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Typical Nissan Drivers
2018.07.18 17:10 ThaddeusJP Typical Nissan Drivers
Nissan Drivers are secretly the worst drivers on the road today. Altima drivers being the most careless and negligent. This sub highlights their terrible driving habits.
2011.10.11 19:32 djscsi Sound System Culture - Big Rigs - BASS PORN
Sound System Culture - BASS PORN - Big Ass Bass Stacks !!NOT FOR CAHOME AUDIO!!
2010.03.20 18:16 NickLee808 Gunpla
Gunpla (ガンプラ) - Gundam and other Mecha Plastic Models
2024.05.16 17:22 haygurlhay123 “This Time, I Will Never Let You Go”: Cloud’s Mission and the Hidden Purpose of the Remake Trilogy - Literary and Musical Analysis of FFVII - Part 6
(continuation of part 5)
Post-OG Cloud ruminates on what he could have done to save Aerith. Had he not been so lost in his own mind —distracted by Sephiroth and Jenova, consumed by his need to fulfill the emptiness at the core of his identity—, would he have paid more attention to Aerith’s sadness and anticipated her plan to go to the Forgotten Capital alone? Could she have survived if not for his obsession with what tormented him at the time? Could he have figured it out and kept her by his side? He’s angry with himself in retrospect, drowning in guilt, just like in Advent Children.
Here are the choruses, which usually contain the thesis main message of a song:
VI. e) ii. “No Promises to Keep” Lyrics
This is quite obvious. Aerith is resigned to her fate, but still harbors hope that she will meet Cloud again in a permanent reunion:
The last point I want to hit on is the concept of reunion. In OG, this theme was pretty much dominated by the Jenova Reunion. To an OG fan back in 1997, “reunion” meant “Sephiroth and Jenova’s evil plan”. However, in the Remake trilogy, the theme is expanded into something more. The first time Cloud meets Aerith in Remake, she gives him a flower and tells him something she didn’t in OG:
In addition, we’ve already talked about how part 5 of “Aerith’s Theme - The Cetra” from the Remake OST tells the story of Cloud and Aerith’s reunion (see section “V. b) ii. 2)”).
Many moments exclusive to the Remake trilogy serve the same purpose: linking the theme of reunion to Aerith. This expansion of the theme is highly significant. Our theory is that the Remake trilogy exists to reunite Cloud and Aerith, so the fact that the trilogy would implement so many Clerith-centric references to reunion is great support for our theory.
VI. g) i. The Leslie-Cloud Parallel
Let’s consider another instance involving the reunion flower in Remake, more precisely, the chapter 14 subplot surrounding Leslie’s lost lover. In case you need a refresher, Leslie is one of Corneo’s lackeys, although he secretly plans to betray him. He once had a fiancée and things were looking up until she was selected as one of Corneo’s brides. The day before she disappeared (presumably taken by Corneo), his fiancée broke up with him with no explanation. It was confusing and left Leslie perplex. As she broke up with him, she returned a necklace to him, one with a flower pendant. Of course, that flower is the very same reunion flower Aerith gives Cloud in chapter 2.
Evidently, Leslie and Cloud are going through parallel situations. At this point in time, Aerith was just kidnapped by Shinra, and Cloud is on his way to get her back. Both their loved ones have been taken by tyrant rulers, one being slumlord Corneo and the other being the Shinra government. In fact, even Leslie and Cloud’s attitudes share similar disillusioned, cold and stoic qualities. Leslie’s fiancée would evidently be paralleled by Aerith.
The most obvious proof of the Leslie-Cloud parallel is written plainly on the list of Remake’s chapter 14 main scenario objectives. Objective 7, called “For the Reunion”, consists of receiving the grappling guns needed to reach topside and save Aerith. The description of the objective reads as follows:
The grappling guns are “For the Reunion”, because evidently, the loved one Cloud wants to reunite with is Aerith.
All this is simple and apparent enough. Just the fact that the theme of reunion is linked to Clerith in this way is proof enough, but there’s another layer to the Leslie-Cloud parallel. Not only does Leslie’s situation reinforce the concept of a Clerith reunion, it also mirrors the specifics of our theory: namely that Cloud will save Aerith from specifically Sephiroth (represented in Leslie’s scenario by Corneo) and that Cloud will take the initiative to accomplish this reunion. These two specific aspects of our theory are reflected by Leslie’s circumstances, meaning the Leslie-Cloud parallel not only pushes the theme of reunion, but also supports our specific theory.
VI. g) i. 1) The Separators: Corneo and Sephiroth
I’ll first prove that Leslie’s scenario is not meant to echo Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Shinra —or at least not exclusively—, but rather Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Sephiroth. Corneo would therefore be paralleled by Sephiroth rather than the tyrannical Shinra government.
The first piece of proof for the Corneo-Seohiroth parallel lies within the way in which Leslie’s fiancée broke things off: by lying. Aerith also lies to Cloud to create distance between them, but not pertaining to her kidnapping— rather, pertaining to her fated death. Since Sephiroth is Aerith’s killer and not Shinra, Corneo’s role in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is analogous to Sephiroth’s rather than Shinra’s.
There are two pieces of evidence that the Corneo-Sephiroth comparison makes more sense than the Corneo-Shinra one. The first lies in the fact that Leslie’s breakup resembles Cloud’s resolution scene: the topic of Cloud’s resolution scene is Aerith’s fate at the hands of Sephiroth rather than her kidnapping by Shinra, meaning Corneo and Sephiroth are the antagonists of both heartbreaks.
Let’s examine Leslie’s breakup. Here is how his fiancée broke things off, taken from the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:
If you’re finding this familiar, then you might be ahead of me. Let’s take a look at what Aerith says to Cloud in his resolution scene, also in the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:
Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith is rejecting or denying Cloud’s love for her in order to spare him from the pain of not having been able to be with her before her death, as she believes it is inevitable. Just like the fiancée, Aerith also tells Cloud two things. One: their love is imaginary or isn’t real. Two: it’s morning, and she has to go (she says this right before Cloud wakes from the pseudo-dream).
In both cases, the women know something about their fate that the men don’t and are hiding this impending tragedy from them. Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith uses well-intentioned deception to protect her loved one from the pain that will come from her fate— the lie, of course, is that their love isn’t real. Both women are hopeless, and both men are initially clueless. Aerith’s resolution can’t be about her kidnapping, because Aerith thinks her rescue is anything but hopeless— she’s sure Cloud will come save her from Shinra. She says so herself in OG’s disk 1 chapter 8:
What Aerith is so resigned about in Cloud’s resolution scene isn’t her kidnapping, but instead her fated death at the hands of Sephiroth. Nojima hints at this in FFVII Remake Ultimania:
Here is co-director Toriyama had to say on Aerith’s words:
These two quotes by the devs show that Aerith is trying to protect Cloud from her death. Therefore, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel is far more apt than the Corneo-Shinra parallel.
The second piece of evidence supporting my belief that Corneo mirrors Sephiroth and not Shinra in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is the inclusion of the theme of revenge that crops up in the following piece of dialogue:
Leslie’s sentiment toward Corneo resembles Cloud’s feelings toward Sephiroth after Aerith’s death. Revenge links Cloud to Sephiroth, not to Shinra. Corneo and Sephiroth reflect each other in that, as a consequence of their actions toward a woman, the man who loves her desires revenge.
Additionally, it looks like Leslie’s obsession with revenge as a means to closure is the reason he didn’t bother trying to understand the message his fiancée left him with: he’s focused on his hate rather than his love, and it’s hindering him. He doesn’t succeed in killing Corneo either: his focus and energy are misplaced. Cloud’s desire for vengeance against Sephiroth is also depicted as an obstacle to accomplishing his goals (see how in section “III. c)” of my previous literary analysis). Once more, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel fits far better than a Corneo-Shinra perspective.
VI. g) i. 2) The Reunion Seekers: Leslie and Cloud
The other aspect of the Leslie-Cloud parallel that supports our theory is that in both scenarios, they both take charge of the situation and decide to actively seek reunion with their respective lovers. The following dialogue excerpt, supplemented by the VA script notes, shows Leslie’s initiative:
Take note of Leslie’s final response and the determination with which he speaks: “Then I guess I’ll just have to find her first”. Remember that we’re searching for evidence that Cloud is going to be the one reaching out to Aerith in the Remake trilogy, and that it’s his turn to take his future into his hands. He must be more attentive, more active this time. And Leslie’s words of determination reflect this perfectly. Leslie must find his fiancée first, just like Cloud has to be the one to offer his hand to Aerith in the Remake trilogy and fight for her. This is exactly what our theory is all about.
VI. g) i. 3) Delayed Realizations
Interestingly, not only does Leslie’s determination mirror Cloud’s, but both men are depicted as realizing the truth too late. Just like Leslie only began searching for his fiancée six months after her disappearance, Cloud only realizes he loves Aerith in OG once she’s died. It took him this long to actually get somewhere in his mission to reunite with her— “somewhere” being the Remake trilogy.
Even Barret’s words highlight the lovers’ delay: “Can never be sure how much someone means to ya till they're gone”. Barret would know: he lost his wife Myrna, who he loved dearly. The devs have Barret comment on the situation as a man whose lover died, mirroring Cloud’s situation in OG. Just as Barret says, Cloud only truly realized the strength of how he felt for Aerith in OG once she was gone. The gunman’s words apply to both Leslie and Cloud’s tardy initiatives. Regardless of this delay, both men are now determined to see their respective reunions through.
The degree to which the Leslie-Cloud parallel fits our theory is a great sign of its validity: even the details are lining up!
VI. g) ii. Reunion in the Theme Songs
Too easy: in our analysis of the lyrics of the theme songs, we covered how both texts include the theme of reunion. “No Promises to Keep” is especially relevant (see section “VI. e) ii.”), as the entire song is Aerith hoping against fate for a reunion with Cloud (even if you believe the song is about all her companions, that still includes Cloud).
On top of these reunion-themed lyrics, during Aerith’s in-game performance of “No Promises to Keep” at the Gold Saucer production of Loveless, her yellow blossoms signifying reunion bloom all around her as Cloud watches her, captivated.
Another great sign for our theory: the highly significant theme songs are on our side!
VI. g) iii. Waking Up Reunited
The thing I want to juxtapose to our theory is a small yet special moment in chapter 2 of Rebirth that stuck out to me like a sore thumb and got me really excited about sharing it with you. This moment occurs after the battle against the Midgardsormr. We’ll be comparing it to two other clips, describing all three in chronological order, and making deductions based on their similarities.
The first clip I want to address occurs in chapter 8 of Remake (1:32-2:12). There are a couple of things I want to point out in this scene. First, Aerith wakes Cloud from unconsciousness with a cute call of “Hello~?”. Second, despite pretending that he doesn’t, he immediately recognizes her. The VA script notes prove it:
So: she wakes him with a cute call, and he recognizes her. Also note that these two elements also apply to the OG church reunion scene.
Now onto the Rebirth chapter 2 scene that stuck out to me. After Cloud is saved from the Midgardsormr by Sephiroth, Cloud wakes up from unconsciousness spell with Aerith calling for him (7:20-7:34).
Once more, Aerith wakes him with a cute call (this time, it’s “Wakey, wakey!”), and Cloud recognizes her. In this Midgardsormr clip, unlike their reunion in the church, Cloud verbalizes that he remembers her. This time, there’s more: next, Aerith tells Cloud “おかえり, クラウド”, or “okaeri, Cloud”, which translates to “welcome back, Cloud”. “Okaeri” is what you say in Japanese when someone has returned home. In the third clip we will analyze, Aerith says “okaeri” to Cloud once more. But first, let’s break down this second clip.
I don’t know about you, but this cutscene felt extremely weird to me when I first encountered it. That is, it would have been, if not for the theory I’d begun formulating at that time.
You see, the devs could have chosen for Aerith to ask Cloud if he remembers his own name or where they are, if he’s okay, or check if he responds to his own name. In fact, asking someone who’s been hit on the head to say their own name is a much more common a reaction to them finally waking up than asking them if they remember you. Even stranger is Cloud’s reaction: he could have answered “Yeah, you’re Aerith,” or “I remember everything, I’m fine”. Instead, he says her name with this airy and wonderstruck tone. He sounds like he’s opening his eyes to something mystic rather than his comrade leaning over him, like he’s seeing someone unexpectedly for the first time in a while… or rather like he’s waking from a trance of some kind— a trance in which he did not remember Aerith, and now he does. You may see where I’m going with this.
Let’s examine the third clip, wherein Aerith tells Cloud “okaeri” again. More specifically, in chapter 14, Aerith welcomes Cloud back when he snaps out of his zombified, Sephiroth-controlled state and runs toward her. Of course, it’s the sight of her and his memories of meeting her in chapter 2 of Remake that shake him awake (2:17:43-2:18:02).
For a third time, Aerith wakes Cloud. This time, she’s pulling him out of a trance and back to himself. And for a third time, Cloud remembers her. In fact, it’s remembering her that wakes him up. Cloud calls her name and Aerith says “okaeri” in both the post-Midgardsormr cutscene and this third clip. And in both scenes, not only does Cloud return to himself the way someone returns home (recall that “okaeri” is used to welcome someone back home), but he’s also returning to her, recognizing her as his home.
Now we’ve got three scenes lined up: the church reunion scene (both in OG and Remake), the Midgardsormr scene and the hand-reach scene. All three of these recognition scenes feature Cloud being woken up by Aerith and remembering who she is. The main difference is that, in the scenes among these three that are exclusive to Rebirth, Cloud’s return to Aerith is far more meaningful, as he already knows her name, and knows more about who she is to him. Evidently, in the OG church reunion scene, Cloud only remembers being sold a flower by this girl. In the Remake version, he remembers the same thing, plus the attack of the whispers. So there’s something much more weighty about the Rebirth recognition scenes: he remembers more, and he remembers deeper. These aren’t just recognition scenes, they’re also mini-reunions. Of course, as we’ve already analyzed pertaining to the hand-reaching scene, Cloud remembering Aerith is followed by him being the one to take action and run toward her, eager to save her, because she means the world to him. When you place the Midgardsormr scene between the church reunion scene and the hand-reach scene, an evolution of Cloud waking up and remembering Aerith is formed. Each mini-reunion scene adds a piece to the story: the church scene informs us that Cloud and Aerith are meeting again, the Midgardsormr scene tips us off that something mystic is going on from Cloud’s tone when he says Aerith’s name, and the hand reach scene tells us that as a consequence of remembering who Aerith is, Cloud saves her from falling to her death and saving her. “Meeting again”, “mystic”, and “saving Aerith”: these are the keywords of the mini-reunion scenes. They are also the keywords of our theory on Cloud’s mission to save Aerith. This time around Cloud knows more and is more conscious about how he feels for Aerith, just like he feels more when in the hand-reach scene in Rebirth compared to the church reunion scene in Remake. From the latter scene to the former, Cloud gradually wakes up and remembers his love for and loss of Aerith in the OG more and more. Each mini-reunion brings him closer to saving her when he blocks the masamune. This is why I am certain that in part 3, whether Cloud comes to his full senses or not, whether he remembers the events of OG or not, he will save Aerith this time. The Remake trilogy is centered around Aerith, after all. In fact, don’t take it from me, take it from Nojima:
I have full confidence in this fact: one way or another, these two will have a happy ending. This is Cloud’s second chance, and as he swore in “Hollow”, he is not losing her again. That is why I don’t think you should fret, and that our Clerith hearts will be very happy to see these two together again for good in part 3.
VI. h) Zooming In
In fact, this zooming-in method of directing players’ attention to important narrative beats is far from new.
VI. h) i. Changing Fate
Let’s divert our attention to Nanaki’s Skywheel date (2:28-3:30). The dialogue goes like this: Nanaki brings us the Whispers and suggests the party might eventually forget about their existence, and Cloud says that frankly, if it’s impossible for them to change fate either way, then it would be better for them to forget to Whispers altogether.
This is a very clear message from the devs: “there would be no point in including the Whispers in the Remaketrilogy if we did not make use of their defeat”. They’re telling us through Cloud’s dialogue that they know it would be foul play and bad writing to introduce the theme of defying fate if it didn’t eventually pay off.
As if it weren’t clear enough what the devs are referring to, Nanaki brings up Aerith’s death directly after Cloud delivers the devs’ message to us. He actually makes Cloud promise to save her. This is pretty on the nose. By promising Nanaki he will protect Aerith, the devs are promising us the same. I’m certain that part 3 will deliver on this promise.
If you still aren’t sold, I’d like to direct your attention to the framing of the shot where Cloud says “if we can’t change [fate]” (2:49-2:51). There’s a zoom-in on his mouth, which is a visual cue that translates to “what this character is saying right now is important to the plot”. It’s very indiscrete in theory: the camera literally hones in on the invisible words as though the script has them highlighted, italicized triple-underlined and in bold.
VI. h) ii. Aerith’s Knowledge
We’ve seen the Remake trilogy use this camera framing at least twice so far. The first time occurs in Remake’s chapter 8, before it becomes clear that Aerith knows things from the OG game that she wouldn’t normally know if this were just a remastered version of the same 1997 plot. I’ll let Remake Ultimania‘s description of this moment speak for itself:
Aerith’s “vague reply” is accentuated by a very deliberate zoom-in on her mouth (1:18:05-1:18:09), and therefore her words.
The framing of this shot indicates to us that what Aerith says provides an important hint as to the plot’s direction. Sure enough, with hindsight, it’s easy to see that’s true.
VI. h) iii. Tifa’s Question
Another time this framing is used is in chapter 1 of Rebirth, after Cloud recounts the Nibelheim incident. Tifa asks the group why Sephiroth is choosing to come back now, after five years (37:55-37:58).
Once more, we are being signaled that the reason Sephiroth chose to return at the moment he did is significant to the plot, but cannot be revealed explicitly yet. The reason why Sephiroth took five years to return is because that’s how long it took for Cloud to get back on his feet after the Nibelheim incident: Sephiroth wants and/or needs to manipulate Cloud in particular rather than all the other people with Jenova cells in them. It took five years for Cloud to not only go through Hojo’s experiments but also escape Shinra and make his way to Seventh Heaven, where Tifa nursed him back to health— therefore, it took five years until Sephiroth’s favorite pawn was available to be used. There are a few reasons why Cloud is the one Sephiroth wants to use, and all of them would be spoilers at this point in Rebirth to players who don’t know the OG plot. The devs can’t reveal any of them yet, but they do indicate via a close-up shot of Tifa’s mouth that her question is important.
VI. h) iv. The Takeaway
As you can see, this framing of characters’ mouths when they speak signals a plot-significant piece of dialogue. This means Cloud’s words on his gondola date with Nanaki can’t be brushed off as a red herring or an unimportant or throwaway line: it has narrative weight.
VII. The Devs
I think it’s important to remember the devs and their commitment to the world of FFVII. They know best for this story, and they’ve proven it to be true many times over. There are many things about the devs’ intentions that the fandom don’t seem to know that I think would give you confidence to find out.
VII. a) Shifting Themes
Good storytellers don’t introduce themes as a way to pull the rug from under audiences’ feet by later rendering them completely irrelevant to the plot.
In other words, the devs would not have introduced the notion of fate as an antagonistic force in Remake, nor allowed the players to defeat it in chapter 18, had they planned for these themes not to pay off at all. Think of how good FFVII OG and FF stories in general are, how strong the writing is from a narrative point of view. Nothing is included for no reason or for a cheap reaction— especially not a central theme of a story. Fate and defeating it is a huge point of Remake, and not for no reason.
I mean, think about a storyline all about defying fate ending with a shrug and a “Oh well, we tried.” It would be ridiculous! The devs are better than that.
VII. b) What the Devs Want
The devs are well-aware that fans of FFVII have been begging for Aerith’s resurrection since 1997. All those petitions, all those myths of a revival hack… SE knows about them all too well. They were even referenced by FF’s 30th anniversary expo, which partly promoted Remake:
Hamaguchi, codirector of the Remake project, commented on these rumors:
The devs are also aware of how beloved Clerith is to the FFVII fandom, especially in Japan— in fact, the only FFVII ship name that is an official iOS search term on the Japanese Apple Store is Clerith’s (“クラエア” or “kuraea” in Japanese). Aerith herself is a widely beloved character, particularly, once more, in Japan. For instance, Famitsu and NHK’s recent polls on the best FF heroine and on the best FF character in general both resulted in Aerith ranking number 3, beaten only in the latter poll by Cloud at number 1 and FFX’s Yuna at number 2.
The devs know how well-loved both Clerith and Aerith are. And in fact, they love Aerith at least as much as we do:
The devs care about Aerith, and they’re fully aware we do too.
I think a lot of people have it in their heads that the devs don’t want anything to change from the OG story, but there’s a lot of evidence that says otherwise. Codirector Toriyama spoke on this, stating the following about the production process of Remake:
Codirector Nomura said the following:
Clearly, the devs don’t want to be bogged down by the OG, and are making efforts to do things the way they want to rather than the way they were previously done. The newer generation of developers such as codirector Hamaguchi is also involved in these story changes:
Kitase, the producer of the Remake trilogy, even says that after working on this project for so long, and after spending almost 30 years on the FFVII project and getting to know the characters, he has realized that:
submitted by haygurlhay123 to cloudxaerith [link] [comments]
Post-OG Cloud ruminates on what he could have done to save Aerith. Had he not been so lost in his own mind —distracted by Sephiroth and Jenova, consumed by his need to fulfill the emptiness at the core of his identity—, would he have paid more attention to Aerith’s sadness and anticipated her plan to go to the Forgotten Capital alone? Could she have survived if not for his obsession with what tormented him at the time? Could he have figured it out and kept her by his side? He’s angry with himself in retrospect, drowning in guilt, just like in Advent Children.
Here are the choruses, which usually contain the thesis main message of a song:
“Shine bright once more&
Guide me to you
Smile bright once more
This time I will never let you go”
“Hear me once moreIn these choruses, Cloud asserts that he will get it right this time (“this time” referring to the second chance that is the Remake trilogy). He will make sure he saves Aerith and never lets her go. He knows she’s gone, but he will fight against time to get her back. He longs for her smile and her light again, and he cannot bear the guilt: so he doesn’t. Post-OG Cloud embarks on a new adventure: ”I want to go to a place where everything is new,” said Cloud to Wol and Echo in Eclipse Contact before facing his past and being launched into Remake. “Hollow” makes far more sense now, doesn’t it? It’s a song not only about Cloud’s loss, but also about his determination to save Aerith this time. Given that it’s the theme song of Remake, the fact that “Hollow” fits with our theory perfectly is a very good sign: a theme song is meant to reflect the main plot of a story, indicating as our theory states that Remake is principally, albeit secretly, about Cloud saving Aerith. Because of this hope being set up, I’m confident that they will be together in the end, reunited for good. My dear Clerith friends, this is the hidden purpose of the Remake trilogy. Cloud and Aerith will be reunited.
Show me your smile
This time for sure
I'll see the truth hidden inside your tears
But I, I know
That you're long gone
But I, I will
Go on, howling and hollow”
VI. e) ii. “No Promises to Keep” Lyrics
This is quite obvious. Aerith is resigned to her fate, but still harbors hope that she will meet Cloud again in a permanent reunion:
“Till the day that we meet againVI. f) The Theme of Reunion Explained?
Where or when?
I wish I could say
But believe, know that you'll find me
[…]
Till the day that we meet again
On our street, I want to believe
[…]
Till the day that we meet again
At our place, just let me believe
In the chance that you'll come
Take my hand and never let me go
Take my hand
And believe
We can be
Together evermore
[…]
Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
Still I know someday you'll come and find me”.
The last point I want to hit on is the concept of reunion. In OG, this theme was pretty much dominated by the Jenova Reunion. To an OG fan back in 1997, “reunion” meant “Sephiroth and Jenova’s evil plan”. However, in the Remake trilogy, the theme is expanded into something more. The first time Cloud meets Aerith in Remake, she gives him a flower and tells him something she didn’t in OG:
“Lovers used to give these when they were reunited...”
In addition, we’ve already talked about how part 5 of “Aerith’s Theme - The Cetra” from the Remake OST tells the story of Cloud and Aerith’s reunion (see section “V. b) ii. 2)”).
Many moments exclusive to the Remake trilogy serve the same purpose: linking the theme of reunion to Aerith. This expansion of the theme is highly significant. Our theory is that the Remake trilogy exists to reunite Cloud and Aerith, so the fact that the trilogy would implement so many Clerith-centric references to reunion is great support for our theory.
VI. g) i. The Leslie-Cloud Parallel
Let’s consider another instance involving the reunion flower in Remake, more precisely, the chapter 14 subplot surrounding Leslie’s lost lover. In case you need a refresher, Leslie is one of Corneo’s lackeys, although he secretly plans to betray him. He once had a fiancée and things were looking up until she was selected as one of Corneo’s brides. The day before she disappeared (presumably taken by Corneo), his fiancée broke up with him with no explanation. It was confusing and left Leslie perplex. As she broke up with him, she returned a necklace to him, one with a flower pendant. Of course, that flower is the very same reunion flower Aerith gives Cloud in chapter 2.
Evidently, Leslie and Cloud are going through parallel situations. At this point in time, Aerith was just kidnapped by Shinra, and Cloud is on his way to get her back. Both their loved ones have been taken by tyrant rulers, one being slumlord Corneo and the other being the Shinra government. In fact, even Leslie and Cloud’s attitudes share similar disillusioned, cold and stoic qualities. Leslie’s fiancée would evidently be paralleled by Aerith.
The most obvious proof of the Leslie-Cloud parallel is written plainly on the list of Remake’s chapter 14 main scenario objectives. Objective 7, called “For the Reunion”, consists of receiving the grappling guns needed to reach topside and save Aerith. The description of the objective reads as follows:
“Leslie gives them grappling guns, and they wish each other luck in reuniting with their respective loved ones. Leslie walks off, and the three prepare to climb the wall.”
The grappling guns are “For the Reunion”, because evidently, the loved one Cloud wants to reunite with is Aerith.
All this is simple and apparent enough. Just the fact that the theme of reunion is linked to Clerith in this way is proof enough, but there’s another layer to the Leslie-Cloud parallel. Not only does Leslie’s situation reinforce the concept of a Clerith reunion, it also mirrors the specifics of our theory: namely that Cloud will save Aerith from specifically Sephiroth (represented in Leslie’s scenario by Corneo) and that Cloud will take the initiative to accomplish this reunion. These two specific aspects of our theory are reflected by Leslie’s circumstances, meaning the Leslie-Cloud parallel not only pushes the theme of reunion, but also supports our specific theory.
VI. g) i. 1) The Separators: Corneo and Sephiroth
I’ll first prove that Leslie’s scenario is not meant to echo Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Shinra —or at least not exclusively—, but rather Cloud’s separation from Aerith at the hands of Sephiroth. Corneo would therefore be paralleled by Sephiroth rather than the tyrannical Shinra government.
The first piece of proof for the Corneo-Seohiroth parallel lies within the way in which Leslie’s fiancée broke things off: by lying. Aerith also lies to Cloud to create distance between them, but not pertaining to her kidnapping— rather, pertaining to her fated death. Since Sephiroth is Aerith’s killer and not Shinra, Corneo’s role in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is analogous to Sephiroth’s rather than Shinra’s.
There are two pieces of evidence that the Corneo-Sephiroth comparison makes more sense than the Corneo-Shinra one. The first lies in the fact that Leslie’s breakup resembles Cloud’s resolution scene: the topic of Cloud’s resolution scene is Aerith’s fate at the hands of Sephiroth rather than her kidnapping by Shinra, meaning Corneo and Sephiroth are the antagonists of both heartbreaks.
Let’s examine Leslie’s breakup. Here is how his fiancée broke things off, taken from the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:
“Fiancée: It was all just a dream, wasn't it[?]Now, here is a more literal translation of this quote from the original Japanese (verified by me via DeepL), with tone indicators added by me in bold:
Fiancée: (Hopefully) But one day…
(She trails off, then shakes her head and stops herself.)
Fiancée: (Sadly, hopelessly) — no. Time to wake up. And forget.
(She walks away.)”
“Fiancée: It was only just a dream we had / We were only dreaming...Leslie’s fiancée is clearly breaking up with him to spare him the pain of blaming himself for not being able to protect her from Corneo, as she knows it’s too late for her to escape from the slumlord’s clutches. We know this because we understand that the pendant she gave back to him symbolizes a reunion (especially between lovers, as Aerith told Cloud in chapter 2). In fact, the Japanese version of the script reveals that the fiancée was about to reveal the meaning of the flower, perhaps in the hopes that they would find each other once more, but she lost her nerve at the last second. Notice that she tells Leslie two specific things. One: their love or their future together was only a dream, meaning that it wasn’t real. Two: he should forget about her, because the dream is over now and it’s time to wake up from it.
Fiancée: (Hopefully, as though as a hail Mary) In the language of the flowers...
(She trails off, then shakes her head and stops herself.)
Fiancée: (Sadly, hopelessly) — no. You should forget about me.
(She walks away.)”
If you’re finding this familiar, then you might be ahead of me. Let’s take a look at what Aerith says to Cloud in his resolution scene, also in the English script of Remake’s chapter 14, with tone indicators added by me in bold:
“Aerith: […] you can’t fall in love with me. [It]’s not real […]. (With a sigh, as though from sadness or difficulty, but resolutely) It’s almost morning. Time to go.”Now, here is a more literal translation of this quote from the original Japanese (verified by me via DeepL), with tone indicators added by me in bold:
“Aerith: You can’t let yourself fall in love with me. [It]’s only your imagination […]. (With a sigh, as though from sadness or difficulty, but resolutely) Looks like it’s already morning. Time for me to go.”
Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith is rejecting or denying Cloud’s love for her in order to spare him from the pain of not having been able to be with her before her death, as she believes it is inevitable. Just like the fiancée, Aerith also tells Cloud two things. One: their love is imaginary or isn’t real. Two: it’s morning, and she has to go (she says this right before Cloud wakes from the pseudo-dream).
In both cases, the women know something about their fate that the men don’t and are hiding this impending tragedy from them. Just like Leslie’s fiancée, Aerith uses well-intentioned deception to protect her loved one from the pain that will come from her fate— the lie, of course, is that their love isn’t real. Both women are hopeless, and both men are initially clueless. Aerith’s resolution can’t be about her kidnapping, because Aerith thinks her rescue is anything but hopeless— she’s sure Cloud will come save her from Shinra. She says so herself in OG’s disk 1 chapter 8:
“Cloud: Aeris!? You safe?
Aeris: Yeah, I'm all right. I knew that [you] would come for me.”
What Aerith is so resigned about in Cloud’s resolution scene isn’t her kidnapping, but instead her fated death at the hands of Sephiroth. Nojima hints at this in FFVII Remake Ultimania:
“If you know Aerith’s fate, then this line would really pull at your heart strings […]” (section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 744).
Here is co-director Toriyama had to say on Aerith’s words:
“[While] these words are intended for Cloud, I think Aerith is partly speaking them to herself. The contents of her request may be at odds with how she truly feels inside” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA Script Notes, “A Dream Shown by Aerith”, “Scenario Staff Q&A - Answered by Motomu Toriyama”).
These two quotes by the devs show that Aerith is trying to protect Cloud from her death. Therefore, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel is far more apt than the Corneo-Shinra parallel.
The second piece of evidence supporting my belief that Corneo mirrors Sephiroth and not Shinra in the Leslie-Cloud parallel is the inclusion of the theme of revenge that crops up in the following piece of dialogue:
“Tifa: Why did you wanna come down here?
Leslie: Revenge. I know I need to let go, but I can't. I need closure, 'cause without it... I'll never be able to move on” (Remake, chapter 14).
Leslie’s sentiment toward Corneo resembles Cloud’s feelings toward Sephiroth after Aerith’s death. Revenge links Cloud to Sephiroth, not to Shinra. Corneo and Sephiroth reflect each other in that, as a consequence of their actions toward a woman, the man who loves her desires revenge.
Additionally, it looks like Leslie’s obsession with revenge as a means to closure is the reason he didn’t bother trying to understand the message his fiancée left him with: he’s focused on his hate rather than his love, and it’s hindering him. He doesn’t succeed in killing Corneo either: his focus and energy are misplaced. Cloud’s desire for vengeance against Sephiroth is also depicted as an obstacle to accomplishing his goals (see how in section “III. c)” of my previous literary analysis). Once more, the Corneo-Sephiroth parallel fits far better than a Corneo-Shinra perspective.
VI. g) i. 2) The Reunion Seekers: Leslie and Cloud
The other aspect of the Leslie-Cloud parallel that supports our theory is that in both scenarios, they both take charge of the situation and decide to actively seek reunion with their respective lovers. The following dialogue excerpt, supplemented by the VA script notes, shows Leslie’s initiative:
“Tifa: [Your fiancée] could still be out there.
Barret: Can never be sure how much someone means to ya till they're gone. Don't give up on her yet.
Leslie: (Looks at the flower pendant, [recalling his lover’s words) A message in the language of flowers… I wonder what she meant by it.
[…]
Tifa: Reunion.
Leslie: Huh?
Tifa: In the language of flowers, it means ‘reunion.’
(Leslie shifts his gaze from Tifa to the pendant and stares at it for some time. At last he understands the words his lover left him. With that, as if his mind has been made up, he clutches the pendant and hangs it around his neck.)
Leslie: Then I guess I’ll just have to find her first” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA Script Notes, “Other Notable Stage Directions - Chapters 14-16”).
Take note of Leslie’s final response and the determination with which he speaks: “Then I guess I’ll just have to find her first”. Remember that we’re searching for evidence that Cloud is going to be the one reaching out to Aerith in the Remake trilogy, and that it’s his turn to take his future into his hands. He must be more attentive, more active this time. And Leslie’s words of determination reflect this perfectly. Leslie must find his fiancée first, just like Cloud has to be the one to offer his hand to Aerith in the Remake trilogy and fight for her. This is exactly what our theory is all about.
VI. g) i. 3) Delayed Realizations
Interestingly, not only does Leslie’s determination mirror Cloud’s, but both men are depicted as realizing the truth too late. Just like Leslie only began searching for his fiancée six months after her disappearance, Cloud only realizes he loves Aerith in OG once she’s died. It took him this long to actually get somewhere in his mission to reunite with her— “somewhere” being the Remake trilogy.
Even Barret’s words highlight the lovers’ delay: “Can never be sure how much someone means to ya till they're gone”. Barret would know: he lost his wife Myrna, who he loved dearly. The devs have Barret comment on the situation as a man whose lover died, mirroring Cloud’s situation in OG. Just as Barret says, Cloud only truly realized the strength of how he felt for Aerith in OG once she was gone. The gunman’s words apply to both Leslie and Cloud’s tardy initiatives. Regardless of this delay, both men are now determined to see their respective reunions through.
The degree to which the Leslie-Cloud parallel fits our theory is a great sign of its validity: even the details are lining up!
VI. g) ii. Reunion in the Theme Songs
Too easy: in our analysis of the lyrics of the theme songs, we covered how both texts include the theme of reunion. “No Promises to Keep” is especially relevant (see section “VI. e) ii.”), as the entire song is Aerith hoping against fate for a reunion with Cloud (even if you believe the song is about all her companions, that still includes Cloud).
On top of these reunion-themed lyrics, during Aerith’s in-game performance of “No Promises to Keep” at the Gold Saucer production of Loveless, her yellow blossoms signifying reunion bloom all around her as Cloud watches her, captivated.
Another great sign for our theory: the highly significant theme songs are on our side!
VI. g) iii. Waking Up Reunited
The thing I want to juxtapose to our theory is a small yet special moment in chapter 2 of Rebirth that stuck out to me like a sore thumb and got me really excited about sharing it with you. This moment occurs after the battle against the Midgardsormr. We’ll be comparing it to two other clips, describing all three in chronological order, and making deductions based on their similarities.
The first clip I want to address occurs in chapter 8 of Remake (1:32-2:12). There are a couple of things I want to point out in this scene. First, Aerith wakes Cloud from unconsciousness with a cute call of “Hello~?”. Second, despite pretending that he doesn’t, he immediately recognizes her. The VA script notes prove it:
“Aerith: Nice to meet you again.
Cloud actually remembers Aerith, but he pretends not to, perhaps wishing to make himself look cool.
Cloud: Again, huh?
Aerith: What? You don’t remember? How about…the flowers?
Cloud looks at the flowers at his feet and pretends as if he’s only just remembered.
Cloud: Oh, the flower seller” (FFVII Remake Material Ultimania Plus, VA script notes, “Reuniting with Aerith”).
So: she wakes him with a cute call, and he recognizes her. Also note that these two elements also apply to the OG church reunion scene.
Now onto the Rebirth chapter 2 scene that stuck out to me. After Cloud is saved from the Midgardsormr by Sephiroth, Cloud wakes up from unconsciousness spell with Aerith calling for him (7:20-7:34).
Once more, Aerith wakes him with a cute call (this time, it’s “Wakey, wakey!”), and Cloud recognizes her. In this Midgardsormr clip, unlike their reunion in the church, Cloud verbalizes that he remembers her. This time, there’s more: next, Aerith tells Cloud “おかえり, クラウド”, or “okaeri, Cloud”, which translates to “welcome back, Cloud”. “Okaeri” is what you say in Japanese when someone has returned home. In the third clip we will analyze, Aerith says “okaeri” to Cloud once more. But first, let’s break down this second clip.
I don’t know about you, but this cutscene felt extremely weird to me when I first encountered it. That is, it would have been, if not for the theory I’d begun formulating at that time.
You see, the devs could have chosen for Aerith to ask Cloud if he remembers his own name or where they are, if he’s okay, or check if he responds to his own name. In fact, asking someone who’s been hit on the head to say their own name is a much more common a reaction to them finally waking up than asking them if they remember you. Even stranger is Cloud’s reaction: he could have answered “Yeah, you’re Aerith,” or “I remember everything, I’m fine”. Instead, he says her name with this airy and wonderstruck tone. He sounds like he’s opening his eyes to something mystic rather than his comrade leaning over him, like he’s seeing someone unexpectedly for the first time in a while… or rather like he’s waking from a trance of some kind— a trance in which he did not remember Aerith, and now he does. You may see where I’m going with this.
Let’s examine the third clip, wherein Aerith tells Cloud “okaeri” again. More specifically, in chapter 14, Aerith welcomes Cloud back when he snaps out of his zombified, Sephiroth-controlled state and runs toward her. Of course, it’s the sight of her and his memories of meeting her in chapter 2 of Remake that shake him awake (2:17:43-2:18:02).
For a third time, Aerith wakes Cloud. This time, she’s pulling him out of a trance and back to himself. And for a third time, Cloud remembers her. In fact, it’s remembering her that wakes him up. Cloud calls her name and Aerith says “okaeri” in both the post-Midgardsormr cutscene and this third clip. And in both scenes, not only does Cloud return to himself the way someone returns home (recall that “okaeri” is used to welcome someone back home), but he’s also returning to her, recognizing her as his home.
Now we’ve got three scenes lined up: the church reunion scene (both in OG and Remake), the Midgardsormr scene and the hand-reach scene. All three of these recognition scenes feature Cloud being woken up by Aerith and remembering who she is. The main difference is that, in the scenes among these three that are exclusive to Rebirth, Cloud’s return to Aerith is far more meaningful, as he already knows her name, and knows more about who she is to him. Evidently, in the OG church reunion scene, Cloud only remembers being sold a flower by this girl. In the Remake version, he remembers the same thing, plus the attack of the whispers. So there’s something much more weighty about the Rebirth recognition scenes: he remembers more, and he remembers deeper. These aren’t just recognition scenes, they’re also mini-reunions. Of course, as we’ve already analyzed pertaining to the hand-reaching scene, Cloud remembering Aerith is followed by him being the one to take action and run toward her, eager to save her, because she means the world to him. When you place the Midgardsormr scene between the church reunion scene and the hand-reach scene, an evolution of Cloud waking up and remembering Aerith is formed. Each mini-reunion scene adds a piece to the story: the church scene informs us that Cloud and Aerith are meeting again, the Midgardsormr scene tips us off that something mystic is going on from Cloud’s tone when he says Aerith’s name, and the hand reach scene tells us that as a consequence of remembering who Aerith is, Cloud saves her from falling to her death and saving her. “Meeting again”, “mystic”, and “saving Aerith”: these are the keywords of the mini-reunion scenes. They are also the keywords of our theory on Cloud’s mission to save Aerith. This time around Cloud knows more and is more conscious about how he feels for Aerith, just like he feels more when in the hand-reach scene in Rebirth compared to the church reunion scene in Remake. From the latter scene to the former, Cloud gradually wakes up and remembers his love for and loss of Aerith in the OG more and more. Each mini-reunion brings him closer to saving her when he blocks the masamune. This is why I am certain that in part 3, whether Cloud comes to his full senses or not, whether he remembers the events of OG or not, he will save Aerith this time. The Remake trilogy is centered around Aerith, after all. In fact, don’t take it from me, take it from Nojima:
“Aerith's the most important character in the remake so we paid special attention to her lines” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 744).
I have full confidence in this fact: one way or another, these two will have a happy ending. This is Cloud’s second chance, and as he swore in “Hollow”, he is not losing her again. That is why I don’t think you should fret, and that our Clerith hearts will be very happy to see these two together again for good in part 3.
VI. h) Zooming In
In fact, this zooming-in method of directing players’ attention to important narrative beats is far from new.
VI. h) i. Changing Fate
Let’s divert our attention to Nanaki’s Skywheel date (2:28-3:30). The dialogue goes like this: Nanaki brings us the Whispers and suggests the party might eventually forget about their existence, and Cloud says that frankly, if it’s impossible for them to change fate either way, then it would be better for them to forget to Whispers altogether.
This is a very clear message from the devs: “there would be no point in including the Whispers in the Remaketrilogy if we did not make use of their defeat”. They’re telling us through Cloud’s dialogue that they know it would be foul play and bad writing to introduce the theme of defying fate if it didn’t eventually pay off.
