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Non-English articles translated into English
2024.06.09 21:06 theQeris Tilde key not working on mac os with glove80
Hi all,
I have glove 80 and macbook pro m2. US Layout (I tried other english ones too)...
No matter what I do I cannot type tilde or backtick with this keyboard.
Its always this § ±
I've tried other options on the layout editor... but it wont work. Wherever you place tilde sign it will type this §...
I tried setup keyboarb in mac os options but it does not help.
Anyone had this problem and knows how to solve it?
submitted by theQeris to ErgoMechKeyboards [link] [comments]
I have glove 80 and macbook pro m2. US Layout (I tried other english ones too)...
No matter what I do I cannot type tilde or backtick with this keyboard.
Its always this § ±
I've tried other options on the layout editor... but it wont work. Wherever you place tilde sign it will type this §...
I tried setup keyboarb in mac os options but it does not help.
Anyone had this problem and knows how to solve it?
2024.06.09 21:01 PsychologicalWay2691 Advice Please!!!!
tldr I'm in love with my previously abusive boyfriend who has since gotten help
I'm desperately in love with my "abusive" ex boyfriend
Hey, I made this account for this and haven't used reddit before so I'm sorry if I do this wrong, and english is not my first language.
This requires a good amount of backstory.
I(19F) am from Louisiana and so is my ex(20M). We met when we were 14 because we were in the same grade at the same highschool. We hit it off immediately and became really good friends. After being friends for about 3 months he got the courage up to ask me on a date, and we started dating. We were together from then until we were 15 and 16, and got back together after I turned 16.
About 2 months into us dating this second time, he had a mental break. I have a lot of trauma that caused me to feel the need to stay with him despite the way he treated me at that time. He never cheated, but seemed to think it was funny or entertaining to do everything in his power to make me think he was, and to make me think it was with some of our close friends. He got distant and snappy and would yell at me over little things a lot. He tried to hit me out of frustration one time but I personally grew up in the hood and do not take lightly to being attacked so he got smacked right back and never tried that again. At this time his parents(they were practically my parents too, mine have never been good to me and they did and still do care a lot more about me then my own do) told me he was having a mental break and that I should leave for my own good but also that they understood why I was staying.
Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and right before the start of our senior year we broke up(both 17). Throughout senior year he would spread rumors about me, a lot being about us having sex, though I was still a virgin and me and him never went farther then me performing oral on him. I distanced myself from him as much as possible but we were both in our schools top band and jazz ensembles as percussionists and were in constant competition with each other.
We ended up going to the same college, and we are now going into our junior year in a few months. I never had friends in highschool, my friends were just his friends and everyone "didn't pick sides" when we broke up. which they just said to me because I wasn't trying to make anyone pick a side but they really did just pick his, except our friend who I'll call Dan. I'll also call my ex Joe. Both are far from their names but I'd like to stay anonymous. Dan told me he understood that Joe was lying and spreading rumors, but felt to bad cutting him off as we all knew he was having a break, as did I.
This year Joe was set to be loving in a dorm right across the hallway from mine. When we had gone home for the summer I made no effort to reach out or see him as our friendship in freshman year of college was just not really there. Though all this time I really have missed my best friend, I've never felt like anyone has been as close to me as he was or understood quite like how he did.
I ran into him during move in day this year. He looked a lot less erratic then he had been the past couple of years and seemed a lot calmer. That night, I was leaving my dorm to go on a midnight walk downtown when I found him sitting on the front of his door in the hallway. He looked like he had been crying. I saw him and decided to quietly sit down next to him and sheepishly ask if he was okay. He said he wasn't, and asked what I was doing, so I invited him to come with me and he did. We left the dorms at about 10 pm, and didn't get back until 6 am. We walked and talked for hours about everything, and he might've apologized for the way he treated me a million times. He explained what happened that caused him to break, and told me he had a realization about it that led to a meltdown, placing him in the psych ward at the end of our freshman year. He was now medicated, healthy again, and finally in therapy!!! I was so insanely proud of him. I called him parents because I wanted to confirm and they confirmed he was telling the truth. From there, we rekindled our friendship and have been back to best friends ever since.
It's been a few months now, and we both have moved back home for the summer, both with plans to love with some friends in apartments starting when fall quarter begins. Recently my mom died in a car accident. She was an abusive neglectful parent who should have never had kids as she truly didn't view me as a human. But despite that, I've been struggling a lot with her death. Joe has been very helpful through this, as he is the only person I've ever told about what happened with my mom throughout my childhood. Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me, and he invited me to do my absolute favorite activity, night drive and smoking.
So now we get to the actual story and where I need advice.
Last night he came and picked me up at about 10. When I got in he handed me the rolling tray and had me roll a blunt for us while he drove to our normal parking lot. This whole time I couldn't stop staring at him and couldn't figure out what it was. When we stopped he turned the music down and faced towards me so we could talk properly and we started smoking and talking. Eventually, this dialouge exchange happened.
Joe - "No it just didn't work out with them so we broke up." Me - "Well what happened?" "Well a lot, but it boils down to they don't understand me in the way I would need my partner to" "How so?" "Well for lack of a better way to put it, the way me and you understand each other"
This lead to us talking about had gone wrong before, and eventually, he told me I looked really pretty and kissed me. I lost my virginity to him in his car last night, and it was more amazing then I ever imagined it could be. I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed sex but I have genuinely been thinking about that and him ever since it happened. When we finished, we took about 5 minutes of laying still and occasionally just muttering out a "Jesus christ that was amazing" before we eventually moved back to our seats. He took me to get ice cream and then brought me home.
I miss him, he's so amazing!!! The sex was great but that's not even what I'm worried about, I just couldn't stop staring at him and I still can't stop thinking about him.
I need advice. I want him back so bad, but is it worth it? He completely destroyed my confidence and love for myself in a way that has not recovered. I truly want to believe he's changed and all signs point towards him changing. I know if I asked him out again he'd say yes immediately. But I'm at a crossroads. Most of me wants to forgive and forget as he truly is the love of my life but that part of me that spent my childhood being abused by my parents has a little Itty bitty voice in my head telling me he isn't actually changed.
Would I be crazy if I went back to him?
submitted by PsychologicalWay2691 to relationships [link] [comments]
I'm desperately in love with my "abusive" ex boyfriend
Hey, I made this account for this and haven't used reddit before so I'm sorry if I do this wrong, and english is not my first language.
This requires a good amount of backstory.
I(19F) am from Louisiana and so is my ex(20M). We met when we were 14 because we were in the same grade at the same highschool. We hit it off immediately and became really good friends. After being friends for about 3 months he got the courage up to ask me on a date, and we started dating. We were together from then until we were 15 and 16, and got back together after I turned 16.
About 2 months into us dating this second time, he had a mental break. I have a lot of trauma that caused me to feel the need to stay with him despite the way he treated me at that time. He never cheated, but seemed to think it was funny or entertaining to do everything in his power to make me think he was, and to make me think it was with some of our close friends. He got distant and snappy and would yell at me over little things a lot. He tried to hit me out of frustration one time but I personally grew up in the hood and do not take lightly to being attacked so he got smacked right back and never tried that again. At this time his parents(they were practically my parents too, mine have never been good to me and they did and still do care a lot more about me then my own do) told me he was having a mental break and that I should leave for my own good but also that they understood why I was staying.
Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and right before the start of our senior year we broke up(both 17). Throughout senior year he would spread rumors about me, a lot being about us having sex, though I was still a virgin and me and him never went farther then me performing oral on him. I distanced myself from him as much as possible but we were both in our schools top band and jazz ensembles as percussionists and were in constant competition with each other.
We ended up going to the same college, and we are now going into our junior year in a few months. I never had friends in highschool, my friends were just his friends and everyone "didn't pick sides" when we broke up. which they just said to me because I wasn't trying to make anyone pick a side but they really did just pick his, except our friend who I'll call Dan. I'll also call my ex Joe. Both are far from their names but I'd like to stay anonymous. Dan told me he understood that Joe was lying and spreading rumors, but felt to bad cutting him off as we all knew he was having a break, as did I.
This year Joe was set to be loving in a dorm right across the hallway from mine. When we had gone home for the summer I made no effort to reach out or see him as our friendship in freshman year of college was just not really there. Though all this time I really have missed my best friend, I've never felt like anyone has been as close to me as he was or understood quite like how he did.
I ran into him during move in day this year. He looked a lot less erratic then he had been the past couple of years and seemed a lot calmer. That night, I was leaving my dorm to go on a midnight walk downtown when I found him sitting on the front of his door in the hallway. He looked like he had been crying. I saw him and decided to quietly sit down next to him and sheepishly ask if he was okay. He said he wasn't, and asked what I was doing, so I invited him to come with me and he did. We left the dorms at about 10 pm, and didn't get back until 6 am. We walked and talked for hours about everything, and he might've apologized for the way he treated me a million times. He explained what happened that caused him to break, and told me he had a realization about it that led to a meltdown, placing him in the psych ward at the end of our freshman year. He was now medicated, healthy again, and finally in therapy!!! I was so insanely proud of him. I called him parents because I wanted to confirm and they confirmed he was telling the truth. From there, we rekindled our friendship and have been back to best friends ever since.
It's been a few months now, and we both have moved back home for the summer, both with plans to love with some friends in apartments starting when fall quarter begins. Recently my mom died in a car accident. She was an abusive neglectful parent who should have never had kids as she truly didn't view me as a human. But despite that, I've been struggling a lot with her death. Joe has been very helpful through this, as he is the only person I've ever told about what happened with my mom throughout my childhood. Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me, and he invited me to do my absolute favorite activity, night drive and smoking.
So now we get to the actual story and where I need advice.
Last night he came and picked me up at about 10. When I got in he handed me the rolling tray and had me roll a blunt for us while he drove to our normal parking lot. This whole time I couldn't stop staring at him and couldn't figure out what it was. When we stopped he turned the music down and faced towards me so we could talk properly and we started smoking and talking. Eventually, this dialouge exchange happened.
Joe - "No it just didn't work out with them so we broke up." Me - "Well what happened?" "Well a lot, but it boils down to they don't understand me in the way I would need my partner to" "How so?" "Well for lack of a better way to put it, the way me and you understand each other"
This lead to us talking about had gone wrong before, and eventually, he told me I looked really pretty and kissed me. I lost my virginity to him in his car last night, and it was more amazing then I ever imagined it could be. I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed sex but I have genuinely been thinking about that and him ever since it happened. When we finished, we took about 5 minutes of laying still and occasionally just muttering out a "Jesus christ that was amazing" before we eventually moved back to our seats. He took me to get ice cream and then brought me home.
I miss him, he's so amazing!!! The sex was great but that's not even what I'm worried about, I just couldn't stop staring at him and I still can't stop thinking about him.
I need advice. I want him back so bad, but is it worth it? He completely destroyed my confidence and love for myself in a way that has not recovered. I truly want to believe he's changed and all signs point towards him changing. I know if I asked him out again he'd say yes immediately. But I'm at a crossroads. Most of me wants to forgive and forget as he truly is the love of my life but that part of me that spent my childhood being abused by my parents has a little Itty bitty voice in my head telling me he isn't actually changed.
Would I be crazy if I went back to him?
2024.06.09 20:57 Mbazazelouis I just found out my girlfriend i just moved in with is a serial cheater
I'm new to reddit and english is not my first nor my second language so please excuse me if i make mistakes.
I've enjoyed listenning to reddit stories on those YouTube video's for a while now and was always amazed by the amount of input the community always gives. Now with my situation and not really knowing what else to do to cope I thought I'll give it a try.
So here is my story. I 30F met my girlfriend 27F in augustus of last year on a dating app. I remember finding her absolutly beautiful. We started taking and very soon we were calling each other everyday for hours . I communicated that I wasn't looking for a relationship as i was starting a bachelor degree combined with full time work. I was happy just being friends as I enjoyed her vibe. We were both talking to other people and she would confide in me how the others were. We met up at my place the first time as I felt like I already knew her from so much talking. She got drunk. Looking back she definetly tried to initiate something but I was carefull and she was minutes later throwing up in my toilet so i put her to sleep.
The following days she opened up about her past trauma's. She was adopted in a white family, she was born in Asia, as a baby. But she never really gotten the proper guidance to deal with it. Besides her brothers were way older so she didn't have a real connection with them. She was also SA'd by one of the brothers and the family wasn't dealing with it. Like not adressing it, giving her proper therapy and so on. Beside that there were some other problems in the familly that eventually when we got together and she introduced me to the familly, one of them asked me what i was studying. I study something that translates like familly sciences. When i told that brother he joked that his familly would be a good case for my studies.
Basically to state that she has a difficult past and she was upfront with it. I have also my trauma's like SA from family members, not feeling connected to the country we live in or my birth country. I wasn't adopted but I immigrated to here when I was 10. I've been abused in every way by my family. That plus the distance makes that I'm astranged from them in a country where I also expirienced rasism, always the outsider. So basically when i heard all that I felt like we could relate on that and was hoping we could be there for each other. Either way I never hinted towards a relationship. I just wanted to be there for her. I have had been in therapy since i was 21 years and was finishing it. I was finally in a good place.
We met up a few more times. One of the times was to help her clean her appartement. She was moving back to her father as she had had a deppressive episode and neglected the place and payments and was in debt. She didn't know who to ask from her friends. I offered. I came took over, cleaned the place. In the evening she even left me alone to finish up as she had a familydate she couldn't mis. I honestly didn't mind i finished up. she went to her familly and later she came back. We went out and when we came back in the early morning I just fell a sleep. Later once we were together she told me she wanted to thank me with sex. She did introduce me to a friend that did tell me that everyone dumps her in every relationship. He thought that i was her date and i didn't want to emberass her so I didn't ask much more questions and decided to ask her instead at an orher time. But this is one of the reddlags i missed.
After that we met up one more time to go out. She knew that in the morning I would go see that other girl i was talking to. I hadn't met that one in real life but had also a good connection with her. But that evening she confessed having feelings for me. I couldn't denie that i was attracted by her and wanted to give her all the love we both never expirienced. We kissed and ended up at my place in the morning. I just cancelled on the other girl.
The first months were good. I noticed that she was imature on some levels but could explain it due to her past, the lack of therapy, and her overbearing father that doesn't let her grow up.
She introduced me to all her friends and they all liked me. They explain that she has a past of dating people who aren't good for her. They all approved of me and I liked them too. I didn't have a lot of friends. I had learned to prefer my own company over friends after being burned a few times and deciding not to befriend just anyone for my own mental health. I was rather alone after all the betrayal i've been throught. people are just unpredictable and when i care I go fully. So to protect myself and because all the friendships before therapy were somewhat toxic I just prefered to stay alone. I did miss belonging to a group tho so I was exatatic to gain a girlfriend I felt could understand me to a deeper level and a friendgroup welcoming me and simular to me. She seemed to intagrate me in the group well and they were really nice. I felt i was finally having that chosen familly a lot of people who go no contact with their familly talk about. I was taking drugs so i can study, work and manage this new relationship and friendship circle. I was determinated to make it work.
The first issue i noticed was that we would be videocalling and she wouldn't pay attention. She would be texting her friends and checking Insta or Facebook while she expected me to stay connected till she fell a sleep. She would even call me when she would wake up in the middle of the night. I did night shifts so i didn't mind about her wanting me around to sleep. I did complain about the lack of attention when she was still awake. She didn't adjust her behaviour just yet. I had to complain and make a big deal out of it before she did some efforts. Just the bare minimum.
But i knew she needed therapy and thought to understand where this behaviour was coming from. I just encouraged her that she can talk to me to about eveyrthing. But mostly I stayed patient, thinking she hadn't been in a healthy relationship. I believed with time, working on communication and showing her she coyld trust me, that all would be fine
There were some other issues i ignored as redflags about this relationship and still wanted to live together with her. I first proposed in moving in my appartement with no strings attached. If it didn't work out she just could go back to her dad and I am okay too. None of us looses anything. But she was nit sure how her father who hadn't met me yet wpuld react. He is a more sober person and has disapproved all her partners before.
So eventually she found the balls to tell me that she wasn't in that idea. She wanted her father to approve abd so on. She had lived before with a partner her father didn't approve of cuz they both felt she was taking advantage of my girlfriend to get her papers. By the way they are still friends and i like the ex too. She doesn't seem capable of manipulate someone to get het papers. But that is an other story.
After I met her father she was okay in moving in together in the kapital, a fresh start for me and her too. I was excited to start forever happlly after. I had never loved someone like I've loved her. She was so vulnerable from the start that i just wanted to care for her. Lika stated before i wanted to give her the love we both missed.
We moved end mei in our appartement. I was stressing as i had to find something on time so that i don't end up homeless. I needed to find a new job and so on. I was also the one who made all the appointments and took on the stress to find us something. All she had to do is like the place. I did everthing
We moved in in the last weekend of april. On the 18th of mai was pride in our city. I had to work even tho i wanted to go. She was stating to stay home as we gad spend a lot of money to move. We were almost broke both of us. i could see she wanted to go as all her friends wefe going and texting her. She does have been irresponsible when goung out, too much drinking, losing her stuff and iver spending. So i proposed guidelines to follow so she could go hve a good time abd not stay alone at home and still not regret the fay after. We agreed thay she would take her old phone just in case, eat enough as she would be drinking and retrieve the money she wasn't supposed to excied in cash. That way she can't spend more than her budget.
She who is always texting me didn't say a word. When i did call to check up on her she just passed me a friend to talk to them. I was pissed but happy she was unharmed in our appartement. In the morning i came home. M9st of the people were still sleeping and she was acting annoyingly wierd. I couldn't make a scene as her friends were there. I just entertained them and went to sleep. I was mad. Next day she tried to make up and after some talk Mostly explaining why I wad mad. She had done nothing of the steps we had taken for her to go out safly. But when i calmed down anyway she dropped the nom that she also kissed someone there. One of the people she was talking to around the time we met. Someone she eventually deemed not a match.
I was broken by that. I just couldn't believe it. Okay our sex and love life had been less since the stress of the move, finding a new job in a new city, exams and a tighy wallet. but i thought she understood as i voiced my stress.
I was miserabel when she told me just broken, not eating physically ill and all my issues re-triggered. I felt so stupid and trapped as we had just signed for 3 years in a 1 bed appartement. I just slipped back in depression while she seemed remorsefull as if she made a mistake trying to care for me and fix things. One week later i was still not okay completely broken by the betrayal still the the huge mistake i made to cosign for 3 years with no other options to move out or kick her out. She touched me at some point and I felt better with her in my arms. I decided to give her an other chance even tho. It was discussed that cheating the only non negotiable action to break us up.
Well same week, few dats later she told me a friend of her cuz she is friends with a lot of people she flirted or hooked up with, well that they confessed their feelings towards her. I had met this person so and she had explained me not wanting to persui my girlfriend in the past. Now that are just friends. I was okay with that. Iwas glad she told me and we composed a message together for that girl stating that she had told me, that I' not mad but she will stay true to me.
Now thursday she kept talking about said friend and the things my girlfriend was saying weren't adding up. It didn't seem like something said friend would say or do withouy context so when she got home I asked her to read the lessages with said friend to try to understand. When j read the messages i was floored. Most of them were deleted and it was ly girlfriend always asking about the feelings that friend would have for my girlfriend. The reason said friend was freaking out is thay my girlfriend told her I took her phone and texted the girl. She was shocked understandubly. My gf was creating drama and i still haven't understood why. Like if she wanted to actually cheat why make me aware?
Its been 4 dats now and I just don't know how to advance from this. I'm still very aware of her past and the lack of therapy. I still care for her in a sence but I'l so hurt and I feel so stupid. She now is again remorsefull and relize now I'm the furst one to show her true love. I've broken up with her as i just need to respect myself but i still have a soft spot for her besides everything. She now wants to fix everything, she'll go in therapy and so on. I sometimes find myself being the one to confort her even after it all. I'm so lost and don't know what to do. I want to keep it healing for her, u want to protect myself and love her again at the same time.
This is just a little of the quesionable behaviour she had done, basically the most recent one. I'm just too hurt and blindsided to deal this on my own but i finished therapy like 6 months ago. I can't go back to my therapist. I plan on looking for a new one in the new city but i need advice and guidance since we live together. How should i handle this?
submitted by Mbazazelouis to offmychest [link] [comments]
I've enjoyed listenning to reddit stories on those YouTube video's for a while now and was always amazed by the amount of input the community always gives. Now with my situation and not really knowing what else to do to cope I thought I'll give it a try.
So here is my story. I 30F met my girlfriend 27F in augustus of last year on a dating app. I remember finding her absolutly beautiful. We started taking and very soon we were calling each other everyday for hours . I communicated that I wasn't looking for a relationship as i was starting a bachelor degree combined with full time work. I was happy just being friends as I enjoyed her vibe. We were both talking to other people and she would confide in me how the others were. We met up at my place the first time as I felt like I already knew her from so much talking. She got drunk. Looking back she definetly tried to initiate something but I was carefull and she was minutes later throwing up in my toilet so i put her to sleep.
The following days she opened up about her past trauma's. She was adopted in a white family, she was born in Asia, as a baby. But she never really gotten the proper guidance to deal with it. Besides her brothers were way older so she didn't have a real connection with them. She was also SA'd by one of the brothers and the family wasn't dealing with it. Like not adressing it, giving her proper therapy and so on. Beside that there were some other problems in the familly that eventually when we got together and she introduced me to the familly, one of them asked me what i was studying. I study something that translates like familly sciences. When i told that brother he joked that his familly would be a good case for my studies.
Basically to state that she has a difficult past and she was upfront with it. I have also my trauma's like SA from family members, not feeling connected to the country we live in or my birth country. I wasn't adopted but I immigrated to here when I was 10. I've been abused in every way by my family. That plus the distance makes that I'm astranged from them in a country where I also expirienced rasism, always the outsider. So basically when i heard all that I felt like we could relate on that and was hoping we could be there for each other. Either way I never hinted towards a relationship. I just wanted to be there for her. I have had been in therapy since i was 21 years and was finishing it. I was finally in a good place.
We met up a few more times. One of the times was to help her clean her appartement. She was moving back to her father as she had had a deppressive episode and neglected the place and payments and was in debt. She didn't know who to ask from her friends. I offered. I came took over, cleaned the place. In the evening she even left me alone to finish up as she had a familydate she couldn't mis. I honestly didn't mind i finished up. she went to her familly and later she came back. We went out and when we came back in the early morning I just fell a sleep. Later once we were together she told me she wanted to thank me with sex. She did introduce me to a friend that did tell me that everyone dumps her in every relationship. He thought that i was her date and i didn't want to emberass her so I didn't ask much more questions and decided to ask her instead at an orher time. But this is one of the reddlags i missed.
After that we met up one more time to go out. She knew that in the morning I would go see that other girl i was talking to. I hadn't met that one in real life but had also a good connection with her. But that evening she confessed having feelings for me. I couldn't denie that i was attracted by her and wanted to give her all the love we both never expirienced. We kissed and ended up at my place in the morning. I just cancelled on the other girl.
The first months were good. I noticed that she was imature on some levels but could explain it due to her past, the lack of therapy, and her overbearing father that doesn't let her grow up.
She introduced me to all her friends and they all liked me. They explain that she has a past of dating people who aren't good for her. They all approved of me and I liked them too. I didn't have a lot of friends. I had learned to prefer my own company over friends after being burned a few times and deciding not to befriend just anyone for my own mental health. I was rather alone after all the betrayal i've been throught. people are just unpredictable and when i care I go fully. So to protect myself and because all the friendships before therapy were somewhat toxic I just prefered to stay alone. I did miss belonging to a group tho so I was exatatic to gain a girlfriend I felt could understand me to a deeper level and a friendgroup welcoming me and simular to me. She seemed to intagrate me in the group well and they were really nice. I felt i was finally having that chosen familly a lot of people who go no contact with their familly talk about. I was taking drugs so i can study, work and manage this new relationship and friendship circle. I was determinated to make it work.
The first issue i noticed was that we would be videocalling and she wouldn't pay attention. She would be texting her friends and checking Insta or Facebook while she expected me to stay connected till she fell a sleep. She would even call me when she would wake up in the middle of the night. I did night shifts so i didn't mind about her wanting me around to sleep. I did complain about the lack of attention when she was still awake. She didn't adjust her behaviour just yet. I had to complain and make a big deal out of it before she did some efforts. Just the bare minimum.
But i knew she needed therapy and thought to understand where this behaviour was coming from. I just encouraged her that she can talk to me to about eveyrthing. But mostly I stayed patient, thinking she hadn't been in a healthy relationship. I believed with time, working on communication and showing her she coyld trust me, that all would be fine
There were some other issues i ignored as redflags about this relationship and still wanted to live together with her. I first proposed in moving in my appartement with no strings attached. If it didn't work out she just could go back to her dad and I am okay too. None of us looses anything. But she was nit sure how her father who hadn't met me yet wpuld react. He is a more sober person and has disapproved all her partners before.
So eventually she found the balls to tell me that she wasn't in that idea. She wanted her father to approve abd so on. She had lived before with a partner her father didn't approve of cuz they both felt she was taking advantage of my girlfriend to get her papers. By the way they are still friends and i like the ex too. She doesn't seem capable of manipulate someone to get het papers. But that is an other story.
After I met her father she was okay in moving in together in the kapital, a fresh start for me and her too. I was excited to start forever happlly after. I had never loved someone like I've loved her. She was so vulnerable from the start that i just wanted to care for her. Lika stated before i wanted to give her the love we both missed.
We moved end mei in our appartement. I was stressing as i had to find something on time so that i don't end up homeless. I needed to find a new job and so on. I was also the one who made all the appointments and took on the stress to find us something. All she had to do is like the place. I did everthing
We moved in in the last weekend of april. On the 18th of mai was pride in our city. I had to work even tho i wanted to go. She was stating to stay home as we gad spend a lot of money to move. We were almost broke both of us. i could see she wanted to go as all her friends wefe going and texting her. She does have been irresponsible when goung out, too much drinking, losing her stuff and iver spending. So i proposed guidelines to follow so she could go hve a good time abd not stay alone at home and still not regret the fay after. We agreed thay she would take her old phone just in case, eat enough as she would be drinking and retrieve the money she wasn't supposed to excied in cash. That way she can't spend more than her budget.
She who is always texting me didn't say a word. When i did call to check up on her she just passed me a friend to talk to them. I was pissed but happy she was unharmed in our appartement. In the morning i came home. M9st of the people were still sleeping and she was acting annoyingly wierd. I couldn't make a scene as her friends were there. I just entertained them and went to sleep. I was mad. Next day she tried to make up and after some talk Mostly explaining why I wad mad. She had done nothing of the steps we had taken for her to go out safly. But when i calmed down anyway she dropped the nom that she also kissed someone there. One of the people she was talking to around the time we met. Someone she eventually deemed not a match.
I was broken by that. I just couldn't believe it. Okay our sex and love life had been less since the stress of the move, finding a new job in a new city, exams and a tighy wallet. but i thought she understood as i voiced my stress.
I was miserabel when she told me just broken, not eating physically ill and all my issues re-triggered. I felt so stupid and trapped as we had just signed for 3 years in a 1 bed appartement. I just slipped back in depression while she seemed remorsefull as if she made a mistake trying to care for me and fix things. One week later i was still not okay completely broken by the betrayal still the the huge mistake i made to cosign for 3 years with no other options to move out or kick her out. She touched me at some point and I felt better with her in my arms. I decided to give her an other chance even tho. It was discussed that cheating the only non negotiable action to break us up.
Well same week, few dats later she told me a friend of her cuz she is friends with a lot of people she flirted or hooked up with, well that they confessed their feelings towards her. I had met this person so and she had explained me not wanting to persui my girlfriend in the past. Now that are just friends. I was okay with that. Iwas glad she told me and we composed a message together for that girl stating that she had told me, that I' not mad but she will stay true to me.
