: Report them to admins. You can report harassment to reddit by using this link or send a DM to reddit admins. Include the link to the DM, admins can see your inbox and providing a direct link is helpful for them to weed out bad actors.
• Step 2: Block the person so they cannot directly contact you again.
• Step 3: Send us a mod mail and let the mod team know. Tell us who they are and what they said, send us a screenshot if you can - admins can see your DMs, mods can't. We'll take action where necessary by banning from the sub if they aren't already banned.

What do you mean by No Naming & Shaming?

• Just as we prefer to not be linked to or crossposted from, we do not allow linking to or calling out other subs by name. If you see something you want to share, say it's a hot post that has hit the front page and a stepparent is being absolutely flayed, just refer to it as "that hot post that hit the front page." If you want to complain about other places in general, "other parenting/advice/judgement subs" will suffice. Absolutely under no circumstances should you link to anywhere else.

I can't link to other subs?

• Do not directly link to another sub. (e.g.: "/insertsubnamehere is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")
• Do not name other subs. (e.g.: "I won't link to it directly, but insertsubnamehere is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")
• Do not abbreviate other subs. (e.g.: "I know that ISNH is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")

I can't ping other users?

• Do not summon another user with a username ping/tag. (e.g.: "insertusernamehere was being an asshole.")
• If you are agreeing with someone, it is okay to link to them. (e.g.: "I agree with insertusernamehere, you need to take a couple of steps back and reflect on this.")

What does No Platitudes mean?

• Sanctimonious, overused clichés that grossly oversimplify the stepparenting experience are neither wanted nor allowed here. We have all heard it a thousand times before, we don't need to hear it again. It's not nearly as insightful and wise as some would like to think.

Why don't you people understand it's a package deal?

• Any comment that suggests that OP should have known what they were getting involved with, or that they needed to understand that the kids were part of some package they needed to accept before signing up for marriage is subject to immediate removal.
• This is one of the most insensitive things you can say to a stepparent. Most stepparents were aware of the children, but they were probably not aware of all of the family dynamics.

Why can't you just love them like they are your own?

• Demanding that a stranger you do not know love children that are not biologically theirs as if they were theirs can be incredibly damaging to someone who is already in a vulnerable situation. Any comment that falls along these lines will be removed.

What do you mean by No Trolling? I was just...

• No means no. No trolling. No pretending to be a stepparent and then whipping out the Greatest Hits Bingo Card of The Worst Stepparent in the History of Stepparents. We see you. We've seen you a thousand times.

What does "concern trolling", "gish-galloping", and "sealioning" have to do with stepparenting? This isn't a debate sub, why are you using debate terms?

• That's absolutely right, this isn't a debate sub. And yet, here we are, day after day, having to defend ourselves against this sort of thing. So, enough. No more. Usage of any of these things will get you banned.

What is "Concern Trolling?"

• A concern troll is someone who disingenuously visits sites of an opposing ideology to disrupt conversation by offering unwanted advice on how to solve problems which do not really exist.
  • Example Post: OP expresses concern that she will feel, and possibly act, differently towards her stepchildren after her husband decides that no, he doesn't want anymore children after all.
  • Example Concern Troll pulled from actual mod mail after their comment was removed: "Possible child abuse claims need to be sorted out well before whatever empathy you believe the OP was looking for."

What is a "Devil's Advocate"?

• "I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but have you considered that maybe BM is just really tired and needs a break, too?" BM has dozens of different mom based subs alone on reddit she can complain on, this sub is for stepparents. The stepparent doesn't need to consider that maybe BM is just really tired and needs a break.

"Gish-galloping?" What does that even mean?

• The Gish Gallop is the fallacious debate tactic of drowning your opponent in a flood of individually-weak arguments in order to prevent rebuttal of the whole argument collection without great effort. The Gish Gallop is a conveyor belt-fed version of the on the spot fallacy, as it's unreasonable for anyone to have a well-composed answer immediately available to every argument present in the Gallop.

And "sealioning?" What's that?

• Sealioning involves jumping into a conversation with endless polite, reasonable questions and demands for answers, usually of entry-level topics far below the actual conversation (e.g. "please prove sexism exists"). This tactic differs little from harassment; instead of discussion, the point is to derail discussion, receive criticism (for their ignorance) so as to look like a victim, or to make someone feel overwhelmed and quit talking.

Who gets to define what is considered asshattery?

• The mod team, of course! If we feel that comments are out of line, are trolling, are leading up to a fight or "just asking questions", we are going to remove them and most likely ban the offender.

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FAQ - Sub Questions

Posting Guidelines for Stepparents

• Body text is required, we suggest you use line breaks between paragraphs as a wall of text is difficult to read. Posts that have only a title are likely to be removed. Instead of using names (even fictitious ones), try to use the sub acronyms. It helps our users to follow along if you use the acronyms and not names.
• Assign a post flair that accurately describes what your post is about and what you are seeking. If you are posting an update from a previous post, include a link to that post.
• Flairs are applied to posts to determine what a person is looking for. When submitting a new post, you should choose a flair that specifies if you are looking for advice, support, etc. The following link flair is available and is color coded with side bar links so that you can search by flair:
  • Advice - For when you are specifically asking for advice or help.
  • Announcement - Mod Use Only, for subreddit announcements.
  • Daily (Formerly TTP) - Mod Use Only, for our daily discussion threads.
  • Discussion - A little advice, a little "How does your family handle this?"
  • JustBMThings - Pretty sure this is self explanatory!
  • Legal - Asking for legal advice? Tag it with this!
  • Miscellany - Just a sort of off topic thing? Use this tag.
  • Resource - Sharing a good resource or asking for one? This is the tag you need!
  • Support - For those days when you want nothing but a good old fashioned cry and some community love.
  • Update - Updating us on something that you posted about previously? Use this one!
  • Vent - We all need to vent sometimes. Respect the tag as a vent. This isn't how OP talks all day every day.
  • Win! - Celebrate those wins with us with this tag!
  • Megathread - Mod Use Only, for large mega threads (typically around major calendar events.)

Posting Guidelines for Bioparents

• Stepparents is a support community for stepparents, by stepparents. As bioparents, you may want to have more insight into how the stepparent in your life feels or thinks. You may have questions on how to ease the transition for your partner. However, please keep in mind that this community was not created for you. It was created for your partner or your ex's partner. If you are seeking support on how to deal with a stepparent, there are other subs more suited for your situation and your post is subject to removal.
• There are some posts from bioparents we will accept:
  • Seeking advice on how to support your partner as they navigate stepparenting
  • Seeking resources to help you better support your partner
  • Seeking resources for your partner
• There are some posts from bioparents we will not accept:
  • Complaints about how the stepparent is too involved in your kids lives
  • Vents about how the stepparent is not involved enough in your kids lives
  • "Cautionary tales" advising stepparents to back off
  • Seeking advice on how to tell the stepparent to back off
  • The Do's and Dont's of Stepparenting
  • How your kid's stepmom is literally The Worst
• Comments from bioparents that are helpful and supportive are welcome and appreciated. Comments from bioparents that are not helpful or supportive are not welcome and subject to removal. There are several other subs that may meet the needs of bioparents better than we can. We recommend /coparenting, /parenting, /parents, /blendedfamilies, and /singleparents as starting points.

Guidelines for Stepkids

• At this time, we do not generally accept posts from stepkids. Comments from stepkids that are helpful and supportive are welcome and appreciated. Comments from stepkids that are not helpful or supportive are not welcome and subject to removal. If you are a stepkid seeking support, we highly recommend /stepkids. It is a very supportive community specifically for stepkids. We also recommend /blendedfamilies as another potential group for support.

What the heck are all these acronyms? I'm confused!

• Check out the Common Acronyms wiki page. We try to keep this updated as new terms are introduced to the sub.

Why aren't my posts or comments showing up?

• New posters and accounts go through a waiting period before their posts will show in the sub and the comments on posts automatically. During the new account approval period the mod team will check posts to be sure you aren't attempting to circumvent a ban with a shiny new account. Please be patient while the timer runs down on your "new" status and the mod team approves your posts and responses.

Why was my comment removed?

• Comments are removed when they do not follow the rules of the sub. These rules are published in several places for your reading pleasure.
• Comments are removed at moderator discretion. In some cases your comment may be removed while another remains up. If you find this to be the case, and you believe the comment to be violating the rules, instead of arguing with mods or demanding they remove the additional comments, just report it.

This comment/post is really offensive! Why is it still up?

• All moderators are volunteers and have busy real lives. Sometimes things get past us. The best thing you can do is report anything you find offensive or inflammatory. It's the quickest and most reliable way of alerting us to an issue.

I've received a hurtful/unwanted PM from someone about my recent post. What should I do?

• If you receive an unwanted/hurtful PM from a name you don't recognize, please report it to Reddit Admins using our handy pre-populated form. Be sure to include the permalink to the message. We've been dealing with a few unhappy folks who like to attack stepparents, and reporting it to the admins is the only way to make it stop.

What are the general moderator guidelines?

• Users are expected to know the rules before posting. If you are warned or banned for violating the rules, ignorance is not an excuse.
• Moderators will remove posts and comments and/or lock threads in accordance with the rules above. Typically this happens when threads have gone off-topic in a way that is not productive for the OP, or comments overall have become contentious or disrespectful.
• If a poster continues to argue or to willfully violate these rules, temporary and permanent ban procedures will be followed. Any attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban. User bans will not be discussed in the sub. Questions posted about user bans are subject to removal and the poster subject to warning/ban procedures. The mod team will not discuss a specific user ban with anyone other than the user involved.
• New accounts are subject to manual approval until they are no longer deemed "new" by the mod team. This helps to weed out trolls and ban evaders.
• We rely on Automoderator to scan for specific words and phrases that are not welcome here and notify the mod team to review the comment or post. This includes slurs of any type and platitudes such as "Love them as your own!"
• The mod team uses a combination of blacklisting and banning when dealing with trolls.
• We employ the use of a bot that automatically bans anyone who comments in subs that have historically harassed our users. If you are picked up by the bot for telling trolls to get fucked, reach out via mod mail and we'll get you sorted out.
• The rules above as well as ban procedures are considered guidelines only; some deviation may be necessary on a case by case basis and/or at the mod team's discretion.

I've been wrongly banned/Why can't I comment here?

• Due to an influx of harassment from users with specific user histories, we have employed a user history ban bot as described above. If you think this has affected you and wish to appeal, please message the mods.

Why was I banned without warning?

• There are numerous reasons that the mod team might opt to move perm banning without warning. Message the moderators if you have specific questions.

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Some details you wouldn't want to miss are:
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• Currently taking HIV PrEP medication
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• Part of any of the recognized high-risk groups towards contracting HIV: Men-who-have-sex-with-Men (MSM), Sex Workers, Sexually Active, and/or having Multiple Partners
• Aged 18-60 years old

If you are interested, want to know more about our study, or simply want to reach out to the researchers. please either reach out or DM me here on Reddit, or contact any of these email addresses: [mariahjasmine.alcaraz.mnl@eac.edu.ph](mailto:mariahjasmine.alcaraz.mnl@eac.edu.ph), [dateseudise.gerona.mnl@eac.edu.ph](mailto:dateseudise.gerona.mnl@eac.edu.ph), [altheapearl.perales.mnl@eac.edu.ph](mailto:altheapearl.perales.mnl@eac.edu.ph)
OR
you can check out our informed consent form, which should contain all important information you would need to know before coming up with an informed decision: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MeI0VhOaAK5h3caX6qkwbWWezVVG5IJj/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101360428502972259771&rtpof=true&sd=true
If you want to take the survey, here is the link to the Google Forms: https://forms.gle/As1643GGQJUNdUeo7

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1799622560935780655
Musk : "Yeah, this is not cool.
If they actually surveyed their constituents, they would discover overwhelming support in favor.
So far, roughly 90% of retail shareholders who have voted have voted in favor of both resolutions. The public sentiment is unequivocally supportive."
I think they have misunderstood everything, Musk mentioned that of the retailers who voted, 90% voted yes.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1799630176818741731
Musk : ""A lot of shareholders are having challenges voting due to the institutions that hold their shares making it complicated, so any community support would be much appreciated!"
When he refers to many, I would say that he has a long way to go to get the votes he wants.