As if it weren’t clear enough what the devs are referring to, Nanaki brings up Aerith’s death directly after Cloud delivers the devs’ message to us. He actually makes Cloud promise to save her. This is pretty on the nose. By promising Nanaki he will protect Aerith, the devs are promising us the same. I’m certain that part 3 will deliver on this promise.
If you still aren’t sold, I’d like to direct your attention to the framing of the shot where Cloud says “if we can’t change [fate]” (2:49-2:51). There’s a zoom-in on his mouth, which is a visual cue that translates to “what this character is saying right now is important to the plot”. It’s very indiscrete in theory: the camera literally hones in on the invisible words as though the script has them highlighted, italicized triple-underlined and in bold.
VI. h) ii. Aerith’s Knowledge
We’ve seen the Remake trilogy use this camera framing at least twice so far. The first time occurs in Remake’s chapter 8, before it becomes clear that Aerith knows things from the OG game that she wouldn’t normally know if this were just a remastered version of the same 1997 plot. I’ll let Remake Ultimania‘s description of this moment speak for itself:
“When Cloud and Aerith return the rescued children to Oates, the man in the tattered black cloak shows up again at the hideout. The moment the man grasps Cloud’s arm, he’s overcome by another violent headache and sees a vision of Sephiroth. Cloud wonders if this man who supposedly died five years ago could possibly still be alive. When he says as much to Aerith, she gives him a vague reply” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 04: “Scenario”, “Chapter 8 Main Story Digest”, page 256).
Aerith’s “vague reply” is accentuated by a very deliberate zoom-in on her mouth (1:18:05-1:18:09), and therefore her words.
The framing of this shot indicates to us that what Aerith says provides an important hint as to the plot’s direction. Sure enough, with hindsight, it’s easy to see that’s true.
VI. h) iii. Tifa’s Question
Another time this framing is used is in chapter 1 of Rebirth, after Cloud recounts the Nibelheim incident. Tifa asks the group why Sephiroth is choosing to come back now, after five years (37:55-37:58).
Once more, we are being signaled that the reason Sephiroth chose to return at the moment he did is significant to the plot, but cannot be revealed explicitly yet. The reason why Sephiroth took five years to return is because that’s how long it took for Cloud to get back on his feet after the Nibelheim incident: Sephiroth wants and/or needs to manipulate Cloud in particular rather than all the other people with Jenova cells in them. It took five years for Cloud to not only go through Hojo’s experiments but also escape Shinra and make his way to Seventh Heaven, where Tifa nursed him back to health— therefore, it took five years until Sephiroth’s favorite pawn was available to be used. There are a few reasons why Cloud is the one Sephiroth wants to use, and all of them would be spoilers at this point in Rebirth to players who don’t know the OG plot. The devs can’t reveal any of them yet, but they do indicate via a close-up shot of Tifa’s mouth that her question is important.
VI. h) iv. The Takeaway
As you can see, this framing of characters’ mouths when they speak signals a plot-significant piece of dialogue. This means Cloud’s words on his gondola date with Nanaki can’t be brushed off as a red herring or an unimportant or throwaway line: it has narrative weight.
VII. The Devs
I think it’s important to remember the devs and their commitment to the world of FFVII. They know best for this story, and they’ve proven it to be true many times over. There are many things about the devs’ intentions that the fandom don’t seem to know that I think would give you confidence to find out.
VII. a) Shifting Themes
Good storytellers don’t introduce themes as a way to pull the rug from under audiences’ feet by later rendering them completely irrelevant to the plot.
In other words, the devs would not have introduced the notion of fate as an antagonistic force in Remake, nor allowed the players to defeat it in chapter 18, had they planned for these themes not to pay off at all. Think of how good FFVII OG and FF stories in general are, how strong the writing is from a narrative point of view. Nothing is included for no reason or for a cheap reaction— especially not a central theme of a story. Fate and defeating it is a huge point of Remake, and not for no reason.
I mean, think about a storyline all about defying fate ending with a shrug and a “Oh well, we tried.” It would be ridiculous! The devs are better than that.
VII. b) What the Devs Want
The devs are well-aware that fans of FFVII have been begging for Aerith’s resurrection since 1997. All those petitions, all those myths of a revival hack… SE knows about them all too well. They were even referenced by FF’s 30th anniversary expo, which partly promoted Remake:
“No one expected [Aerith’s death] in the middle of the story. Rumors of a secret way to revive Aerith spread, and it was clear players were having a hard time saying goodbye to her too. Even now, twenty years later, it still feels like a shocking turn of events” (Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Exposition Pamphlet, page 36).
Hamaguchi, codirector of the Remake project, commented on these rumors:
“Interviewer: Do you have a favorite fake rumor about the original FFVII?
Hamaguchi: I hear a lot about Aerith coming back to life and that's something that's very interesting to hear” (Hamaguchi interview: “129 Rapid-Fire Questions Answered About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”, by Game Informer).
The devs are also aware of how beloved Clerith is to the FFVII fandom, especially in Japan— in fact, the only FFVII ship name that is an official iOS search term on the Japanese Apple Store is Clerith’s (“クラエア” or “kuraea” in Japanese). Aerith herself is a widely beloved character, particularly, once more, in Japan. For instance, Famitsu and NHK’s recent polls on the best FF heroine and on the best FF character in general both resulted in Aerith ranking number 3, beaten only in the latter poll by Cloud at number 1 and FFX’s Yuna at number 2.
The devs know how well-loved both Clerith and Aerith are. And in fact, they love Aerith at least as much as we do:
“Cloud's feelings [of guilt] cannot be resolved by anyone other than Aerith. I tried to convey [that Aerith is saying to Cloud] ‘I'm still here for you’” (FFVII Reunion Files, Nojima’s note on Aerith’s character file, page 58).&
“When I saw the finished product of [Aerith’s face in] CG, I thought, "Oh, isn’t she so cute?” (FFVII Reunion Files, Nomura’s note on Aerith’s character file, page 58).&
"The idea of having Aeris die during the story had a great impact on all the dev staff," Toriyama explained, "and personally I decided to dedicate my efforts to depicting Aeris in as appealing a way as possible, so that she would become an irreplaceable character to the player in preparation for that moment" (Toriyama interview “Final Fantasy anniversary interview: Toriyama speaks” by VG247).
The devs care about Aerith, and they’re fully aware we do too.
I think a lot of people have it in their heads that the devs don’t want anything to change from the OG story, but there’s a lot of evidence that says otherwise. Codirector Toriyama spoke on this, stating the following about the production process of Remake:
“[…] there were times the original version became a hindrance. Specifically, staff members with a strong attachment to Final Fantasy VII would often hold themselves back for fear of deviating too much from the original. When we created the original game, we obviously didn’t feel bound in that way. We were passionate about creating a brand new Final Fantasy title, and so we dove in and embraced whatever seemed most interesting to us. We wanted to take that approach this time as well, so we made a special effort to liberate ourselves whenever we held back, remembering that it was okay to do the things we wanted to do” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 1: Motomu Toriyama, Naoki Hamaguchi, Teruki Endo”, page 737).
Codirector Nomura said the following:
“When I asked Nojima if he’d write the scenario, I was clear about my demands up front. I said, ‘If we're going to remake Final Fantasy VII, I want it to be done like this.’ At that point, I was intent on making something more than just a remake. [Similarly to how] the battle system this time incorporates elements of the original game’s ATB mechanics [while] also been reborn using a real-time approach […], I wanted to make a story that players would feel is fundamentally Final Fantasy VII but also something new” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 745).
Clearly, the devs don’t want to be bogged down by the OG, and are making efforts to do things the way they want to rather than the way they were previously done. The newer generation of developers such as codirector Hamaguchi is also involved in these story changes:
“Interviewer: There are also drastically more scenes with Sephiroth than there were in the original game.
Nojima: We weren't planning on having him appear so much at first— the idea was only to hint at his presence. But we changed our approach partway through and became more proactive with having him appear, after which the number of scenes he features in rapidly increased.
Nomura: Hamaguchi [codirector Naoki Hamaguchi] came up to me one day and said in a mysterious tone, ‘I'd like to talk to you about something.’ He asked me about having there be a battle with Sephiroth in Midgar. In the original game, Sephiroth’s true body is located elsewhere, so he didn’t think I'd give in to the idea so easily. think he even prepared materials to persuade me. But in the end I agreed readily [laughs]” (FFVII Remake Ultimania, section 08 “Secrets”, “Development Staff Interviews, Part 2: Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, Kazushige Nojima”, page 746).
Kitase, the producer of the Remake trilogy, even says that after working on this project for so long, and after spending almost 30 years on the FFVII project and getting to know the characters, he has realized that:
“The more [he works] on it, the more [he wants] to make all these characters happy. [He wants] to give them a happy ending. The rest of the team’s opinions [obviously] also have to be taken into consideration, so it won't be all happiness and rainbows. But [he] just [wants] to make [the characters of FFVII] happy” (Kitase and Hamaguchi’s interview “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Producer Just Wants 'the Characters to End Up Happy'”, by Vandal, translated by me).Kitase is indeed only one developer, but he’s the producer of this project: that’s the very top position. He oversees everything and nothing goes without his approval. That counts for something. Of course, Kitase is fair and values the input of all the devs, so of course it won’t be “all happiness and rainbows”— but I sincerely believe there’s a big chance that Cloud and Aerith are heading toward their happy ending. Even if this theory is completely bogus, I want to have faith that the devs would not sacrifice good storytelling for nostalgia and a conservative attitude toward preserving the OG story, as that would be cheap of them, and we have not known them to be cheap. This game truly matters to them, so I think they deserve our faith.
2024.05.16 17:21 throwaway8435216 I had an emotional affair.
I emotionally cheated on my partner of 5 years, with a friend I’d met online and have known for 1 year. My BP and I have been in a non-monogamous relationship for a while, but I had only started talking sexually to my friend for about 4 months. I am bisexual, and part of the purpose of our arrangement was to let me explore my sexuality before we get older. We are all in our early 20's. BP has also had the option to pursue other people. It has only been about 3 days since DDay.
I pursued my AP with my BP’s knowledge, but my relationship with them wasn’t exclusively sexual. I’d known I had been catching feelings for a while, and I was fully aware of what I was doing, even though I found it hard to admit: I was being very affectionate with them, texting with them almost as soon as I woke up, making plans to meet up with them IRL… I even started hiding Discord notifications so that BP wouldn’t see them when I received messages from them. I used pet names, possessively, and I told them I love them.
I unwittingly revealed the emotional affair to BP as I was trying to covertly manipulate my way into having the AP as a labeled partner. This is not the first time I’ve tried to change the rules of our arrangement to fit my selfish needs. I have had a pattern of unfaithfulness that I try to couch with my guilt and shame after facing my BP’s (deserved) anger and hurt.
Right now, the consequences of my actions have sent both my BP and AP into depressive episodes: both of them have talked about suicide ideation, and I myself have not stopped crying since the day my BP discovered the EA.
One of the conversations my BP and I had about our arrangement was about how I struggle with the idea of being sexually attracted to anyone that I don’t have an emotional attachment or connection with. But I know that this is but another rationalization, because one of the only concrete rules we had for our arrangement was to not fall romantically for anyone other than BP.
I have also had long standing issues with my self-esteem, and I was thrilled with the affection I had been giving and receiving from both my BP and AP.
My BP and I aren’t perfect. We have had problems throughout our 5 years, mainly with our communication. At the moment, we have also been finding it hard to schedule time for each other. BP is in college, while I have essentially dropped out and have the luxury of free time. I’ve spent a majority of that free time within that emotional affair.
None of these issues excuse my actions, however.
I genuinely care for both of them, but I am acknowledging that I acted on selfishness and a lack of respect for my BP. I know that nothing I’m feeling right now compares to what they are feeling.
I stepped out of the bounds of our relationship because I was confident that my BP would not mind/would not leave me. I rationalized that I was simply going along with the blurry boundaries of our non-monogamous relationship, that love was hard to define in the first place, or that I could be polyamorous, and this might be something I needed to pursue.
I know what I’ve done is incredibly wrong. I have put two people in harm’s way with my decisions, decisions I’d always (even subconsciously) known were going to lead to this. I had grown too used to compartmentalizing parts of myself/my feelings from my BP, I feel that this made it easier for me to hide my feelings for AP as well.
I am still honestly struggling with the idea of having to cut my friend off, even if it was the only ultimatum that my BP gave me when they discovered the affair. The fact that I hesitated, and wanted to give them closure, and stay friends with AP, hurt them even more.
Despite BP’s pleading, and despite my desire to completely prioritize BP, AP is in a very, very bad place, and begs me to stay their friend even though we can’t be romantic. We have had two very emotional phone calls about the situation even when I have been asked to go completely NC. I told them I loved them, and I do think my feelings are genuine, and I do not want them to die, but I believe a friendship between us would stay unhealthy due to everything. They live in another country and I don’t have many options besides reaching out to AP’s IRL best friend to try and help them through this, but I can’t emphasize enough how scared I am for AP due to other circumstances in their life.
I know, however, that I am most frightened by the idea of losing BP. I truly love them, and I see a future with them. We are LC right now, and I have had time to think about our relationship, and I’m certain that I am not just afraid of ending up alone. I want to make things work with them. But I have to accept that they may very well leave me, and it’s not just about what I want anymore. I must prioritize their mental and emotional health above all else, and find a way to make amends for what I’ve done.
BP deserves better. I have to give them full transparency, tell them the truth about my actions, how I felt about everything, and why I had done the things I did. I’m willing to hear how I’ve affected them as well and bear the brunt of their emotions. I have damaged their self-esteem, I have violated their trust again and again. I do not deserve to be loved the way that they do. I no longer want to save face or compartmentalize. If they hate me, if they find me disgusting, I will fully accept it.
I have to grow and change, and put an end to the harmful patterns that put the people in my life at risk. I’m scared, and I feel paralyzed, and I can’t afford therapy or counseling (and BP does not believe in couple’s counseling) but I’m not sure what else to do. I know it’s big talk, but I don’t want it to just be that forever.
I’ve been lurking on this sub since DDay and I’m welcome to hear anything from anyone, really. I know that subs like this one and AOAI are primarily occupied by people who have been married for decades, but I'm hoping it wouldn't hurt for someone like me to post about my situation. I'm hoping there is hope.
Thank you so much for reading this far.
submitted by throwaway8435216 to SupportforWaywards [link] [comments]
I pursued my AP with my BP’s knowledge, but my relationship with them wasn’t exclusively sexual. I’d known I had been catching feelings for a while, and I was fully aware of what I was doing, even though I found it hard to admit: I was being very affectionate with them, texting with them almost as soon as I woke up, making plans to meet up with them IRL… I even started hiding Discord notifications so that BP wouldn’t see them when I received messages from them. I used pet names, possessively, and I told them I love them.
I unwittingly revealed the emotional affair to BP as I was trying to covertly manipulate my way into having the AP as a labeled partner. This is not the first time I’ve tried to change the rules of our arrangement to fit my selfish needs. I have had a pattern of unfaithfulness that I try to couch with my guilt and shame after facing my BP’s (deserved) anger and hurt.
Right now, the consequences of my actions have sent both my BP and AP into depressive episodes: both of them have talked about suicide ideation, and I myself have not stopped crying since the day my BP discovered the EA.
One of the conversations my BP and I had about our arrangement was about how I struggle with the idea of being sexually attracted to anyone that I don’t have an emotional attachment or connection with. But I know that this is but another rationalization, because one of the only concrete rules we had for our arrangement was to not fall romantically for anyone other than BP.
I have also had long standing issues with my self-esteem, and I was thrilled with the affection I had been giving and receiving from both my BP and AP.
My BP and I aren’t perfect. We have had problems throughout our 5 years, mainly with our communication. At the moment, we have also been finding it hard to schedule time for each other. BP is in college, while I have essentially dropped out and have the luxury of free time. I’ve spent a majority of that free time within that emotional affair.
None of these issues excuse my actions, however.
I genuinely care for both of them, but I am acknowledging that I acted on selfishness and a lack of respect for my BP. I know that nothing I’m feeling right now compares to what they are feeling.
I stepped out of the bounds of our relationship because I was confident that my BP would not mind/would not leave me. I rationalized that I was simply going along with the blurry boundaries of our non-monogamous relationship, that love was hard to define in the first place, or that I could be polyamorous, and this might be something I needed to pursue.
I know what I’ve done is incredibly wrong. I have put two people in harm’s way with my decisions, decisions I’d always (even subconsciously) known were going to lead to this. I had grown too used to compartmentalizing parts of myself/my feelings from my BP, I feel that this made it easier for me to hide my feelings for AP as well.
I am still honestly struggling with the idea of having to cut my friend off, even if it was the only ultimatum that my BP gave me when they discovered the affair. The fact that I hesitated, and wanted to give them closure, and stay friends with AP, hurt them even more.
Despite BP’s pleading, and despite my desire to completely prioritize BP, AP is in a very, very bad place, and begs me to stay their friend even though we can’t be romantic. We have had two very emotional phone calls about the situation even when I have been asked to go completely NC. I told them I loved them, and I do think my feelings are genuine, and I do not want them to die, but I believe a friendship between us would stay unhealthy due to everything. They live in another country and I don’t have many options besides reaching out to AP’s IRL best friend to try and help them through this, but I can’t emphasize enough how scared I am for AP due to other circumstances in their life.
I know, however, that I am most frightened by the idea of losing BP. I truly love them, and I see a future with them. We are LC right now, and I have had time to think about our relationship, and I’m certain that I am not just afraid of ending up alone. I want to make things work with them. But I have to accept that they may very well leave me, and it’s not just about what I want anymore. I must prioritize their mental and emotional health above all else, and find a way to make amends for what I’ve done.
BP deserves better. I have to give them full transparency, tell them the truth about my actions, how I felt about everything, and why I had done the things I did. I’m willing to hear how I’ve affected them as well and bear the brunt of their emotions. I have damaged their self-esteem, I have violated their trust again and again. I do not deserve to be loved the way that they do. I no longer want to save face or compartmentalize. If they hate me, if they find me disgusting, I will fully accept it.
I have to grow and change, and put an end to the harmful patterns that put the people in my life at risk. I’m scared, and I feel paralyzed, and I can’t afford therapy or counseling (and BP does not believe in couple’s counseling) but I’m not sure what else to do. I know it’s big talk, but I don’t want it to just be that forever.
I’ve been lurking on this sub since DDay and I’m welcome to hear anything from anyone, really. I know that subs like this one and AOAI are primarily occupied by people who have been married for decades, but I'm hoping it wouldn't hurt for someone like me to post about my situation. I'm hoping there is hope.
Thank you so much for reading this far.
2024.05.16 17:15 Suspicious_Finger590 "Boundaries," Hot Marriage and Really Long, runon sentences ...
DISCLAIMER: I did not transcribe this myself, though I could. I had a machine do it, and then the machine threw up afterwards -- but I did go through and add some bullety points while Jamie shot off her mouth. It's a total word salad, but one has only to skim through and see the number of ways she yawns and yawps and contradicts herself ... and does not take a breath, so there is very little punctuation. Again it's a run-on slog and the AI program chose to only use periods to end 70-some sentences because of all the run-on "like ... you know ... and ... but" instances as she ran with it -- with NO BOUNDARIES WHATSOVER. I did take out the kids' names, and I did search-and-replace all instances of "to" with "tuh" because that IS how they talk!
ENJOY -- and I use that word lightly:
AND SO IT BEGINS WITH Doug wishing Happy Mother's Day … and immediately Jamie corrects him, "Well, not really Mother's Day …" since they are recording after Mother's Day. Got get those Doug corrections in toot sweet, lest he thinks he has a mind of his own.
They note they tend to be "a little late on things," but they are "trying to get better about that." Doug says they had a fantastic Mother's Day, and he asked her if she had a good time. She said she had a great time. Doug wrote Happy Mother's Day on some cards and the kids drew on them. He gave her an eyelash waxing and noted probably a bad idea. She said it wasn't that she wasn't thrilled as she did mention that pregnancy makes her eyebrows bushy, but she was scared, maybe just mentioned she'd need to tweeze, but oh, well, yes, she likes his gift.
Jamie noted that it was "just the four of us" and of course, the babies in her belly, and that was fine with her – until her son's birthday of course, when she noted that their entire families suck!
So onto her son's birthdays and THESE GEMS AND THOUGHTS: I think it's just pregnancy hormones, but honestly, like, I just, I just can't, like, I don't know why, like, I guess, like, you know, ever since I was little, I've always really, really wanted family, like, so badly, like, I wanted just, like, deep connections with people who truly love me, and I truly love them, and we just really, truly support each other, and just, I don't know, I think, like, just pregnancy hormones made me think about it, but, like, yesterday for Son's birthday, and just family members who just completely forgot, and they just don't care, and I'm like, is it me? Is it him?
Like, and I don't want my son tuh grow, like, he doesn't know, and he'll never know, because I'll make sure, I mean, I spent every second, that boy had no second tuh think yesterday, like, I picked him up from school, and I took him tuh the library, because that's where he wanted tuh go, and then we, like, you know, we really love surprises in this family, if that's not clear by now, and so Daughter and I surprised him with a splash pad, like, we went tuh the splash pad for the first time, and we never do things like that on a school night, and so, and then he got tuh go pick out a cake that he wanted, and then Doug had dinner already at home, and then also we had decorations in his bedroom, which I was, like, hoping tuh have for the morning, but then Doug was, like, at, like, midnight, when we're, like, thinking about starting tuh blow up the balloons, Doug is like, Jamie, let's just surprise him tomorrow after school.
(Notice she takes no breath … and also they were super-last minute when it came tuh getting ready for his birthday, versus, what we have all mentioned, that isn't so when it's a gender reveal or a party or pickleball or something FOR HER.)
HERE, DOUG ASKS … "WHY, ARE WE GONNA DO THIS NOW?" AND THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE LAST EFFORT HE MADE tuh STOP HER BECAUSE SHE WENT ON WITH: Yeah, because it was so late, but I was like, I just have, like, this vision that I just wanted for him, because, you know, I'm just trying tuh give them the childhood that, like, I would have wanted, that any little kid would want, and really all that involves is truly just two loving parents who are there, and, like, that's really all that really involves, but if I can go a little extra, you know, and surprise him, and I, then I want to, you know, and so, you know.
DOUG NOTES THAT HE DOESN'T THINK THEY KNOW ANY DIFFERENT, AND HE CONTINUES WITH: I don't think they really know any different, you know, and I know, I know it's, it's tough, and I think, especially with, like, little kids, you know, they, they won't necessarily feel the impact and that want, you know, and, and I know that you do, and it, it hurts me that, you know, you would, you would want people tuh care enough to, tuh reach out, and I think, you know, for, for me, I, that's, I don't really set my expectations or, or give those expectations tuh son and daughter.
JAMIE BLASTS BACK, SUPER-DEFENSIVELY: Oh, I do not either, though. I do not at all. I don't say a thing tuh them about anything, because, you know, sometimes people miss their – you know, and that happens sometimes, but when it's, like, over, and over, and over again, and, like, it's just so obvious, and, and people ask us why we moved tuh Florida, and don't we want tuh be near family, and, you know, tuh be very honest, this is why.
Like, we, you know, I, we would fly up there tuh try tuh prove, like, hey, listen, we're not just trying tuh leave, though. Like, we, we, I want that family connection so badly with your family, with my family, and it's just, you know, unfortunately, it's, people are in different stages of life. I try tuh make excuses, like, for them, and, you know, for us, and it's probably not personal, but the point of the matter is, is that whether it's not personal, and people are busy, and whatever the case may be, we don't have that family connection.
We just don't, and I'm, I try tuh nurture it, and, um, you know, and we do with some family members, and then just others, you know, you just, it's just. Well, you can't help but be disappointed. Yeah, and, like, I guess my heart hurts, because I want our son, and our daughter, and our children tuh have just so many people who love them, and want tuh be around them, and who will encourage them, and support them, and.
DOUG NOTES THAT HE THINKS FAMILY KNOW ALL OF THIS AND THAT THEY, THE KIDS KNOW HOW MUCH LOVE THEY HAVE FOR THEM, AND ALL THE EFFORTS THEY PUT FORTH, AND HERE HE SAYS, "Especially you," AND THAT ALL OF THIS IS WHAT MATTERS MOST.
JAMIE'S REBUTTAL: Yeah, I know, but Doug, what I'm trying tuh say is that, like, what I would want for them is them tuh have many people who love them, and, like, you know, like, I always wanted, you know, it's not even a secret, like, way back, I'm married at first, like, the one thing I wanted was tuh marry into a family, like, a big loving family that would welcome me as their own, and, and I'm really thankful for your family, and, yeah, but, like, I just feel like, like, I want that for our kids. Like, I wanted them tuh have people who loved them, who wanted tuh come around them.
Like, my, my siblings and I really didn't have many aunts or uncles or grandparents who, I mean, you know, it's kind of, it's so long, because, like, there are some people who were there, but it was, like, toxic, and aye, aye, aye, it's just, you know, it's just, at the end of the day, I'm pregnant, and it's just hormones, and I know our kids feel nothing but loved, but it's just really evident, like, on a birthday or holidays, like, people who, who actually, like, family who actually truly cares for us, and, like, all I've ever wanted was just our, like, I, I don't know why I care about these people caring about me, when, like, they don't care, and it's okay, and that's, that's, it's okay.
Like, it, I'm trying so hard tuh just be, like, accept it, girl. Like, you know, you can't force family tuh love you.
JAMIE TRIES TO DIFFUSE THE TIMEBOMB SITUATION THAT IS HIS WIFE, CLEARLY GOING OFF ON EVERYBODY BY SAYING HE KNOWS THAT SHE DOESN'T WANT THIS FOR THEM BUT THAT THEY, THE KIDS, DON'T EVEN NOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS RIGHT NOW.
JAMIE'S REBUTTAL: Well, I know they don't, and so, at the end of the day, I was, like, sitting in bed crying earlier, and I was, like, what is wrong with me, because I know my son had a great birthday yesterday. Like, I made sure of it.
DOUG NOTES SHE "KILLED IT, YESTERDAY."
JAMIE BLASTS ON: At the end of the day, I think, like, it's a personal thing, because it's, like, they don't care about me, and therefore, they don't care about my son, and that hurts, you know? Like, it's just hurtful, and not, because I care about them, and I love them, and I've tried so hard tuh be part of them, and, and try to, like, I've tried changing my ways. I've tried tuh adapt tuh be more like them.
I've tried all these different things. At the end of the day, nothing I do, like, I may as well just be myself, and, and, because if I have tried tuh be like them, they don't like me. If I try tuh be myself, they don't like me.
Like, no matter what, like, I don't feel like, I feel like they're, I'm just kind of judged by them in the way that I live my life, and anyways, it's fine, but.
DOUG COUNTERS IT WITH THE FACT THAT JAMIE GOES "ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR EVERYBODY," AND THAT IT'S TOUGH THAT SHE "WANTS OR EXPECTS THAT IN RETURN," BUT NOTES THAT THIS IS ALSO MAYBE WHERE THE "BOUNDARIES" LIE … cool, they now have a title for the podcast!
JAMIE CONTINUES tuh BLAST: Well, no, of course, and this is exactly why I'm also crying happy tears, because for so long, I just really tried tuh nurture, like, a true, like, true family, and deep connection, and like, try tuh be, like, really close, and, and it's like, well, if you're the only person nurturing that, you're bound tuh get hurt. It's bound, it's not going tuh happen ever, because it has tuh be a two-way street, and so, unfortunately, like, I started putting up boundaries, and I knew it was going tuh hurt, and like, here it is. It's, it's hurting, you know, like, and then inevitably, they'll be like, you know, you moved tuh Florida, but even when we didn't live in Florida, let's be honest, like, we didn't see family very often, unless, like, it was, it just, unless it was us going places, and then even when we moved here, I would fly up there.
I flew up, we were flying up there, like, once a month. It was so expensive. It was so taxing, but I just wanted to, tuh kind of prove, hey, listen, like, but, you know, I'm so glad we moved here, because at the end of the day, you know, even if we never even find our own people, like, our focus is on our core family, like, we had zero distractions for Son yesterday, like, his birthday was the hundred, like, and it's just, that feels good, because normally, we wouldn't have that. Yeah, normally, I would be cleaning the house, trying tuh prep for people tuh come over, who I would have called 10 times, make sure they remember that he's coming, and it's like, or that his birthday is coming, and it's like, it's just, you know, this is such a vulnerable, I don't even know if I want tuh share any of this, because it's just so personal, but.
DOUG NOTES THAT ALL REFLECTS MORE ABOUT OTHERS AND NOT AN ATTACK ON JAMIE.
AND YET JAMIE CONTINUES TO DEFLECT AND ATTACK: No, I don't think it is either, but it's just very evident where people, like, if people care about us and our family, I don't think they actually, that's the thing, is they don't, like, and so, they're not thinking about it one way or the other, it doesn't even matter tuh them, and that's what hurts, because I wish that they cared about us the way that we cared about them, but they don't, and so, that's why I'm trying tuh have the boundaries tuh be like, find people who will care about you then, or just focus on your own family, and if people wonder why I want so many kids, well, there you go. People constantly say, why don't you love the two you have?
Oh, of course I do, and I'll tell you what, I want tuh have 10 more, because I want tuh raise them in a way where we love each other, we're always there for each other, we don't forget. It's just silly little milestones, it's not about presents, it's not about anything other than just love, and remembrance, and just, like, celebrating each other, and I am going tuh raise my kids tuh just really love each other, and tuh know that their parents love them, but God forbid, one of us are taken, and then, then it's like, I think about things like that, and I'm like, who do they have if they don't have us? Like, seriously, and that scares the crap out of me, because there are very few people who even remember, like, and tuh me, it's just a birthday, I know, it doesn't really matter, but like, that's of significance tuh that child, and people just don't care, like, they just, our fam, so many of our family members just don't care. Well, we make, we make it, and then I'm like, am I making a mountain out of a molehill, but like, and am I?
DOUG ALSO THINKS ABOUT THEM "DEPARTING EARLY" AND WHAT HAPPENS tuh THEM.
JAMIE BUSTS BACK IN, AND STARTS tuh TALK ABOUT "ESTATE PLANNING," WHICH SORT OF MADE ME SIDEYE BECAUSE SHE GOES ON tuh TALK ABOUT THE KIDS AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM, AS IF THEY WERE PART OF THE "ESTATE," BUT I GUESS SINCE THEY ARE THE MONEYMAKERS SHE THINKS OF IT MORE IN THAT WAY THAN GUARDIANSHIP PAPERWORK … AND SO SHE CONTINUES: Well, when you think about estate planning, and then who you're leaving your kids to, and I'm like, who can I leave my kids to, who are really going tuh love them, and the people right now didn't even call tuh wish him happy birthday, they didn't even call tuh wish him a happy birthday, they didn't send a gift, and it's not even about the gift, but it's about the thought, who do we have in our life, Doug? I don't think it's, you know, I ask if I think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but then I, like, I almost, like, talk, like, convince myself that, no, I'm not, like, I'm really trying tuh make sure that our kids are taken, like, loved and taken care of, and sure, we've got it out, down pat, but what happens, like, then what?
And like, I'm not gonna go down that rabbit hole, and I'm sure this is all pregnancy hormones, and I'm just exhausted and tired, so, but I just think about these things, and then, and then people wonder why I am so thankful for our followers, for those of you listening tuh the podcast, and those of you who follow us on Instagram and YouTube, and who are just excited for us, because a lot of our own family members aren't, like, it's just wild, and so, yeah, and so thank you for those of you listening, and for those of you who comment, and just, you know, just are excited to, like, like, tuh be part of our family, like, because we have forever been looking for that, and, like, our family's just not that interested, and we could try, and try, and try.
DOUG: Out of sight, out of mind.
JAMIE BINGOS!!!!! THAT THOUGHT AND CONTINUES: Yeah, it's, and it's fine, but I'll tell you what, I genuinely do appreciate every single five-star review, every single, like, nudge that you just, every single moment that you take out of your life just tuh be like, hey, what's up with Jamie, you know, and that's why I try tuh do giveaways, and I try to, you know, like, read your five-star reviews, and I try tuh show you that I genuinely care about you, too, because I really think that it is a two-way street with everything in life, like, so whether it's, you know, family, it's friends, it's working, it's, we're colleagues, like, if someone is showing you a lot of, you know, any support, or encouragement, or care, like, then that's the person that you should then go show love, support, and encouragement, and care to, whether they're family or not, and unfortunately, if family doesn't seem tuh show you that, well, then you do have tuh set up boundaries, and it hurts, like, h-e-l-l, because then you'll start to, when you stop reaching out as much, well, then you'll start seeing that your relationship becomes even more distant, but you can't constantly break your back tuh try tuh make relationships.
DOUG NOTES THAT THEY EITHER STEP UP OR DON'T, AND THAT’S WHERE IT LANDS.
JAMIE CONTINUES: Yeah, but from what, from my experience, from what we've experienced, you know, no one really steps up, and it's pretty evident when you start, when you realize you have tuh make a boundary with a person, like, just know in your heart that it's gonna hurt, like, you know, and I'm sure that we're, I'm not the only person going through this, and that's, I think, why it's important tuh share, is that, you know, because it's hard tuh share these things.
It's embarrassing. It's, I feel, it's almost, like, belittling. It's like, like, you know, it's like you're, you're sharing that you're rejected, essentially.
Who wants tuh share that? Like, who wants tuh admit that? But the truth is, is that we all have been there, and so I think that the biggest way tuh heal, and what I've learned is, of course, tuh find, to, like, lean in on the people who don't, like, desert you, betray you, talk behind your back.
I mean, that's the thing, is people who also, who are there, but they're really, like, kind of a snake in disguise, and, like, it's, like, like, they, it seems like they're there for you, but then behind, but you're walking on eggshells around them, because you know that they're saying things behind your back, and that's not, that's not healthy either, and so what I've really tried tuh do is really just focus on people that have really just been loving and nurturing, and the more people are loving and nurturing tuh me, whether they're family or not, the more I will lead, like, reach into them, and...
DOUG BUSTS IN TO TAKE A "QUICK PAUSE" FOR AN AD, IRONICALLY ABOUT INVESTING AND GOOD FINANCIAL HYGEINE.
JAMIE GETS RIGHT BACK TO IT: Of course, holidays and birthdays are tough because like you want like my mom like I mean forget it but like I love her and she's doing the best she can but like you know it's like I don't know I guess it's because I'm pregnant and then like when you become a mom and you just think about this relationship and it's like I just have always wanted that relationship with my mom and of course I know real like logically it's not gonna happen but anyways it's um it's just hard but anyways what I was trying tuh say tuh you though listening is like if you're going through this type of situation like just know that you're doing the right thing by kind of putting the boundaries up and then kind of you know you got tuh focus on gratitude more than anything else and so I consistently try tuh remind myself tuh be thankful that I am alive I'm able tuh be there for my kids my son has no idea who remembered and who forgot his birthday but of course he knows who he talked tuh but like you know I, I know that he had the most spectacular day yesterday and I made darn well sure of it and it literally cost me like zero dollars tuh it's not like it has tuh be expensive it wasn't extravagant we went tuh the library which is free and then we went tuh a free splash pad that's in our city and slash playground yeah, yeah and he had a great time so it's like people it's because the other thing people say well if you can afford tuh give them that it's like it doesn't you can find ways tuh live tuh like really bless your family and your kids without having tuh spend boatloads of money um but the biggest message and takeaway of this all and I guess of like I we never planned on sharing any of this we were planning on sharing about mother's day and
DOUG DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT tuh SAY, BUT SHE NEEDS tuh KNOW HOW PROUD HE IS OF HER, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH …
SHE THANKS HIM QUICKLY AND THEN GETS ON WITH HIS always getting by my side and like when I'm thankful for you when I started you know going tuh therapy and, and I mean forever ago I'm telling you forever ago when we were first married and I first started going tuh a therapist outside of married at first sight she told me she looked me in the eyes and she said Jamie like they might be family but they're not your people and you gotta go find your people and I didn't want tuh believe her I didn't want I literally just said you know thanks but no thanks essentially and I'm gonna try my best tuh turn this family into mine because I want this connection and I want this and I wish I could have saved myself all those years by just listening tuh her and you know finding my own people who, who do love and support me for who I am who I don't have tuh like I can just don't have tuh walk on eggshells I don't have tuh try tuh be anybody else I can just be myself and they'll see like the good in that and they'll like it you know and, and not everyone's for everyone and that's okay and I just try tuh remind myself that but anyways um yeah you've always stood by my side so thank you I see you I'll always be by your side I just like sometimes doubt like if like you know like, like, like what have I done like am I a bad person like did I like what have I done this has nothing
DOUG NOTES THAT THEY'D FIND PEOPLE "DOWN HERE" IN FLORIDA, AND THAT THEY BOTH KNEW IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, THAT REALLY MEANINGFUL BONDS TAKE TIME, BUT THEY ARE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE POSITION TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AND MAKE STRONG FRIENDS THEY CONSIDER TO BE FAMILY, AMAZING PEOPLE, AND THERE ARE KIDS TOO, AND THEY CAN WATCH EVERYONE GROW UP TOGETHER … AND HE THINKS, "That's kind of the point of, of moving tuh Florida find community find our people and also find out you know who would be there with us and for us and …"
JAMIE BLASTS BACK: It has nothing tuh do with you or who you are well the truth is, is obviously it does because these people don't enjoy being around me so then therefore they don't enjoy remembering our kids and or me whatever I guess I think I'm just really hormonal and emotional but I guess I just feel incredibly rejected and like I've done something wrong but I also know at the same exact breath that this has been happening for years and years and years where I've really
DOUG NOTES JAMIE HAS "TRIED SO HARD" AND THAT IT'S NOTHING THAT SHE DID.
JAMIE BLATHERS BACK THAT IT'S NOT REALLY THAT THEY'VE DONE ANYTHING WRONG, BUT … we just don't jive and I guess you know we have different we're different people and we can't force it yeah and so there's very little control that we have over it other than us being us yeah and so but you know but I guess this is like the healing part that everyone talks about with boundaries that's so painful like it's so painful because when you want something so bad and like I think it's like wired in me because it's family and like I really want tuh support family and love family and be there for them and but then it's like but it's just not there in return and you could just spend your whole life searching for it and or you could kind of put up a boundary and, and stop allowing that tuh continue tuh hurt you and find people who are genuinely happy tuh be around you and so needless tuh say for those of you listening if - if you're in this boat with someone whether it's parents siblings aunts uncles cousins I don't know or even long-time friends who you think are quote-unquote friends but you know things change or who knows I mean it's so darn hurtful but I really believe at the end of the day that I mean I was I spent years and years and years trying my darnedest and now I'm like if I, If I could give like an inkling of that effort tuh someone who gives an inkling of the effort back tuh me like the just the joy and happiness that could come from that or just like the stability and also like I did try changing myself tuh kind of be more like them tuh have more in common with them and it just I can tell you right now if you're trying tuh do that that's not gonna work either like it's hard unfortunately you just gotta be yourself in this world you gotta love with your whole heart and, and be selfless you know you can't expect people tuh just care about you if you don't care about them of course you gotta show up for people you gotta really like put yourself out there for them but if you consistently do that and you're not getting any of it in return you gotta change your path and it's the hardest thing in the world tuh do but you know tuh be very, very honest like going tuh bed with Doug last night after Son's birthday and like just everything that went down and whatnot I was just like and this is why we live in Florida this is why we moved here because this this served our core family more so than trying tuh fit a round peg into a square everyone else's schedule and everybody else's lives it's just you know and it's and I'm incredibly thankful tuh your sister and tuh your mom and your dad of course because they did reach out and that's just really, really kind like they called and they just show that they really care and that really means the whole wide world tuh me and like regardless of what they think of me like they love our kids and that's really all that
DOUG NOTES WHAT MATTERS IS-AND MAYBE THEY NEED TO BELIEVE IN SOME KIND OF "HIGHER PURPOSE," BUT HE DOESN'T CONSIDER IT ALL "WASTED TIME OR ENERGY," AND THAT IT MAYBE HAPPENED THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AND FOR JAMIE TO GIVE …
AND SHE CUTS HIM OFF TO SAY THAT THIS MESSAGE CAN help others. I've really kind of like avoided being this vulnerable lately because I feel like there are some people who just really don't like me and it's been brought tuh my attention and just no matter what I do they really don't like me and I guess like everybody has quote-unquote haters but it hurts my heart a little bit and I don't know but, but the truth is, is like just like I said before what I learned in this the certain boundaries that I've talked about before is that you really can't change who you are in the hopes that people will start tuh approve of you because they're never like the people who just choose that they don't like you and they just choose tuh find your faults will always like they will always see your faults and they will always yeah there's no convincing them otherwise and that's and if you're listening tuh this like this is the truth for all of us is that when you're looking for the good in life you're gonna find the good and you can focus on that and try tuh get like more of that and garner more of that but if you're focused on the negative whether it's in life or with your spouse or with a friend or at the workplace you're gonna find that and so if so sometimes if you've you know if you see that you're consistently feeling like you have quote-unquote bad luck or that this person's being wrong tuh you or they're not caring about you will try tuh think about the good that they do and, and, and so truly like for me with these whole boundary things like I've tried just I tried tuh kind of I've already tried that with some of these family members that just don't seem tuh care and um and, and so that's and then that's when the hurt comes is you know when you realize oh yeah you're actually all right and you are onto something and for whatever reason their life isn't aligning with yours and it's and that's okay but it doesn't mean it's not gonna hurt a little bit for the person who like wants it tuh be there but that's when you go out and find someone who wants tuh align their life with you or maybe their life already aligns and they just and you can serve each other you can love each other you can be there for each other and whether it's blood related or not like that will serve you better in life and so that's kind of where I think Doug and I are right now um but also for, for you listening if, if you're just finding yourself in this situation too just try tuh make sure you're not just trying tuh find the fault in someone because you don't want tuh get caught in that rabbit hole and there are people out there who just want tuh find the negative and then there are people out there who cut that down like don't allow that tuh happen tuh yourself because you will be miserable your whole life hating on someone else and just constantly finding their faults and constantly complaining about them is never going tuh bring you true happiness it really isn't and so think about you know yourself and like what you can do differently and try tuh bring the positive and so yeah I haven't been as vulnerable lately because it's been hard tuh be very honest tuh just share like my heart and then people are just going tuh attack me for it you know I'm sure but um but my goal in sharing this if we end up sharing this is that it helps the one person out there or I'm sure several really who are in the same exact boat who are you know trying tuh keep a friend that they've had forever but that friend's just not there or trying tuh maintain a relationship with one of your parents or your siblings or it shouldn't be hard it shouldn't be and you shouldn't have tuh change who you are and if you do then that's really just not the right person for you and, and you can talk tuh them about it of course and then if they're just combative, at the end of the day, I just say the best advice is find a therapist, and this book called Boundaries, and it's a little religious, and also a little kind of like, whoa, but I'm telling you, Chapter One, just give it – if you don’t' like it after that, don't even try, but like Chapter One, I was like, wow, I can see so much of myself in this, and I can see how could change, and I've got tuh promise you that it's been hurt along the way, but I have – we have, and our family has more positive days now than stressful, trying tuh like pull people in who don't really want tuh be there, trying tuh help them remember because they're gonna forget, like it's just – like yesterday was like the least stressful day ever, and we didn't have one person coming tuh our – or even Mother's Day, it was just us four, and you know, before I had kids, and I think – I saw someone else write this, but like before I had kids, I looked at the world as like everyone I encountered, and how can I be helpful tuh them, and that – like, but now it's like my world is my husband and my children. My world is within my four walls, and how do I love them and support them the best that I possible can, tuh help them become good – eventually like good husbands, a good wife, good mothers, good fathers, and good, good family members, and so …
DOUG IS SO PROUD OF HER AND THINKS SHE SHOULD ALSO BE PROUD OF HERSELF BECAUSE OF "HOW MUCH YOU HAVE GROWN FROM PEOPLE STARTING TO COMMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND YOU TRYING TO BRING THEM BACK OVER TO YOUR SIDE TO RECOGNIZING THE TOXICITY OF IT, AND SETTING BOUNDARIES." HE HAS TO TELL HER THAT IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, SHE HAS "SPREAD MORE POSITIVITY, IN MY MIND, THAN ANYBODY, FOCUSING ON BEING THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL," AND A MESSAGE SHE IS PASSING ONTO THE KIDS WHO ARE REALLY STARTING tuh THINK ABOUT IT AND FOCUS ON IT, AND IT'S "DRIVEN BY YOU."