Now thursday she kept talking about said friend and the things my girlfriend was saying weren't adding up. It didn't seem like something said friend would say or do withouy context so when she got home I asked her to read the lessages with said friend to try to understand. When j read the messages i was floored. Most of them were deleted and it was ly girlfriend always asking about the feelings that friend would have for my girlfriend. The reason said friend was freaking out is thay my girlfriend told her I took her phone and texted the girl. She was shocked understandubly. My gf was creating drama and i still haven't understood why. Like if she wanted to actually cheat why make me aware?
Its been 4 dats now and I just don't know how to advance from this. I'm still very aware of her past and the lack of therapy. I still care for her in a sence but I'l so hurt and I feel so stupid. She now is again remorsefull and relize now I'm the furst one to show her true love. I've broken up with her as i just need to respect myself but i still have a soft spot for her besides everything. She now wants to fix everything, she'll go in therapy and so on. I sometimes find myself being the one to confort her even after it all. I'm so lost and don't know what to do. I want to keep it healing for her, u want to protect myself and love her again at the same time.
This is just a little of the quesionable behaviour she had done, basically the most recent one. I'm just too hurt and blindsided to deal this on my own but i finished therapy like 6 months ago. I can't go back to my therapist. I plan on looking for a new one in the new city but i need advice and guidance since we live together. How should i handle this?
2024.06.09 20:36 alrightyaphrodite Book recap & discussion: Izabella St James ‘Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion’ - Prologue and Chapters 1-3
 | PROLOGUE submitted by alrightyaphrodite to TheGirlsNextLevelPod [link] [comments] Izabella reflects on meeting a "$20 million-a-movie club" actor at a restaurant who finds her "astounding", he calls her the next day and they talk forever. He's extremely into her until he learns that Izabella lived at the Playboy Mansion, she says he was livid and couldn't be associated with her as her Playboy past would taint his reputation. She feels defensive about his judgment of her Playboy Mansion past, she was letting go of the steering wheel of life and exploring herself and freedom. She says to understand each other we should know where each other has come from. So here she is to set the record straight and let you be the judge if she really did ruin her life by living as one of Hef's 7 girlfriends. 1: MADE IN POLAND Izabella was born in Krakow, Poland. She has a handful of paragraphs talking about the beauty of Poland, the spirited and resilient character of Polish people, and she lists notable people of Poland. She writes about how Poland was the most devastated eastern European country of World War II, and is home to some of the most horrific places in the world, including Auschwitz. Her dad was a baby when his family had to flee their home after catching fire during crossfire between Germany and Russia, and he lost his brother later to a landmine. Izabella's grandpa was arrested and sent to Auschwitz for helping Jewish people - he survived but was a ghost of himself. After WWII, she says Poland fell on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain and became a communist country - this was the setting of her childhood until age 11. She says her dad had a high up, well-paid position at a factory and their family of three had a better life than most people. TVs, cars, clothes etc. were scarce and expensive, but Izabella's family had a car, considered a luxury, and she was spoiled by her parents with lots of toys and a snack bar in her room. She's loved animals all her life and has never wanted to eat meat. Izabella goes on many vacations with her parents in their car to other eastern European countries, but are put through unbearable screenings when they cross borders. Her dad is pressured by the Communist party to reveal names of anti-communist staff at his factory and his job is threatened. They manage to secure a special visa to visit Greece on a bus, and they plan not to return. They have to leave their possessions and everything behind as to not raise suspicions, so Izabella has to say goodbye to her dog and it breaks her heart. She lives in Greece with her parents for a year and she loves it, she learns to speak Greek. Her parents struggle with making money and starting over, and Izabella appreciates their sacrifices so that she can have more opportunities than communist Poland could offer - she's sure moving into the Playboy Mansion is not an opportunity her parents had in mind, but she's about being receptive and exploring new opportunities with the freedom her parents helped secure for her. 2: CANADA, EH Izabella's family's immigration request is approved to move to Canada. They are sent to Prince George, British Columbia - a small lumber town in the Rocky Mountains. They all have to learn English, now Izabella's third language. Her parents don't see a future there so they get a van and the three drive across Canada to Toronto, where they've heard of more opportunities. They settle in Kitchener-Waterloo and Izabella starts grade 8 (age 13-14), she says even though she missed grades 5-7 moving around the world she was not behind as the Polish communist curriculum was so advanced. She starts to learn French, her fourth language. She makes friends, dates lots of boys, loses her virginity, and gets straight A's. She can't do frog dissection, and realizes she can't be a doctor, so she decides to enter the "only other traditionally prestigious and respectable profession", and become a lawyer. She turns down scholarships to other universities and chooses McGill University in Montreal, "widely regarded as the 'Canadian Harvard'". She lives with 2 of her best friends and says they were legends in their neighborhood as 3 tall blonde housemates. She enjoyed experimentation and parties and trips with her friends. She says 'never a shortage of men' for her and her friends, and one guy she dates Keith is head over heels for her but they break up due to school demands for her and pilot training demands for him - they remain close friends. She dates a footballer Ryan from another university but they break up due to distance. She dates a guy named Sean who dotes on her, but hooks up with Ryan secretly whenever they are in the same town - Sean finds out and calls Ryan's new girlfriend and tells her too. Izabella swears off dating for a while after this fiasco. Izabella is a double major in political science and history. She adds humanistic studies to be a more "well-rounded person" – studying Spanish, philosophy, classical music, and geography. She dreams of becoming an ambassador, a diplomat, and decides on law specializing in international affairs. She finds out Keith, her pilot ex - died in a plane crash flying his girlfriend on a snowy night. There is a major ice storm of 1998 with 5 days of no power in Montreal, she's had enough of the cold winter weather. Her grandmother passes away in Poland. The deaths of Keith and her grandmother make her consider life, and that there is more out there to experience and enjoy than just studying. She wants a change and to be somewhere warmer. When considering law schools, she weighed reputation and the lifestyle of the area equally - and applies to 2 schools in California. Pepperdine University in Malibu is the first to accept her application, her parents co-sign for her student loans, and she makes the move. 3: LEGALLY BLONDE Izabella says her first year of studying at law school is a mix of satisfaction and disappointment. She’s not dated since the Ryan-Sean drama, but starts to notice a tattooed tall guy at Pepperdine “only in LA can you find a hot tattooed guy who is presumably intelligent”. The guy manages to introduce himself to Izabella after a few sightings, his name is Justin and they fall in love. This other girl wants to date Justin, and one night after Izabella drives home from a bar where that girl saw Izabella with Justin - she smells burning rubber and discovers someone ripped off her cars’ windshield wipers and stuffed them in the exhaust pipe. She believes it to be that girl but can’t prove it so lets it go. Izabella says there is not a large international law market in LA, so she connects with someone in entertainment law who works for Playboy for an interview. It goes well but she decides to go study law in Spain over the summer where she can also work on her Spanish skills. She applies for another school loan and is off to study in Madrid for 2 months capped off with a 2-week vacation in Italy, Justin joins her and they have a great time but are “ready to kill each other” by the end of the trip. She returns to Pepperdine for her second year, she stays on top of her studies but also hits the Malibu beaches and hottest clubs in Hollywood all the time. She only makes 2 friends in law school as she says everyone is competitive, thinks they are the smartest, and if you are attractive as well as smart people will resent you. Izabella is out with one of her two hot-confident-smart-but-also-has-personality friends from university, Vivian, one night, when they go to the same restaurant as Hugh Hefner. It was the year 2000, and in 1.5 years time Izabella will be part of Hef's ‘party posse’ – but at the time of this first sighting she would never believe that was in her future. Hef is sitting with Buffy Tyler, Katie Lohmann, and Doctor “Feelgood” Mark Saginor. Izabella says she sees a lot of girls going to introduce themselves to Hef and she thinks it is embarrassing, but Vivian wants to go say hi so Izabella reluctantly goes with her. They are invited to join the table, Izabella is fascinated by Buffy and Katie and wonders what their life and setup with Hef is like. Mark Saginor takes Izabella and Vivian’s numbers and invites them ‘Fun in the Sun’ on Sunday. Izabella is nervously excited to visit the Playboy mansion. She says her ex, Sean, always said she should be a Playmate, and at McGill guys called her “Pam Anderson’s little sister” – not that she looked like Pamela Anderson at all, just because Pam was huge in Canada and “any girl with blonde hair and boobs was always compared to her”. At ‘Fun in the Sun’, it is not as wild as she had imagined. She says hi to Buffy Tyler who she finds cool and friendly. Izabella asks if she lives at the mansion and Buffy says she shares a room with Katie Lohmann and that it’s a lot of fun. Later on, Izabella notices one of Hef’s girlfriends “surrounded by a group of wanna-be Girlfriends”, the girlfriend comes over to Izabella and tells her she is pretty – Izabella says this girlfriend will later be her roommate at the mansion and partner in adventure. (Most likely Tiffany Holliday). Izabella and Vivian are invited to mansion parties and attend many together – Vivian says they should call and ask to be invited back to Fun in the Sun, Izabella does not tell Vivian that she has been receiving invites to Fun in the Sun all along. Izabella doesn’t go to the Sunday ‘FITS’ as to not upset Justin, and she is fine with just going to big mansion parties. Izabella is working for a professor helping with a book on international business transactions, but she realizes she would have to move East where there is a broader international law curriculum to continue her studies as planned. By the end of her second year at Pepperdine, Izabella and Justin take a break as he will be studying for the bar this summer and Izabella is ready to travel again. She gets another school loan to study at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland – “one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe”. She studies in cafes, visits the underground salt city Royal Salt Mine at Wieliczka, and has a deeply memorable and heart-breaking trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps where her grandfather had been sent. Justin calls her over the summer and it’s nice, but she decides she is not ready to jump back into their relationship. She returns to her last semester in LA and is excited to resume attending mansion parties, and Fun in the Sun again now that she doesn’t have to worry about upsetting a boyfriend. Justin remains close and she draws comfort from that. Attending the parties at the mansion is her only plans in regards to Hef. “I never imagined what the future would bring”. Chapter 4 coming soon |
2024.06.09 20:31 PeteyPiranhaPlant How should I get started in competitive play?
I've playing for about 10 years. I think I'm pretty good at the game by now. I like playing over the internet, but I've grown tired of my opponents' skill levels being varied. The likelihood of players being complete noobs, not communicating/speaking English, failing to input orders/quitting, etc is so high. I'd like to test myself against a full board of elite players to find out how good I actually am.
My question is: Which tournament or competition should I start with? Virtual or FTF. Preferably virtual as I'm just getting started and likely unwilling to travel for diplomacy at this time. I'll encounter analyses of tournaments on YouTube, but I never seem to know about them before they happen or know how to sign up. Would love to get some input.
Another question: How would you start a FTF group in a city? Diplomacy is the only "gaming" thing I've ever done, so I know nothing of how those communities work. I'm in Kansas City, in case somebody from here finds this.
submitted by PeteyPiranhaPlant to diplomacy [link] [comments]
My question is: Which tournament or competition should I start with? Virtual or FTF. Preferably virtual as I'm just getting started and likely unwilling to travel for diplomacy at this time. I'll encounter analyses of tournaments on YouTube, but I never seem to know about them before they happen or know how to sign up. Would love to get some input.
Another question: How would you start a FTF group in a city? Diplomacy is the only "gaming" thing I've ever done, so I know nothing of how those communities work. I'm in Kansas City, in case somebody from here finds this.
2024.06.09 20:22 MrToxel Gus lookin' sus
 | submitted by MrToxel to Brawlstars [link] [comments] |
2024.06.09 20:07 Marty_Glaubermann Stamp exchange
 | Looking for stamp exchange, I'd love the Leo stamp, the metal eh stamp especially, but any others I don't have would be amazing. I can offer the following in return: submitted by Marty_Glaubermann to slowlyapp_stamps [link] [comments] Slowly _ Aries _ Hello world _ Around the world _ Happy birthday to you 2019 _ Happy birthday to you 2021 _ Happy birthday to you 2022 _ Happy birthday to you 2023 _ You've got mail _ Footprints on Europe _ Long time no see _ Typing machine _ Let's talk slowly _ Serious writer _ Bronze collector _ Old friends _ Footprints on Asia _ Footprints on Africa _ Footprints on South America _ Footprints on North America _ Let's go shopping _ Early bird _ 1st bucket of gold _ Keep warm _ Year off the dog _ Silver collector _ 1st anniversary _ 2nd anniversary _ 3rd anniversary _ 4th anniversary _ 5th anniversary _ Next level _ Hello from the outside _ Fasionista _ Never stop writing _ Generous heart _ Traveler _ 1st hot air balloon flight _ 1st ascent of everest _ 1st telegraph message _ International tea day _ 1st laser _ Discovery of DNA _ bigfoot _ Chupacabra _ Mokole mbembe _ Mothman _ Nessie _ Yeti _ Penny black _ World wide web _ Read across America day _ Hari raya aidifitri _ Non binary pride flag _ Alice in wonderland day _ World bicycle day _ Sherlock Holmes day _ Towel day _ Walpurgis night _ International day of human space flight _ ParadoxSlowlys birthday _ Imbolc _ World wetlands day _ Year of the rabbit _ Happy new year 2023 _ World braille day _ World introvert day _ Merry Xmas 2022 _ International mountain day _ Happy Halloween _ World toilet day _ St Martins day _ Sukkot _ Columbus day _ World mental health day _ World octopus day _ International raccoon day _ Rosh hashana _ World rhino day _ International talk like a pirate day _ Day of the programmer _ World letter writing day _ International black cat appreciation day _ International lefthanders day _ International clouded leopard day _ International mon day _ Mandela day _ World emoji day _ International rock and roll day _ Dilophosaurus _ Brontosaurus _ Triceratops _ Parasausolophus _ Tyrannosaurus rex _ Velociraptor _ World giraffe day _ World juggling day _ Pen pal day _ Ice hockey _ Football _ World parrot day _ World turtle day _ Vesak day _ Friday 13th _ Flag of Europe _ May day _ Marathon _ World art day _ World health day _ The red poppy _ Semana santa _ Tartan day _ Tiny but mighty _ Earth hour _ International seal day _ World sleep day _ Purim _ Pi day _ Shrove Tuesday _ Horse racing _ Cupid _ World radio day _ World pulses day _ Rugby _ Skiing _ Year of the tiger _ World logic day _ Rally _ Happy new year 2022 _ Merry Christmas 2021 _ Pavlova _ Human rights day _ Day of the ninja _ World philosophy day _ World vegan day _ Hanukkah _ All souls day _ World post day _ International coffee day _ World gorilla day _ International day of sign language _ International red panda day _ International day of charity _ International literacy day _ Qixi festival (七夕) _ World dog day _ World photography day _ World elephant day _ International cat day _ Eid al adha _ Bonfire _ World chess day _ World ufo day _ International asteroid day _ Dragon boat festival (端午節) _ International day of yoga _ World oceans day _ World bee day _ Cinco de mayo _ International jazz day _ Happy Easter _ International Nowruz day _ Happy fathers day _ International polar bear day _ Happy mother's day _ Groundhog day _ Data privacy day _ National hugging day _ Happy new year 2021 _ Merry Christmas 2021 _ World children's day _ World teachers day _ International day of peace _ Workout _ Play games _ Watch TV _ Wfh _ Sleep in _ Write letters _ International youth day _ International day of friendship _ World environment day _ Rainbow flag _ World press freedom day _ International workers day _ Happy Easter 2020 _ Pôhela boishakh _ Ramadan _ St George's day _ World book day _ World poetry day _ Stay strong _ International women's day _ Chocolate heart _ World cancer day _ Year of the rest _ International day of education _ Epiphany _ Happy new year 2020 _ Drink mulled wine _ Wrap some gifts _ Hello. _ Sleeping _ Stretching _ Freezing _ Liquifying _ Hunting _ Meowing _ Body be active _ Mind keep learning _ Spirit give _ People connect _ Place take notice _ Planet care _ Happy Easter 2019 _ Chocolate egg _ Burger egg _ Chicken egg _ Dinosaur egg _ Earth egg _ Rocket mail _ Rose bouquet _ Spring blessings _ Year of the pig _ Million thanks _ Happy new year 2019 _ Macchiato _ Mocha _ Latte _ Americano _ Cappuccino _ Espresso _ Merry Christmas 2018 _ Best penpal trophy _ Astronomy day _ Albuquerque international balloon fiesta _ Martin Luther king Jr day _ Mevlana festival _ Ha'amonga 'a maui _ National children's day (วันเด็กแห่งชาติิ) _ Songkran _ Nu Ian pyramids _ Masskara festival (День знаний) _ It's time _ Dia de todos es santos _ Coquito _ Andrzejki _ Soroka show _ Inti raymi _ Kerstkrans _ Prinsjesdag _ Argangu festival _ Piedra del sol _ Ponche de frutas navideño _ Dia de muertos _ Mongol archery _ Thingyan _ Jāņi _ Kūčiukai _ Esala perahera _ Coming of age day (성년의 날) _ Hangul day (한글날) _ Chol ch am thmay _ Bom pm touk _ Torii _ Kanninzaki lighthouse (観音埼灯台) _ Setsubun (한글날) _ Greenery day (みどりの日) _ Festa d'Ella republica _ Shabe yalda _ Jama. Masjid _ Makar sankranti _ Pushkar fair _ Diwali _ Holi _ St Patrick's day _ Cheung chau bun festival (長洲太平清醮) _ Big ben _ Tower Bridge _ London eye _ St Paul's cathedral _ Stonehenge _ St John's point lighthouse _ South stack lighthouse _ Bell rock lighthouse _ Eddystone lighthouse _ Scottish bagpiper _ Tolkien reading day _ Darwin say _ Up holy aa _ Caernarfon castle _ Edinburgh castle _ Carrickfergus castle _ Windsor castle _ Guy Fawkes night _ Roast dinner day _ Ada lovelace day _ Her majesty the queen _ Flag of Scotland _ Goth day _ Flag of England _ Flag of Wales _ Flag of northern _ Burns night _ Dundee cake _ Christmas pudding _ Flag of northern Ireland _ Flag of the United Kingdom _ Wimbledon _ Shakespeare day _ Full English breakfast _ England rose _ Scotland thistle _ Wales daffodil _ Bournemouth Ireland shamrock _ Jour des crêpes _ Tió de nadal _ Día del pasillo ecuatoriano _ The little mermaid _ Weihnachtsstollen _ Harbin ice and snow festival (哈尔滨冰雪节) _ Jeûne fédéral _ Winterlude _ Carnaval do Brasil _ Willkakuti _ White Christmas _ Allerheilligen _ Vardavar _ Al Dhafra festival _ Flag of andorra _ Wiphala |
2024.06.09 19:29 phoenix_111019 as a logophile, this makes sense- 🧡
 | source unknown submitted by phoenix_111019 to astrologymemes [link] [comments] |
2024.06.09 19:23 DryYourTears Widerrechtlich geparkte Fahrzeuge werden kostenpflichtig abgeschleppt
Hallo Leute!
Sorry for the English post, my German is not good enough to talk about these topics. I have been out of Graz for 1.5 weeks and at my return, I found a sign with this text "Widerrechtlich geparkte Fahrzeuge werden kostenpflichtig abgeschleppt" hanging in my parking spot. I live in a condo (since January 2024), and I have been assigned my specific parking position (as usual). My license plate is NOT austrian (it does belong to another EU country), which is the only reason as to why something like this could happen, imho.
I find hard to believe this is a legally allowed action. Since the parking spot has been specifically assigned to me, I would think this is now considered my property and such an action would indicate that there's been a "private property violation". Moreover, I don't see why me parking in my assigned spot could be considered illegal.
Obviously I have no clue about who could have hanged the sign (it looks very much like a street signal). Do you have suggestions on how I should behave?
Vielen Dank!
submitted by DryYourTears to graz [link] [comments]
Sorry for the English post, my German is not good enough to talk about these topics. I have been out of Graz for 1.5 weeks and at my return, I found a sign with this text "Widerrechtlich geparkte Fahrzeuge werden kostenpflichtig abgeschleppt" hanging in my parking spot. I live in a condo (since January 2024), and I have been assigned my specific parking position (as usual). My license plate is NOT austrian (it does belong to another EU country), which is the only reason as to why something like this could happen, imho.
I find hard to believe this is a legally allowed action. Since the parking spot has been specifically assigned to me, I would think this is now considered my property and such an action would indicate that there's been a "private property violation". Moreover, I don't see why me parking in my assigned spot could be considered illegal.
Obviously I have no clue about who could have hanged the sign (it looks very much like a street signal). Do you have suggestions on how I should behave?
Vielen Dank!
2024.06.09 19:19 Venaryen [FOR HIRE] Characters / Fantasy / RPG
Pass the images to the side to see other art examples and price lists before messaging. Please contact me via Discord, Reddit chats have not been delivering messages timely.
Price range, PORTFOLIO and Terms of Service can all be found on my Carrd:
https://venaryenart.carrd.co
https://venaryencommission.wixsite.com/venaryen
https://www.instagram.com/venaryenart/
https://cara.app/venaryenart << Will be moving from insta to CaraAPP until 2025
Payment always in advance, Paypal, Pix or Wise. Arts for commercial use are x2 the price and only started after a contract is signed (DocuSign, HelloSign, Adobe Sign etc).
Terms of service: https://www.deviantart.com/xxokami357xx/journal/Terms-Of-Service-Venaryen-891362249
Prices can go higher if additional characters or alterations are required, all explained on my T.O.S.
Don’t bother with these strong watermarks, client will recieve the image normally after payment. These versions are only to difficult stealing in advertisement.
I do fantasy art of all sorts. Reference sheets, full illustrations, concept art, icons, comic panels, storyboards, YCH’s etc. Not selling anything in physical media at the moment.
These paintings and cuts from the price list banners are only examples to help figure out the price range, but I can make arts in other formats and stlyes as well.
Send a message! :)
Discord: Venaryen#3233
venaryencommissions@hotmail.com
submitted by Venaryen to artistforhire [link] [comments]
Price range, PORTFOLIO and Terms of Service can all be found on my Carrd:
https://venaryenart.carrd.co
https://venaryencommission.wixsite.com/venaryen
https://www.instagram.com/venaryenart/
https://cara.app/venaryenart << Will be moving from insta to CaraAPP until 2025
Payment always in advance, Paypal, Pix or Wise. Arts for commercial use are x2 the price and only started after a contract is signed (DocuSign, HelloSign, Adobe Sign etc).
Terms of service: https://www.deviantart.com/xxokami357xx/journal/Terms-Of-Service-Venaryen-891362249
Prices can go higher if additional characters or alterations are required, all explained on my T.O.S.
Don’t bother with these strong watermarks, client will recieve the image normally after payment. These versions are only to difficult stealing in advertisement.
I do fantasy art of all sorts. Reference sheets, full illustrations, concept art, icons, comic panels, storyboards, YCH’s etc. Not selling anything in physical media at the moment.
These paintings and cuts from the price list banners are only examples to help figure out the price range, but I can make arts in other formats and stlyes as well.
Send a message! :)
Discord: Venaryen#3233
venaryencommissions@hotmail.com
2024.06.09 19:16 Venaryen [FOR HIRE] Characters / Fantasy / RPG
Pass the images to the side to see other art examples and price lists before messaging. Please contact me via Discord, Reddit chats have not been delivering messages timely.
Price range, PORTFOLIO and Terms of Service can all be found on my Carrd:
https://venaryenart.carrd.co
https://venaryencommission.wixsite.com/venaryen
https://www.instagram.com/venaryenart/
https://cara.app/venaryenart << Will be moving from insta to CaraAPP until 2025
Payment always in advance, Paypal, Pix or Wise. Arts for commercial use are x2 the price and only started after a contract is signed (DocuSign, HelloSign, Adobe Sign etc).
Terms of service: https://www.deviantart.com/xxokami357xx/journal/Terms-Of-Service-Venaryen-891362249
Prices can go higher if additional characters or alterations are required, all explained on my T.O.S.
Don’t bother with these strong watermarks, client will recieve the image normally after payment. These versions are only to difficult stealing in advertisement.
I do fantasy art of all sorts. Reference sheets, full illustrations, concept art, icons, comic panels, storyboards, YCH’s etc. Not selling anything in physical media at the moment.
These paintings and cuts from the price list banners are only examples to help figure out the price range, but I can make arts in other formats and stlyes as well.
Send a message! :)
Discord: Venaryen#3233
venaryencommissions@hotmail.com
submitted by Venaryen to forhire [link] [comments]
Price range, PORTFOLIO and Terms of Service can all be found on my Carrd:
https://venaryenart.carrd.co
https://venaryencommission.wixsite.com/venaryen
https://www.instagram.com/venaryenart/
https://cara.app/venaryenart << Will be moving from insta to CaraAPP until 2025
Payment always in advance, Paypal, Pix or Wise. Arts for commercial use are x2 the price and only started after a contract is signed (DocuSign, HelloSign, Adobe Sign etc).
Terms of service: https://www.deviantart.com/xxokami357xx/journal/Terms-Of-Service-Venaryen-891362249
Prices can go higher if additional characters or alterations are required, all explained on my T.O.S.
Don’t bother with these strong watermarks, client will recieve the image normally after payment. These versions are only to difficult stealing in advertisement.
I do fantasy art of all sorts. Reference sheets, full illustrations, concept art, icons, comic panels, storyboards, YCH’s etc. Not selling anything in physical media at the moment.
These paintings and cuts from the price list banners are only examples to help figure out the price range, but I can make arts in other formats and stlyes as well.
Send a message! :)
Discord: Venaryen#3233
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2024.06.09 18:38 Top_Yesterday_9082 TiviMate 2024
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2024.06.09 18:33 SnooTangerines8115 ex wife f35 and me m33 Did i make a misstake ?
Hello reddit, am not here to often as i like, but i have to have a opinion made from a nutrual part.
sorry for any spelling errors, i have dyelexia and english is not my first language.
we have 6 kids in total and 3 are with me.
So to begin this story of my 9 year relationship we have had our ups and down like everyone else, my wife has for instant been Captured taking pictures of her self naked to other men 6 times, and i forgave her everytime due to it just was a picture and she never touch the guy. so my jealousy was really bad as we never workt on that trust really, we just went on with our relationship and i was clingy and did not really like her going out to much as we had small kids and they have neurodevelopmental disorders like ahd autisum. as soon as she got a job again she would cheat after 3 months in that job. we had financial problems to loosing jobs getting them back and going in debt due over it.
but the last 3 months i found out that she was talking to someone from my gutfeeling and checkt it out, and i was right, the guy she was talking to she had sent pictures and more to before, they talkt about how much they mean to each other and that they love each other, and sent nudes to. that was her breaking point, i told her what do we do as i stod there and cryed to her why ? and she said i dont know, then all out of the blue she explained she had feeling for the guy, and she is never allowed to go out and drink with friends or hang out with her guy friends as i was jealous, she said give me space and let me see if the feeling disapers, i call the guys wife and let her know what happend and we talkt for about 2h about this and cry to each other, she still tryes to get with the guy and the guy says he wants to be with my ex wife, but then the other wife said that she is pregnant and he came running back to her, i was ready to leave by then, but my wife insist we should just give it time and space to se if the feelings get back to her.
enter friend girlfriend O to my ex wife and me. She told me she would spy on ex wife even tho i said no dont.
so enter our friend K is a 40+ year old friend of both of us, more to the wife tho. K and my ex wife start talking about the situation.