Also posted on Paizo forums. Posting on here to possibly be informative and worthy of discussion.
More verbose than intended. Trying to give detailed feedback.
****************************************
TLDR: Solid B tier class, possibly A tier for parties that build around him. With a few tweaks it will be a solid class to release.
To the devs, just want to say that this is the best system that I’ve played in nearly 40 years of gaming. I particularly like the commitment to continual balance improvements, such as buffing barbarian in the new core 2, and the annual play tests that have helped keep new classes roughly in line with the power of prior classes.
So, here’s my little bit to help: commentary on a 3 session level 12 Kingmaker dungeon delve using the commander as a gmpc. (I’ve also filled out the playtest surveys as well).
Was originally going to be Octavia, wizard 12, accompanying the party, but changed it to an old warrior they’d rescued from a dictator’s dungeon.
He beseeched the party to let him join them and help to rescue his daughter from a fierce barbarian tribe. (And as I told them it was the commander playtest they said ‘yes’).
I assumed that he’d know all tactics, being a grizzled old veteran.
Feats were: Plant Banner, Adaptive Stratagem, Wave the Flag, Efficient Preparation, Defiant Banner, Rallying Banner, Fortunate Blow.
Armed with composite longbow as I felt he was too squishy and action starved to melee.
Party composition: Meat head fighter paladin rogue, dorn dergar, aims to pump out massive damage and debuff via crit knock down and greater crushing rune. Tactical fighter. Reach sword, open handed, knock down blow, medic and Overwatch dedications. Gunslinger - sniper, dpr, thief stuff and fake out in combat buffing. Phoenix Sorcerer kineticist – primal caster. Timber sentinel when not using slots. Bard kineticist – fortissimo spam plus timber sentinel when not using slots.
Main party of 5 has very solid dpr, being able to pump out disgusting amounts of damage and finishing fights quickly.
During the campaign, 11 other companions have rotated in and out of party slot 6, and now it was the commander’s turn.
Fight 1: Rescue 5 hostages from barbarian tribe. 24 level 8 creatures. 160Xp fight. Commander gave gunslinger extra stride to fly down a cliff he’d suggested the party attack from, tell the 5 hostages they were being rescued and have them enter a bag of holding. Gunslinger then flew back up with the hostages. Sorcerer placed wall of stone to slow barbarians down. Barbarians then tried to climb the 50’ cliff to get to the party, and party tore them apart. Sorcerer used 4 chain lightnings that did a lot of damage. 17 died, 7 ran into a cave in the cliff side, hacking through the wall of stone blocking it off. Commander also good giving gunslinger extra attacks each round with Strike Hard! Tactic.
The party had thought that was the only fight of the day, which was why the sorcerer blew all his rank 6 slots in that fight. However, the commander’s daughter told them of a grim plot to retrieve a magic sword that would allow the barbarian chief to attain immense power. The party had to stop him!
Fight 2: Party had scouted the cave with prying eye and found 3 ninja type women inside. 80Xp fight, plus 7 survivors from last fight making it 127xp difficulty fight.
They were actually 3 level 12 clerics, and party had a hard time with a repulsion spell limiting fighter engagement. The 7 barbarians from the previous fight added some extra pressure. Commander mainly gave gunslinger extra attacks in order to finish the repulsion caster at range quickly, leaving fighters free to wade in and murder the 2 other casters with disrupting stance plus double reaction strikes.
Fight 3: Party found a secret passage and triggered a trap that summoned 3 Derghodaemons. 80Xp fight. Party was trapped by 2 blade barriers whist the daemons attacked at range. Sorcerer dispelled one barrier, letting the fighters go ham. Near the end, gunslinger and a fighter were both confused. Wave the Flag granted them 2 new saves, that they passed, negating the confusion. Nice. Commander also making heavy use of Strike Hard! And Fortunate Blow tactics combo with the gunslinger.
Fight 4: Party came across a gibbed up corpse in front of 2 massive iron statues. Even the meat head fighter figured out they’d likely animate. Commander had prepared Pirahnha Assault. This was handy as the 2 Iron Golems animated. 80Xp fight. The party made short work of them, with the commander negating 12 of the 15 resistance of each golem in turn.
Fight 5: 16 skeletal barbarians, 107xp fight. Commander had nothing to do as the party entered the bag of holding and the gunslinger snuck everybody past the skeletons.
Fight 6: A cleric 13 of Gorum and his 8 skeletal servants. 73*Xp fight. *The cleric spell dc was 7 higher than the party casters, and he was hitting the fighters on 2+ in melee. This guy was not a level 13 creature…
Due to a language issue, party missed out on two free gear upgrades and instead it kicked off. Cleric opened up with striding away and repulsion. His dc was so ludicrous, the casters couldn’t counteract it. He then pelted the party with spells whilst the 8 skeletons blasted the party with long bow fire.
Piranha Assault was very useful here due to cleric and skeletons resisting 10 most damage types. However, once party blasted with a divine wrath, with 3 party members crit failing to save, leaving them sickened 2 and slowed indefinitely, the commander used Form Up! To help the party beat a hasty retreat. Luckily the cleric declined to pursue.
(If he had, the repulsion would be negated and the fighters would have exploded him).
Fight 7: After 20 minutes of puking and healing, the party came back. The cleric no longer had repulsion, and the sorcerer used wall of stone to trap the cleric with the fighters and block the skeletons. Due to piranha Assault, the cleric damage resistance was negated. Cleric was nearly down after two rounds, despite 250+ hp and fast healing 10. Cleric was going to dimension door away when commander had his turn and used Strike Hard on the meat head fighter to crit the cleric and finish him off. The skeletons fell easily after that.
Fight 8: The party came across a possessed barbarian chief, level 15, who’d butchered his own men in a fit of rage. He also had 8 skeletal barbarians helping him out. 133Xp fight. The chief charged in and the party held him at the choke with the corridor. After two rounds the chief had taken over 300 damage, was dying 3. But he didn’t die, and didn’t fall unconscious. His cursed sword wouldn’t let him!
Noting that the chief was confused, blindly attacking himself when nobody else nearby, the commander used Form Up! To help the party retreat until the chief dropped dead of his wounds after ten rounds of super raging. The skeletons were easy to dispatch after that.
So, overall a successful expedition, managed with one day’s worth of resources. General consensus was that the commander was a solid addition to the party. However, would the wizard have been better?
THE GOOD:
Has some very powerful abilities. Piranha Assault, Form up!, Guiding Shot, Wave the Flag coming to mind. Fortunate Blow combo with Strike Hard for the gunslinger was very nice. I think Fortunate Blow might be an S tier feat. A strike combined with a limited true target spell for one action that can be used all day looks very good. Also has Mountaineering and Naval Training to aid greatly with exploration. Very nice utility.
THE BAD:
Some tactics just didn’t see use. Stupefying Raid might have been good in some of the fights, but the commander didn’t prepare it as other more bread and butter tactics available. End It! Looks very powerful, but it helps a winning party win harder. It can’t turn around a losing fight, or at least unlikely to.
Ended up spamming the same few bread and butter tactics as can only change one per fight, and that costs a level 6 feat…
Apart from climbing and swimming tactics, very little utility. Wizard could have prepped a translate and possibly avoided the cleric fight altogether. But, that’s the nature of martials. Maybe he’ll get more utility feats in the final version? To be fair, he’s already more useful than a lot of martials utility wise.
THE UGLY: Utterly bizarre power scaling on feats.
The mount doesn’t get independent until level 10. Why? It’s almost useless for the first nine levels of the commander’s career. He’s either going to pay the feat tax of going beast master or cavalier, or just not bother with it at all.
Plant Banner goes from terrible to meh to bonkers at level 15. Why not a more uniform progression?
Defiant Banner is meh until level 14, then it’s bonkers good. At level 20 a commander can spend one action to give entire party physical resist 17 in his banner aura. Why bother with champion or guardian with limited 22 damage negation at that point?
Class Dedications: As these 2 feats scale with overall class, I can see a wizard grabbing both of these and getting amazing value from one or both of them whilst still having the advantage of being a full caster. I assume that commander dedication will greatly limit number of squad mates affected by commander dedication feats and tactics?
FINAL THOUGHTS: Solid class. Nearly there. Just needs some tweaking IMO. Looking forward to it, and guardian in the new book next year.
Great job devs.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Things have become complicated recently and that’s saying something considering what we’ve been through up until now. We needed to set out early to avoid Mrs. Sheaver and her goons. Before we did, we snuck over to Roscoe’s place. His apartment number was on his house key so it wasn’t hard to find. Upon stepping inside, we were greeted by the site of several hunting rifles resting by the couch.
“That checks out,” Van said.
I went to check Roscoe’s room while Drake went into the kitchen.
“He's got some leftover pizza. Wait, no never mind, it's gone bad.”
Over Roscoe's bed hung a painting of Donald Trump. This wasn't surprising. I went to his closet, opened it, and found several sleeping bags and camping packs there. I came back into the living room with them.
“Hey, I think we can use these,” I said, tossing one to Drake and another to Van.
The former caught it and the other fumbled, dropping it. He squatted to pick it up.
“Gus?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you seen the kitchen? Roscoe had a ton of bottled water for some reason.”
“Oh yeah, I think he mentioned one time that he heard water from the sink makes you gay. I can't lie. He was weird.”
“Yeah, so you want to grab some cases?”
“I can carry a few. Just keep an eye out for trouble.”
I stacked some and lifted them. We also found some metal thermos cups that Van held onto.
“I don't see anyone,” he said after stepping outside.
We followed him out, making our way to the Hummer. Drake had his gun in hand and was behind us constantly looking over his shoulder. We got to the Hummer and unlocked it. That's when a bullet whizzed past my temple and hit one of the tail lights.
“So you were holding out on us,” Mrs. Sheaver screamed from her kitchen window.
“Fuck, get inside now,” Drake yelled.
Yanking the doors open, we threw our stuff in before jumping inside ourselves. In the rearview, we could see the rest of our neighbors armed with bats and pipes chasing after us.
“Start the fucking car,” I urged, and then another hole formed in the back windshield.
Drake cranked the ignition and backed up. Then we were out of there like cows escaping a slaughterhouse. We didn't even slow down when we came to the gate. Drake crashed right through it as the screams of Mrs. Sheaver and the others became faint cries.
“Okay, so we're on track for the most part,” I said. “Do you think the convenience store is too close now? I don't want them coming after us.”
“Guys?” We heard Van interject.
We glanced in the rearview again to see several cars gaining on us. The one at the front was a van being driven by Mrs. Sheaver.
“Oh my God,” Drake said. “Gus, lock and load.”
“Already on it. Be mindful of the tires.”
I loaded a rifle and got ready. The sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the car as we were being fired at. Drake tried taking several turns to lose them, but they stayed on our tail. I took a deep breath, then aimed out of one of the windows and shot at one car's tires. I made my mark, resulting in it swerving and crashing into another vehicle.
Both spun out of control until it was only Mrs. Sheaver left.
“Hold still,” she yelled over the rushing wind. “My eyes aren't what they used to be.”
Unfortunately for her, there was a pothole in the road. It damaged her front tire, causing her to swerve and plow straight into a tree at full speed. We stopped just in time to see it come crashing down, breaking through her windshield.
“God damn,” Drake said.
“I mean, she might still be alright,” I commented.
The tree had gone through some wires. One of them fell on a branch, setting it ablaze.
“Well, at least it was quick.”
“Oh Christ, I'm burning,” Mrs. Sheaver shrieked.
We sat there in silence listening before her cries died down.
“Drake, what time is it?” I asked.
“About twelve till six.”
Today was going to be a long day. We got back on track with our plan and proceeded to the convenience store. We got out and surveyed the damage.
“This thing's tough,” I said.
“Does anyone want to talk about how messed up that all was?” Van asked.
“Yeah, it was pretty fucked,” Drake replied, “but what's done is done. Let's grab what we can and get out of here.”
We tried the door, finding it was unlocked. Inside, a far-from-pretty sight was waiting for us. Blood stains covered the wall behind the counter. Out of morbid curiosity, I peeked over it, seeing only a hand and a shoe with the foot still attached. A shudder ran through me.
“Hey, Gus, what do you see back there?” Van asked.
“You don’t want to know.”
We started surveying what would be best to bring with us.
“I think we should focus on protein,” I said.
“Like trail mix?” Drake replied. “It’s got fruit too.”
“I hate trail mix, too many raisins,” Van complained.
“What about these?” I asked, cocking a thumb to some protein bars.
Something else caught my eye.
“Hang on,” I said, bending over and picking something up. “We can’t be caught dead without this.”
I held up a pack of toilet paper.
“Good thinking,” Drake said, “Van, grab some, will you?”
Van stared down at it with a grimace.
“I bet it feels like sandpaper,” he grumbled but began gathering as many as he could anyway.
While he did, we filled our three bags with what we could. Then we took everything back to the Hummer and got back on the road.
“Hey, Drake?” I said as he was closing the trunk.
“What?”
“I’ve been thinking. If this works and we make it out of here, we’re not exactly going to be well off afterward. Do you think maybe we should see if a store happens to have some loose change lying around if you catch my drift?”
I gestured to the convenience store. About six minutes later, we were driving down the road.
“So there was about six hundred bucks in the register which makes two hundred for each of us,” I said, “and there’s more in the safe if we can get it open.
The safe was in the back next to Van.
“I can’t believe you guys stole this from the store.”
“It’s not like anyone’s using it,” Drake said. “Besides, the guy who ran the place was stingy as hell. One time, he tried to charge me double on something. I had to argue with him about it for two minutes straight so we aren’t beating ourselves up about this.”
“How do you think we should get it open?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.”.
We guessed that there were blockades set up at every exit out of town. We also assumed that there would be more people active where we tried to get out last time. Instead of going there, we went to the woods on the opposite side of town.
“Remember, there’s no turning back after this,” Drake said, “so only take the necessities. I still want to see about opening the safe, though.”
While he was talking, I was glancing among the trees. One of them seemed odd to me and swayed strangely in the wind. Then I realized with a chill that it was moving.
“Lanker,” I choked out.
Drake and Van turned in time to see it sprinting out of the woods. In a flash, it was to us. We got out of the way as it swiped at us with one of its clawed hands. Its nails dug into the Hummer’s back door, yanking it out. I was thinking maybe if we kept still and tried to keep from shitting ourselves, it would go away.
Drake, thankfully seemed to be on the same wavelength as me. Van, however, was not. He screamed, darting away. The lanker pursued him, giving us time to arm ourselves. As Van was circling back around, we raised our weapons, squeezing the triggers. As soon as it was focused on us, we knew to split up to divert its attention.
Drake managed to get some shots into it before he had to retreat. While the lanker went after him, I aimed at its legs. This appeared effective as it let out a cry of pain that sounded like when a microphone is held up to a speaker. The good news was it was no longer after Drake. The bad news was I was now its target.
“Drake, shoot it in the back of its knees,” I yelled, sprinting as fast as I could.
I slid under the Hummer and came out the other side. In spur-of-the-moment planning on my part, I opened the back door and slammed it shut. This succeeded in fooling the lanker as I snuck behind it, getting its weak spot point blank. Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance. The next thing I knew, it was swinging at me with an object in hand.
I managed to raise my gun to block it and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this. Wood splintered as it was broken in half. I observed the world doing several cartwheels as I was rolling along the ground before coming to a stop at the base of a tree.
“Gus,” Drake yelled.
The pain was so immense I couldn’t even get a breath out. The Lanker was about to rip into me until Drake distracted it.
“Guys,” Van cried out in alarm.
I tilted my head up, seeing a metric shit load of zombies racing towards us.
“Welp, we're fucked,” I thought.
In an unexpected turn of events, though, the lanker was now shrieking at them. It went after them, grabbing two by their heads, crushing them like watermelons under a hydraulic press. I took the opportunity to examine where I'd been struck. Touching my abdomen yielded pain. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken, just some bruising I would need to deal with later.
Guess I got lucky in that I was knocked away instead of grabbed. If the lanker was smarter, this would be a different story. The other zombies were crawling all over it, gnawing as they did. A crawler saw me in a vulnerable state and tried capitalizing on the opportunity. It pounced and my butt clenched. Then a bullet went through its head. Drake rushed over, helping me up.
“Thanks again, man.”
“No problem.”
“Let's run into the woods while they're occupied,” Van said.
“But our stuff is over there,” I told him. “We won't last long without it.”
We both looked at Drake.
“Let's see how this plays out a little longer,” he said.
For a while, it seemed that the lanker would be the victor. Then its knees buckled as they were chewed through. We watched on, mouths agape. In a move of desperation, it picked the safe back up, swinging it wildly. The zombies previously all over the lanker were now a red paste and it was crawling feebly on the ground.
“I got this,” Drake said.
He went over to it and shot at its legs, blowing them off. It tried swiping at him, but he'd already backed away. It attempted to stand on its stumps. When it lifted its head, Drake jammed the barrel of his gun down its throat, pulling the trigger. With a last twitch, it was no longer a threat.
“Are you sure it's dead?” Van asked.
“I blew out the back of its head. Of course, it's dead,” Drake replied, then threw a rock at the lanker to be sure.
“Yep, as a doornail.”
Drake came over and helped me up.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I'll live.”
“Good, let's get our things.”
Van was already doing that.
“My God is this heavy,” he grunted as he pulled it onto his back.
“Get used to it,” Drake told him.
I glanced around in case we'd have to deal with any more unexpected threats and that's when I noticed the dented-to-shit safe lying on its side with the door open. It didn't take long to count the money inside. There was a little over eight thousand in cash that we divided among the three of us. Thus, our hike began at last. We walked for eight hours, encountering zombies along the way.
Most of the time it was simple to pick them off. The biggest problem came when some tried attacking us from above. I am so glad me and Drake's reflexes are on point. Something unusual we stumbled upon is that whatever has been zombifying people has spread to animals. Long story short, there was a zombie grizzly bear ripping into another bear and its cubs. We thought we would have to deal with this monstrosity.
Luckily, it didn't appear to find us appetizing. That said, it was emitting a deep growl after it noticed us so we got the message to steer clear of it. Eventually, Van told us his feet were aching and suggested we should rest.
“I guess we can stop for a bit,” I said. “Right, Drake?”
“Sure, I was getting hungry anyway.”
We sat down, setting up our packs to rest against. Me and Drake took out some trail mix while Van unwrapped a protein bar.
“Hey,” he said to us, “I got some of these if you want to add them to your water.”
He held up some flavoring packets.
“Hell yeah,” Drake replied, “Toss them here.”
“Actually, I was thinking I could take care of it for you while you guys set up camp since it's going to be dark in a couple of hours.”
“Good point. Gus, help me gather some firewood.”
We did so and threw them into a pile. Van came back up to us with our thermos cups.
“Drake, yours is blue raspberry and Gus, yours is green apple.”
We thanked him and enjoyed the rest of our meal. Halfway through my drink, I was feeling lightheaded.
“Hey, Drake, do I look alright?” I turned to him and noticed he too was in the same condition as me.
“I don't…” he replied with his voice trailing off.
We passed out. When we awoke it was dark and Drake was cussing up a storm.
“What happened?” I asked, shaking off my fatigue.
“That son of a bitch robbed us,” Drake replied. “Look.”
He showed me our wallets which were stripped of cash.
“And he left this.”
I was handed a crumpled piece of paper with this message crudely written on it.
“Sorry to do this. Years working for the mayor have taught me people can be bribed so that's what I'm doing. You won't find me again, but I wish you the best of luck.”
I clenched my fist around it.
“He robbed us.”
“Yeah, I just said that.”
“Well, what do we do now?”
“Get moving, I guess. Can't believe this. How do we get our shit stolen twice in two days?”
We wondered how Van would survive on his own. Then again, he did have a snack for avoiding trouble as he was able to before we bumped into him. After walking for some time, we saw an orange light in the distance.
“I think that's a campfire,” I exclaimed. “Do you think it might be Van?”
“If it is, I'm going to have some words for him,” Drake replied, patting his holstered handgun.
We stepped into the clearing to find a bunch of people standing around a bonfire. They were wearing hooded white robes and turned when they heard us.
“Oh shit, it's the fucking Klan. Drake, get behind me,” I urged, stepping in front of me.
One of them stepped forward, revealing the face of a grinning man.
“Worry not, friends. You have no reason to fear us.”
He explained that his name was Jeff and he founded their group, cult really, of survivors and they called themselves The Uplagued. Every one of them smiled from ear to ear and asked us if we wanted to stay.
“No disrespect, we'd love to, but we need to keep moving,” Drake told them.
“That's a shame,” Jeff responded. “We were about to pass around the calumet.”
For those who don't know, that's another word for the peace pipe used by the natives. Drake and I exchanged a look. Ten minutes later, we were sitting in a smoke circle. When Drake's turn came, he took a rip from it worthy of a dragon about to breathe fire. I got in a good one when my turn came.
Now, I'm high as the moon typing this on my phone. After what we've been through today, it's nice to have something to take the edge off. I'm not sure what we're going to do about our financial situation if we make it out. Hopefully, we come up with something. For now, the munchies are calling my name.