MORE RASPY WHINY TEARY VOICE: Oh, Gosh, Doug's that's the nicest comment that I could have ever received because I really want that for them … yeah, because I – because we could all fall into that where you see the negative and you just kind of focus on that, and I'm trying so hard not to, and tuh just – you know, pray more, and even meditate, and that has nothing tuh do with prayer, but like just rewire my brain tuh like the positive things and finding the positive and helping others, also because – honestly, and I want tuh raise my kid where they are not seeing the negative, they're seeing the positive in situations because life, regardless of who loves you, how much money you have, what home you live in, what car you drive, life is so much better when you're able tuh see the positive and you're able to, like lean into that more, and you're able tuh then attract people who are like that, and the Negative Nellies are just going tuh always be there talking their smack about you, and that's fine, but like, if you can find the positive, you can focus on that, and you're going tuh have such a happier life, and the Negative Nellies, unfortunately, like I still pray for them, I still hope for them, because it's sad – like they're not living a happy life. You can't be a hater tuh all these people and be happy. It's sad.
DOUG THINKS THEY ARE "living proof of it, because once we started tuh focus on happy, once we started focusing on being thankful and grateful, the people that we attracted are the people that we would want tuh be with … didn't happen overnight, but as soon as we started tuh rethink that, and really try tuh be positive and do positive things, and our prayers and with the kids and being thankful and finding good, and gratitude, you know, we attracted people into our lives that, you know, are going tuh be there – I mean, I feel these are now lifelong friends, and you know, all of that was attracted, and there has got tuh be something tuh that."
THE END, THEY MUST GO PICK UP THEIR DAUGHTER BUT ONLY AFTER THE FIVE-STAR REVIEW AND THEN "SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!"
DELUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSIONAL – THE BOTH OF THEM! And according to the AI program Jamie talks more than 90 percent of the time, and Dud, hardly ever.
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ENJOY -- and I use that word lightly:
AND SO IT BEGINS WITH Doug wishing Happy Mother's Day … and immediately Jamie corrects him, "Well, not really Mother's Day …" since they are recording after Mother's Day. Got get those Doug corrections in toot sweet, lest he thinks he has a mind of his own.
They note they tend to be "a little late on things," but they are "trying to get better about that." Doug says they had a fantastic Mother's Day, and he asked her if she had a good time. She said she had a great time. Doug wrote Happy Mother's Day on some cards and the kids drew on them. He gave her an eyelash waxing and noted probably a bad idea. She said it wasn't that she wasn't thrilled as she did mention that pregnancy makes her eyebrows bushy, but she was scared, maybe just mentioned she'd need to tweeze, but oh, well, yes, she likes his gift.
Jamie noted that it was "just the four of us" and of course, the babies in her belly, and that was fine with her – until her son's birthday of course, when she noted that their entire families suck!
So onto her son's birthdays and THESE GEMS AND THOUGHTS: I think it's just pregnancy hormones, but honestly, like, I just, I just can't, like, I don't know why, like, I guess, like, you know, ever since I was little, I've always really, really wanted family, like, so badly, like, I wanted just, like, deep connections with people who truly love me, and I truly love them, and we just really, truly support each other, and just, I don't know, I think, like, just pregnancy hormones made me think about it, but, like, yesterday for Son's birthday, and just family members who just completely forgot, and they just don't care, and I'm like, is it me? Is it him?
Like, and I don't want my son tuh grow, like, he doesn't know, and he'll never know, because I'll make sure, I mean, I spent every second, that boy had no second tuh think yesterday, like, I picked him up from school, and I took him tuh the library, because that's where he wanted tuh go, and then we, like, you know, we really love surprises in this family, if that's not clear by now, and so Daughter and I surprised him with a splash pad, like, we went tuh the splash pad for the first time, and we never do things like that on a school night, and so, and then he got tuh go pick out a cake that he wanted, and then Doug had dinner already at home, and then also we had decorations in his bedroom, which I was, like, hoping tuh have for the morning, but then Doug was, like, at, like, midnight, when we're, like, thinking about starting tuh blow up the balloons, Doug is like, Jamie, let's just surprise him tomorrow after school.
(Notice she takes no breath … and also they were super-last minute when it came tuh getting ready for his birthday, versus, what we have all mentioned, that isn't so when it's a gender reveal or a party or pickleball or something FOR HER.)
HERE, DOUG ASKS … "WHY, ARE WE GONNA DO THIS NOW?" AND THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE LAST EFFORT HE MADE tuh STOP HER BECAUSE SHE WENT ON WITH: Yeah, because it was so late, but I was like, I just have, like, this vision that I just wanted for him, because, you know, I'm just trying tuh give them the childhood that, like, I would have wanted, that any little kid would want, and really all that involves is truly just two loving parents who are there, and, like, that's really all that really involves, but if I can go a little extra, you know, and surprise him, and I, then I want to, you know, and so, you know.
DOUG NOTES THAT HE DOESN'T THINK THEY KNOW ANY DIFFERENT, AND HE CONTINUES WITH: I don't think they really know any different, you know, and I know, I know it's, it's tough, and I think, especially with, like, little kids, you know, they, they won't necessarily feel the impact and that want, you know, and, and I know that you do, and it, it hurts me that, you know, you would, you would want people tuh care enough to, tuh reach out, and I think, you know, for, for me, I, that's, I don't really set my expectations or, or give those expectations tuh son and daughter.
JAMIE BLASTS BACK, SUPER-DEFENSIVELY: Oh, I do not either, though. I do not at all. I don't say a thing tuh them about anything, because, you know, sometimes people miss their – you know, and that happens sometimes, but when it's, like, over, and over, and over again, and, like, it's just so obvious, and, and people ask us why we moved tuh Florida, and don't we want tuh be near family, and, you know, tuh be very honest, this is why.
Like, we, you know, I, we would fly up there tuh try tuh prove, like, hey, listen, we're not just trying tuh leave, though. Like, we, we, I want that family connection so badly with your family, with my family, and it's just, you know, unfortunately, it's, people are in different stages of life. I try tuh make excuses, like, for them, and, you know, for us, and it's probably not personal, but the point of the matter is, is that whether it's not personal, and people are busy, and whatever the case may be, we don't have that family connection.
We just don't, and I'm, I try tuh nurture it, and, um, you know, and we do with some family members, and then just others, you know, you just, it's just. Well, you can't help but be disappointed. Yeah, and, like, I guess my heart hurts, because I want our son, and our daughter, and our children tuh have just so many people who love them, and want tuh be around them, and who will encourage them, and support them, and.
DOUG NOTES THAT HE THINKS FAMILY KNOW ALL OF THIS AND THAT THEY, THE KIDS KNOW HOW MUCH LOVE THEY HAVE FOR THEM, AND ALL THE EFFORTS THEY PUT FORTH, AND HERE HE SAYS, "Especially you," AND THAT ALL OF THIS IS WHAT MATTERS MOST.
JAMIE'S REBUTTAL: Yeah, I know, but Doug, what I'm trying tuh say is that, like, what I would want for them is them tuh have many people who love them, and, like, you know, like, I always wanted, you know, it's not even a secret, like, way back, I'm married at first, like, the one thing I wanted was tuh marry into a family, like, a big loving family that would welcome me as their own, and, and I'm really thankful for your family, and, yeah, but, like, I just feel like, like, I want that for our kids. Like, I wanted them tuh have people who loved them, who wanted tuh come around them.
Like, my, my siblings and I really didn't have many aunts or uncles or grandparents who, I mean, you know, it's kind of, it's so long, because, like, there are some people who were there, but it was, like, toxic, and aye, aye, aye, it's just, you know, it's just, at the end of the day, I'm pregnant, and it's just hormones, and I know our kids feel nothing but loved, but it's just really evident, like, on a birthday or holidays, like, people who, who actually, like, family who actually truly cares for us, and, like, all I've ever wanted was just our, like, I, I don't know why I care about these people caring about me, when, like, they don't care, and it's okay, and that's, that's, it's okay.
Like, it, I'm trying so hard tuh just be, like, accept it, girl. Like, you know, you can't force family tuh love you.
JAMIE TRIES TO DIFFUSE THE TIMEBOMB SITUATION THAT IS HIS WIFE, CLEARLY GOING OFF ON EVERYBODY BY SAYING HE KNOWS THAT SHE DOESN'T WANT THIS FOR THEM BUT THAT THEY, THE KIDS, DON'T EVEN NOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS RIGHT NOW.
JAMIE'S REBUTTAL: Well, I know they don't, and so, at the end of the day, I was, like, sitting in bed crying earlier, and I was, like, what is wrong with me, because I know my son had a great birthday yesterday. Like, I made sure of it.
DOUG NOTES SHE "KILLED IT, YESTERDAY."
JAMIE BLASTS ON: At the end of the day, I think, like, it's a personal thing, because it's, like, they don't care about me, and therefore, they don't care about my son, and that hurts, you know? Like, it's just hurtful, and not, because I care about them, and I love them, and I've tried so hard tuh be part of them, and, and try to, like, I've tried changing my ways. I've tried tuh adapt tuh be more like them.
I've tried all these different things. At the end of the day, nothing I do, like, I may as well just be myself, and, and, because if I have tried tuh be like them, they don't like me. If I try tuh be myself, they don't like me.
Like, no matter what, like, I don't feel like, I feel like they're, I'm just kind of judged by them in the way that I live my life, and anyways, it's fine, but.
DOUG COUNTERS IT WITH THE FACT THAT JAMIE GOES "ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR EVERYBODY," AND THAT IT'S TOUGH THAT SHE "WANTS OR EXPECTS THAT IN RETURN," BUT NOTES THAT THIS IS ALSO MAYBE WHERE THE "BOUNDARIES" LIE … cool, they now have a title for the podcast!
JAMIE CONTINUES tuh BLAST: Well, no, of course, and this is exactly why I'm also crying happy tears, because for so long, I just really tried tuh nurture, like, a true, like, true family, and deep connection, and like, try tuh be, like, really close, and, and it's like, well, if you're the only person nurturing that, you're bound tuh get hurt. It's bound, it's not going tuh happen ever, because it has tuh be a two-way street, and so, unfortunately, like, I started putting up boundaries, and I knew it was going tuh hurt, and like, here it is. It's, it's hurting, you know, like, and then inevitably, they'll be like, you know, you moved tuh Florida, but even when we didn't live in Florida, let's be honest, like, we didn't see family very often, unless, like, it was, it just, unless it was us going places, and then even when we moved here, I would fly up there.
I flew up, we were flying up there, like, once a month. It was so expensive. It was so taxing, but I just wanted to, tuh kind of prove, hey, listen, like, but, you know, I'm so glad we moved here, because at the end of the day, you know, even if we never even find our own people, like, our focus is on our core family, like, we had zero distractions for Son yesterday, like, his birthday was the hundred, like, and it's just, that feels good, because normally, we wouldn't have that. Yeah, normally, I would be cleaning the house, trying tuh prep for people tuh come over, who I would have called 10 times, make sure they remember that he's coming, and it's like, or that his birthday is coming, and it's like, it's just, you know, this is such a vulnerable, I don't even know if I want tuh share any of this, because it's just so personal, but.
DOUG NOTES THAT ALL REFLECTS MORE ABOUT OTHERS AND NOT AN ATTACK ON JAMIE.
AND YET JAMIE CONTINUES TO DEFLECT AND ATTACK: No, I don't think it is either, but it's just very evident where people, like, if people care about us and our family, I don't think they actually, that's the thing, is they don't, like, and so, they're not thinking about it one way or the other, it doesn't even matter tuh them, and that's what hurts, because I wish that they cared about us the way that we cared about them, but they don't, and so, that's why I'm trying tuh have the boundaries tuh be like, find people who will care about you then, or just focus on your own family, and if people wonder why I want so many kids, well, there you go. People constantly say, why don't you love the two you have?
Oh, of course I do, and I'll tell you what, I want tuh have 10 more, because I want tuh raise them in a way where we love each other, we're always there for each other, we don't forget. It's just silly little milestones, it's not about presents, it's not about anything other than just love, and remembrance, and just, like, celebrating each other, and I am going tuh raise my kids tuh just really love each other, and tuh know that their parents love them, but God forbid, one of us are taken, and then, then it's like, I think about things like that, and I'm like, who do they have if they don't have us? Like, seriously, and that scares the crap out of me, because there are very few people who even remember, like, and tuh me, it's just a birthday, I know, it doesn't really matter, but like, that's of significance tuh that child, and people just don't care, like, they just, our fam, so many of our family members just don't care. Well, we make, we make it, and then I'm like, am I making a mountain out of a molehill, but like, and am I?
DOUG ALSO THINKS ABOUT THEM "DEPARTING EARLY" AND WHAT HAPPENS tuh THEM.
JAMIE BUSTS BACK IN, AND STARTS tuh TALK ABOUT "ESTATE PLANNING," WHICH SORT OF MADE ME SIDEYE BECAUSE SHE GOES ON tuh TALK ABOUT THE KIDS AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM, AS IF THEY WERE PART OF THE "ESTATE," BUT I GUESS SINCE THEY ARE THE MONEYMAKERS SHE THINKS OF IT MORE IN THAT WAY THAN GUARDIANSHIP PAPERWORK … AND SO SHE CONTINUES: Well, when you think about estate planning, and then who you're leaving your kids to, and I'm like, who can I leave my kids to, who are really going tuh love them, and the people right now didn't even call tuh wish him happy birthday, they didn't even call tuh wish him a happy birthday, they didn't send a gift, and it's not even about the gift, but it's about the thought, who do we have in our life, Doug? I don't think it's, you know, I ask if I think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but then I, like, I almost, like, talk, like, convince myself that, no, I'm not, like, I'm really trying tuh make sure that our kids are taken, like, loved and taken care of, and sure, we've got it out, down pat, but what happens, like, then what?
And like, I'm not gonna go down that rabbit hole, and I'm sure this is all pregnancy hormones, and I'm just exhausted and tired, so, but I just think about these things, and then, and then people wonder why I am so thankful for our followers, for those of you listening tuh the podcast, and those of you who follow us on Instagram and YouTube, and who are just excited for us, because a lot of our own family members aren't, like, it's just wild, and so, yeah, and so thank you for those of you listening, and for those of you who comment, and just, you know, just are excited to, like, like, tuh be part of our family, like, because we have forever been looking for that, and, like, our family's just not that interested, and we could try, and try, and try.
DOUG: Out of sight, out of mind.
JAMIE BINGOS!!!!! THAT THOUGHT AND CONTINUES: Yeah, it's, and it's fine, but I'll tell you what, I genuinely do appreciate every single five-star review, every single, like, nudge that you just, every single moment that you take out of your life just tuh be like, hey, what's up with Jamie, you know, and that's why I try tuh do giveaways, and I try to, you know, like, read your five-star reviews, and I try tuh show you that I genuinely care about you, too, because I really think that it is a two-way street with everything in life, like, so whether it's, you know, family, it's friends, it's working, it's, we're colleagues, like, if someone is showing you a lot of, you know, any support, or encouragement, or care, like, then that's the person that you should then go show love, support, and encouragement, and care to, whether they're family or not, and unfortunately, if family doesn't seem tuh show you that, well, then you do have tuh set up boundaries, and it hurts, like, h-e-l-l, because then you'll start to, when you stop reaching out as much, well, then you'll start seeing that your relationship becomes even more distant, but you can't constantly break your back tuh try tuh make relationships.
DOUG NOTES THAT THEY EITHER STEP UP OR DON'T, AND THAT’S WHERE IT LANDS.
JAMIE CONTINUES: Yeah, but from what, from my experience, from what we've experienced, you know, no one really steps up, and it's pretty evident when you start, when you realize you have tuh make a boundary with a person, like, just know in your heart that it's gonna hurt, like, you know, and I'm sure that we're, I'm not the only person going through this, and that's, I think, why it's important tuh share, is that, you know, because it's hard tuh share these things.
It's embarrassing. It's, I feel, it's almost, like, belittling. It's like, like, you know, it's like you're, you're sharing that you're rejected, essentially.
Who wants tuh share that? Like, who wants tuh admit that? But the truth is, is that we all have been there, and so I think that the biggest way tuh heal, and what I've learned is, of course, tuh find, to, like, lean in on the people who don't, like, desert you, betray you, talk behind your back.
I mean, that's the thing, is people who also, who are there, but they're really, like, kind of a snake in disguise, and, like, it's, like, like, they, it seems like they're there for you, but then behind, but you're walking on eggshells around them, because you know that they're saying things behind your back, and that's not, that's not healthy either, and so what I've really tried tuh do is really just focus on people that have really just been loving and nurturing, and the more people are loving and nurturing tuh me, whether they're family or not, the more I will lead, like, reach into them, and...
DOUG BUSTS IN TO TAKE A "QUICK PAUSE" FOR AN AD, IRONICALLY ABOUT INVESTING AND GOOD FINANCIAL HYGEINE.
JAMIE GETS RIGHT BACK TO IT: Of course, holidays and birthdays are tough because like you want like my mom like I mean forget it but like I love her and she's doing the best she can but like you know it's like I don't know I guess it's because I'm pregnant and then like when you become a mom and you just think about this relationship and it's like I just have always wanted that relationship with my mom and of course I know real like logically it's not gonna happen but anyways it's um it's just hard but anyways what I was trying tuh say tuh you though listening is like if you're going through this type of situation like just know that you're doing the right thing by kind of putting the boundaries up and then kind of you know you got tuh focus on gratitude more than anything else and so I consistently try tuh remind myself tuh be thankful that I am alive I'm able tuh be there for my kids my son has no idea who remembered and who forgot his birthday but of course he knows who he talked tuh but like you know I, I know that he had the most spectacular day yesterday and I made darn well sure of it and it literally cost me like zero dollars tuh it's not like it has tuh be expensive it wasn't extravagant we went tuh the library which is free and then we went tuh a free splash pad that's in our city and slash playground yeah, yeah and he had a great time so it's like people it's because the other thing people say well if you can afford tuh give them that it's like it doesn't you can find ways tuh live tuh like really bless your family and your kids without having tuh spend boatloads of money um but the biggest message and takeaway of this all and I guess of like I we never planned on sharing any of this we were planning on sharing about mother's day and
DOUG DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT tuh SAY, BUT SHE NEEDS tuh KNOW HOW PROUD HE IS OF HER, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH …
SHE THANKS HIM QUICKLY AND THEN GETS ON WITH HIS always getting by my side and like when I'm thankful for you when I started you know going tuh therapy and, and I mean forever ago I'm telling you forever ago when we were first married and I first started going tuh a therapist outside of married at first sight she told me she looked me in the eyes and she said Jamie like they might be family but they're not your people and you gotta go find your people and I didn't want tuh believe her I didn't want I literally just said you know thanks but no thanks essentially and I'm gonna try my best tuh turn this family into mine because I want this connection and I want this and I wish I could have saved myself all those years by just listening tuh her and you know finding my own people who, who do love and support me for who I am who I don't have tuh like I can just don't have tuh walk on eggshells I don't have tuh try tuh be anybody else I can just be myself and they'll see like the good in that and they'll like it you know and, and not everyone's for everyone and that's okay and I just try tuh remind myself that but anyways um yeah you've always stood by my side so thank you I see you I'll always be by your side I just like sometimes doubt like if like you know like, like, like what have I done like am I a bad person like did I like what have I done this has nothing
DOUG NOTES THAT THEY'D FIND PEOPLE "DOWN HERE" IN FLORIDA, AND THAT THEY BOTH KNEW IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, THAT REALLY MEANINGFUL BONDS TAKE TIME, BUT THEY ARE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE POSITION TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AND MAKE STRONG FRIENDS THEY CONSIDER TO BE FAMILY, AMAZING PEOPLE, AND THERE ARE KIDS TOO, AND THEY CAN WATCH EVERYONE GROW UP TOGETHER … AND HE THINKS, "That's kind of the point of, of moving tuh Florida find community find our people and also find out you know who would be there with us and for us and …"
JAMIE BLASTS BACK: It has nothing tuh do with you or who you are well the truth is, is obviously it does because these people don't enjoy being around me so then therefore they don't enjoy remembering our kids and or me whatever I guess I think I'm just really hormonal and emotional but I guess I just feel incredibly rejected and like I've done something wrong but I also know at the same exact breath that this has been happening for years and years and years where I've really
DOUG NOTES JAMIE HAS "TRIED SO HARD" AND THAT IT'S NOTHING THAT SHE DID.
JAMIE BLATHERS BACK THAT IT'S NOT REALLY THAT THEY'VE DONE ANYTHING WRONG, BUT … we just don't jive and I guess you know we have different we're different people and we can't force it yeah and so there's very little control that we have over it other than us being us yeah and so but you know but I guess this is like the healing part that everyone talks about with boundaries that's so painful like it's so painful because when you want something so bad and like I think it's like wired in me because it's family and like I really want tuh support family and love family and be there for them and but then it's like but it's just not there in return and you could just spend your whole life searching for it and or you could kind of put up a boundary and, and stop allowing that tuh continue tuh hurt you and find people who are genuinely happy tuh be around you and so needless tuh say for those of you listening if - if you're in this boat with someone whether it's parents siblings aunts uncles cousins I don't know or even long-time friends who you think are quote-unquote friends but you know things change or who knows I mean it's so darn hurtful but I really believe at the end of the day that I mean I was I spent years and years and years trying my darnedest and now I'm like if I, If I could give like an inkling of that effort tuh someone who gives an inkling of the effort back tuh me like the just the joy and happiness that could come from that or just like the stability and also like I did try changing myself tuh kind of be more like them tuh have more in common with them and it just I can tell you right now if you're trying tuh do that that's not gonna work either like it's hard unfortunately you just gotta be yourself in this world you gotta love with your whole heart and, and be selfless you know you can't expect people tuh just care about you if you don't care about them of course you gotta show up for people you gotta really like put yourself out there for them but if you consistently do that and you're not getting any of it in return you gotta change your path and it's the hardest thing in the world tuh do but you know tuh be very, very honest like going tuh bed with Doug last night after Son's birthday and like just everything that went down and whatnot I was just like and this is why we live in Florida this is why we moved here because this this served our core family more so than trying tuh fit a round peg into a square everyone else's schedule and everybody else's lives it's just you know and it's and I'm incredibly thankful tuh your sister and tuh your mom and your dad of course because they did reach out and that's just really, really kind like they called and they just show that they really care and that really means the whole wide world tuh me and like regardless of what they think of me like they love our kids and that's really all that
DOUG NOTES WHAT MATTERS IS-AND MAYBE THEY NEED TO BELIEVE IN SOME KIND OF "HIGHER PURPOSE," BUT HE DOESN'T CONSIDER IT ALL "WASTED TIME OR ENERGY," AND THAT IT MAYBE HAPPENED THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AND FOR JAMIE TO GIVE …
AND SHE CUTS HIM OFF TO SAY THAT THIS MESSAGE CAN help others. I've really kind of like avoided being this vulnerable lately because I feel like there are some people who just really don't like me and it's been brought tuh my attention and just no matter what I do they really don't like me and I guess like everybody has quote-unquote haters but it hurts my heart a little bit and I don't know but, but the truth is, is like just like I said before what I learned in this the certain boundaries that I've talked about before is that you really can't change who you are in the hopes that people will start tuh approve of you because they're never like the people who just choose that they don't like you and they just choose tuh find your faults will always like they will always see your faults and they will always yeah there's no convincing them otherwise and that's and if you're listening tuh this like this is the truth for all of us is that when you're looking for the good in life you're gonna find the good and you can focus on that and try tuh get like more of that and garner more of that but if you're focused on the negative whether it's in life or with your spouse or with a friend or at the workplace you're gonna find that and so if so sometimes if you've you know if you see that you're consistently feeling like you have quote-unquote bad luck or that this person's being wrong tuh you or they're not caring about you will try tuh think about the good that they do and, and, and so truly like for me with these whole boundary things like I've tried just I tried tuh kind of I've already tried that with some of these family members that just don't seem tuh care and um and, and so that's and then that's when the hurt comes is you know when you realize oh yeah you're actually all right and you are onto something and for whatever reason their life isn't aligning with yours and it's and that's okay but it doesn't mean it's not gonna hurt a little bit for the person who like wants it tuh be there but that's when you go out and find someone who wants tuh align their life with you or maybe their life already aligns and they just and you can serve each other you can love each other you can be there for each other and whether it's blood related or not like that will serve you better in life and so that's kind of where I think Doug and I are right now um but also for, for you listening if, if you're just finding yourself in this situation too just try tuh make sure you're not just trying tuh find the fault in someone because you don't want tuh get caught in that rabbit hole and there are people out there who just want tuh find the negative and then there are people out there who cut that down like don't allow that tuh happen tuh yourself because you will be miserable your whole life hating on someone else and just constantly finding their faults and constantly complaining about them is never going tuh bring you true happiness it really isn't and so think about you know yourself and like what you can do differently and try tuh bring the positive and so yeah I haven't been as vulnerable lately because it's been hard tuh be very honest tuh just share like my heart and then people are just going tuh attack me for it you know I'm sure but um but my goal in sharing this if we end up sharing this is that it helps the one person out there or I'm sure several really who are in the same exact boat who are you know trying tuh keep a friend that they've had forever but that friend's just not there or trying tuh maintain a relationship with one of your parents or your siblings or it shouldn't be hard it shouldn't be and you shouldn't have tuh change who you are and if you do then that's really just not the right person for you and, and you can talk tuh them about it of course and then if they're just combative, at the end of the day, I just say the best advice is find a therapist, and this book called Boundaries, and it's a little religious, and also a little kind of like, whoa, but I'm telling you, Chapter One, just give it – if you don’t' like it after that, don't even try, but like Chapter One, I was like, wow, I can see so much of myself in this, and I can see how could change, and I've got tuh promise you that it's been hurt along the way, but I have – we have, and our family has more positive days now than stressful, trying tuh like pull people in who don't really want tuh be there, trying tuh help them remember because they're gonna forget, like it's just – like yesterday was like the least stressful day ever, and we didn't have one person coming tuh our – or even Mother's Day, it was just us four, and you know, before I had kids, and I think – I saw someone else write this, but like before I had kids, I looked at the world as like everyone I encountered, and how can I be helpful tuh them, and that – like, but now it's like my world is my husband and my children. My world is within my four walls, and how do I love them and support them the best that I possible can, tuh help them become good – eventually like good husbands, a good wife, good mothers, good fathers, and good, good family members, and so …
DOUG IS SO PROUD OF HER AND THINKS SHE SHOULD ALSO BE PROUD OF HERSELF BECAUSE OF "HOW MUCH YOU HAVE GROWN FROM PEOPLE STARTING TO COMMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND YOU TRYING TO BRING THEM BACK OVER TO YOUR SIDE TO RECOGNIZING THE TOXICITY OF IT, AND SETTING BOUNDARIES." HE HAS TO TELL HER THAT IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, SHE HAS "SPREAD MORE POSITIVITY, IN MY MIND, THAN ANYBODY, FOCUSING ON BEING THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL," AND A MESSAGE SHE IS PASSING ONTO THE KIDS WHO ARE REALLY STARTING tuh THINK ABOUT IT AND FOCUS ON IT, AND IT'S "DRIVEN BY YOU."
MORE RASPY WHINY TEARY VOICE: Oh, Gosh, Doug's that's the nicest comment that I could have ever received because I really want that for them … yeah, because I – because we could all fall into that where you see the negative and you just kind of focus on that, and I'm trying so hard not to, and tuh just – you know, pray more, and even meditate, and that has nothing tuh do with prayer, but like just rewire my brain tuh like the positive things and finding the positive and helping others, also because – honestly, and I want tuh raise my kid where they are not seeing the negative, they're seeing the positive in situations because life, regardless of who loves you, how much money you have, what home you live in, what car you drive, life is so much better when you're able tuh see the positive and you're able to, like lean into that more, and you're able tuh then attract people who are like that, and the Negative Nellies are just going tuh always be there talking their smack about you, and that's fine, but like, if you can find the positive, you can focus on that, and you're going tuh have such a happier life, and the Negative Nellies, unfortunately, like I still pray for them, I still hope for them, because it's sad – like they're not living a happy life. You can't be a hater tuh all these people and be happy. It's sad.
DOUG THINKS THEY ARE "living proof of it, because once we started tuh focus on happy, once we started focusing on being thankful and grateful, the people that we attracted are the people that we would want tuh be with … didn't happen overnight, but as soon as we started tuh rethink that, and really try tuh be positive and do positive things, and our prayers and with the kids and being thankful and finding good, and gratitude, you know, we attracted people into our lives that, you know, are going tuh be there – I mean, I feel these are now lifelong friends, and you know, all of that was attracted, and there has got tuh be something tuh that."
THE END, THEY MUST GO PICK UP THEIR DAUGHTER BUT ONLY AFTER THE FIVE-STAR REVIEW AND THEN "SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!"
DELUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSIONAL – THE BOTH OF THEM! And according to the AI program Jamie talks more than 90 percent of the time, and Dud, hardly ever.
2024.05.16 17:13 TideRuglia Marvelsnapcomp Card of the Week: Cyclops
Sorry for the very long delay. Life has been hectic and I haven't always been in the mood to write and when I do, I want to make sure the analysis is op to snuff. So here's our continuation on card discussions -
Name: Cyclops
Name: (HE) Cyclops
HE Cyke though is where we can actually have some discussion regarding strengths and weaknesses. Because instead of it being all bad, HE Cyke is actually largely good. In fact, of the 7 HE modified cards, Cyke is probably amongst the strongest, in the running for probably THE best HE card. Some basics first to get out of the way. To use this version of Cyclops, you must dedicate one of your card slots to adding High Evolutionary to your deck. Hence why this version is often denoted with HE in the front. Once you do so, Cyclops will change to this modified version (or “evolved”), where he gains a new, power passive ability.
HE Cyke’s strength is two-fold. The first is his theoretical stat line. Yes, his base is still the crummy 3-4. But assuming you can proc his ability every turn and you play him as soon as possible, HE Cyke is a 3-10. That’s obviously very good. Remember how Bishop last week required a ton of cards to be played AND needing to be played early to get there? Cyke does that relatively effortlessly. You just need to play him, then float at least 1 Energy a turn to benefit. His second strength is how he is able to synergize with a lot of cards that share similar archetypes. There is the HE toxic line of course, where you play a lot of negative debuffs to cheat out a cheap Abomination while nerfing the power of your opponent’s field, but likewise, Scott is excellent with cards that want to float since you can then make 1 point of energy do a ton of work. If you play Sunspot, HE Misty Knight and have HE Hulk, that 1 point of unspent energy adds an additional 4 power on top of Cyclops’ own -2 debuff. So in contrast to his abilitless form, HE Cyke actually feels like a team leader in that he is able to slot into and work with a lot of cards. Due to his continuing threat of slapping -1s once he is played, he’s also ends up working great in lane control decks as he actively discourages your opponent from competing with his theoretical power.
As far as weaknesses go, HE Cyclops has a few. The first being one that he shares with all HE cards, which is the need to slot HE into the deck. HE is what veteran card players refer to as “a garnet”. In simple terms, this means he is a card you include due to a combo or enabling some sort of play but feels terrible when you actually draw him. You never want to draw HE because HE himself is an ability-less 4-4. Yes, he doesn’t even hit par. His “ability” is powering up the other cards, so as such when draw, he does nothing. Losing one of your deck slots to put in a card that does zilch when you pick it up is obviously terrible. To mitigate, you might consider playing multiple HE powered cards so that he feels less egregious. And to his credit as noted, Cyclops works with a good number them, so it doesn’t always feel as oppressive as you’re making HE enhance multiple cards usually alongside Scott himself.
HE Cyke’s second weakness is that he is limited by his window and loses effectiveness if he is the only card that takes advantage of float. If you play Cyke late (like Turn 5), that diminishes the amount damage he is able to do. So in that regard, he wants to come on to the field ASAP. But worse yet, like other cards that operate with float, the later you draw and play him, the worse it feels to actively have float. Imagine a scenario, where the only card that can take advantage of float you end up playing is Scott. In this scenario, Cyke may “feel” like a 3-10. But if you are actively sacrificing 1 energy for him, is he really? It would probably be more accurate to say in this case, he is a 6-10. That doesn’t seem so impressive anymore now, does it? The reason why we usually discount this is because you often have many of the other play makers already on field (or in HE Hulk’s case, in hand). When your 1 point of float is adding to 4-5 different cards, the float doesn’t feel bad. But when your float is only powering up 1 card, then it feels grossly inefficient and Scott is unfortunately a victim of this. In short, Scott’s effectiveness also depends on your other float absorbers. You should not expect him to perform any last minute miracle turnarounds.
HE’s release was great for Scott in general. Sure, it basically killed off his base form, but his evolved form is very strong and possibly the strongest HE card in the game. It turned him from a card that was going to die eventually to power creeping to a very often picked inclusion in certain achetypes – sometimes Best-in-Slot (BiS) for your deck if you’re playing something like She-naut or Toxic HE. You still see him today hanging out with other folks that make up those decks – Sunspot, Magik, HE Hulk – and he’s gained some new friends as he remains a staple on those lists. And while these decks are not currently being on top of the meta-lists, it’s always something to keep in mind as you play.
HE Cyke is another story and the main meat of this section for obvious reasons. Unlike his base version, here, there’s an actual ability with actual threat behind it. So if you don’t check it, it typically means giving up the lane since Scott can just stack a bunch of -1 Power effects onto your board. The key to dealing with HE Cyke if you don’t carry the typical tech cards is to keep in mind his float efficiency. Decks with HE will typically want float and play other float synergistic cards such as Sunspot. If you can eliminate those cards from play or use, then that will weaken HE Cyke as well. Having 1 float power up HE Cyke, HE MK and Sunspot means your opponent gets a lot of mileage by being energy efficient. It is a completely different story if he’s giving up 1 energy just to add 2x -1 Power. For this reason, some more unusual counters include stuff like Elektra and Killmonger who can snipe out HE Cyke’s early supports.
Another tactic you can try is to forcing your opponent into not having any float at all. This is typically harder to do because there aren’t many ways to mess with your opponent’s costs. You might be tempted to play Mobius but most HE Cyclops’ decks won’t run stuff like Sera. And now that Zabu has basically been neutered, there’s even less reason for them to carry cost discounters. Iceman can work but is typically too random and you have no way of knowing what it hit. The Bounce variants that can replay him are going to be best for this since you can then slap a bunch of +1 cost modifiers, forcing the HE Cyke player into position where he is less likely to have float.
You can also choose to avoid playing in HE Cyke’s lane entirely. Indeed, HE Cyke’s ability only works if there are other cards in the lane. Specifically – he only gets full value if you have TWO cards on YOUR side of the lane. If you don’t have other cards there, then he’s fundamentally no different than his vanilla form. For this reason, the Goblins, White Widow and Viper can be good soft counters. Viper especially can be mean since you end up throwing back a debuffed card back to your opponent’s board. This isn’t always an option though due to the location effects but something to keep in mind.
If you do have his checks, then you’re in a good position. HE Cyke gets dumpstered pretty hard by certain tech cards – most notably Luke Cage. Now that Cage is back in his old form (albeit +1 cost, +2 power), he’s the premier choice for countering toxic debuff strategies. HE Cyke is of course no exception to this rule. Simply play him on a late turn and undo a bunch of your opponent’s work. If they are floating on 5 in preparation of playing a big boi like HE Hulk or Infinaut and She-Hulk, slapping Luke down undoes the previous 2 turns of work and puts you into position of nailing their big boi too. Otherwise, both Shadow King and Valkyrie deserve honorable mentions but are not as good as Luke. SK resets all the previous’ turns power debuffs, which can be big but you’ll still be at the mercy of the current round’s effect. Valkyrie is similar except she will set everything to 3 power. If you have a way to break parity with at least +3 power, then you’re in a good position to take the lane.
Being 3 cost means Cyke is also vulnerable to Magneto. But Magneto doesn’t really counter Scott because by the time old Magnetman hits the field, Cyke’s effect would have already proc’d twice. Sure, you can then move him to another location but by then the damage is done. There are times when Magneto can be the game winner (such as an opponent having a weak lane and another lane that has been Flooded and they are using Cyke + Storm to hold it), but like the locations, he’s definitely more situational.
Apart from the HE family of cards, HE Cyke shares similar abilities as Man-Thing. Both cards represent an establisher that aims to hold the lane by applying debuffs to other cards in the lane. Both cards aim to hit your opponent’s cards with a max of -8 power. The main difference here is that Man-Thing only hits cards that cost 1-3, whereas Scott can hit any card as long as you give him float. Man-Thing is also Ongoing so certain soft counters that work against Scott don’t work on Man-Thing.
What are your best Cyclops plays?
What has been Cyclops’ best deck?
Did I miss anything in my assessment?
Let's discuss in the comments.
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Card of the Week: Cyclops
Card stats and textName: Cyclops
- Energy: 3
- Power: 4
- No ability
Name: (HE) Cyclops
- Energy: 3
- Power: 4
- Passive: Whenever you end a turn with at least 1 unspent Energy, apply -1 Power to a maximum of two of your opponent’s cards in this lane.
Mechanically speaking, what are the card's distinctive strengths and weaknesses?
It probably isn’t even worth much of a discussion as you would think to talk about basic Cyclops. He’s a vanilla 3-4 and sets the base line of what you’d expect for a 3 cost card to perform. It is worth pointing out that of all the cost to expected power ratios, 3 costs have the worst at just x1.33 times versus every other cost. So on an energy efficiency basis, 3 cost par value cards are pretty terrible to begin with. Nowadays, it’s probably even more underpowered as there is a growing trend of “3-5 is the new 3-4”. There is definitely some element of truth to that given most of the new 3-5s, even if they are specific to one particular archetype (such as Black Swan), often times don’t have an ability that actively hurts you. So base Cyclops still being 3-4 makes him more or less unplayable as there is always a better option. Surprisingly, this wasn’t always the case. I definitely remember roughly a year ago when people were still using basic Cyclops in decks such as Patriot where he represented an ability to go tall. You definitely don’t see that in modern SNAP; partially due to power creep and partially due to new cards introducing new abilities that change the base line.HE Cyke though is where we can actually have some discussion regarding strengths and weaknesses. Because instead of it being all bad, HE Cyke is actually largely good. In fact, of the 7 HE modified cards, Cyke is probably amongst the strongest, in the running for probably THE best HE card. Some basics first to get out of the way. To use this version of Cyclops, you must dedicate one of your card slots to adding High Evolutionary to your deck. Hence why this version is often denoted with HE in the front. Once you do so, Cyclops will change to this modified version (or “evolved”), where he gains a new, power passive ability.
HE Cyke’s strength is two-fold. The first is his theoretical stat line. Yes, his base is still the crummy 3-4. But assuming you can proc his ability every turn and you play him as soon as possible, HE Cyke is a 3-10. That’s obviously very good. Remember how Bishop last week required a ton of cards to be played AND needing to be played early to get there? Cyke does that relatively effortlessly. You just need to play him, then float at least 1 Energy a turn to benefit. His second strength is how he is able to synergize with a lot of cards that share similar archetypes. There is the HE toxic line of course, where you play a lot of negative debuffs to cheat out a cheap Abomination while nerfing the power of your opponent’s field, but likewise, Scott is excellent with cards that want to float since you can then make 1 point of energy do a ton of work. If you play Sunspot, HE Misty Knight and have HE Hulk, that 1 point of unspent energy adds an additional 4 power on top of Cyclops’ own -2 debuff. So in contrast to his abilitless form, HE Cyke actually feels like a team leader in that he is able to slot into and work with a lot of cards. Due to his continuing threat of slapping -1s once he is played, he’s also ends up working great in lane control decks as he actively discourages your opponent from competing with his theoretical power.