K and my ex still made me jealous as it was a fresh wound and we really did not talk about it.
now my ex wife has to go to her sisters to watch her kids as she is going to a party, and while she is there we talk alot over snapchat and she sends really hot pictures of her to me, and i tell her what i would like to do with her, after that day she comes home and we have sex and try to work on it, but after the sex she is cold as ice after and only hangs with K. she tells me my friends want me to go on a event in the city with live music and drinks, this is a test if ur jealousy is ok if not i will leave she said. i was in terapi about my jealousy by now.
so that day rolls around she goes out with her girlfriend O and have fun and during the night i still talk to her on snap. she says she lost her friend O and lookt for 20mins to find them, and was really sad as the girlfriend O just wanted her to hook up with others and she said no, they went to a pub and drank and girlfriend O wanted to take a taxi home but my ex wife said no and walkt home, i greet her at the door with a hug and say did you have fun and did you get home safe with someone ? as i dont really like her to walk where we live alone. this was my ex wifes story.
she said no we walkt to this pub and took a few drinks and my girlfriend wanted me to hook up with people so i just walkt home alone and called my mom. this is really late at night to.
so que next day after she sleept the rush of, i get a text from the girlfriend O that she was faithfull and she took a taxi home and i had my eyes on her all the time and we did not run in to K at all,
my ex wife then tells me we did run in to K, but i only said hi and we walkt away, and i confront the Girlfriend O how she could lie about taking a taxi and leaving my ex wife to walk alone, and she swears my ex wife took the taxi home with them, i really just wanted her to be safe around these events. later after i push Girlfriend O harder my ex wife tells me she walkt with K home as she did not want to go in a taxi after feeling abit sick,
i tell her why did you just not tell me that right away ? then you would be jealous she said and act angry, i told her no am glad K took you home safe just dont lie about it.
i then later that night text K thanks for taking my ex wife home safe. means alot ur a good guy, and K start going on about the night, how they meet in the crowd and went on rides and did not find Girlfriend O and they went to the pub and had a drink and then Girlfriend O called her and askt where ex wife was, so they meet up in the pub and then we walkt home to you, K lives like 300m away from us so nothing wierd if they walk right ?, i was like ok thanks for taking care of her and next time she might just go with you as she clearly had more fun with you K. and then he dropt a bomb on me, are you guys devorcing or are you still trying ? and i say still trying. and he finds it wierd as he said "because sometimes we talk and type" and "sometimes you and her talk and type" and i call him right away and ask him to be upfront about it, he said he will call in 2h ok fine i think, but my wife is typing like crazy on her phone then, and locks the screen as i get close, another red flag, i call him and ask him to clearfy that statment, and he said no we just talking like about you guys and then sometimes i see you type to her some cute message or stuff, witch i do.
this makes my wife devorce me, and i beg and plead to let us give it a chance again and this time be honest with each other. after alot of work we still devorce but as we have kids we still count as married for 6 months, and we both agreed we would use that time to se if we can find back, as she cant keep the apartment due to debt as we had to get my dad to co sign it. i was ready to move and take me my dad off the contract, making her homeless with 6 kids, witch i did not want to, but as i had debt to and my father wanted to support me and could not stay on 2 contracts he said he will help me.
i think fine but still the feeling of K and my ex wife never leaves, so i rig a webcam at my pc to spy on her as i go out to buy a mothersday gift, she finds the webcam and start to scream and become balistic on me that i never trust her and that i was dissgusting for invading her privacy she permanently deleted the file with Shift Delete. i feel so bad i called my therapist and admitted what i did and she help me formulate a good apology and i go and tell her am really sorry in a really good way and explain why i did it and that it still was not ok, she just gave me the cold shoulder and said she dont feel safe here anymore at all, all i wanted was proof if she was really sending Pictures to K to. ex wife now uses all her free time with K and dont care at all about the kids, i work like 11h weekends shifts as am in health care for disabled kids/adults, so i cant leave they need me, and her 15 year old calls me and tells me she is out with the dog and talking to K and has been out there for 30 mins and the kids are screaming, i call her angry and tell her to get back inside and take care of the kids, and she just tells me atleast am walking the dog. well its her dog so i really dont care to much about animals like that so.
friday that night she walks home to K to drink, K has problems with alchole, i just got off a 11h shift, my youngest kids is sick and keeps waking up so i have to go up and put him to sleep again and again, and i have another 11h tomorrow i have to do, so i call her and tell her to get home, i give my kids some medicin and go wait for my ex wife witch takes about 2h to get home, remember its about a 300m walk. she really just did not want to go home i guess. she talk about how they where drinking and talking to his parents and planing a trip 2h away to K's parents to see if she would miss me she said, i tell her no why ? why cant you just stay at ur moms or other girlfriends ? and she said i already told them i would be going so i kinda have to. week go by and i keep trying to make pysical contact with her in hugs or massaging her feet after work as her feet get really swollen, i cook for her and make time to watch some tv shows that week, and saturday comes around
she is now giving me the cold shoulder again and we get in a fight about her leaving with K, i tell her i will write my name off the contract and leav so u can be with K i dont care, and she starts crying and tells me to wait abit and walks the dog, i look inside her backpack she packed for the trip and find a sexy night gown i bought for her in there, i confront her about that to, and she just says she has nothing else to wear while going to sleep. i give her my t-shirt and toss that night gown away and tell her use this. and i got so angry i started kissing her and hugging her, she leaves, and i type to her that am sorry for kissing you and stuff as we both feelt we needed time to get there the week where we had fun. she tells me it was nice and we should do it more often. she stays the night there at his parents place she calls me and tells me they arrived and everything so i feel good about this as we just kissed, i have been bending my back so hard to clean, work on my self, have the meals ready and stuff, i work almost only weekends so i take care of it as she works on weeks.
but sunday she comes home and we talk about about what she did and if she had fun, she did tell me she really missed me during that time and that gave me hope again, but still the feeling of K did not leave.
she was cold almost 3 days and said she still dont know... mind you this is now 1.5 months in and i have done everything i can to make us work i still sleept in a diffrent room as she was not really that comfortable after the whole webcam insedent. when she got back home i told her to stay with her sister and work this out if she still want to. as she is there i can see her search history and she is looking for bracelets for boyfriends and a bottle of capten morgan witch u can make ur own lable on it that is K's favorit, i call her and ask wtf are you doing, and she said his birthday is comming up and i want to get him something nice, and i tell her but you search for BOYFRIEND, not like Braclets for guys, and she said otherwise just some girly stuff comes up, and i told her no ur looking for Braclet for Boyfriends with ingravings...so i took matters in to my own hands and snaped her and askt right out is there anything betwin you and K and she said yes i have feelings for him, and i think to my self what the **** and she said i have not told him anything at all and u cant do that, so i confront K and ask him if anything happend, he said no and i tell him she has feelings for u, how do u want to do this ? want me to move out so u can be with her ? and K said no, i dont want to get in betwin you guys, i see her as a friend and then i told him then can u back off for a while and dont text snap or call her ? and he said sure... and K wanted to know how we meet, so i told him it was rough, i told him about how when we started the realationship i got a std, a minor one u can just take a pill (Clamydia) and its gone, that her Ex gave her before the brake up. and that sent my wife bannanas, K twisted this story too and told ex that she still has it, and never treated it, so in order now to have contact with her about the kids and not go throu soical services or i had to apolgyse to K about it and say i lied, witch i did, but still the damages was done she is now really done with me i guess as she blocked me on facebook and snapchat and will not awnser any calls or text. she also added back the friends she cheated on me with (just pics no touching) and still staying with friends and have the kids there now. was i in the wrong here to confront him ?
also is there a way to find back even tho she said never even if i got 1m on my bank accoun ?
submitted by SnooTangerines8115 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
sorry for any spelling errors, i have dyelexia and english is not my first language.
we have 6 kids in total and 3 are with me.
So to begin this story of my 9 year relationship we have had our ups and down like everyone else, my wife has for instant been Captured taking pictures of her self naked to other men 6 times, and i forgave her everytime due to it just was a picture and she never touch the guy. so my jealousy was really bad as we never workt on that trust really, we just went on with our relationship and i was clingy and did not really like her going out to much as we had small kids and they have neurodevelopmental disorders like ahd autisum. as soon as she got a job again she would cheat after 3 months in that job. we had financial problems to loosing jobs getting them back and going in debt due over it.
but the last 3 months i found out that she was talking to someone from my gutfeeling and checkt it out, and i was right, the guy she was talking to she had sent pictures and more to before, they talkt about how much they mean to each other and that they love each other, and sent nudes to. that was her breaking point, i told her what do we do as i stod there and cryed to her why ? and she said i dont know, then all out of the blue she explained she had feeling for the guy, and she is never allowed to go out and drink with friends or hang out with her guy friends as i was jealous, she said give me space and let me see if the feeling disapers, i call the guys wife and let her know what happend and we talkt for about 2h about this and cry to each other, she still tryes to get with the guy and the guy says he wants to be with my ex wife, but then the other wife said that she is pregnant and he came running back to her, i was ready to leave by then, but my wife insist we should just give it time and space to se if the feelings get back to her.
enter friend girlfriend O to my ex wife and me. She told me she would spy on ex wife even tho i said no dont.
so enter our friend K is a 40+ year old friend of both of us, more to the wife tho. K and my ex wife start talking about the situation.
K and my ex still made me jealous as it was a fresh wound and we really did not talk about it.
now my ex wife has to go to her sisters to watch her kids as she is going to a party, and while she is there we talk alot over snapchat and she sends really hot pictures of her to me, and i tell her what i would like to do with her, after that day she comes home and we have sex and try to work on it, but after the sex she is cold as ice after and only hangs with K. she tells me my friends want me to go on a event in the city with live music and drinks, this is a test if ur jealousy is ok if not i will leave she said. i was in terapi about my jealousy by now.
so that day rolls around she goes out with her girlfriend O and have fun and during the night i still talk to her on snap. she says she lost her friend O and lookt for 20mins to find them, and was really sad as the girlfriend O just wanted her to hook up with others and she said no, they went to a pub and drank and girlfriend O wanted to take a taxi home but my ex wife said no and walkt home, i greet her at the door with a hug and say did you have fun and did you get home safe with someone ? as i dont really like her to walk where we live alone. this was my ex wifes story.
she said no we walkt to this pub and took a few drinks and my girlfriend wanted me to hook up with people so i just walkt home alone and called my mom. this is really late at night to.
so que next day after she sleept the rush of, i get a text from the girlfriend O that she was faithfull and she took a taxi home and i had my eyes on her all the time and we did not run in to K at all,
my ex wife then tells me we did run in to K, but i only said hi and we walkt away, and i confront the Girlfriend O how she could lie about taking a taxi and leaving my ex wife to walk alone, and she swears my ex wife took the taxi home with them, i really just wanted her to be safe around these events. later after i push Girlfriend O harder my ex wife tells me she walkt with K home as she did not want to go in a taxi after feeling abit sick,
i tell her why did you just not tell me that right away ? then you would be jealous she said and act angry, i told her no am glad K took you home safe just dont lie about it.
i then later that night text K thanks for taking my ex wife home safe. means alot ur a good guy, and K start going on about the night, how they meet in the crowd and went on rides and did not find Girlfriend O and they went to the pub and had a drink and then Girlfriend O called her and askt where ex wife was, so they meet up in the pub and then we walkt home to you, K lives like 300m away from us so nothing wierd if they walk right ?, i was like ok thanks for taking care of her and next time she might just go with you as she clearly had more fun with you K. and then he dropt a bomb on me, are you guys devorcing or are you still trying ? and i say still trying. and he finds it wierd as he said "because sometimes we talk and type" and "sometimes you and her talk and type" and i call him right away and ask him to be upfront about it, he said he will call in 2h ok fine i think, but my wife is typing like crazy on her phone then, and locks the screen as i get close, another red flag, i call him and ask him to clearfy that statment, and he said no we just talking like about you guys and then sometimes i see you type to her some cute message or stuff, witch i do.
this makes my wife devorce me, and i beg and plead to let us give it a chance again and this time be honest with each other. after alot of work we still devorce but as we have kids we still count as married for 6 months, and we both agreed we would use that time to se if we can find back, as she cant keep the apartment due to debt as we had to get my dad to co sign it. i was ready to move and take me my dad off the contract, making her homeless with 6 kids, witch i did not want to, but as i had debt to and my father wanted to support me and could not stay on 2 contracts he said he will help me.
i think fine but still the feeling of K and my ex wife never leaves, so i rig a webcam at my pc to spy on her as i go out to buy a mothersday gift, she finds the webcam and start to scream and become balistic on me that i never trust her and that i was dissgusting for invading her privacy she permanently deleted the file with Shift Delete. i feel so bad i called my therapist and admitted what i did and she help me formulate a good apology and i go and tell her am really sorry in a really good way and explain why i did it and that it still was not ok, she just gave me the cold shoulder and said she dont feel safe here anymore at all, all i wanted was proof if she was really sending Pictures to K to. ex wife now uses all her free time with K and dont care at all about the kids, i work like 11h weekends shifts as am in health care for disabled kids/adults, so i cant leave they need me, and her 15 year old calls me and tells me she is out with the dog and talking to K and has been out there for 30 mins and the kids are screaming, i call her angry and tell her to get back inside and take care of the kids, and she just tells me atleast am walking the dog. well its her dog so i really dont care to much about animals like that so.
friday that night she walks home to K to drink, K has problems with alchole, i just got off a 11h shift, my youngest kids is sick and keeps waking up so i have to go up and put him to sleep again and again, and i have another 11h tomorrow i have to do, so i call her and tell her to get home, i give my kids some medicin and go wait for my ex wife witch takes about 2h to get home, remember its about a 300m walk. she really just did not want to go home i guess. she talk about how they where drinking and talking to his parents and planing a trip 2h away to K's parents to see if she would miss me she said, i tell her no why ? why cant you just stay at ur moms or other girlfriends ? and she said i already told them i would be going so i kinda have to. week go by and i keep trying to make pysical contact with her in hugs or massaging her feet after work as her feet get really swollen, i cook for her and make time to watch some tv shows that week, and saturday comes around
she is now giving me the cold shoulder again and we get in a fight about her leaving with K, i tell her i will write my name off the contract and leav so u can be with K i dont care, and she starts crying and tells me to wait abit and walks the dog, i look inside her backpack she packed for the trip and find a sexy night gown i bought for her in there, i confront her about that to, and she just says she has nothing else to wear while going to sleep. i give her my t-shirt and toss that night gown away and tell her use this. and i got so angry i started kissing her and hugging her, she leaves, and i type to her that am sorry for kissing you and stuff as we both feelt we needed time to get there the week where we had fun. she tells me it was nice and we should do it more often. she stays the night there at his parents place she calls me and tells me they arrived and everything so i feel good about this as we just kissed, i have been bending my back so hard to clean, work on my self, have the meals ready and stuff, i work almost only weekends so i take care of it as she works on weeks.
but sunday she comes home and we talk about about what she did and if she had fun, she did tell me she really missed me during that time and that gave me hope again, but still the feeling of K did not leave.
she was cold almost 3 days and said she still dont know... mind you this is now 1.5 months in and i have done everything i can to make us work i still sleept in a diffrent room as she was not really that comfortable after the whole webcam insedent. when she got back home i told her to stay with her sister and work this out if she still want to. as she is there i can see her search history and she is looking for bracelets for boyfriends and a bottle of capten morgan witch u can make ur own lable on it that is K's favorit, i call her and ask wtf are you doing, and she said his birthday is comming up and i want to get him something nice, and i tell her but you search for BOYFRIEND, not like Braclets for guys, and she said otherwise just some girly stuff comes up, and i told her no ur looking for Braclet for Boyfriends with ingravings...so i took matters in to my own hands and snaped her and askt right out is there anything betwin you and K and she said yes i have feelings for him, and i think to my self what the **** and she said i have not told him anything at all and u cant do that, so i confront K and ask him if anything happend, he said no and i tell him she has feelings for u, how do u want to do this ? want me to move out so u can be with her ? and K said no, i dont want to get in betwin you guys, i see her as a friend and then i told him then can u back off for a while and dont text snap or call her ? and he said sure... and K wanted to know how we meet, so i told him it was rough, i told him about how when we started the realationship i got a std, a minor one u can just take a pill (Clamydia) and its gone, that her Ex gave her before the brake up. and that sent my wife bannanas, K twisted this story too and told ex that she still has it, and never treated it, so in order now to have contact with her about the kids and not go throu soical services or i had to apolgyse to K about it and say i lied, witch i did, but still the damages was done she is now really done with me i guess as she blocked me on facebook and snapchat and will not awnser any calls or text. she also added back the friends she cheated on me with (just pics no touching) and still staying with friends and have the kids there now. was i in the wrong here to confront him ?
also is there a way to find back even tho she said never even if i got 1m on my bank accoun ?
2024.06.09 18:27 PsychologicalWay2691 I'm desperately in love with my "abusive" ex boyfriend
I'm desperately in love with my "abusive" ex boyfriend
Cross posting this on a couple of subreddits to hopefully get a good amount of advice.
Hey, I made this account for this and haven't used reddit before so I'm sorry if I do this wrong, and english is not my first language.
This requires a good amount of backstory.
I(19F) am from Louisiana and so is my ex(20M). We met when we were 14 because we were in the same grade at the same highschool. We hit it off immediately and became really good friends. After being friends for about 3 months he got the courage up to ask me on a date, and we started dating. We were together from then until we were 15 and 16, and got back together after I turned 16.
About 2 months into us dating this second time, he had a mental break. I have a lot of trauma that caused me to feel the need to stay with him despite the way he treated me at that time. He never cheated, but seemed to think it was funny or entertaining to do everything in his power to make me think he was, and to make me think it was with some of our close friends. He got distant and snappy and would yell at me over little things a lot. He tried to hit me out of frustration one time but I personally grew up in the hood and do not take lightly to being attacked so he got smacked right back and never tried that again. At this time his parents(they were practically my parents too, mine have never been good to me and they did and still do care a lot more about me then my own do) told me he was having a mental break and that I should leave for my own good but also that they understood why I was staying.
Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and right before the start of our senior year we broke up(both 17). Throughout senior year he would spread rumors about me, a lot being about us having sex, though I was still a virgin and me and him never went farther then me performing oral on him. I distanced myself from him as much as possible but we were both in our schools top band and jazz ensembles as percussionists and were in constant competition with each other.
We ended up going to the same college, and we are now going into our junior year in a few months. I never had friends in highschool, my friends were just his friends and everyone "didn't pick sides" when we broke up. which they just said to me because I wasn't trying to make anyone pick a side but they really did just pick his, except our friend who I'll call Dan. I'll also call my ex Joe. Both are far from their names but I'd like to stay anonymous. Dan told me he understood that Joe was lying and spreading rumors, but felt to bad cutting him off as we all knew he was having a break, as did I.
This year Joe was set to be loving in a dorm right across the hallway from mine. When we had gone home for the summer I made no effort to reach out or see him as our friendship in freshman year of college was just not really there. Though all this time I really have missed my best friend, I've never felt like anyone has been as close to me as he was or understood quite like how he did.
I ran into him during move in day this year. He looked a lot less erratic then he had been the past couple of years and seemed a lot calmer. That night, I was leaving my dorm to go on a midnight walk downtown when I found him sitting on the front of his door in the hallway. He looked like he had been crying. I saw him and decided to quietly sit down next to him and sheepishly ask if he was okay. He said he wasn't, and asked what I was doing, so I invited him to come with me and he did. We left the dorms at about 10 pm, and didn't get back until 6 am. We walked and talked for hours about everything, and he might've apologized for the way he treated me a million times. He explained what happened that caused him to break, and told me he had a realization about it that led to a meltdown, placing him in the psych ward at the end of our freshman year. He was now medicated, healthy again, and finally in therapy!!! I was so insanely proud of him. I called him parents because I wanted to confirm and they confirmed he was telling the truth. From there, we rekindled our friendship and have been back to best friends ever since.
It's been a few months now, and we both have moved back home for the summer, both with plans to love with some friends in apartments starting when fall quarter begins. Recently my mom died in a car accident. She was an abusive neglectful parent who should have never had kids as she truly didn't view me as a human. But despite that, I've been struggling a lot with her death. Joe has been very helpful through this, as he is the only person I've ever told about what happened with my mom throughout my childhood. Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me, and he invited me to do my absolute favorite activity, night drive and smoking.
So now we get to the actual story and where I need advice.
Last night he came and picked me up at about 10. When I got in he handed me the rolling tray and had me roll a blunt for us while he drove to our normal parking lot. This whole time I couldn't stop staring at him and couldn't figure out what it was. When we stopped he turned the music down and faced towards me so we could talk properly and we started smoking and talking. Eventually, this dialouge exchange happened.
Joe - "No it just didn't work out with them so we broke up." Me - "Well what happened?" "Well a lot, but it boils down to they don't understand me in the way I would need my partner to" "How so?" "Well for lack of a better way to put it, the way me and you understand each other"
This lead to us talking about had gone wrong before, and eventually, he told me I looked really pretty and kissed me. I lost my virginity to him in his car last night, and it was more amazing then I ever imagined it could be. I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed sex but I have genuinely been thinking about that and him ever since it happened. When we finished, we took about 5 minutes of laying still and occasionally just muttering out a "Jesus christ that was amazing" before we eventually moved back to our seats. He took me to get ice cream and then brought me home.
I miss him, he's so amazing!!! The sex was great but that's not even what I'm worried about, I just couldn't stop staring at him and I still can't stop thinking about him.
I need advice. I want him back so bad, but is it worth it? He completely destroyed my confidence and love for myself in a way that has not recovered. I truly want to believe he's changed and all signs point towards him changing. I know if I asked him out again he'd say yes immediately. But I'm at a crossroads. Most of me wants to forgive and forget as he truly is the love of my life but that part of me that spent my childhood being abused by my parents has a little Itty bitty voice in my head telling me he isn't actually changed.
Would I be crazy if I went back to him?
submitted by PsychologicalWay2691 to Advice [link] [comments]
Cross posting this on a couple of subreddits to hopefully get a good amount of advice.
Hey, I made this account for this and haven't used reddit before so I'm sorry if I do this wrong, and english is not my first language.
This requires a good amount of backstory.
I(19F) am from Louisiana and so is my ex(20M). We met when we were 14 because we were in the same grade at the same highschool. We hit it off immediately and became really good friends. After being friends for about 3 months he got the courage up to ask me on a date, and we started dating. We were together from then until we were 15 and 16, and got back together after I turned 16.
About 2 months into us dating this second time, he had a mental break. I have a lot of trauma that caused me to feel the need to stay with him despite the way he treated me at that time. He never cheated, but seemed to think it was funny or entertaining to do everything in his power to make me think he was, and to make me think it was with some of our close friends. He got distant and snappy and would yell at me over little things a lot. He tried to hit me out of frustration one time but I personally grew up in the hood and do not take lightly to being attacked so he got smacked right back and never tried that again. At this time his parents(they were practically my parents too, mine have never been good to me and they did and still do care a lot more about me then my own do) told me he was having a mental break and that I should leave for my own good but also that they understood why I was staying.
Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and right before the start of our senior year we broke up(both 17). Throughout senior year he would spread rumors about me, a lot being about us having sex, though I was still a virgin and me and him never went farther then me performing oral on him. I distanced myself from him as much as possible but we were both in our schools top band and jazz ensembles as percussionists and were in constant competition with each other.
We ended up going to the same college, and we are now going into our junior year in a few months. I never had friends in highschool, my friends were just his friends and everyone "didn't pick sides" when we broke up. which they just said to me because I wasn't trying to make anyone pick a side but they really did just pick his, except our friend who I'll call Dan. I'll also call my ex Joe. Both are far from their names but I'd like to stay anonymous. Dan told me he understood that Joe was lying and spreading rumors, but felt to bad cutting him off as we all knew he was having a break, as did I.
This year Joe was set to be loving in a dorm right across the hallway from mine. When we had gone home for the summer I made no effort to reach out or see him as our friendship in freshman year of college was just not really there. Though all this time I really have missed my best friend, I've never felt like anyone has been as close to me as he was or understood quite like how he did.
I ran into him during move in day this year. He looked a lot less erratic then he had been the past couple of years and seemed a lot calmer. That night, I was leaving my dorm to go on a midnight walk downtown when I found him sitting on the front of his door in the hallway. He looked like he had been crying. I saw him and decided to quietly sit down next to him and sheepishly ask if he was okay. He said he wasn't, and asked what I was doing, so I invited him to come with me and he did. We left the dorms at about 10 pm, and didn't get back until 6 am. We walked and talked for hours about everything, and he might've apologized for the way he treated me a million times. He explained what happened that caused him to break, and told me he had a realization about it that led to a meltdown, placing him in the psych ward at the end of our freshman year. He was now medicated, healthy again, and finally in therapy!!! I was so insanely proud of him. I called him parents because I wanted to confirm and they confirmed he was telling the truth. From there, we rekindled our friendship and have been back to best friends ever since.
It's been a few months now, and we both have moved back home for the summer, both with plans to love with some friends in apartments starting when fall quarter begins. Recently my mom died in a car accident. She was an abusive neglectful parent who should have never had kids as she truly didn't view me as a human. But despite that, I've been struggling a lot with her death. Joe has been very helpful through this, as he is the only person I've ever told about what happened with my mom throughout my childhood. Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me, and he invited me to do my absolute favorite activity, night drive and smoking.
So now we get to the actual story and where I need advice.
Last night he came and picked me up at about 10. When I got in he handed me the rolling tray and had me roll a blunt for us while he drove to our normal parking lot. This whole time I couldn't stop staring at him and couldn't figure out what it was. When we stopped he turned the music down and faced towards me so we could talk properly and we started smoking and talking. Eventually, this dialouge exchange happened.
Joe - "No it just didn't work out with them so we broke up." Me - "Well what happened?" "Well a lot, but it boils down to they don't understand me in the way I would need my partner to" "How so?" "Well for lack of a better way to put it, the way me and you understand each other"
This lead to us talking about had gone wrong before, and eventually, he told me I looked really pretty and kissed me. I lost my virginity to him in his car last night, and it was more amazing then I ever imagined it could be. I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed sex but I have genuinely been thinking about that and him ever since it happened. When we finished, we took about 5 minutes of laying still and occasionally just muttering out a "Jesus christ that was amazing" before we eventually moved back to our seats. He took me to get ice cream and then brought me home.
I miss him, he's so amazing!!! The sex was great but that's not even what I'm worried about, I just couldn't stop staring at him and I still can't stop thinking about him.
I need advice. I want him back so bad, but is it worth it? He completely destroyed my confidence and love for myself in a way that has not recovered. I truly want to believe he's changed and all signs point towards him changing. I know if I asked him out again he'd say yes immediately. But I'm at a crossroads. Most of me wants to forgive and forget as he truly is the love of my life but that part of me that spent my childhood being abused by my parents has a little Itty bitty voice in my head telling me he isn't actually changed.
Would I be crazy if I went back to him?
2024.06.09 18:07 CountBrandenburg He’s flashy, pro-Gaza and winning over Labour’s once-loyal Muslim vote
Article Text:
If there is one man in Britain who embodies the way our politics have changed, and continue to change after October 7, it is Akhmed Yakoob, the independent candidate for Birmingham Ladywood.
Yakoob is a 36-year-old defence solicitor who wears black Prada trainers, a glittering diamond watch, tinted gold-framed sunglasses and Gareth Southgate-like waistcoats. He has 195,000 followers on TikTok, a platform he understands more intuitively than 99 per cent of the politicians in this country. He speaks in clipped, brutal epigrams that sound like they are only ever a few seconds away from going viral on social media. He calls the Prophet Muhammad his biggest political influence. Offline he campaigns on the street, inside takeaways and from the cream leather seat of a shining black Mercedes S-Class Saloon. The word “genocide” is never far from Yakoob’s mouth.