I expected to have this posted very soon after my trip, but time got away from me! Even the prospect of writing this out is kind of daunting lol so props to all of you who post your trip reports (and I greedily read every word!). Whenever people say stuff like “this is so long, I don’t expect anyone to read this!” I’m always like “of course I’m going to read every word and love it!” But now I am the one telling you guys, this is very long and I can’t imagine who out there is going to read this lol
Thursday 5/16 - Travel Day
Flew to Naples where my friend lives. Plan was to stay two nights with her before we headed to Orlando for one “girls night” before my solo trip began.
Saturday 5/18 - Travel to Disney!
Left at 6:30am to drive to Orlando. It was her and her two girls (age 11 and 5). We had reservations for one night at Beach Club. We bounded as princesses (Tiana, Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine). We walked to Epcot at 11:30am and that short walk was INCREDIBLE. I can’t believe how close the park is!!! Beach Club is amazing for location alone! Here are the things we ate and experienced:
~~Toasted Pretzel Bread (Germany): 20/10 This was absolutely delicious and over the course of the week I think I ate it like 5-6 times lol
~~Raspberry Radler (Germany): same as above, LOVED
~~Harvested a Pearl (Japan): This was seriously THE BEST experience! We all got them put in necklaces. One of her daughters got a gray/blue pearl and it was gorgeous. Lots of attention when she showed mine bc it looked big and she kept moving it up the sizing plate. I ended up with an 8.5mm pearl! It was very exciting and lots of celebration by the workers and crowd. They said it was the largest of the day. Honestly, I recommend this to ANYONE. It was less expensive than I expected, $29 to harvest the pearl, then I think I spent $23 on a cage for it, and I chose to buy a necklace for it to wear right away and that was $26. I am 100% doing it again in September when I go back for my 40th birthday (and I told my hubby he is doing it too and will love it!)
~~Lemon Drop Shandy (The Citrus Blossom): 7/10 good! nothing exceptional, I liked the radler better
~~Cinnamon Roll Bites (Brunchcot): 6/10, I was so excited for these but they were just average. I think maybe if we had a batch that had more frosting it might have been better. They weren’t bad, just not outstanding. Loved the bacon crumbles though!
~~Guardians of the Galaxy: the only reason this is making it into the notes is bc of my Reliefband. I get motion sickness. I tried Guardians last fall (after 2 dramamine) and still had to sit for about an hour afterward to chill and not be sick. I decided to purchase a Reliefband (classic version, Amazon, $129) to try out this trip and see if it would work. I was very skeptical. But I am here to say it worked 1000000000%. I was so blown away. Absolutely ZERO feelings of motion sickness during or after the ride. Kept my eyes open the whole time (it’s the visual speed that usually gets me, screen rides get me too). I am not a big thrill ride person, so incidentally this time around I realized this isn’t the ride for me. I just don’t enjoy it that much, BUT the big deal is to find out that is my ride preference and has nothing to do with motion sickness. It was so liberating not having my motion sickness control me! Ooooo, also, I was absolutely ecstatic that I got the song I’ve always wanted!! Everybody Wants to Rule the World!
We left Epcot at 4pm and went back to the resort to check in. First of all, it’s so gorgeous there. The room was wonderful, the lobby is beautiful and smells amazing. I wish we had the money to always stay deluxe bc I get why people love deluxe resorts so much!
Dinner at Ale & Compass (Yacht Club): 7/10, again, food was decent but nothing exceptional. Actually the Parker House Rolls were 1000% worth the hype, I got the NY Strip Steak though, asked for medium rare and I think it was more medium and that ruined it a bit for me (also taste was just meh)
We spent about an hour and half swimming at Stormalong Bay after dinner. That pool is seriously incredible. I never want to experience anything but a sand bottom pool again. The. Absolute. Best.
18,525 steps
Sunday 5/19 - Girls Leave and Solo Begins
We checked out and then had a Beaches and Cream reservation at 11:30am. We shared the Bacon Ranch Totchos (7/10 tasty but too much topping for me), Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (grilled cheese 9/10, tomato soup 6/10), aaaaand the Kitchen Sink Sundae (9/10)! Was it smart for us to get this with only two adult women and two children? Probably not. But boy was it fun and delicious and we put way more of a dent in it than I thought we would lol. A little siren goes off in the restaurant when one is brought to a table and there is a back and forth with kitchen staff and customers (they say something about a “whole can of whipped cream” and customers answer back as a group) and it was a very fun vibe! In fact that is one of the reasons I rate it a 9/10 haha, bc I think there is just too much whipped cream and a lot of the ice cream is just buried.
We swam at Stormalong bay for 2 more hours before they dropped me off at All-Star Movies and they headed home to Naples.
Magic Kingdom (solo)
I got into my room at All-Star Movies (Love Bug building 6) and tbh I didn’t mind its distance to the bus stop, maybe bc it was just me, but I didn’t have a problem with it, I thought the walk was quick enough. I was in Magic Kingdom by 5:30pm.
6pm PeopleMover (walk on) 5 min posted
6:30pm Pirates of the Caribbean (walk on) 10 min posted
6:45pm Thunder Mountain (10 min) 15 min posted
7:10pm Enchanted Tiki Room (10 min) 15 min posted
7:40pm Haunted Mansion (20 min) 20 min posted
8:25pm Got the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle sandwich at Sleepy Hollow: 7/10, the taste was great, I don’t like spicy stuff but this wasn’t too spicy. The only con is that the bottom of the waffle was kind of soggy and I didn’t really eat that part.
8:55pm in spot for HEA
9:40pm Peter Pan’s Flight (25 min) 10 min posted
Spent a lot of time in gift shops and doing photopass on my way out of park
11:10pm On bus back to resort
19,626 steps
Monday 5/20 - Animal Kingdom
6:45am On the bus to AK
7:22am Scanned into the park
7:32am Nav’i River Journey (6 min) 10 min posted
8:05am Kilimanjaro Safari (18 min) 25 min posted, was off the safari at 8:45am
9:05am Pongu Pongu - tried the Pongu Lumpia! I know this snack is controversial, it seemed like it was up my alley, but others have said the same and didn’t end up liking it so I was expecting to ultimately dislike it. I enjoyed it! 8/10 would eat again!
9:15am Gorilla Falls Trek, walked for 20 mins
9:45am It’s Tough to be a Bug - this was my first time, honestly, I think I have read articles and seen so many vlogs calling it startling and scary that I think I was expecting the worst so much that it wasn't….that….bad? I didn’t mind it? (side note: the ONLY time this entire trip that I wore tennis shoes was the morning of Animal Kingdom. My feet were hurting by the time I went into this show, so while it was going on I switched to my flip flops and my feet took a complete 180 degrees. I wore flip flops the rest of the trip and had zero issues with sore feet. I guess I’m just a flip flop girly???)
10:15am Feathered Friends in Flight - was actually heading to 11am Lion King but a CM I passed was announcing to people that the bird show was starting at 10:30 so I decided to detour there. It was great!
11:00am Maharajah Jungle Trek, walked for 20 mins, this was the most beautiful trail for me, absolutely lovely!
11:30am Eight Spoon Cafe - got the BBQ pork MacnCheese, found a spot to sit down by Drinkwallah and that is my go-to spot now. It is shaded and the carved tables and chairs are so pretty. I really like that little (hidden?) sit-down area!
12:00pm Discovery Trails, walked for 10 mins, then looked around shops in Discovery Island and Asia
12:50pm Rafiki’s Planet Watch (5 min) I did not get off the train, at this point I needed a break but I did not want to go back to resort, so I sat on the Wildlife Train and drank lots of water, I went around the circuit twice, got off at 1:30pm
1:45pm Festival of the Lion King, got in line for 2pm show, this was my first time…it BLEW MY MIND, absolutely loooooooved this. So so much. It was wonderful!
3:00pm Dinosaur (5 min) 15 min posted - first time! Honestly, I have heard so many disparaging comments about this ride I expected it to be terrifying, painful and just not fun. Again, I had an opposite experience! I love dinosaur movies (like Jurassic park) so I really enjoyed this one. I hope it is still there to ride when I am back in the fall!
3:30pm Nomad Lounge (added myself to waitlist on app, there was no “wait” got the text pretty much immediately) This was such an important break out of the heat. I spent an hour here to recharge. I drank a lot of water, had a delicious cocktail Lamu Libation 10/10, Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl 8/10, and Churros 10/10. I was able to charge my phone in an outlet at the bar. It was the perfect break!
5:00pm Left AK and headed back to resort
7:20pm Scanned into Hollywood Studios, walked around, looked through gift shops
8:20pm Catalina Eddie’s: got the Toffee and Coconut Blondie to take with me into Fantasmic! You guys…this is an absolute favorite of mine! My friend got it at NYE and forced me to try it (I didn’t want to bc I am not a coconut fan) but I fell in LOVE. Definitely a 20/10. I was so excited to get it again this trip. If you don’t love coconut, I find it very mild, you should definitely give it a shot.
9:00pm Fantasmic!
10:00pm Got on the bus to All-Star Sports instead of Movies bc in the gift shop at my resort the worker had told me I could find the pin I was looking for at the Sports gift shop. It was the 30 yr Anniversary pin of All-Star Resorts. I bought that and walked all the way back to my building, was back by 10:30pm
31,437 steps
Tuesday 5/21 - EPCOT
10:00am Scanned in at Epcot - kind of embarrassing…I was “that person” to hold everyone up. The past two days I did not need a park reservation, so I didn’t even think anything of it, but they told me one was required this day and he was setting one up for me on his ipad but then it kept erroring out, I felt TERRIBLE.
10:25am - Living with the Land (5 min) 5 min posted
10:50am - Nemo and Friends (15 min) 15 min posted
11:15am - Journey of Water walkthrough
11:40am - bought the Spike’s Pollination Exploration Scavenger hunt, it was nice bc it was 30% off with the rest of the F&G merch and I got my 20% discount on it. I mean it was only $10 regular price but I was still pretty happy lol
11:50am - got food!!! Toasted Pretzel Bread and Raspberry Radler (Germany) still 20/10, Frushi (Japan) 8/10, Fruit Punch Ale (America) 8/10 good but I would get the radler over this every time
1:00pm Frozen (40 min) 60 min posted, I got splashed a lot more than normal this time for some reason! Sat next to a girl who was videoing on a go-pro, asked if she was a vlogger but she said no and then we chatted for a min about our love of Disney vlogs, it was nice!
2:10pm Kringla Bakeri - Viking Coffee, 9/10 excellent!
2:30pm The Honey Bee-stro - Liquid Nitro Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake, 10/10 LOVED, the cheesecake was smooth and creamy (even while “frozen”) and the tart blueberry compote that comes with it is a perfect pairing. Plus I was able to Pixie Dust someone here! There was a young girl in line in front of me by herself, she was maybe 13? Anyway she was trying to scan her magic band for payment and the CM told her the band was not authorized to be used for payment, she seemed a bit surprised and embarrassed and I stepped in and started scanning my magic band. It was honestly only $6.50. She tried to tell me no and that she would go get her mom, but I just overrode her and said “It’s Disney! Let me!” with a smile. We were both at the window to pick up our items together and when she got hers she unexpectedly leaned in and gave me a hug and thanked me again. I was so surprised and heartwarmed (and also felt bad that I was kinda sweaty lol). But anyway it was a wonderful moment!
2:45pm Bought the Spaceship Earth cookie jar that I have been wanting so badly! I got it with my gift card I got for “mothers day” from our pets :D
2:55pm Spaceship Earth (walk on) 5 min posted
4:00pm Bus back to resort for a break and shower bc it was a very hot day!
6:40pm Scanned back into EPCOT
6:45pm Spaceship Earth (walk on) 5 min posted
Walked around to find Spike for scavenger hunt
7:35pm Toasted Pretzel Bread and Raspberry Radler (again! lol)
8:00pm watched Garden Rocks concert
More Spike hunting!
9:00pm Luminous
9:10pm Started heading out of park
This was my toughest day of my whole solo trip for several reasons. 1) I don’t think I did enough sit down things, I was on my feet a ton 2) I was not being “park smart”. Epcot is huge enough in the first place but I was not navigating the park in an efficient way and ended up walking WAY more than I should have. Around 7:30-8pm I started to feel something pulled in my leg (after googling later maybe a mild issue with adductor tendon?) it was high up in my inner thigh, I decided to leave the park only 10 mins after Luminous started bc I really wanted to not push myself, the next day was going to be my Magic Kingdom day and that is my favorite park and would likely be a long day and I just didn’t want to ruin it.
29,183 steps
Wednesday 5/22 - Hollywood Studios (not Magic Kingdom!)
Woke up before 7am and decided to pivot on my plans bc of my leg. I decided to stay in the resort room until midday to rest my leg, and due to that decision I switched my park day from MK to HS. I figured if I was going to be in a park for less hours of the day I would rather sacrifice time in Hollywood Studios than Magic Kingdom. I bought Genie+ and bought an ILL for Rise of the Resistance for 1:40pm. This ended up being THE BEST decision I could have made. By the time I left my room, my leg was feeling 100% better and I did not have any issues with it for the rest of the trip!
1:15pm Scanned into Hollywood Studios
1:30pm Frozen Sing Along - I love this fricken show, I always want to see it every time I go to HS, I could watch it a million times, I am always impressed by the Arendelle Historians bc they are so funny, and while they will make jokes in a similar vein, they still have so much variety that you don’t see the same jokes when you watch shows with different historians. A++, this will always be one of my faves.
2:15pm Rise of the Resistance ILL - full A mode, also…bc I was wearing my Reliefband I was able to keep my eyes open during the drop with the simulation of flying through space. It was great!!!
3:00pm Smuggler's Run (G+) - okaayyyyyy, I have never been on this (due to motion sickness fears) but I decided to take the plunge. I got all the way to sitting in the seat and tbh I was terrified. I was by myself, I didn’t know exactly what to expect and I was not so much scared that I would be sick, I was confident in the Reliefband, but I was worried I would hate the simulated feeling of flying. That kinda freaks me out. So then, the ride doesn’t actually start and they tell us that a CM will be in to let us out bc it has malfunctioned and we will be given a LL back. I was quite literally SO RELIEVED. I will try that ride, but in September when I am with my husband!
3:30pm Woody’s Lunchbox - Adult Lemonade 10/10 and Raspberry Lunchbox Tart 7/10. I ended up getting two more Adult Lemonades throughout the night bc I thought they were delicious!! The tart was fine, it tasted “good” but nothing unique or outstanding.
4:00pm Beauty and the Beast Live
4:35pm Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (G+)
5:15pm Toy Story Mania (G+)
6:00pm Baseline Taphouse - Charcuterie Board 9/10 and Blood Orange Hard Cider 7/10
6:30pm Frozen Sing Along - I am not kidding about how much I like this show lol
7:10pm Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (40 mins) 45 min posted
8:20pm Rise of the Resistance (used the anytime pass I got for Smuggler Run going down) this time around we ended up having to walk down a hallway bc there was a technical difficulty with the 2nd pre show (where you enter the craft and get pulled in by the first order) we skipped that part and walked down a hallway straight into the storm trooper room. Everything else worked except for Finn.
8:45pm Ran my ass through Toy Story land (picked up an Adult Lemonade!) and hightailed it to Fantasmic! This ended up being a very good lesson for me. Getting to Fantasmic! just as it was starting was NOT a good idea. I was in the bleachers in the last section at the top, like with the walkway in front of you. You can hardly see anything back there. I will not make this mistake again. I left just as the floats started bc I could not even see them at all.
Browsed a lot of gift shops!
10:20pm Got on bus back to resort
I go back and forth on whether G+ was worth it today. Ultimately, I side on yes bc I didn’t even get to the park until 1pm, got to walk the park a ton, I did the most photopass spots here than I did on any other day, so Genie+ allowing me to just hop on 3 rides with no wait gave me the time to do all of that (and watch Frozen twice and B&B show), and I had the time to wait for Runaway Railway standby again. Also, bc the Smugglers Run malfunction allowed me to use a “LL” on Rise again, that alone made it worth it!
20,264 steps
Thursday 5/23 - Magic Kingdom
Wooooohoooo! My favorite park! I decided to get G+ today and get an ILL for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for 7:40pm
9:10 Scanned into MK
9:25am Thunder Mountain (walk on) 10 min posted, this ride has never gotten to me in the past (motion sickness) but I was in the second to last cart and that made this ride feel faster and “dippier” and I did not care for it lol
9:40am Westward Ho - Crispy Chicken/egg/pepper jack breakfast biscuit, 9/10 would get again!
9:55am Pirates of the Caribbean (10 min) 15 min posted
10:25am Enchanted Tiki Room (walk on, got there just as they were ushering people in)
10:45am Enchanted Tales with Belle (12 min) 20 min posted
11:20am Little Mermaid (G+)
11:35am Mickey’s Philharmagic (10 min) 15 min posted
12:20 Carousel (15 min) 5 min posted - tbh this one pissed me off lol, bc I would have never gone on it had I realized I would wait 15 mins, 5 mins was a cruel trick haha
12:50pm Winnie the Pooh (G+)
1:05pm it’s a small world (G+)
1:35pm PeopleMover (8 min) 15 min posted
2:05pm Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (G+) - I didn’t remember thinking this ride was this hard! But after having just done Toy Story Mania the day before, I did not find this one to be as easy to “play”, I prefer Toy Story Mania!
2:20pm Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (17 min) 10 min posted
3:05 Peter Pan’s Flight (G+)
3:25pm Pecos Bills - slugged some water, had a coke (12/10 refreshing!) and nachos (4/10, I did not remember these being so spicy, I mean I don’t like spice so I am probably a wimp saying this but I did not enjoy these bc of the spiciness, will not get again)
4:00pm Stopped in Columbia Harbour house which was not too busy and found an empty table next to an outlet to charge my phone
4:45pm Haunted Mansion (G+)
Walked to First Aid station for Tylenol (headache)
5:20pm Pirates of the Caribbean (G+)
5:50pm Sunshine Tree Terrace - I tried the I Lava You Float, and I was sure it was going to be too sweet even though I have read many people’s reviews who loved it. I LAVA THIS FLOAT! 10/10 very much looking forward to getting again in fall!
6:05 WDW Train (Frontierland) (6 min) 10 min posted - I felt like chilling for a bit again so I did a full circuit and then went on to Fantasyland
7:05 Mickey’s Philharmagic (5 min) 10 min posted
7:35pm Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ILL - felt the same way about this one as BTM earlier, I was in one of the last carts (row 8) and it felt faster and dippier than in the past, no thanks!
8:10pm PeopleMover (20 min) 5 min posted - this should have been a walk on, but the ride went down as I was in line, I kept debating back and forth about leaving the line and coming back, but I just kept sticking it out a few more mins and a few more mins. Some people in line behind me were speculating if someone had puked on the ride bc of the workers going up. Not sure, doesn’t really matter, PeopleMover is the BEST at night!
8:50pm Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (35 min) 35 min posted - Listen, I wasn’t expecting to be on this ride during HEA, I was just trying to hop in line while everyone was waiting for fireworks bc the wait would be shorter, but the fact that I actually got on it in perfect timing to see fireworks?! Let me just say it is just as cool as everyone says it is! Also, they put me in row 8 again, grrrrr, is that the designated solo rider lane?
9:30pm TRON - I tried getting a boarding group at 7am and didn’t get in. So then my plan was to get in at 1pm but I totallyyyyyyy forgot about it and I remembered at 1:55pm and I was like “crap! I guess I will see if I can still buy an ILL”. I was about to do that and then I thought to myself, “maybe I should just see if the VQ is still open?” AND IT WAS! So I literally got a boarding group at 2pm, an hour after the VQ started, I was shocked and thrilled when I got one! Plus TRON is always so gorgeous at night. I actually have yet to ride it in the day lol And LISTEN, I get that most people prefer Guardians to TRON, I really do get it. BUT bc I am not that much of a thrill ride person, I like easier going coasters. I seriously love TRON so much. It is such a horizontal coaster that it’s like my ideal. You get the thrill from it being fast and a little dippy, but nothing crazy. It’s a fave for me!!!
10:30pm Casey’s Corner - French fries and coke, both 10/10 refreshing and needed the pick me up!
10:45pm Main Street Confectionary - It was on my to-do list to get the popcorn mix from here. I chose Butter Popcorn, dark chocolate sauce, pretzel pieces and snickers. 10/10 definitely recommend. Will be getting a mix again in September!
11:10pm Got on bus back to resort
Friday 5/24 - Bonus Day?!
This was supposed to be my travel day back home. My flight was set to leave at 5pm, but in the morning my husband told me about storms in the midwest and I got an email from the airline about “adverse weather conditions”, so I called and changed my flight to the next day at 7am. (It ended up being the right choice bc my original 5pm flight out of MCO was delayed multiple times until it was finally canceled at like 10:30pm) I was thankfully able to book another night at All-Star Movies and could stay in my same room. I quickly formed the plan to go back to Animal Kingdom to see Festival of the Lion King again bc I had enjoyed it so much earlier in the week and then go to EPCOT to finish the final 4 Spikes that I had not located yet for the scavenger hunt!
11:00am Scanned in at Animal Kingdom
11:50am Mr. Kamal’s - got the Chicken Dumplings that were on my list to try but I did not get the chance to on Monday, also went back to my favorite spot by Drinkwallah, the dumplings were like a 6/10. Idk just pretty average for a potsticker that you can get anywhere, I probably would not get them again
12:15pm walked around Dinoland to really soak it in just in case next time I come it is walled off!
1:pm Festival of the Lion King - man, this is just fantastic! Be Prepared is my favorite villain song and I get so pumped when they do that part!
1:50pm Satu’li Canteen - got the wood-grilled chicken protein bowl, with rice and black beans and the creamy herb sauce. Literally OH MY GOD, this was so flipping good! 20/10!!! Best thing I ate hands-down all week. I wasn’t sure I would eat the slaw in the bowl but that was delicious, the creamy herb sauce was amazing and those little boba balls that add the citrus burst?!?! So so good. I have already altered our plans for September to include two meals here so I can get this bowl twice next time lol
2:45pm Took bus back to Resort
5:30pm Scanned in at EPCOT
5:55pm Living with the Land (walkon) 10 min posted
6:15pm Awesome Planet (walkon, went into theater immediately and show started) This was my first time checking this out, I really enjoyed it! I will def watch again especially in the heat of the day when I just need to sit somewhere cool for a bit!
6:45pm Found Spike (1 of 4 left) by the Butterly Landing!
7:00pm Found Spike (2 of 4 left) in France
7:10pm Checked out the Annual Passholder lounge in Restaurant Marrakesh
7:35pm Gran Fiesta Tour (walk on) 5 min posted
7:50pm Found Spike (3 of 4 left) in Mexico
8:00pm Got another Toasted Pretzel Bread and Raspberry Radler from Germany (dont judge! lol)
8:10pm watched Lit at Garden Rocks concert (who doesn’t love “My own worst enemy”!?!?!?)
8:35pm Found final Spike in Japan!!! - this one was my ultimate nemesis. I had searched Japan on Tuesday, I had searched Japan (twice?) earlier on this day and I was all set to give up bc I couldn’t find the Kokedama garden. I just hadn’t looked up the stone path to the left of Japan. Finally saw it when it was dark out and got my final Spike!!!
8:50pm Journey of Water walkthrough (always better at night!)
9:05pm Shoutout to the photopass guy who I stopped by on my way out of the park, those were the most awkward poses I have ever done in front of spaceship earth but you tried your best and the photos make me laugh every time I see them!
29,941 steps
Overall Thoughts
10/10 Amazing Trip. I found out about people going on solo trips here on reddit late last year and I was immediately certain I had to book one. While I can be a very social person, I am also a loner in the fact that I do enjoy spending time in my own company (not everybody does) so I knew a solo trip was right up my alley. It was everything I hoped for and more. I didn’t have to consult anyone else, I could do what I want, when I want. Also, (not to brag….shhhhhh…I’m not bragging I swear) but I am not a complainer. The heat usually doesn’t affect me too much, I have a good amount of endurance so I get tired of course but it takes a lot. I’m pretty unflappable because I’m just happy to BE AT Disney World. Others I’ve gone with are not like this so much lol so it was nice to just be in my own company in the sense that I was always in a positive mood and didn’t have anyone dimming that? If that makes sense?
Safety
I am a petite woman. I am 4’10” and 118lbs so I am very aware of my size in terms of my safety. I can honestly say though that I felt safe throughout the whole trip. The one time that I got off the bus at All-Star Sports at 10pm to go to the gift shop and then walked all the way to Movies, that did worry me a bit but only as I was walking through the parking lot sections.
And I did get the crap scared out of me at the resort due to the requirement of a “visual check”. I had not ever heard of this, but I was in my room for a midday break and I had a knock at my door by housekeeping. I thought it was odd bc I had my “room occupied” sign out the whole time bc I didn’t feel the need for housekeeping, it was just me in the room. I said “no thank you” and they knocked and announced housekeeping again. I said “no thank you” louder. (internally I was thinking, can they not hear me through the door????) and they did it again! I finally went closer to the door and I heard the person mumble something about a “visual check” and I very sternly and loudly said “no!” bc I didn’t know what the heck they were talking about. I peeked through the curtain at my window and watched the guy walk past holding a phone in his hand. I think he was wearing a uniform shirt but I couldn’t totally tell. I decided to call the resort in the event this was someone trying to pose as housekeeping staff. They ended up relieving my fears by telling me it was legitimate. Apparently, you have to have your room checked at some point in your stay (I was staying 5 nights) if you choose not to get housekeeping. He explained this has to do with the Pulse Nightclub shooting. I guess they had stockpiled guns in their hotel room and kept not letting housekeeping in. He explained that is why they do the visual check, for the safety of all resort guests. I was 100% supportive once he told me that and I felt bad for yelling at the guy. But also, I am a solo woman and I had no idea what the hell was going on, and to be completely frank, I had just showered so I was in a tshirt and underwear which made me feel even more vulnerable bc I was not fully dressed! I was not letting that person in my room. The guy on the phone totally understood that and apologized for alarming me. I told him to have the guy come back and do the visual check. I apologized to him when he came in. He was in my room for all of 10 seconds and that was it. But it was certainly a crazy ordeal!
Walking
I was doing 20-30k steps each day and other than hurting my leg on Tuesday I was honestly fine. I had shin splints too but again, they weren’t terrible and by Thursday they were gone. I brought tennis shoes and flip flops intending to switch on and off throughout the week in order to prevent my feet from getting sore but that never happened. I spent 3 hours in the shoes on Monday before my feet started hurting and I never wore them again. I had 2 different pairs of flip flops the whole time. I guess that is what my feet like!
Backpack vs Loungefly
I typically wear a normal size backpack to the parks, but also I can usually share wearing it with my husband. I didn’t really consider how hard it would be to wear a backpack alllllllll day long. And it wasn’t even heavy, I didn’t put much in it at all, but still it wore on my shoulders and made them sore. On Wednesday I ended up getting a Loungefly even though they have never really been my thing. It honestly ended up being perfect. It felt different on my shoulders and I wasn’t getting sore like I was with a regular size backpack.
Waiting in Lines
I have often read that one of the things that bothers solo travelers the most is waiting in lines by themselves bc it’s boring and they have no one to keep them company. I thought I might feel this way too but waiting in lines was not bad at all to me. It’s so easy to be on your phone that whole time. I was looking at my photopass photos, browsing reddit, and inputting trip notes. I felt like waiting in line was not a hardship for me as a solo traveler.
Photopasses
This trip exceeded my expectations with photopasses! The number of photos each photographer took and the variety of positions and magic shots was awesome. I am assuming part of that is because I was solo? I am not sure but I just felt like the quantity and time spent at each photopass location was better than normal. Special shout out to Hollywood Studios, that day in particular was just awesome. Every photographer was awesome, but especially the ones in Galaxy’s Edge. I was having such an amazing time getting them!
Total Photopasses each day:
MK - 6 photopass spots
AK - 2 photopass spots
Epcot - 3 photopass spots
HS - 7 photopass spots
MK - 6 photopass spots
AK and EPCOT - 7 photopass spots
I can’t wait to do it all again in September with my husband!