As far as weaknesses go, HE Cyclops has a few. The first being one that he shares with all HE cards, which is the need to slot HE into the deck. HE is what veteran card players refer to as “a garnet”. In simple terms, this means he is a card you include due to a combo or enabling some sort of play but feels terrible when you actually draw him. You never want to draw HE because HE himself is an ability-less 4-4. Yes, he doesn’t even hit par. His “ability” is powering up the other cards, so as such when draw, he does nothing. Losing one of your deck slots to put in a card that does zilch when you pick it up is obviously terrible. To mitigate, you might consider playing multiple HE powered cards so that he feels less egregious. And to his credit as noted, Cyclops works with a good number them, so it doesn’t always feel as oppressive as you’re making HE enhance multiple cards usually alongside Scott himself.
HE Cyke’s second weakness is that he is limited by his window and loses effectiveness if he is the only card that takes advantage of float. If you play Cyke late (like Turn 5), that diminishes the amount damage he is able to do. So in that regard, he wants to come on to the field ASAP. But worse yet, like other cards that operate with float, the later you draw and play him, the worse it feels to actively have float. Imagine a scenario, where the only card that can take advantage of float you end up playing is Scott. In this scenario, Cyke may “feel” like a 3-10. But if you are actively sacrificing 1 energy for him, is he really? It would probably be more accurate to say in this case, he is a 6-10. That doesn’t seem so impressive anymore now, does it? The reason why we usually discount this is because you often have many of the other play makers already on field (or in HE Hulk’s case, in hand). When your 1 point of float is adding to 4-5 different cards, the float doesn’t feel bad. But when your float is only powering up 1 card, then it feels grossly inefficient and Scott is unfortunately a victim of this. In short, Scott’s effectiveness also depends on your other float absorbers. You should not expect him to perform any last minute miracle turnarounds.
Where does the card fit in the metagame (past or present)? What archetypes should it work with?
Cyclops has had a pretty interesting run within the game’s meta. Before HE came around, his ability-less form was still used in certain decks (Patriot / Surfer) as a means to build tall in one lane. He was, at the time, pretty much the only 3 cost that could put out decent power with little set up. Even though there were other options within that field, power creep was lower a year ago so base Cyke still saw some use in selective cases.HE’s release was great for Scott in general. Sure, it basically killed off his base form, but his evolved form is very strong and possibly the strongest HE card in the game. It turned him from a card that was going to die eventually to power creeping to a very often picked inclusion in certain achetypes – sometimes Best-in-Slot (BiS) for your deck if you’re playing something like She-naut or Toxic HE. You still see him today hanging out with other folks that make up those decks – Sunspot, Magik, HE Hulk – and he’s gained some new friends as he remains a staple on those lists. And while these decks are not currently being on top of the meta-lists, it’s always something to keep in mind as you play.
Which cards have noteworthy interactions with it?
Cyclops has a decent number of cards that he can combo off of, which has helped Scott stay relevant even in today’s landscape:- High-Evolutionary: He’s useless in game but his inclusion is what gives Scott his evolved form. So if you plan on using that, you literally have no choice but to add him.
- HE Abomination / She-Hulk: Both cards are often cost-discounted with Cyclops. Float reduces She-Hulk’s cost, then Cyke’s -1 Power x 2 helps reduce HE Abom’s Cost by 2 if he hits 2 cards.
- Sunspot / HE Misty Knight: As with above, Cyke synergies with other cards that like float and Sunspot / HE Misty Knight do exactly that. Extra float gets converted straight to power for Sunspot while HE MK provides +1 power to a random card as long as you have float.
- Nebula: Often times when you place HE Cyke down in a lane, opponent’s will focus on the other lanes unless they have a good counter play since Cyke can be a big threat on his own. Adding Nebula to the same lane asks your opponent to pick their poison. Either give Nebula free boosts, or force them into the lane to be blasted.
- Storm: Not only does Storm lock the lane down, meaning any future cards played into her lane become Scott’s targets, but the added urgency she creates means an opponent will feel pressured to put something there or be forced to give up the lane for cheap.
- Jean Grey: Jean is an awkward card, but she combos well with HE Cyke. She holds an opponent’s play into the lane and he shoots them. I like how 2 of Cyke’s better partners are other classic ‘97ers.
- Silver Surfer: The OG but not really relevant anymore. Back then Surfer + Cyke was a way to build a lane tall in Surfer decks. But things have changed quite a bit so this combination has lost a lot of luster. Still if you are early in SNAP, it’s something that you can play around with.
What cards or strategies counter it? Are there other downsides to keep in mind?
Ability-less Cyclops doesn’t need much of a counter because he’s typically out-stated and power crept in today’s landscape. If your opponent plays ability-less Cyclops, you know he/she is probably early in their SNAP career and are probably running some old Patriot or Surfer variant. In which case, counters to those decks typically work.HE Cyke is another story and the main meat of this section for obvious reasons. Unlike his base version, here, there’s an actual ability with actual threat behind it. So if you don’t check it, it typically means giving up the lane since Scott can just stack a bunch of -1 Power effects onto your board. The key to dealing with HE Cyke if you don’t carry the typical tech cards is to keep in mind his float efficiency. Decks with HE will typically want float and play other float synergistic cards such as Sunspot. If you can eliminate those cards from play or use, then that will weaken HE Cyke as well. Having 1 float power up HE Cyke, HE MK and Sunspot means your opponent gets a lot of mileage by being energy efficient. It is a completely different story if he’s giving up 1 energy just to add 2x -1 Power. For this reason, some more unusual counters include stuff like Elektra and Killmonger who can snipe out HE Cyke’s early supports.
Another tactic you can try is to forcing your opponent into not having any float at all. This is typically harder to do because there aren’t many ways to mess with your opponent’s costs. You might be tempted to play Mobius but most HE Cyclops’ decks won’t run stuff like Sera. And now that Zabu has basically been neutered, there’s even less reason for them to carry cost discounters. Iceman can work but is typically too random and you have no way of knowing what it hit. The Bounce variants that can replay him are going to be best for this since you can then slap a bunch of +1 cost modifiers, forcing the HE Cyke player into position where he is less likely to have float.
You can also choose to avoid playing in HE Cyke’s lane entirely. Indeed, HE Cyke’s ability only works if there are other cards in the lane. Specifically – he only gets full value if you have TWO cards on YOUR side of the lane. If you don’t have other cards there, then he’s fundamentally no different than his vanilla form. For this reason, the Goblins, White Widow and Viper can be good soft counters. Viper especially can be mean since you end up throwing back a debuffed card back to your opponent’s board. This isn’t always an option though due to the location effects but something to keep in mind.
If you do have his checks, then you’re in a good position. HE Cyke gets dumpstered pretty hard by certain tech cards – most notably Luke Cage. Now that Cage is back in his old form (albeit +1 cost, +2 power), he’s the premier choice for countering toxic debuff strategies. HE Cyke is of course no exception to this rule. Simply play him on a late turn and undo a bunch of your opponent’s work. If they are floating on 5 in preparation of playing a big boi like HE Hulk or Infinaut and She-Hulk, slapping Luke down undoes the previous 2 turns of work and puts you into position of nailing their big boi too. Otherwise, both Shadow King and Valkyrie deserve honorable mentions but are not as good as Luke. SK resets all the previous’ turns power debuffs, which can be big but you’ll still be at the mercy of the current round’s effect. Valkyrie is similar except she will set everything to 3 power. If you have a way to break parity with at least +3 power, then you’re in a good position to take the lane.
Being 3 cost means Cyke is also vulnerable to Magneto. But Magneto doesn’t really counter Scott because by the time old Magnetman hits the field, Cyke’s effect would have already proc’d twice. Sure, you can then move him to another location but by then the damage is done. There are times when Magneto can be the game winner (such as an opponent having a weak lane and another lane that has been Flooded and they are using Cyke + Storm to hold it), but like the locations, he’s definitely more situational.
What other cards may serve a similar role, for either replacement or redundancy?
From the HE family, HE Cyke’s closest comparison is his 4 cost companion HE Thing. Both cards slam -1 power effects to different cards in the lane. However, in Ben’s case, he’s an On Reveal and thus only triggers once and doesn’t scale with float. Otherwise, HE Misty Knight is also similar AND synergistic. In this case, you add +1 power for every additional point of float, just like how HE Cyke adds 2x -1 Power debuffs. This +1 is random though so care must be placed into deciding what you’re playing since the more cards there are, the extra float can hit cards you don’t really want.Apart from the HE family of cards, HE Cyke shares similar abilities as Man-Thing. Both cards represent an establisher that aims to hold the lane by applying debuffs to other cards in the lane. Both cards aim to hit your opponent’s cards with a max of -8 power. The main difference here is that Man-Thing only hits cards that cost 1-3, whereas Scott can hit any card as long as you give him float. Man-Thing is also Ongoing so certain soft counters that work against Scott don’t work on Man-Thing.
Conclusion
Cyclops has come a long way. He went from being an ability-less, identity-less generic 3 cost to now a staple consideration in one of the game’s more competitive archetypes. Not bad for the field commander.What are your best Cyclops plays?
What has been Cyclops’ best deck?
Did I miss anything in my assessment?
Let's discuss in the comments.
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2024.05.16 17:07 rockstarrockstar When do I call CPS to report?
My mom and stepfather have 3 children at a rented home (ages 4, 11, and 12). I moved out after graduation just a few years ago. When I was living there, we had 2 female non-spayed cats (one was an outside cat) and it was tidy until the end of my senior year because I wasn’t doing chores anymore and was too busy with friends or high school stuff. My mom is an alcoholic and drinks pretty much every single night. Every time I’ve gone over to visit, the house is extremely gross. They have an non-neutered large dog (german shepherd, black lab mix) who they keep in a kennel or cage all day with the exception of 2-3 hours of time in the house and potty breaks in the morning before and after work. They also have another small dog who has free range and another 2 unfixed cats (kittens of one of the cats). The house isn’t just dirty. There are dirty dishes filling the sink and all over the majority of the kitchen counter. The counter and cupboards are full of boxed and microwaveable food (expired and new), including the fridge that’s full of food but it’s a mix of old and new because they don’t clean it out of organize. I went over to pick up my 11 year old sibling a couple of days ago and it was absolutely heartbreaking what they’re living in. The floors are caked in dirt, animal hair, animal pee, and probably animal feces. There is garbage and broken toys or items on the floor. The couch cushions were peed on or eaten by the dog so the couches are just down the bones. There’s are blankets that belong to the children’s beds on them that are covered in cat pee. The entire house smells like animals so strongly that I couldn’t stand 20 minutes in there without getting a headache. The kitchen table is full of garbage and random things, preventing them to eat there. They replaced the stove around early this year because it broke (they never told the rental company because they didn’t want them to come into the house) and it’s been sitting in the living room since then. There are 2 litter boxes for the cats, one being in the hallway and one being in my 12 year old siblings room with one cat who is seperated because he isn’t fixed. He pees everywhere in that room and ruins clothes, bedding, and furniture. There are 2 bathrooms, but the main one is not in use because the only usable things are the toilet and sink. The entire bathroom floor in that one is covered in laundry that is caked in dirt and animal feces and the only walkable area is a small pathway to the toilet. There is a hole in the ceiling above the shower that drips when it rains and it’s becomes a crack that is literally caving in. Instead of my parents calling someone for help, they just avoid it because they don’t want to clean to have someone come in and fix. The other bathroom (the smaller one) is the only one they use because my 12 year old sibling keeps it clean because it’s attached to their room. My parents bedroom is where the 4 year old sleeps (she is not potty trained and has been 4 since February, she wears underwear during the day but has recurrent accidents. She wears pull-ups at night). She sleeps with my parents and it’s been this way since she was born. The entire floor of the master bedroom is covered in clothes and you have to step over cardboard food boxes (honey buns, crème pies) when you walk in to get to the bed. My stepfather eats boxes of these and just throws the wrappers and boxes next to his side of the bed (closest to the door). My 11 year old siblings room is full of toys, their mattress is on the floor because their bed frame broke years ago and my parents said they couldn’t afford a new one. However, their newest purchase is a computer monitor and computer tower (costing over $800 together). They also own a playstation and new iPhones. Both of my parents work full time M-F 8-5, with the exception that my mom has Mondays off. During winter, my stepfather wasn’t working because he works a seasonal job and the house was still in this state. They don’t open the windows or curtains to air it out ever so the kids are just sitting in a dirty house that reeks of cat pee and animals. The only safe thing they have is running cold and hot water. They have food, but it’s mostly easy to make (microwaveable rice/boxed foods, packaged snacks, and canned foods). My 4 year old sibling will go to my stepfathers moms house during the day when they’re at work and enjoys it over there.
I know this was a lot of information but I seriously don’t know what’s considered abuse or neglect and I feel nervous about reporting if it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve tried confronting my mom, but she just blames it on mental illness or her POTS that she was diagnosed with this last year. Help me.
submitted by rockstarrockstar to CPS [link] [comments]
I know this was a lot of information but I seriously don’t know what’s considered abuse or neglect and I feel nervous about reporting if it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve tried confronting my mom, but she just blames it on mental illness or her POTS that she was diagnosed with this last year. Help me.
2024.05.16 17:00 ZenStudios-McLovin Pinball FX - May 16 - 1.0.17 - Patch Notes
Hey Pinball Fans, look at this note. Look at this work of art. (If art is about length and long lists for you) Our team went all out this time and it is our pleasure to present this list of fixes for you.
Tables added:
Pacific Rim Pinball
Super League Football (Free download on consoles for 7 days, on PC for 30 days. Get it now and keep it forever)
Universal Classics: TV Pinball:
Xena: Warrior Princess Pinball
Knight Rider Pinball
Battlestar Galactica PinballNew Features on PlayStation, Xbox and PC:
UI overhaul and upgrades
XP system
Notification system
New optional Pinhall, New optional music
General fixes:
A Charlie Brown Christmas™ Pinball
submitted by ZenStudios-McLovin to PinballFX3 [link] [comments]
Tables added:
Pacific Rim Pinball
Super League Football (Free download on consoles for 7 days, on PC for 30 days. Get it now and keep it forever)
Universal Classics: TV Pinball:
Xena: Warrior Princess Pinball
Knight Rider Pinball
Battlestar Galactica PinballNew Features on PlayStation, Xbox and PC:
UI overhaul and upgrades
XP system
Notification system
New optional Pinhall, New optional music
General fixes:
- Fixed an issue where "An error has occurred while publishing your scores" could pop up frequently
- Fixed an issue where a start of a new season would unlock all rewards
- Nudge button hints are now displayed properly
- Williams Pinball: Volume 1 Questline - Mission 9 - Double Score powerup timer set from 5 seconds to 20
- Fixed an issue where camera controls were stuck to ‘C’ even after setting a different key
- Fixed an issue where the game crashed when players closed a 2-player-hotseat table in cabinet mode
- Fixed an issue in Cabinet Mode - where players had to Reload Configuration every time
A Charlie Brown Christmas™ Pinball
- Fixed an issue when the ball could stuck in the left kickback
- Reduced the time of the ball being held by the saucer during the Mystery Animation, added manual eject option as well
- The “Collect Bonus” award no longer resets the bonus multiplier
- Fixed the typo in the song credits
- Fixed the typo on the display
- Music for the Pigpen Snowman mode no longer replaces the main theme after the mode ends
- Fixed an issue, where the boss music can play alongside other tracks
- Fixed an issue, where the ball can leave the miniplayfield
- Fixed a typo on the bottom right of the playfield
- Adjusted the German translations at the ball launch
- Adjusted the ball kickout system in the bonus room
- Fixed an issue, where the Bomb lamp could stay lit after usage
- Fixed an issue where the ball could go ballistic after a weak plunge
- Added rollover switches above the bumpers
- Fixed an issue where the instructions overlapped on the display
- Fixed an issue where the Jackpot status didn’t reset
- The pop-up score at Super Skillshot will display the correct score
- Fixed an issue where the spin disk could drop the ball between the flippers
- The video display no longer freezes after the Return to Kharak mode
- Increased the speed of the research toy by 30% for a more dynamic gameplay
- Fixed an issue where the bonus screen could appear when the ball is in play
- Fixed an issue where the ball could get stuck in the bumpers
- The ball can no longer get stuck behind the green box
- Fixed an issue where the instructions overlapped on the display
- Fixed a soft lock occurrence at the end of the Cinderella tale
- Fixed the appearance of the transparent ball curse so it won't be invisible
- Crystal Multiball will no longer end after locking a ball at the Castle Gate
- Fixed the “Book of Tales” end of bonus description
- Fixed an error where the Magic Mirror award prevented further progress at the final battle
- Fixed an issue, when hitting the wolf last during the Wolf & Seven Goats followed by an immediate drain will prevent further completion of the mode
- Scoring a Jackpot during Crystal Multiball will release the balls from the Tower Locks to prevent any exploits
- Fixed an issue where the localized "More hits for your Multiball bumper" text had an overlapping issue
- Fixed an issue where the could stay on the volcano
- Adjusted the power of the kickback and sinkhole kickout
- Fixed an issue where the ball could get stuck in the perimeter fence
- Fixed an issue where the first left orbit shot phases through the diverter
- Fixed the position of the right outlane post
- Fixed the speech bubbles remaining in 0-degree orientation when the screen is rotated
- The table no longer awards extra balls in challenges
- Adjusted View 8 in portrait mode
- Fixed an issue where the ball could balance on the tip of the flipper
- Reduced the power of the auto-launch during challenges
- Fixed an issue when the table can softlock after draining the regular ball in the “He Certainly Has Courage” mode in challenges
- Fixed an issue when the screen turned black in the TIE Fighter Attack mode
- Fixed an issue where the HOLD BONUS X and EXTRABALL flashing lights were offset
- Fixed an issue where the ball locked without having to spell LOCK
- Fixed a view issue when a lock happened
- Fixed an R2-D2 magnet issue
- Fixed a malfunction on R2-D2 kickback
- Fixed an issue where the TIE Fighter could appear invisible
- Fixed an issue where the magnet wouldn’t work on one charge at R2-D2 Bumpers
- Adjusted combo timers on the table
- Adjusted mission goals on Scene 1, Part 2
- Fixed an issue where the ball could bounce out of the table from the middle of the playfield
- Fixed an issue with the Hyperspace multiball
- Fixed camera handling and planet alignment in Hyperspace mode
- Adjusted lighting on the AT-AT, Luke and Darth Vader
- Fixed an issue where the Super Skill Shot could be hit by simply holding up the left flipper
- Fixed an issue where the left kickback returned the ball to the right outlane
- Fixed an issue where the left target lead the ball to the left outlane
- Fixed an issue where the Solo Fighter mission (and achievement) was unwinnable
- Fixed an issue where if a ball drained with 1 lock (Partial Optical Link) activated, the optical sequence reset without considering how many balls are locked physically
- Fixed an issue with ball locking during Metamorphosis
- Fixed an issue where Levitation Save could fail to place the ball above the flippers.
- Fixed a Flips Challenge exploit: Ball could autoplunge directly into the bumpers.
- Fixed a physics issue with the ball travelling down towards the flippers
- This crumbling brick effect is now present in all instances where needed
- Davy Jones' Locker ramp texture is now moving with the rest of the ramp.
- Fixed an issue where the ball could get stuck on the elbows of the fighter during any match, Fisticuffs Multiball included.
- The music and VO will now not be cut off by the end of game menu
- Tokens will now properly save between games
- Fixed an issue where an upwards nudge could stop the time if the player had a locked ball
- Fixed an issue where repeatedly nudging resulted in the clock stopping
- Fixed an issue where Ball 1 lock on the table was showing as ball 3 locked
- Fixed a typo on the table
- Fixed an issue where the ball would be removed from the small flipper lane if 2 balls were stalled there
- Fixed an issue where the game could end with a ball stuck in Ted’s mouth in the 5 minute challenge
- Fixed black textures on Carousel
- Fixed an issue where the ball could hit a switch more than once
- Fixed autoplunger problems in challenges
- Plunger camera angle adjusted
- Fixed an issue where the upper flipper rubber is interfering with the wall
- Fixed a faulty effect on the backglass
- Fixed an issue where there weren’t any combos or ball saves in Arcade mode
- Backglass lighting will now be turned on properly
- Fixed an issue where the ball could fall under the right flipper after a drain and get stuck
- Left outlane adjusted
- Adjusted Skill Shot camera
- Fixed the Williams logo shadow on the flippers
- Fixed an issue where the ball could stay behind the goal during multiball
- Fixed an issue where zhe upkick near the goal did not properly kicked out the ball
- Fixed a display issue in the Table Guide
- Fixed an issue where the ball did not stay on the left ramp properly
- Fixed an issue where the ball could get stuck in the Loot sinkhole
- Fixed an issue where the ball could get stuck in the saucer during Flips Challenge
- Fixed an issue where the game could fail to exit out of the Skillshot phase
- Fixed an issue where the auto-plunge could hit the ball into the left outlane
- Fixed an issue where the ball could exit at the middle of the ramp
- Fixed an issue where locking a ball while Mystery was lit at the right upper orbit denied a chance at a Skillshot
- Fixed an issue where tilting during Herald of its Word could result in the ball skin being applied for the next ball
- Fixed an issue in 5 minute challenge - The mystery extra ball award value could be multiplied by 4
- Fixed an issue where if Maw and Cult of its Arrival multiballs are started on top of each other the lane lamps could flash incorrectly
- Fixed resetting issues with the Skillshot if Skillshot power-up is used
- Fixed an issue where if Maw and Herald of its Word multiballs conflicting resulted in 2 balls on the playfield without any multiballs running
- Fixed an issue during multiball, where the Herald could keep the ball, juggling it indefinitely
- Fixed an issue where the Herald could be beaten in one shot, instead of several shots
- Fixed an issue where the Madness counter did not reset when winning a mode with ballout
- Fixed a display issue around Bumper Bonus
- Fixed several localization issues in Italian
- Fixed an issue where pictures did not appear properly on the right notepad
- Fixed an issue where the ball could fall off the rails if shot with the right power
2024.05.16 17:00 Internal-Paint-1613 sp9 or sx9?
Hey everyone, I can’t decide between these two subtypes, because I can relate to both very well. My core is definitely e9, I allign well with the motivations and everything. My MBTI type is ISTP, in a Ti-Ni loop most of the time since I’m kinda in the middle of my wtf years and I’m 17. My psychosophy/ap type is FLEV (3-4-1-1)
I’m just going to pure everything out here because to be honest at this point I don’t even know myself which points apply to which subtype. If needed I can list some other stuff in the comments.
Thank you for your help in advance!
The sloth manifests in me in just generally being lazy and I just like to do my own stuff, not really liking to be dragged out to do things I don’t want to do. If that happens I’ll be very grumpy. Other than that I’m pretty much always grumpy. I’m the happiest when I’m running or drawing or when doing some thrilling stuff with my friends. I’m get very frustrated when I feel hungry or when I’m sleepy and there’s any kind of noise around me. Hence why I sleep with earplugs on. I like being around my friends and I can relate both wanting to be with them all the time and wanting to have free time. With family I don’t really care tbh, there’s been always an argument going around with my dad that ‘I’m selfish and don’t care about anyone and I never call them’.
I’m pretty protective of my own room and stuff, my mom even gets scared of me because she always hears in my voice that I want to be left alone and don’t wanna let her in lol. I hate noises and being bothered while doing my own stuff. I get furious about these things. If I don’t want to do something I’ll mostly let others know but there are times when I don’t and just go along with them while thinking about when I can get home asap.
I relate very much to the merging part and I’d say I merged with everything throughout my whole life. That applies to crushes and hobbies as well. I kinda become a clone of them. If I like someone I’ll become like them, like ‘yeah their hobbies are cool, now I’m gonna do those and I’ll be cool and they will like me’. I can’t decide whether this is conscious or unconscious, I just know that there is always some kind of a motive there. I seriously just become like them. With hobbies it’s like ‘hey I do distance running, therefore I’m a distance runner and it’s my personality now.’
I have an ‘I don’t care attitude’ most of the time and I don’t like rules, I always had problems at school with that when I was younger. Even now sometimes. I can go into things without questioning. I’ve always been brave, my friends say that I’d be a gryffindor. Or gryfferin. They say I’m mostly a gryffindor but have slytherin traits too.
My anger is switches between controllable and uncontrollable, depending on the situation.
I dislike being helped by others and I like to handle stuff my on own. This applies to everything.
When I entered high school the first time my teachers immadiately liked me because I was smart and everything, looked pretty responsible, kinda looked like an enneagram 3. I was however exhausted by showing this fake persona that I had on for the teachers so I got rid of that.
Since my childhood was very shitty I’ve always been depressed with on and off episodes and that’s pretty noticable on my grades. I’m still above average in my class but one of my teachers called me out.
I’m both theoretical and practical, but imo theorising pointlessly is stupid. Ne users exhaust me. I like carrying out my plans, but still live a lot in my head. I’m pretty idealistic, but kinda realistic in that. I have plans that might seem very idealistic but I plan stuff that I know I’m capable of carrying out. I would never say that I’ll become a doctor because I know I wouldn’t like to study that much.
I’m fairly assertive but can also be socially awkward. When walking on the street getting catcalled I’ll shout at them and curse very much because I won’t let them take advantage of me and I get very pissed off. When I’m angry I think it’s pretty visible but not all the time.
I’ve been called bossy by my friends. They said that we do things the way I’d like to do them most of the time. Imo they just never take charge and I know how to handle things and can decide so I’ve always been the leader in my friend groups. I’m an amazing problem solver and I always know what to do if a problem occurs. That doesn’t really apply to relationships. I just swallow my pride and apologise or just cut them off.
With crushes I feel like crap I’m so embarrased but people say I don’t act weird. I’ve always been embarrased when talking about love, I never shared my crushes with anyone. It’s embarrassing and brings up an unnecessarily vulnerable side of me so instead I avoid it at all costs. I find these things very cringe but love reading fluff fanfics when I’m alone. Secretly I’m romantic and emotional. I can get really jealous as well.
I’ve always been the weird kid in my class with the weird interests but people liked me regardless because I was always the chill kid who helped anyone and was kind. I can also be blunt and inconsiderate randomly. I’ve always been pretty unapproachable and never had much friends, I think people can sense that I don’t really wanna be with them and I’d just like to mind my own business instead. I avoid crowds and hate (family)gatherings. With crushes though I have this longing that I wanna be close to them.
I can be alone for a pretty long time and enjoy it but that way I’ll become very isolated and used to it and don’t really like to go out again. I also become depressed.
I had a fairly addictive personality my whole life, I have exercise addiction (even though it’s much better than it used to be), I have a history with eating disorders, and I can easily hyperfixate on stuff. These hyperfixations come and go.
I care about my health a lot and do loads of sports, but when unhealthy my room becomes a dark pit, mom says it stinks and I sleep all the time. I’m lazy to do the dishes and I can eat from the same bowl multiple times. I got food poisoning from that two times. I always continue doing sports though.
I have a problem of cutting people off randomly when I get very pissed off. I’ve lost almost all my friends that way. I can get rid of relationships in a minute.
submitted by Internal-Paint-1613 to EnneagramType9 [link] [comments]
I’m just going to pure everything out here because to be honest at this point I don’t even know myself which points apply to which subtype. If needed I can list some other stuff in the comments.
Thank you for your help in advance!
The sloth manifests in me in just generally being lazy and I just like to do my own stuff, not really liking to be dragged out to do things I don’t want to do. If that happens I’ll be very grumpy. Other than that I’m pretty much always grumpy. I’m the happiest when I’m running or drawing or when doing some thrilling stuff with my friends. I’m get very frustrated when I feel hungry or when I’m sleepy and there’s any kind of noise around me. Hence why I sleep with earplugs on. I like being around my friends and I can relate both wanting to be with them all the time and wanting to have free time. With family I don’t really care tbh, there’s been always an argument going around with my dad that ‘I’m selfish and don’t care about anyone and I never call them’.
I’m pretty protective of my own room and stuff, my mom even gets scared of me because she always hears in my voice that I want to be left alone and don’t wanna let her in lol. I hate noises and being bothered while doing my own stuff. I get furious about these things. If I don’t want to do something I’ll mostly let others know but there are times when I don’t and just go along with them while thinking about when I can get home asap.
I relate very much to the merging part and I’d say I merged with everything throughout my whole life. That applies to crushes and hobbies as well. I kinda become a clone of them. If I like someone I’ll become like them, like ‘yeah their hobbies are cool, now I’m gonna do those and I’ll be cool and they will like me’. I can’t decide whether this is conscious or unconscious, I just know that there is always some kind of a motive there. I seriously just become like them. With hobbies it’s like ‘hey I do distance running, therefore I’m a distance runner and it’s my personality now.’
I have an ‘I don’t care attitude’ most of the time and I don’t like rules, I always had problems at school with that when I was younger. Even now sometimes. I can go into things without questioning. I’ve always been brave, my friends say that I’d be a gryffindor. Or gryfferin. They say I’m mostly a gryffindor but have slytherin traits too.
My anger is switches between controllable and uncontrollable, depending on the situation.
I dislike being helped by others and I like to handle stuff my on own. This applies to everything.
When I entered high school the first time my teachers immadiately liked me because I was smart and everything, looked pretty responsible, kinda looked like an enneagram 3. I was however exhausted by showing this fake persona that I had on for the teachers so I got rid of that.
Since my childhood was very shitty I’ve always been depressed with on and off episodes and that’s pretty noticable on my grades. I’m still above average in my class but one of my teachers called me out.
I’m both theoretical and practical, but imo theorising pointlessly is stupid. Ne users exhaust me. I like carrying out my plans, but still live a lot in my head. I’m pretty idealistic, but kinda realistic in that. I have plans that might seem very idealistic but I plan stuff that I know I’m capable of carrying out. I would never say that I’ll become a doctor because I know I wouldn’t like to study that much.
I’m fairly assertive but can also be socially awkward. When walking on the street getting catcalled I’ll shout at them and curse very much because I won’t let them take advantage of me and I get very pissed off. When I’m angry I think it’s pretty visible but not all the time.
I’ve been called bossy by my friends. They said that we do things the way I’d like to do them most of the time. Imo they just never take charge and I know how to handle things and can decide so I’ve always been the leader in my friend groups. I’m an amazing problem solver and I always know what to do if a problem occurs. That doesn’t really apply to relationships. I just swallow my pride and apologise or just cut them off.
With crushes I feel like crap I’m so embarrased but people say I don’t act weird. I’ve always been embarrased when talking about love, I never shared my crushes with anyone. It’s embarrassing and brings up an unnecessarily vulnerable side of me so instead I avoid it at all costs. I find these things very cringe but love reading fluff fanfics when I’m alone. Secretly I’m romantic and emotional. I can get really jealous as well.
I’ve always been the weird kid in my class with the weird interests but people liked me regardless because I was always the chill kid who helped anyone and was kind. I can also be blunt and inconsiderate randomly. I’ve always been pretty unapproachable and never had much friends, I think people can sense that I don’t really wanna be with them and I’d just like to mind my own business instead. I avoid crowds and hate (family)gatherings. With crushes though I have this longing that I wanna be close to them.
I can be alone for a pretty long time and enjoy it but that way I’ll become very isolated and used to it and don’t really like to go out again. I also become depressed.
I had a fairly addictive personality my whole life, I have exercise addiction (even though it’s much better than it used to be), I have a history with eating disorders, and I can easily hyperfixate on stuff. These hyperfixations come and go.
I care about my health a lot and do loads of sports, but when unhealthy my room becomes a dark pit, mom says it stinks and I sleep all the time. I’m lazy to do the dishes and I can eat from the same bowl multiple times. I got food poisoning from that two times. I always continue doing sports though.
I have a problem of cutting people off randomly when I get very pissed off. I’ve lost almost all my friends that way. I can get rid of relationships in a minute.
2024.05.16 16:58 henlee69 How soon can I return to the US
I travelled to the US on May 30th 2023 with a J1 visa to work at a summer camp. I stopped working at the summer camp September 8th and travelled the US for around 25 days before heading to Mexico with the view to enter on an ESTA (was told by both my sponsor and camp placement in the UK this would be fine).
Worth mentioning a couple of days into my travels that I met an American and we hit it off so well that I ended up using his place as my base whilst travelling.
Returning back to the US from Mexico I got pulled at Houston and was told I can’t simply go from a J1 to an ESTA and had to go for a secondary interview. I’d quit my corporate job to work for the summer camp so had sufficient funds and proof of travel plans for the following 90 days of travel. After some questioning my passport was stamped allowing me 90 days and I was on my way…
I left the US December 30th (so that’s 7 months spent in the US in 2023) and have been in new employment and renting since January.
My American “friend” (it’s more than that but we don’t really have a label due to the distance) visited me in the UK in April and now I’m planning to visit him.
I’m currently interviewing for a number of jobs with a start date of 27th August so my plan is to quit my job and visit him in July for say 5 weeks with some road trips in between, returning in time to start my new job.
My question is… How soon realistically can I go back to the US? And for how long? I’m terrified that because I got pulled into a secondary interview last time I’ve now put a target on my back.
I can bring: proof of rent, a decision in principle for a mortgage (I’m planning to buy a house once I’m in new employment), proof of funds, return flight etc…
There are so many horror stories on here so I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and got through fine.
TIA.
submitted by henlee69 to immigration [link] [comments]
Worth mentioning a couple of days into my travels that I met an American and we hit it off so well that I ended up using his place as my base whilst travelling.
Returning back to the US from Mexico I got pulled at Houston and was told I can’t simply go from a J1 to an ESTA and had to go for a secondary interview. I’d quit my corporate job to work for the summer camp so had sufficient funds and proof of travel plans for the following 90 days of travel. After some questioning my passport was stamped allowing me 90 days and I was on my way…
I left the US December 30th (so that’s 7 months spent in the US in 2023) and have been in new employment and renting since January.
My American “friend” (it’s more than that but we don’t really have a label due to the distance) visited me in the UK in April and now I’m planning to visit him.
I’m currently interviewing for a number of jobs with a start date of 27th August so my plan is to quit my job and visit him in July for say 5 weeks with some road trips in between, returning in time to start my new job.
My question is… How soon realistically can I go back to the US? And for how long? I’m terrified that because I got pulled into a secondary interview last time I’ve now put a target on my back.
I can bring: proof of rent, a decision in principle for a mortgage (I’m planning to buy a house once I’m in new employment), proof of funds, return flight etc…
There are so many horror stories on here so I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and got through fine.
TIA.
2024.05.16 16:56 AdrianM1996 Type me (repost)
I’m posting this again because I didn’t really get any satisfactory answers.
I always got INTP or ISTP on those free tests but I’m not sure.
• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I am a 27 years old trans man. I have been socially transitioning for nearly 4 years and medically transitioning for 7 months. I’ve uprooted my life in more ways than one and it’s by far been one of the best decisions I’ve made.
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
I have been struggling with depression and anxiety on and off since my adolescence and probably have ADHD or autism as well.
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
I’m an only child. My mum’s always been something of a fire-cracker and has struggled with alcoholism and emotional abuse from her mum. She always had very high expectations of me and she’s probably part of the reason why I have such unreasonable expectations for myself. My dad is a lot more chill even if he doesn’t get me 100 percent of the time. Ultimately, I think they tried their best. My parents aren’t particularly religious but I went to a Catholic school until I was nine. I never really bought into it and it was a relatively chill school but it probably affected me in some way.
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
I honestly haven’t been able to hold down a stable job at all. After getting a pretty useless degree, my jobs have all been crappy and short-lived and I never really figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a writer or an artist but I have a near permanent case of creative burnout. I’m a part-time zookeeping student right now.
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
It depends. If I’ve had a busy week I’ll welcome the peace and quiet. If things have been quiet I’ll get bored and a bit lonely.
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
I have a mixture of indoor and outdoor hobbies. I like gaming, especially RPGs, builders, and dumb shooters. I also enjoy card games and board games and I’ve recently started picking up chess. I like watching movies and anime, particularly horror and action. I used to read a lot of fiction but I find myself too distracted these days. If I do read it’s usually nonfiction about a topic I’m interested in or academic works.
In terms of outdoor hobbies, I’m only just opening up to them as I’ve been a particularly notorious shut-in for a lot of my life. I enjoy nature walks, working out, bouldering, gardening, and swimming. I’m not amazing at sports but I wouldn’t say I’m completely useless either. I prefer more solitary activities to team based ones. I have a bit of a competitive streak and exercise helps keep it in check.
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
Very curious. I usually have a couple of ideas on the go but I wouldn’t say I’m overflowing with them. My curiosities are usually about the natural world, video game lore, and new hobbies I may want to take up.
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
I could be an okay leader if no one else was able to take up the position but I would be anxious about the responsibility and expectations others have of me. I’d like to think I’m firm but fair.
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
I’m okay. I can match other people’s movements quite well. I can get a little bit careless and clumsy when I’m distracted or anxious though.
• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
Back when I used to draw, I drew a lot of tattoo designs and illustrations. Like something you’d find on an album cover or a book cover. I also drew many of the creatures and characters I wrote about. I’m have an eye for colour and I am drawn to art-deco and art-nouveau aesthetics.
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
The past, while not always easy to revisit due to fuzzy memories or trauma, has led me to this very moment. I try to take every day as it comes and that has helped me a lot. I am nervous for the future as I have few concrete plans and life may throw me a curve ball. But I am also excited to see what has in store for me.
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
It depends who’s asking and what they want help with.
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
Absolutely.
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
Efficiency is pretty good. Work smarter, not harder and all that. Productivity less so. I’m just happy when I get things done.
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
Not really. Unless they are negatively impacting me or other people I prefer to leave people to their own devices.
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
Pretty sure I already answered this question.
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
I’m a visual and hands-on learner. I suck at internalising verbal instruction. I despise overly rigid learning environments so I struggled a lot in school. I enjoy learning at my own pace and by going out and doing things first-hand.
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
Improvise but I try to make a basic structure that I may or may not deviate from.
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
To be the best version of myself I can be and live the most fulfilling and rich life I can.
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
My two biggest fears are quite abstract and they are being aimless and being trapped. I’m also mildly agoraphobic and afraid of wasps. I hate wilful ignorance and bigotry, especially when those things actively make the world a worse place for everyone.
• What do the "highs" in your life look like?
I feel alive, happy, and a zest for life. I feel like I’m running on a motor and that I can do anything I want.
• What do the "lows" in your life look like?
When I feel low, I get in a funk and it’s very hard to get out. I literally find it impossible to relax unless someone is there to get me out of my head. If I’m not careful I can get isolated. And that’s when I start to spiral.
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
Sometimes I let my mind wander, particularly when I’m listening to music. It doesn’t take much to bring me back to reality though.
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
I’d probably go a bit mad and try to devise an escape plan.
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
I like to take my time to weigh out the pros and cons. I make stupid decisions when I’m rushed. I may change my mind if circumstances change and it’s not going to inconvenience me too much.
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
A long time. My emotions are a mess and I barely know what I am feeling half the time. Journaling has helped me make sense of them and processing them to a degree.
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
Not really. I either stay quiet or try to disagree with them in a productive way depending on how bold I’m feeling at the time.
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I follow rules if they are there for a good reason. Like waiting in line. If they’re stupid rules I have less qualms about breaking them.
submitted by AdrianM1996 to MbtiTypeMe [link] [comments]
I always got INTP or ISTP on those free tests but I’m not sure.
• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I am a 27 years old trans man. I have been socially transitioning for nearly 4 years and medically transitioning for 7 months. I’ve uprooted my life in more ways than one and it’s by far been one of the best decisions I’ve made.
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
I have been struggling with depression and anxiety on and off since my adolescence and probably have ADHD or autism as well.
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
I’m an only child. My mum’s always been something of a fire-cracker and has struggled with alcoholism and emotional abuse from her mum. She always had very high expectations of me and she’s probably part of the reason why I have such unreasonable expectations for myself. My dad is a lot more chill even if he doesn’t get me 100 percent of the time. Ultimately, I think they tried their best. My parents aren’t particularly religious but I went to a Catholic school until I was nine. I never really bought into it and it was a relatively chill school but it probably affected me in some way.
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
I honestly haven’t been able to hold down a stable job at all. After getting a pretty useless degree, my jobs have all been crappy and short-lived and I never really figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a writer or an artist but I have a near permanent case of creative burnout. I’m a part-time zookeeping student right now.
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
It depends. If I’ve had a busy week I’ll welcome the peace and quiet. If things have been quiet I’ll get bored and a bit lonely.
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
I have a mixture of indoor and outdoor hobbies. I like gaming, especially RPGs, builders, and dumb shooters. I also enjoy card games and board games and I’ve recently started picking up chess. I like watching movies and anime, particularly horror and action. I used to read a lot of fiction but I find myself too distracted these days. If I do read it’s usually nonfiction about a topic I’m interested in or academic works.
In terms of outdoor hobbies, I’m only just opening up to them as I’ve been a particularly notorious shut-in for a lot of my life. I enjoy nature walks, working out, bouldering, gardening, and swimming. I’m not amazing at sports but I wouldn’t say I’m completely useless either. I prefer more solitary activities to team based ones. I have a bit of a competitive streak and exercise helps keep it in check.
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
Very curious. I usually have a couple of ideas on the go but I wouldn’t say I’m overflowing with them. My curiosities are usually about the natural world, video game lore, and new hobbies I may want to take up.
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
I could be an okay leader if no one else was able to take up the position but I would be anxious about the responsibility and expectations others have of me. I’d like to think I’m firm but fair.
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
I’m okay. I can match other people’s movements quite well. I can get a little bit careless and clumsy when I’m distracted or anxious though.
• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
Back when I used to draw, I drew a lot of tattoo designs and illustrations. Like something you’d find on an album cover or a book cover. I also drew many of the creatures and characters I wrote about. I’m have an eye for colour and I am drawn to art-deco and art-nouveau aesthetics.
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
The past, while not always easy to revisit due to fuzzy memories or trauma, has led me to this very moment. I try to take every day as it comes and that has helped me a lot. I am nervous for the future as I have few concrete plans and life may throw me a curve ball. But I am also excited to see what has in store for me.
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
It depends who’s asking and what they want help with.
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
Absolutely.
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
Efficiency is pretty good. Work smarter, not harder and all that. Productivity less so. I’m just happy when I get things done.
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
Not really. Unless they are negatively impacting me or other people I prefer to leave people to their own devices.
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
Pretty sure I already answered this question.
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
I’m a visual and hands-on learner. I suck at internalising verbal instruction. I despise overly rigid learning environments so I struggled a lot in school. I enjoy learning at my own pace and by going out and doing things first-hand.
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
Improvise but I try to make a basic structure that I may or may not deviate from.
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
To be the best version of myself I can be and live the most fulfilling and rich life I can.
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
My two biggest fears are quite abstract and they are being aimless and being trapped. I’m also mildly agoraphobic and afraid of wasps. I hate wilful ignorance and bigotry, especially when those things actively make the world a worse place for everyone.
• What do the "highs" in your life look like?
I feel alive, happy, and a zest for life. I feel like I’m running on a motor and that I can do anything I want.
• What do the "lows" in your life look like?
When I feel low, I get in a funk and it’s very hard to get out. I literally find it impossible to relax unless someone is there to get me out of my head. If I’m not careful I can get isolated. And that’s when I start to spiral.
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
Sometimes I let my mind wander, particularly when I’m listening to music. It doesn’t take much to bring me back to reality though.
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
I’d probably go a bit mad and try to devise an escape plan.
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
I like to take my time to weigh out the pros and cons. I make stupid decisions when I’m rushed. I may change my mind if circumstances change and it’s not going to inconvenience me too much.
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
A long time. My emotions are a mess and I barely know what I am feeling half the time. Journaling has helped me make sense of them and processing them to a degree.
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
Not really. I either stay quiet or try to disagree with them in a productive way depending on how bold I’m feeling at the time.
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I follow rules if they are there for a good reason. Like waiting in line. If they’re stupid rules I have less qualms about breaking them.
2024.05.16 16:54 Lucky_6464 BrawlCap Presents: BSC 2024 May Monthly Qualifiers Recap
 | So... this was a wild weekend we all just watched. We saw Revenant AND NAVI fail to qualify this month from APAC, a lot of drama happening over in the EMEA region, we FINALLY saw the top South American team get signed and we played some fun Brawl Stars quizzes over at Reddy's stream during the NA Qualifiers. submitted by Lucky_6464 to BrawlStarsEsports [link] [comments] I would also like to point out that I am not responsible for any jinxing that may have happened this past weekend. No I won't be talking much about the drama that happened this past weekend. If you want to see more about it, I'm sure there are some posts on here or tweets that talk about it more in depth. I just want to talk about the Qualifiers and nothing else. Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk about what happened in the BSC 2024 May Monthly Qualifiers! The Thumbnail! Asia PacificMay Asia Pacific Monthly Qualifiers ResultsCrazy Raccoon: This time Crazy Raccoon were able to get a nice run in the Monthly Qualifiers after getting sent to Losers last month. Only dropping one set, this Japanese team is looking to claim their 2nd Monthly Final crown of the year and all but secure a spot for the World Finals. With teams like Revenant and NAVI not standing in their way this time, there is a good chance they can repeat. However with how much chaos that has happened this month, I guess anything is still possible. Still should be the favorites to win it all though. Rival Esports: The newly signed trio in Rival have somehow made their way to the Monthly Finals from Winners after getting a huge upset against NAVI to qualify. Rival will hopefully take advantage of there being no NAVI or Revenant this month, but they will have to go through a tough bracket as I think Why We Lose could be tougher than we all might think and Angelic with that ping advantage might be tricky to beat. If they at least make it to the Grand Finals, they should be in a good position to play in at least the LCQ assuming they keep qualifying. Angelic: Little to no scrim time? No problem! At least for Angelic as they were able to cruise through the Winners Bracket and never once had to deal with a tough opponent as HOW were unsuccessful in being able to play them. Angelic are looking to take advantage of there being no Revenant or NAVI this month and there is a good chance they could get a bigger lead on them and even Rival is they out-place them this month. If there was a time for the Hong Kong group to win, it's now. Coco Loco: This Coco team is going Loco as they were able to qualify from Winners thanks to Revenant choking against Team S2. While they were able to beat Team S2 in a close match, they still have some work to do as they ended up getting matched with 3RG who could be challenging for them. Despite the slow start they had, they are slowly climbing their way back up in the rankings and now might have a chance to stay in the LCQ race as long as things go their way. We'll see if they can get another MF match win this month! Master Entertainer: A new team has joined the Monthly Finals and their journey was quite interesting to say the least. Their bracket was going well until they faced Rival who would send them to Losers. Luckily, bracket RNG was on their side and while they did have a close call in one of their matches, it was pretty much smooth sailing the rest of the way. Now will hopefully be their chance to cause some chaos as they go up against Crazy Raccoon. It will be challenging, but from what we have seen so far this year, anything is possible. Team S2: The 2nd S team has arrived and they should definitely not be taken lightly despite this being their first Monthly Final. Their run was going well in Winners and they somehow managed to beat Revenant 2-0 in the process. Coco Loco would send them to Losers after a tough loss, but they would still just need one win to qualify. Their match against Octopus Primes wasn't easy, but they pulled through and will now get a chance to also cause some chaos. Can this Korean team stun us all and add Angelic to their list of top teams they've beaten this month? 3R Gaming: 3RG had a pretty easy road in the Winners Bracket, but they were unfortunately matched with Crazy Raccoon in the qualifying match. I think you could guess what happened there. What's even worse is that they got placed in the same section as Revenant and Nai Dug in Losers. Nai Dug were somehow victorious in their match against Revenant (yes RNT placed Top 16), but they were no match for 3RG had came out on top in a three set victory. Now they'll get a chance to climb their way back into the LCQ race, but their bracket ain't gonna be easy as they will have to go through Coco Loco and Raccoon. Why We Lose: After getting sent to the Losers Bracket early, WWL managed to get on a nice streak which also ended with them getting a win against HOW. Their next match was a close one and while they were able to win, NAVI was their next opponent and beating them would mean they would qualify. I think you can guess what happened. They somehow defeated the April Champions and sent them packing. While this was a brutal loss for NAVI and it hurting their chances to claim a Worlds spot, WWL is looking to cause some more chaos in APAC as they could stun us all and beat Rival. May Asia Pacific Monthly Finals Bracket Quarterfinal Match to Watch - Rival Esports VS. Why We Lose: I think WWL has the potential to upset Rival this month. I don't know why, but I just have a gut feeling that WWL is underrated. They do have a solid trio who did manage to take out the defending champs, but so did Rival in Winners. This is the only matchup I could honestly see end in a close battle with maybe CL VS. 3RG being a contender. At this time I would still lean towards Rival, but we'll see what the scrims will have to say about that. EMEAMay EMEA Monthly Qualifiers ResultsF/A Jordan 4's: This trio of players were literally assembled 24 hours before the qualifiers started, yet somehow they not only managed to qualify directly to Winners, but they also beat arguably the best team in the region in SK Gaming (they didn't even drop a set). Despite all the drama surrounding this team with Decaii getting perma banned, they were able to pick up Blaksxy who will likely be filling in for him. Also glad to see Buzko playing in his first Monthly Final, but I did not expect it to be with this FA roster. Can they beat Reverso though? Oceanus Gaming: Three Monthly Qualifiers, zero set losses so far. It was honestly a breeze for Oceanus as they never really had to play a super difficult opponent once. Didn't even have to face BC* who were sent to Losers early. A clean bracket for these group, but unfortunately they did not get lucky with the MF bracket RNG as their first opponent will be against HMBLE. This is likely a do or die moment for Oceanus and losing here would hurt them a bit, but luckily for them ZETA & SK will be playing each other in the Quarterfinals so they'll still have a chance even if they lose to HMBLE. Reply Totem: Totem is back and honestly about damn time. Totem were able to find their form again this month and even managed to beat HMBLE to qualify directly from Winners. While SK did qualify from the Losers Bracket, they were thankfully not paired up with them this time. Instead they got an opponent who will be playing in their first Monthly Final this year in Ladder>Skill. If Totem somehow don't beat them though next week, I might start doubting them again. Please just win one match on the big stage. ZETA DIVISION: Hold on let me put on my surprised face real quick. Wow ZETA qualified from Winners again? That's so crazy! Who could've seen this coming? But for real though this is pretty good for ZETA as they were able to easily qualify directly from Winners and managed to beat Eclipsar in the process. ZETA will be looking to defend their Monthly Final crown and try to win a second straight. They were paired up with SK in their first match, but if they win that they should be golden for a Grand Finals spot. It's never easy winning multiple in the most competitive region, but these guys make it look easy. Will they win another Monthly Final and almost all but guarantee a spot in Worlds? Ladder>Skill: Before I get into anything I just want to say congrats on this team winning against all odds and qualifying for the Monthly Finals for the first time together. This is truly an accomplishment for them and I wish them nothing but the best this weekend against Totem. Now on to the situation, I'll say is that this was very unfortunate for BC that they had to go out like that. A bug ending their chances of qualifying this month and now made it anyones race to claim that final LCQ spot, that's brutal. All you can do now is just hope things work in your favor in the final two months of the season. Treat every game like it could be your last and give it your all moving forward. That's all I'll say about the situation. Reverso Gaming EU: Ay another new team has joined the Monthly Finals! And it's another Italian group too! From what I have heard about them, this group managed to claw their way through the Qualifiers and somehow managed to upset FUT Esports and sent them to Losers. While they weren't able to take down Jordans in the following round, they were able to secure a win against AoF in their Qualifying Match. The bracket RNG gods blessed them with this qualification and they blessed them again by giving them a rematch against Jordan. They were close against them last time so I think they could maybe stand a chance. SK Gaming: Losing to Jordan early in the bracket meant that they would likely have to go through a gauntlet of tough teams in the Losers Bracket as they would have to go up against two solid teams in FUT and Eclipsar. Wait hold on scratch that. I meant Eclipsar and Pale Fox who somehow upset FUT in Losers Top 24 (I watched that match on Teddie's stream and it was insane). PFE did give SK a run for their money, but SK were able to pull through in the end. Eclipsar were no match for them either and that's how they somehow managed to qualify despite all of that happening. Now they'll have to go up against... ZETA. Man they bracket RNG gods were not kind at all this month. HMBLE: This was a decent month for HMBLE overall I'd say. While they weren't able to defeat Totem in their Winners Qualifying Match, they were able to secure an easy opponent for them to qualify from Losers. All was going well until it was revealed they would be going up against Oceanus. And possibly going against Totem in the following round if they beat them. Man can HMBLE ever catch a break this year? First coming up short in the previous two Grand Finals and now this. I will say if they manage to win it all this month, this will be the team to beat the rest of the season. Will their bracket be too much for them to handle, or will we hold a funeral for Symantec's table after he chops it in half with his might fist? May EMEA Monthly Finals Bracket Quarterfinal Match to Watch - ZETA DIVISION VS. SK Gaming: It was either this matchup or Oceanus VS. HMBLE and I think we can all agree that a battle between the two teams that have won a Monthly Final so far this year deserves to be in the MUST WATCH section. The fact that this is a Quarterfinals Match of all things is very wild and bold of the BSC admins, but hey that just means that both teams gotta give it their all if they want to possibly all but secure a Worlds spot this year. The winner likely plays in Grands too as their next round opponents should be easy for both of them. The loser of this match should still be in the Worlds race, but it might be harder to directly qualify with there being two more Monthly Finals after this one. South AmericaMay South America Monthly Qualifiers ResultsCalabresos F/A: This team has yet to lose a single match so far this season as they were able to easily cruise through their bracket without really breaking much of a sweat. Some more good news for them is that their bracket does look pretty easy up until the Grand Finals which is good for them since it means they'll be getting closer to claiming that Worlds spot sooner than we had expected. Calabresos were also recently signed by Spacestation Gaming who dropped their NA roster due to... reasons I won't talk about here, but hey glad to see these guys get signed finally. Team Queso: Things have been going pretty well for TQ so far this month. They managed to breeze their way through an easy bracket up until they had to face Marruecos. It was a close battle, but TQ would come out on top in the end and qualify from Winners. Their LCQ hopes remain pretty hopeful as not only were they able to get a newcomer in the BSC Monthly Finals scene, but one of the teams they were competing with in SKC failed to qualify. If there was a time to give it their all, it'd be this month as a deep run could put them in a good position to take an LCQ spot. F/A MiniPekkas: The MiniPekkas had no trouble in the Qualifiers as they managed to not drop a single set the entire qualifier which included a win against UDP in their final Qualifier match. They will be playing against UDP again in their first match of the Monthly Finals, but they are looking pretty good as of late to the point where I think if they go on a deep run this season, they should be able to at least secure an LCQ spot thanks to SKC not qualifying. Reis Do PL: RDP got pretty lucky they weren't able to face SKC in their bracket. They did have to take on Olimpo who was a bit of a challenge, but they managed to pull through and won the following match against CFZ to qualify. Now they'll have to go up against Marruecos who will finally get to show who they really are after playing against Calabresos in the previous two Monthly Finals. This will be a crucial Monthly Final for RDP as a win would keep their LCQ hopes alive. Marruecos: Marruecos had a pretty easy bracket to start off as nobody was super challenging for them up until the final Winners Match against Queso. It was a hard fought battle, but they came up just short and had to survive SKC in their Losers match. SKC forfeited their first Winners match and had to go on a deep Losers run in order to survive, but after a back and forth battle, Marruecos came out on top in the end and sent SKC home packing early. This win definitely helped Marruecos and their chance of claiming an LCQ spot. While they might have to face RDP in the Quarterfinals, at least they don't have to deal with Calabresos again. Olimpo Squad: Olimpo had to go through a somewhat deep Losers run after losing against RDP in a close match. Luckily they were able to breeze through their next two matches after that and while their match against Blue lock was super close with every set ending in three games, Olimpo came out on top and qualified. Now Olimpo will have to take on the best team in the region as their first opponent in the Monthly Finals. While it might be tough for them to beat, from what we have seen in BSC this year, anything is possible. Mochilas: Another new team has arrived in the South America Monthly Finals and it's a Brazilian team I'm not super familiar with. Looking at their bracket though, it seems they were able to beat Level who made it to the Monthly Finals last month, but they were quickly shut down by Blue lock in the match after that. While they did have to win three Losers matches to qualify, it wasn't super difficult for them as Mochilas managed to win three straight only having issues in one match during that run. Now Mochilas will be facing Queso in their first Monthly Finals together which will certainly be their toughest challenge yet. Urubus Do Pix: A pretty good showing for UDP overall as this Brazilian team had little to no trouble up until their final two matches of the Qualifiers. A loss against the MiniPekkas in the Winners bracket still put them in a win and in scenario, but UDP were able to secure a win against Arranca Diu in a close three set victory. Now they'll be out to get revenge as they will play the MiniPekkas in a rematch in their first Monthly Finals match. May South America Monthly Finals Bracket Quarterfinal Match to Watch - Reis Do PL VS. Marruecos: To me this is the matchup I think that will be the most crucial one for both teams on their quest to claim an LCQ spot. RDP has shown they can take on the best in this region as they almost beat the MiniPekkas last month while Marruecos despite a slow start, have shown they are capable of beating good teams like SKC as well. The winner of this match keeps their LCQ hopes alive for now while the loser might have to rely on a miracle in order to qualify. This should be a good one to watch that will likely get put on the B Stream. North AmericaMay North America Monthly Qualifiers ResultsCT Esports: The former Spacestation roster minus RBM & toast have teamed up with rookie Evex to see if they could maybe keep their LCQ hopes alive since they were able to secure their points from the previous two months. Well, they somehow managed to breeze through the Winners bracket up until their match against Tribe. It was a close contest between these two teams, but CTE managed to pull through in the end in a massive upset. Things keep on getting better for them as the bracket RNG gods blessed them and gave them Homeless as their first match. We'll see how good this group can play on the big stage and I can't wait to see Evex play next weekend. West Coast FA: West Coast introduced a new member to the team in Jheart after cutting Shine from the group, but that didn't stop them from dominating their section of the bracket. They did actually manage to struggle in two of their final three matches going up against the former DC Team with toast on it and Complexity, but they prevailed and a sweep against the Oinkers would clinch them a Monthly Finals spot from Winners. Now they'll have to go up against Luminosity who should be a challenge for this group, but we'll see if they'll be able to get their first Monthly Final match win of the season. Juan Carlos Team: The recently signed JCT group now with a solid staff managed to prove why they are now considered a serious contender for a Worlds spot this year. They were not dropping a single set all the way up to their final match where they managed to beat Luminosity in a three set victory to qualify. Everything went their way this qualifier and things ended up getting better as they will be facing a Motomamis team dealing with ping issues in their first match. We'll see if they can continue this win streak next weekend and we'll see which new org ended up signing them next week as well. STMN: After falling just short of a Monthly Finals crown, STMN got back to work in this qualifier and did not disappoint whatsoever as they easily climbed their way through the Winners side dealing with only one small bump along the road in Motomamis. Unfortunately for STMN, they have to deal with an even bumpier road this month as they will likely be getting a challenging opponent no matter who they face in each round. Their first opponent being Tribe whom they will be facing off in a competitive setting in about a year. This will be crucial for STMN as a win here will keep their Worlds hopes alive while a loss could mean they would have to start from the LCQ... if they even make it there that is. Luminosity: After failing to qualify last month due to Patchy being absent, Luminosity did manage to come back a bit stronger. While they did fall to JCT in their Winners qualifying match, they would end up having to face the Real Ones who were no trouble for them at all. Their bracket for the Monthly Finals though will be tough to get through and while their first opponent will be up against West Coast, their next match (if they win) will be tougher as they will have to get through either Tribe or STMN. Can they pick up the slack and go on a deep run to stay alive in the race to Worlds? Motomamis FA: This FA group with newly added player RBM managed to perform well in their first qualifier together. A solid showing overall only dropping one match and two sets the entire qualifier with their only losses being against STMN. While they were able to qualify by beating a decent NA group in IX Squares, they still have a lot of work to do against JCT in the Monthly Finals. With the ping disadvantage they'll have the entire tournament it certainly won't be easy, but hopefully having RBM on their team will be the saving grace they need to help keep it up in the race for a postseason spot. Tribe Gaming: A good start as always from Tribe, but things did end up taking an unexpected turn as Evex would finally end up beating Tribe under CTE and send Tribe to Losers after failing to do so back in March. While Tribe were able to easily qualify with a win over 512 the next day, the cracks are slowing showing as they have been struggling a bit lately against some of the better teams in NA. With a classic rivalry matchup against STMN coming up, Tribe will need to sharpen their axes and prepare themselves for a crucial battle in order to keep their lead on the NA leaderboards. Homeless: These Homeless players had a tough challenge ahead of them as they no longer had Steel nor Evex on their team. Luckily with the addition of a veteran player in Shine on their team, they were able to at least make some progress in Winners before losing to Luminosity in a close three set match. They then had to win three straight matches to qualify and luckily for them, they didn't have much issue with any of their opponents (except for maybe one team named Game Two Players). The Oinkers were no issue and we finally get to see tacos and Vegeta in their first Monthly Final, but I think Evex and CT Esports might want to put an end to their run next weekend. We'll see if Homeless can go from rags to riches in the Monthly Finals, but just like in real life it won't be easy. May North America Monthly Finals Bracket Quarterfinal Match to Watch - STMN VS. Tribe Gaming: The fact that this is a Quarterfinals match is just criminal, but hey we at least get to see a classic NA rivalry that we only saw once last year due to subregions. Tribe is looking to have a better month after getting upset by JCT last month while STMN is looking to stay alive in at least the LCQ race. A win for Tribe could mean STMN's chances of making Worlds will be near impossible and they will have to try for an LCQ spot, but a win for STMN (and maybe a deep run) could mean it would be anyones game to claim one of the Worlds spots. A crucial match for both teams and the winner of this match would have to likely go up against Luminosity which will definitely be fun to watch. Get your popcorn ready for the lower half of the bracket because it's definitely gonna be absolute cinema watching all four teams fighting for that Grand Finals spot. ConclusionThat should be everything you need to know about this Monthly Qualifier. Let me know who you think will win the Monthly Finals from each region in the comments below. I'll be releasing my Expert Predictions next Thursday (or later depending on when I get my scrim data).I've noticed there have been a lot more people joining this Subreddit lately. I just want to say if you are new here, welcome and I hope you enjoy your stay here! We are getting pretty close to 2,500 members Thank you all for reading this recap! Please give this post an upvote if you liked it and feel free to support me on Twitter as well by giving me a follow (link will be at the bottom of this post). This is Lucky Buzzing Off, and I will see you all in the next post! CreditsLucky jinxing Revenant & NAVI (@Lucky_64B)Lucky jinxing SK & FUT kinda (@Lucky_64B) Reddy420 (Literally from my iPhone) SK & FUT UPSET!!! (@TeddieCasts) Filippo Screenshot of Game Lobby (@filippo_bs) Gas needing a team for MQ for "fun" (@Gas_brawls) Spacestation Gaming signing Calabresos announcement (@Spacestation) Monthly Finals Brackets (@Brawl_esports) All Team Logos were taken from Liquipedia All Sprays from the Partnered Orgs were taken from the Supercell Fan Kit All Graphics were made by Lucky84 (go follow him on Twitter) I AM NOT SORRY FOR JINXING REVENANT & NAVI! |
2024.05.16 16:53 n1247 Skoolie or van?
Hi,
I'm a first time buyer. Me and my wife are planning to live in a Skoolie (short bus or long bus) or a high roof extended van for 6 months of the year (in the summer). We can both work fully remote.
We would prefer to buy something that is ready built and make customisations as we go. We both have very little DIY/power tool experience so we would like to see how we get on making changes before committing to building something from scratch.
Our budget is 25-30k USD. We are not looking for "Instagram luxury". Just something that is comfortable, light and airy.
Main requirements:
Shortlist so far (within budget):
1992 International/Thomas bus - fully converted with 36,938 miles. Six cylinder International diesel/ Build looks amazing and it has so much space. Main concern is the weight and driving it on steep inclines. 31.5’ bumper to bumper 236” wheelbase 8’ wide 10’10” tall.
1991 Blue Bird bus - gorgeous bus. Looks pretty unique so might have re-sale value. Converted into a store so it has a nice open layout and furniture. Would leave me with little room in budget to add living requirements. Other concern is the 248k miles.
2002 Ford e450 skoolie - 7.3L powerstroke diesel. 185k miles on it. Fully converted to a high standard. Only problem is that it's designed for someone who is 5.9ft. So I won't be buying this one but I'm looking for other e450s as I've heard the 7.3L powerstroke diesel engine is reliable and the interior has enough space for what we want.
Alternatives: Dodge Sprinter 3500 (2008), Ford Transit 350 (2017), Ram ProMaster 3500 (2017-18)
Buses are more expensive to maintain and are less fuel efficient. The main benefit vs. a van is the space. If I can realistically drive on mountains roads then I'm all for getting a bus.
Any recommendations or feedback is much appreciated!
submitted by n1247 to skoolies [link] [comments]
I'm a first time buyer. Me and my wife are planning to live in a Skoolie (short bus or long bus) or a high roof extended van for 6 months of the year (in the summer). We can both work fully remote.
We would prefer to buy something that is ready built and make customisations as we go. We both have very little DIY/power tool experience so we would like to see how we get on making changes before committing to building something from scratch.
Our budget is 25-30k USD. We are not looking for "Instagram luxury". Just something that is comfortable, light and airy.
Main requirements:
- Bathroom:
- Shower with hot water
- Toilet that flushes (preferably, might have to settle for compost one)
- Power:
- Enough battery capacity to charge two laptops
- USB charging ports
- Workspace and Dining:
- Convertible or fixed desk/dinette
- Sleeping:
- Double bed
- Storage space under bed
- Kitchen:
- Propane or electric stove
- Sink with hot and cold water
- Light and Ventilation:
- Windows for natural light
- Ceiling or wall-mounted fans
- Water System:
- Freshwater tank (minimum 20 gallons)
- Greywater tank for drainage
Shortlist so far (within budget):
1992 International/Thomas bus - fully converted with 36,938 miles. Six cylinder International diesel/ Build looks amazing and it has so much space. Main concern is the weight and driving it on steep inclines. 31.5’ bumper to bumper 236” wheelbase 8’ wide 10’10” tall.
1991 Blue Bird bus - gorgeous bus. Looks pretty unique so might have re-sale value. Converted into a store so it has a nice open layout and furniture. Would leave me with little room in budget to add living requirements. Other concern is the 248k miles.
2002 Ford e450 skoolie - 7.3L powerstroke diesel. 185k miles on it. Fully converted to a high standard. Only problem is that it's designed for someone who is 5.9ft. So I won't be buying this one but I'm looking for other e450s as I've heard the 7.3L powerstroke diesel engine is reliable and the interior has enough space for what we want.
Alternatives: Dodge Sprinter 3500 (2008), Ford Transit 350 (2017), Ram ProMaster 3500 (2017-18)
Buses are more expensive to maintain and are less fuel efficient. The main benefit vs. a van is the space. If I can realistically drive on mountains roads then I'm all for getting a bus.
Any recommendations or feedback is much appreciated!
2024.05.16 16:53 ToadScoper Frustrating/baseless claims made by MBTA Regional Rail Transformation Office during CIP meeting
 | I was reviewing the MBTA’s proposed FY 2025/29 CIP May 7th meeting when I was absolutely baffled by the words coming from the head of the MBTA’s regional rail transformation office. It is abundantly clear from choice words such as “cheap, quick, and minimized infrastructure” to describe a unproven service model without any other considerations for holistic needs such as power systems, facilities, station accessibility, etc. The lack of ANY understanding of how regional rail systems work globally and the complete lack of comparable service models comes off as unprofessional; here a few choice highlights. submitted by ToadScoper to mbta [link] [comments]
|
2024.05.16 16:53 Candid-Ad6046 I (18f) was in the best relationship of my life with my ex (20M) and now I'm scared I'll never find love again. How do I make this feeling go away?
Okay so to preface, I know I am young and I still have my whole life ahead of me, but this truly feels like something I don't know how to come back from. The beginning is a vent but the last paragraph is the actual question.
TL;DR I was in a completely healthy happy relationship that now after it ended, I don't know how to move on or love again. i feel completely stuck on him and would do anything to get him back.
I (18F) met my ex-boyfriend Nick (20M) after I graduated high school through a mutual friend. He was on a road trip at the time to visit his family back home, he lived across the country from his family for work, I had gotten his Snapchat through one of my close girlfriends who was dating one of his friends. One of the first things I was told was he had never been in a relationship, and never kissed a girl. I thought this was INSANE because if you saw this man (tall, muscular, dark hair and iconic jawline) you wouldn't believe for a second that he doesn't have girls fawning all over him.
Ironically, I had gotten his snap right as he left for this week-long road trip, so the first week we communicated was solely through pictures. I thought he was dry at first, but he was really (and I mean really) cute. I ended up getting the courage to call him so we could properly chat. He was super funny, sweet, and nerdy. I remember I couldn't wait for our first date. Fast forward a month and Nick and I are dating, things are going better than ever. I truly have never felt more loved, supported, and protected than when I was with him. He bought me flowers "just because", and would keep his fridge stocked with my favorite drinks. He taught me how to play chess and video games, would always have a hand on the small of my back, and for the entire length of our relationship, I never so much as touched a door handle.
I have a history of problems with mental health, specifically eating disorders and depression. Even though I was his first relationship, he handled it in stride. I occasionally had panic attacks, and somehow he just knew innately how to deal with them. One thing I had never experienced before was someone lightly blowing on me while having a panic attack, which I have since learned is one of the only things that can calm me down. I had asked him once how he knew what to do and he just said it just "felt right" . That was how things worked with him. He saw a problem and solved it. I barely ever had to ask him to do anything more than once if at all. My family loved him, and he helped my dad out around the house, joked around with my sister, and had a great relationship with my mom. We were the couple my single friends wanted to be like. I had been through so many awful relationships and situationships that I truly thought this was the universe apologizing.
The issue, however, comes down to how we grew up. Nick grew up in a very religious and right-wing state, whereas I grew up more west coast in a relatively liberal area. Before I met Nick, when I started recovery from my ED, I discovered marijuana. Weed was something that genuinely helped me eat, deal with my anxiety, and helped me sleep. I can admit during my senior year of high school I took it a bit far, and definitely smoked more than my fair share. He knew about this early into the relationship, and he never really liked it, but he knew it was part of my life. Being someone who grew up religious, Nick was adamantly anti-weed, and I knew this so while we both knew about my usage, it was kind of an unspoken issue. I never smoked around him, avoided calling or messaging him when I was high to avoid him being uncomfortable, and I did my best to not talk to my friends about weed when around him either.
Fast forward a few more months, and we had plans to go to the zoo after I had gone on a hike with my friends. He picked me up and drove me to a parking lot off the highway and explained that he wanted to talk. I have pretty bad abandonment issues so I immediately went into fight or flight mode and asked if he was breaking up with me. With tears in his eyes, and not looking at me, Nick mumbled yes. Cue the instant and debilitating panic attack from me (arguably the worst one I've ever had). He somehow managed to calm me down enough to talk, and he explained that the weed was a huge issue for him even though he said he was fine with it in the past. I was shocked and blindsided because as far as I knew, we were just going to the zoo. I tried to explain how it helps me and I could quit if he wanted me to, and he said that was not what he wanted. he just couldn't think of me the same way knowing I smoke. While we were talking, I had texted my mom to come get me. We were trying to work things out, at this point we are both crying, he said he loves me and wanted to be with me, but he doesn't think he could get over this. My mom gets to the parking lot, I sort of stumbled to the car, basically holding myself together by a thread. As soon as I closed the door I screamed. A blood curdling scream that held so much anguish and pain that my mom started crying. I truly felt like I had lost a limb.
Those three days without contact were brutal, and on the fourth day, I caved and called him. We met up that day (I called him at 5am and we met up around 6am) and we both apologized. He said he felt like he made a huge mistake, and that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about me. I promised I would stop smoking weed, and we both swore to each other that there would be no more secrets or issues between us, that we would talk about how we feel as soon as we feel like something is wrong.
For a while this worked, the no-smoking wasn't too bad, even though it was still a point of contention between us. But then I started to remember why I smoked in the first place. I became more depressed, food stopped looking good, and I was withdrawing into myself. He noticed this and we talk about it, but ultimately there was nothing we could do, because I knew I would lose him if I went back to smoking.
Things were good for a while, we talked about everything, and every issue got resolved within the week if not the day. I had my person back, and life felt good again. Everything was going smoothly up unitl a few weeks before our 6 months (I know this was a lot to happen in 6 months). I started to feel Nick going distant, not cold or anything, and he said nothing was wrong, but I could tell something was nagging at him. One Monday, he called me and said he wanted to talk. This immediantly raised red flags because last time he said that we broke up. we facetimed and he confessed he was feeling like he wasn't being true to himself in the relationship. He felt like he wasn't going to the gym as often as he wants, and he doesn't have any time to himself. This one conversation ended in him driving to my house, a hours-long confession of everything he had been bottling up, and when he left that evening, I was single again.
My actual question paragraph is below:
I hope now everyone has context for why this relationship was so influencial in my life, and now getting to the part i need advice on. It has currently been about a month and a half since we broke up, and though I was half-hearted trying on dating apps, and I am somewhat talking to a guy right now, I can't stop thinking about Nick. I know if it didn't work out not once but twice, its probably going to happen, but I haven't had such a deep connection so fast before, and I don't want to give up on us just yet. its not that I don't want a relationship right now, but if its not with Nick I don't know if I want one ever, he taught me to never accept less than I deserve, and that I am worth loving and being treated like a princess. I have never felt more appreciated, safe, or cherished than when I was with Nick. Is it worth moving on? Or am I leaving my soulmate? Is it possible to feel love like this again? Is it worth messaging him or will I just get my heart broken instead?
Sorry for the long post, I guess I needed to get stuff off my chest. Any advice or similar experiences are welcomed, thank you!!
submitted by Candid-Ad6046 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
TL;DR I was in a completely healthy happy relationship that now after it ended, I don't know how to move on or love again. i feel completely stuck on him and would do anything to get him back.
I (18F) met my ex-boyfriend Nick (20M) after I graduated high school through a mutual friend. He was on a road trip at the time to visit his family back home, he lived across the country from his family for work, I had gotten his Snapchat through one of my close girlfriends who was dating one of his friends. One of the first things I was told was he had never been in a relationship, and never kissed a girl. I thought this was INSANE because if you saw this man (tall, muscular, dark hair and iconic jawline) you wouldn't believe for a second that he doesn't have girls fawning all over him.
Ironically, I had gotten his snap right as he left for this week-long road trip, so the first week we communicated was solely through pictures. I thought he was dry at first, but he was really (and I mean really) cute. I ended up getting the courage to call him so we could properly chat. He was super funny, sweet, and nerdy. I remember I couldn't wait for our first date. Fast forward a month and Nick and I are dating, things are going better than ever. I truly have never felt more loved, supported, and protected than when I was with him. He bought me flowers "just because", and would keep his fridge stocked with my favorite drinks. He taught me how to play chess and video games, would always have a hand on the small of my back, and for the entire length of our relationship, I never so much as touched a door handle.
I have a history of problems with mental health, specifically eating disorders and depression. Even though I was his first relationship, he handled it in stride. I occasionally had panic attacks, and somehow he just knew innately how to deal with them. One thing I had never experienced before was someone lightly blowing on me while having a panic attack, which I have since learned is one of the only things that can calm me down. I had asked him once how he knew what to do and he just said it just "felt right" . That was how things worked with him. He saw a problem and solved it. I barely ever had to ask him to do anything more than once if at all. My family loved him, and he helped my dad out around the house, joked around with my sister, and had a great relationship with my mom. We were the couple my single friends wanted to be like. I had been through so many awful relationships and situationships that I truly thought this was the universe apologizing.
The issue, however, comes down to how we grew up. Nick grew up in a very religious and right-wing state, whereas I grew up more west coast in a relatively liberal area. Before I met Nick, when I started recovery from my ED, I discovered marijuana. Weed was something that genuinely helped me eat, deal with my anxiety, and helped me sleep. I can admit during my senior year of high school I took it a bit far, and definitely smoked more than my fair share. He knew about this early into the relationship, and he never really liked it, but he knew it was part of my life. Being someone who grew up religious, Nick was adamantly anti-weed, and I knew this so while we both knew about my usage, it was kind of an unspoken issue. I never smoked around him, avoided calling or messaging him when I was high to avoid him being uncomfortable, and I did my best to not talk to my friends about weed when around him either.
Fast forward a few more months, and we had plans to go to the zoo after I had gone on a hike with my friends. He picked me up and drove me to a parking lot off the highway and explained that he wanted to talk. I have pretty bad abandonment issues so I immediately went into fight or flight mode and asked if he was breaking up with me. With tears in his eyes, and not looking at me, Nick mumbled yes. Cue the instant and debilitating panic attack from me (arguably the worst one I've ever had). He somehow managed to calm me down enough to talk, and he explained that the weed was a huge issue for him even though he said he was fine with it in the past. I was shocked and blindsided because as far as I knew, we were just going to the zoo. I tried to explain how it helps me and I could quit if he wanted me to, and he said that was not what he wanted. he just couldn't think of me the same way knowing I smoke. While we were talking, I had texted my mom to come get me. We were trying to work things out, at this point we are both crying, he said he loves me and wanted to be with me, but he doesn't think he could get over this. My mom gets to the parking lot, I sort of stumbled to the car, basically holding myself together by a thread. As soon as I closed the door I screamed. A blood curdling scream that held so much anguish and pain that my mom started crying. I truly felt like I had lost a limb.
Those three days without contact were brutal, and on the fourth day, I caved and called him. We met up that day (I called him at 5am and we met up around 6am) and we both apologized. He said he felt like he made a huge mistake, and that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about me. I promised I would stop smoking weed, and we both swore to each other that there would be no more secrets or issues between us, that we would talk about how we feel as soon as we feel like something is wrong.
For a while this worked, the no-smoking wasn't too bad, even though it was still a point of contention between us. But then I started to remember why I smoked in the first place. I became more depressed, food stopped looking good, and I was withdrawing into myself. He noticed this and we talk about it, but ultimately there was nothing we could do, because I knew I would lose him if I went back to smoking.
Things were good for a while, we talked about everything, and every issue got resolved within the week if not the day. I had my person back, and life felt good again. Everything was going smoothly up unitl a few weeks before our 6 months (I know this was a lot to happen in 6 months). I started to feel Nick going distant, not cold or anything, and he said nothing was wrong, but I could tell something was nagging at him. One Monday, he called me and said he wanted to talk. This immediantly raised red flags because last time he said that we broke up. we facetimed and he confessed he was feeling like he wasn't being true to himself in the relationship. He felt like he wasn't going to the gym as often as he wants, and he doesn't have any time to himself. This one conversation ended in him driving to my house, a hours-long confession of everything he had been bottling up, and when he left that evening, I was single again.
My actual question paragraph is below:
I hope now everyone has context for why this relationship was so influencial in my life, and now getting to the part i need advice on. It has currently been about a month and a half since we broke up, and though I was half-hearted trying on dating apps, and I am somewhat talking to a guy right now, I can't stop thinking about Nick. I know if it didn't work out not once but twice, its probably going to happen, but I haven't had such a deep connection so fast before, and I don't want to give up on us just yet. its not that I don't want a relationship right now, but if its not with Nick I don't know if I want one ever, he taught me to never accept less than I deserve, and that I am worth loving and being treated like a princess. I have never felt more appreciated, safe, or cherished than when I was with Nick. Is it worth moving on? Or am I leaving my soulmate? Is it possible to feel love like this again? Is it worth messaging him or will I just get my heart broken instead?
Sorry for the long post, I guess I needed to get stuff off my chest. Any advice or similar experiences are welcomed, thank you!!
2024.05.16 16:49 SishenShunsui [Breeds] Please help us decide an appropriate breed.
Can you help our family choose a dog? [Breeds]
We are a family of 3 with a 2 year old boy. We are finally settled in our new home and we are ready to add a dog to our family.
Introduction
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?
10) What size dog are you looking for?
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.
We really appreciate any guidance! Thank you for your time.
submitted by SishenShunsui to dogs [link] [comments]
We are a family of 3 with a 2 year old boy. We are finally settled in our new home and we are ready to add a dog to our family.
Introduction
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
- We grew up with dogs but it will our first time as the primary care givers/ trainers.
- We would like to buy a puppy.
- we would like a dog that is good around children and doesn’t bark like a husky. A medium sized dog that could run with me and wouldnt be too challenging to train and well behaved around other dogs.
- my wife is mostly interested in dogs that she considers beautiful such as the Samoyed(example for her idea of beauty in a dog). For myself I always loved Saint Bernards, a giant, calm and friendly dog. But it’s not very practical since my wife is quite small and feels intimidated by the size.
- to follow basic commands like stop, wait, leave it. And lie down and follow me while running. (Jogging around 5km)
- Not at all
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?
- I have a few hours per day spare.
- about 2 hours per day. We will go to dog parks occasionally as well as open land.
- up to 30 mins a day and willing to pay for bi-monthly grooming.
10) What size dog are you looking for?
- a medium sized dog maybe around 20 inches. The middle to high end of medium.
- less barking and slobber, a moderate amount of shedding would be ok. I don’t mind cleaning the floor every day but I don’t want to spend 5 minutes with a lint roller every time I leave the house.
- important
13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
- somewhere in the middle but definitely snuggly over cat like.
- eager to please
- friendly to cautious but not aggressive or afraid.
- no since we will come across a lot of dogs every day.
- just the common things like leash pulling.
18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
- very rarely completely alone, maybe once every 1-2 months we will go out for a day trip late morning to evening. Preferably the dog would be ok with it, but we can easily arrange a visitor or care if not.
- no preferences different to those mentioned already. My wife will occasionally feed/ walk the dog, but mostly it will be me with the ‘help’ of my son.
- turtle in an aquarium.
- yes all the time since I have a 2 year old.
- my own house.
- China, there are only bans on the really big dogs.
- peak summers usually around 35c but can reach 40c at times winter typically sits around 0c give or take a few degrees.
25) Please provide any additional information you feel may be relevant.
- No additional information.
We really appreciate any guidance! Thank you for your time.
2024.05.16 16:46 guidum80 How to use AI to clarify the customer journey and go to market ideas, and how to streamline the messaging
Here are 3 sampled answers using Maestrix as an example but you can easily apply your product details or URLs. These results have been generated in 3 minutes. You can do it for your own product on maestrix.ai.
A/ Market Category Frame of Reference: Maestrix AI competes in the AI-powered Marketing Automation and Planning Tools market category, which includes products that leverage artificial intelligence to provide marketing strategy, planning, and execution capabilities.
Competitors:
Key Unique Attributes:
Enabled Value and Proof:
Customer Segments:
SWOT Summary Table:
B/ User Positioning Statements:
Top ICP / Persona Recommendations Table:
Avoidance Recommendations Table:
Recommendation Rationale Summary:
Our top recommendations target tech startups, e-commerce entrepreneurs, small marketing teams, solopreneurs, and growing businesses in the B2B and B2C spaces. These personas struggle with limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI, and creating engaging content. Maestrix AI addresses these pain points by providing tailored marketing insights, campaign ideas, and content generation. Our recommendations avoid highly regulated industries, large enterprises, and IT/Tech professionals without marketing responsibilities, as these groups may require more specialized solutions or have different priorities.