This year, standing on a pro-Gaza, anti-Labour platform, he racked up almost 70,000 votes in the West Midlands mayoral election, mainly from deprived inner city wards in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency he is now trying to wrest from Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary. Labour’s Richard Parker narrowly won the mayoral election, taking 225,590 votes, 1,508 more than the Conservatives’ Andy Street. Yakoob’s presence in the race made it much closer. Though he came third, securing 20 per cent of the vote gave him substance and a political base. Yakoob is furious about the war in Gaza.
He prints “For Gaza” on all his leaflets. He says the war is why he entered politics. He knows it represents a key dividing line with Labour, even as the party prepares to make new commitments to a peace process, if not unilateral support for a Palestinian state, in its manifesto next week. But there is nothing Labour can say or promise to bring back some Muslim voters now.
The same fury Yakoob feels is the basis for other independent challenges to Labour across Birmingham. In Edgbaston, Dr Ammar Waraich, a neurologist and former Harvard Fulbright scholar, is trying to topple Preet Kaur Gill, the Labour candidate. Waraich says he quit the party, as many other Muslims did, when Sir Keir Starmer told LBC on October 11 that Israel “had the right” to withhold water and power from Gaza. In Selly Oak, Kamel Hawwash, a civil engineering professor at the University of Birmingham and a former head of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, is running against the shadow veterans minister Steve McCabe.
Both seats, like those in former mill towns (Rochdale, Blackburn) and inner city areas (Ilford North, Leicester East) across the country where independents believe they have a chance of embarrassing the Labour Party, have significant Muslim populations. At May’s local elections, an analysis by Sky News found that in areas with a Muslim population above 20 per cent Starmer’s party lost 17.9 points from their vote share.
A targeted Labour fightback in Muslim areas, including focus groups and internal polling, began in January. This week the LabourList site published a list of the party’s “battleground areas”: 250 constituencies into which the party is funnelling significant resources, part of a campaign to win a healthy parliamentary majority. But the party is also directing activists to 22 seats where the party already has a large majority. It looks like a rearguard action. Several of these areas have a higher-than-average Muslim population.
Muslims make up 43 per cent of the electorate in Birmingham Ladywood, according to the Muslim Vote, a group that is trying to cohere Muslim voters behind pro-Gaza candidates. Mahmood has been the MP here since 2010, taking the seat from Clare Short, the former New Labour minister who resigned two months after the Iraq war began in March 2003. Short, as Yakoob is today, was a persistent critic of Labour’s foreign policy in the Middle East.
After refusing to serve in the shadow cabinet under Jeremy Corbyn, Mahmood became an early backer of the influential Starmerite think tank Labour Together and a key figure in Starmer’s plans for government. Based on the results of the 2019 general election, when Mahmood won 79 per cent of the vote, Ladywood should be one of the safest Labour seats in the country.
Boundary changes introduced this year complicate that picture. Alum Rock, an inner-city area that has a 93.6 per cent ethnic minority population, will become part of Ladywood. When you spend a day canvassing with Yakoob you begin to see why this might be a much trickier contest for Labour than anyone would have predicted a year ago. Ladywood is now one of the party’s “battleground areas”. Yakoob’s team believes that activists are being brought into the constituency because locals are refusing to campaign for Mahmood because of her abstention on a motion calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war last November. Labour call this claim “absolute nonsense”. The independent candidates share ideas and strategies. They often campaign together.
“Everybody was saying to me ‘Labour machinery this, Labour machinery that,’” Yakoob says from the front seat of the Mercedes, which is being tailed by a pair of black German sedans filled with his volunteers, mostly young men wearing Asos suits.
“So what? I don’t really care about the machinery. Can they buy the love of people? No.” Yakoob smiles broadly. He jabs a hand out, as if he were standing at a podium addressing the entire city.
“They can spend millions but they can’t take the love of the people for me out of their hearts. That’s what they can’t take.”
His family are from Azad Kashmir, a region in the disputed territory controlled by Pakistan. His father came to Britain in the 1970s, worked as a milk salesman, then retired to Pakistan. Yakoob was born in the City Hospital on Dudley Road in 1988. He has four brothers, four sisters and four children. He tells his life story and gritty legal anecdotes on podcasts and through his 30-second, self-consciously aspirational social media videos.
Rags to riches is the vibe. He used to own a fleet of supercars, including a Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini. The cars have since been jettisoned; Yakoob says he has “grown out of them”. Politics is taking over his life. His flashy, brash populist style makes Yakoob the closest thing politically adrift British Muslims have to Nigel Farage. He has been endorsed by George Galloway.
Yakoob is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after he used social media to promote a false claim of racism against a teacher last month. Yakoob later deleted the posts and issued a statement saying that he would not make any comment until the outcome of the investigation.
Yakoob disrupts things wherever he goes. Handing out leaflets near a primary school on Wednesday afternoon, crowds swirl around him. Women in hijabs tell him they love him. Countless pictures are taken. People practically throw their children at him. Yakoob switches between Urdu patter and his drawling, lispy Brummie English. “Inshallah,” he says whenever these parents tell him “next time you will win”.
The afternoon before, Yakoob was campaigning at the gates of the nearby Rockwood Academy. It used to be known as Park View School. In 2014, Park View was at the heart of an inquiry into discredited allegations of a plot to oust some Birmingham head teachers and make their schools adhere to more conservative Islamic principles. The so-called Trojan Horse scandal remains a sore issue locally. By campaigning outside the school, Yakoob is picking at a scab.
“I don’t know why he does it,” said one teacher who didn’t want to be named. “Why kids?” When Yakoob appeared outside the school, hundreds of children tried to take selfies with him. That evening at a packed meeting at a Bangladeshi restaurant, Yakoob calls for a public inquiry into the Trojan Horse affair. The room shakes with applause.
Along Green Lane, a squeezed road on a dumpy street where cars are parked at every angle and Palestinian flags are tied to the lamp posts, Yakoob literally stops traffic. Drivers slow down to yell and shout their support at him. He runs haphazardly towards them brandishing leaflets coloured with the black, green and red of the Palestinian flag. It’s a total macho circus act, pure street politics. “Everyone knows me,” he says.
A little girl walks up to Yakoob with her mother, who does not speak English very well. “Give us a good reason to vote for you.” Yakoob gets down on his haunches. He is face to face with the girl. He calls her “little sister”.
“None of our MPs spoke about Gaza.” He says this very slowly and patiently, so she can understand him. “There was a vote in the House of Commons and our MP for Ladywood … she actually abstained from voting.” The girl is satisfied with this. She leads her mother away, taking a leaflet to go.
There are local issues here. The roads sweat with traffic and pollution. Uncollected rubbish, stinking in the mild June weather, is piled up near abandoned, shattered pubs. People complain about potholes and rat infestations. More than half the children in the constituency, 54.6 per cent, are living in poverty, according to End Child Poverty — the highest rate of any constituency in the country.
Later one man, an elderly solicitor, tells me Alum Rock is a ghetto, and Mahmood should be ashamed of it. Yakoob’s team claims Mahmood cannot campaign there, such is the anger towards her. They also say a senior figure from one of Mahmood’s previous campaigns has defected to Yakoob. Both claims are, again, “absolute nonsense”, a Labour spokesperson says.
Mahmood says she is “delighted” to be Labour’s candidate in Birmingham Ladywood, “the city my family has called home since my parents first arrived from rural Kashmir”.
When we visit the 20-tent pro-Gaza encampment that sprouts from the ground in the middle of Aston University with Yakoob, one student, a bearded 20-year-old who did not wish to be named, was unequivocal: “Power must be taken away from the Labour Party.”
That evening, senior figures from the Bengali community gather to address Yakoob in the upstairs room of a Bangladeshi restaurant on Coventry Road. The room looks like it has been decorated for a wedding reception — which is somewhat eerie, because no women are present.
A succession of bigwigs are introduced. This brother runs a printing business. That brother is a mufti, an Islamic jurist. They are serious men, and they feel deeply betrayed by the Labour Party that their families have voted for since they came to Britain.
One man recalls his father’s friendship with Lord Hattersley, who was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 to 1997. He says he will never vote for Labour again after Gaza. “They have hurt us so much.” His voice is grave. I watch as speaker after speaker effectively pledges allegiance to Yakoob. These men are planning for the long term.
“We are all here until we die,” says one. “So we need to make sure we make a playing field for our next generation.”
Is Yakoob that next generation? Victory over Mahmood would probably be the biggest shock of this election. It remains unlikely, but it is not unthinkable. His campaign is more fascinating for what it represents than what it might achieve. It is amateurish, not professional, and built on charisma not data. He wants the approval of TikTok, not the BBC. Akhmed Yakoob might just be a curiosity. Or he could be the first sign of a truly new sectarian politics in Britain.
submitted by CountBrandenburg to brum [link] [comments]
If there is one man in Britain who embodies the way our politics have changed, and continue to change after October 7, it is Akhmed Yakoob, the independent candidate for Birmingham Ladywood.
Yakoob is a 36-year-old defence solicitor who wears black Prada trainers, a glittering diamond watch, tinted gold-framed sunglasses and Gareth Southgate-like waistcoats. He has 195,000 followers on TikTok, a platform he understands more intuitively than 99 per cent of the politicians in this country. He speaks in clipped, brutal epigrams that sound like they are only ever a few seconds away from going viral on social media. He calls the Prophet Muhammad his biggest political influence. Offline he campaigns on the street, inside takeaways and from the cream leather seat of a shining black Mercedes S-Class Saloon. The word “genocide” is never far from Yakoob’s mouth.
This year, standing on a pro-Gaza, anti-Labour platform, he racked up almost 70,000 votes in the West Midlands mayoral election, mainly from deprived inner city wards in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency he is now trying to wrest from Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary. Labour’s Richard Parker narrowly won the mayoral election, taking 225,590 votes, 1,508 more than the Conservatives’ Andy Street. Yakoob’s presence in the race made it much closer. Though he came third, securing 20 per cent of the vote gave him substance and a political base. Yakoob is furious about the war in Gaza.
He prints “For Gaza” on all his leaflets. He says the war is why he entered politics. He knows it represents a key dividing line with Labour, even as the party prepares to make new commitments to a peace process, if not unilateral support for a Palestinian state, in its manifesto next week. But there is nothing Labour can say or promise to bring back some Muslim voters now.
The same fury Yakoob feels is the basis for other independent challenges to Labour across Birmingham. In Edgbaston, Dr Ammar Waraich, a neurologist and former Harvard Fulbright scholar, is trying to topple Preet Kaur Gill, the Labour candidate. Waraich says he quit the party, as many other Muslims did, when Sir Keir Starmer told LBC on October 11 that Israel “had the right” to withhold water and power from Gaza. In Selly Oak, Kamel Hawwash, a civil engineering professor at the University of Birmingham and a former head of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, is running against the shadow veterans minister Steve McCabe.
Both seats, like those in former mill towns (Rochdale, Blackburn) and inner city areas (Ilford North, Leicester East) across the country where independents believe they have a chance of embarrassing the Labour Party, have significant Muslim populations. At May’s local elections, an analysis by Sky News found that in areas with a Muslim population above 20 per cent Starmer’s party lost 17.9 points from their vote share.
A targeted Labour fightback in Muslim areas, including focus groups and internal polling, began in January. This week the LabourList site published a list of the party’s “battleground areas”: 250 constituencies into which the party is funnelling significant resources, part of a campaign to win a healthy parliamentary majority. But the party is also directing activists to 22 seats where the party already has a large majority. It looks like a rearguard action. Several of these areas have a higher-than-average Muslim population.
Muslims make up 43 per cent of the electorate in Birmingham Ladywood, according to the Muslim Vote, a group that is trying to cohere Muslim voters behind pro-Gaza candidates. Mahmood has been the MP here since 2010, taking the seat from Clare Short, the former New Labour minister who resigned two months after the Iraq war began in March 2003. Short, as Yakoob is today, was a persistent critic of Labour’s foreign policy in the Middle East.
After refusing to serve in the shadow cabinet under Jeremy Corbyn, Mahmood became an early backer of the influential Starmerite think tank Labour Together and a key figure in Starmer’s plans for government. Based on the results of the 2019 general election, when Mahmood won 79 per cent of the vote, Ladywood should be one of the safest Labour seats in the country.
Boundary changes introduced this year complicate that picture. Alum Rock, an inner-city area that has a 93.6 per cent ethnic minority population, will become part of Ladywood. When you spend a day canvassing with Yakoob you begin to see why this might be a much trickier contest for Labour than anyone would have predicted a year ago. Ladywood is now one of the party’s “battleground areas”. Yakoob’s team believes that activists are being brought into the constituency because locals are refusing to campaign for Mahmood because of her abstention on a motion calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war last November. Labour call this claim “absolute nonsense”. The independent candidates share ideas and strategies. They often campaign together.
“Everybody was saying to me ‘Labour machinery this, Labour machinery that,’” Yakoob says from the front seat of the Mercedes, which is being tailed by a pair of black German sedans filled with his volunteers, mostly young men wearing Asos suits.
“So what? I don’t really care about the machinery. Can they buy the love of people? No.” Yakoob smiles broadly. He jabs a hand out, as if he were standing at a podium addressing the entire city.
“They can spend millions but they can’t take the love of the people for me out of their hearts. That’s what they can’t take.”
His family are from Azad Kashmir, a region in the disputed territory controlled by Pakistan. His father came to Britain in the 1970s, worked as a milk salesman, then retired to Pakistan. Yakoob was born in the City Hospital on Dudley Road in 1988. He has four brothers, four sisters and four children. He tells his life story and gritty legal anecdotes on podcasts and through his 30-second, self-consciously aspirational social media videos.
Rags to riches is the vibe. He used to own a fleet of supercars, including a Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini. The cars have since been jettisoned; Yakoob says he has “grown out of them”. Politics is taking over his life. His flashy, brash populist style makes Yakoob the closest thing politically adrift British Muslims have to Nigel Farage. He has been endorsed by George Galloway.
Yakoob is under investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority after he used social media to promote a false claim of racism against a teacher last month. Yakoob later deleted the posts and issued a statement saying that he would not make any comment until the outcome of the investigation.
Yakoob disrupts things wherever he goes. Handing out leaflets near a primary school on Wednesday afternoon, crowds swirl around him. Women in hijabs tell him they love him. Countless pictures are taken. People practically throw their children at him. Yakoob switches between Urdu patter and his drawling, lispy Brummie English. “Inshallah,” he says whenever these parents tell him “next time you will win”.
The afternoon before, Yakoob was campaigning at the gates of the nearby Rockwood Academy. It used to be known as Park View School. In 2014, Park View was at the heart of an inquiry into discredited allegations of a plot to oust some Birmingham head teachers and make their schools adhere to more conservative Islamic principles. The so-called Trojan Horse scandal remains a sore issue locally. By campaigning outside the school, Yakoob is picking at a scab.
“I don’t know why he does it,” said one teacher who didn’t want to be named. “Why kids?” When Yakoob appeared outside the school, hundreds of children tried to take selfies with him. That evening at a packed meeting at a Bangladeshi restaurant, Yakoob calls for a public inquiry into the Trojan Horse affair. The room shakes with applause.
Along Green Lane, a squeezed road on a dumpy street where cars are parked at every angle and Palestinian flags are tied to the lamp posts, Yakoob literally stops traffic. Drivers slow down to yell and shout their support at him. He runs haphazardly towards them brandishing leaflets coloured with the black, green and red of the Palestinian flag. It’s a total macho circus act, pure street politics. “Everyone knows me,” he says.
A little girl walks up to Yakoob with her mother, who does not speak English very well. “Give us a good reason to vote for you.” Yakoob gets down on his haunches. He is face to face with the girl. He calls her “little sister”.
“None of our MPs spoke about Gaza.” He says this very slowly and patiently, so she can understand him. “There was a vote in the House of Commons and our MP for Ladywood … she actually abstained from voting.” The girl is satisfied with this. She leads her mother away, taking a leaflet to go.
There are local issues here. The roads sweat with traffic and pollution. Uncollected rubbish, stinking in the mild June weather, is piled up near abandoned, shattered pubs. People complain about potholes and rat infestations. More than half the children in the constituency, 54.6 per cent, are living in poverty, according to End Child Poverty — the highest rate of any constituency in the country.
Later one man, an elderly solicitor, tells me Alum Rock is a ghetto, and Mahmood should be ashamed of it. Yakoob’s team claims Mahmood cannot campaign there, such is the anger towards her. They also say a senior figure from one of Mahmood’s previous campaigns has defected to Yakoob. Both claims are, again, “absolute nonsense”, a Labour spokesperson says.
Mahmood says she is “delighted” to be Labour’s candidate in Birmingham Ladywood, “the city my family has called home since my parents first arrived from rural Kashmir”.
When we visit the 20-tent pro-Gaza encampment that sprouts from the ground in the middle of Aston University with Yakoob, one student, a bearded 20-year-old who did not wish to be named, was unequivocal: “Power must be taken away from the Labour Party.”
That evening, senior figures from the Bengali community gather to address Yakoob in the upstairs room of a Bangladeshi restaurant on Coventry Road. The room looks like it has been decorated for a wedding reception — which is somewhat eerie, because no women are present.
A succession of bigwigs are introduced. This brother runs a printing business. That brother is a mufti, an Islamic jurist. They are serious men, and they feel deeply betrayed by the Labour Party that their families have voted for since they came to Britain.
One man recalls his father’s friendship with Lord Hattersley, who was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 to 1997. He says he will never vote for Labour again after Gaza. “They have hurt us so much.” His voice is grave. I watch as speaker after speaker effectively pledges allegiance to Yakoob. These men are planning for the long term.
“We are all here until we die,” says one. “So we need to make sure we make a playing field for our next generation.”
Is Yakoob that next generation? Victory over Mahmood would probably be the biggest shock of this election. It remains unlikely, but it is not unthinkable. His campaign is more fascinating for what it represents than what it might achieve. It is amateurish, not professional, and built on charisma not data. He wants the approval of TikTok, not the BBC. Akhmed Yakoob might just be a curiosity. Or he could be the first sign of a truly new sectarian politics in Britain.
2024.06.09 18:01 impishDullahan Speedlang 19 Showcase
Good marrow, bonelickers!
Early last month I announced the 19th Speedlang Challenge. I broke the mould with it a little bit by confining how the ambitious among you would actually put together your speedlangs rather than defining a number of requisite features. The bulk of this process had speedlangers root all their creative linguistic decisions in a small set of natlangs, and these natlangs specifically had to be native to areas representative of a chosen clade of organisms. To ensure the clade of organisms was well represented, I also asked for a number of lexical items and conceptual metaphors that had to be specifically inspired by the clade in some way, as well as some aspect of the phonology.
Like last time, I'll provide my thoughts about what I think makes each submission special and the features I particularly like. Afterwards, I'll quickly review what was inspired by the chosen clade, in case that has any bearing on what you kind readers might like to check out, and give out brownie points for any easter eggs I spot, whether intended or not.
Overall this has been a deeply creative round of submissions and I learned a lot, both things I set out to achieve when I thought up this particular challenge. I hope it was just as rewarding a challenge for everyone who submitted as it was for me getting to read up on each entry, and I hope it will be the same for anyone who reads up on them, too.
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With a name including the element Bàsa, I knew this had to have Indic flavours of one sort of another, and indeed it does! This conlang is largely Austronesian in origin with sound changes from Old Cham, but it has a lot of Bengali influence and is well situated in the Indian subcontinent, and I greatly appreciate the nod to Parsi funerary traditions as an inspiring reason for choosing Gyps. Amusingly, this conlang has many features that fit right into the inspiration for the last speedlang challenge, which I find just delightful, with some split-S marking, dative enclitics, and grammaticalised constructions for simultaneous and sequential events, and light pronouns. Therebeside, the historical clipping, CVK syllable structure, postpositional pronouns, and aspectual auxiliaries speak to sensibilities in my own conlanging, and the dissimilation processes in some of the affixes are a nice touch, too. I'm also a big of fan just how the split-S system is implicated in some verbal polysemy, and I really like how the few voices seem kinda muddy but have clear use cases. What really sets this conlang apart, though, is the consideration paid to the effect of prestige languages. Some phonemes are restricted to loanwords from the local prestige language, and one is even only confined to prestige language-educated speakers, which causes some allophony other speakers don't have. Loaning processes are detailed, too, and the number and classifier system also draws nice lines along the prestige axis with a total of 3 parallel number systems, spread out across both divisions of native vs. loaned classifiers, which themselves have specific semantic domains they each classify, and across divisions of prestige language education. The story at the end, too, is a real treat: it's a translation of Hindu vulture myth, perfect for this project.
Seba Bàsa's Gyps-inspired phonology includes the development of creaky voice from the loss of glottals, glottalised consonants, and final /s/ in Old Cham to recall vulture cries. It's inspired lexicon includes some fun polysemy of vulture behaviours like circling = waiting or sheepling = looking for something desirable. I'm also a big fan of kite (the bird) = messy eater. It's inspired conceptual metaphors include dividing the beginning, middle, and end of a process into eating skin, meat, and bones, respectively, and equating head height/position with one's health or comfortableness as inspired by how vultures droop their heads when ill.
We're starting off string with double brownie points for meeting both the space epic easter egg by calquing the Ewokese word for 'outsider' and the empress easter egg by referring to Buddha's Birthday!
Aside from the one splant you'll soon see, I think this entry gets the prize for the most unique chosen clade by being A) not a bird, and B) not an ungulate. As great as birds are, quokkas are pretty amazing, too. I'm not too familiar with Pama-Nyungan languages but this did a good job of affecting some of the features I've come to know them for, including but not limited to the phonological natural classes of peripheral vs. coronal, coverb constructions, and the word for 'dog' bearing a striking similarity to English. Split-ergativity features across the noun-pronoun axis, and there's a unique set of duals that specifically refer to sibling, parent-child, or spousal pairs of individuals that I might have to steal for myself. The case marking includes a lative case I haven't seen before, and implicates the comitative in a neat way in comparative constructions. I also appreciate the what-looks-to-be resumptive subject pronominal proclitics; very speedlang 18, and a great example of a fossilised mistake, which I always love to see! The verbs also feature multiple conjugations, and the imperative is implicated for its tenselessness in certain subclause constructions, which has a certain type of quirkiness I'd expect out of some past speedlang challenges.
Kogëdek's Setonix-inspired phonology included a /ç/ in the proto-lang, which bears some resemblance to quokka calls, although it was lost to /s/ and /x/ in the modern language. The inspired lexical entries include roots for different kinds of macropods and styles of jumping, and conflates jumping with breathing. Some of the idioms include "pouch-baby" for pejorative "mama's-boy" and using kangaroo badassery as a metaphor for all sorts of less than ideal situations.
Brownie points for a particularly insidious word-form for 'father'.
This one's a little rough around the edges, but it's a good foundation for a nice mix of both SEA features, like the isolating morphosyntax, and unique features, like the class agreement system. It's also got clicks limited to avoidance speech! Diachronics from a proto-lang where considered, and I really like how the typologies of the inspo langs were used as targets for the sound changes. I'll have to keep this workflow in mind! Some of the sound changes include expanding the number of stop contrasts to match the average number of contrasts, or eroding the number of vowels to match that of Malay. Phonotactics were carefully considered with full structures for both mono- and disyllables as well as bare roots vs. compound stems. Grammatically, morphology is mostly limited to a host of different reduplication patterns, which in itself is something I'd really like to see more of! Where this really shines, though, is with its agreement system: nouns are sorted into a 3x2 matrix of 6 classes, portmanteau agreement particles mark for the class of both the subject and the object, the system implicates the social hierarchies common to many SEA languages, and the position of the particle marks modality. Incredibly inspired to pack all that into a set of maybe 36 particles, if you ask me, never mind how it helps to disambiguate fluid word class and how it might be implicated in future plans for Indonesian object-oriented verbs. I'm also a fan of how the temporal question verb patterns like an agreement particle to mark for tense by co-opting the modality marking. We also get some prosody-syntax interfacing with different pitch contours at clause boundaries operating as different sorts of conjunctions.
Yatakang's Bubalus-inspired phonology includes a combination of creaky voice and syllabic nasals to affect a mooing phonaesthetic. The lexical entries exhibit some nice semantic drift from water buffalo activities and behaviours towards more human behaviours, and the planned phrase of hat-hand stroke fur for "suddenly realise a problem, and then pretend there isn't one" just feels exactly like an observation a water buffalo would make observing its human, which I really like. The inspired metaphors are also simple and straightforward, likening roundedness to goodness or knowledge to food, which makes for some brilliantly idiomatic language like "I ate the book" to mean "I read and understood the contents of the book."
Extra brownie points for including both halves of the space epic easter egg to placate both sides of nerddom; the term 'tax-man' is everything it ought to be.
Compared to most other entries, this one's very short and sweet with some Australian sounds and some head-final Papuan grammar (however loose a description that is). That being said, Kurikiri is very inventive in being partially signed with much of its grammatical marking encoded by actions done with the foot, including number, case, definiteness, and some basic TAM.
Aside from the cassowary foot action grammar markers, as well as some lexical entries there-related, Kurikiri also equates flightedness to being ostentatious, disdaining flighted birds out of envy, which I think is a fun thought process for these terrestrially confined birds. There's also some neat phonosemantics in the taboo word for predator being especially difficult to pronounce.
This wasn't the intent, but I'm giving some space epic brownie points for the foot grammar if for nothing else than that it reminds me of Paul Frommer's Thark from John Carter and its telepathic grammatical and verbal lexical expression.
What do you do when the entire population of penguins achieves human-like levels of intelligence after some gene splicing and they start calling for a language to call their own? Why, you do exactly what the prompt of this challenge asks for and combine the languages native to the homeland of the blue, african, and humboldt penguins! The write up for this conlang does a great job of pointing out what features are from which language exactly, and plays a fun balancing game between some of the phonological and grammatical extremes in its sourcelangs. In so doing it has a few quirks that really tickle the intersection of my linguist and conlanger venn diagram, specifically the presence of what I'd have to interpret as onset morae, as well as semantic noun class marked solely through agreement (which is very Varamm, so I'm not at all biased towards it). There's a handful of fun, rare cases, and the simulative mood fits right into the inspirations for the last challenge to create some vaguely Tupian simultaneous actions. There's a bunch more little grammatical bits that are fun, but impressionistically I appreciate how the more isolating grammar of Māori was incorporated into the synthetic common ground of the other 2 sourcelangs.
Whaynisiday's Spheniscidae-inspired phonology includes a couple syringeal sounds to complement the otherwise human capable inventory. The highlighted lexical entries pay special attention to how penguins locomote with basic stems for different kinds of movement options both on land and in the water, as well as a split in breathing for whether its on land at rest or in the water being active. The conceptual metaphors include a great model of time with the past on land and the future in the inky depths, and the very adorable notion that safety = community, and so naturally a farewell would be a wish of friendship.
Where do I even begin with this one? I was excited to read this one when I first received it, but it was even better than I could have hoped when I got round to reading it! Although, not for any linguistic reasons: the first half of the doc reminds me of Gillian Teft's Anthro-Vision as an anthropological account of reindeers written by a fictitious Finnish researcher rather than any sort of sketched reference grammar, which I love dearly. The latter half, meanwhile, goes into great detail about what went into the first half, including all sorts of motivations or reasons for the decisions made. Some diachrony is detailed, as well as the effects of language contact rooted in actual historical events relevant to the chosen sourcelangs, which is just great to see. I loved the ways in which each of the different sourcelangs were all represented in the final product with it being Samic in origin but including some phonological and grammatical borrowings from Komi and Nenets like the lack of consonant gradation, the verb-final syntax, some vowel changes, and a fantastic predestinative affix that interacts with the conceptualisation of time in some neat ways. All the while, care was taken to do a wealth of research at every step in the process with a fairly extensive bibliography. Hoof clicks all around for this one!