DAY JUNE 8 2024
6-8-2024

‘WE CANNOT SIMPLY GO, GO, GO.’ WHAT IS ‘GIRL MOSSING,’ THE WELLNESS TREND THAT REJECTS HUSTLE CULTURE?

On TikTok and Instagram, people are “girl mossing”: lying on a forest floor, staring up at a leafy canopy or caressing moss. The United States National Forest Foundation even borrowed the term to kick off its 2024 Instagram account. Girl mossing recognizes a need to step away from the pressures of modern, urban life, promoting spending time in nature as a restorative practice. The fast pace and pressure of neoliberal capitalism take an enormous toll on well-being: not just personal, but social and planetary.
6-8-2024

FIVE WAYS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAN IMPROVE YOUR DATING LIFE

Artificial intelligence is going to transform how we date. The question is: will it be for better or worse? It’s already causing some real problems, especially related to “romance scams” and other fraud. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Used in the right way, AI can actually make dating better. It can help write profiles and find matches, provide dating advice and coaching and, if all else fails, become a date companion. I have spent the last few years studying the impact of technology, and especially AI, on our
6-8-2024

STUDY ASSESSES ‘THE DANCER PERSONALITY’

“Tell me if you dance and I will tell you who you are!” A study led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, has shown that both amateur and professional dancers are less neurotic than people who do not dance. They are also more agreeable, more open, and more extraverted.
6-8-2024

ONLINE SHOPPERS BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY AFTER CHATTING WITH STAFF OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER, RESEARCH SHOWS

In a digital world where people are mere pixels on a screen, gender bias can show up in unexpected forms. When people are online, anonymity and physical detachment embolden them to behave in biased ways
6-8-2024

INVESTORS BET BIG ON SUNNY DAYS, STUDY FINDS

It’s often said we can’t control the weather. But what if the weather controls how and when we invest our money? More specifically, what if the skies control how much we’re willing to gamble in the stock market? New research by the University of South Australia has found a connection between pleasant weather conditions and higher investment in lottery-like stocks. Lottery-like stocks are cheap compared to other stocks and, like lottery tickets, they can be seen as an opportunity to make a substantial gain. However, the chance of a higher
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TEENS TREATED UNFAIRLY BY TEACHERS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE POPULIST ATTITUDES

Perceived unjust teacher behavior is strongly and positively associated with populist attitudes among children and adolescents. Populist attitudes consist of ideologies including anti-elitism, people-centrism, and a dualistic perception of good versus evil, and where the foundation of political decision-making should be based on the general will of the people. In contrast to the association with teacher behavior, the correlation between young people’s relationships with peers and the development of populist attitudes is less strong, and the correlation between young people’s relationships
6-8-2024

MICROINCLUSIONS IMPROVE WOMEN’S WORKPLACE BELONGING AND COMMITMENT

New research shows how “microinclusions”—brief instances of positive treatment, especially from members of the dominant group—help women feel valued at work. Imagine your first day at a new job. You probably feel nervous, wondering how you’ll fit in with the team. It’s natural to worry if your co-workers will be supportive, or if they’ll take your contributions seriously. This experience is amplified for women in technology companies, who often face underrepresentation and
6-8-2024

BURNT OUT? HOW YOUR EMPLOYER CAN HELP YOU RETURN TO WORK FOR THE BETTER

The working world can be a pitiless one, as competition in the marketplace can put significant pressures on employees. Relentless deadlines, shrinking resources and shifting priorities all take their toll on employees’ well-being and mental health. In my home country of Belgium, more than two thirds (66.4%) of individuals on disability for psychological reasons had cases related to depression or burn-out. These worrisome statistics reflect broader trends across OECD countries, where nearly half (47.6%) of workers with mental-health problems have been absent from the office in the past year, compared
6-8-2024

FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES BENEFIT EMPLOYEES, BUSINESSES

Paid leave and employee well-being are the focus of a three-part policy series on family-friendly business practices put together by the Brown School’s Clark-Fox Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. “Creating a family-friendly workplace benefits both employees and businesses,” said Gary Parker, associate dean for external affairs and director of the institute. “For employees, it enhances work-life balance and job satisfaction,” he said. “For businesses, it leads to higher retention rates, reduced absenteeism and improved productivity. Policies such as paid leave, flexible work arrangements
6-8-2024

HOW TRUMP’S DEFINITION OF A ‘REAL’ AMERICAN HAS GRABBED HIS AUDIENCE—WHAT OUR RESEARCH SHOWS ABOUT WHY

Donald Trump has recently doubled down on his derogatory depictions of undocumented migrants in his bid to win the 2024 presidential election. In an interview with Time magazine, published on April 30 2024, Trump referred to migrants as “criminals,” who “come in and they steal our jobs, and steal our wealth, and they steal our country.” Trump was especially disparaging towards migrants from China, who he said are a “major force that’s forming in our country.” In short, according to Trump, undocumented migration is “an invasion of our country.” Trump’s
6-8-2024

NEW STUDY SHOWS MARKETING A BRAND’S SIMPLICITY CAN BACKFIRE

Irritability is a common side effect of heat. When companies tout the simplicity of their products, they may unknowingly invite customer dissatisfaction, new University of Oregon research finds. For decades, “simpler is better” has been accepted as a universal truth in marketing. Nick Light, assistant professor of marketing at the UO’ Lundquist College of Business, has tested that assumption. He found that most consumers prefer offerings that appear to be easy to use and understand. However, trumpeting simplicity can have a hidden, costly downside. “When marketing convinces consumers that things
6-8-2024

RESEARCHERS CREATE WINNING STRATEGY TO COMBAT VACCINE MISINFORMATION ON X

A new in-depth analysis shows that users who reply to misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a positive attitude, politeness, and strong evidence are more likely to encourage others to disbelieve the incorrect information. Researchers from three Georgia Tech schools found the most
6-8-2024

STUDY SHOWS DISENGAGED STUDENTS MORE LIKELY TO USE AI TOOLS FOR ASSIGNMENTS

A Swansea University psychology study has found that disengaged students are more likely to use AI tools—particularly ChatGPT—for academic assignments, raising questions about academic integrity and the need for proactive interventions. Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is an AI program capable of answering questions in detailed, human-like ways. Researchers surveyed 160 undergraduate students, aged between 18 and 24, in March 2023 to assess their attitudes towards and past usage of AI tools such as ChatGPT in academic coursework. The study is published in The Internet and Higher Education journal. Thirty-two
6-8-2024

HUMAN CULTURE IS CHANGING TOO FAST FOR EVOLUTION TO CATCH UP—HERE’S HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOU

Research is showing that many of our contemporary problems, such as the rising prevalence of mental health issues, are emerging from rapid technological advancement and modernisation. A theory that can help explain why we respond poorly to modern conditions, despite the choices, safety and other benefits they bring, is evolutionary mismatch. Mismatch happens when an evolved adaptation, either physical or psychological, becomes misaligned with the environment. Take moths and some species of nocturnal flies, for example. Because they have to navigate in the dark, they evolved to use the moon
6-8-2024

YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE UK SAY THEY ARE LESS LIKELY TO VOTE IF THEIR PARENTS REPORT DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

With a U.K. General Election approaching, new research has found that parental history of depression can predict whether a young person is likely to intend to vote. The research, led by the Department of Politics at the University of Liverpool, found that, at age 26, people were less likely to intend to vote if they had grown up with a parent experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms. Published in the journal Electoral Studies, the research used the British Cohort Study (BCS), which followed more than 16,000 babies born across a
6-8-2024

WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT COUNTS AS ‘DISORDER’?