Challenging Decisions Analysis:
For B2B audiences: 1) convincing marketing teams to adopt AI-assisted marketing strategies, and 2) demonstrating the ROI of Maestrix AI.
For B2C audiences: 1) educating solopreneurs and small business owners about the benefits of AI marketing assistants, and 2) addressing concerns about AI-generated content quality.
Persona/Client Canvas:
Here are three detailed persona profiles:
Persona 1: Marketing Manager Maya
Table 1: Thought-provoking Statements
Table 2: 'Pick a Fight' Statements
Table 3: Irreverent Questions
Table 4: Creative Angles
Table 5: Billboard Concepts
Here are 15 billboard concepts for each creative angle, with remarkable headlines, different rhetorical devices, different tones, and a 5-word signature that describes the value of Maestrix AI using the 4Cs copywriting formula.
Angle 1: AI-Powered Perfection
...
Angle 10: Marketing on Autopilot
Table 6: Highly Creative and Original Concepts
submitted by guidum80 to startups [link] [comments]
A/ Market Category Frame of Reference: Maestrix AI competes in the AI-powered Marketing Automation and Planning Tools market category, which includes products that leverage artificial intelligence to provide marketing strategy, planning, and execution capabilities.
Competitors:
- New Startups:
- chatGPT (AI-powered marketing assistant)
- Adcreative.ai (AI-powered ad creative optimization)
- Legacy Companies:
- HubSpot (marketing, sales, and customer service software)
- Marketo (marketing automation platform)
- Everyday Tools Repurposed:
- Prompt Bibles by infopreneurs (customized marketing strategy templates)
| Alternative | How it Addresses the Market | Downsides | How Maestrix AI is Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiring a Marketing Agency | Provides custom marketing strategies and execution | Expensive, time-consuming, and often lacks AI-driven insights | Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation at a lower cost and faster pace |
| Using Traditional Marketing Tools (e.g., HubSpot) | Offers marketing automation capabilities | Lacks AI-powered insights and requires significant setup and training | Maestrix AI provides AI-driven insights and automation with minimal setup and training |
| Custom-built Marketing Strategy Templates (e.g., Prompt Bibles) | Provides a customized marketing strategy | Limited scalability, requires constant updates, and lacks AI-driven insights | Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation that adapts to changing market conditions |
| Doing Nothing (DIY Marketing) | Lowers costs and provides control | Time-consuming, lacks scalability, and often ineffective | Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation at a lower cost and faster pace |
| Unique Attribute | What Makes it Unique | How it Addresses the Problem |
|---|---|---|
| AI-powered Insights | Uses machine learning algorithms to analyze market data and provide actionable insights | Provides data-driven marketing strategies and campaigns |
| Automated Campaign Generation | Uses natural language processing to generate ad copy, social posts, email campaigns, and landing pages | Saves time and resources while ensuring consistent branding and messaging |
| Comprehensive Digital Strategy | Offers a holistic approach to marketing, including go-to-market, e-commerce, and competitor analysis | Ensures a cohesive marketing strategy that drives business growth |
| Expert-driven Positioning and Messaging | Provides expert-level positioning and messaging frameworks | Helps businesses differentiate themselves in the market and resonate with their target audience |
| Enabled Value | Proof |
|---|---|
| Data-driven marketing strategies | Case studies demonstrating 25% increase in conversions and 30% decrease in ad spend |
| Time and resource efficiency | Customer testimonials highlighting 50% reduction in marketing execution time |
| Scalable and adaptable marketing campaigns | Whitepapers and research papers on the effectiveness of AI-powered marketing automation |
| Expert-level positioning and messaging | Success stories of businesses that achieved significant growth with Maestrix AI's positioning and messaging frameworks |
| Segment | Motivations | Triggers | Barriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startups | Need to quickly establish a strong market presence | Limited marketing resources and expertise | Difficulty in creating effective marketing strategies and campaigns |
| Solopreneurs | Desire to maximize online presence and sales | Limited time and marketing know-how | Difficulty in creating and executing marketing campaigns |
| Small Teams | Need to drive business growth through effective marketing | Limited marketing resources and budget constraints | Difficulty in creating and executing marketing campaigns |
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-powered insights and automation | Limited brand recognition | Growing demand for AI-powered marketing tools | Competition from established marketing automation platforms |
| Comprehensive digital strategy | Dependence on APIs and third-party data sources | Expanding into new markets and industries | Regulatory changes affecting AI-powered marketing tools |
| Expert-driven positioning and messaging | Limited sales and marketing resources | Partnerships with digital marketing agencies and consultancies | Competition from emerging startups and new market entrants |
| Scalable and adaptable marketing campaigns | High customer acquisition costs | Expanding into new geographic markets | Economic downturns affecting marketing budgets |
- I'm trying to develop a marketing strategy using online tutorials, but I get overwhelmed by the amount of information because it's hard to prioritize what's relevant for my business. Now, I can access tailored marketing insights and campaign ideas with Maestrix AI, so that I can create effective marketing strategies that drive results.
- I'm trying to create engaging ad content using a copywriter, but it takes too much time and money because I need to brief them on my brand and product. Now, I can generate precise ads and social posts with Maestrix AI, so that I can quickly launch targeted campaigns that resonate with my audience.
- I'm trying to optimize my marketing budget using spreadsheet analysis, but it's hard to make data-driven decisions because I'm not a marketing expert. Now, I can get actionable marketing recommendations with Maestrix AI, so that I can maximize my ROI and grow my business.
- I'm trying to improve my brand's online presence using a web developer, but it takes too long and costs too much because I need to redesign my website. Now, I can create optimized landing pages and email campaigns with Maestrix AI, so that I can attract and retain more customers.
- I'm trying to outperform my competitors using industry reports, but it's hard to stay ahead because I lack the resources and expertise. Now, I can analyze my competitors and get tailored marketing strategies with Maestrix AI, so that I can dominate my market and reach my business goals.
| Category | B2B Competitors | B2C Competitors |
|---|---|---|
| AI Marketing Assistants | ChatGPT, HubSpot | - |
| Traditional Agencies | Traditional ad agencies, Marketing firms | - |
| Marketing Tools | Hootsuite, Mailchimp | Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud |
| AI Content Generation | Content Blossom, Snoring Cat | AI Writer, WordLift |
| Prompt Bibles | Infopreneurs (e.g. [Prompt Bible by [Influencer]) | - |
| Dimension | Recommendation 1 (B2B) | Recommendation 2 (B2C) | Recommendation 3 (B2B) | Recommendation 4 (B2C) | Recommendation 5 (B2B) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Tech startups | E-commerce entrepreneurs | Small marketing teams | Solopreneurs | Growing businesses |
| Company Size | 10-50 employees | 1-5 employees | 5-20 employees | 1-5 employees | 50-200 employees |
| Job Function | Marketing Manager | FoundeCEO | Growth Hacker | Entrepreneur | CMO |
| Primary Goal | Drive customer acquisition | Increase online sales | Boost brand awareness | Establish thought leadership | Optimize marketing budget |
| Pain Points | Limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI | Difficulty creating engaging content, limited marketing expertise | Struggling to scale marketing efforts, limited budget | Difficulty establishing brand identity, limited resources | Difficulty optimizing marketing budget, lack of marketing expertise |
| Dimension | Avoidance Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Highly regulated industries (e.g. finance, healthcare) |
| Company Size | Large enterprises (>500 employees) |
| Job Function | IT/Tech professionals without marketing responsibilities |
| Primary Goal | Reducing costs, process optimization (not marketing-related) |
| Pain Points | Difficulty with internal communications, team management |
Our top recommendations target tech startups, e-commerce entrepreneurs, small marketing teams, solopreneurs, and growing businesses in the B2B and B2C spaces. These personas struggle with limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI, and creating engaging content. Maestrix AI addresses these pain points by providing tailored marketing insights, campaign ideas, and content generation. Our recommendations avoid highly regulated industries, large enterprises, and IT/Tech professionals without marketing responsibilities, as these groups may require more specialized solutions or have different priorities.
Challenging Decisions Analysis:
For B2B audiences: 1) convincing marketing teams to adopt AI-assisted marketing strategies, and 2) demonstrating the ROI of Maestrix AI.
For B2C audiences: 1) educating solopreneurs and small business owners about the benefits of AI marketing assistants, and 2) addressing concerns about AI-generated content quality.
Persona/Client Canvas:
Here are three detailed persona profiles:
Persona 1: Marketing Manager Maya
- Demographics: 28-40 years old, marketing professionals in tech startups
- Psychographics: Ambitious, growth-oriented, data-driven
- Role/Job: Marketing Manager
- Problem to solve: Limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI
- Pains of this problem: Feeling overwhelmed, lacking confidence in marketing decisions
- Jobs-To-Be-Done: Drive customer acquisition, increase brand awareness
- Motivation: Prove the value of marketing to the organization
- Trigger: New marketing budget allocation, need to scale marketing efforts
- Barriers: Limited resources, difficulty justifying marketing spend
- Context: Familiar with marketing automation tools, looking for innovative solutions
- Demographics: 25-45 years old, e-commerce entrepreneurs
- Psychographics: Entrepreneurial, driven, creative
- Role/Job: FoundeCEO
- Problem to solve: Difficulty creating engaging content, limited marketing expertise
- Pains of this problem: Feeling stuck, struggling to compete with larger brands
- Jobs-To-Be-Done: Increase online sales, establish thought leadership
- Motivation: Grow the business, establish a strong brand identity
- Trigger: Launching a new product or service, need to drive sales
- Barriers: Limited budget, difficulty finding the right marketing talent
- Context: Familiar with social media marketing, looking for efficient marketing solutions
- Demographics: 25-40 years old, growth hackers in small marketing teams
- Psychographics: Analytical, adaptable, results-oriented
- Role/Job: Growth Hacker
- Problem to solve: Struggling to scale marketing efforts, limited budget
- Pains of this problem: Feeling frustrated, difficulty justifying marketing spend
- Jobs-To-Be-Done: Boost brand awareness, optimize marketing budget
- Motivation: Drive user acquisition, prove the value of growth hacking
- Trigger: New marketing budget allocation, need to scale marketing efforts
- Barriers: Limited resources, difficulty measuring ROI
- Context: Familiar with marketing automation tools, looking for innovative solutions
Table 1: Thought-provoking Statements
| Statement |
|---|
| Marketing doesn't have to be a guessing game. |
| Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall. |
| Your competitors are already using AI marketing. |
| Traditional agencies are stuck in the past. |
| You can't out-hustle a machine. |
| Marketing strategies shouldn't be a shot in the dark. |
| Don't let your competition outsmart you. |
| What if you could predict your marketing success? |
| It's time to take the gamble out of marketing. |
| Your business deserves data-driven decisions. |
| Statement |
|---|
| Traditional agencies are a waste of your money. |
| ChatGPT is a toy, not a marketing solution. |
| Prompt bibles are a lazy marketing hack. |
| Why settle for mediocre marketing when you can have AI-powered perfection? |
| Your competitors are using AI marketing. Why aren't you? |
| Marketing by committee is a recipe for disaster. |
| Don't let your competitors out-AI you. |
| Legacy marketing strategies are holding you back. |
| What's your marketing strategy? "I don't know" isn't an answer. |
| Stop trying to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. |
| Question |
|---|
| Are you tired of throwing money at marketing and hoping for the best? |
| How much did your last failed marketing campaign cost you? |
| Do you really think your competitors are stupid? |
| What's the ROI on your current marketing strategy... -1%? |
| How many hours have you wasted on marketing meetings? |
| Are you a startup or a sideshow? |
| Is your marketing strategy based on hope or data? |
| Do you really think you can outsmart the market? |
| How many marketing agencies have failed you? |
| Are you ready to take the gamble out of marketing? |
| Angle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1. AI-Powered Perfection | Highlighting Maestrix AI's ability to deliver precise marketing campaigns and strategies. |
| 2. From Chaos to Clarity | Emphasizing the clarity and direction Maestrix AI brings to marketing efforts. |
| 3. Marketing in the Dark | Illustrating the uncertainty of traditional marketing strategies and the need for Maestrix AI. |
| 4. The AI Advantage | Showcasing the competitive edge Maestrix AI provides to startups and small teams. |
| 5. Data-Driven Decisions | Focusing on the data-driven approach of Maestrix AI and the confidence it brings. |
| 6. Smarter Marketing | Positioning Maestrix AI as a smarter, more efficient way to approach marketing. |
| 7. Outsmart the Competition | Highlighting Maestrix AI's ability to help businesses stay ahead of the competition. |
| 8. No More Guesswork | Emphasizing the elimination of guesswork in marketing with Maestrix AI. |
| 9. Predictable Success | Showcasing the predictable success and ROI of Maestrix AI marketing campaigns. |
| 10. Marketing on Autopilot | Positioning Maestrix AI as a reliable, hands-off marketing solution. |
Here are 15 billboard concepts for each creative angle, with remarkable headlines, different rhetorical devices, different tones, and a 5-word signature that describes the value of Maestrix AI using the 4Cs copywriting formula.
Angle 1: AI-Powered Perfection
| Headline | Rhetorical Device | Tone | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Marketing, elevated." | Allusion | Sophisticated | "Precise marketing. Guaranteed." |
| "Your marketing, perfected." | Anaphora | Confident | "Flawless marketing strategies." |
| "The future of marketing, today." | Hyperbole | Futuristic | "Revolutionary AI marketing tools." |
Angle 10: Marketing on Autopilot
| Headline | Rhetorical Device | Tone | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Marketing on cruise control." | Metaphor | Relaxing | "Hands-off marketing freedom." |
| "Set it and forget it." | Enthymeme | Carefree | "Marketing on autopilot, guaranteed." |
| "Let AI handle it." | Aporia | Trusting | "Reliable marketing solutions." |
| Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|
| "Marketing Oracle" Campaign | Positioning Maestrix AI as a mystical, all-knowing marketing guide. |
| "Marketing Myth-Busting" Series | Creating a series of ads that debunk common marketing myths and showcase Maestrix AI as the solution. |
| "AI vs. Human" Marketing Challenge | Pitting Maestrix AI against human marketers in a series of marketing challenges, highlighting the AI's superiority. |
| "The Great Marketing Escape" | Creating an immersive, escape-room-style experience that demonstrates the frustrations of traditional marketing and the relief of Maestrix AI. |
| "Marketing Utopia" | Illustrating a world where marketing strategies are data-driven, efficient, and successful, thanks to Maestrix AI. |
| "Marketing Time Capsule" | Creating a time capsule filled with outdated marketing materials and strategies, contrasted with the futuristic, AI-powered marketing of Maestrix AI. |
| "Marketing Symphony" | Using music and sound design to illustrate the harmony and efficiency of Maestrix AI marketing campaigns. |
| "The Marketing Maze" | Creating a maze that represents the complexities of traditional marketing, with Maestrix AI as the guiding light that leads to success. |
| "Marketing in the Dark... Ages" | Illustrating the dark ages of marketing, where businesses struggled without Maestrix AI, and the enlightenment that comes with AI-powered marketing. |
| "The AI Marketing Architect" | Positioning Maestrix AI as a master builder of marketing strategies, creating a solid foundation for business success. |
2024.05.16 16:40 CompassWithHat Top Lasgun: Broadsides
FIRST CHAPTER
PREVIOUS CHAPTER
This product is a fanfic of the Sexy Space Babes/Between Worlds product of u/Bluefishcake and one I highly suggest you read. It was created with permission, but give the OG works some love.
Imgr gallery of Comissioned and Fan Artworks
I'm Back Bitches! Again!
//////////
Junior Systems Engineer First Class Che’keero knelt before a semi-sparking control panel and sighed. She, and a large band of her fellow Engineers with Marine support, had boarded the pirate frigate with the singular goal of ensuring that the pirates didn’t scuttle their floating hulk and doom the slaves aboard to a, if they were lucky, a swift death in space.
The problem, of course, came with the pirate’s maintenance schedules and decisions to forgo certain… safety measures when it came to repair.
Like the panel before her. Usually a perfectly functional control system for the reverse-magnetic bulkhead doors that ensured void seals in power outages, some pirate at some point in their dumb, dumb life decided to fix the panel blowing a fuse… by ripping the fuse out and replacing it with a high density power cable. Which meant the entire thing was one massive shock hazard and actively sparking as the reactors deep in the ship flickered and surged due to damage.
Che’keero swore as an arc of electricity flashed towards her face after a tool that was not supposed to be magnetized, cheap dick WaDepth requisitions, caught a magnetic field, fusing the entire system shut and turning the formerly barely functional control system into nothing but pretty, decorative wiring and cheap solder. She punched the now utterly unfunctional control box and toggled on her radio. “Three-Two to Three-Lead, this door’s fried. You’ll need to bring in the cutters if we want to get to the rest of the ship. Might as well also bring in an inflatable airlock, I’m not liking how some of the metal strain sensors are flashing at me.”
A semi-synthetic voice replied back to Che’keero, “Three-Lead copies. I’ll be over there shortly with the stuff. Double check those sensors, I’m not getting the same readings, so let’s make sure something isn’t blocking errors from reaching me.”
“Copy that Three-Lead, Three-Two ou-” Something tapped against the back of her helmet and Junior Systems Engineer First Class Che’keero mentally swore.
“Now, now, lassie, how about you sit right there and don’t move.” A nasally, unfamiliar voice called out to her while tapping what a camera she set up to watch her back revealed to be a laser pistol to Che’keero’s helmet. “I think that you’re going to be our new best friend and way off this dead end ship.”
Che’keero paused, letting the situation settle in her mind, “Wait, what? Are… are you taking me hostage?”
“Yes!” The pirate replied.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you taking me hostage? This won’t work, none of the shuttles are jump capable and if you try anything, you’ll just end up jumped by marines. They specifically train to deal with pirates taking their engineers hostage. If you want to survive, you should just surrender and take the penal colony when it’s offered.” Che’keero mentioned, shrugging and continuing her inspection of the door.
The pirate seemed baffled at the sheer nonchalance of this response, the pistol slowly falling to merely point at her upper back instead of her head, “You… you really aren’t taking this seriously. I’m a pirate! I’ve killed people! I’ve killed boys, and you’re just sitting there like this doesn’t mean anything!”
“I mean… I wouldn’t say that.” Che’keero replied.
“THEN WHAT DO YOU MEAN!” The pirate screamed, the pistol moving away from Che’keero’s body by a fraction of an inch during an angry gesture.
It was at that point, a ceramic alloyed, carbon steel blade punched clean through the back of the pirate’s suit, slicing through their central nervous system and striking with enough force to shatter the faceplate of said pirate’s helmet on the way out. Muscles twitching, the laser pistol fired off randomly, missing Che’keero and slagging a chunk of bulkhead.
“I’m just buying time,” Che’keero replied cheekily.
“You really need to remember to check your cameras,” The semi-synthetic voice of Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns commented as the ex-pirate fell to the ground and blue blood dripped from the long blade sprouting from her right arm and a toolbox hanging from her left hand. “This isn’t the first time you have been flanked, and this one wasn’t during training.”
“Look, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Che’keero replied a bit testily.
“I’m sorry…” Ventures Forth prodded.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am.”
“Much better. Right, now what do we see in this- yeah you were right on it being fried.” Ventures Forth gently shoved the Junior Systems Engineer aside and took her place at the control panel. “Do a sweep of the strain systems. I don’t want this section of the ship breaking apart. Feel free to call up our hull patches. We’ve got plenty to share and this might have to be a lifeboat.”
“Aye, ma’am aye,” Che’keero replied with a crisp salute before rushing off to her duty.
Deeper inside the ship, Ventures Forth could hear laser fire, clashing of metal on metal, and cries for help.
The pirate ship was doomed, it was shattered and broken, but it was not destroyed. Not yet. \
And if she had her way, Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns would keep it that way.
//////////
Roshal stood still as her steward continued to clean the dark blue and rapidly congealing blood off her armored form. “Comms,” She called out, “Do we have any contact with the shuttle we sent to the station?”
“Negative, ma’am.” The comm officer replied. She wasn’t the same one that was present when Roshal left to fend off the boarders. At the unspoken question, the woman continued “Communication’s Mate Second Class Lev’tal, ma’am. My superior got a concussion when the pirate ship rocked our ship during boarding. Strap snapped, prior damage. I took over.”
Roshal nodded approvingly, “Good initiative. Send a message to the station, see if we can’t rai-”
“Ma’am! Contact!” One of her sensor techs called out, “Belay that, two contacts. First contact, nav point 782 spinward, possible bogey, cruiser weight. Unknown movements. Second contact, nav point 102 coreward, aerospace assets inbound. Small flight. Hard to determine numbers due to damage. No less than two, no more than five.”
“Focus on getting a hard contact on that possible cruiser. Weapons, what is the status of our anti-aerospace.” Roshal demanded, holding her sword arm out for the steward to scrub at a particularly clotted chunk of blood splattered over her wrist.
The weapons officer shook her head, “If we’re lucky, then we’ve got 20% coverage on half our sides. If we’re very lucky, I might be able to bump that number up to 35%. Not going to quote doctrine, but that’s not nearly enough to fend off a flight of Aerospace assets on a strike run, and that’s assuming they don’t hit us on an unprotected flank.”
Roshal nodded once more, “Sound general quarters and get weapons and tactical back online. Tell the damage control parties to not be distracted and focus on critical systems first. Engine room, report. Can you give me maneuvering thrust?”
The nearby ship phone chimed in with a staticy hiss, “Negative, ma’am. The shot we made with the spinal mount tripped breakers up and down the reactor room. This isn’t an engine problem, we need to make sure our reactor doesn’t blow up when we siphon power. Before you ask, emergency power is still flowing and none of their circuits tripped, but that means we’re down to life support, basic systems, and dockyard thrusters. It will take at least 20 to get the reactor in a safe state. If you want 10, send the chaplain down so we have someone praying for good luck. The fact most of our structural engineers are doing an EVA boarding to ensure the pirate ship next to us doesn’t go critical and render the entire exercise moot isn’t helping matters at all.” The engine room replied Roshal bit down a bit of annoyance at the snark, but engineers were always a finicky sort with authority. They were the first to remind uptight officers that while the Captain’s word may be iron law, it was their work that truly moved the ship.
“Confirmed, engine room.” Roshal instead replied. “Chaplains will be arriving shortly. Do what you can and inform me when you’re three minutes out from full power.”
The engine room didn’t even bother replying, just sending over the affirmative light as they got to work. Roshal approved of that. Sometimes, you just had to insult someone in order to get it working right.
“Captain, we have confirmation on contact. He’s an Alliance Karcharidon class Heavy Cruiser on intercept course. Energy readings are spiking… they’re charging their guns, ma’am!”
“Issue a hostile challenge and give me a firing solution with any gun still functional.”
“No response, ma’am. Hostile Karcharidon is increasing speed. Hard contact in 15 minutes.”
Roshal snarled, emotion breaking through her mask. “Of course, the pirates had one more vessel. Helm, fire our maneuvering thrusters, use the pirate hulk as cover. Weapons, get whoever’s left of our Interceptor flight to engage the enemy. Comms, get me in contact with the merchant fleet, tell them to evacuate. We’ll provide cover.”
“Aye ma’am.” The Communications Mate Second Class said with a shiver in her voice. “Sending-”
“Update on Aerospace assets!” Her sensor tech called out.
“Deliver!” Roshal demanded, cutting off the comms officer with a slice of her hand.
“Weapons fire. Definitely less than four contacts. Seems to be two grou- negative, only two contacts remaining- weaponsfire- one contac- IFF received, oh goddesses, IT’S RUNOFF THREE! FRIENDLY AEROSPACE INBOUND!”
//////////
Milk gripped her crash harness hard as Cookie slammed the Interceptor’s fusion torch clean past its safe thrust marker and into the red as g forces crushed her chest. “Last target down.” She reported after Cookie’s final laser burst hit something critical inside the final Aerospace fighter’s frame. “That’s 20 for 20. All enemy bogeys down. All standard munitions are in the black. Static drive is 48%, dump core ejected. All we’ve got left is our ASM and front laser.”
Cookie flashed back an affirmative signal.
“We going for that cruiser?”
Another affirmative.
“Well, I’m braced and ready on the release. Ready.”
“Ready.” Cookie spoke, his voice horse.
It’s funny what people think when their lives are on the line. Because charging towards a fresh enemy Heavy Cruiser, nothing but a single anti-shipping missile worth a damn, no allied support but the faint glimmer in IFF screens of their fellow flight doing the same… all Aoibhinn McDermott could think of was a poem she had read at least a decade ago or more at the Naval Academy.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the Valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
//////////
Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns could do nothing but furiously swear as the basic sensor system her engineering team had restored on the thoroughly ventilated secondary command bridge of the pirate hulk revealed an enemy Heavy Cruiser bearing down upon their homeship.
“Weapons are trashed. We cored their reactor, anyway.” One of the tangential engineers reported, “Other teams are calling in. Things are worse where they are. We’ve found the slaves, though, luckily it was one of the few airtight bays. Also, have some more captives, but that really doesn’t matter right now.”
“No shit.” Ventures Forth replied, “Can we do anything?”
The engineer looked back to her, visor depolarizing so the Gearschilde can look into the black and yellow eyes of her Shil coworker.
“Pray.” The woman replied simply.
Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns did just that.
//////////
Low chanting filled the engine bay as a small group of priests stood around the engine praying to whichever god that would listen to allow them one more shot. One more fight.
Around them, black handed engineers scurried, ripping out blown fuses and replacing them with soldered in high strength wire. A final measure of desperation. Sparks flew as engineers swore and chaplains prayed, power still remaining in circuits needing to be bled out before bypasses could be installed, turning every bit of solder and every ripped out fuse into a deadly gamble.
Already, someone was lying on the ground, no longer twitching.
They didn’t have time to check on their fallen comrade, the work was too important.
A clock ticked down. Four minutes elapsed.
//////////
Lieutenant Commander Cenywyn swore as she watched Runoff 2 die.
Their single Interceptor had mistimed a maneuver and had been caught dead in the middle of an Anti-Aerospace array, shredded in an instant. The only consolation she could take was that, seeing as the first shot went clean through the cockpit, they didn’t even notice they died.
“Runoff 4, stay in formation.” She ordered over the radio, “We’ll lead you in for the run.”
“Yes ma’am.” The hesitant voice of Junior Flight Lieutenant Griogill replied. She swallowed, “We’re- we’re ready when you are.”
“No fear, Lieutenant,” Cenywyn called back to the child she was leading to her death. “We’re pilots in the Imperial Patrol. We do our duty. No fear.”
A clock ticked down. Six minutes elapsed.
//////////
“Talk to me!” The last remaining senior engineer in the reactor bay called out to anyone who was able to reply.
Someone, she didn’t even bother looking to see who, called back “We’ve bypassed 60% of the fuses. Should be able to give ourselves a burst of combat power. No more than 10 minutes of it before the entire system overheats and we either die, or the reactor shuts off.”
“Any chance we can get more than 10 minutes?”
“Not before that Heavy Cruiser delivers us straight to the stars.”
“Fuck it, good enough.” She slammed her fist on the ship phone’s dialing button resting near the console the engineer had just ripped the last safety override out of. “Captain. We’ve got your power. You give us the word, and we’ll give you ten minutes.”
//////////
Roshal breathed in, breathed out, and nodded. 10 minutes of combat power before the entire ship shut down into uselessness. She’d done more with less. She couldn’t remember when, but she had. Luckily, this was a Patrol Carrier instead of a standard ship, so it was more than capable of combat maneuvers with nothing but RCS thrusters. That should give her some time.
Movement, movement was going to be the key.
“Comms, tell the engineering crews on the hulk that they are ordered to figure out anything that could draw the attention of the Heavy Cruiser,” She began, “Systems, break our mooring lines. We’re going to have to split from the hulk. Helm, prepare for maneuvers. RCS only. We are going to have to do this carefully. Engineroom, prepare for power activation, but hold until my command.”
This needs to be perfect, Roshal thought, A single mistimed action ruins it all.
A clock ticked down. Ten minutes elapsed. The Karcharidon had entered maximum weapon’s range.
//////////
He of Slender Tail shivered where he stood. The secondary command bridge was silent as Roshal began giving orders to fight. This was… this was insane.
They were in a ruined ship with nothing but a merchant fleet beginning to flee and a three thirds dead pirate hulk on their side against a fresh Karcharidon class Heavy Cruiser.
They couldn’t win.
This was suicide.
They would die here.
\ So why didn’t He of Slender Tail feel afraid?
He stood at his post, a secondary bridge console where he would relay orders to other departments, freeing up the other Watchkeeper to collate those orders, there was nothing he could do to help win this impossible battle, and yet…
And yet he felt heat blossoming inside his chest with every single order delivered.
“Mooring teamsss, you are to cut your linesss immediately.” He relayed to a crew of Shil scurrying around the ruined bulkheads, “Damage control, prepare for electrical firesss and arcsss.” He commanded, switching between teams instantly.
He didn’t feel fear. He could see his Watchkeeper shiver every time the sensors reported the enemy contact was still closing, but he didn’t feel the same.
What he felt… was indignation.
How dare this pirate scum threaten his vessel, his crew. How dare they ambush this valiant ship after they had fought so hard to win. How dare they.
He let his fangs fold out as he spat the next order, “Anti-Aerossspace teamsss, prepare your batteriesss for grouped fire. Gunnery calculationsss are on their way.”
How dare they stand up to him.
A clock ticked down. 12 minutes elapsed. Weapons fire.
//////////
Roshal swayed slightly as she could feel the ship beneath her feet move. Movement is life in naval warfare, movement is death. “Right RCS fire, bring us clear of the hulk. Bow thrusters, up twenty.”
“Aye, ma’am, aye, right standard and bow up twenty.” The Helmswoman replied.
“Confirmed. Next maneuver, give us rear thrust-”
“Torpedo!” The sensor operator called out in a shrill voice, “Two marks on intercept course! Range, twelve K and closing fast!”
“Decorum!” Roshal snapped at the panicking sensor technician. “Comms, order Runoff flight to divert and intercept those torpedoes. Rear RCS to full, give us momentum.”
Roshal turned away from the bridge as affirmations were shouted, and the ship began to move, “Engineering, prepare to activate combat power on my mark and prepare for hard maneuvers. Mark in five.”
//////////
Griogill swallowed bile and tried not to feel too thankful that the enemy vessel had fired torpedoes at their home ship. Being diverted from an attack run had a much higher chance of survival than striking through an AA bubble.
“Runoff 4 engaging far torpedo. Moving in for intercept. Bre’kas, give me lock.”
Griogill’s backseater muttered something, and a target lock appeared on the far torpedo as Runoff 1, their previous Drill Sergeants, dashed by in a hard burn and blazed away at their own target.
“Right. We can do this. We can do this. No fear.” The rookie muttered as the sight of her friends in Runoff 3 being turned to vapor echoed in her mind. “I can do this.”
The target locked. She fired. The torpedo detonated.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in four.”
//////////
The Heavy Cruiser loomed closer as the comparatively tiny Patrol Carrier spat its defiance in the form of two Interceptors dancing between the stars.
As a pair of torpedoes detonated, four more were launched, the anti-shipping weapons built for this specific purpose. Destroying disabled vessels.
And so the last two remaining Interceptors on CAP dove into the fray, risking themselves against an ever approaching AA bubble in order to save their ship.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in three.”
//////////
All Cookie could do was stare and push his meager aerospace fighter further on its nuclear thrusters as shimmering dots of torpedoes lanced out from the Heavy Cruiser attacking his new home.
He pushed his hand forward and felt the throttle once more push back against him, the lever pushed all the way past safe thrust and into the further setting on his console.
The Interceptor was fast. It didn’t feel fast enough.
And so he spoke the words he spoke once before, back when he’d had to listen to his backseater’s screams of pain and the rush of wind after shrapnel pierced his fuselage, and the hospital was so, so far away.
Father, I pray that you will not hide your face from me. Whenever I pray, Lord please hear me and answer me speedily in Jesus' name. God, I pray that you will grant me speed through your help.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in two.”
//////////
The Heavy Cruiser shifted, engine flaring and it began to close the range. A single disabled ship on emergency RCS thrusters and a pair of Aerospace fighters was nothing it would have to deal with.
It fired a third spread of torpedoes.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
They took the bait. Roshal thought with a vicious grin.
“Mark in one.” She paused, “Execute.”
In an instant, power flowed through the ship, emergency lights flickered off as the burning red boarding lights returned their fiery glow. The entire ship shook as the main thruster came back online, and capacitors began to charge for maneuvers.
“Hard burn, full thrusters, right, on my mark.” Roshal watched as the Heavy Cruiser began to react to her movements, the enemy ship was alive, you needed to roll to broadsides to begin bombardment, come on come on…
Roshal watched as a torpedo flickered out of existence, Runoff 4 gaining another kill.
Come on, dammit, you don’t get put in charge of a Heavy Cruiser without- THERE!
The Heavy Cruiser flinched, turning her bow away from the no longer stricken vessel, preparing for broadside.
The Captain’s grin showed more teeth than smile. “Execute! Full right thrust!”
“Full right thrust! Aye ma’am aye!” Her helmswoman called out as maneuvering thrusters dead cold roared to life and physically threw the vessel to the side, causing everyone not strapped in on the bridge to rock as a barrage of fire flew past their former location, manual targeting systems in play since the automatic systems would still be getting warmed up.
“Full thrust forward, prepare to divert all power to secondary weapons. Weapons, give me a firing solution.” Roshal commanded, hand raised and pointed at the enemy’s display as if she were commanding from a tall ship.
A chant of “Aye ma’am aye” flowed out across the bridge as the weaponsmistress was silent before calling out. “Port side is up to 45% secondary fires and 32% point defense. That’ll be our best bet.”
Roshal nodded. “Make it so. Target their main weapons. Helm, get us that facing.”
“Ma’am. We’re getting a call from Runoff 3. They are entering the AO and are asking for a target.”
Roshal smiled, “Weapons, shift target. Aim for the anti-aerospace systems. Let’s give Runoff 3 the opening they need.”
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Cookie, we’ve got a targeting path.” Milk called forward. “Putting it up on your HUD.”
“One second… I’ve got it. Moving to comply. Did the Captain give us a plan?” her front seater replied, causing her stomach to do funny things as the Aerospace Fighter maneuvered while under high thrust.
“Something like that. She asked for a munitions report and specifically about our anti-shipping weapon.”
Cookie paused.
“Ah.” He finally said.
“Yeah.” She replied.
“Well, let’s hope they’re able to open us up to a window of opportunity. Or this will be a short charge.”
“Not our place to question why.”
“Just our place to do and die.”
Time to target… three minutes.
Into the valley of Death, rode the six hundred.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
Two vessels, three Aerospace fighters, one chance.
Six minutes of power remained. All actors took their places on the stage.
One hundred kilometers, close enough to check the weld quality of hull seams, the two ships danced across from each other. Maneuvering.
Five minutes of power remained.
The Karcharidon Heavy Cruiser rolled itself trying to keep the vulnerable top deck away from the Patrol Carrier’s presumably still working main gun as Roshal’s vessel jumped to the side. Thrusters roared.
Four minutes of power remained.
Runoff 1 and 4 shot towards their formerly separated comrade, forming up behind them in a wedge. The trio climbed towards the sun as their captain continued to chase and harass the Karcharidon.
Three minutes of power remained.
Roshal spoke. The lances of her vessel fired. Laser blasts carved across the hull of the enemy ship as it rolled.
The rolling ceased. A helmswoman swore as a full broadside caught the Patrol Carrier in the flank. The port hangar pod was ruined, armor shattered and all inside exposed to hard vacuum. Those who could scream died the fastest. The Interceptors had their opening.
Two minutes of power remained.
Silent wings swept through vacuum as three Interceptors began their dive, their formerly speedy arrowhead shape giving way to an inverted t as their wings swept out for stability, the ASF dove and dove and dove.
Five Kilometers away.
The range was too wide. They had one shot. It had to be perfect.
One minute of power remained.
The Into Harm’s Way spat its defiance into the world, limited power drained to give her pilots a seconds more of time.
30 seconds of power remained.
Three Kilometers.
Hard Lock! Milk shouted from the back seat of Runoff 3. Cookie was silent. The range was still too wide.
15 seconds of power remained.
Two Kilometers.
The Karcharidon seemingly began to roll before the Patrol Carrier once more fired, its last remaining weapons spouting their defiance against the world. Deep in engineering, systems began to blow, wires that replaced fuses sparked power and delicate circuit boards shorted out into useless scrap.
The lights went out.
No power remained.
Roshal, in her head, began to count down as lances of light began to sweep across her ship. Damage control did what they could, but the beams began to cut like an overly enthusiastic shipbreaker.
Five.
One Kilometer.
Four.
Cookie’s thumb depressed the firing stud as the Interceptor screamed at him.
Three.
The ASF launched its deadly payload.
Two.
Three Interceptors pulled back hard on their sticks to avoid colliding with the deck.
One.
The thruster of the anti-shipping missile roared as it rocketed the point blank aerospace distance to target.
Impact.
The armor piercing tip of the missile punched into the upper deck plating of the Heavy Cruiser, classified alloys allowing it to pierce into the armored plating just enough to allow the shaped charge to open up a hole as momentum kept the weapon moving.
Within the frame of a single second, the warhead of the missile had entered the ship and, before the alarms even had time to sound, detonated.
A new sun appeared in the void for a split second as a plasma-fusion warhead detonated inside the Karcharidon heavy cruiser’s hull.
//////////
Roshal allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief inside her head as the emergency power lights flickered overhead and the gravity ever so slightly lightened. What was left of their sensor arrays showed the enemy vessel powering down. “Engineering. Good work, your 10 minutes were just what she needed.” She called out, picking up the ship phone.
There was no answer from engineering.
She signed externally before pointing at one of the marines guarding the bridge, “Find a crewmate in a void suit. I have need of runners.” The marine clasped a fist to her chest before leaving to execute her captain’s commands. “Comms, do we have any contact with the engineering teams on the pirate hulk?”
The Comms officer held up a hand, Roshal waited, “No, ma’am. We aren’t getting- wait. We’ve got visual on flashing lights from the hull. Apparently, something shorted, so they’re having to rebuild broadcast arrays. They can receive just fine, though.”
“Good, once we can maneuver, bring us broadside of them. What’s the status of the merchant fleet?”
Navigation spoke up now, “Still heading for the Jump Point. Should we send the recall order?”
“Not yet, we are still unsure if the area is safe. If we have any sensors remaining, begin sca-”
The mentioned sensor technician interrupted Captain Roshal, “Ma’am, new contact, signature unknown. Just jumped in from outside the starlane!”
“Give me details. Course, range, and speed?” She demanded.
“Signal confused, can’t get a lock!” Navigation called out, “Can’t tell if confusion’s from them or us.”
Not another one… Roshal sighed, “All forces prepa-”
“Ma’am, we’re being hailed.” Communications called out.
“On squawk.”
“This is Captain Al’yosha Cal’rada of Her Imperial Majesty’s Ship Spear of the Knyaginya, responding to Merchant vessel distress calls. Imperial Patrol Carrier, are you in need of assistance at this time?”
Roshal recognized the voice. A junior officer from her days in the Navy and a fellow Sevastutavan. The memory of the fresh faced girl when she’d joined her as an Ensign straight of the Naval Academy flashed before her eyes. “Captain Cal’rada. Your timing is impeccable as always.”
“Admiral?” Roshal could hear the shock in her old protege’s voice.
“That’s Captain, now, Al’yosha. I require your aid in ensuring the disabled vessel still glowing from an ASM strike remains disabled along with Search and Rescue teams for our sister Carrier.
“Whatever you want, you’ll have it, Admiral_… Helm! All ahead flank and plot course to intercept. Launch gunships and prepare to deploy Bluejackets. We’ll test our _Orcas’ teeth today!”
The line cut out a moment later than it should have, and Roshal nodded in approval.
“Captain, I still don’t have a read on new contact. What is it?” Sensors asked.
“A Drep’na inspired vision, come to life.” Roshal watched, feeling an odd sort of parental pride as Al’yosha’s experimental warship began closing the distance towards the Karcharidon at breakneck speeds. “A swift sailing vessel and ten carriage guns…” Roshal murmured the line from an old Vaasconian poem from the ancient Age of Sail. She had heard Cal’rada had succeeded in petitioning the Navy to build her dream-ship, burning every favor and passing out favors to any and everyone to see the program through. Now, there she was, standing on the bridge bearing down on a ship twice her size, but if the rumors were true, only half her guns.
“Ma’am, contact is still not resolving, but IFF confirms Imperial Navy designation. An Akula Class Attack Transport. I’ve… I’ve never even heard of this class.”
“Perhaps we shall hear of them more in the future. Fortune favors the active.”
“Contact is disgorging multiple signals, moving at speeds consistent with aerospace assets.”
“That is our signal we may disengage. Comms, inform the merchant fleet that the area is secure and to begin refueling procedures. Helm, get us alongside the pirate hulk, we have people to recover. Marine, get me a runner to the MP’s, we shall need the port hangar prepared for an old tradition the Navy has regarding pirate prisoners…” Roshal commanded. The fight was over, it was time to begin the cleanup.
//////////
So… that took a while. Sorry about that.
Turns out when a combination of writer’s block, decision paralysis and LIFE hits you over the head, it becomes a touch difficult to get your shit together long enough to write something down.
On the plus side, we are out of the “unplanned bits” and right back into the parts I have brainstormed, so I won’t be staring at a screen trying to think how to make things connect as much anymore. On the other hand, that means we are now entering the epilogue of book 1 of Top Lasgun.
Don’t worry, the story isn’t ending, I’ve got “three” books plotted out in my head, so we’ll see how that shakes out, but for the most part, this is where I start wrapping up plot threads, laying down threads for what comes next, and all that other good stuff.
So yeah, next chapter is going to involve everyone wrapping up what happened here, some fun little Military Justice, and potentially a bunch of plot. Also, I’m planning on starting a “rewrite”/edited version of this to go up on AO3, so keep an eye out for that. Early installment weirdness is a bitch and I’m not proud of what the older stuff looked like.