Poro's Rangifer-inspired phonology includes a deer bellow as some sort of epiglottal obstruent that actually patterns with the Nenets glottal stop, as well as some other approximated reindeer vocalisations including what I presume to be grunts or chuffs, both oral and nasal. Care was also taken to think about what a fully reindeerised descendant of Proto-Samic would look like as accords with the included etiological myth for reindeers and reindeer husbandry, but this was well beyond the scope of a speedlang. The lexical entries include all sorts of terms for reindeer physiology, including but not limited to antler velvet, different types of vocalisations, and hoof clicks. These lexical entries feature in some wonderful idioms using antlers to describe social hierarchy, useful- or uselessness, and glibness or malicious intent, as well as an equivalent to "when pigs fly": "to catch a bird between one's hooves."
Extra brownie points both for the nominal hierarchical exaltation of mothers baked into reindeer culture and inclusion of an anti-imperialist message in promoting the research of the under-represented and often stigmatised language and culture of traditionally reindeer herding peoples. Also do keep an eye out for Dr. Dolittle easter eggs: Inky will reward you handsomely if you can spot one!
Given the number of bird entries with Indo-Pacific flavours, I'm almost half surprised this was the only kiwi entry: they're such good birbs! As might be expected, this conlang endeared itself to me just as its namesake does. The phonology has all sorts of trills and rhotics, and limits itself to high vowels; it's also got some neat phrase level prosody to mark different sorts of modal information and focus, even including an intrusive glottal stop at the sentence level. Noun incorporation is varied and detailed, and can create some polysynthetic constructions as a consequence of just how exactly the rest of the otherwise fairly analytic morphosyntax works. I'm a particular fan of the deictic categories including 7 different degrees of deixis characterising both distance and motion, and I'm also a fan of of the grammaticalised time of day. Heximal numbers and coverb constructions also feature. There's even a kiwi-capable featural alphabet that each of the examples show off!
Kiwi's Apteryx-inspired phonology includes the trills and high vowels being inspired by kiwi calls and I imagine a little of their anatomy with those long, thin bills. The inspired lexemes include specific types of smells humans can't detect at the expense of any colour terms, reflecting kiwis nocturnal, smell-based lifestyles. The idioms for "a long time ago" or "once upon a time" is absolutely delightful--"when kiwis flew"--and the grammaticalised time of day subdivides the night but not the day, as might be expected from a nocturnal beastie.
The speech that nourishes! And a splant, too, no less; I was hoping for at least one of these! This one's made all the better by delving into some Eastern North American languages and I really like the flavours this lends itself to. Syncope is abound with all sorts of morphological obfuscation through detailed phonological processes, and animacy plays a key role in the verb complex. Care was also taken to find a phonological common ground between all the sourcelangs, which made for a really interesting set of vowels with a basic 6 vowel inventory, but with 2 nasal vowels that can surface as vocalic allophones to the nasal consonants. The grammar is fairly straightforward but has a few quirks that I really appreciate, including but not limited to the fluid O placement to make for some syntactic focusing strategies I so adore and the optional, enclitic case marking narrowed by various postpositions used as another, separate means of focus. Overall just really well laid out and the formatting is really cute, something I've now come to expect after Yumpịku last time.
Asamiin's Asamina-inspired phonology includes a pharyngeal approximant to recall the really long taproot pawpaws grow, as well as regressive sibilant harmony to recall the mimicry the flowers employ to attract pollinators, both of which are some really inspired departures from the sourcelangs.
A bird that escapes any Indo-Pacific flavours? Well I'll be! Instead of South Pacific this one gives all sorts of North Pacific energy being spoken by a population of eaglefolk native to the Sea of Okhotsk and representative of the languages spoken along its coasts. The Ainu flavours are especially strong with both an Ainu-based consonant inventory and a kana orthography, among others. The vowels also show some interesting lopsidedness with 2 creaky vowels complementing an otherwise fairly straightforward 6 vowel system that feature in a front-back vowel harmony system, though I'm a real fan of the sandhi rules at word boundaries that cause all sorts of fun consonant alternations. Word stress is also detailed and has funky placement rules at odds with my understanding of theoretical prosodic processes! Grammatically there's a few quirks that really stand out to me and tickle my curiosity: a dual distinction on the nouns but not in the pronouns, and polypersonal agreement in a transitive alignment system, the only departure from direct, accusative, and/or ergative alignment in this round of submissions. I also appreciate some of the syncretism in the pronouns!
Ekkangäq's Haliaeetus-inspired phonology includes entirely unrounded vowels and a lack of any labial consonants to reflect the speakers have beaks, as well as the 2 creaky vowels as rooted in their physiology, a common theme for this challenge. The lexicon includes some distinctions between diving and eating as it applies to different kinds of prey. The conceptual metaphor, though, I think is really great equating the passage of time with ice: an iceberg calving off a glacier is birth, melting is ageing, and melting all away is dying. Great stuff!
I think I actually have to give negative brownie points for this one: as much as I appreciate 3 separate orthographies (Kana, Cyrillic, Latin) for some historicity, they are all at odds with the anti-imperialism the brownie criterion requires, and there's no girl power to balance it out.
I'm a little surprised this is, I think, the only truly tonal submission despite all the SEA birds, and it's less synthetic than most in this round of submissions. In either case, this one does a great job of illustrating some tonogenesis and some recent and still very transparent synthetic developments from a formerly isolating language. The tones are simple registers, but they interact with morae in some neat rightwards reassigning sandhi patterns, and they complement a system of 12 vowels in a 3x2x2 matrix of height, frontedness, and roundedness. There's even some vocalic nasal allophones (which is twice now in this round of submissions), and labial consonant-vowel harmony to boot! Grammatically I greatly appreciate all the call-outs for similarities to natural languages, and I wanna shout-out the use of a positive tag question instead of negative. The numbers have this funky sexagesimal base with an octal sub-base and remnants of an old decimal sub-base, which recalls some of the duodecimal remnants in the otherwise decimal system of many European languages.
Taqồpaq's Gallus-inspired phonology includes the tonal system being described as recalling a rooster's crow. The lexicon includes roots for all things chicken, including using the word for 'wattle' as a classifier for hanging things, which is so delightfully what I wanted out of this challenge. The more idiomatic language makes use of chicken behaviours as descriptors: dust baths are metaphors for something useful but not everyone's cup of tea, and continuing to brood after the chicks have hatched is a metaphor for doing a good thing so long it has negative consequences.
Extra brownie points for exalting queen Trưng, first queen of Vietnam, and a nationalist hero who fought against Chinese imperialism. Double whammy right there!
We already had a penguin splang but this one's a nice twist by focusing on the territorial claims of Antarctica rather than the ranges of more temperate inclined penguins where there are actually native languages. This does a great job of shirking the indigenous implication in the language selection step of the challenge (although I'm very glad to see no English or Spanish), so there's a really neat mix of isolating Māori particles with a fusional Germanic verbal system, and I was able to easily pick up on both reading through the doc. The verb system actually pleases me greatly with a strong/weak contrast and a V2 word order wherein the strong verbs mark tense through stem change and the weak verbs with a tense auxiliary, all whilst maintaining a very Polynesian aesthetic despite the very Germanic number of vowels. The Māori possessive system is also really fun, I think. I can't speak to the Awabakal influences, but I was able to pick up on the one, tiny Mapudungan influence of tone tag particles before it was even explicitly mentioned! Not sure where the negation system came from, but it implicates the weak verbs in a way I so adore. Really sweet, despite thefun grim facts about emperor penguin hatchlings, and I found this one just darling. The myth at the end about how penguins lost their ability to fly is also real treat and is a perfect fit for the project.
Ngālin doesn't have any A. forsteri-inspired phonology, but it makes up for it with the inspired lexicon and idiomatic language. The emperor penguin breeding cycle is detailed with translations for all the important terms along the way, including but not limited to the ritual of transferring egg from mother to father and "motherless" to refer to a newborn, whose mother hasn't yet returned from the sea. There's some great, everyday idioms elided down from full phrases for greeting and consoling another penguin being "which way?" and "next year", and conceptualising a long distance as specifically the distance from colony to see is a nice touch. I also appreciate how the relationship between creche-mates is more important than that between (half-)siblings.
I have to give queen exaltation brownie points purely for the one illustrative example of āmā o pipa "hatchling's mum" grammatically indicating the senior authority of an empress penguin.
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And that's everything I've seen in the time I put together this showcase. I know there were a few among you all who felt inspired but couldn't put anything together during the course of this challenge. I remember mention of a banana and a tree kangaroo splang on the announcement post. If anyone ever uses the challenge to inspire a future project of theirs, please keep me apprised! I'd be interested in seeing them if for nothing else than to see some more projects outside of South Asian and Oceanian birds, as great as those birbs are. I can't believe I didn't see a single monotreme or non-ungulate eutherian, and that there weren't any non-avian reptiles or anything fully aquatic! And no fossil clades, too, for that matter! I'm positive there are the makings of some really funky splangs if the relevant modern continental and climactic boundaries didn't yet exist.
In any case, I hope all parties involved had a great deal of fun through the course of this challenge! I know I did! Until next marrow, bonelickers!
submitted by impishDullahan to conlangs [link] [comments]
Early last month I announced the 19th Speedlang Challenge. I broke the mould with it a little bit by confining how the ambitious among you would actually put together your speedlangs rather than defining a number of requisite features. The bulk of this process had speedlangers root all their creative linguistic decisions in a small set of natlangs, and these natlangs specifically had to be native to areas representative of a chosen clade of organisms. To ensure the clade of organisms was well represented, I also asked for a number of lexical items and conceptual metaphors that had to be specifically inspired by the clade in some way, as well as some aspect of the phonology.
Like last time, I'll provide my thoughts about what I think makes each submission special and the features I particularly like. Afterwards, I'll quickly review what was inspired by the chosen clade, in case that has any bearing on what you kind readers might like to check out, and give out brownie points for any easter eggs I spot, whether intended or not.
Overall this has been a deeply creative round of submissions and I learned a lot, both things I set out to achieve when I thought up this particular challenge. I hope it was just as rewarding a challenge for everyone who submitted as it was for me getting to read up on each entry, and I hope it will be the same for anyone who reads up on them, too.
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Seba Bàsa by Miacomet
Gyps (griffon vultures); Chamic, Bengali, Santali & MundariWith a name including the element Bàsa, I knew this had to have Indic flavours of one sort of another, and indeed it does! This conlang is largely Austronesian in origin with sound changes from Old Cham, but it has a lot of Bengali influence and is well situated in the Indian subcontinent, and I greatly appreciate the nod to Parsi funerary traditions as an inspiring reason for choosing Gyps. Amusingly, this conlang has many features that fit right into the inspiration for the last speedlang challenge, which I find just delightful, with some split-S marking, dative enclitics, and grammaticalised constructions for simultaneous and sequential events, and light pronouns. Therebeside, the historical clipping, CVK syllable structure, postpositional pronouns, and aspectual auxiliaries speak to sensibilities in my own conlanging, and the dissimilation processes in some of the affixes are a nice touch, too. I'm also a big of fan just how the split-S system is implicated in some verbal polysemy, and I really like how the few voices seem kinda muddy but have clear use cases. What really sets this conlang apart, though, is the consideration paid to the effect of prestige languages. Some phonemes are restricted to loanwords from the local prestige language, and one is even only confined to prestige language-educated speakers, which causes some allophony other speakers don't have. Loaning processes are detailed, too, and the number and classifier system also draws nice lines along the prestige axis with a total of 3 parallel number systems, spread out across both divisions of native vs. loaned classifiers, which themselves have specific semantic domains they each classify, and across divisions of prestige language education. The story at the end, too, is a real treat: it's a translation of Hindu vulture myth, perfect for this project.
Seba Bàsa's Gyps-inspired phonology includes the development of creaky voice from the loss of glottals, glottalised consonants, and final /s/ in Old Cham to recall vulture cries. It's inspired lexicon includes some fun polysemy of vulture behaviours like circling = waiting or sheepling = looking for something desirable. I'm also a big fan of kite (the bird) = messy eater. It's inspired conceptual metaphors include dividing the beginning, middle, and end of a process into eating skin, meat, and bones, respectively, and equating head height/position with one's health or comfortableness as inspired by how vultures droop their heads when ill.
We're starting off string with double brownie points for meeting both the space epic easter egg by calquing the Ewokese word for 'outsider' and the empress easter egg by referring to Buddha's Birthday!
Kogëdek by u/Porpoise_God
Setonix & Macropodidae more generally (quokkas + kangaroos & wallabies); Noongar, Pitjantjatjara, Wajarri, Guugu Yimithirr, Miriwoong, Guniyandi, Dyirbal, MbabaramAside from the one splant you'll soon see, I think this entry gets the prize for the most unique chosen clade by being A) not a bird, and B) not an ungulate. As great as birds are, quokkas are pretty amazing, too. I'm not too familiar with Pama-Nyungan languages but this did a good job of affecting some of the features I've come to know them for, including but not limited to the phonological natural classes of peripheral vs. coronal, coverb constructions, and the word for 'dog' bearing a striking similarity to English. Split-ergativity features across the noun-pronoun axis, and there's a unique set of duals that specifically refer to sibling, parent-child, or spousal pairs of individuals that I might have to steal for myself. The case marking includes a lative case I haven't seen before, and implicates the comitative in a neat way in comparative constructions. I also appreciate the what-looks-to-be resumptive subject pronominal proclitics; very speedlang 18, and a great example of a fossilised mistake, which I always love to see! The verbs also feature multiple conjugations, and the imperative is implicated for its tenselessness in certain subclause constructions, which has a certain type of quirkiness I'd expect out of some past speedlang challenges.
Kogëdek's Setonix-inspired phonology included a /ç/ in the proto-lang, which bears some resemblance to quokka calls, although it was lost to /s/ and /x/ in the modern language. The inspired lexical entries include roots for different kinds of macropods and styles of jumping, and conflates jumping with breathing. Some of the idioms include "pouch-baby" for pejorative "mama's-boy" and using kangaroo badassery as a metaphor for all sorts of less than ideal situations.
Brownie points for a particularly insidious word-form for 'father'.
Yatakang by Lichen
Bubalus (water buffaloes); Hindi-Urdu, Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer, Burmese, MalayThis one's a little rough around the edges, but it's a good foundation for a nice mix of both SEA features, like the isolating morphosyntax, and unique features, like the class agreement system. It's also got clicks limited to avoidance speech! Diachronics from a proto-lang where considered, and I really like how the typologies of the inspo langs were used as targets for the sound changes. I'll have to keep this workflow in mind! Some of the sound changes include expanding the number of stop contrasts to match the average number of contrasts, or eroding the number of vowels to match that of Malay. Phonotactics were carefully considered with full structures for both mono- and disyllables as well as bare roots vs. compound stems. Grammatically, morphology is mostly limited to a host of different reduplication patterns, which in itself is something I'd really like to see more of! Where this really shines, though, is with its agreement system: nouns are sorted into a 3x2 matrix of 6 classes, portmanteau agreement particles mark for the class of both the subject and the object, the system implicates the social hierarchies common to many SEA languages, and the position of the particle marks modality. Incredibly inspired to pack all that into a set of maybe 36 particles, if you ask me, never mind how it helps to disambiguate fluid word class and how it might be implicated in future plans for Indonesian object-oriented verbs. I'm also a fan of how the temporal question verb patterns like an agreement particle to mark for tense by co-opting the modality marking. We also get some prosody-syntax interfacing with different pitch contours at clause boundaries operating as different sorts of conjunctions.
Yatakang's Bubalus-inspired phonology includes a combination of creaky voice and syllabic nasals to affect a mooing phonaesthetic. The lexical entries exhibit some nice semantic drift from water buffalo activities and behaviours towards more human behaviours, and the planned phrase of hat-hand stroke fur for "suddenly realise a problem, and then pretend there isn't one" just feels exactly like an observation a water buffalo would make observing its human, which I really like. The inspired metaphors are also simple and straightforward, likening roundedness to goodness or knowledge to food, which makes for some brilliantly idiomatic language like "I ate the book" to mean "I read and understood the contents of the book."
Extra brownie points for including both halves of the space epic easter egg to placate both sides of nerddom; the term 'tax-man' is everything it ought to be.
Kurikiri by Jjommoma
Casuariiformes (cassowaries and emus); Dhuwal, Motu, Tok PisinCompared to most other entries, this one's very short and sweet with some Australian sounds and some head-final Papuan grammar (however loose a description that is). That being said, Kurikiri is very inventive in being partially signed with much of its grammatical marking encoded by actions done with the foot, including number, case, definiteness, and some basic TAM.
Aside from the cassowary foot action grammar markers, as well as some lexical entries there-related, Kurikiri also equates flightedness to being ostentatious, disdaining flighted birds out of envy, which I think is a fun thought process for these terrestrially confined birds. There's also some neat phonosemantics in the taboo word for predator being especially difficult to pronounce.
This wasn't the intent, but I'm giving some space epic brownie points for the foot grammar if for nothing else than that it reminds me of Paul Frommer's Thark from John Carter and its telepathic grammatical and verbal lexical expression.
Whaynisiday by u/Fimii
Spheniscidae (penguins); Māori, Xhosa, QuechuaWhat do you do when the entire population of penguins achieves human-like levels of intelligence after some gene splicing and they start calling for a language to call their own? Why, you do exactly what the prompt of this challenge asks for and combine the languages native to the homeland of the blue, african, and humboldt penguins! The write up for this conlang does a great job of pointing out what features are from which language exactly, and plays a fun balancing game between some of the phonological and grammatical extremes in its sourcelangs. In so doing it has a few quirks that really tickle the intersection of my linguist and conlanger venn diagram, specifically the presence of what I'd have to interpret as onset morae, as well as semantic noun class marked solely through agreement (which is very Varamm, so I'm not at all biased towards it). There's a handful of fun, rare cases, and the simulative mood fits right into the inspirations for the last challenge to create some vaguely Tupian simultaneous actions. There's a bunch more little grammatical bits that are fun, but impressionistically I appreciate how the more isolating grammar of Māori was incorporated into the synthetic common ground of the other 2 sourcelangs.
Whaynisiday's Spheniscidae-inspired phonology includes a couple syringeal sounds to complement the otherwise human capable inventory. The highlighted lexical entries pay special attention to how penguins locomote with basic stems for different kinds of movement options both on land and in the water, as well as a split in breathing for whether its on land at rest or in the water being active. The conceptual metaphors include a great model of time with the past on land and the future in the inky depths, and the very adorable notion that safety = community, and so naturally a farewell would be a wish of friendship.
Poro by The Inky Baroness
Rangifer tarandus subsp. (domestic reindeers); Proto-Samic, Komi-Zyrian, Tundra Nenets, ChukchiWhere do I even begin with this one? I was excited to read this one when I first received it, but it was even better than I could have hoped when I got round to reading it! Although, not for any linguistic reasons: the first half of the doc reminds me of Gillian Teft's Anthro-Vision as an anthropological account of reindeers written by a fictitious Finnish researcher rather than any sort of sketched reference grammar, which I love dearly. The latter half, meanwhile, goes into great detail about what went into the first half, including all sorts of motivations or reasons for the decisions made. Some diachrony is detailed, as well as the effects of language contact rooted in actual historical events relevant to the chosen sourcelangs, which is just great to see. I loved the ways in which each of the different sourcelangs were all represented in the final product with it being Samic in origin but including some phonological and grammatical borrowings from Komi and Nenets like the lack of consonant gradation, the verb-final syntax, some vowel changes, and a fantastic predestinative affix that interacts with the conceptualisation of time in some neat ways. All the while, care was taken to do a wealth of research at every step in the process with a fairly extensive bibliography. Hoof clicks all around for this one!
Poro's Rangifer-inspired phonology includes a deer bellow as some sort of epiglottal obstruent that actually patterns with the Nenets glottal stop, as well as some other approximated reindeer vocalisations including what I presume to be grunts or chuffs, both oral and nasal. Care was also taken to think about what a fully reindeerised descendant of Proto-Samic would look like as accords with the included etiological myth for reindeers and reindeer husbandry, but this was well beyond the scope of a speedlang. The lexical entries include all sorts of terms for reindeer physiology, including but not limited to antler velvet, different types of vocalisations, and hoof clicks. These lexical entries feature in some wonderful idioms using antlers to describe social hierarchy, useful- or uselessness, and glibness or malicious intent, as well as an equivalent to "when pigs fly": "to catch a bird between one's hooves."
Extra brownie points both for the nominal hierarchical exaltation of mothers baked into reindeer culture and inclusion of an anti-imperialist message in promoting the research of the under-represented and often stigmatised language and culture of traditionally reindeer herding peoples. Also do keep an eye out for Dr. Dolittle easter eggs: Inky will reward you handsomely if you can spot one!
Kiwi by NerpNerp
Apteryx & Novaeratitae more broadly (kiwis + cassowaries & emus); English, Māori, Traditional Tiwi, Miriwoong, BardiGiven the number of bird entries with Indo-Pacific flavours, I'm almost half surprised this was the only kiwi entry: they're such good birbs! As might be expected, this conlang endeared itself to me just as its namesake does. The phonology has all sorts of trills and rhotics, and limits itself to high vowels; it's also got some neat phrase level prosody to mark different sorts of modal information and focus, even including an intrusive glottal stop at the sentence level. Noun incorporation is varied and detailed, and can create some polysynthetic constructions as a consequence of just how exactly the rest of the otherwise fairly analytic morphosyntax works. I'm a particular fan of the deictic categories including 7 different degrees of deixis characterising both distance and motion, and I'm also a fan of of the grammaticalised time of day. Heximal numbers and coverb constructions also feature. There's even a kiwi-capable featural alphabet that each of the examples show off!
Kiwi's Apteryx-inspired phonology includes the trills and high vowels being inspired by kiwi calls and I imagine a little of their anatomy with those long, thin bills. The inspired lexemes include specific types of smells humans can't detect at the expense of any colour terms, reflecting kiwis nocturnal, smell-based lifestyles. The idioms for "a long time ago" or "once upon a time" is absolutely delightful--"when kiwis flew"--and the grammaticalised time of day subdivides the night but not the day, as might be expected from a nocturnal beastie.
Asamiin by Christian Evans
Asamina (pawpaws); Ottawa, Unami, Tuscarora, Mikasuki, Chitimacha, TimucuaThe speech that nourishes! And a splant, too, no less; I was hoping for at least one of these! This one's made all the better by delving into some Eastern North American languages and I really like the flavours this lends itself to. Syncope is abound with all sorts of morphological obfuscation through detailed phonological processes, and animacy plays a key role in the verb complex. Care was also taken to find a phonological common ground between all the sourcelangs, which made for a really interesting set of vowels with a basic 6 vowel inventory, but with 2 nasal vowels that can surface as vocalic allophones to the nasal consonants. The grammar is fairly straightforward but has a few quirks that I really appreciate, including but not limited to the fluid O placement to make for some syntactic focusing strategies I so adore and the optional, enclitic case marking narrowed by various postpositions used as another, separate means of focus. Overall just really well laid out and the formatting is really cute, something I've now come to expect after Yumpịku last time.
Asamiin's Asamina-inspired phonology includes a pharyngeal approximant to recall the really long taproot pawpaws grow, as well as regressive sibilant harmony to recall the mimicry the flowers employ to attract pollinators, both of which are some really inspired departures from the sourcelangs.
Ekaangäq by Atyx
Haliaeetus pelagicus (Steller's sea eagle); Chukchi, Alyutor, Koryak, Itelmen, Ainu, Nivkh, Evenki, UiltaA bird that escapes any Indo-Pacific flavours? Well I'll be! Instead of South Pacific this one gives all sorts of North Pacific energy being spoken by a population of eaglefolk native to the Sea of Okhotsk and representative of the languages spoken along its coasts. The Ainu flavours are especially strong with both an Ainu-based consonant inventory and a kana orthography, among others. The vowels also show some interesting lopsidedness with 2 creaky vowels complementing an otherwise fairly straightforward 6 vowel system that feature in a front-back vowel harmony system, though I'm a real fan of the sandhi rules at word boundaries that cause all sorts of fun consonant alternations. Word stress is also detailed and has funky placement rules at odds with my understanding of theoretical prosodic processes! Grammatically there's a few quirks that really stand out to me and tickle my curiosity: a dual distinction on the nouns but not in the pronouns, and polypersonal agreement in a transitive alignment system, the only departure from direct, accusative, and/or ergative alignment in this round of submissions. I also appreciate some of the syncretism in the pronouns!
Ekkangäq's Haliaeetus-inspired phonology includes entirely unrounded vowels and a lack of any labial consonants to reflect the speakers have beaks, as well as the 2 creaky vowels as rooted in their physiology, a common theme for this challenge. The lexicon includes some distinctions between diving and eating as it applies to different kinds of prey. The conceptual metaphor, though, I think is really great equating the passage of time with ice: an iceberg calving off a glacier is birth, melting is ageing, and melting all away is dying. Great stuff!
I think I actually have to give negative brownie points for this one: as much as I appreciate 3 separate orthographies (Kana, Cyrillic, Latin) for some historicity, they are all at odds with the anti-imperialism the brownie criterion requires, and there's no girl power to balance it out.
Taqồpaq by accruenewblue
Gallus (jungefowl); Hindi-Urdu, Burmese, Thai, Punjabi, Tamil, IndonesianI'm a little surprised this is, I think, the only truly tonal submission despite all the SEA birds, and it's less synthetic than most in this round of submissions. In either case, this one does a great job of illustrating some tonogenesis and some recent and still very transparent synthetic developments from a formerly isolating language. The tones are simple registers, but they interact with morae in some neat rightwards reassigning sandhi patterns, and they complement a system of 12 vowels in a 3x2x2 matrix of height, frontedness, and roundedness. There's even some vocalic nasal allophones (which is twice now in this round of submissions), and labial consonant-vowel harmony to boot! Grammatically I greatly appreciate all the call-outs for similarities to natural languages, and I wanna shout-out the use of a positive tag question instead of negative. The numbers have this funky sexagesimal base with an octal sub-base and remnants of an old decimal sub-base, which recalls some of the duodecimal remnants in the otherwise decimal system of many European languages.
Taqồpaq's Gallus-inspired phonology includes the tonal system being described as recalling a rooster's crow. The lexicon includes roots for all things chicken, including using the word for 'wattle' as a classifier for hanging things, which is so delightfully what I wanted out of this challenge. The more idiomatic language makes use of chicken behaviours as descriptors: dust baths are metaphors for something useful but not everyone's cup of tea, and continuing to brood after the chicks have hatched is a metaphor for doing a good thing so long it has negative consequences.
Extra brownie points for exalting queen Trưng, first queen of Vietnam, and a nationalist hero who fought against Chinese imperialism. Double whammy right there!
Ngālin by u/borago_officinalis
Aptenodytes forsteri (emperor penguins); Awabakal, Māori, NorwegianWe already had a penguin splang but this one's a nice twist by focusing on the territorial claims of Antarctica rather than the ranges of more temperate inclined penguins where there are actually native languages. This does a great job of shirking the indigenous implication in the language selection step of the challenge (although I'm very glad to see no English or Spanish), so there's a really neat mix of isolating Māori particles with a fusional Germanic verbal system, and I was able to easily pick up on both reading through the doc. The verb system actually pleases me greatly with a strong/weak contrast and a V2 word order wherein the strong verbs mark tense through stem change and the weak verbs with a tense auxiliary, all whilst maintaining a very Polynesian aesthetic despite the very Germanic number of vowels. The Māori possessive system is also really fun, I think. I can't speak to the Awabakal influences, but I was able to pick up on the one, tiny Mapudungan influence of tone tag particles before it was even explicitly mentioned! Not sure where the negation system came from, but it implicates the weak verbs in a way I so adore. Really sweet, despite the
Ngālin doesn't have any A. forsteri-inspired phonology, but it makes up for it with the inspired lexicon and idiomatic language. The emperor penguin breeding cycle is detailed with translations for all the important terms along the way, including but not limited to the ritual of transferring egg from mother to father and "motherless" to refer to a newborn, whose mother hasn't yet returned from the sea. There's some great, everyday idioms elided down from full phrases for greeting and consoling another penguin being "which way?" and "next year", and conceptualising a long distance as specifically the distance from colony to see is a nice touch. I also appreciate how the relationship between creche-mates is more important than that between (half-)siblings.