As a scholar of urban governance and data policy, I viewed the responses to protests on U.S. campuses as about more than threats to academic freedom and freedom of speech. They are also threats to the fundamental rights of people in public spaces. The protesters’ tactics, particularly their use of tents in encampments, have brought debates around definitions of public order and disorder to the fore. Over the past couple of months, students in universities across the country, from the University of California, Los Angeles to the Massachusetts Institute of
6-8-2024

STUDYING VIOLENCE TOWARD WOMEN AND ANIMALS CAN HELP US DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO PREVENT BOTH

We live in a world where not everyone feels safe and respected, especially women. Sexual violence and abuse are significant global health issues. Intimate partner violence continues to be a problem in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, of the 117,093 victims of police-reported intimate partner violence in 2022, almost 80% were women and girls. More than half of women in the United States have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact. Given these high rates of sexual abuse, it is imperative that we improve upon what we currently know about violence
6-8-2024

WHY THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY COULD DEPEND ON YOUR GROUP CHATS

I became newly worried about the state of democracy when, a few years ago, my mother was elected president of her neighborhood garden club. Her election wasn’t my worry—far from it. At the time, I was trying to resolve a conflict on a large email group I had created. Someone, inevitably, was being a jerk on the internet. I had the power to remove them, but did I have the right? I realized that the garden club had in its bylaws something I had never seen in nearly all the
6-8-2024

NET ZERO IS NOT JUST GOOD SCIENCE—IT’S ALSO A GOOD DEAL FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE

As the UK moves into a general election, a misinformed debate over the country’s climate transition and legally binding net zero targets risks further dividing people. Much of this debate in the UK focuses on the “cost” of net zero. For instance, energy secretary Claire Coutinho recently stated the government did not want a “net zero leviathan” to crush the nation’s “brilliant enterprise economy,” while the Labor Party had to backtrack on its own headline climate investment pledge, citing “affordability” and “fiscal rules.” But the true “cost” is tricky to
6-8-2024

THE FASCINATING PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND ‘DINE AND DASH’ AND WHY IT’S ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN A FREE MEAL

Sometimes when I read the newspapers, I think that going to a restaurant and leaving without paying has become something of an epidemic. My research into lying has taught me that the psychology behind acts of deception is often deeply complex. Let me start with a confession. I was guilty of dine and dash a very long time ago before it had a catchy name. I was in a group that hung about a chip shop at the turn-of-the-road in north Belfast, a poor and troubled area. I had a
6-8-2024

YOU CAN NOW BE FROZEN AFTER DEATH IN AUSTRALIA. IF YOU’RE REVIVED IN THE FUTURE, WILL YOU LEGALLY BE THE SAME PERSON?

In recent weeks, Southern Cryonics—the southern hemisphere’s only cryopreservation facility, located in rural New South Wales—announced it had successfully cryopreserved its first patient. There are only a handful of cryopreservation facilities across the globe—two in the United States, and one each in Russia, China, Australia and Switzerland. If the claims made on their websites and in the press are accurate, these facilities likely have no more than 600 patients in cryonic storage in total. Media reports however suggest interest in cryopreservation has risen since the onset of the COVID pandemic,
6-8-2024

ENGINEERS HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT PUBLIC WELL-BEING, BUT LESS THAN HALF LEARN HOW TO DO SO EFFECTIVELY

Engineers who received public welfare responsibility training in classes are more likely to consider the societal impact of technologies they design and to take action when concerns arise, according to a study by University of Michigan researchers published in The Journal of Engineering Education. While engineers are professionally obligated to protect the safety and well-being of those their technologies impact, the study found that nearly a third of U.S. practicing engineers have never received any training in public welfare
6-8-2024

HIRING PRESSURES TO DIVERSIFY ARE INFLUENCING PATTERNS OF DISCRIMINATION IN UNEXPECTED WAYS

In 2004, a pair of economists published a landmark study to measure discrimination in the labor market. In the study, the researchers applied to real job openings with fictitious applicants but changed the applicant names to reflect a different gender or race. They found clear evidence of discrimination: White men and women received 50% more callbacks than Black men and women. More recently, Berkeley
6-8-2024

STUDY FINDS RACIAL BIAS IN TRAFFIC STOPS BY CHICAGO POLICE

Black drivers in Chicago are significantly more likely than white drivers to be stopped by police regardless of where the drivers live or are going, according to a new study led by a Cornell city planning expert that maps the racial composition of roads by using mobile phone GPS data. The study confirms a racial bias
6-8-2024

DO WE HAVE MORE EMPATHY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SIMILAR TO US? NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE

How do people successfully interact with those who are completely different from them? And can these differences create social barriers? Social scientists are struggling with these questions because the mental processes underlying social interactions are not well understood. One recent concept that has become increasingly popular is the “double-empathy problem.” This draws on research looking at people who are known to experience social difficulties,
6-8-2024

HOW CAN WE MAKE GOOD DECISIONS BY OBSERVING OTHERS? A VIDEOGAME AND COMPUTATIONAL MODEL HAVE THE ANSWER

How can disaster response teams benefit from understanding how people most efficiently pick strawberries together, or how they choose the perfect ice cream shop with friends? All these scenarios are based on the very fundamental question of how and when human groups manage to adapt collectively to different circumstances. Two recent studies on collective dynamics by the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (SCIoI) in Berlin, Germany, lay the groundwork to promote better
6-8-2024

OTHERS’ WORDS, NOT FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE, SHAPE SCIENTIFIC AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF FORMATION, STUDY FINDS

Three proposals explaining the differential confidence. (A) Intuitively, one might assume that confidence in scientific entities (e.g., germs) is higher than confidence in religious entities (e.g., angels) because scientific entities are observable in principle whereas religious entities are not. (B) The Dual- Pathway Model proposes separate information pathways for scientific versus religious beliefs; belief in scientific entities is primarily driven by direct experience of causal outcomes whereas belief in religious entities is primarily driven by testimony. (C) Contrary to these two models, the Unified Model proposes that belief in both
6-8-2024

TRYING TO SAVE MONEY? RESEARCH SUGGESTS PAYING IN CASH—WHILE YOU STILL CAN

Cash is in crisis. In Australia, it’s now only used for 16% of in-person transactions, down from about 70% in 2007. The situation is so dire that on Monday, independent federal MP Andrew Gee introduced a private member’s bill that would force businesses to accept cash or else face big fines. The reality is that over the past decade, technological advancements have utterly transformed the way we pay for goods and services. Phones and smartwatches can now easily be used to pay by card, and buy-now-pay-later
6-8-2024

MESSAGES CAN TRIGGER THE OPPOSITE OF THEIR DESIRED EFFECT—BUT YOU CAN AVOID COMMUNICATION THAT BACKFIRES

The best graduation speeches dispense wisdom you find yourself returning to long after the graduation tassels are turned. Take the feel-good life advice in Baz Luhrmann’s song to a class that graduated 25 years ago. Only on a recent relisten did I realize it also captures one of the research-based strategies I teach for avoiding communication that backfires. The tip is hiding in plain sight in the song’s title, “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen).” Communication aimed at promoting a certain behavior can have the opposite
6-8-2024

DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATION, VALUES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN CAUSE MISMATCHES WHEN SEEKING A PARTNER, FINDS SPANISH STUDY

The educational expansion of women has led to changes in the differences in educational level of men and women when looking for a partner. Research conducted by the UAB Center for Demographic Studies (CED-CERCA) has examined for the first time the role of discrepancies in gender role values and education among potential spouses. According to the study, about a third of women in favor of gender equality and with a higher education would not be able to find a homogamous male partner. The work is published in the journal Perspectives
6-8-2024

‘FUZZY’ MAPS OFFER INSIGHT INTO LOCAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE VALUE OF VOLUNTEERING

In the global South, volunteer programs are framed by policymakers and scholars as an effective vehicle for empowering women living in poverty. But this narrative often rests on scant knowledge of the perspectives and experiences of a key set of local stakeholders: the volunteers. A new study co-authored by Yale anthropologist Catherine Panter-Brick addresses this knowledge gap by engaging with Syrian refugees and Jordanian women from poor households in Amman, Jordan,
6-8-2024

EXPERTS SAY USE OF POLITICAL MEMES ARE A PREDICTOR OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE

In a study of social media activity prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, researchers at the University of Notre Dame say a sharp increase in politically salient imagery online—visual content designed to influence, dehumanize, manipulate and motivate audiences—was a predictor of the conflict. With collaborators at Colby College and Kennesaw State University, the researchers collected post history from a select group of 989 Russian milbloggers—a term used for “military bloggers”
6-8-2024

PROGRAMS TO PREVENT SEXUAL VIOLENCE SHOW NO EVIDENCE OF CURBING ASSAULTS, ANALYSIS FINDS

Sexual violence prevention programs effectively change ideas and beliefs that underscore assaults, but show no evidence of reducing their actual occurrence, a new comprehensive analysis shows. The findings are published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Researchers led by behavioral scientist Roni Porat of Hebrew University challenge the assumption that changing people’s thoughts about sexual violence will change their actual behavior. They call on scientists to study more behavior-centered approaches to reducing sexual
6-8-2024

DIVERSE FRIEND GROUPS PROMOTE BETTER SOCIAL COHESION AND WELL-BEING, STUDY FINDS

New research featuring more than 24,000 people has found that having diverse groups of friends improves well-being and social cohesion, despite people’s tendency to gravitate towards people more similar to them. Led by researchers at the University of Birmingham and published in Psychological Science, the study used data from 24,726 adults from over 10,000 English neighborhoods to examine the composition of people’s social networks according to age, ethnicity, income, and education to understand the implications of homophily (preference for similar people) on social cohesion subjective well-being. Dr. Miguel Ramos, lead
6-8-2024

STUDY SHOWS JUSTICE FACILITY DOGS BENEFIT WELL-BEING FOR CHILDREN FACING COURT

A new Edith Cowan University (ECU) study has revealed that having a four-legged friend at Children’s Court significantly reduces stress and anxiety for young victims, witnesses, and their caregivers. ECU criminology researchers Dr. Suz Rock and Associate Professor Natalie Gately have published the first Australian study to evaluate the impact of introducing a justice facility dog to a Children’s Court. The study “Kids, Courts and Canines: Evaluating the Justice Facility Dog Program through a Therapeutic Lens
6-8-2024

SEXUAL MINORITIES EXPERIENCE MORE EXCLUSION IN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS, FINDS STUDY

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people experience exclusion more frequently than heterosexual people. This is the finding of a recent study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin by researchers from the University of Basel and the RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau. According to the study, people who are perceived as less gender-conforming are more frequently socially excluded. This could also affect heterosexual people if they deviate from traditional
6-8-2024

STILL RIDING LA’S METRO AFTER THE PANDEMIC? YOU PROBABLY THINK IT’S SAFER THAN THOSE WHO DON’T ANYMORE

As Jon Regardie wrote last year in Los Angeles Magazine, “Metro’s raison d’etre is to get hundreds of thousands of people each day across Southern California.” But the COVID-19 pandemic sent the numbers of riders plummeting to a low of 13%, and ridership still hasn’t fully rebounded. The reason may now be clear, thanks to the latest USC Dornsife LABarometer survey, conducted by the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The survey found that although public transportation ridership in
6-8-2024

CAN VAGUE GO VIRAL FOR GEN Y?

Generation Y, Gen Y, is commonly referred to as the millennial generation. It usually includes individuals born between the early 1980s and the mid-to-late 1990s or early 2000s. This generation follows Generation X and precedes Generation Z. The millennials, it is said, grew up during the transition to digital technology and the rise of the internet, and this has shaped their perspectives, behavior, and the way they use technology and media. They are often characterized as tech-savvy, adaptable, and socially conscious, with a strong affinity for social media and digital
6-8-2024

ITALIAN MOMS WITH 3+ KIDS WORK FAR FEWER YEARS THAN DADS, WHILE FINLAND SHOWS EQUALITY

Over the past century, the number of working women in Western countries has steadily increased. However, numerous studies show that it is still primarily women who have to manage the balancing act between parenthood and working life. Compared to fathers and childless women, mothers often have a less straightforward career path and face greater hurdles to career advancement. Little research has been done on what happens to women’s employment trajectories from midlife when childrearing efforts are
6-8-2024

TOP IT INDUSTRY MANAGERS ARE DIVIDED ON THE NEED FOR FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE

Many managers are currently seeking a balance between digital and face-to-face communication. A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland published in Information Technology & People shows that top IT industry managers have different views on when and for what purposes face-to-face communication in the workplace is needed. “Some top managers felt that all work tasks can be performed remotely with the help of digital communication. According to them, face-to-face communication is only necessary for maintaining interpersonal relationships and a sense of community,” says Doctoral Researcher Lotta Salin of
6-8-2024

STUDY FINDS SIMPLE HEADLINES ATTRACT MORE ONLINE NEWS READERS

The competition for online attention in today’s news environment is fierce. High-quality news from credible sources must compete for attention with misinformation and a rapidly increasing amount of partisan content. How can a news organization stand out as a reputable and trustworthy outlet while driving readers to its site? The answer is simple: literally. According to research from Michigan State University, news readers engage more with simple writing, suggesting journalists should write simply—clearly and without ambiguity—to attract attention online. The study was published in the journal Science Advances. “Newsrooms want
6-8-2024

STUDY SHOWS BANNING FALSE INFORMATION TRAFFICKERS ONLINE CAN IMPROVE PUBLIC DISCOURSE

When Twitter banned more than 70,000 traffickers of false information from its platform in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the impact went beyond the silencing of those users. A study co-authored by UC Riverside public policy and political science scholars published in the journal Nature on June 5, found that the crackdown by Twitter (now called X after it was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk in late 2022) also significantly reduced the number of misinformation posts by users who stayed on the
6-8-2024

YOUNG ADULTS SAY STEADY SUPPORT FROM CARING ADULTS MADE DIFFERENCE IN TRANSITIONING FROM CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

Young people who have exited foster care generally fare better—in work, school and relationships—if they get consistent support from adults who care about them during their teen years. My research team reached these findings by interviewing 21 people, now in their late 20s, who had aged out of foster care when they turned 18, had spent time in foster care as children or grew up in families that had active child welfare cases. These young adults relayed the degree to which they received support from
6-8-2024

HOW THE 1901 DISCOVERY EXPEDITION’S POLAR EXPLORERS STAYED HEALTHY DURING THEIR ANTARCTIC JOURNEY

Antarctica is the most inhospitable continent on earth. It’s dry, cold, and completely dark for months of the year. Edwardian explorers were some of the first to brave the Antarctic winter, developing new knowledge still drawn upon by scientists today. The Discovery expedition (1901–4) played a key role in the history of polar exploration. It was led by the Royal Navy commander Robert Falcon Scott, a pioneering polar explorer who died in 1912 after attempting to reach the south pole. The expedition’s third lieutenant was Ernest Shackleton, who led three
6-8-2024

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS INFUSED WITH AGRI-INNOVATION SYSTEMS CAN REDUCE POST-HARVEST FOOD LOSS AND WASTE

developing sustainable business models that are multi-actor networked for integrating them with agricultural innovation systems initiatives can enable a systemic approach for reducing food loss and value loss at the post-harvest
6-8-2024

WILL THE 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES BECOME THE PLAYING FIELD FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS?