Well, I hope you have a wonderful morning, afternoon or evening whenever you read this and I will see you next chapter.
[NEXT CHAPTER]
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PREVIOUS CHAPTER
This product is a fanfic of the Sexy Space Babes/Between Worlds product of u/Bluefishcake and one I highly suggest you read. It was created with permission, but give the OG works some love.
Imgr gallery of Comissioned and Fan Artworks
I'm Back Bitches! Again!
//////////
Junior Systems Engineer First Class Che’keero knelt before a semi-sparking control panel and sighed. She, and a large band of her fellow Engineers with Marine support, had boarded the pirate frigate with the singular goal of ensuring that the pirates didn’t scuttle their floating hulk and doom the slaves aboard to a, if they were lucky, a swift death in space.
The problem, of course, came with the pirate’s maintenance schedules and decisions to forgo certain… safety measures when it came to repair.
Like the panel before her. Usually a perfectly functional control system for the reverse-magnetic bulkhead doors that ensured void seals in power outages, some pirate at some point in their dumb, dumb life decided to fix the panel blowing a fuse… by ripping the fuse out and replacing it with a high density power cable. Which meant the entire thing was one massive shock hazard and actively sparking as the reactors deep in the ship flickered and surged due to damage.
Che’keero swore as an arc of electricity flashed towards her face after a tool that was not supposed to be magnetized, cheap dick WaDepth requisitions, caught a magnetic field, fusing the entire system shut and turning the formerly barely functional control system into nothing but pretty, decorative wiring and cheap solder. She punched the now utterly unfunctional control box and toggled on her radio. “Three-Two to Three-Lead, this door’s fried. You’ll need to bring in the cutters if we want to get to the rest of the ship. Might as well also bring in an inflatable airlock, I’m not liking how some of the metal strain sensors are flashing at me.”
A semi-synthetic voice replied back to Che’keero, “Three-Lead copies. I’ll be over there shortly with the stuff. Double check those sensors, I’m not getting the same readings, so let’s make sure something isn’t blocking errors from reaching me.”
“Copy that Three-Lead, Three-Two ou-” Something tapped against the back of her helmet and Junior Systems Engineer First Class Che’keero mentally swore.
“Now, now, lassie, how about you sit right there and don’t move.” A nasally, unfamiliar voice called out to her while tapping what a camera she set up to watch her back revealed to be a laser pistol to Che’keero’s helmet. “I think that you’re going to be our new best friend and way off this dead end ship.”
Che’keero paused, letting the situation settle in her mind, “Wait, what? Are… are you taking me hostage?”
“Yes!” The pirate replied.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you taking me hostage? This won’t work, none of the shuttles are jump capable and if you try anything, you’ll just end up jumped by marines. They specifically train to deal with pirates taking their engineers hostage. If you want to survive, you should just surrender and take the penal colony when it’s offered.” Che’keero mentioned, shrugging and continuing her inspection of the door.
The pirate seemed baffled at the sheer nonchalance of this response, the pistol slowly falling to merely point at her upper back instead of her head, “You… you really aren’t taking this seriously. I’m a pirate! I’ve killed people! I’ve killed boys, and you’re just sitting there like this doesn’t mean anything!”
“I mean… I wouldn’t say that.” Che’keero replied.
“THEN WHAT DO YOU MEAN!” The pirate screamed, the pistol moving away from Che’keero’s body by a fraction of an inch during an angry gesture.
It was at that point, a ceramic alloyed, carbon steel blade punched clean through the back of the pirate’s suit, slicing through their central nervous system and striking with enough force to shatter the faceplate of said pirate’s helmet on the way out. Muscles twitching, the laser pistol fired off randomly, missing Che’keero and slagging a chunk of bulkhead.
“I’m just buying time,” Che’keero replied cheekily.
“You really need to remember to check your cameras,” The semi-synthetic voice of Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns commented as the ex-pirate fell to the ground and blue blood dripped from the long blade sprouting from her right arm and a toolbox hanging from her left hand. “This isn’t the first time you have been flanked, and this one wasn’t during training.”
“Look, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Che’keero replied a bit testily.
“I’m sorry…” Ventures Forth prodded.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am.”
“Much better. Right, now what do we see in this- yeah you were right on it being fried.” Ventures Forth gently shoved the Junior Systems Engineer aside and took her place at the control panel. “Do a sweep of the strain systems. I don’t want this section of the ship breaking apart. Feel free to call up our hull patches. We’ve got plenty to share and this might have to be a lifeboat.”
“Aye, ma’am aye,” Che’keero replied with a crisp salute before rushing off to her duty.
Deeper inside the ship, Ventures Forth could hear laser fire, clashing of metal on metal, and cries for help.
The pirate ship was doomed, it was shattered and broken, but it was not destroyed. Not yet. \
And if she had her way, Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns would keep it that way.
//////////
Roshal stood still as her steward continued to clean the dark blue and rapidly congealing blood off her armored form. “Comms,” She called out, “Do we have any contact with the shuttle we sent to the station?”
“Negative, ma’am.” The comm officer replied. She wasn’t the same one that was present when Roshal left to fend off the boarders. At the unspoken question, the woman continued “Communication’s Mate Second Class Lev’tal, ma’am. My superior got a concussion when the pirate ship rocked our ship during boarding. Strap snapped, prior damage. I took over.”
Roshal nodded approvingly, “Good initiative. Send a message to the station, see if we can’t rai-”
“Ma’am! Contact!” One of her sensor techs called out, “Belay that, two contacts. First contact, nav point 782 spinward, possible bogey, cruiser weight. Unknown movements. Second contact, nav point 102 coreward, aerospace assets inbound. Small flight. Hard to determine numbers due to damage. No less than two, no more than five.”
“Focus on getting a hard contact on that possible cruiser. Weapons, what is the status of our anti-aerospace.” Roshal demanded, holding her sword arm out for the steward to scrub at a particularly clotted chunk of blood splattered over her wrist.
The weapons officer shook her head, “If we’re lucky, then we’ve got 20% coverage on half our sides. If we’re very lucky, I might be able to bump that number up to 35%. Not going to quote doctrine, but that’s not nearly enough to fend off a flight of Aerospace assets on a strike run, and that’s assuming they don’t hit us on an unprotected flank.”
Roshal nodded once more, “Sound general quarters and get weapons and tactical back online. Tell the damage control parties to not be distracted and focus on critical systems first. Engine room, report. Can you give me maneuvering thrust?”
The nearby ship phone chimed in with a staticy hiss, “Negative, ma’am. The shot we made with the spinal mount tripped breakers up and down the reactor room. This isn’t an engine problem, we need to make sure our reactor doesn’t blow up when we siphon power. Before you ask, emergency power is still flowing and none of their circuits tripped, but that means we’re down to life support, basic systems, and dockyard thrusters. It will take at least 20 to get the reactor in a safe state. If you want 10, send the chaplain down so we have someone praying for good luck. The fact most of our structural engineers are doing an EVA boarding to ensure the pirate ship next to us doesn’t go critical and render the entire exercise moot isn’t helping matters at all.” The engine room replied Roshal bit down a bit of annoyance at the snark, but engineers were always a finicky sort with authority. They were the first to remind uptight officers that while the Captain’s word may be iron law, it was their work that truly moved the ship.
“Confirmed, engine room.” Roshal instead replied. “Chaplains will be arriving shortly. Do what you can and inform me when you’re three minutes out from full power.”
The engine room didn’t even bother replying, just sending over the affirmative light as they got to work. Roshal approved of that. Sometimes, you just had to insult someone in order to get it working right.
“Captain, we have confirmation on contact. He’s an Alliance Karcharidon class Heavy Cruiser on intercept course. Energy readings are spiking… they’re charging their guns, ma’am!”
“Issue a hostile challenge and give me a firing solution with any gun still functional.”
“No response, ma’am. Hostile Karcharidon is increasing speed. Hard contact in 15 minutes.”
Roshal snarled, emotion breaking through her mask. “Of course, the pirates had one more vessel. Helm, fire our maneuvering thrusters, use the pirate hulk as cover. Weapons, get whoever’s left of our Interceptor flight to engage the enemy. Comms, get me in contact with the merchant fleet, tell them to evacuate. We’ll provide cover.”
“Aye ma’am.” The Communications Mate Second Class said with a shiver in her voice. “Sending-”
“Update on Aerospace assets!” Her sensor tech called out.
“Deliver!” Roshal demanded, cutting off the comms officer with a slice of her hand.
“Weapons fire. Definitely less than four contacts. Seems to be two grou- negative, only two contacts remaining- weaponsfire- one contac- IFF received, oh goddesses, IT’S RUNOFF THREE! FRIENDLY AEROSPACE INBOUND!”
//////////
Milk gripped her crash harness hard as Cookie slammed the Interceptor’s fusion torch clean past its safe thrust marker and into the red as g forces crushed her chest. “Last target down.” She reported after Cookie’s final laser burst hit something critical inside the final Aerospace fighter’s frame. “That’s 20 for 20. All enemy bogeys down. All standard munitions are in the black. Static drive is 48%, dump core ejected. All we’ve got left is our ASM and front laser.”
Cookie flashed back an affirmative signal.
“We going for that cruiser?”
Another affirmative.
“Well, I’m braced and ready on the release. Ready.”
“Ready.” Cookie spoke, his voice horse.
It’s funny what people think when their lives are on the line. Because charging towards a fresh enemy Heavy Cruiser, nothing but a single anti-shipping missile worth a damn, no allied support but the faint glimmer in IFF screens of their fellow flight doing the same… all Aoibhinn McDermott could think of was a poem she had read at least a decade ago or more at the Naval Academy.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the Valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
//////////
Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns could do nothing but furiously swear as the basic sensor system her engineering team had restored on the thoroughly ventilated secondary command bridge of the pirate hulk revealed an enemy Heavy Cruiser bearing down upon their homeship.
“Weapons are trashed. We cored their reactor, anyway.” One of the tangential engineers reported, “Other teams are calling in. Things are worse where they are. We’ve found the slaves, though, luckily it was one of the few airtight bays. Also, have some more captives, but that really doesn’t matter right now.”
“No shit.” Ventures Forth replied, “Can we do anything?”
The engineer looked back to her, visor depolarizing so the Gearschilde can look into the black and yellow eyes of her Shil coworker.
“Pray.” The woman replied simply.
Ventures Forth Bravely Into Great Unknowns did just that.
//////////
Low chanting filled the engine bay as a small group of priests stood around the engine praying to whichever god that would listen to allow them one more shot. One more fight.
Around them, black handed engineers scurried, ripping out blown fuses and replacing them with soldered in high strength wire. A final measure of desperation. Sparks flew as engineers swore and chaplains prayed, power still remaining in circuits needing to be bled out before bypasses could be installed, turning every bit of solder and every ripped out fuse into a deadly gamble.
Already, someone was lying on the ground, no longer twitching.
They didn’t have time to check on their fallen comrade, the work was too important.
A clock ticked down. Four minutes elapsed.
//////////
Lieutenant Commander Cenywyn swore as she watched Runoff 2 die.
Their single Interceptor had mistimed a maneuver and had been caught dead in the middle of an Anti-Aerospace array, shredded in an instant. The only consolation she could take was that, seeing as the first shot went clean through the cockpit, they didn’t even notice they died.
“Runoff 4, stay in formation.” She ordered over the radio, “We’ll lead you in for the run.”
“Yes ma’am.” The hesitant voice of Junior Flight Lieutenant Griogill replied. She swallowed, “We’re- we’re ready when you are.”
“No fear, Lieutenant,” Cenywyn called back to the child she was leading to her death. “We’re pilots in the Imperial Patrol. We do our duty. No fear.”
A clock ticked down. Six minutes elapsed.
//////////
“Talk to me!” The last remaining senior engineer in the reactor bay called out to anyone who was able to reply.
Someone, she didn’t even bother looking to see who, called back “We’ve bypassed 60% of the fuses. Should be able to give ourselves a burst of combat power. No more than 10 minutes of it before the entire system overheats and we either die, or the reactor shuts off.”
“Any chance we can get more than 10 minutes?”
“Not before that Heavy Cruiser delivers us straight to the stars.”
“Fuck it, good enough.” She slammed her fist on the ship phone’s dialing button resting near the console the engineer had just ripped the last safety override out of. “Captain. We’ve got your power. You give us the word, and we’ll give you ten minutes.”
//////////
Roshal breathed in, breathed out, and nodded. 10 minutes of combat power before the entire ship shut down into uselessness. She’d done more with less. She couldn’t remember when, but she had. Luckily, this was a Patrol Carrier instead of a standard ship, so it was more than capable of combat maneuvers with nothing but RCS thrusters. That should give her some time.
Movement, movement was going to be the key.
“Comms, tell the engineering crews on the hulk that they are ordered to figure out anything that could draw the attention of the Heavy Cruiser,” She began, “Systems, break our mooring lines. We’re going to have to split from the hulk. Helm, prepare for maneuvers. RCS only. We are going to have to do this carefully. Engineroom, prepare for power activation, but hold until my command.”
This needs to be perfect, Roshal thought, A single mistimed action ruins it all.
A clock ticked down. Ten minutes elapsed. The Karcharidon had entered maximum weapon’s range.
//////////
He of Slender Tail shivered where he stood. The secondary command bridge was silent as Roshal began giving orders to fight. This was… this was insane.
They were in a ruined ship with nothing but a merchant fleet beginning to flee and a three thirds dead pirate hulk on their side against a fresh Karcharidon class Heavy Cruiser.
They couldn’t win.
This was suicide.
They would die here.
\ So why didn’t He of Slender Tail feel afraid?
He stood at his post, a secondary bridge console where he would relay orders to other departments, freeing up the other Watchkeeper to collate those orders, there was nothing he could do to help win this impossible battle, and yet…
And yet he felt heat blossoming inside his chest with every single order delivered.
“Mooring teamsss, you are to cut your linesss immediately.” He relayed to a crew of Shil scurrying around the ruined bulkheads, “Damage control, prepare for electrical firesss and arcsss.” He commanded, switching between teams instantly.
He didn’t feel fear. He could see his Watchkeeper shiver every time the sensors reported the enemy contact was still closing, but he didn’t feel the same.
What he felt… was indignation.
How dare this pirate scum threaten his vessel, his crew. How dare they ambush this valiant ship after they had fought so hard to win. How dare they.
He let his fangs fold out as he spat the next order, “Anti-Aerossspace teamsss, prepare your batteriesss for grouped fire. Gunnery calculationsss are on their way.”
How dare they stand up to him.
A clock ticked down. 12 minutes elapsed. Weapons fire.
//////////
Roshal swayed slightly as she could feel the ship beneath her feet move. Movement is life in naval warfare, movement is death. “Right RCS fire, bring us clear of the hulk. Bow thrusters, up twenty.”
“Aye, ma’am, aye, right standard and bow up twenty.” The Helmswoman replied.
“Confirmed. Next maneuver, give us rear thrust-”
“Torpedo!” The sensor operator called out in a shrill voice, “Two marks on intercept course! Range, twelve K and closing fast!”
“Decorum!” Roshal snapped at the panicking sensor technician. “Comms, order Runoff flight to divert and intercept those torpedoes. Rear RCS to full, give us momentum.”
Roshal turned away from the bridge as affirmations were shouted, and the ship began to move, “Engineering, prepare to activate combat power on my mark and prepare for hard maneuvers. Mark in five.”
//////////
Griogill swallowed bile and tried not to feel too thankful that the enemy vessel had fired torpedoes at their home ship. Being diverted from an attack run had a much higher chance of survival than striking through an AA bubble.
“Runoff 4 engaging far torpedo. Moving in for intercept. Bre’kas, give me lock.”
Griogill’s backseater muttered something, and a target lock appeared on the far torpedo as Runoff 1, their previous Drill Sergeants, dashed by in a hard burn and blazed away at their own target.
“Right. We can do this. We can do this. No fear.” The rookie muttered as the sight of her friends in Runoff 3 being turned to vapor echoed in her mind. “I can do this.”
The target locked. She fired. The torpedo detonated.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in four.”
//////////
The Heavy Cruiser loomed closer as the comparatively tiny Patrol Carrier spat its defiance in the form of two Interceptors dancing between the stars.
As a pair of torpedoes detonated, four more were launched, the anti-shipping weapons built for this specific purpose. Destroying disabled vessels.
And so the last two remaining Interceptors on CAP dove into the fray, risking themselves against an ever approaching AA bubble in order to save their ship.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in three.”
//////////
All Cookie could do was stare and push his meager aerospace fighter further on its nuclear thrusters as shimmering dots of torpedoes lanced out from the Heavy Cruiser attacking his new home.
He pushed his hand forward and felt the throttle once more push back against him, the lever pushed all the way past safe thrust and into the further setting on his console.
The Interceptor was fast. It didn’t feel fast enough.
And so he spoke the words he spoke once before, back when he’d had to listen to his backseater’s screams of pain and the rush of wind after shrapnel pierced his fuselage, and the hospital was so, so far away.
Father, I pray that you will not hide your face from me. Whenever I pray, Lord please hear me and answer me speedily in Jesus' name. God, I pray that you will grant me speed through your help.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Mark in two.”
//////////
The Heavy Cruiser shifted, engine flaring and it began to close the range. A single disabled ship on emergency RCS thrusters and a pair of Aerospace fighters was nothing it would have to deal with.
It fired a third spread of torpedoes.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
They took the bait. Roshal thought with a vicious grin.
“Mark in one.” She paused, “Execute.”
In an instant, power flowed through the ship, emergency lights flickered off as the burning red boarding lights returned their fiery glow. The entire ship shook as the main thruster came back online, and capacitors began to charge for maneuvers.
“Hard burn, full thrusters, right, on my mark.” Roshal watched as the Heavy Cruiser began to react to her movements, the enemy ship was alive, you needed to roll to broadsides to begin bombardment, come on come on…
Roshal watched as a torpedo flickered out of existence, Runoff 4 gaining another kill.
Come on, dammit, you don’t get put in charge of a Heavy Cruiser without- THERE!
The Heavy Cruiser flinched, turning her bow away from the no longer stricken vessel, preparing for broadside.
The Captain’s grin showed more teeth than smile. “Execute! Full right thrust!”
“Full right thrust! Aye ma’am aye!” Her helmswoman called out as maneuvering thrusters dead cold roared to life and physically threw the vessel to the side, causing everyone not strapped in on the bridge to rock as a barrage of fire flew past their former location, manual targeting systems in play since the automatic systems would still be getting warmed up.
“Full thrust forward, prepare to divert all power to secondary weapons. Weapons, give me a firing solution.” Roshal commanded, hand raised and pointed at the enemy’s display as if she were commanding from a tall ship.
A chant of “Aye ma’am aye” flowed out across the bridge as the weaponsmistress was silent before calling out. “Port side is up to 45% secondary fires and 32% point defense. That’ll be our best bet.”
Roshal nodded. “Make it so. Target their main weapons. Helm, get us that facing.”
“Ma’am. We’re getting a call from Runoff 3. They are entering the AO and are asking for a target.”
Roshal smiled, “Weapons, shift target. Aim for the anti-aerospace systems. Let’s give Runoff 3 the opening they need.”
A clock ticked down.
//////////
“Cookie, we’ve got a targeting path.” Milk called forward. “Putting it up on your HUD.”
“One second… I’ve got it. Moving to comply. Did the Captain give us a plan?” her front seater replied, causing her stomach to do funny things as the Aerospace Fighter maneuvered while under high thrust.
“Something like that. She asked for a munitions report and specifically about our anti-shipping weapon.”
Cookie paused.
“Ah.” He finally said.
“Yeah.” She replied.
“Well, let’s hope they’re able to open us up to a window of opportunity. Or this will be a short charge.”
“Not our place to question why.”
“Just our place to do and die.”
Time to target… three minutes.
Into the valley of Death, rode the six hundred.
A clock ticked down.
//////////
Two vessels, three Aerospace fighters, one chance.
Six minutes of power remained. All actors took their places on the stage.
One hundred kilometers, close enough to check the weld quality of hull seams, the two ships danced across from each other. Maneuvering.
Five minutes of power remained.
The Karcharidon Heavy Cruiser rolled itself trying to keep the vulnerable top deck away from the Patrol Carrier’s presumably still working main gun as Roshal’s vessel jumped to the side. Thrusters roared.
Four minutes of power remained.
Runoff 1 and 4 shot towards their formerly separated comrade, forming up behind them in a wedge. The trio climbed towards the sun as their captain continued to chase and harass the Karcharidon.
Three minutes of power remained.
Roshal spoke. The lances of her vessel fired. Laser blasts carved across the hull of the enemy ship as it rolled.
The rolling ceased. A helmswoman swore as a full broadside caught the Patrol Carrier in the flank. The port hangar pod was ruined, armor shattered and all inside exposed to hard vacuum. Those who could scream died the fastest. The Interceptors had their opening.
Two minutes of power remained.
Silent wings swept through vacuum as three Interceptors began their dive, their formerly speedy arrowhead shape giving way to an inverted t as their wings swept out for stability, the ASF dove and dove and dove.
Five Kilometers away.
The range was too wide. They had one shot. It had to be perfect.
One minute of power remained.
The Into Harm’s Way spat its defiance into the world, limited power drained to give her pilots a seconds more of time.
30 seconds of power remained.
Three Kilometers.
Hard Lock! Milk shouted from the back seat of Runoff 3. Cookie was silent. The range was still too wide.
15 seconds of power remained.
Two Kilometers.
The Karcharidon seemingly began to roll before the Patrol Carrier once more fired, its last remaining weapons spouting their defiance against the world. Deep in engineering, systems began to blow, wires that replaced fuses sparked power and delicate circuit boards shorted out into useless scrap.
The lights went out.
No power remained.
Roshal, in her head, began to count down as lances of light began to sweep across her ship. Damage control did what they could, but the beams began to cut like an overly enthusiastic shipbreaker.
Five.
One Kilometer.
Four.
Cookie’s thumb depressed the firing stud as the Interceptor screamed at him.
Three.
The ASF launched its deadly payload.
Two.
Three Interceptors pulled back hard on their sticks to avoid colliding with the deck.
One.
The thruster of the anti-shipping missile roared as it rocketed the point blank aerospace distance to target.
Impact.
The armor piercing tip of the missile punched into the upper deck plating of the Heavy Cruiser, classified alloys allowing it to pierce into the armored plating just enough to allow the shaped charge to open up a hole as momentum kept the weapon moving.
Within the frame of a single second, the warhead of the missile had entered the ship and, before the alarms even had time to sound, detonated.
A new sun appeared in the void for a split second as a plasma-fusion warhead detonated inside the Karcharidon heavy cruiser’s hull.
//////////
Roshal allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief inside her head as the emergency power lights flickered overhead and the gravity ever so slightly lightened. What was left of their sensor arrays showed the enemy vessel powering down. “Engineering. Good work, your 10 minutes were just what she needed.” She called out, picking up the ship phone.
There was no answer from engineering.
She signed externally before pointing at one of the marines guarding the bridge, “Find a crewmate in a void suit. I have need of runners.” The marine clasped a fist to her chest before leaving to execute her captain’s commands. “Comms, do we have any contact with the engineering teams on the pirate hulk?”
The Comms officer held up a hand, Roshal waited, “No, ma’am. We aren’t getting- wait. We’ve got visual on flashing lights from the hull. Apparently, something shorted, so they’re having to rebuild broadcast arrays. They can receive just fine, though.”
“Good, once we can maneuver, bring us broadside of them. What’s the status of the merchant fleet?”
Navigation spoke up now, “Still heading for the Jump Point. Should we send the recall order?”
“Not yet, we are still unsure if the area is safe. If we have any sensors remaining, begin sca-”
The mentioned sensor technician interrupted Captain Roshal, “Ma’am, new contact, signature unknown. Just jumped in from outside the starlane!”
“Give me details. Course, range, and speed?” She demanded.
“Signal confused, can’t get a lock!” Navigation called out, “Can’t tell if confusion’s from them or us.”
Not another one… Roshal sighed, “All forces prepa-”
“Ma’am, we’re being hailed.” Communications called out.
“On squawk.”
“This is Captain Al’yosha Cal’rada of Her Imperial Majesty’s Ship Spear of the Knyaginya, responding to Merchant vessel distress calls. Imperial Patrol Carrier, are you in need of assistance at this time?”
Roshal recognized the voice. A junior officer from her days in the Navy and a fellow Sevastutavan. The memory of the fresh faced girl when she’d joined her as an Ensign straight of the Naval Academy flashed before her eyes. “Captain Cal’rada. Your timing is impeccable as always.”
“Admiral?” Roshal could hear the shock in her old protege’s voice.
“That’s Captain, now, Al’yosha. I require your aid in ensuring the disabled vessel still glowing from an ASM strike remains disabled along with Search and Rescue teams for our sister Carrier.
“Whatever you want, you’ll have it, Admiral_… Helm! All ahead flank and plot course to intercept. Launch gunships and prepare to deploy Bluejackets. We’ll test our _Orcas’ teeth today!”
The line cut out a moment later than it should have, and Roshal nodded in approval.
“Captain, I still don’t have a read on new contact. What is it?” Sensors asked.
“A Drep’na inspired vision, come to life.” Roshal watched, feeling an odd sort of parental pride as Al’yosha’s experimental warship began closing the distance towards the Karcharidon at breakneck speeds. “A swift sailing vessel and ten carriage guns…” Roshal murmured the line from an old Vaasconian poem from the ancient Age of Sail. She had heard Cal’rada had succeeded in petitioning the Navy to build her dream-ship, burning every favor and passing out favors to any and everyone to see the program through. Now, there she was, standing on the bridge bearing down on a ship twice her size, but if the rumors were true, only half her guns.
“Ma’am, contact is still not resolving, but IFF confirms Imperial Navy designation. An Akula Class Attack Transport. I’ve… I’ve never even heard of this class.”
“Perhaps we shall hear of them more in the future. Fortune favors the active.”
“Contact is disgorging multiple signals, moving at speeds consistent with aerospace assets.”
“That is our signal we may disengage. Comms, inform the merchant fleet that the area is secure and to begin refueling procedures. Helm, get us alongside the pirate hulk, we have people to recover. Marine, get me a runner to the MP’s, we shall need the port hangar prepared for an old tradition the Navy has regarding pirate prisoners…” Roshal commanded. The fight was over, it was time to begin the cleanup.
//////////
So… that took a while. Sorry about that.
Turns out when a combination of writer’s block, decision paralysis and LIFE hits you over the head, it becomes a touch difficult to get your shit together long enough to write something down.
On the plus side, we are out of the “unplanned bits” and right back into the parts I have brainstormed, so I won’t be staring at a screen trying to think how to make things connect as much anymore. On the other hand, that means we are now entering the epilogue of book 1 of Top Lasgun.
Don’t worry, the story isn’t ending, I’ve got “three” books plotted out in my head, so we’ll see how that shakes out, but for the most part, this is where I start wrapping up plot threads, laying down threads for what comes next, and all that other good stuff.
So yeah, next chapter is going to involve everyone wrapping up what happened here, some fun little Military Justice, and potentially a bunch of plot. Also, I’m planning on starting a “rewrite”/edited version of this to go up on AO3, so keep an eye out for that. Early installment weirdness is a bitch and I’m not proud of what the older stuff looked like.
Well, I hope you have a wonderful morning, afternoon or evening whenever you read this and I will see you next chapter.
[NEXT CHAPTER]
2024.05.16 16:37 MyClericalGnomance Beginners guide to unlocking the golden dice in honour mode.
Introduction
The main purpose of this guide will be to help unlock the golden dice for those of you who feel less confident about tackling honour mode. This is designed to be a path of least resistance, so we won’t be experiencing everything this game has to offer. It’s also worth noting that instead of focusing on min-maxing for damage; we prioritise safe & consistent damage. We don’t need to be respeccing characters often, if at all, and we won’t be relying on strength elixirs. My girlfriend (u/-babyjanehudson) and I put this together as we’ve beaten honour mode a 5 times now without any failed attempts, we were even in the first 800 people to beat it which is kinda cool! Here’s how we did it. First starting with our builds, then a little general advice and finally just a list of some general Do’s & Don’ts. Apologies for the wall of text.
Builds:
[Bardlock](https://www.reddit.com/BG3Builds/s/pMh6196Xp8) (party face) - Great old one Warlock 2, college of lore bard 10 - Cha16>Dex16>Con14>Wis12- Key items are the spell sparkler until Markoheshkir, potent robe, quickspell gloves, necklace of elemental augmentation & the warped headband of intellect (great for general party face checks in acts 1+2) at least until you get the birthright at sorcerers sundries in act 3. Once I reach act 3 and have persuaded half of the shadow cursed lands into dying, I personally choose to respec into Sorlock: 2 goolock, 2 fighter, 8 draconic sorcerer. It’s not necessary but I find it gives the edge in combat while in act 3, as there are less dialogue checks available that bard can abuse. Being a sorlock means every morning in camp I can convert ALL level 1+2 spell slots into extra sorcery slots meaning my bonus action is now always being used for eldritch blast thanks to quickened spell meta magic plus we have action surge :) Skill priority for this character is Persuasuion > Intimidation > Deception > Performance > Perception > Investigation. Credit to u/kethrynweryn for this build, it’s easily my fav in the game.
Life cleric 12 - Wis16>Con16>Dex14>Str
(light cleric does more damage so is technically better for experienced players but a life cleric is there to save your run in case of an emergency, something pretty invaluable to beginners in HM as we can’t assume we are winning every fight in the first 2 turns like we ideally aim to)
- key items are reapers embrace, sentinel shield, hell riders pride, the whispering promise & blood of lathander. Other items of note would be luminous armor & the radiant/illumation rings. Most fights will simply involve casting spirit guardians at its highest level and running through crowds of enemies like you’re mowing a lawn, picking up the war caster feat is brilliant for helping you keep concentration when taking attacks of opportunity but i know as a feat it’s a little divisive, just my personal preference. This setup trivialises all combat encounters in act 2. Just remember to check enemies for radiant retort, they’re few and far between but can fuck things up if you forget.
Swords Bard Archer (Lockpicker) - 6 Swords Bard, 4 Rogue Thief, 2 Fighter - Dex17>Cha14>Con14>Wis12>Str
- Key items are hag hair (+1dex), titan string, risky ring, hill giant club, helm of arcane acuity & band of the mystic scoundrel. With this setup every time you attack, you can hold person, fear, vicious mockery or invisibility as a bonus action :) Just make sure to use your slashing flourish as much as possible to maximise damage. Don’t forget to get to the high ground whenever possible to increase your damage.
Barbarian - Wild heart Bear Barb 8, Battle Master Fighter 4 - Str16>Con16>Dex14>Wis12
- Key items are more flexible here as it’s less dependant on gear. I recommend grabbing the Everburn blade if you can, it really helps during the slog of act 1 (to get it easily, when you first find Shadowheart on the nautiloid immediately swap any one of the spells in her book for Command, then use command drop on Zhalk and steal his sword. I do not recommend trying to fight him for it) Most the time you’ll just wear the usual barb stuff, bracers of defence & a 2H weapon of your choice. If you’re willing to brave Raphael & Ansur this build becomes a powerhouse with the gauntlets of hill giant strength, amulet of health & Baldurans giantslayer. These items are incredible but are also locked behind fights which pose the highest risk to your run, prepare carefully and if you don't feel confident enough then don’t be ashamed to just skip them. Anyway we take wild heart bear because being resistant to everything but psychic damage is really underrated. You can use this character to abuse the poor souls that your swords bard has been using hold person on for easy crits. Make sure to *always* use reckless attack. Initially it sounds bizarre but stick with me, you want enemies to have advantage against your barb, doing this while keeping your AC capped around 17~19 means the computer always prioritises attacking your Barb over the rest of your party (all your other characters should have AC19-23ish by act 2). Not to mention if you’re always using reckless attack, the feat Great Weapon Master no longer has a downside, so it becomes a reliable +10 to damage.
Final note for builds:
As you’ve probably noticed, yes almost everybody in the party takes a dip in fighter for access to action surge & shield proficiency. I learned this habit from Colby like everything else I know. He’s the Bob Ross of DnD builds and well worth your time.
General Advice
The most important factor in honour mode is “meta knowledge”, This means things like: knowing how to enter each combat effectively, making sure everyone is in a good position before starting, knowing exactly which enemies/spells you’ll face during that fight and ensuring you always take the enemy by surprise to gain a free turn. Being properly prepared is better than any build. As for difficulty, Act 1 is always going to be your biggest challenge so use plenty of rests and pick your fights carefully. For this guide I also recommend using your bard to persuade the act 2 bosses into committing suicide.Do’s:
- Always have a these spells prepared: longstrider, aid, enhance ability, bless, misty step, heroes feast, counterspell, shield & guidance.
- Buy the ring of bless from Volo the moment you meet him at the grove.
- Steal Laezel’s armor at the start if you’re not using her, it’s great medium armor in the first few hours.
- Let Volo take your eye for a permanent see invisibility buff.
- Barbarian should always use reckless attack
- Buy & craft every potion of speed you can get your grubby mitts on. With the slight nerfs to Haste in HM potions of speed are a safer alternative.
- Take the Hag hair +1dex for swords bard and most the time just let Ethel have Mayrina, its fiddly to control who Ethel will offer the deal to so just go in being prepared to sacrifice Mayrina.
- Talk to crusher outside the goblin camp and persuade him to kiss your feet. He'll run off embaressed, follow him to the bridge away from all the other goblins. Now you can safely and easily kill him to loot his ring which increases movement speed.
- Use your party face to poison the goblin camp in act 1, killing over half of them outside before even entering combat and then the party face can simply deny everything.
- Look up the wiki page for every boss and check their legendary resistances/actions BEFORE starting the encounter. Ethel, inquisitor w’wargaz, cazador, steel watch titan & Nether brain specifically can do some seriously nasty stuff that’s exclusive to HM & can easily catch you off guard.
- Kill Balthazar in his room/lab where you first meet him. To make the fight even easier you can take flesh into the self same trial using the bell so you don’t have to fight him alongside Balthazar. Either way it’s a much easier than the fighting in the shadowfell.
- Take alert if someone has a spare feat available, otherwise increasing your main ability score is usually the best bet.
- Cast sanctuary on Isobel during the raid on the last light in, a lot easier than chasing after her trying to heal & blade ward her. Alternatively ignore her altogether, go straight to ambush against the drider, grab the lantern and release dolly dolly dolly, allowing you to skip the Isobel & Marcus’s fight altogether.
- Keep characters ability scores in even values when possible, odd values do not change anything (with a slight exception to constitution as odd values still give a little extra hp).
- Try to keep all characters at 12 Wis or higher to avoid being feared, charmed or hold person’d.
- Cast darkness over Halsins portal to prevent enemies attacking it.
- Take Gortash's deal to skip his fight & the steel foundry.
- Use minor illusion to group enemies together & pull them out of position before initiating combat. You can also use this method to fix broken NPC’s when they’re not standing where they’re meant to. Looking at you Alfira & Lakrissa.
- If you’re open to a little cheesing you can leave some ranged/throwing party members on the steps before the Grym boss fight. Now just rain hell down on the boss from safety.
- Globe of invulnerability is exactly as broken as it sounds. These scrolls restock daily at sorcerers sundries & trivialise every boss encounter in act 3. Ansur specifically has no way of countering this.
- Illithid powers. These wriggly little cuties are some of the strongest buffs/abilities available. I recommend having every possible party member take atleast: favourable beginnings, luck of the far realms, ability drain & cull the weak. If you opt to go half illithid then you get access to some outrageous kit such as: fly, psionic dominance, illithid expertise & blackhole.
- Summon any minions before casting Aid, Heroes feast, Longstrider & other morning buffs.
- Use your potions, elixirs & scrolls as much as possible. They’re literally everywhere & with good reason. A well timed potion of invisibility or scroll of misty step can save a run.
- Most people know this already but don’t forget you can throw healing potions at allies in a pinch.
- Before descending the stairs to Cazador’s fight have a party member go invisible. They can run over and free Astarion before rolling initiative. This method can also be used to free Volo, Mayrina, Aylin or set up smokepowder barrels for a one turn kill.
- Use darkness to cover any pickpocketing and then flee the area before the NPC notices they've been got.
- Only trade with vendors using your highest persuasion character.
- Give your frequently visited vendors a few hundred gold to max out their attitude. this way you have the best prices for both buying and selling.
- Remember you can skip the final fight altogether using the dialogue option (important distinction) to blow Gale up at the brain stem in act 3.
Don’ts:
- Don’t awaken at the Zaithisk unless you’re certain you can make the checks, there is a [great guide on respeccing for this exact moment](https://www.reddit.com/BaldursGate3/s/7uQ7MSzzBg) credit to u/kodiak3393.
- Don't use friends, guidance or any other spell when bargaining with Ethel for Mayrina & the hag hair. It will trigger Ethel's legendary action and prevent you from getting the hag hair.
- Don’t free Orpheus unless you're prepared to also fight the Emperor in the final fight.
- Don’t play as durge for the first time. Worth noting the cloak exclusive to durge is easily the best in the game but being durge throws the player some unexpected curveballs that can end a run if you're not prepared.
- Don’t keep sharpshooter toggled on permanenlty unless you’ve got risky ring or oil of accuracy.
- Don’t try & save the gondians, don’t go to the iron throne, do not pass go, do not collect £200
- Don’t underestimate Flind the and other Gnolls who are attacking Rugan in act 1, you ideally want to be level 4 before this fight. Ensure to start the encounter from insidde the cave where Rugan is trapped, it can be accessed from the area near the fake paladins of tyr & Karlach.
- Don’t use the cantrip Friends unless you plan on immediately leaving the area or killing the target.
- Don’t convince Ketheric to commit suicide at the mindlfayer colony. Instead use the first phase of the fight to get into position & takeout the Mindflayer asasp then get to work on the apostles. Makes phase 2 infinitely easier.
- Don’t talk to Wulbren or the Tieflings in the Moonrise prison until you’ve killed the warden and all the guards . These guards are utterly brain dead and somehow will never inform anyone upstairs of your massacre, regardless of how stealthily or raucously you tackle them. So just go hog wild. This’ll secure your potent robe with ease.
[Updated and streamlined version of the guide i made a few months ago on my old account u/JoseMongo]
2024.05.16 16:33 clearliquidclearjar TALLAHASSEE WEEKLY EVENTS, 5/16 – 5/22
Y’all, I’m really not sure what’s still around. This list is somewhat edited, but please still make sure to check on all the regular events before you make big plans – I may have missed something.
Events are listed by the day. Events that happen every week appear first, one time stuff after that. If you have anything you’d like people to know about, comment here or message me and I’ll add it in. If you’d like further info about any of the events, look it up! I usually don’t have any extra to add.
Large Scale, Ongoing, and Multi-Day Events
Guided Paddling Outings all around the area: https://www.facebook.com/hsmithoutdoors
Tallahassee Film Society Showings: https://www.tallahasseefilms.com/tickets/
Book Clubs for all tastes: https://www.facebook.com/midtownreadeevents
Live Theater:
submitted by clearliquidclearjar to Tallahassee [link] [comments]
Events are listed by the day. Events that happen every week appear first, one time stuff after that. If you have anything you’d like people to know about, comment here or message me and I’ll add it in. If you’d like further info about any of the events, look it up! I usually don’t have any extra to add.
Large Scale, Ongoing, and Multi-Day Events
Guided Paddling Outings all around the area: https://www.facebook.com/hsmithoutdoors
Tallahassee Film Society Showings: https://www.tallahasseefilms.com/tickets/
Book Clubs for all tastes: https://www.facebook.com/midtownreadeevents
Live Theater:
- Making Light Productions: https://www.makinglightproductions.org/
- Theatre Tallahassee: https://theatretallahassee.org/
- Mickee Faust Club: https://www.mickeefaust.com/
- Monticello Opera House: https://www.monticellooperahouse.org/
- FSU School of Theatre: https://theatre.fsu.edu/productions/
- Young Actors Theatre: https://www.youngactorstheatre.com/
- Quincy Music Theatre: https://quincymusictheatre.com/
- Tallahassee Hispanic Theater: https://tallahasseehispanictheater.wordpress.com/
- Lake Ella Grower's Market: Wednesday and Saturday, 11am-2pm. You can always find organic vendors, and foragers: The Holistic Cannabis Community, Artzi Farms, Hickory Nut Gifts, and others. Including Pita Queen! Farmer's Market Nutrition Program Coupons gladly accepted!
- Tallahassee Downtown Market: Saturdays, 10am-2pm, Park Ave Parks. Vendors display their arts and fine crafts, jewelry, handmade soap, pottery, Fresh from Florida produce, hand-raised beef and pork, fresh baked bread, jams and jellies, and honey. Live music from different local musicians every Saturday.
- Frenchtown Heritage Market: 524 N MLK Jr Blvd. Third Saturday of the month 10am to 2pm. Come grow community and support your local farmers and makers, while you get your groceries for the week! Don’t forget! We match SNAP/EBT, so you DOUBLE your money to go towards locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables! If the guy with the pineapple is there, get it. This is currently only happening on the third Saturday of the month for the next few months while road work is completed.
- Tallahassee Farmers Market: 2904 Kerry Forest Pkwy, Saturdays, 8am to Noon. Come see us at Tallahassee's longest-running farmers market! We are a year-round market, featuring local farms and vendors that provide the best seasonal produce, meats, baked goods, and more. We welcome you and your whole family (leashed pets included) to come out and meet your local farmers! Ample parking is available between our lot and the shopping center lot next door (by Red Elephant). Come early for the best selection.