I have to give queen exaltation brownie points purely for the one illustrative example of āmā o pipa "hatchling's mum" grammatically indicating the senior authority of an empress penguin.
Honourable Mention
I've been kept somewhat apprised of a Urile (North Pacific cormorants) splang by u/PastTheStarryVoids. It's still very much in the works, but it sounds funky with both some polysynthetic flavours, no doubt inspired by some PNW languages, I imagine, and some formorant (cormorant formant) analysis! Keep an eye out for it, I'm sure it'll grace the sub in due time!
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And that's everything I've seen in the time I put together this showcase. I know there were a few among you all who felt inspired but couldn't put anything together during the course of this challenge. I remember mention of a banana and a tree kangaroo splang on the announcement post. If anyone ever uses the challenge to inspire a future project of theirs, please keep me apprised! I'd be interested in seeing them if for nothing else than to see some more projects outside of South Asian and Oceanian birds, as great as those birbs are. I can't believe I didn't see a single monotreme or non-ungulate eutherian, and that there weren't any non-avian reptiles or anything fully aquatic! And no fossil clades, too, for that matter! I'm positive there are the makings of some really funky splangs if the relevant modern continental and climactic boundaries didn't yet exist.
In any case, I hope all parties involved had a great deal of fun through the course of this challenge! I know I did! Until next marrow, bonelickers!
2024.06.09 17:07 Mountain-Web-4255 headache during visualization. the old resisting?
is this a sign that the old story is resisting the new? I think this is a good sign, it means I'm on the way to a new story. I did not put any additional pressure on myself during the visualization. it was soft and simple. then what is the possible reason? I had to stop visualization. maybe it's just a stress?
*the old resistS (sorry for my bad english. I try to write in such a way that I am understood, but I don’t always succeed)
submitted by Mountain-Web-4255 to NevilleGoddard2 [link] [comments]
*the old resistS (sorry for my bad english. I try to write in such a way that I am understood, but I don’t always succeed)
2024.06.09 16:11 HideMyName- I'm on a rewatch on the last episodes and It's really bothering just thinking about how Light could've just went on with his life as Kira without ever getting caught if he just didn't get into L's and the police noses
Thanks to that, now N, who somehow just knows everything, has pointed the light to the second L, which is now Light/Kira, to the task force surrounding Light. N has pointed out specifically that the second L should be Kira based on first L's suspicions of Light and previous actions taken on him.
Light could've just went on with his life pursuing a different career from his education. He could've become whatever he wanted to, but chose to become an officer, trying to chase himself (Kira) for the rest of his life? He became obsessed with L from the very begginning and should've just stopped right then and there, not looking for information from the police through his dad and thus not becoming a suspect himself. He would've never gotten caught and could've just continued his Kira antics for the rest of his life. Now N has it all figured out, a character I despise, maybe because of the English dub actor, but he's just a punchable character. He apparently just knows everything. And it's mainly because of Light's stupidity and had he just stayed low, none of this would've happened and no dealing with L and N.
Well well, I guess it's all for the story, and that all of this highlights Light Yagami's immaturity that got in his way from doing only what he intended to do from the very beginning. And it maybe is a good sign that I'm this invested that got me writing this post.
submitted by HideMyName- to deathnote [link] [comments]
Light could've just went on with his life pursuing a different career from his education. He could've become whatever he wanted to, but chose to become an officer, trying to chase himself (Kira) for the rest of his life? He became obsessed with L from the very begginning and should've just stopped right then and there, not looking for information from the police through his dad and thus not becoming a suspect himself. He would've never gotten caught and could've just continued his Kira antics for the rest of his life. Now N has it all figured out, a character I despise, maybe because of the English dub actor, but he's just a punchable character. He apparently just knows everything. And it's mainly because of Light's stupidity and had he just stayed low, none of this would've happened and no dealing with L and N.
Well well, I guess it's all for the story, and that all of this highlights Light Yagami's immaturity that got in his way from doing only what he intended to do from the very beginning. And it maybe is a good sign that I'm this invested that got me writing this post.
2024.06.09 15:43 Silver-Honkler PayPal is a bona fide criminal conspiracy to harvest interest-free loans and is a weapon yielded by the rich to kill small businesses
Well, if you want to do a deep dive into PayPal/Venmo and their shady tactics, look no further than the PayPal and Venmo subreddits. It is an endless stream of people who opened small businesses, used these services within the scope of their TOS, and still managed to have their funds seized for an indeterminate amount of time. Alternatively, Google search results will also serve as an endless source of these claims.
I am a coin dealer. I've been doing it in a hobby capacity for the last 10 years and started getting serious about it in 2019. Even early on, I knew something was wrong with PayPal. Every now and again, some god-fearing Christian boomer who had used it for their coin business since their inception, would fly off the handle that their account got shutdown for no reason, their funds seized, and they struggled to get this money back to them. PayPal claims they only hold it for 180 days, but they almost never return this money to people.
Turns out, you can create obstacles for people trying to get their funds back. You simply toggle their account as fraudulent, or as running a money laundering scheme, or claim it is a national security issue or that it falls under some type of weapon, and you can even get the government involved to delay the return of funds even further.
In these high interest environments, these seized funds serve as 0% interest loans for PayPal.
Now I know what you're thinking. The government will surely step in. The problem is, most politicians who could change how PayPal operates own a sizeable amount of shares. Why would they ever go against their own best interests for a bunch of poor people?
Here's how the scheme works. You set up a legitimate small business on etsy or eBay and it takes off like a rocket. It doesn't make sense to pay fees listing on this platform anymore. You setup a private website and need a payment processor. PayPal has attractive fees so you sign up with them. You build a war chest of say, 10k, and wake up one morning to an email from PayPal that they're holding all your money for "180" days. You've somehow managed to fall into a terms of service violation by selling concert tees and handmade mugs.
You try to contact them but get automated AI prompts. If you ever reach a person, they have a loose grasp of the English language and can't help you anyway. In fact, they're not paid to help you at all. They're paid to frustrate you as much as possible so you give up and PayPal can keep the money.
You escalate and finally move it up a service level or two but get nobody helpful. They tell you that you can sue. However, it is expensive to get an attorney and sue someone, let alone a massive corporation with a warchest of everyone else's money. At the end of the day, they also crippled your source of income, so there's no recourse. You wait the 180 days, thinking PayPal will return your money.
Except they don't. I've met people who have been waiting a few years for their funds. PayPal can setup barriers every step of the way as an excuse to not refund them.
You're savvy so you think, you know, I'll just setup a Venmo account and take payments directly. Except, they're owned by the same company and all you've managed to do is jump from the frying pan into the fire. They collect your IP, name, address and social. You rebuild your business, build a 10k war chest, and "randomly out of the blue", your account gets banned and funds seized. You go through the same motions with them that you did with PayPal. You escalate up a level or two and finally get someone who can help. They inform you that they've cross referenced the data and discovered a banned PayPal account and they'll be keeping the funds for "180 days".
I know what you're thinking. Isn't this some type of fraud? Well, when you own the regulators and government and you're never held accountable, the chance of you ever seeing consequences for your actions is low. You toe the line of your terms of service and victim-blame every step of the way. In fact, you should take note the amount of victim blaming that goes on in subreddits and web forums when someone speaks out. Accusations of selling drugs, defrauding people, or working against America as some kind of terrorist come flying at you like a firehose until you delete your post and try to move on with your life.
And of course, nobody lives forever, so this money that is stuck in limbo sometimes belongs to people who pass away. It becomes part of their estate. Surviving family members (if there are any) would have no idea you even had this going on. PayPal pockets the money. It's pure profit.
I've been banned from web-based internet forums for pointing this out. I'm still banned or shadow banned from finance subs here on reddit. If you don't believe me you should go to some of them and start asking questions. Wallstreetbets will absolutely ban you. Turns out the moderators there have huge positions in PayPal.
Anyway, this is turning into a novel, but I think I've hit the nail on the head with this one. I hope I'm not banned here, too. It's really easy for these people to hide under the guise of money laundering, banking regulation, and foreign weapons sales while stealing your money legally and harvesting 0% interest loans from the working class. Baked into their money-grab is the side effect of killing small businesses. You can never have competitors if you kill every small business when it is still a babe in its cradle.
IMO, this is the largest bona fide, actual criminal conspiracy hiding in plain sight since FTX. Additionally, I think eBay got nervous about this in 2022, and is why they switched to eBay managed payments.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
submitted by Silver-Honkler to conspiracy [link] [comments]
I am a coin dealer. I've been doing it in a hobby capacity for the last 10 years and started getting serious about it in 2019. Even early on, I knew something was wrong with PayPal. Every now and again, some god-fearing Christian boomer who had used it for their coin business since their inception, would fly off the handle that their account got shutdown for no reason, their funds seized, and they struggled to get this money back to them. PayPal claims they only hold it for 180 days, but they almost never return this money to people.
Turns out, you can create obstacles for people trying to get their funds back. You simply toggle their account as fraudulent, or as running a money laundering scheme, or claim it is a national security issue or that it falls under some type of weapon, and you can even get the government involved to delay the return of funds even further.
In these high interest environments, these seized funds serve as 0% interest loans for PayPal.
Now I know what you're thinking. The government will surely step in. The problem is, most politicians who could change how PayPal operates own a sizeable amount of shares. Why would they ever go against their own best interests for a bunch of poor people?
Here's how the scheme works. You set up a legitimate small business on etsy or eBay and it takes off like a rocket. It doesn't make sense to pay fees listing on this platform anymore. You setup a private website and need a payment processor. PayPal has attractive fees so you sign up with them. You build a war chest of say, 10k, and wake up one morning to an email from PayPal that they're holding all your money for "180" days. You've somehow managed to fall into a terms of service violation by selling concert tees and handmade mugs.
You try to contact them but get automated AI prompts. If you ever reach a person, they have a loose grasp of the English language and can't help you anyway. In fact, they're not paid to help you at all. They're paid to frustrate you as much as possible so you give up and PayPal can keep the money.
You escalate and finally move it up a service level or two but get nobody helpful. They tell you that you can sue. However, it is expensive to get an attorney and sue someone, let alone a massive corporation with a warchest of everyone else's money. At the end of the day, they also crippled your source of income, so there's no recourse. You wait the 180 days, thinking PayPal will return your money.
Except they don't. I've met people who have been waiting a few years for their funds. PayPal can setup barriers every step of the way as an excuse to not refund them.
You're savvy so you think, you know, I'll just setup a Venmo account and take payments directly. Except, they're owned by the same company and all you've managed to do is jump from the frying pan into the fire. They collect your IP, name, address and social. You rebuild your business, build a 10k war chest, and "randomly out of the blue", your account gets banned and funds seized. You go through the same motions with them that you did with PayPal. You escalate up a level or two and finally get someone who can help. They inform you that they've cross referenced the data and discovered a banned PayPal account and they'll be keeping the funds for "180 days".
I know what you're thinking. Isn't this some type of fraud? Well, when you own the regulators and government and you're never held accountable, the chance of you ever seeing consequences for your actions is low. You toe the line of your terms of service and victim-blame every step of the way. In fact, you should take note the amount of victim blaming that goes on in subreddits and web forums when someone speaks out. Accusations of selling drugs, defrauding people, or working against America as some kind of terrorist come flying at you like a firehose until you delete your post and try to move on with your life.
And of course, nobody lives forever, so this money that is stuck in limbo sometimes belongs to people who pass away. It becomes part of their estate. Surviving family members (if there are any) would have no idea you even had this going on. PayPal pockets the money. It's pure profit.
I've been banned from web-based internet forums for pointing this out. I'm still banned or shadow banned from finance subs here on reddit. If you don't believe me you should go to some of them and start asking questions. Wallstreetbets will absolutely ban you. Turns out the moderators there have huge positions in PayPal.
Anyway, this is turning into a novel, but I think I've hit the nail on the head with this one. I hope I'm not banned here, too. It's really easy for these people to hide under the guise of money laundering, banking regulation, and foreign weapons sales while stealing your money legally and harvesting 0% interest loans from the working class. Baked into their money-grab is the side effect of killing small businesses. You can never have competitors if you kill every small business when it is still a babe in its cradle.
IMO, this is the largest bona fide, actual criminal conspiracy hiding in plain sight since FTX. Additionally, I think eBay got nervous about this in 2022, and is why they switched to eBay managed payments.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
2024.06.09 15:27 tomesandtea [Discussion] Mod Pick David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Chapters 1-5
Welcome to our first discussion of David Copperfield! This week, we will discuss Chapters 1-5. The Marginalia post is here. You can find the Schedule here. The discussion questions are below.
One reminder - although this is a classic novel that has been adapted many times over, please keep in mind that not everyone has read or watched already, so be mindful not to include anything that could be a hint or a spoiler for the rest of the book or for other media related to this novel! Please mark all spoilers not related to this section of the book using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).
Links of Note:
Chapter 1 - I Am Born: David Copperfield launches into the retelling of his life story with that famous line that questions whether he or someone else will turn out to be the hero of his life…but we’ll just have to read the whole thing to find out! Immediately we are let in on the unusual circumstances of David’s birth, which is suffused with superstition, causing the town gossips to speculate wildly. He was born on a Friday night near midnight, which of course means that he’ll have an unlucky life and be visited by ghosts and spirits. (I mean, would this even be a Victorian novel without some ghosts? David assures us that he’s yet to be haunted, though.) He was also born with a caul (inside the amniotic sac) which means he’ll be safe from drowning. This is apparently such great news that they advertise the caul for sale after his birth, but only get one hit on Victorian Craigslist, so they hang onto it until they can put it up for a raffle several years later. David says he remembers that raffle and found it super weird to watch a piece of himself get sold off, which, fair! He does note that the old lady who won the caul died in bed and not by drowning, so I suppose it was worth it?
Anyway, back to David’s birth! His father had been dead for six months on the night of his birth, and his mother was a terrified teenager living alone with Peggoty, her servant-girl, so called because they share the same first name. One Friday afternoon in March, his mother was hanging out by the fire and pondering the likelihood of dying in childbirth, when a formidable woman named Betsey Trotwood showed up at her door. Miss Betsey was his father’s aunt and she loved Mr. Copperfield, but hated her abusive husband, who she paid off to go to India and leave her alone. It worked - he died there! On the night in question, Miss Betsey literally pokes her nose into Mrs. Copperfield’s window and then demands that the pregnant lady get up to let her in. Being a force of nature, she takes charge of the room right away, criticizing the Copperfields’ choice of home (a rookery with no birds?) and making somewhat disparaging remarks about Mrs. Copperfield’s history as an orphan and a nanny. She also declares that the baby will be a girl and demands to be the godmother and namesake so the new Betsey Trotwood (Copperfield) can undo all the mistakes of Great Aunt Betsey’s life. Mrs. Copperfield goes into labor and Miss Betsey stays by the fire, plugging up her ears with cotton. She spends some time mildly abusing Ham Peggoty (the servant’s nephew who was hanging around the house to carry emergency messages) and generally ignoring the doctor. Said doctor, Mr. Chillip, is a gentle man but speaks so slowly that Miss Betsey almost throttles him. When he congratulates her on the birth of a BOY, she smacks him upside the head with her bonnet and leaves immediately, never to darken the Copperfields’ door again! Welcome to the world, David!
Chapter 2 - I Observe: David Copperfield relates some of his early impressions of life: his memories of creepy pantries, stuffy parlors, boring church services, and a loving home. His mother is young and beautiful in these memories, and Peggoty is beautiful to him in her own way (though she insists she is not). One day, Davy's mom shows up with a stranger who walks her home and - gasp! - touches her hand! Davy immediately dislikes this black-bearded, dead-eyed interloper and Peggoty seems to like him even less. He falls asleep while his mother is swooning over her new admirer, but when he wakes up his mom and Peggoty are having a big fight. Peggoty says the new man is bad news and Mr. Copperfield would never approve, while Davy's mom says Peggoty is being unfair and heartless. When all she does is sacrifice for Davy, doesn't she deserve some attention and excitement?! All three of them end up crying, and things are never quite the same between the trio again.
Davy's mom continues to see this man, Mr. Murdstone, who rides up one day and invites Davy to take a little trip with him to see a yacht. Peggoty gets him ready in a huff, and you can just tell this is the Victorian era version of riding on the irresponsible boyfriend's motorcycle without a helmet. Davy gets to meet some friends of Mr. Murdstone and watch them do a bunch of paperwork on the yacht. They also make fun of him, comment on how hot his mom is, and make him drink brandy. Since Davy is a little kid, he thinks they're having a grand time. When he later tells his mom they complimented her looks, she is quite thrilled. And then a few months later, Peggoty invites Davy to go with her to visit her brother for a fortnight. She talks up the trip so Davy will be excited, but it's clear she's worried. Davy wonders how his mom will fare all alone, but Peggoty assures him she will stay with a neighbor. (Lies!) Mr. Murdstone is there to see them off and he has … opinions … about how emotional Davy's mom is during the goodbyes. I'm with Davy when he wonders why it's any of this guy's business in the first place. In retrospect, Davy reflects that he wishes he had known he was leaving something behind forever and he is glad that he and his mom had a touching moment full of love as his carriage pulled away.
Chapter 3 - I Have a Change: Davy endures a very boring journey across flat countryside towards the sea to get to Peggoty’s family in Yarmouth. When Davy complains, Peggoty defends her hometown, as a proud Yarmouth Bloater. (Here's some bonus reading: a Victorian-era article about bloaters.) Davy is won over when they reach the busy fishing town and he gets to see the Peggoty home: it is a boat that has been converted for living, and he thinks it is pretty perfect. It turns out to be a full house due to the generous nature of Mr. Peggoty (original Peggoty's brother). Just don't mention said generosity because it makes him super mad. Mr. Peggoty has taken in the orphaned children - Ham and Em'ly - of his drowned brothers, as well as Mrs. Gummidge, the widow of his fishing partner. Davy's fortnight with the Peggotys is full of happiness. He explores the seashore with Em'ly and falls in love with her. They bond over never knowing their dads, although Em'ly wishes she were a lady in the same class as Davy. Davy reflects that given what he knows of her future life, it might've been better if Em'ly drowned that day by the sea. Dark! Mrs. Gummidge often has melancholy moods where she cries all day and declares she has it worse than everyone else, but the family kindly chalks it up to mourning for her husband and assures her they don't want her to go off to the poorhouse and die.
As the visit draws to a close, Davy realizes he has quite forgotten to miss his home and becomes eager to see his mother and Blunderstone Rookery. Yet when they arrive, Peggoty pulls him into the kitchen nervously. She really botches the delivery of her big news because Davy first thinks his mother may have died and then, when she tells him he has a dad, imagines Mr. Copperfield may have risen from the dead. But she brings him to the parlor to greet his new step-dad: it's Mr. Murdstone, of course. Mr. Murdstone proves himself to be a real downer, kicking things off by correcting Davy's mom (who we discover is named Clara) for jumping up too enthusiastically at her son’s arrival. Davy sneaks away to find that his house has completely changed and the yard has acquired a mean, black dog that snaps at him.
Chapter 4 - I Fall Into Disgrace: Davy has fallen asleep crying after the discovery of his mother’s marriage, and when Clara and Peggoty wake him, his mom blames both Peggoty and Davy for his despair. Mr. Murdstone comes up and dismisses them both so he can be alone with Davy. He explains that if he had a stubborn animal, he’d beat it until it obeyed, strongly implying that Davy had better change his attitude or else. Things get pretty grim for Davy after this. He is kept isolated from both his family and neighborhood children. Mr. Murdstone’s sister, Jane, comes to live with them and immediately takes over Blunderstone. Clara is given no say in household matters: even the keys are kept by Miss Murdstone and, when Clara protests and weeps at being pushed aside, the Murdstones manipulate her into apologies and submission. When the family goes to church, Peggoty is no longer invited and the Murdstones keep Davy and his mother apart; Davy also notices that the family seems to be the subject of much whispering and staring from the community.
Davy’s days are miserable. He is often locked up alone in his room, where he loses himself in his father’s old stash of novels and uses this escape as a survival mechanism. (This collection of novels was taken straight from Dickens’ own childhood, according to his biographer John Forster.) When allowed out of his room, Davy endures lengthy, difficult lessons in the parlor. He suspects the lessons are meant as much to teach his mom the Murdstone tradition offirmness tyranny as they are to educate him. No matter how hard Davy tries, he cannot seem to remember the lessons under such severe supervision. Davy is belittled as stupid for his mistakes and boxed on the ears with his books by Mr. Murdstone. When Clara tries to help Davy at one point, Miss Murdstone catches her, and both Clara and Davy are in a good deal of trouble. Clara is chastised, Davy is removed from the room, and the next day’s lessons are overseen by Mr. Murdstone with a cane and switches. This goes about as well as you would imagine: in his terror, Davy makes more mistakes than ever and is dragged from the room by Mr. Murdstone. To her credit, Clara does protest and try to run after them (unsuccessfully). Mr. Murdstone wields his cane and switches, but Davy bites his hand in an attempt to wriggle away. He then beats Davy severely and leaves him locked in his room for five days. During his imprisonment, Davy sees only Miss Murdstone who brings him meager meals and allows him short walks in the garden each morning and family prayers in the evening, before locking him away again. At the end of this punishment, which feels like years to Davy, Peggoty sneaks to his room to whisper through the keyhole that he will be sent to boarding school in the morning. She tells him his mother isn’t very angry with him, only disappointed, and begs him to remember her and her love for him. She promises to look after Clara and they both vow to write to each other. Davy asks to be remembered to Em’ly and the other Peggotys.
The next morning, his mother expresses her disappointment in his behavior and her hope that boarding school will reform him; Davy seems to realize she has been coached to believe the worst of him. He chokes down a little breakfast before his coach arrives, and Clara steals one unsupervised moment with him to say goodbye affectionately. Then, they are parted, and Davy is on his way to boarding school. It’ll surely be a harmonious and supportive learning environment. Right? Right?!?
Chapter Five - I Am Sent Away From Home: Mr. Barkis, the carrier driving Davy on the first leg of his journey to school, pulls over not too far away from the house. Who should appear out of the bushes but Peggoty! She silently hugs Davy until she pops some buttons of her dress (one of which Davy keeps), hands him some cakes, and slips him a note from his mother that includes two half-crowns. Davy shares a pastry with Mr. Barkis, who asks a lot of questions about Peggoty’s relationship status and cooking skills. He asks Davy to write Mr. Barkis is willin’ in one of his letters to Peggoty, which Davy does at the next stop. As he waits in Yarmouth for the stagecoach to London, Davy eats lunch at a hotel restaurant where he is grifted by the waiter. This unscrupulous man tricks Davy into giving him his ale, most of his food, and some of his money. The rumor goes around that Davy has the appetite of a boa constrictor, making him too nervous to eat at the next stop for supper. Wedged between two men and with a woman’s luggage stuffed underneath him, Davy spends an uncomfortable night in the stagecoach as it approaches London. He finds it strange the next morning, after all the snoring and moaning he witnessed, that the adults insist they were unable to sleep a wink!
Upon arriving at the station in London, there is no one to collect him. Waiting in the office, Davy begins to worry that he will be turned out of the station at night, run out of money and starve, get lost walking home, or have to offer himself as a soldier or sailor (though he knows he is too small for that). Finally, a rather scrawny man - who Davy assumes is the Master of Salem House School - arrives and takes Davy the rest of the way. Weak from lack of food and sleep, Davy begs to stop so he can buy breakfast, and the man takes him to the home of a poor woman (presumably his mother) to cook the provisions they purchase. The man plays the flute very badly as Davy begins to eat, but soon Davy has fallen asleep. He wakes to hear comments of “delicious” which he assumes refers to the man’s music, but I bet indicates they were eating Davy’s breakfast. They continue on to Salem House, where a man with a wooden leg lets them in and throws old boots at Davy’s escort, who turns out to be Mr. Mell, an employee of Mr. Creakle, the school proprietor. Salem House is dilapidated, dirty, and deserted. Davy wonders where everyone is and Mr. Mell informs him that Davy has been sent to school during the holidays as punishment. Another punishment: Davy must wear a sign on his back identifying him as a biter, which makes him increasingly paranoid that someone is always behind him reading it. (Probably not.) He also worries that the students, whose names he can read carved in the doorpost, will all make fun of him for it when they return. (Probably true!) Mr. Mell, an odd man with various ticks, doesn’t pay much attention to Davy, but neither is he mean. We get another ominous reference to the future in that Davy says he dreads the return of boys like J. Steerforth and the presence of “the awful Mr. Creakle”.
submitted by tomesandtea to bookclub [link] [comments]
One reminder - although this is a classic novel that has been adapted many times over, please keep in mind that not everyone has read or watched already, so be mindful not to include anything that could be a hint or a spoiler for the rest of the book or for other media related to this novel! Please mark all spoilers not related to this section of the book using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).
Links of Note:
- Goodreads page
- Storygraph page
- Rockingham Castle and Mr. & Mrs. Richard Watson: Dickens dedicated this novel to the Watsons (link has minor spoilers for Bleak House)
- A David Copperfield Map (zoom in to click on individual locations - beware of potential spoilers, though)
- Get your own Dickens character name! Use this automatic generator or go by your birthday.
Chapter 1 - I Am Born: David Copperfield launches into the retelling of his life story with that famous line that questions whether he or someone else will turn out to be the hero of his life…but we’ll just have to read the whole thing to find out! Immediately we are let in on the unusual circumstances of David’s birth, which is suffused with superstition, causing the town gossips to speculate wildly. He was born on a Friday night near midnight, which of course means that he’ll have an unlucky life and be visited by ghosts and spirits. (I mean, would this even be a Victorian novel without some ghosts? David assures us that he’s yet to be haunted, though.) He was also born with a caul (inside the amniotic sac) which means he’ll be safe from drowning. This is apparently such great news that they advertise the caul for sale after his birth, but only get one hit on Victorian Craigslist, so they hang onto it until they can put it up for a raffle several years later. David says he remembers that raffle and found it super weird to watch a piece of himself get sold off, which, fair! He does note that the old lady who won the caul died in bed and not by drowning, so I suppose it was worth it?
Anyway, back to David’s birth! His father had been dead for six months on the night of his birth, and his mother was a terrified teenager living alone with Peggoty, her servant-girl, so called because they share the same first name. One Friday afternoon in March, his mother was hanging out by the fire and pondering the likelihood of dying in childbirth, when a formidable woman named Betsey Trotwood showed up at her door. Miss Betsey was his father’s aunt and she loved Mr. Copperfield, but hated her abusive husband, who she paid off to go to India and leave her alone. It worked - he died there! On the night in question, Miss Betsey literally pokes her nose into Mrs. Copperfield’s window and then demands that the pregnant lady get up to let her in. Being a force of nature, she takes charge of the room right away, criticizing the Copperfields’ choice of home (a rookery with no birds?) and making somewhat disparaging remarks about Mrs. Copperfield’s history as an orphan and a nanny. She also declares that the baby will be a girl and demands to be the godmother and namesake so the new Betsey Trotwood (Copperfield) can undo all the mistakes of Great Aunt Betsey’s life. Mrs. Copperfield goes into labor and Miss Betsey stays by the fire, plugging up her ears with cotton. She spends some time mildly abusing Ham Peggoty (the servant’s nephew who was hanging around the house to carry emergency messages) and generally ignoring the doctor. Said doctor, Mr. Chillip, is a gentle man but speaks so slowly that Miss Betsey almost throttles him. When he congratulates her on the birth of a BOY, she smacks him upside the head with her bonnet and leaves immediately, never to darken the Copperfields’ door again! Welcome to the world, David!