Yannick Kluch, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studies sport as a platform for promoting social justice. Kluch has worked with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, U.S. Diving and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He spoke with research editor Sharita Forrest about the history of Olympic athletes’ social justice protests and governing organizations’ efforts to avert them with Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter.
6-8-2024

STUDY FINDS WE SPEND MORE WITH CASHLESS PAYMENTS

A study found support for the existence of a positive “cashless effect,” which is when consumers spend more when using cashless payment methods in comparison to cash. The study suggests the cashless effect leads people to spend more when purchasing products that are typically used to signal status, such as jewelry. However, the
6-8-2024

LAWS MEANT TO KEEP DIFFERENT RACES APART STILL INFLUENCE DATING PATTERNS, DECADES AFTER BEING INVALIDATED

If you are single and looking for a romantic partner, chances are that you have used a dating app. But the likelihood that others will like, or even see, your profile may depend on your race. Studies have found that all people on dating apps, regardless of their own race, are more likely to contact white people using the app. And all people using dating apps are least likely to contact African American women and Asian American men. Until recently, some popular apps, including OkCupid, Match, Hinge and Grindr, provided
6-8-2024

VIRTUAL LABS IN PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH BOOST DIVERSITY

University of Oregon psychologists are breaking down barriers to include underrepresented populations in research by bringing laboratories online. The researchers are trying to address a longstanding issue in psychology studies, which often rely on undergraduate students to volunteer as research subjects.
6-8-2024

ATTENDING LOCAL EVENTS STRENGTHENS NEIGHBORHOOD BONDS, SURVEY REVEALS

how often people visit and actively participate in local events and how this affects their sense of place or their connection to their community. A survey of almost 400 households in the state’s coastal council area of the City of Holdfast Bay found that people who frequently attend local events or participate as volunteers, organizers or exhibitors, have a stronger
6-8-2024

STUDY SHOWS ONLINE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION WORKS FOR COMPLEX TOPICS

“COVID-19 forced educators to adjust their educational best practices to an unfamiliar virtual classroom, and professional development was no different,” said Karen Jo Matsler, assistant professor in practice for UTeach at UTA
6-8-2024

EYE-TRACKING STUDY REVEALS THAT SIMPLY LOOKING AT THE NATURAL WORLD IN URBAN AREAS CAN REAP WELL-BEING BENEFITS

Integrating more natural features into city landscapes can play a crucial role in enhancing the mental well-being of residents. A study by Bangor University and Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, published in the scientific journal People and Nature, involved city dwellers and showed how paying visual attention to greenery, rather than human-made structures, can alleviate anxiety and enhance restorative feelings. The 117 urban residents who took part in the study, were guided on a
6-8-2024

ADVERTISERS MAY BE INADVERTENTLY FUNDING MISINFORMATION

Companies in industries such as health care, technology and insurance have been found to advertise on misinformation websites, according to an analysis published in Nature. In a related experiment, consumers who were made aware that a company advertised on a misinformation website were likely to reject an offer of a gift voucher to spend with that company. The majority of digital advertisement placement on the internet is done via an algorithm-based distribution
6-8-2024

STUDY SUGGESTS EVOLUTIONARY BASIS FOR MALE RISK-TAKING BEHAVIORS

why we associate risk-taking with males rather than females, from an evolutionary standpoint. Study author Hannah Goodman, from UWA’s School of Human Sciences, said researchers found men engaged in riskier behaviors when crossing a busy traffic intersection, supporting growing evidence that risk-taking is predominantly an androcentric behavior. “Males

Previously, on Hell’s Kitchen…
The final 7 participated in the presentation challenge, but this time, it was every chef for themselves, as they competed for an incredible reward: a black jacket and immunity from elimination. It was a closely fought contest, but in the end, Lauren cemented her frontrunner status by taking the win with a dish that impressed Chef Ramsay and the former winners who had stopped by to guest judge. Not only did Lauren earn her black jacket early, but she also got a photo shoot with Epicurious, and a dinner with the former Hell’s Kitchen champions. While Lauren was riding high, everyone else was left behind to clean up the mess from several weeks of dorm life.
In service, both teams had their share of issues, and although they each managed to fight through it, Ramsay wasn’t content with choosing a winning team, and instead had both teams nominate one chef for elimination. At elimination, the choice seemed to be an easy one, as Grace and Ramona found themselves in front of Ramsay yet again. But in the end, it was Grace who fell just short of obtaining a black jacket, which saw her dream of becoming the next head chef of Gordon Ramsay Steak go up in flames.
The final six have overcome each obstacle Ramsay has thrown at them, but are they truly ready for what lies ahead? FInd out tonight, on Hell’s Kitchen..,
https://reddit.com/link/1dbjm6p/video/uyknwqndlg5d1/player
And now, the continuation of Hell’s Kitchen…
The final six were in a celebratory mood as they sprinted down the hallway and excitedly exchanged high fives and hugs. Lauren said in her confessional that they were really here, to the part of the competition that mattered most, and best of all, Grace was finally gone. Thomas was equally glad, as he said in his confessional that it was another weak chef removed from his path, though he wasn’t really worried about anyone here. Ramona was absolutely ecstatic, saying in her confessional that not only did she get a black jacket, but she got to see Grace walk out the door. With the chefs seemingly celebrating being rid of their biggest nuisance as much as getting their black jackets, Michael pointed out that Ramsay had mentioned the black jacket lounge, and the chefs eagerly entered to find it decked out with a bar, a banner congratulating them, and several bottles of champagne on ice, with a note telling them to enjoy.
Michael said in his confessional that he knew the booze was always a trap, but that wasn’t gonna stop him, as he popped open a bottle and poured himself and Faye a glass. The others were equally willing to indulge, as Melody said in her confessional that right now, it was time to let all that tension roll off their shoulders and just enjoy this moment with Lauren. The two of them drank a couple of glasses until Melody finally said they should save something for tomorrow, as she laughed in her confessional and said someone had to be the voice of reason here. Michael had no such inhibitions as he quickly downed more than enough to get him in a relaxed state, while Faye teased him about how well he could hold his liquor. Thomas said in his confessional that he was definitely going to regret that tomorrow. The chefs continued to celebrate well into the night before finally getting what little sleep they could.
Challenge
The black jackets were awakened early the next morning, however, and went downstairs to meet Ramsay, who asked them if they enjoyed their reward last night, to which Michael replied that they did, and Ramsay said he could tell just by looking at them. Michael admitted in his confessional that he still felt like shit, and just hoped the challenge wouldn’t be too difficult. Ramsay said he hoped the chefs had saved a little pep in their step for today, because Hell’s Kitchen was opening tonight for a very special occasion: A 20th anniversary reunion night where all of the guests would be chefs who had appeared on past seasons of Hell’s Kitchen. Ramsay emphasized that he wanted to see this team at their absolute best during service. Ramona groaned in her confessional and said today of all days, she didn’t need to be dealing with a hangover. Regardless, Ramsay said that for now, he wanted them to focus on the here and now, and that meant today’s challenge. Ramsay briefly went over how much food had been wasted throughout the history of Hell’s Kitchen, to which Melody prayed in her confessional that they wouldn’t have to do any dumpster diving. Ramsay went on, though, saying that one of his favorite challenges to revisit was designed to test the chefs’ ability to work with leftover ingredients. He told the chefs that they had 45 minutes to prepare a stunning dish using leftover ingredients from last night’s service, and their time started right now.
The final six rushed into the kitchen and began rummaging through the pile of leftover ingredients. Thomas was confident as he said in his confessional that he could make a five star dish out of any ingredients, fresh or not, and already had a plan in mind. Meanwhile, Faye said in her confessional that she needed a win in this challenge to get herself back into the running, and was determined to put her best foot forward. As most of the chefs got to work on cooking, at least one chef still seemed undecided in their ingredients. Melody said in her confessional that she wanted to take her time and plan out her dish mentally first. As Ramsay called out that 10 minutes had passed, Lauren wondered in her confessional what Melody was doing, and said she needed to get a move on. Finally, Melody chose her ingredients and joined the other chefs. Ramona was determined to get it right, as she said in her confessional that she needed a win here badly, and was hoping to come up clutch again as she had during Cook For Your Life. Michael was doing his best to stay focused given his partying last night, as he joked in his confessional that hopefully he cooked even better hungover than sober. Lauren was full of confidence after having been the first to earn a black jacket yesterday, though admitted she was also feeling the after-effects of last night’s celebration. With all six chefs working frantically to wrap up their creations in the allotted time, Ramsay counted down the final seconds, then told them to stop and bring their dishes up to the pass.
Ramsay announced that since this was the 20th anniversary of Hell’s Kitchen, it was only right for a legendary judge to help him score this contest. That was why he had invited the one and only…Wolfgang Puck. A choir of voices sang his name as the iconic chef walked through the door and stood by Ramsay’s side. Melody gushed in her confessional, as she could not believe she was standing just feet away from Wolfgang Puck himself. Ramona was suddenly very nervous, as she said in her confessional that if she had known Chef Puck was going to be voting on these dishes, she would have put in 100 times the effort. Nonetheless, with the introduction out of the way, Ramsay now called on Faye to bring her dish up first.
Faye presented her pan seared halibut over pea puree with sliced vegetables. Puck examined the dish carefully, noting that the presentation could have been a bit better, though he did enjoy the taste of the halibut itself. Ramsay said it was a nice tasting dish, though unfortunately, he did get the sense it was made from leftovers, as nothing really seemed to pop, which Puck agreed with. The two chefs were ready to give their scores on a 1-10 scale, and both Ramsay and Puck gave her a six, for a 12/20 score. Faye kicked herself in her confessional, as she felt that she had played it far too safe, and it backfired on her. Next, it was Ramona’s turn to step forward, as she presented a plate of chicken breast over turnip puree with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. Again though, Ramsay commented that he wasn’t feeling a wow factor, and said it had a decent taste but one that was distinctly more like leftovers than fine dining. Puck also pointed out that the chicken was a bit undercooked for his liking. Ramsay was still willing to give it a six, but Puck felt it only earned a five, giving her an 11/20 score and leaving Faye in the lead. Ramona was upset with herself in her confessional, as she said she couldn’t believe she screwed it up right when she needed a big challenge win the most. Ramsay urged the chefs to step it up big time, as this wasn’t what he was expecting at this stage from the black jackets. Third up was Melody, who expressed anxiety in her confessional after seeing both Faye and Ramona struggle, and knew she had to get this right. She presented her herb-crusted salmon with buttered caper sauce, and Puck noted right away that it was a big step up on looks alone, which Ramsay agreed with. The chefs tasted the dish and came away just as impressed, with Ramsay saying this was the first standout dish of the challenge by far. Puck gave his score first, saying that deserved a nine. Ramsay agreed completely and also gave it a nine, for a strong 18/20 score.
Melody was thrilled in her confessional to have gotten such a strong score, but knew Thomas, Lauren and Michael were all good enough to potentially take the win. Lauren went next, saying in her confessional that Melody had raised the bar here, and it was now up to her to keep pace. She was hoping to do so with her filet mignon with red onion and tarragon relish. Ramsay had praise for the presentation, as he noted it was simple, but appetizing. Once they sliced the filet, Puck was pleased to see it cooked beautifully, and both chefs praised the taste of the meat. Puck did express that the garnish could have been a bit better, but Ramsay said they had a very tough decision on the hands. Ultimately, both felt it wasn’t quite on the same level of Melody’s dish, and each gave it an eight, for a score of 16/20. Lauren was disappointed to have come up short, but said in her confessional that she hoped Melody could hold on for the win. Next was Thomas, who expressed confidence in his confessional despite the tall task in front of him, as he said he continually demanded perfection of himself and expected nothing less here. He presented his John Dory with orange glazed endives, which earned strong praise from both Ramsay and Puck for its clean and modern presentation. Both also praised the flavor of the dish, though both noted the orange glaze was a bit too sweet for them. Ramsay was willing to overlook this though, considering how strong of a dish it was, and gave it a nine. Puck…said it did take the dish down a peg for him, and he could only give it an eight, giving Thomas a 17/20 score and leaving Melody with a narrow lead. Thomas showed some frustration in his confessional, as he was getting tired of always coming up just short in challenges. Finally, Michael was the only one left to take on Melody, and he said in his confessional that this was finally his time to take home victory in a challenge. He presented his lamb chops with butter fondant, morels, peas, and a balsamic reduction, which again earned high marks for the presentation, as Puck said the chefs were definitely putting forth their best in this challenge. Ramsay agreed, and said the dish looked nearly perfect, with only one problem…the lamb looked as if it might’ve cooked about half a minute too long. Michael kicked himself in his confessional, as he said he had been so focused on not serving undercooked food, that he had overcompensated. Despite this critique, though, both Ramsay and Puck enjoyed the dish and said the flavor was excellent.
Ramsay said this was a very tough choice, but even with the slight overcook on the lamb, everything else was good enough to earn it a nine. With the deciding vote in his hands, Puck said in addition to the lamb, he also had a bit of a problem with the garnish not adding as much as it could have, and that was why he could only give it an eight, leaving Michael with a 17/20 score, and giving Melody the win in the challenge.
Reward / Punishment
Ramsay congratulated Melody on running the gauntlet, as this was one of the closest challenges in recent years, and she absolutely earned the win. And as a reward for that win, she was going to be treated to an afternoon of surfing lessons from 2024 Olympian Carissa Moore. Melody was nothing less than giddy in her confessional, as she said this day couldn’t get much better, but Ramsay wasn’t finished, and said that a reward like this shouldn’t be spent alone, and she should bring one of her fellow chefs along. Without hesitation, Melody told Lauren to get her stuff packed, because they were going surfing. Lauren was pumped up to get a reward with Melody and have an opportunity to spend personal time with an Olympian. As the two embraced and rushed off to get changed, Ramsay told the remaining four chefs that today’s punishment would be anything but the breezy fun Melody and Lauren would be experiencing, as the kitchens needed to be cleaned and prepped, and the dining room appropriately decorated, for tonight’s 20 year Reunion Night service. Lauren wondered in her confessional why both kitchens would need to be prepped, but Faye said in her confessional that she had a sneaking suspicion about what Ramsay was up to.
While the four losing chefs got to work on their grueling punishment, Melody and Lauren went back downstairs and left Hell’s Kitchen together, eager to get started on their day in the sun, where they saw that an appropriately stylish top down convertible would be taking them to the beach. After a scenic drive through the city, they finally arrived at their destination and stepped out onto the beach on a perfect sunny afternoon. There, they were greeted by an enthusiastic Carissa Moore, who congratulated them on winning the challenge and said she hoped they were both ready to catch some waves. Melody admitted in her confessional that she didn’t actually know surfing was an Olympic sport, with Moore saying it had been added only a few years ago, and giving them a bit of her backstory on how she got into surfing and became an Olympic athlete. Lauren said in her confessional that it was a huge inspiration to talk with an Olympian, as they shared the same dedication to their respective crafts, and she felt that she and Melody could learn a lot from this in addition to having a great time. With the introductions out of the way, Moore took the chefs out on the water, giving them basic tips on riding a board and eventually to standing. Melody kept falling, much to Lauren’s amusement, as a sheepish Melody said in her confessional that nobody was perfect. However, after a long afternoon of practice and a lengthy spell of trial and error, both chefs had improved somewhat, with Melody beaming in her confessional and saying she was having the time of her life right now, a sentiment which Lauren agreed with, as she said in her confessional that there was nowhere she’d rather be than here and now. After a deeply enjoyable afternoon for both chefs, they finally said goodbye to Moore, who wished them all the best going forward, and returned to Hell’s Kitchen just in time to witness the restaurant’s transformation.
While Melody and Lauren enjoyed a day of sun, fun and relaxation, the four remaining black jackets were left with the task of turning Hell’s Kitchen into a stunning venue for the 20th anniversary reunion. Michael was particularly disappointed, as he still felt like crap thanks to his hangover, and also had come up just short in the challenge, saying in his confessional that some time outside of Hell’s Kitchen could’ve really done him some good. Thomas was still upset, as he said in his confessional that Melody and Lauren could have all the fun they wanted, but he was going to work his ass off and make sure he stood out in service. Faye and Ramona were also disappointed in their performances, though Faye said in her confessional that Ramona seemed to be taking it the worst, and she tried to encourage the younger chef to bounce back in service. Ramona was still feeling down on herself though, but said in her confessional that Faye was right, and the best thing she could do now was get locked in and try to move on from her performance in the challenge. Once the chefs had finished cleaning the kitchen and dining room, it was time to start decorating. Faye tried to keep the mood light by saying this was going to be the prettiest Hell’s Kitchen dining room in its 20 year history, getting a smile from Ramona. Meanwhile, Michael was struggling to get the decorations right and constantly asked for help. Thomas told them to focus as they didn’t have much time and still had to prep the kitchen, and said in his confessional that he felt like a babysitter right now.
Pre-Service
Melody and Lauren returned to Hell’s Kitchen to find their fellow chefs wrapping up prep. Ramsay then gathered all six black jackets in the dining room and told them that for tonight’s service, not only would they be serving a dining room full of former Hell’s Kitchen chefs for the restaurant’s 20th anniversary, but they would also be competing against a handpicked team of chefs whom Ramsay held in the highest regard. With that, Ramsay announced that the first chef cooking in the blue kitchen tonight was…Season 21 winner Alex Belew. The chefs watched in awe as the door to Ramsay’s office swung open and Alex walked down the stairs. Lauren said in her confessional that Alex was an amazing winner and she couldn't wait to compete against him. Following Alex were Season 19 winner Kori Sutton, Season 20 winner Trenton Garvey, Season 16 winner Kimberly-Ann Ryan, Season 13 winner LaTasha McCutchen, and Season 12 winner Scott Commings. With the six former winners now lined up opposite the black jackets, Ramsay assured his current proteges that he was not going easy on them in the slightest, and tonight was all about showing how far they had come as chefs and leaders when stacked up against elite competition.
Thomas was excited for this opportunity in his confessional, as he said he thrived off going against the best of the best, and he hoped the past winners were ready to pass the torch to the current chefs after tonight. Lauren was similarly excited, and said this was the perfect chance for her to prove to Ramsay that she was more than good enough to join the ranks of the champions. The winners themselves were equally pumped up, with Scoot saying in his confessional that after over a decade away, it was great to be back in Hell’s Kitchen for such a special occasion. Kori said in her confessional that these rookies might put up a good fight, but she and her teammates were winners for a reason. Alex expressed similar thoughts aloud, as he teased the current chefs by saying they could learn more from defeat than victory. Faye warned him not to speak too soon, while Michael said that this was their kitchen now. With both teams appropriately fired up and ready to go, Ramsay told them that tonight, he wanted to see two perfect services, as their fellow chefs deserved nothing but the best, then dismissed them to their respective kitchens.
Finally, Ramsay called Marino over and told him to open Hell’s Kitchen for its 20th anniversary reunion night.
Dinner Service
The doors of Hell’s Kitchen opened for this very special service, and as a sea of familiar faces streamed into the dining room, Ramsay told the chefs that everyone here was a VIP, and urged them to give their fellow HK alumni a night to remember. The former chefs were seated, with Ed from season 7 saying it felt strange to be back here again and not being the one getting yelled at. Rochelle from season 12 was already having a great time with the former chefs at her table, as they were all laughing and looking forward to their meal. Soon, tickets began to work their way back to both kitchens.
In the red kitchen, the black jacket team had Thomas and Ramona on appetizers, Melody on fish, Lauren on garnish, and Michael and Faye on meat. Early on, Thomas had no issues serving up his capellini on schedule along with Ramona’s risotto and Melody’s scallops, and the black jackets got off to a good start by getting their first table of appetizers out with no hiccups. The black jackets would settle into a rhythm from there, as they were able to keep a steady flow of appetizers going out into the dining room to pleased past chefs, with Declan from season 19 saying he was loving it so far, while Carmen from season 22 joked that it could use some more salt. Back in the kitchen though, the kitchen started to slow down thanks to Ramona serving up two bland, undercooked risottos, and dragging on all of her orders. Thomas was getting annoyed and said in his confessional that he didn’t have time to be constantly cleaning up after Ramona’s mistakes, as they were all supposed to be elite chefs at this stage. Despite his frustration, though, he helped Ramona with her risottos and impressed Ramsay with his leadership from appetizers. Melody was able to communicate well with him and served nicely cooked scallops throughout the night. Ramona served up another bland risotto though, and Ramsay schooled her for still not paying attention to the fine details at this stage of the game. She was finally able to recover with her next attempt, and the black jackets began firing entrees while still wrapping up appetizers.
In the blue kitchen, the winners were hoping to make their comeback to Hell’s Kitchen a successful one with Kori on appetizers, Trenton on fish, LaTasha on garnish, Alex and Kim Ryan on meat, and Scott acting as a floater. Early on, Kori and Trenton were able to get into a groove with their apps, sending out beautifully cooked risottos, capellini and scallops, as Trenton said in his confessional that it was just like riding a bike, and he hoped the rookies were ready to take a whooping tonight. The former champions did hit a snag though as Trenton and Kori got a bit mixed up on their times, and Trenton ended up falling behind on his scallops. Meanwhile, Kori served undercooked risotto, and Ramsay schooled them both for making such basic mistakes. Kori said in her confessional that it was time to stop messing around and get back on track. Trenton was still dragging, and Scott said in his confessional that nothing pissed Ramsay off more than a backed up kitchen, and he moved over to help out. With an assist from Scott, Trenton managed to catch up on his scallops, and the blue kitchen once again began sending out appetizers at a solid clip. Out in the dining room, the past chefs watched the teams competing with a mixture of amusement and secondhand anxiety, as Steve from season 20 said it was fascinating to see everything unfolding from the sidelines.
Back in the red kitchen, with the teams still neck and neck, the black jackets started firing off entrees. They got off to a rough start on their first ticket though, with Faye serving up undercooked lamb on the first table, while Michael was sluggish and still seemed out of it. Communication issues also arose between the meat station and Lauren on garnish, as she was ready well before they were. The overall energy in the kitchen seemed down, which Ramsay called out, as he told the chefs again that everyone was a VIP, and they needed to get their asses in gear. Michael said in his confessional that everything felt disorganized right now and it wasn’t helping his headache in the slightest. He did try to power through it though, and was finally able to get on the same page with Lauren, as he started to get back to his usual energetic self again. Meanwhile, Melody managed to serve up nicely cooked portions of John Dory and salmon along with scallops for the remaining appetizers, though she did get in some trouble for firing two halibut on a ticket where it wasn’t needed, but she bounced back quickly. Lauren continued to be vocal and drive tickets from the garnish station, while Michael did start getting it together, and after Ramsay praised his Wellingtons as being cooked perfectly, he said in his confessional that it was just the boost that he needed. Faye got in trouble again though for serving undercooked ribeye, and Lauren served a cold sauce for it. Ramona, who was still wrapping up appetizers, sent up a table of overcooked capellini and consistently dragged on orders. The black jackets fought through their problems, and finally managed to settle down into a solid groove and serve their remaining tables. Out in the dining room, Will from season 9 said that it was great to see the rookies not letting their heads go down and keeping up with the winners.
In the blue kitchen, the former winners were ready to begin firing entrees alongside their appetizers, with Alex and Kim Ryan on meat driving the tickets along with LaTasha on garnish. The winners had no troubles on their first table, as they continued their momentum from appetizers, but Kim Ryan sent up raw ribeye, and got mixed up with LaTasha on their timing. Trenton, who was now working both apps and entrees, said in his confessional that the ladies needed to get their shit together, because he was not going to let anything ruin this reunion night. Thanks to Scott stepping in to call out times for the vets and help Trenton on fish, food once again began to leave the kitchen at a steady pace. Meanwhile, Kori was able to continue sending out appetizers without any issues, and the champions seemed to be on course for a smooth service. Alex had an unexpected mistake, though, as he served up overcooked Wellingtons, which he kicked himself for in his confessional, saying there was no excuse for screwing up a dish they had cooked every night in Hell’s Kitchen. Alex was able to bounce back quickly, and along with Kim Ryan, got the meat station back on track. LaTasha, meanwhile, had success calling out times and keeping the kitchen running from garnish after the earlier communication issues, as she said in her confessional that everyone here was a pro, and they knew how to close a service out. Sure enough, the winners seemed to only get stronger as the night wore on, talking to each other and sending out entrees to satisfied Hell’s Kitchen alumni. In the dining room, season 18 winner Ariel joked that she was enjoying the show and getting some great food out of it too. With the vets now firing on all cylinders, they managed to finish sending out the rest of their entrees.
Ramsay told both teams to clear down, then had them join him in the dining room.
Post-Mortem
Ramsay started out by telling the chefs that tonight was all about honoring the storied past of Hell’s Kitchen, and despite their struggles, both kitchens had managed to do that by finishing strong and delivering what he hoped was a great service. At this, the guests in the dining room applauded and cheered loudly. Ramsay then said it was time to turn to the matter of the winning team, which would be decided by customer satisfaction cards handed out in the dining room. After tallying the scores, Ramsay said there was one team who had the edge. First, he read out the score of the returning winners. Their tables had given them a 93% satisfaction rating. Next, he turned to the current black jackets, and said that their tables had given them…an 87% rating. This made the past champions the winners of service, which they took with huge smiles as their fellow chefs, including the current black jackets, applauded them. LaTasha got a bit emotional in her confessional and said that it felt great to get one last win in Hell’s Kitchen, on the 20th anniversary no less, while Scott said in his confessional that being able to deliver a great service to their fellow chefs meant just as much as winning had. Lauren was disappointed in her confessional, but had to hand it to the returning winners, as she said they simply performed better and deserved the win.
With the results announced, Ramsay told the black jackets to say goodbye to the past winners, and to everyone else in attendance. Once the crowd had cleared out, Ramsay brought the chefs back into the kitchen and had them line up like normal, telling them that it was close, but close would no longer be good enough, and there were still too many inconsistencies here given that it was supposed to be the best of the best. With that said, he instructed the black jackets to have a good, long discussion about which two they felt should be on the chopping block tonight, and dismissed them to the dorms.
Back in the dorms, the discussion began with Thomas saying that Ramona had been the clear weak link on apps, and it wouldn’t be right for anyone to go up before her. The others quickly seemed to agree, with Lauren saying that she still seemed to get overwhelmed, and it was clear by now that she wasn’t ready to take the next step. Ramona admitted she had the worst service, but announced Faye and Michael as her nominees given that they had been inconsistent on the meat station. Michael argued back that he may have had a bit too much to drink last night, but he was still vocal and fought back. Thomas agreed with Faye going up, though, saying that by this point, it wasn’t about your experience in Hell’s Kitchen, but what you did with it. Faye agreed that she could have done better, but still felt that Ramona was their weakest chef, as much as she hated to say it. Ramona became frustrated, saying this same routine had been going on for weeks and she was tired of hearing it, as she went off to the bedroom, and Melody went in after her to try to offer some comfort. Melody told her that she had been a fighter throughout the competition and not to give up on herself now.
Elimination Ceremony
The black jackets entered the dining room and lined up, and Ramsay started off by saying that he had expected more from his top six, especially given the occasion, and it was frustrating to watch at times when he knew that their potential was much higher than what they were showing. With that said, he asked Melody for the black jacket team’s first nominee and why. Melody announced that the black jackets had decided to put up Ramona, due to having struggled the most in services to this point. Ramsay asked for the second nominee and why. Melody seemed to hesitate a bit, but finally announced that Faye was the second nominee, due to having problems on the meat station. Ramsay accepted the nominations and called Ramona and Faye forward.
Deliberation music
Ramsay first asked Ramona why she should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Ramona: “Chef, I’ve had a long journey in this competition, from signature dish to where I am now. I didn’t always have this belief in myself, but having been through it all, now I know that I belong here, I deserve this black jacket, and I believe I have the potential to be the head chef you’re looking for.”
Ramsay moved on to Faye, asking why she should stay in Hell’s Kitchen.
Faye: “I'm disappointed in my performance tonight, chef, and I know you are too. The important thing though, is that I don’t let those mistakes get to me. I feel like I have the composure that Ramona maybe doesn’t at this point, and I think that’s what sets me apart. I expect a lot better from myself, and if you give me another chance, I’ll show you.”
Ramsay struck a thoughtful pose, as he said that he had a very difficult choice ahead of him, but at last, he was ready to make it.
Ramsay: “My decision is…”

Ramsay: “Faye…I expect a lot better too. And I need to see it soon, because I can’t go on much further. Back in line!”
A relieved Faye rushed back to rejoin the other black jackets, while Ramsay turned his attention to Ramona.
Ramsay: “Ramona…step forward, darling. I think we both know that you are not quite ready to become the next head chef of Gordon Ramsay Steak.”
Elimination music
Ramona stepped up and handed over her jacket.
Ramsay: “Let me tell you this: you do have potential, a lot of it. I could see that from your very first dish. Unfortunately, it’s consistency and leadership that I’m looking for, and I haven’t seen enough of it. What you’ve got to do now is keep going. Don’t stay down. Fight back, and become the chef I know you can be.”
Ramona thanked Ramsay as he hugged her, and she waved goodbye to her fellow chefs before leaving Hell’s Kitchen.
Ramona’s comment and montage
Flashback to signature Signature Dish challenge
Ramsay: ‘Your name, young lady?”
Ramona: “Ramona, chef.”
Ramsay: “Ramona, that dish is absolutely stunning, it’s a clear five.”

Ramona: “It’s been one hell of a ride here in Hell’s Kitchen. I’m young, I don’t have the experience of some of my fellow chefs, and that was an obstacle I had to overcome.”

Flashback to various services
Ramsay: “Good god almighty…RAMONA! It’s still raw!”
Ramsay: “Hey, you, take a look at that, what the fuck is that?! Do you want to go home right now?”
Ramsay: “Oh come on, Ramona, this is your course, they need to hear you!”

Ramona: ‘Was it a struggle to work with my fellow chefs at times? Oh hell yeah. But I never backed down.”
Flashback to chefs in dorms
Grace: “So you’re gonna stand there and say you deserve to be here more than me after that service, really?!”
Ramona: “Hey, look, I served my tables, I owned my mistakes! And guess what? I work with the team. T-E-A-M, honey, I know that doesn’t mean anything to you!”

Ramona: “If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from all this, it’s that being a head chef is a lot harder than I thought it would be. You have to work your ass off, and I did. Even though I’m walking away empty handed, Chef did recognize my potential.”
Flashback to various services and challenges
Ramsay: “Beautifully cooked, Ramona! Keep the bar up there!”
Ramona: “Yes, chef!”
Ramsay: ‘The immunity pass goes to…Ramona, well done, young lady, that dish was fantastic.”
Ramsay: “Ramona, great sear on those scallops!”

Ramona: “He may not think I’m ready now, but I know that one day, I’ll get there.”

With Ramona’s elimination, Ramsay remarked that there were just five left standing, a fourth of the original field of 20, and while they had held their own against the winners and given them a decent run, their services going forward needed to be even better if they wanted to become the next head chef of Gordon Ramsay Steak. With that, he told them to go back to the dorms and rest up, because the competition was just going to get more and more intense with each passing day, and each of them now had a one in five chance of reaching their dream.
As the chefs went back upstairs, each of them had a confessional. Michael said that from now on, he was fully locked in and done with partying until his door opened, as he had a restaurant to win, and nothing was going to get in his way. Lauren said that even small mistakes could get you sent home at this point, and she would simply have to trust her skill and composure under pressure to carry her through. Faye said that she had just had another close brush with elimination, and knew she needed a Texas-sized comeback tomorrow to show Ramsay that she was far from done. Melody said that she could never have imagined getting this far when she first walked in, but now, she couldn’t imagine walking out with anything less than a head chef position at Gordon Ramsay Steak. Finally, Thomas said that with Ramona gone, it was down to the five truly strong chefs, but he was completely confident that whatever challenges Ramsay threw at them, he was the best equipped to handle them and take home the prize.
Placement
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Hello everyone. I tried before (years ago) with a cast iron pan and knowing nothing, I completely messed it all up.
So, I'm thinking of starting again. I went through the FAQ and the threads. For a newbie, I get Lodge is great to begin and I understand most about seasoning and washing it, but ALL (and I mean ALL) the stuff I've read always miss to mention two or three very specific things that I keep thinking about:

1. Seasoning. If I get a Lodge pre-seasoned pan, do I also need to season it? (aka apply oil, remove excess, in the oven, then repeat) before using it for the first time? And if yes, how many times?
2. Do I need to season it again (as in the whole shebang) after every time I cook? Or do I need to wash, heat until dry, apply oil, remove excess, store?
3. Washing: How do you actually wash it? I know the soap vs no soap thing that's apparently a big deal, but nobody mentions WHEN you wash your cast iron pan / skillet. Let's say I'm cooking steaks. I'm done, pan is still scorching hot, what do I do?
   • a. Do I let it cool down enough to touch it and then use warm water etc to clean it and move on to the rest of the process?
   • b. Do I instead put it under hot water while it's still very hot (aka seconds after taking the food off) and start washing with hot water etc?
   • c. Do I let it cool completely and then use warm water etc to clean it?
4. Now, another problem I ran into with my last pan was a big chunk of food got burnt on the bottom and I spent more than 15-20 minutes scrubbing like a crazy person, but the food was just stuck on it. There was NO way on earth this was coming out by scrubbing. What do I do in a similar case that it just won't come out? (Of course now I know about slowly heating the pan etc, I didn't back then that's why it happened, but I'm still curious).
5. About seasoning: When you put it in the oven, I don't exactly get what you're supposed to see. In some of the FAQ threads, someone said that it'll smoke, but I guess that's fine. But then someone else said that the temperature plays a role and also the oil does. They claimed the temp of the oven should be only 50 degress or so more than the smoking point of the oil. So I'm a bit confused at that point. I get what you need to do but I'm missing the temp/oil, what do you expect it to do part.
6. Is it stick or non stick? I used to do eggs or a steak in the previous pan that I messed up but they always got stuck to the pan and I had to scrape them off, even with oil in between them. I'm on a diet, so I can't just splurge butter and eat like that currently. Either a bit or no oil, I'd prefer.
7. One last one: Nobody mentions what not to do? It'd be useful for me to know that letting water with soap dish in it for hours (like I'd maybe do with plates) is a certain way for it to rust everywhere the last time I had a pan. I now know, but I didn't then.

Thanks for anyone that does answer my questions.

Backstory (sorry if it's too much info TLDR at the end) : I've lived at my house for about 3 years now. There is wooden fence post that I have always believed to be the marker that divides mine and my neighbors property. This is where the yard was mowed to when I moved in and where I have mowed to for the last 3 years. Almost perfectly in line with this fence post are two yard hyrdrants / spigots. There's also two more of these on the property so of course we were thinking "oh yeah, clearly those two up there are ours and are on the property line."
We've always been friendly with our neighbors, my wife knows the wife from high school. They have little kids and they play along with our son. Super nice folks. One day we were talking about how we like where we live and the neighbor mentioned that they also love it but are thinking about moving to the vacant lot next door to them that they own so they can build a bigger house. I said "oh that's awesome, you guys own that lot too?" "Yeah we own that and we actually own down almost up to your building" I kind of didn't say a whole lot to him at the time because I was out on a walk with my son.
In this image here the pink line is roughly where I've mowed to for years, the green is where he was saying he believes he owns to. If you look on Zillow the lot lines are insane and show we don't own half of our driveway, front yard, side yard, driveway to our building, or the piece that is being disputed in our backyard.
The next day my wife and I went over and talked to him. The conversation was along the lines are "man we are so sorry if we've been down here just mowing your yard acting like we own the place. This is where it was mowed to when we moved in and we just always assumed the fence post was the marker." He says "oh my gosh it's no worries at all. I actually always thought that was the property line too until I had a buddy over and we were looking at (can't rememeber if he said Zillow or what) and noticed that it shows it's almost down to your building. Seriously just keep on mowing the way you have been and we'll get it figured out when the time comes for us to sell." I let him know that to be safe we cut our water meter off and verifried that the spigots **are** on our water meter despite if wha the believes is true then they would techincally be on his property. We also quickly talked about how when he does go to sell that we would love to purchase that small piece of land off of him (rough estimates from google maps measuring is that it's 0.17 acres) and he said that they would absolutely do that. He said he doesn't know how it works where he has a mortgage on the house.
Obviously we need to get a survey done to verify all of this and we will after I get more info on how we can go about buying it. Our deed does give coordinates but everything in it was from the 80's I believe and it's confusing to read as someone who isn't a surveyor.
So after all of that story, my question is
**TLDR** Can I buy a portion of my niehgbors land if they have a mortgage? They intend to sell their home in a couple years and have already told us they would be happy to sell us the piece in question. Any info is appreciated.