Chapter 2 - I Observe: David Copperfield relates some of his early impressions of life: his memories of creepy pantries, stuffy parlors, boring church services, and a loving home. His mother is young and beautiful in these memories, and Peggoty is beautiful to him in her own way (though she insists she is not). One day, Davy's mom shows up with a stranger who walks her home and - gasp! - touches her hand! Davy immediately dislikes this black-bearded, dead-eyed interloper and Peggoty seems to like him even less. He falls asleep while his mother is swooning over her new admirer, but when he wakes up his mom and Peggoty are having a big fight. Peggoty says the new man is bad news and Mr. Copperfield would never approve, while Davy's mom says Peggoty is being unfair and heartless. When all she does is sacrifice for Davy, doesn't she deserve some attention and excitement?! All three of them end up crying, and things are never quite the same between the trio again.
Davy's mom continues to see this man, Mr. Murdstone, who rides up one day and invites Davy to take a little trip with him to see a yacht. Peggoty gets him ready in a huff, and you can just tell this is the Victorian era version of riding on the irresponsible boyfriend's motorcycle without a helmet. Davy gets to meet some friends of Mr. Murdstone and watch them do a bunch of paperwork on the yacht. They also make fun of him, comment on how hot his mom is, and make him drink brandy. Since Davy is a little kid, he thinks they're having a grand time. When he later tells his mom they complimented her looks, she is quite thrilled. And then a few months later, Peggoty invites Davy to go with her to visit her brother for a fortnight. She talks up the trip so Davy will be excited, but it's clear she's worried. Davy wonders how his mom will fare all alone, but Peggoty assures him she will stay with a neighbor. (Lies!) Mr. Murdstone is there to see them off and he has … opinions … about how emotional Davy's mom is during the goodbyes. I'm with Davy when he wonders why it's any of this guy's business in the first place. In retrospect, Davy reflects that he wishes he had known he was leaving something behind forever and he is glad that he and his mom had a touching moment full of love as his carriage pulled away.
Chapter 3 - I Have a Change: Davy endures a very boring journey across flat countryside towards the sea to get to Peggoty’s family in Yarmouth. When Davy complains, Peggoty defends her hometown, as a proud Yarmouth Bloater. (Here's some bonus reading: a Victorian-era article about bloaters.) Davy is won over when they reach the busy fishing town and he gets to see the Peggoty home: it is a boat that has been converted for living, and he thinks it is pretty perfect. It turns out to be a full house due to the generous nature of Mr. Peggoty (original Peggoty's brother). Just don't mention said generosity because it makes him super mad. Mr. Peggoty has taken in the orphaned children - Ham and Em'ly - of his drowned brothers, as well as Mrs. Gummidge, the widow of his fishing partner. Davy's fortnight with the Peggotys is full of happiness. He explores the seashore with Em'ly and falls in love with her. They bond over never knowing their dads, although Em'ly wishes she were a lady in the same class as Davy. Davy reflects that given what he knows of her future life, it might've been better if Em'ly drowned that day by the sea. Dark! Mrs. Gummidge often has melancholy moods where she cries all day and declares she has it worse than everyone else, but the family kindly chalks it up to mourning for her husband and assures her they don't want her to go off to the poorhouse and die.
As the visit draws to a close, Davy realizes he has quite forgotten to miss his home and becomes eager to see his mother and Blunderstone Rookery. Yet when they arrive, Peggoty pulls him into the kitchen nervously. She really botches the delivery of her big news because Davy first thinks his mother may have died and then, when she tells him he has a dad, imagines Mr. Copperfield may have risen from the dead. But she brings him to the parlor to greet his new step-dad: it's Mr. Murdstone, of course. Mr. Murdstone proves himself to be a real downer, kicking things off by correcting Davy's mom (who we discover is named Clara) for jumping up too enthusiastically at her son’s arrival. Davy sneaks away to find that his house has completely changed and the yard has acquired a mean, black dog that snaps at him.
Chapter 4 - I Fall Into Disgrace: Davy has fallen asleep crying after the discovery of his mother’s marriage, and when Clara and Peggoty wake him, his mom blames both Peggoty and Davy for his despair. Mr. Murdstone comes up and dismisses them both so he can be alone with Davy. He explains that if he had a stubborn animal, he’d beat it until it obeyed, strongly implying that Davy had better change his attitude or else. Things get pretty grim for Davy after this. He is kept isolated from both his family and neighborhood children. Mr. Murdstone’s sister, Jane, comes to live with them and immediately takes over Blunderstone. Clara is given no say in household matters: even the keys are kept by Miss Murdstone and, when Clara protests and weeps at being pushed aside, the Murdstones manipulate her into apologies and submission. When the family goes to church, Peggoty is no longer invited and the Murdstones keep Davy and his mother apart; Davy also notices that the family seems to be the subject of much whispering and staring from the community.
Davy’s days are miserable. He is often locked up alone in his room, where he loses himself in his father’s old stash of novels and uses this escape as a survival mechanism. (This collection of novels was taken straight from Dickens’ own childhood, according to his biographer John Forster.) When allowed out of his room, Davy endures lengthy, difficult lessons in the parlor. He suspects the lessons are meant as much to teach his mom the Murdstone tradition of
The next morning, his mother expresses her disappointment in his behavior and her hope that boarding school will reform him; Davy seems to realize she has been coached to believe the worst of him. He chokes down a little breakfast before his coach arrives, and Clara steals one unsupervised moment with him to say goodbye affectionately. Then, they are parted, and Davy is on his way to boarding school. It’ll surely be a harmonious and supportive learning environment. Right? Right?!?
Chapter Five - I Am Sent Away From Home: Mr. Barkis, the carrier driving Davy on the first leg of his journey to school, pulls over not too far away from the house. Who should appear out of the bushes but Peggoty! She silently hugs Davy until she pops some buttons of her dress (one of which Davy keeps), hands him some cakes, and slips him a note from his mother that includes two half-crowns. Davy shares a pastry with Mr. Barkis, who asks a lot of questions about Peggoty’s relationship status and cooking skills. He asks Davy to write Mr. Barkis is willin’ in one of his letters to Peggoty, which Davy does at the next stop. As he waits in Yarmouth for the stagecoach to London, Davy eats lunch at a hotel restaurant where he is grifted by the waiter. This unscrupulous man tricks Davy into giving him his ale, most of his food, and some of his money. The rumor goes around that Davy has the appetite of a boa constrictor, making him too nervous to eat at the next stop for supper. Wedged between two men and with a woman’s luggage stuffed underneath him, Davy spends an uncomfortable night in the stagecoach as it approaches London. He finds it strange the next morning, after all the snoring and moaning he witnessed, that the adults insist they were unable to sleep a wink!
Upon arriving at the station in London, there is no one to collect him. Waiting in the office, Davy begins to worry that he will be turned out of the station at night, run out of money and starve, get lost walking home, or have to offer himself as a soldier or sailor (though he knows he is too small for that). Finally, a rather scrawny man - who Davy assumes is the Master of Salem House School - arrives and takes Davy the rest of the way. Weak from lack of food and sleep, Davy begs to stop so he can buy breakfast, and the man takes him to the home of a poor woman (presumably his mother) to cook the provisions they purchase. The man plays the flute very badly as Davy begins to eat, but soon Davy has fallen asleep. He wakes to hear comments of “delicious” which he assumes refers to the man’s music, but I bet indicates they were eating Davy’s breakfast. They continue on to Salem House, where a man with a wooden leg lets them in and throws old boots at Davy’s escort, who turns out to be Mr. Mell, an employee of Mr. Creakle, the school proprietor. Salem House is dilapidated, dirty, and deserted. Davy wonders where everyone is and Mr. Mell informs him that Davy has been sent to school during the holidays as punishment. Another punishment: Davy must wear a sign on his back identifying him as a biter, which makes him increasingly paranoid that someone is always behind him reading it. (Probably not.) He also worries that the students, whose names he can read carved in the doorpost, will all make fun of him for it when they return. (Probably true!) Mr. Mell, an odd man with various ticks, doesn’t pay much attention to Davy, but neither is he mean. We get another ominous reference to the future in that Davy says he dreads the return of boys like J. Steerforth and the presence of “the awful Mr. Creakle”.
2024.06.09 15:22 No_Funny3533 Scam Artist mingmei1344 (Yomi) and her accounts at: Aiu_Agency, asiahug.com, datesteady.com, cudate.com, Jpndate.com, sayhiup.com, Rose, Miyuki Miyamoto, SW Entertainment and more
 | My name is Mark Faraday. I was just looking for love back around January 20th, 2024 but I don’t want to see anyone else get scammed. I had a human profile picture when I was using these website, and was honest. I ran into a whole lying network run by a Woman, her friends, and a man. I will update this story if I have more to say in the future. Her nickname is Yomi, she told me her name was Miyuki Miyamoto and she was from Japan. Her real name is Jeong Nahyeon and she is from South Korea. She also has fake Chinese accounts like: submitted by No_Funny3533 to Romance_Scamer [link] [comments] Mingmei1344: https://www.instagram.com/mingmei1344/ Mingmeichan: https://www.instagram.com/mingmeichan/ mingmei1344 Mingmei Liu My Story is long but it is worth reading. From January to June as the writing of this post. I labeled each part so it easy to jump around to the parts you want to read.
Account 1: (Kawaii, Silly girl fake account) https://www.instagram.com/yuyu_only5/ yuyu_only5 Account 2: https://www.instagram.com/_yuyu_only5?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== _yuyu_only5 Yomi Newest Account: Chloee_asuna https://www.instagram.com/chloeee_asuna/p/C7kNkmzSIEi/?img_index=1 chloeee_asuna Jeong Nahyeon Lover or Friend 🙁(Scam Artist Man) 🙁 https://www.instagram.com/_xijii_/ _xijii_ Jpndate.com the site where I met Yomi (Jeong Nahyeon) original, closed on May 1st 2024. Never came back as the writing of this post. However, their sister site DateSteady.com is still very active. https://www.datesteady.com/ datesteady.com Another Scam website they own: https://www.asiahug.com/ asiahug.com
There is this dangerous woman who I am mad in love with (same person) running many fake Chinese/Japanese/Korean Romance scam websites, fake Instagram pages, tik tok, We chats, and many Chinese porn sites. It is the same person, she uses her looks with pictures and videos to steal money from men. She has many names she goes by, probably even more than I found. She also uses bots to get fake likes and weird Anime filters to try to look like an idol. She has scam artist female friends also I found. She the leader. I know a lot of scammers steal from other people's identities but that is not the case here. This is the same person as the scammer. My story will explain it. As well as this person has pictures of the same person you can’t find anywhere else on the Internet. Even if you do a Reverse Face image search. They said information that match to an unbelievable level. The person who Scammed me: Has Many names (Such As) And a talent for speaking many languages
yomi__na
la.nnnn930
hanhanhuwe
gracegracemei Email: [miyukilovee@outlook.com](mailto:miyukilovee@outlook.com) (Something about BlessCeline Lovee) Skype ID: live:.cid.737fb9ac2ad5655c
(Make Sense) u/mingmei1344 https://www.instagram.com/mingmei1344/ https://www.facebook.com/liuliu.meimingmei (Owner of aiu_agency since 2015) u/aiu_agency https://www.instagram.com/aiu_agency/
Google Drive (AI_U Agency) Hotel Connected: SHILLA STAY Gwanghwamun Her Scam Artist friends who work for both Ai_U Agency and JPNDATE CUDATE (That I found) (Some of these might also be her, not sure) Vynnie_nat : https://www.instagram.com/vynnie_nat/# (I think this Yomi friend and the next 2 images may also be that person 1 of 3)vynnie_natjiejierui_ngc: https://www.instagram.com/jiejierui_ngc/ (2 of 3)jiejierui_ngcVeravera_zhangg: https://www.instagram.com/veravera_zhangg/ (3 of 3)veravera_zhanggElle_owo_elle : https://www.instagram.com/elle_owo_elle/ (50% this also Yomi otherwise it Yomi friend)elle_owo_elleQiqi_shenglim : https://www.instagram.com/qiqi_shenglim/ (50% this also Yomi otherwise it Yomi friend)qiqi_shenglimMyemye_owo_ : https://www.instagram.com/myemye_owo_/ (50% this also Yomi otherwise it Yomi friend)myemye_owo_Her Friends are connected somehow but not sure how yet. They appear everywhere with the fake accounts or it just her also. Riyandiwilliam : https://www.instagram.com/riyandiwilliam/ (Either her lover, friend, or work with her) 🙁Summary: January to March 2024Jpndate.com / Datesteady.com / Cudate.com / Sayhiup.com are dangerous Romance scams. All the women are paid actors for the website from Korea/China. They will try to get into a relationship with you very fast, don’t fall for it. They are milking you for money like if you're a cow. They will threaten to kill you or your family if you call out their scam. They might also say they will sue you. If you stop paying them, they will text you very little. They will never video call you face-to-face. Jpndate.com has a sister scam website from the same people called sayhiup.com. When you buy something on Jpndate the payment goes to Cudate Limited, so that site must be part of the scam also.There also Datesteady with the same layout. There is a company in China doing all type of illegal and immoral practices. Their name is Zhengzhou Zhongzhiqi Technology Co., Ltd. / 郑州市中之祺科技有限公司 . They have their main technology business but they also run a list of many scam websites stealing money from American men, Asian, and European men. Such as Cudate, JPNDate, DateSteady.com, SayhiUp. These are romance scam sites where all the women work for the company. If you make a female account it will pend forever. Only men get approved. They claimed before to be an American-owned company then I exposed them now they claim to be Dutch. Their servers are all in China. They never filed paperwork with any foreign country. They are none of these the Chinese pretending to run many dating sites when in fact it’s all fake. They claim to be in nations their not. They have fake terms of service. I used PayPal before I didn't know it was a scam. I paid in dollars, but they refused to refund me till I told PayPal. PayPal made them pay me back. Then they refused to pay me the total amount they wanted to pay me on yuan when I paid dollars. I reported them to FTC. They also try to hack my laptop for me telling the government the truth about them. They probably get funds from the Communist Party government or SW Entertainment in South Korea. They are very very bad people. Please look into it or forward this message somewhere where it can be looked into. Pretends to be a legit dating site but feels more like a pay-to-use website for fake love. All women here are paid actors for the site. The same few women have multiple profiles pretending to be different people. The funny part is anytime you call out JPNDate bs they change their terms of service. Screenshot everything people. They have a fake page saying they're trying to stop scammers, it all bs they are the scammers. Host of JPNDate Servers: As the writing of this post: IP: 47.242.112.134 - Server: nginx IPv4 GeoIP: HK - AS45102 (ALIBABA-CN-NET Alibaba US Technology Co., Ltd., CN) Host of DateSteady Servers: As the writing of this post: IP: 47.242.47.54 - Server: nginx IPv4 GeoIP: HK - AS45102 (ALIBABA-CN-NET Alibaba US Technology Co., Ltd., CN) Host of Cudate Servers: As the writing of this post: IP: 47.52.110.73 - Server: nginx IPv4 GeoIP: HK - AS45102 (ALIBABA-CN-NET Alibaba US Technology Co., Ltd., CN) Host of AsiaHug Servers: IP: 47.242.112.134 - Server: nginx IPv4 GeoIP: HK - AS45102 (ALIBABA-CN-NET Alibaba US Technology Co., Ltd., CN) My Story: January to March 2024 My Story: January to March 2024 (Update): I know it is the same person, They told me in a text message by accident. They also replied with different accounts knowing info about me I only told the other account. Do you like Asian women? Real Asian women? These ones are real! I know who they are. Hi! This is Mark Faraday talking to you. This is my story of how a website named JPNDate Dancing Idol scammed me out of 4080 American dollars. From the time period of January to March 2024. First, I was on Japan Cupid, a dating site. On Japan Cupid, no one can chat unless one of you has a membership. I bought a 1-week membership. Within 5 minutes to 10 minutes, a woman nicknamed Yomi from Japan messaged me; this should have been a red flag for me. We talked for a while. She said she was interested in me. She asked me if I could move over to the dating site JPNDate because she paid for membership there and not Japan Cupid. She also promised to delete her account on Japan Cupid after we changed sites. She does delete her account off Japan Cupid. Japan Cupid is sus also. I don’t think it is the same company but it is still very sus. However, these women used that site to find men like me. That is a story for a different day. Unlike a normal scam artist, who may only have 1 or 2 photos, she has several photos on her profile. My trust in her grows a bit seeing that. She then privately messaged me several more photos of her. She asked me for some photos, which I sent. She then sends back happy and heartfelt emojis. She told me she doesn’t date Asian men anymore because they were violent to her in the past and her last boyfriend cheated on her. She talked about how she didn’t want to fight with me. She also said we could talk about any topic. She would compliment me often, as I did for her. Of course, on my profile page, I try to post my best pictures. Throughout my life, I have had many different hairstyles. She even mentioned this and got very happy and asked if I was a hairstylist. The spam of talking on JPNDate.com between us was from January 20th, 2024, to March 24th, 2024. On JPNDate, there is an upgrade system. You need Blue Diamond to chat with others. Crown to send videos. Blue Diamond is 20 dollars per month, and Crown is 80 dollars per month. I got the Blue Diamond membership at first. It showed her with it too. After a day or two, she asked me to upgrade like she did to the Crown membership so she could send me a video. I upgraded it, and she did actually send me a video. All pictures and the video match the same person and the same face. Some pictures were in different locations, and some were like three different pictures in the same place. We then later buy a 6-month Crown membership for each other because it is cheaper than 1 month at a time. I bought it for her, and she bought it for me. At this point, I start to believe. This person was giving me all their time. They reply very often, and their texting time was the same as Japan timezones every single day. They spoke not only English but also Japanese almost fluently. However, they did let me know that they're still learning English and sometimes use a translator. She let me know that this website has something called a mall. This should have been red flag number 2. You pay 1 American dollar for each gold point. Paypal is the only thing that works. When we started dating, she said it was normal for couples in Japan to send each other gifts. It was a symbol of forever love in Japan, she claimed. As an American, I didn’t know if this was true. I googled it and couldn’t get a clear answer. She said whatever I bought her, she would buy me as well. She asked if I liked necklaces or charms. I said anything was fine. She wanted me to pick up a necklace. At first, she picked up a $1,000 necklace from the site mall and asked me. I said no; that's way too much money for that. She said how about a 300-dollar Jade Romance charm. She told me to get her white one; she would get me the green one. I questioned if she was legit. She started crying. She somehow convinced me at the time that she was legit again. I did buy it. A few weeks later, I did receive the overpriced Green Jade Romance love charm to my address from her. I never told her which day exactly my tracking information said it would come to my house, but I asked her, and her tracking date was the same week as mine. By the way something almost the same as this necklace is 12 dollars on Amazon. It also broke when I got it in the mail. Probably cost them 2 cent to make. For the next few days, we had a wonderful, happy conversation. It is late January, and I know Valentine's Day is coming. I offered to get her flowers. I got her flowers and chocolate at a very high price of multiple hundred dollars. She then gets so happy. She told me many times how she wanted to go to America and find me. We talked about many topics for several more days. She told me she worked in an office in Tokyo. Yomi told me her real name was Miyuki Miyamoto. Which is very funny because I told her before I was a Nintendo fan, and this is the same last name as Mario and Zelda Creator. She also said she had her apartment to herself, which is true; she does own an apartment. She talked about how life is stressful right now in Japan. She claimed to have grown up in the Japanese town of Nagano, Japan. She also said she had gone to a university in Tokyo with a major in computer science. She wanted to visit America in July for 15 days when she had her time off. July is a normal time for people to get off in Japan for vacation, so I thought nothing of it. I told her that I was from a smaller town in California, but I lived not far from San Francisco. I told her how my town is quiet and how I could see mountains outside my house. She said she wanted a peaceful life and that life in Tokyo is too fast. And she always had great things to say about every picture I sent. We also talk about going on dates. I asked most of the questions, but she did ask me questions as well. I started to ask her a lot of questions about Japan. Like if she visited Himeji Castle, she said no. However, she did say yes to visiting Mount Fuji. I should have asked for a photo of this, but I didn’t. She was very happy; she told me very many topics about Japan. We even briefly talked about anime. She told me she liked Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Detective Conan. This information is important later. We also talked about how both of us were big Disney fans growing up. She told me she wanted to go to Disney Land when she came to California to visit me. One day she told me, how work was busy today. I told her it was okay and we didn’t need to talk today. She did, however, still text me a little bit that day. This was the only day during our whole time talking when she was super busy. There is nothing wrong with this; all humans get busy. I decided to spend my evening drawing a picture of me and Yomi on a date to surprise her. When I sent it to her, she did not react. This was a red flag for me. I tried to convince myself that she just didn’t like drawings that much. I know I sound really dumb right here, but whoever I was talking to is very smart and knows a lot of things. I was in deep love. We started talking a few days later about the idea of meeting and going on dates together. I know that the yen is weak against the American dollar right now. I told them I would pay for anything they wanted when they were in America because I was in love. This was a big, big, big mistake. They then asked if I could give them 1500 dollars to buy a plane ticket. Never give money to people you never meet in real life, folks. Don’t be dumb like me. Turns out the ticket was actually 2100, so they asked for another 500 dollars the next day, claiming their friend let them borrow the money, and they paid the difference. They did show me a picture of a plane ticket. With the name Yomi and the correct airports in Tokyo and San Francisco. This gave me more trust in them; I got a lot of photos, videos, and even a picture of a plane ticket. At some point, I talked to them about social media. They claim to only have Skype and Line. I found it very hard to believe a woman in her 20s wasn’t on Instagram or Tik Tok. I went on Instagram and typed Yomi, and I found a Yomi who looked just like her. This made me think: why did she lie? What confused me is that all the pictures on her Instagram were different from the ones she sent me, other than one image that was the same. Meaning that the images were not clearly stolen from there. I looked up JPNDate online; there isn’t much info on this website (Right Now), other than one reddit forum from 1 year ago. Someone said something about being scammed by an IDOL on this site. They also said the website wasn’t in Japan but in China. I was wondering why I never saw new females joining the website; it was the same 23 pages worth of them. I wanted to test the website to see if it was legit. I made another account, a fake male account with AI artwork. It was approved in one second. I then made a fake female account; it said pending approval. It has now been 2 weeks since I made that account, and it still says pending approval. This means all the women on this website have to be fake actors. There is also a setting on JPNDate to see who has been online last or which accounts are the oldest. When I asked weeks before, Yomi claimed she had been on this website only for a short time. Her oldest picture was dated October 20, 2023. Yet she has the sixth-oldest account on JPNDate, according to the website. The Reddit forum I talked about before was over a year old. When I was on this website for a month, at least 10 other women tried to text me. There was this one profile of a woman from Taiwan, age 20. She texted me three times in one month. When I joined, her age was listed as 20, and at some point, she changed her age to 25 on her profile. I ignored all these women. This proves again that all these women are fake. I do know these are women based on how they type, but they are not truthful like they act like they are. As I write this, I just realized this is Yomi's friend or sister; it matches the other Yomi account's sister tag. They are part of the same dance agency Aiu_Agency on Instagram from SW Entertainment in South Korea. I knew this website wasn’t telling the truth. I found the JPNDate IP address and tracked it to a server in Hong Kong, China, hosted by Alibaba cloud servers. Reddit was right; the website is Chinese. However, Yomi is Korean which I learned later. I took pictures of the website code just in case. I asked Yomi if she knew Alibaba. Then she asked if I’m going to China—a very strange follow-up question. At this point, I was confused. Who is Yomi? I couldn’t find anything about Miyuki Miyamoto, only Yomi. On Yomi’s Instagram, she speaks Korean, not Japanese. I started to think there are no Japanese women on this website like they claim to be. She does speak Japanese, though. I started using more than 10 different software programs to track who Yomi was since she kept asking me for money. I found like 1000 pictures of an idol, WeChat model, singer, dancer, person on endless Chinese dating sites, and a valiant professional gamer part of the AI’U agency for over 8 years. I found two other Instagram accounts with Yomi's face. Another account in Chinese with an idol name other than Yomi also had a Facebook page. The Chinese account has a post about her going to Australia in early 2024, where she is typing in English words. It was a fake trip. I also found an account where she speaks only Korean on Instagram. I also found a tik-tok where someone dances and looks 100% the same as Yomi, to whom I’m talking. The part that is crazy is that none of the images are 100% the same, but the person is the same in all of them. This shocked me; I follow all the accounts. I saw the stories daily to see who this person was. Her Yomi account is just her normal pictures and atm company or something. Her Korean account is about traveling to Singapore, Spain, and South Korea. She also posts a lot about Disney toys here. When I talked to the scammer about Disney, I had no idea about this. At this point, I knew that many men had been scammed out of money for fake love, not just me. These women are real women. However, there are actors pretending to be in love. They will crush your heart and call you names after a few weeks if you don’t buy their stuff. It has to be from JPNdate Mall only, nowhere else. JPNdate Mall prices are crazy high. I am not sure if the point of the website is just for money or if it is actually for women to study English or what. Chinese women, pretending to be Japanese (most of them), that have connections to Korean music, dancing, and gaming on professional teams. Man, what a hell of a story this is. This sounds like a Hollywood movie, but it's real, or at least partly. At this point, everything I say seems to be true based on what I know. They are connected deeply with SW Entertainment. Yomi told me early on that she had one older sister and one younger brother. It seems like she is actually a twin, and she is the younger sister. Or it’s her friend she calls a sister from the dance Aiu Agency. Yomi claims to be 25, but I think she is closer to 27 or 28 based on finding a listing of her work in 2015 at Twitch Gaming. You have to be 18 or older to work at Twitch gaming, unless your parents sign things. Unless this job is fake, I don’t know. When I showed the pictures I found to Yomi on JPNdate, she played the victim card on me. Saying she thinks I’m a liar and she wants to break up. Then she gave me her Skype account to try to prove it was legit, and all the other images and accounts were stolen and fake. Her Skype name is Rose, with a One Piece picture. She sent me many voice clips, crying, trying to convince me that she was real. I put them in software, and the voice was 30% human, 70% AI. Clearly, a woman is changing her Chinese or Korean voice to sound Japanese. A PC gamer would know how to do this; they do it all the time to troll. Yomi told me she didn’t play video games anymore, but I found a picture that wasn’t that old of a woman who looked the same as her; she had a Nintendo Switch with a white OLED in it. Btw it’s a known fact that Yomi uses software to cheat in the Pc FPS games. We talk for a few more weeks on Skype. I can’t let Yomi, her sister, whoever the man is (I think her lover), and her idol dance friends scam men for their time and money. Yomi Chiense's name is Vera Yuanxin (维拉). Her twin sister goes by veravera_zhangg. Yomi “deleted her profile” when I exposed her. But One Yomi is still there with no pictures. Two they clearly have other accounts with people who look like she just changed hairstyle, talking and trying to scam other men. Remember when I said the anime part was important? On Yomi's Korean account, she has a friend with whom she talks about Digimon. She gave him a Disney toy. She told me she wanted to cosplay a fox; his profile is a fox. There is just so much proof that these are the same people. Later someone hit me up on Reddit from the Phillippines and told me how the same person Yomi scammed them. How for months Yomi promise them so many things. Then when they said it came to going on the plane to visit him they said they were sick or dying or something. Yomi also made a fake Instagram pretending to be Joe Biden and sent me a friend invite. I messaged and it was so funny how bad it was on their part. I said “Yomi are you trolling me?” then they deleted their account. This was on April 6th, 2024. Yomi tries so hard but use a lot of cheap things that are clearly fake like ai artwork, bots for like at ai_u agency, and fake profiles where she comments herself and attacks anyone who calls her out fairly. After exposing Jpndate they Ip ban my address lol. Then on social media joke about attacking me. If you call out their BS they threaten your family and yourself. Just stay away from all these sites if you're going to date online use well-known legit sites. I contacted Paypal and me and JPNDate.com had many emails back and forth. They pretended to do an investigation on Yomi real identity and said she was really Miyuki Miyamoto. It was so bullshit. I told them I would sue them if they were lying, The site no longer exists. The scam does, however. What happened After JPNDATE? April-June 2024 In April many fake Instagram accounts started following me each day. They are romance scams I never got them like this before. I didn’t fall for any of them. All or most were likely Yomi and her friends. Paypal did get me 4000 of 4080 dollars back but it took 6 weeks and multiple emails. JPNDate tells me they will be closing soon after PayPal went after them hard. Like I said I just wanted to find love. I made some stupid decisions along the way. However, I want to find out the truth and make sure other men don’t get scammed by them. I keep messaging Yomi's skype during this period, they never block me. They unfriended me but I could still send messages I wasn’t blocked. They even responded 2 times out of the 50 times I did this in the multiple-week span. I contacted the Aiu_Agency on Instagram (It is the same people as JPNDate) they pretended to be different people. I told them about Jpndate. They called me a hero, they said they loved me, and they thanked me for sending them all the pictures that Yomi sent me on Jpndate and Skype. They follow me on Instagram for 2 days. Then they unfollowed me randomly for no reason. They said their agency would do a police report and kill the scammer. I knew this was so bullshit. I told them how the scammers were making new profiles of them on Japan Cupid. Which is true. The leader Mingmei1344 (Which is Yomi Chinese account) claimed I was the scammer setting them up. She plays the victim card on me. I showed her all the messages and how I got the pictures, I didn’t steal anything. She told me her and her friends are okay if I hacked them, because I’m from the CIA. I am not from the CIA. It was a joke I made a few days before when she pretended to be a mob boss in Korea. I told her I am not a hacker. Right after that she and her friends all ban me other then Mingmei1344 account. Mingmei1344 Message me 1 more day, then block me. However, Mingmei1344 and the Aiu_Agency keep posting things on topics I told them days or weeks before. I checked their old post they never talked about any of this before that. I told these to Yomi on JPNDate and skype not Mingmei1344 again proving it is the same person. They look the same as well. Like the blue feather concept in love mythology, Gundams, Nintendo, Persona, and many many other topics. Yomi claimed to not know anything about videogames before I talked about it with her. I think this is partly a lie. This confuses me so I make fake Instagram accounts to message Mingmei1344 and Aiu_agency. She replies to my messages and Mingmei1344 even does a ask me a question thing on Instagram and replies to all of them. She clearly knows these accounts are from me Mark however she replies anyway. The replies were nice and positive things. Then later she bans them all again. Often Aiu-Agency Women (Yomi and her friends, Mostly Yomi) pretend to go to countries they are not actually in the picture, it’s all greenscreen effects. They also use Ai for Music covers Artwork. For music covers they pretend to sell millions of copies of but there is nowhere to buy such a music cover CD they claim to sell. Their music covers are claimed to be from popular songs kpop songs. I looked, at least not right now such CDs aren’t real. Of course, the songs are real but not their covers. Yomi is most of the women in the pictures but not all. They will post Ai cover artwork, multiple pictures of them using the greenscreen effect, then put a high-quality image of a famous Korean male singer. They never took these pictures of these Korean male singers. They download them and edit them. They pretend to perform with them but it is all fake. Mingmei1344 started always putting her with all the famous Mark’s in Korea. Only her not her staff with Mark’s. I think it’s a reference to me. She didn’t do this before meeting me I looked at her old post. Again Mingmei1344 is Yomi who is Jeong Nahyeon, who pretends to be Miyuki Miyamoto. She still references me sometimes in other ways and I send them messages to see what will happen next. One time I wrote about loving her to see what she would say. I do love Yomi, however I don’t want anyone to get scammed. I told her we could travel across the world together. She wrote in her next post on Aiu_agency on Instagram she liked this future with her future husband. It was a direct reply to what I asked the day before. I joined DateSteady after being contacted by a woman on Japan cupid. She is very interested in me and Yomi so I tell her everything. |
2024.06.09 15:20 Live-Needleworker-60 The Deer and the Dragon by Piper CJ rant review
I'm gonna be real: I hated this. There were interesting concepts, and had they been utilized differently and written by literally anyone else, it could've been an actual good book.