• All previous posts.

Savanna Dominion (~900BC-200 AD). The second phase of Kyanah civilization, it would emerge in the flatter and warmer boreal savannas just south of the Great Polar Plateau. Initially, small city-states arose in the boreal savannas in 1700 BC, relying on nyruds they brought with them from the boreal scrublands, as well as the native tyukruds. However, with the fall of Scrubland-dominion, the economic and technological center of gravity would shift to the boreal savannas, whose civilizations would be a quantum leap forward from their predecessors. Even before Savanna-dominion, these city-states had built complex irrigation works and knew how to work bronze by 1150 BC, and by 900 BC, would rediscover some of the lost knowledge about crop rotation. As their environment was quite different from the boreal scrublands, they were more able to drive away the invading ratorkortyot-skull-wearers from the north. However, their biggest advantage would be the development of proper writing systems--first picture-based proto-writing scratched into rocks or mud-bricks by 1150 BC and later, actual symbolic written language, around 950 BC. This would prevent the loss of knowledge between generations and enable more complex and accurate record-keeping. The first true written works appear to be collections of ground truths and relations between them, geared towards helping whatever pack wrote it track complex relations between different packs to find useful allies in the complicated and cutthroat city-state environment and maximize their own influence more efficiently than trying to work everything out in their heads. They thus include countless statements indicating what some pack said or did, interactions between other packs, and useful recipes or procedures.
By 800 BC, these informal writings created by various--likely powerful and influential--packs would become more formalized and standardized, being refined into the first legal codes and professional scribe and arbiter packs by 700 BC. Concurrently, the development of writing would also allow for the first rigorous study of mathematics, leading to nascent accounting, allowing for a more diversified economy, and the study of complex tree and graph like data structures, often used by the ruling elite to model various engineering and statecraft problems. All of this led to a drastic increase in the cohesiveness of the state apparatus, with a basic bureaucracy and formal tax code. An increase in farming the more intensive nyruds likely also contributed. However, this efficiency also led to a major stratifying of society and decrease in the autonomy of farmers and crafts-packs. Instead of working their own fields and herds and handing over a portion of the meat as tribute, they were now working the state's fields and herds and in return getting to keep a portion of the meat for themselves. And instead of succession being determined through strength in combat and allied packs to back up their claims, it was determined through highly ritualized show fights between the mostly closed set of allied packs who owned the land and nyruds.
This is the basis of the Noble Ikoin system, more stable and less bloody than its predecessor, Rule by Righteous Strength, yet ultimately less free--though many packs were not 100% bound to the land like serfs and had some limited ability to choose whose fields they worked in certain circumstances, as noble packs were always seeking to maximize their own work force at the expense of rivals'. Unlike human nobles, this nobility was often but not strictly hereditary--as has been discussed, Kyanah packs generally don't form emotional bonds with those outside their packs, so would have little inherent reason to give land to packs that happen to contain their adult children. Thus it's occasionally possible for the nobility to decide that a pack of nobles' young are just commoners (albeit likely rich ones), or to elevate an entirely common pack into the set of nobles. Elaborate weighted voting systems and trial by ritualized combat are often used to settle disputes between nobles without resorting to having to kill each other, as in older systems. With these more rigid and well-defined states came the first known political and philosophical treatise in Raknatay city-state by ~664 BC, as well as the first gods who haven't been lost to time and are still worshiped by some modern Kyanah.
Bolstered by widespread written languages, technology and science would advance in Savanna-dominion city-states. Iron-smelting without relying on meteoric iron would be developed between 700 and 600 BC. Additionally, architecture advanced considerably over Scrubland-dominion city-states. Before about 1000 BC, Kyanah in boreal savanna city-states would mostly put their nests inside hide or leaf tents, due to relative lack of timber. However, advances in stacking-stone technology eventually allowed dry-stone architecture, with carefully selected stones being fitted together without mortar to create sturdy buildings; the 1.4G gravity of the Kyanah homeworld necessitated very skilled and precise engineering to pull this off. With iron tools making it more practical to shape stones to reduce gaps and bumps and make them interlock to increase stability, this really took off after 600 BC, even enabling the construction of two and three story buildings, high walls, and watch towers.
Beginning around 500 BC, noble packs and City Alphas would begin adopting this technology to build some of the oldest surviving great monuments, having their laborers stack thousands of stones into large piles. They would often have an elaborately shaped footprint rather than a simple square or circle, with the base stones being extensively carved, polished, and covered in writing and relief sculpture. The idea was that the pack who commissioned it would be laid to rest at the top, drawing the attention of the gods to ensure that they would be included in the universe's next iteration and not forgotten. Competition amongst elites within and between city-states would over time lead to bigger and bigger monuments, with the largest in 100 AD being upwards of 40 meters high. Over time they have partially collapsed and become overgrown, but hundreds are still recognizable and remain prominent tourist attractions.
The flatter and more open terrain of the boreal savannas also made wheel-based transport more practical and so two and four wheeled nyrud-drawn carts were invented even before Savanna-dominion, and had spread across the boreal savannas already by 800 BC. This enabled them to carry larger loads than just riding on the back of a nyrud, though advances were made in this area as well, with the development of practical nyrud saddles by 500 BC. (Notably, riding nyruds is unlike riding a Terran horse--nyruds are so wide that it's physically impossible to straddle them, so riders have to either sit sideways or kneel on the back of the nyrud, and also entire packs would typically share one or two nyruds when riding; thus nyrud saddles were designed very differently from horse saddles; in lieu of stirrups, stabilizing devices like straps would be popularized by 200 BC.)
This increase in nyrud-based transport also led to the first known road networks between city-states, stretching tens or even hundreds of kilometers. At first these were dirt roads, but by 400 BC, some gravel roads would be created and maintained. In the interest of optimizing these road networks, advanced--for the time--surveying methods would be discovered and quickly optimized, leading to the creation of surprisingly detailed regional maps, whose accuracy was not surpassed until the modern era. In fact, it was this increase in organized long-distance travel, combined with strange and subtle inaccuracies in some of their biggest maps (failing to take into account planetary curvature!) that led to boreal savanna cultures being the first to see--by 100 BC--the Kyanah homeworld as a finite sphere with a single sun circling around it, rather than an infinite plane with suns constantly rising out of the ground in the day and sinking back in at night. New maps taking into account planetary curvature, combined with the development of the magnetized compass in the first century AD, enabled the first long-range expeditions. The first known deliberate attempts to reach the North Pole were made soon after--albeit polar herders and hunter-trappers had likely passed near it unwittingly for thousands of years--and likely succeeded, judging by the anachronistic presence of iron tools and tyukrud bones near the north pole about 200 Earth years before iron-working and tyukrud farming were being done there. There is no record of any successful circumnavigation of the Kyanah homeworld in the Savanna-dominion, though it's unclear of the packs who attempted died or just abandoned the mission and settled in some other city-state. With a human mentality, this would lead to the formation of the first empires, but with Kyanah mentality, such large-scale social organization was virtually impossible.
The Savanna-dominion was ended by the -42nd epoch impact event, in the late 2nd century AD by Earth time. A large asteroid impact around 62N, 10E caused regional devastation that led to a collapse in the major boreal savanna cities and caused less apocalyptic but still significant effects to food supply across the northern hemisphere. The cartographic revolution of 300-100 BC was not limited to just surface maps; cartographers also mapped soil, geology, and ecosystems, leading to further refinements in agriculture and more stable support of large populations around oases. During the Savanna-dominion, world population would increase from 550 million to around 1.8 billion (equivalent population density to an Earth with ~203 million people), likely falling to around 1.7 billion in the years after the impact event.
Over this period, city-states, second-order agriculture, and metallurgy would continue to expand across the northern hemisphere, with a resurgence in the boreal scrublands around 700 BC; iron-working would follow eventually, leading to the iron-nail cultures arising in 400 BC, using (obviously) iron nails to hold together dwellings instead of sinews or fibers as in the Scrubland-dominion. In the Kuayen plains, between the Western Sector and the Deadlands, civilization would develop around 500 BC and by 100 AD would have organized city-states nearly as advanced as the boreal savannas, with an independently developed written language and legal system, sophisticated cisterns and filters for storing water in this semi-arid region, and elaborate glassworks. While in the Middle South, cold-walker farming civilizations continued to expand. The Dunelands had city-states by 1 AD, leaving the only fully un-civilized areas in the northern hemisphere some of the more arid and mountainous regions near the equator, and the Deadlands. In the Far South, between the Middle South and the Green Impact Range at around 60-70S, civilizations would arise around 600 BC. The earliest Kyanah presence at the south pole dates to around 200 BC, though it would be highly sporadic until after 300 AD.

I read a few books about releasing/creating a game, but I can't say I learned anything usefull. It seemed that authors were mostly talking from the perspective of their limited experience (they released one game or a few), while trying to create some fundamental rules or insights of "what should one do to suceed because it worked for me".
Let's broder this up. Maybe the books could be not directly about gamedev but about some aspect of it as well.
For example, recently I read: The Secret Science of Games by John Hopson.
Where he shares stories from the perspective of a game researcher that created game research tests for games like halo.
I did not actually like the book that much because it was half stories, half trying to teach fundamentals of game researcher, but I did bring something from it.
When I do testing for my game, I try to collect tons of data. In terms of survey questions and game capturing data as well, inteviews. But it is often bloated and not very focused - like, I am trying to test everything at once.
Now I try to design my game tests to be more focused on a single topic. For example. Is the new system added to the game fun for players, Any bugs, any flaws, would the game be more fun with it?
So that I am not "researching" entire game again and again. I am advancing with it.
Could anyone share any books that helped them on their gamedev journey? Care to share how they helped?

https://i.imgur.com/qwG1wPE.jpeg
(picture of my original CD case!)
Words cannot describe how excited I am to play the new remake of Riven coming out, but one of the few aspects of the original that cannot be recaptured in the new version is the presentation of the CD case. I was getting all nostalgic and searched for the original version I played as a kid, and I found it! Yes, it is quite battered, but if anything I actually think it enhances the mood of the game. It makes sense that the box itself is worn, representing the decaying world within.
It's very interesting to think about the mood that the presentation of this box hits you with before you even play the game. It is minimalist yet full of symbology. Of course, you do not know the meaning of this imagery at first, but it is evocative and immediately makes you wonder what the significance of it is. Even being on 5 discs was intriguing at the time. How big and expansive is this world that it needs 5 discs, yet most games only need one?
Some more nostalgic thoughts relating to this box from when I played it as a kid:

• I would read instruction manuals for games to get a better understanding of what I'm getting into. A lot of games would have very detailed instruction manuals, but Riven's sticks out by being incredibly minimal. I would scour the manual for any kind of hints, like examining the animal symbols littered throughout it. However, there is almost no information about the game itself, except this one paragraph: https://i.imgur.com/gKf24v1.jpeg . This definitely enhanced the mystery (hah).
• When first playing the game, it felt like a very significant moment when you had to switch discs. Cleverly, most disc transitions were preceded by a big event, like a ride on a vehicle. After the impressiveness of that ride, you had a second to pause and wonder what waits ahead while you switch discs.
• Due to this, you also had a sense of scope. When starting out, you will probably be on the first 3 discs for a while. As a kid, once I figured out how to get to disc 4 (survey island), it felt like a really significant moment, as I was about to witness a whole new disc! When wandering into an unexplored area for the first time, there was a sense of mystery that was almost scary and a bit hard to describe. I remember feeling this in particular about Survey Island, which felt very ominous (the music didn't help ease my mind, either!).
• Also because of this, disc 5 was extremely elusive. In hindsight, I think it's very befitting that the 5th disc was the hardest to get to, and this was probably intentional. When playing as a kid for a while, it felt like I explored the entire world of Riven, so I really wondered what could possibly be on that 5th disc, and my imagination would wander as I pictured in my mind what could be there. I feel like the slow pace of the game and the mystery of it all was creatively inspiring in a lot of ways.
• Spoiler: Once I finally accessed the 5th disc's contents (probably years later after I first played it as a young kid), I think it's funny in retrospect that if you used the trap book anywhere else, you had to put in the 5th disc, just to instantly be killed. Also, it was interesting to get a preview of 233 in this ending, as it would be a long time yet before I actually got there.

I don't have the best relationship with my mom. She was a crazy, overprotective mom who insisted that she needed to control every aspect of my life. Some examples are:

• She won't let me play any stringed instruments because she's afraid of the strings snapping (I really wanted to play the guitar back then).
  
• She would only let me eat her cooking or food that she thinks is "safe" to eat (no sashimi, well-done steak only, no raw tomatoes, and eggs need to be boiled until the yolk turns green.
  
• She also wouldn't let me walk anywhere. I used to have after-school lessons which only half a block away from my school, and she insisted to drive me there from school, which was unbelievable.
  
• She would also follow me around when I'm out meeting my friends, and that was very awkward for me and my friends.
  

All of this persisted until high school, until I was about 17. So yeah, now you know how crazy she was.
But the worst part is, she wouldn't let me be friends with someone if they weren't personally approved by her, because she doesn't want anyone being a bad influence to her sweet little boy. And of course, this extended to any romantic relationships she thought I was involved in. She had a crazy list of criteria of what my potential partner needs to fulfill:

• Must be a catholic
  
• She needs to have at least one sibling, but she can't the youngest sibling (because she thinks all youngest siblings are spoiled people)
  
• She can't be one second older than me.
  
• Her parents must also be catholic, university graduates, and earn middle class salary,
  
• Her parents must have has no history of divorce (because being divorced is against catholic law, and she doesn't trust people from a "broken home" to be good people)
  

The list goes on but I think these are the most insane ones. She would threaten me to give a "stern warning" to the girls she thought I was dating, if they didn't fit her ridiculous criteria, unless I "break up" and distance myself from them.
I really felt that I had no control on my life. Because of this, I decided I had enough and attempted to run away by betting everything on a university application abroad. I was lucky enough to be accepted. But to my surprise, she was actually okay with me moving abroad.
So, fast forward 1 year later, I started my studies abroad. I kind of lost contact with my mom, but eventually, we started talking. Occasionally, she would come visit me abroad. During one of the visits, she told me she divorced my dad because of financial issues and him cheating on my mom (which was ironic, since she was heavily against people who are divorced). 4 years later, I competed my studies and also managed to secure a job abroad, and she would still come to visit several times. I noticed that she had seemingly had mellowed down after I went abroad. I got into a relationship with an older atheist woman and surprisingly, she was completely fine with it. We ended up getting married.
It's been 10 years since I've been abroad, but I noticed that she seems to be gradually regressing mentally. She doesn't have an opinion on anything and she wants me to make every single decision for her. From choosing a restaurant, where she should sit, what should she order, where to go next, and even what her account password should be.
Granted, sometimes she would tell me where she wants to go, like how today she told me that she wanted to go to this handbag store. But when we arrived, she would just stand at the entrance, stare blankly and zone out until I ask her to come in for a few times. Then, inside the store, she would just zone out and follow me around, even though she's the one who wanted to go here in the first place! And this happens more often than I could count!
She also has a tendency to self-sacrifice just for the sake of it. Like ordering food, but she would give me like half of her portion, insisting me to eat even though it's way too much for me. She would also buy things that I don't even need. During my wedding, she bought my wife a marked-up jewelery from an Instagram influencer, even after my wife said no and telling her that it was a scam multiple times. Two days ago, she bought a random Lego set for me and my wife. Yesterday, she bought a food processor. I don't even need or want a food processor! And also, whenever she comes to visit, she insisted that she doesn't need a blanket when sleeping, in case get cold and may need 2 layers of blanket.
She also cried one night and threw a fit on the fact that I was married. She was upset because I would be with my wife all the time and not with her. She suggested if she could have my wife stay at a hotel whenever she visited my house abroad but I quickly dismissed the absurd idea. This rubbed me off the wrong way that time but I kind of dismissed it as my mom getting anxious that she won't be the "number one woman" in my life anymore. Though, unfortunately for her, she has never even been in that position.
And honestly, every single time I cater to her needs or put up with her shit, I keep getting reminded of the crazy shit she did during my childhood. I try my best to be patient, but I can't help to feel resentment, and this has piled up over the course of the 9 years I've been living abroad. And now, I hate doing anything involving her.
Work has been insanely busy this week too, and I think that may play a part at making me feel utterly frustrated right now. I feel like screaming. I feel like punching a wall until my hands shatter. I just want her to quickly fly home and just leave me alone.
During my childhood, I rarely saw my dad because he "works" "offshore" most of the time. And my mom, well... gestures at everything. Seeing my pictures of friends' families on Instagram makes me jealous and I keep asking myself how I would end up if my family was as functional as theirs. But I suppose, it's kind moot to think about it. "I mean, it's always if, if, if, right? If my mum had balls, she would be my dad."
I suppose, all I can do is just to focus on the present and try to steer the things I can control. Anyways, thanks for reading this wall of text. Writing this has definitely made me feel a bit better.