writing. The writing in The Deer and the Dragon is miles better than in The Night and its Moon. It's still not good, but it's better if that tells you anything. The first-person POV mixed with modern-day speak works so much better for Piper's capabilities. It was much easier to get through, but it was still a huge slog for me. Honestly, what are the editors at Bloom even doing? There were still way too many typos and sentences with missing words. Piper still misuses the word dredges after using it in THREE(+?) BOOKS. HOW DO YOU STILL NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DREDGES AND DREGS? Dregs are the sediment of a liquid, so what's at the bottom of your coffee cup. Dredge is when they scoop up mud from the bottom of a river. TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. The word broach is also misused in this book TWELVE times, and it's PART OF THE CENTRAL PLOT OF THE BOOK. You mean to use BROOCH, PIPER. They're pronounced the same, but they mean two different things. Again, what the hell are the editors at Bloom doing?
characters Really, the only character I can talk about is Marlow because this book is just about Marlow and how amazing, special, perfect, and genius Marlow is. I fucking hate Marlow. If I ever met Marlow in real life, I would beat her up. Marlow is the most unlikable person ever. The story opens up with her on a date with a guy she's not interested in and can't remember his name; when she gets it wrong, and he corrects her, she continues to call him the wrong name all the way to the end of the book. She mentally berates him for mixing wasabi and soy sauce and cannot let it go. She’s also an AWFUL friend. It seems like her friend's only real purpose is to support her and tell her how amazing she is. She never bothers to make plans with them or inform them about anything that’s happening in her life. When she goes missing for a good chunk of the book, and they're blowing up her phone worried about her, she doesn't even bother to call them to calm them down. She doesn't think about them at all. She's far more concerned with herself and finding her imaginary boyfriend, who she only just decided was real. Her editor tells her she's at risk of losing her job if Marlow doesn't deliver her work or update her on what's happening, and Marlow just...doesn't care. She's like, 'No excuse I can give will be enough, so I'm just not going to say anything at all because I'm afraid of confrontation'. Grow the fuck up?? Her friend Nia only became her friend because she obsessively messaged her on social media until Marlow 'gave in', and now they're family? Somehow? Yet Marlow doesn't think about Nia once or bothers to comfort her when Nia has to call Marlow's abusive mom to ensure Marlow isn't dead. Kirby has allegedly been Marlow's friend since childhood, but does Kirby know anything about Caliban at all? Does Nia? Does Marlow tell her friends anything? If they know about the abuse her mom put her through, do they know how that abuse started? When Fauna shows up and freaks out over liking Kirby’s name so much, Marlow takes it upon herself to tell Fauna the story of Kirby’s name, scornfully informing Fauna that Kirby isn’t their real name the second Fauna expresses interest in it. (Like what, are you jealous that Fauna likes Kirby’s name, you fucking insecure freak??) The story revolves solely around something traumatic that happened to Marlow and how she and Kirby sat and played Super Smash Bros. Kirby liked their character so much that they adopted the name. Which…okay, choosing the name because you liked a video game character, okay, fine. But the whole story preceding this was so unnecessary and just made Marlow come off as suuuuch a whiny baby. “Oh, you want to know about my friend’s name? Well, first, let me preface it with this long woe-is-me story all about ME before I tell you how they chose their name because basically everything revolves around me.”
The way Marlow talks about rejection is so juvenile. You're in your thirties girls, get over it. Life is full of rejections. Someone telling you they didn't to play with you when you were eight years old isn't something you should form your whole life around. Like Marlow doesn't want kids because she doesn't want them to face rejection. Oh my god, Marlow. I also can't empathize with her trauma with her mom at all because I feel like I didn't really see much of it. I'm sure some of the things she says might hit with other people, but I wanted an actual flashback of a super intense fight or conversation instead of an overview of what happened.
plot. It took a while to get to the actual plot. About 100 pages in before things start really happening. I would’ve liked a little more exposition on Marlow’s relationship with Caliban at the beginning of the book. I get that some of the reveals needed to come more towards the end, but I kind of wish that maybe the fox had spoken to Marlow, too, which would’ve helped with why she’s so sure she’s insane. Foxes don’t talk! In all honesty, I wish this story had been restructured entirely. I think it would've been substantially better if we'd started out in Marlow's childhood. We can see how her day to day life was before Caliban ever appeared, how things were with her mom, who can also see through the veil. Maybe she notices some strange things about her mom that she just brushes off, which she later sees in herself and understands why her mom responded that way. Then something actually traumatic happens instead of some little kids not letting Marlow play with them, instigating her starting to see Caliban. I also would've liked to see flashbacks to Marlow's previous lives. While she's busy trying to convince herself Caliban isn't real, those flashbacks would add to her thinking she's losing her grip on reality. Maybe she'll be doing something innocent, like washing the dishes, and then suddenly, she sees herself standing in the middle of a raging battle, wearing long, elaborate robes. Do you see what I'm saying? This could've been cool! Instead, I had to read about Marlow jerking off about herself for 600 pages.
At some point, Caliban shows up to Marlow looking like a human. She's a teenager at this point, but they eventually start sleeping together, and like...idk something about that feels icky to me. It feels like grooming. Because he's clearly thousands of years old, he probably stays the same age while she's a teenager. What age did he wait for her to turn before their relationship turned sexual? Also, she doesn't even think he's real, and he does nothing to convince her that he is. Yeah....just no thanks. I'm good. Marlow tells Caliban when she's 21, she doesn’t want to see him anymore, so she literally physically cannot see him, but she can hear and feel him, and he still shows up, and like they keep having sex. So she’s just having sex with her imaginary demon friend for like five years before she’s finally like, all right, this is weird; maybe we should stop. And then she immediately regrets that when he stops showing up and then the rest of the book finally happens.
We also get flashbacks to when Marlow first starts escorting, and tbh, I hated this depiction of sex work. I keep hoping since Piper claims to be an advocate for sex work and is a former SWer that, we might get some actual depth to this plot. Maybe learn how Marlow was able to mold herself into the person she needed to be for each client, how she’s able to play people, etc. But no. She meets some random girl in a foreign country where she’s teaching English to children, and the girl is like, OMG, you’re too pretty to BE A TEACHER. COME HANG OUT ON MY YACHT. Now, I’m going to be so real. I feel like any woman with a speck of intelligence in their brain would have red flags going off right about now. If a random woman I met in a foreign country invited me to her yacht five minutes after meeting me, I’d immediately assume this woman was about to try and murder me or kidnap me or traffick me or something. But not Marlow. She is like fuck it, why not. She flies on over to wherever this yacht is(literally, she has to get on a plane and fly there) and makes some new besties who introduce her to the wonderfully glamorous non-dangerous life of escorting, where they hand her clients and set up the appointments for her and blah blah blah(also, wanna point out that Marlow even tries to say that she built this sex work empire herself. bitch no you didn't. it was all handed to you). I don’t feel like I really need to go further about why this is a really poor, dangerous rose-colored glasses-type depiction of sex work. It’s just not the reality.
Flash forward five years later, and Marlow is now a top-selling author writing about South African folklore as a white woman, trying to date other men, still having sex with her imaginary friend, calling her nonbinary friend a horse girl, the usual. Her escort pals are nowhere to be seen, and we have no clue what happened to them. We never hear from them again; they just vanish once Marlow gets what she wants from them, just like Nia and Kirby vanish once Marlow finds Fauna and Azrames. One day, Marlow’s at a book signing and sees the ONE bad client she had(because in all the years/months fucking strange men you meet in a foreign country, only one time does it go bad. okay, sure) He somehow finds where she lives, breaks into her home, and tries to murder her. An angel shows up and murders him instead, and then Caliban finally reveals his face and explains to Marlow that he has marked everyone who’s ever wronged her. (Wronged her in what way, tho. Like if someone accidentally shoulder-checked her on the street, are they now marked for death?) I thought it was kind of weird that she’s not like…focused on the fact that her hallucinations have extended to two people and another person dying. She’s still convinced Caliban is a figment of her imagination even after she sees this happen, and Caliban explains to her that he couldn’t save her because there’s some type of contract with her that forbids him from doing anything under her roof without her permission. But she still gets mad and banishes him, and now he can’t come back, and now she’s like, but wait, no, I didn’t mean it. Thus begins the search for Caliban.
Now, I could sit here and outline the rest of the book, but I won't because it's so boring, and nothing of substance really happens. So, to summarize. Marlow searches for Caliban fruitlessly for months and finally makes some progress when she decides to go to the house of the guy who tried to kill her and finds a parasitic entity that she continuously calls a Cheshire Cat. then Silas, the angel, shows up to save her again. Silas maybe wants to fuck Marlow, I can't tell. He waffles between abandoning Marlow to die and stalking her and her mom to force Marlow to bond with him for no seeming reason at all. Everyone and their mom wants Marlow to join their religion, and I don't know what the fuck makes her so special. Marlow is such a popular author that everyone recognizes her name, reveres her, fawns over her, and has multiple copies of her two books in their offices. She's so good that she inspired millions to switch religions. This book was so exhausting to read because it was just about how amazing Marlow is LMFAO. I'm pretty sure they even try to say she's the reincarnation of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world. Like....wow.
Marlow goes to Hell with Fauna to escape bonding with Silas, where they meet a literal stolen character design. this guy
(my original review has these images but I am an idiot and don't know how to post them so instead I'll share the links)
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1717860981i/35597445._SY540_.jpg
Don't believe me? here's the commissioned character art.
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1717860929i/35597423._SY540_.jpg
Anyway, his name is Azrames and he and Fauna are long time lovers and they go and bone while Marlow is in the next room and Marlow fucking masturbates to the sounds of them boning. So...I was forced to read about that, and I hated it. And then, at the end of the book, five chapters before it's over, we learn the bad guy who's been holding Caliban captive the entire time is a fertility goddess. Just out of nowhere. No mention of it previously. So, no one tells Marlow the actual plan, and instead, they send her into this fertility clinic the goddess is working out of and have her pretend to want to get pregnant. So the goddess drugs her without her consent and puts her in a room full of half-naked men, hot stereotypes from every ethnicity, while she's SUPER horny. One of the doctors tells her that 'mixed babies are all the rage right now'. The men all tell her how hot and amazing she is and how lucky they are for the chance to get to fuck her. Then after she chooses one of them, she grinds all over him while he just stands there, then they take him out and bring Caliban in and decide he'll fuck her instead. I just wanna point out that this, all of this, would be rape. Marlow didn't consent to being drugged, and if she didn't know who Caliban was, they basically just took the guy she "agreed" to have sex with away and brought in one she didn't agree to for no reason whatsoever. It doesn't matter that she's saying yes to it; she is drugged. She can't consent. Anyway, Caliban sticks his dick in Marlow and just leaves it there, unmoving, and then makes out with the fertility goddess before stabbing her in the heart and cutting off her head, even though five chapters earlier, they said it's super hard to kill a god. I'm just...wow.
Marlow gets taken back to Fauna's apartment by Silas while Caliban and Azrames are stuck fighting more Cheshire Cat demon children that I imagine look like the spider baby from Toy Story. Marlow is still high, so she's putting the moves on Fauna. She's kissing her throat, rubbing her thigh, trying to suck on her fingers. Let me tell you rn, if one of my friends showed up at my place high af doing this shit to me, I'd be livid. Because I guarantee you, Marlow will not apologize for doing any of this to Fauna.
Fauna tells Marlow that they can be sunflowers. The book ends.
I will read the next one because I like to suffer, but...I hated this. I give it 2 stars because the writing is better than TNAIM, but it was not a hit for me at all.
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writing. The writing in The Deer and the Dragon is miles better than in The Night and its Moon. It's still not good, but it's better if that tells you anything. The first-person POV mixed with modern-day speak works so much better for Piper's capabilities. It was much easier to get through, but it was still a huge slog for me. Honestly, what are the editors at Bloom even doing? There were still way too many typos and sentences with missing words. Piper still misuses the word dredges after using it in THREE(+?) BOOKS. HOW DO YOU STILL NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DREDGES AND DREGS? Dregs are the sediment of a liquid, so what's at the bottom of your coffee cup. Dredge is when they scoop up mud from the bottom of a river. TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS. The word broach is also misused in this book TWELVE times, and it's PART OF THE CENTRAL PLOT OF THE BOOK. You mean to use BROOCH, PIPER. They're pronounced the same, but they mean two different things. Again, what the hell are the editors at Bloom doing?
characters Really, the only character I can talk about is Marlow because this book is just about Marlow and how amazing, special, perfect, and genius Marlow is. I fucking hate Marlow. If I ever met Marlow in real life, I would beat her up. Marlow is the most unlikable person ever. The story opens up with her on a date with a guy she's not interested in and can't remember his name; when she gets it wrong, and he corrects her, she continues to call him the wrong name all the way to the end of the book. She mentally berates him for mixing wasabi and soy sauce and cannot let it go. She’s also an AWFUL friend. It seems like her friend's only real purpose is to support her and tell her how amazing she is. She never bothers to make plans with them or inform them about anything that’s happening in her life. When she goes missing for a good chunk of the book, and they're blowing up her phone worried about her, she doesn't even bother to call them to calm them down. She doesn't think about them at all. She's far more concerned with herself and finding her imaginary boyfriend, who she only just decided was real. Her editor tells her she's at risk of losing her job if Marlow doesn't deliver her work or update her on what's happening, and Marlow just...doesn't care. She's like, 'No excuse I can give will be enough, so I'm just not going to say anything at all because I'm afraid of confrontation'. Grow the fuck up?? Her friend Nia only became her friend because she obsessively messaged her on social media until Marlow 'gave in', and now they're family? Somehow? Yet Marlow doesn't think about Nia once or bothers to comfort her when Nia has to call Marlow's abusive mom to ensure Marlow isn't dead. Kirby has allegedly been Marlow's friend since childhood, but does Kirby know anything about Caliban at all? Does Nia? Does Marlow tell her friends anything? If they know about the abuse her mom put her through, do they know how that abuse started? When Fauna shows up and freaks out over liking Kirby’s name so much, Marlow takes it upon herself to tell Fauna the story of Kirby’s name, scornfully informing Fauna that Kirby isn’t their real name the second Fauna expresses interest in it. (Like what, are you jealous that Fauna likes Kirby’s name, you fucking insecure freak??) The story revolves solely around something traumatic that happened to Marlow and how she and Kirby sat and played Super Smash Bros. Kirby liked their character so much that they adopted the name. Which…okay, choosing the name because you liked a video game character, okay, fine. But the whole story preceding this was so unnecessary and just made Marlow come off as suuuuch a whiny baby. “Oh, you want to know about my friend’s name? Well, first, let me preface it with this long woe-is-me story all about ME before I tell you how they chose their name because basically everything revolves around me.”
The way Marlow talks about rejection is so juvenile. You're in your thirties girls, get over it. Life is full of rejections. Someone telling you they didn't to play with you when you were eight years old isn't something you should form your whole life around. Like Marlow doesn't want kids because she doesn't want them to face rejection. Oh my god, Marlow. I also can't empathize with her trauma with her mom at all because I feel like I didn't really see much of it. I'm sure some of the things she says might hit with other people, but I wanted an actual flashback of a super intense fight or conversation instead of an overview of what happened.
plot. It took a while to get to the actual plot. About 100 pages in before things start really happening. I would’ve liked a little more exposition on Marlow’s relationship with Caliban at the beginning of the book. I get that some of the reveals needed to come more towards the end, but I kind of wish that maybe the fox had spoken to Marlow, too, which would’ve helped with why she’s so sure she’s insane. Foxes don’t talk! In all honesty, I wish this story had been restructured entirely. I think it would've been substantially better if we'd started out in Marlow's childhood. We can see how her day to day life was before Caliban ever appeared, how things were with her mom, who can also see through the veil. Maybe she notices some strange things about her mom that she just brushes off, which she later sees in herself and understands why her mom responded that way. Then something actually traumatic happens instead of some little kids not letting Marlow play with them, instigating her starting to see Caliban. I also would've liked to see flashbacks to Marlow's previous lives. While she's busy trying to convince herself Caliban isn't real, those flashbacks would add to her thinking she's losing her grip on reality. Maybe she'll be doing something innocent, like washing the dishes, and then suddenly, she sees herself standing in the middle of a raging battle, wearing long, elaborate robes. Do you see what I'm saying? This could've been cool! Instead, I had to read about Marlow jerking off about herself for 600 pages.
At some point, Caliban shows up to Marlow looking like a human. She's a teenager at this point, but they eventually start sleeping together, and like...idk something about that feels icky to me. It feels like grooming. Because he's clearly thousands of years old, he probably stays the same age while she's a teenager. What age did he wait for her to turn before their relationship turned sexual? Also, she doesn't even think he's real, and he does nothing to convince her that he is. Yeah....just no thanks. I'm good. Marlow tells Caliban when she's 21, she doesn’t want to see him anymore, so she literally physically cannot see him, but she can hear and feel him, and he still shows up, and like they keep having sex. So she’s just having sex with her imaginary demon friend for like five years before she’s finally like, all right, this is weird; maybe we should stop. And then she immediately regrets that when he stops showing up and then the rest of the book finally happens.
We also get flashbacks to when Marlow first starts escorting, and tbh, I hated this depiction of sex work. I keep hoping since Piper claims to be an advocate for sex work and is a former SWer that, we might get some actual depth to this plot. Maybe learn how Marlow was able to mold herself into the person she needed to be for each client, how she’s able to play people, etc. But no. She meets some random girl in a foreign country where she’s teaching English to children, and the girl is like, OMG, you’re too pretty to BE A TEACHER. COME HANG OUT ON MY YACHT. Now, I’m going to be so real. I feel like any woman with a speck of intelligence in their brain would have red flags going off right about now. If a random woman I met in a foreign country invited me to her yacht five minutes after meeting me, I’d immediately assume this woman was about to try and murder me or kidnap me or traffick me or something. But not Marlow. She is like fuck it, why not. She flies on over to wherever this yacht is(literally, she has to get on a plane and fly there) and makes some new besties who introduce her to the wonderfully glamorous non-dangerous life of escorting, where they hand her clients and set up the appointments for her and blah blah blah(also, wanna point out that Marlow even tries to say that she built this sex work empire herself. bitch no you didn't. it was all handed to you). I don’t feel like I really need to go further about why this is a really poor, dangerous rose-colored glasses-type depiction of sex work. It’s just not the reality.
Flash forward five years later, and Marlow is now a top-selling author writing about South African folklore as a white woman, trying to date other men, still having sex with her imaginary friend, calling her nonbinary friend a horse girl, the usual. Her escort pals are nowhere to be seen, and we have no clue what happened to them. We never hear from them again; they just vanish once Marlow gets what she wants from them, just like Nia and Kirby vanish once Marlow finds Fauna and Azrames. One day, Marlow’s at a book signing and sees the ONE bad client she had(because in all the years/months fucking strange men you meet in a foreign country, only one time does it go bad. okay, sure) He somehow finds where she lives, breaks into her home, and tries to murder her. An angel shows up and murders him instead, and then Caliban finally reveals his face and explains to Marlow that he has marked everyone who’s ever wronged her. (Wronged her in what way, tho. Like if someone accidentally shoulder-checked her on the street, are they now marked for death?) I thought it was kind of weird that she’s not like…focused on the fact that her hallucinations have extended to two people and another person dying. She’s still convinced Caliban is a figment of her imagination even after she sees this happen, and Caliban explains to her that he couldn’t save her because there’s some type of contract with her that forbids him from doing anything under her roof without her permission. But she still gets mad and banishes him, and now he can’t come back, and now she’s like, but wait, no, I didn’t mean it. Thus begins the search for Caliban.
Now, I could sit here and outline the rest of the book, but I won't because it's so boring, and nothing of substance really happens. So, to summarize. Marlow searches for Caliban fruitlessly for months and finally makes some progress when she decides to go to the house of the guy who tried to kill her and finds a parasitic entity that she continuously calls a Cheshire Cat. then Silas, the angel, shows up to save her again. Silas maybe wants to fuck Marlow, I can't tell. He waffles between abandoning Marlow to die and stalking her and her mom to force Marlow to bond with him for no seeming reason at all. Everyone and their mom wants Marlow to join their religion, and I don't know what the fuck makes her so special. Marlow is such a popular author that everyone recognizes her name, reveres her, fawns over her, and has multiple copies of her two books in their offices. She's so good that she inspired millions to switch religions. This book was so exhausting to read because it was just about how amazing Marlow is LMFAO. I'm pretty sure they even try to say she's the reincarnation of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world. Like....wow.
Marlow goes to Hell with Fauna to escape bonding with Silas, where they meet a literal stolen character design. this guy
(my original review has these images but I am an idiot and don't know how to post them so instead I'll share the links)
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1717860981i/35597445._SY540_.jpg
Don't believe me? here's the commissioned character art.
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1717860929i/35597423._SY540_.jpg
Anyway, his name is Azrames and he and Fauna are long time lovers and they go and bone while Marlow is in the next room and Marlow fucking masturbates to the sounds of them boning. So...I was forced to read about that, and I hated it. And then, at the end of the book, five chapters before it's over, we learn the bad guy who's been holding Caliban captive the entire time is a fertility goddess. Just out of nowhere. No mention of it previously. So, no one tells Marlow the actual plan, and instead, they send her into this fertility clinic the goddess is working out of and have her pretend to want to get pregnant. So the goddess drugs her without her consent and puts her in a room full of half-naked men, hot stereotypes from every ethnicity, while she's SUPER horny. One of the doctors tells her that 'mixed babies are all the rage right now'. The men all tell her how hot and amazing she is and how lucky they are for the chance to get to fuck her. Then after she chooses one of them, she grinds all over him while he just stands there, then they take him out and bring Caliban in and decide he'll fuck her instead. I just wanna point out that this, all of this, would be rape. Marlow didn't consent to being drugged, and if she didn't know who Caliban was, they basically just took the guy she "agreed" to have sex with away and brought in one she didn't agree to for no reason whatsoever. It doesn't matter that she's saying yes to it; she is drugged. She can't consent. Anyway, Caliban sticks his dick in Marlow and just leaves it there, unmoving, and then makes out with the fertility goddess before stabbing her in the heart and cutting off her head, even though five chapters earlier, they said it's super hard to kill a god. I'm just...wow.
Marlow gets taken back to Fauna's apartment by Silas while Caliban and Azrames are stuck fighting more Cheshire Cat demon children that I imagine look like the spider baby from Toy Story. Marlow is still high, so she's putting the moves on Fauna. She's kissing her throat, rubbing her thigh, trying to suck on her fingers. Let me tell you rn, if one of my friends showed up at my place high af doing this shit to me, I'd be livid. Because I guarantee you, Marlow will not apologize for doing any of this to Fauna.
Fauna tells Marlow that they can be sunflowers. The book ends.
I will read the next one because I like to suffer, but...I hated this. I give it 2 stars because the writing is better than TNAIM, but it was not a hit for me at all.