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Bingo. 6pm
- Dreamland BBQ: Weekly Open Blues Jam. If you'd like to sing, please bring your own mic. 6pm
- Honest Living Vape: Chess-Master Thursdays . Beginners and experts, join us every Thursday from 6-9 for Chess-Master Thursdays. All ages. Bring your board or play ours! Tournaments coming soon! 6pm
- Lake Tribe: Trivia. 7pm
- Takko Market Square: Bingo Night. 7pm
- The Getaway Grille and Bar: Karaoke with Jared Walker. 7pm
- Amicus Brewing: Trivia. 7pm
- Smitty's Taphouse: Trivia Lab Thursdays. Teams of 6 or fewer players can compete for $30 / $20 / $10 Prizes + The Golden MacGuffin prize table! New format! Interactive smartphone answering for your comfort and safety! 6 Fun Rounds - 42 Total Questions. 7:30pm
- Studio D: Bachata Fever. We always have a bachata workshop at 8 pm before Bachata Fever. We dance afterwards to the sounds of DJ Bacharod. The class is at 8 pm and Bachata Fever will start at 930 pm. Many times people are learning in class and may feel uncomfortable social dancing while they are still learning moves. We have a welcoming environment so stay and have fun and dance with everyone. That is how we learn. 8pm/Class $5/Bachata Fever $5.
- The Sound Bar: Comedy Night. 8pm
- Finnegans Wake: Open Mic. 8:30pm
- Brass Tap in Midtown: Karaoke with DJ Rah. 9pm
- 926: Karaoke. 9pm
- Bird’s: Karaoke with Nathan. 9pm
- Fire Bettys: Slasher Bash. This week we'll be showing: "Zombeavers". Prepare for an evening of horrific hilarity with comedy narration and devilish drinking games!🍻 Hosted by local comedians. 8pm/21+
- Blue Tavern: Seep's Gumbo Nation ft. Shanice Richards. 8pm
- Blue Tavern: Happy Hour with Steve Malono. 5pm
- Lake Tribe Brewing: Flannel Fridays with Live Music. 6pm
- Hobbit West: Friday Night Dart Tournament. Anyone can Enter! Sign ups at 7:30, Darts fly at 8:00/$10 entry fee
- Ouzts Too: Karaoke with DJ Nathan. Best karaoke DJ in town. 8pm
- Just One More: Karaoke with DJ Rah. 9pm-11pm/21+
- 926: The Hot Friday Night Party and Drag Show. 9pm/$5/18+
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Rachel Hillman. 5:30pm
- Lake Tribe: Ben Wentworth. 5:30pm
- Amicus Brewing: The Tanglers. 6pm
- The Getaway Grille and Bar: One Year Anniversary Celebration Featuring Queen of Hearts Band. 6pm
- Southwood Golf Club: The Rhythm Remedy. 6:30pm
- Goodwood: The Big Bash Havana Nights presented by Brent Hartsfield. The Big Bash is Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend's signature fundraising gala of the year and directly supports the agency's youth mentoring programs. Guests will enjoy Cuban Cuisine, champagne mojitos, cigars, flights, classic cars, photo opportunities, silent auction vacation packages, LIVE music and dancing, and an exciting LIVE salsa dance performance from 12 community volunteers! The event is a tremendous networking opportunity for Tallahassee's top business professionals, local community leaders and philanthropists to come together to enjoy an evening to celebrate the achievements of Big Brothers Big Sisters. 7pm
- Blue Tavern: Wil Fulkerson Jazz Night. 8pm
- House of Music: Belly Dancing: Journey From The Nile To The Tigris. Habibi, join us on a groovy carpet ride across ancient deserts: Disco Iskandar embarks on a voyage of belly dance, folklore, cinema, and history in a theatrical dance production, JOURNEY FROM THE NILE TO THE TIGRIS. Highlighting the prominence of belly dance in films of the Middle East from the 1940s through the 1970s, we present a live showcase exhibiting dances from Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and beyond. It goes so much deeper than you think. Hookahs! Swords! Rhinestones, literally everywhere! This cross section of entertainment and education is the culmination of years of obsessive learning, two national tours, and travels to Egypt & Lebanon. JOURNEY FROM THE NILE TO THE TIGRIS is a trip unlike any other-- where the Middle East meets Vegas. This show’s cast is Gabi Corazon, Gia Bee, Liz Azi, Olya Clark, Vania Ojeda, director Veronica Lynn, and special guest star Omaris! 8pm/$15/21+
- The Sound Bar: The Old Schoolers. 8pm
- Vino Beano: Your Scumbag Neighbors. 8pm
- The Bark: Medians, No Yeah, Sleep John B, and Cloud Storage. 8pm
- Brinkley Glen Park: Invasive Plant Removal. Join Master Gardener Volunteers at this weekly invasive plant removal event. This is a great way to learn to ID our invasive plant species and how to remove them. We recommend wearing long pants and sleeves, closed-toed shoes, gloves, a hat and mosquito spray. Bring gardening tools such as hand clippers, loppers, trowels, etc. if you have them. We are removing coral ardisia bushes and berries, nandina, tung trees, Tradescantia flumenensis, cat's claw vine, winged yam, Japanese climbing fern, skunkvine and more. Directions: The best way to get there is to take Meridian Rd to Waverly Rd, go to the next intersection and turn left onto Abbotsford Way, then turn left at the next road called Woodside Dr. At the stop sign turn left onto Lothian. Lothian ends in a cul-de-sac and there is a sign that says Brinkley Glen Park. 8:30am-11:30am
- Gamescape: Saturday Gaming. Gamescape has relocated from Railroad Square to the Huntington Oaks Plaza (Suite 302, next to the Library) at N Monroe St and Fred George Rd. Open gaming tables are available. Noon-6pm
- Duke’s and Dottie’s: Line Dancing Plus Lessons. 7pm/21+
- Bird’s Oyster Shack: Laughterday Night Fever. * Join us every Saturday at Bird's Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack for a free comedy show!* 8:30pm
- 926: Latin Night. Dance to the irresistible beats of Zeus and prepare to be dazzled by a spectacular drag show at midnight. It's more than a party, it's an experience. 9:30pm/$10 21+, $15 under 21
- Crawfordville: Big Bend Biodiversity Tour. See why our area is so ecologically incredible! Get up close and personal with creatures and plants galore. Join expert guide and outdoor educator, Ryan Means for this limited opportunity to tour the Apalachicola Lowlands Preserve. The day-long trip stops at points along the way to the privately-owned preserve nestled deep in the Apalachicola National Forest near Sumatra, FL. Explore the longleaf pine ecosystem, pitcher plant bogs, ephemeral wetlands, and blackwater streams - home to some threatened and endangered species. Learn what makes the Florida Panhandle one of the five richest biodiversity hotspots in North America. Perfect tour for photographers, outdoor enthusiasts and ecologists. $75 tour fee includes round-trip transportation (from 46 Kinsey Rd, Crawfordville, FL) , complimentary beverages, and supports efforts to preserve the incredible biodiversity of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Spaces limited. Register here: https://coastalplains.networkforgood.com/events/71083-big-bend-biodiversity-tour for full details. 8am
- Dreamland BBQ: Rock Type One to None. Let's rock to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes! The Unicorn Wranglers are back on Saturday, May 18th at Dreamland BBQ in Tallahassee, Florida for the 2024 "Rock One to None" show. This show is benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF) and will feature musical guests Midnight Caravan, Fallen Timber, and the Unicorn Wranglers. The show starts at 4 pm and runs until 7 pm at Dreamland BBQ in Music Alley, and is open to all ages. While the show is free, we encourage all rockers attending to donate to the cause. You can contribute at the show by visiting our donation station or by heading over to our online Unicorn Wranglers team page. Together, as one big mosh pit, we can help cure Type 1 Diabetes. 3pm
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: Ethan Kyllonen. 4pm
- Amicus Brewing: Beza Alford and Rev. Dr. Sheldon Steen. 5pm
- Lake Tribe: Flamingo Party. 6pm
- The Getaway Grille and Bar: Billy Rigsby Band. 6pm
- Vino Beano: Brett & "Dangerous" Dave. 6pm
- Salty Dawg: Hot Mess. 6:30pm
- La Tiendita: Rhys Bennett & the Gringos as Vontade. Join us for an energetic evening filled with the vibrant sounds of Latin music, Brazilian beats, and jazz rhythms. Our local band, Rhys Bennett & the Gringos, will transform into the versatile ensemble Vontade, treating you to a delightful mix of rancheras, bossa nova, and more! Whether you're a seasoned dancer or a newcomer to the dance floor, you're in for a fantastic time at one of Tallahassee's hidden gems. Immerse yourself in a night of cultural fusion and musical celebration that is sure to create lasting memories! 6:30pm
- The Sound Bar: Tillman & Taff. 7pm
- Island Wings: Midnight Caravan. 7pm
- The Bark: Saturnalia, Brass Wizard, Van Season, and Psycho Tropical. 8pm
- Fire Bettys: 80's Video Dance Party. 8pm
- Just One More: One Eyed JAK. 9pm
- Bicycle House: Sunday Ride. Ride at 10:30 AM from Bicycle House. We will ride the Cascades trail to the St Marks trail and down to Wakulla station and return, about 31 miles. Ride speed is 12 to 14 mph, with periodic regroups. Vernon Bailey is the ride leader. Vernon is a new CCC member who’s been biking for 50 years enjoys riding with small groups and weekend touring. 10am
- E Peck Greene Park (Behind the LeRoy Collins Library): Food Not Bombs Free Mealshare. We offer free vegetarian/vegan food, water, coffee, personal care & hygiene products, bus passes, and clothing when we have some available to those in need. Contact foodnotbombstally@gmail.com to find out about getting involved. Noon-2pm
- LeRoy Collins Library: Tallahassee Go Club Meetings. Come play the captivating ancient game of Go, also known as Baduk, with some friendly games and discussions. Beginners welcome. Visit https://www.tallahasseegoclub.com for more information. 1pm
- Gamescape: Pokémon League. Come learn, play, and trade with the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon video games! We LOVE seeing new players, so come learn how to play! We play both the Trading Card Game and the Video Game casually and competitively. The store offers lots of different seating arrangements to meet our group's needs, as well as food, drinks, and Pokémon products for purchase. We are also hold regular, officially sanctioned tournaments for Pokémon Trading Card Game and Video Game Competitions! 2-4pm
- The Plant: Open Jam. All instruments, all players welcome. 4pm-9pm
- Pedro’s: Mariachi Clasico. 6pm
- Fermentation Lounge: Open Mic Night Hosted by Conor Churchill. 7pm
- Ology Powermill: Marauders Market. Noon
- The Hub at Feather Oaks: The Barber Bros. 1pm-4pm
- Goodwood: Ice Cream Social. Get ready for a spectacular day of family fun at Goodwood Museum & Gardens! Treat your taste buds to a family fun day of FREE ice cream, FREE crafts for the kids, FREE activities, and more, all on the beautiful Goodwood grounds. Family-friendly musical entertainment will be provided by The Safari Man, who will have everyone tapping their feet and dancing along to his whimsical tunes. 1pm
- Common Ground Books: Contemporary Queer Poetry Book Club: Time is a Mother. This month, we’ll be reading “Time is a Mother” by Ocean Vuong. “In this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among the aftershocks of his mother's death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. Vivid, brave and propulsive, Vuong's poems contend with personal loss, the meaning of family, and the value of joy in a perennially fractured American spirit. The author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, winner of the 2016 Whiting Award, the 2017 T. S. Eliot Prize and a 2019 MacArthur fellow, Vuong writes directly to our humanity without losing sight of the current moment. Bold and prescient, and a testament to tenderness in the face of violence, Time is a Mother is a return and a forging-forth all at once.” 6pm
- Just One More: Bingo. 5pm-6:30pm
- The Getaway Grille and Bar: Margarita Monday, Open-Mic Night hosted by The Saltwater Cowboy. 5:30pm-8pm
- American Legion Hall: Cha Cha - Weekly Lessons. 6:15pm/$5
- Hangar 38: Bingo. 6:45pm
- Vino Beano: Tipsy Trivia. 7pm
- Blue Tavern: Happy Hour. 5pm
- The Getaway Grille: Tuesday Night Bikes and Trikes. 6pm
- Crafty Crab: BOOMIN' Karaoke. 7pm
- Gamescape: Hobby Night. Slay the grey together! Join your fellow gamers and turn your pile of grey miniatures into a battle ready army. Need some painting tips? Feel free to ask at hobby night. You can bring any miniature for any game to paint. 7pm
- Ology Midtown: Jazz Jam Sessions. 7pm
- Island Wings: Trivia. 7pm
- Brass Tap in Midtown: Trivia. 1st Tuesday of the month is General Knowledge with rotating themes the rest of the month. 7pm
- House of Music: Tuesday Trivia & Karaoke. 7pm
- American Legion Hall: Tallahassee Swing Band Tuesday Night Dance. 7:30pm
- Fire Bettys: Comedy Night. 8pm
- Poor Pauls: Trivia. 8pm/21+
- Blue Tavern: Bluesday Tuesday with Bill Ricci. Every Tuesday is Blues Day @ the Blue Tavern and Blues Meets Girl is a Tallahassee favorite. This perfect, intimate venue provides just what you need for both a mid-week break and authentic blues music experience. 8pm/$5
- 4th Quarter: Professor Jim's Tuesday Night Trivia. Popular for a reason! 8pm
- Argonaut Coffee: Trivia Tuesday. 8pm
- The Sound Bar: Karaoke. 8pm
- Fire Betty’s: Open Mic Comedy Night. 8pm/21+
- 926: Tacos and Trivia. 9pm
- Tallahassee Junior Museum: Basic Blacksmith Skills Program. Light your curiosity at our upcoming Basic Blacksmith Skills Program! Join our resident blacksmith, Michael Murphy, as he shares his history of being a Smitty. Participants will be able to keep the fire going, sling a hammer, and throw knives during this two hour lecture program. This is an outdoor event. Must preregister online at tallahasseemuseum.org/events. This program is free for members and regular admission price for non-members. 10am
- Sugar and Spice Tally: Game Night. Join us every Wednesday Night for community game night. Bring your own or use ours! Let me know if you need to reserve space for a large group. Free to attend! 5pm
- Goodwood: Wonderful Wednesday. 6pm/$5
- Level 8 Rooftop Lounge: Trivia. 6pm
- La Florida Coffee & Wine: Trivia Night. 6pm
- The Great Games Library: Open Game Night. 6pm/free
- American Legion Hall: Sue Boyd Country Western and More Dance Class. Session 2 - Beginner 6:30 to 7:45 pm What: East Coast Swing and Waltz. Cost: $8.00 per person. Wear comfortable shoes you can turn in. 7:45 to 8:15 - Practice dance with paid admission. 8:15 to 9:30: Intermediate - 2 Step and WCS. $8.00 per person or $13.00 for both classes. Vaccines are required. Face masks are optional. Changing partners is optional. 6:30pm
- Perry Lynn’s Smokehouse in Quincy: Wed Night Open Mic w/ Steven Ritter and Friends. 6:30pm
- Hangar 38: Trivia. 6:45pm
- Proof: Trivia. 7pm
- Vino Beano: Wine Bingo. 7pm
- Fermentation Lounge: Trivia. 7pm
- Blue Tavern: Wednesday Open Mic with Doc Russell. The open mic night that has run continuously for almost 20 years, once housed at the Warehouse, lives on at the Blue Tavern. Doc Russell continues as the host with the most. Sign up starts at 7:45pm/free to attend
- House of Music: Bar Bingo! Free to Play & Late Night Karaoke. 7pm
- Fire Betty’s: Karaoke! 8pm/21+/free
- Dukes and Dotties: College Night and Line Dancing Lessons. 8pm
- Finnegans Wake: Trivia. 8pm
- The Sound Bar: Open Mic Night. 8pm
- The Bark: Karaoke with DJ Nathan. Best karaoke DJ in town. 9pm
- Peppers: Karaoke. 9pm
- 926: Dragged Out Wednesday. 10pm
2024.05.16 16:33 allhaildeez Race Report - Ironman Texas 2024
Ciao Gang
It’s been a few weeks – IM Texas is done and dusted. As one would expect, I’m fully recovered. Not quite, but ouais yeah here goes my race recap
Swim – 1:22:05
T1 – 00:08:29
Bike – 6:51:34
T2 – 00:08:29 (exact same lol)
Run – 6:22:40
~Background Info~
Very sporty and athletic 26 year old who weighs give or take 185 lbs on any given day. Have run two 70.3’s with generally good and comfortable results. Have ran like a dozen marathons and all-around active person. Fitness is “in” right now so I keep busy ya hear
Socially… I stopped drinking two months before the race (varied 5-30 drinks a week before though…). Never changed my diet at all leading up to the race
~Prep~
This area can get a little complicated – I was scheduled to run IM Texas in 2023, but my so called best friend decided to snap my leg (compound fracture of my tibia and fibula) (very wicked) in half while playing soccer 3 months before race day. So after surgery, one month without standing really, one month using crutches, one month using a cane, endless $$$ spent at physical therapy medical bills etc. I find myself in July of 2023 more or less ready to start training again for IM 2024. I sign up (this time with early benefits so I don’t lose all my money again if I have to cancel, thanks Ironman).
I bought a training plan from MyProCoach. 24 Week Intermediate plan to be exact. Between that plan, help from reddit, Instagram influencers, and my self-proclaimed expert father – I morphed a plan that more or less would hopefully (ambitious I know) get me across the finish line in one piece.
~Training~
My new concoction of a training plan generally consisted of two swims a week (Monday and Thursday), one track workout (usually Tuesdays), one hard bike effort on the trainer (usually Wednesday), fun day Friday (no workout unless I was making up for one I missed), long bike ride (Saturdays), and one long run (Sundays) a week. I would generally build up for three weeks then take a “rest” week with 3 to 4 light workouts just to stay loose-ish. I’d up the tempos, intervals, effort, distances etc. every time I got to a new 3 week build phase.
This is more or less what I stuck to for 6 months. I coach high school lacrosse and still play a decent amount of soccer so there was some tweaking here and there to still accompany those. But this was the plan and I can safely say that I did ~80%~ of my planned workouts. The other 20% fell to the wayside as I was still trying to be a socially active fun 26 yr old guy who likes to drink with his friends (loves to drink with his friends)
~Week of the race~
I live in Houston, TX where the race is (really it’s in the woodlands but who cares), so there was no extensive travel for me or anything like that.
I got in some small runs, light bike rides, and swam twice the week of the race. Logistically, I think IM Texas is setup very well. I knew the course very well as a lifelong Houstonian so there was no prep necessary for that. Check-in was easy. Transitions are a bit different at IM Texas than my other tri’s, so that was a small learning curve. But again, nothing to be intimidated by or worry about.
~Race Day~
Managed to go to sleep by 10 pm the night before, so waking up at 4:30am wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever done. Woke up, ate a breakfast sandwich, slammed some coffee, and began hydrating. Got transition about 5:30ish, had my dad and a friend drop me off so didn’t have to walk at all. Got in there, setup bike computer, bottles, etc. I managed to get a BM (dump) out here, which was huge. Things were looking up. Grabbed my wetsuit and then got dropped off at swim start, again no walking which was awesome.
Got to swim start and started getting pretty nervous (all the leg injury shit and 18 months of training were all for this). Water temperature was 75.5 degrees, so wetsuit legal. Luckily had my family and a friend to keep my calm and get my wetsuit on. The gun goes for the pros so I hop in the queue with the other swimmers seeded around the 1:20 to 1:30 mark.
~Swim~
I hop in the water and immediately start worrying that it’s going to get toasty in this wetsuit. In this swim, the buoys are on your left side. I immediately pop out to the right some to get out of all the rough water and kicking feet. There is a park adjacent to the swim start for about 300 meters and I actually see my family walking along the edge of the water as I get out into the lake (mentally huge for me to see them and take my mind off of things while I get in the groove of it all). For about 20 minutes everything is fine, I’m feeling okay, wasn’t overheating in the wetsuit, didn’t let my heart rate get too high (it has in all my other tri swims), and I was sighting well without having to pick my head up too much. At this point the lifeguards/kayak/paddleboard people were pinching us a little too hard. I get they are there for safety and to keep people on course, but I felt like they were funneling us into a tight swim pack for no reason. I totally understand that the swim is dangerous and people can die if help doesn’t get there quick enough, but I felt it was putting a little too much stress on the swimmers. I like to swim away from the pack so maybe this was just me. At the halfway point of the swim, you get funneled through this floating arch (I think it’s for timing purposes?). Whatever the reason for it, it bottlenecked all of us. We were swimming probably 10 people wide through a 7-yard-wide arch. Had to protect your head on that for sure to keep from getting kicked. While I thought it was stupid, it did have a great little benefit. The way we were funneled through created a nice little current and I ended up riding that wave for maybe 75 meters or so. Stupid feature but nice little boost. At this point I’m feeling great. I haven’t been kicked yet, the lungs feel good, I’m not overheating and I have the space to swim in. IM Texas is unique because at 80% of the way through the swim, you start swimming through a canal that people can actually cheer for you and walk with you as you go. I had told my family I’d be on the left side of the canal and as soon as I get into it I pop my head out and see my family, friends, and smoking hot girlfriend cheering me on (again this was mentally huge). I start rocking through the canal which is maybe 25 yards wide and felt like I had a current helping me the whole way through. As I’m swimming, mu friends/family are walking right there with me. It’s such a unique way for people to cheer you on that I got out of the water in a great mood with a smile on my face. I seeded myself perfectly as I got out at 1:22:05.
~Bike~
Going into the bike, IM Texas is known for having absolutely brutal headwinds heading south towards downtown Houston. And with close to 90 miles of the course being on a closed toll road. There is nothing to protect you from a wicked 45 miles of Texas headwind.
But before you get to the toll road, there is a little bit of a “circuit” you go through. So, I hop on the bike and get going. Immediately the course feels a little congested so I try to stay off the bars and ride defensively. Sure enough 8 miles in, big crash ahead as a volunteer golf cart cut off a rider and he crashed hard (thoughts and prayers with the rider). And that right there was the story of the day. HUGE crashes and HEAVY headwinds. I witnessed 6 crashes throughout the ride. Between riders coming through the water stations too fast, cones blowing out on the course, pelotons forming to avoid the wind, inattentive riding (we’re all tired I can understand this), it was a hard day on the course. Thoughts and prayers specifically for the one crash I saw where the organizers made us dismount and walk past. Not sure the context of the crash, but the rider was in a really bad situation. I think I averaged 8 mph heading south into the wind and 28 mph with the tailwind. Haven’t checked my bike data as I still have a bit of PTSD. Between the chaos of everything (I heard rumors a tesla was in self-drive mode on the course and caused a crash…?), I managed to make it to the end about 20 minutes over my 6:30:00 goal. I got off the bike to a boisterous cheer from a phenomenal group of friends and family and walked into transition.
~Run~
Going into the run I wanted to be around 5:30:00. I knew this might be ambitious for me because I didn’t really have that many brick sessions in my training plan. But, I’ve run a few marathons straight off the couch in my day. So, if anything, I know how to suffer through a long slow marathon. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the first ten miles. My legs felt fine coming off the bike, I was comfortable at a 11:00 min/mile pace , felt good hydrating and getting some food down. Right after mile 10, started feeling some small knots in my stomach. Mile by mile, those knots started to get worse and worse. Every time I got to an aid station, I was able to delay the inevitable by getting down a banana, then potato chips at the next one, then it was chicken broth. By the time my family and friends saw me at the end of the second lap, I was in a bad spot. Was walking three minutes and running one (something like that). The stomach eventually morphed into full body discomfort. The HR kept getting sky high after minimal effort. I knew I was in for a tough last 8 miles. That last 8 miles took maybe 3 hours? I’m not sure, it’s all a blur. The pain finally culminated at mile 25.5, where the wrath of god came down on me and I vomited for 10 maybe 15 minutes, who knows. But at this point I knew I could literally crawl to the finish. I picked my head up and saw my buddy’s girlfriend walking toward me, I figured they had sent her to come find me as the gap between my last time split was getting astronomical. I picked my ass up off the ground and full body cramp runned to the finish line. Will never forget the feeling of having so many friends and family cheering me on to help me get over that line. The only bummer at the finish is I paid all that money for someone to tell me an Ironman on a microphone and I didn’t even hear it. Anyways – life goal accomplished. I’ll see ya at the next one.
P.S. I'm an open book, shoot me any questions you have on my training, advice, hate, love, whatever you want to say
submitted by allhaildeez to triathlon [link] [comments]
It’s been a few weeks – IM Texas is done and dusted. As one would expect, I’m fully recovered. Not quite, but ouais yeah here goes my race recap
Swim – 1:22:05
T1 – 00:08:29
Bike – 6:51:34
T2 – 00:08:29 (exact same lol)
Run – 6:22:40
~Background Info~
Very sporty and athletic 26 year old who weighs give or take 185 lbs on any given day. Have run two 70.3’s with generally good and comfortable results. Have ran like a dozen marathons and all-around active person. Fitness is “in” right now so I keep busy ya hear
Socially… I stopped drinking two months before the race (varied 5-30 drinks a week before though…). Never changed my diet at all leading up to the race
~Prep~
This area can get a little complicated – I was scheduled to run IM Texas in 2023, but my so called best friend decided to snap my leg (compound fracture of my tibia and fibula) (very wicked) in half while playing soccer 3 months before race day. So after surgery, one month without standing really, one month using crutches, one month using a cane, endless $$$ spent at physical therapy medical bills etc. I find myself in July of 2023 more or less ready to start training again for IM 2024. I sign up (this time with early benefits so I don’t lose all my money again if I have to cancel, thanks Ironman).
I bought a training plan from MyProCoach. 24 Week Intermediate plan to be exact. Between that plan, help from reddit, Instagram influencers, and my self-proclaimed expert father – I morphed a plan that more or less would hopefully (ambitious I know) get me across the finish line in one piece.
~Training~
My new concoction of a training plan generally consisted of two swims a week (Monday and Thursday), one track workout (usually Tuesdays), one hard bike effort on the trainer (usually Wednesday), fun day Friday (no workout unless I was making up for one I missed), long bike ride (Saturdays), and one long run (Sundays) a week. I would generally build up for three weeks then take a “rest” week with 3 to 4 light workouts just to stay loose-ish. I’d up the tempos, intervals, effort, distances etc. every time I got to a new 3 week build phase.
This is more or less what I stuck to for 6 months. I coach high school lacrosse and still play a decent amount of soccer so there was some tweaking here and there to still accompany those. But this was the plan and I can safely say that I did ~80%~ of my planned workouts. The other 20% fell to the wayside as I was still trying to be a socially active fun 26 yr old guy who likes to drink with his friends (loves to drink with his friends)
~Week of the race~
I live in Houston, TX where the race is (really it’s in the woodlands but who cares), so there was no extensive travel for me or anything like that.
I got in some small runs, light bike rides, and swam twice the week of the race. Logistically, I think IM Texas is setup very well. I knew the course very well as a lifelong Houstonian so there was no prep necessary for that. Check-in was easy. Transitions are a bit different at IM Texas than my other tri’s, so that was a small learning curve. But again, nothing to be intimidated by or worry about.
~Race Day~
Managed to go to sleep by 10 pm the night before, so waking up at 4:30am wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever done. Woke up, ate a breakfast sandwich, slammed some coffee, and began hydrating. Got transition about 5:30ish, had my dad and a friend drop me off so didn’t have to walk at all. Got in there, setup bike computer, bottles, etc. I managed to get a BM (dump) out here, which was huge. Things were looking up. Grabbed my wetsuit and then got dropped off at swim start, again no walking which was awesome.
Got to swim start and started getting pretty nervous (all the leg injury shit and 18 months of training were all for this). Water temperature was 75.5 degrees, so wetsuit legal. Luckily had my family and a friend to keep my calm and get my wetsuit on. The gun goes for the pros so I hop in the queue with the other swimmers seeded around the 1:20 to 1:30 mark.
~Swim~
I hop in the water and immediately start worrying that it’s going to get toasty in this wetsuit. In this swim, the buoys are on your left side. I immediately pop out to the right some to get out of all the rough water and kicking feet. There is a park adjacent to the swim start for about 300 meters and I actually see my family walking along the edge of the water as I get out into the lake (mentally huge for me to see them and take my mind off of things while I get in the groove of it all). For about 20 minutes everything is fine, I’m feeling okay, wasn’t overheating in the wetsuit, didn’t let my heart rate get too high (it has in all my other tri swims), and I was sighting well without having to pick my head up too much. At this point the lifeguards/kayak/paddleboard people were pinching us a little too hard. I get they are there for safety and to keep people on course, but I felt like they were funneling us into a tight swim pack for no reason. I totally understand that the swim is dangerous and people can die if help doesn’t get there quick enough, but I felt it was putting a little too much stress on the swimmers. I like to swim away from the pack so maybe this was just me. At the halfway point of the swim, you get funneled through this floating arch (I think it’s for timing purposes?). Whatever the reason for it, it bottlenecked all of us. We were swimming probably 10 people wide through a 7-yard-wide arch. Had to protect your head on that for sure to keep from getting kicked. While I thought it was stupid, it did have a great little benefit. The way we were funneled through created a nice little current and I ended up riding that wave for maybe 75 meters or so. Stupid feature but nice little boost. At this point I’m feeling great. I haven’t been kicked yet, the lungs feel good, I’m not overheating and I have the space to swim in. IM Texas is unique because at 80% of the way through the swim, you start swimming through a canal that people can actually cheer for you and walk with you as you go. I had told my family I’d be on the left side of the canal and as soon as I get into it I pop my head out and see my family, friends, and smoking hot girlfriend cheering me on (again this was mentally huge). I start rocking through the canal which is maybe 25 yards wide and felt like I had a current helping me the whole way through. As I’m swimming, mu friends/family are walking right there with me. It’s such a unique way for people to cheer you on that I got out of the water in a great mood with a smile on my face. I seeded myself perfectly as I got out at 1:22:05.
~Bike~
Going into the bike, IM Texas is known for having absolutely brutal headwinds heading south towards downtown Houston. And with close to 90 miles of the course being on a closed toll road. There is nothing to protect you from a wicked 45 miles of Texas headwind.
But before you get to the toll road, there is a little bit of a “circuit” you go through. So, I hop on the bike and get going. Immediately the course feels a little congested so I try to stay off the bars and ride defensively. Sure enough 8 miles in, big crash ahead as a volunteer golf cart cut off a rider and he crashed hard (thoughts and prayers with the rider). And that right there was the story of the day. HUGE crashes and HEAVY headwinds. I witnessed 6 crashes throughout the ride. Between riders coming through the water stations too fast, cones blowing out on the course, pelotons forming to avoid the wind, inattentive riding (we’re all tired I can understand this), it was a hard day on the course. Thoughts and prayers specifically for the one crash I saw where the organizers made us dismount and walk past. Not sure the context of the crash, but the rider was in a really bad situation. I think I averaged 8 mph heading south into the wind and 28 mph with the tailwind. Haven’t checked my bike data as I still have a bit of PTSD. Between the chaos of everything (I heard rumors a tesla was in self-drive mode on the course and caused a crash…?), I managed to make it to the end about 20 minutes over my 6:30:00 goal. I got off the bike to a boisterous cheer from a phenomenal group of friends and family and walked into transition.
~Run~
Going into the run I wanted to be around 5:30:00. I knew this might be ambitious for me because I didn’t really have that many brick sessions in my training plan. But, I’ve run a few marathons straight off the couch in my day. So, if anything, I know how to suffer through a long slow marathon. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the first ten miles. My legs felt fine coming off the bike, I was comfortable at a 11:00 min/mile pace , felt good hydrating and getting some food down. Right after mile 10, started feeling some small knots in my stomach. Mile by mile, those knots started to get worse and worse. Every time I got to an aid station, I was able to delay the inevitable by getting down a banana, then potato chips at the next one, then it was chicken broth. By the time my family and friends saw me at the end of the second lap, I was in a bad spot. Was walking three minutes and running one (something like that). The stomach eventually morphed into full body discomfort. The HR kept getting sky high after minimal effort. I knew I was in for a tough last 8 miles. That last 8 miles took maybe 3 hours? I’m not sure, it’s all a blur. The pain finally culminated at mile 25.5, where the wrath of god came down on me and I vomited for 10 maybe 15 minutes, who knows. But at this point I knew I could literally crawl to the finish. I picked my head up and saw my buddy’s girlfriend walking toward me, I figured they had sent her to come find me as the gap between my last time split was getting astronomical. I picked my ass up off the ground and full body cramp runned to the finish line. Will never forget the feeling of having so many friends and family cheering me on to help me get over that line. The only bummer at the finish is I paid all that money for someone to tell me an Ironman on a microphone and I didn’t even hear it. Anyways – life goal accomplished. I’ll see ya at the next one.
P.S. I'm an open book, shoot me any questions you have on my training, advice, hate, love, whatever you want to say
2024.05.16 16:31 MY4me Help! Liquidate investment property to invest in market?
Hi All, looking for some thoughts / advice here. We bought a multifamily ~7 years ago, and lived there for 5 years. Location is fantastic - nice town, 5 min walk to main street restaurants etc. Now we live 30 mins away w/ 2 kids and self-manage the property. You can probably guess where this is going…
As we go into our last year of the $500k capital gains exemption eligibility, I’m very tempted to sell it then invest the ~$500k expected proceeds. We did a bunch of renovation 7 years ago, but it’s an old Victorian building and our plan is to kick the next round of major work down the road ~11 years until it’s paid off (refi’d into a 15 @ 2.6% ~4 years ago). Because of the 15yr mortgage, it should cover its expenses / maintenance / some buffer until it’s paid off but I don’t expect to be able to pull any $$ out until paid off. Picking up $2500+/mo of principal payoff in addition to appreciation right now.
For the house, I’m estimating ~6% annualized return for the next 6 years before any appreciation, ~8% if you assume 2% annual appreciation, about 1% lower years 7-11, then years 12-16 are probably in the 1-2% range excluding appreciation because of renovation / anticipated large repairs (roof / driveway / other stuff)
If you were in my shoes and didn’t need the money for anything right now, would you rather hold it for a few more years and keep doing the legwork, or sell and invest? Historical S&P / other returns are telling me to run away screaming from the house.
I don’t think I’m in a bad spot either way, just trying to make the best move. Also need to break through some emotional attachment to the idea of rental property with facts/numbers! I also plan to chat with my accountant and a friend who is a financial advisor, but trying to get as many opinions as I can.
submitted by MY4me to investing [link] [comments]
As we go into our last year of the $500k capital gains exemption eligibility, I’m very tempted to sell it then invest the ~$500k expected proceeds. We did a bunch of renovation 7 years ago, but it’s an old Victorian building and our plan is to kick the next round of major work down the road ~11 years until it’s paid off (refi’d into a 15 @ 2.6% ~4 years ago). Because of the 15yr mortgage, it should cover its expenses / maintenance / some buffer until it’s paid off but I don’t expect to be able to pull any $$ out until paid off. Picking up $2500+/mo of principal payoff in addition to appreciation right now.
For the house, I’m estimating ~6% annualized return for the next 6 years before any appreciation, ~8% if you assume 2% annual appreciation, about 1% lower years 7-11, then years 12-16 are probably in the 1-2% range excluding appreciation because of renovation / anticipated large repairs (roof / driveway / other stuff)
If you were in my shoes and didn’t need the money for anything right now, would you rather hold it for a few more years and keep doing the legwork, or sell and invest? Historical S&P / other returns are telling me to run away screaming from the house.
I don’t think I’m in a bad spot either way, just trying to make the best move. Also need to break through some emotional attachment to the idea of rental property with facts/numbers! I also plan to chat with my accountant and a friend who is a financial advisor, but trying to get as many opinions as I can.
2024.05.16 16:29 Vast_Ad_660 My child is addicted to video games, and I am crushed.
Wow! This turned out so long and was helpful to write when I was feeling really really awful an hour ago. Here it goes:
I’ve been following this page and a few others once I saw information on video game addiction a few months ago. I saw my family and step-son in so many of the stories, my heart and mind was transformed. I don’t feel alone and my son is certainly not alone in his struggles. To be honest I’m scared to start this new journey, and I’ll get to that more later.
I always knew something was different about my step-son’s gaming, and it’s been a struggle since 2-3 years old based on what his Dad has told me. Here’s a bit of a background of our family dynamic.
Jake had Pete when he was 19 and never had a relationship with Mom, Kate. They split custody and it was evident she was using hard drugs and lost full custody of Pete when he was 9. A lot of his time with Mom was spent on an iPad without regulation as early as 2. Routines, locations, and security was not always present. It’s tough to think about the severity of what Pete experienced. At this time school was difficult, and Pete was diagnosed with ADHD. Meds helped a lot, and once Jake had full custody he was all about routine routine routine, healthy foods, activities, table top games nightly, camping, you name it! His passion for being a single Dad to Pete is why I ultimately fell in love with him two years later. When I started hanging out I noticed Pete playing a lot of games and not being the sporty type or hanging out with friends. By this point he was playing Minecraft after school and on the weekends pretty regularly. Jake was a good video game police officer and we still had a ton of time together as a new family. Pete is kind and very easy going and we started a great relationship fairly quickly. Jake and I agreed and often disagreed about the severity of Pete’s gaming, but we would come together and set some house rules and go on with life. As soon as we got busy, Pete would dive deep into computer games and grades would drop. We would see feces in his underwater, lack of hygiene, not getting up, laptop under his pillow, exc. Almost like clockwork by spring break, we’d have this intense struggle and Pete would pull it together for the semester at the very last minute. Pete is gifted and was always in accelerated math and science glasses, but was able to do the bare minimum without studying. Repeat for the next 3 years. Fast forward to High School he went to a smaller school in a new town and actually saw more independence. He made a friend, Dan who’s still around and is everything you’d hope a friend would be to your kid. Their bond is awesome. We’d still have to police but things were getting easier and we weren’t seeing those intense “downs” like we were in elementary and middle school. I think he was more confident and even his teachers said he was crushing it! The summer was tough and we tried to fill his time up but nothing seemed to interest him. If he hung out with friends and was hygienic we just made nudges about time limits. Thinking back I think there was one more period where we found feces in his underwater end of Senior year and gaming picked up, probably because we dropped our guard.
Summer before college I got him set up with an awesome outdoor job working on a zipline/climbing course and he thrived in Pete’s type of way. Climbing is one of the only things I can suggest to Pete and he’ll usually show some interest. Confident, peppy, excited, getting himself up. Always going back to games everyday but maintaining work, a friendship, and a little independence is what we wanted so left him alone most of the home time. We nudged him into a climbing retreat as an incoming freshman to give him a head start making friends, and a clear head going into the dorms! Scary fun times, and thought it would help. Then we officially dropped him off. Wow, so many smiles and happy tears had by all. The light in his eyes and showing us around and saying how cool he felt it was probably the happiest day of our lives along with my wedding day. The day I read vows to Pete saying I’d be there forever and unconditionally. It felt like my son was ready for his future. As we were driving away Pete said his friend gave him a gaming computer for free and he was at the tech center getting it hooked up to the campus internet. Dun dun dun.
Today he’s 2 weeks into his first summer break after a year of college. Yikes. Things are not great and that’s why I am here.
It was Spring Break (here comes the pattern) and Pete was gaming, not verbally making much sense, unhygienic, lost weight, gaming non stop. He almost missed his 2 hour bus ride back to school and that’s when we snapped. The typical what the hell is going on, you’re out of control. Pete usually cries when this happens because he knows the gig is up. Eventually he told us the truth, he failed two classes his first semester (told us winter break he did fine) and is now on track to fail another science and lab. WHAT!! We drove out there the next day to meet with the dean because he told us he was on probation and we wanted to support him. We were so worried. It turns out he hasn’t had any social interaction other than winter and spring break and spent his days alone in his dorm. He didn’t even seem like himself it was so scary. We get there and we spent two days walking, going out to eat, the typical “you got this buddy” “just stop playing games for a bit” and insert the other 100 life sayings you want to say to your kid that sound so annoying to them. We can’t help it. We love him. He was like yep I got this, nodded through all of it and we left. Three weeks later we noticed on the phone things were sounding off again, and he confessed he hasn’t made up any of his work. His Dad got disappointed on the phone and Pete said he called the suicide hotline because he was getting “yelled” at. I was standing there, he wasn’t yelling but I’m sure just the sheer reality of the situation got to him. We were heart broken, and at the same time angry. We couldn’t believe he was feeling this much anxiety and possibly depression. We always knew gaming was an escape and most likely due to his background, but this just seemed too much for anyone to handle. Again, he promised to limit himself. We checked in everyday for the last three weeks not with a nag but just, how’s it going. Did you set a timer today? Amazing that’s great you’re so close to being done!! Just trying to keep it super positive. We knew it was totally out of our control. He failed, and actually never made up the work his professor said he could over a month prior. He lied more.
We knew something had to change and we were preparing his return home. Can we do game quitter? Can we just put him right into a detox in our home? Family therapy? Healthy gamer? Olganon? We wanted to smash his computer trust me, if it weren’t for my job I wouldn’t have wifi because my stomach is in knots. But, we decided relationship first, let him set his own limits (with our house rules) and really try to get to the root cause of anxiety and depression. We had good convos, we let him tell us how it’s basically all of our fault because of the pressure, no judgement. We communicated with notes and texts sometimes when things were getting frustrating. He skirted around the 3 hour daily limit every possible way. All he wants to do is play video games, watch to tube of video games, talk to “friends” on discord about games, play D&D online, or draw D&D characters. It’s just too much, it’s impossible to limit. He always had an excuse for a screen and we were still seeing 10+ hours a day on screens. He told us he’s feeling crappier everyday by us, and honestly we’re feeling freakin awful and exhausted too.
What now? Nothing. I’m literally doing nothing anymore starting today. I can’t stop crying. He won’t do his own research into gaming addiction and does not want to change. Today we just said ya know what, this isn’t working so we’ll just figure something out in a few weeks. At this very moment he’s going on hour 9 of gaming straight. Knowing how much we tried as a family to limit this for the last few weeks. I’m still angry and it’s hard to look at him right now. It feels personal to me? I know it isn’t, but it just feels that way.
Therapy!? Yep. We tried. Back when he was in middle school and high school. Didn’t want to go back and didn’t talk much. He got his own therapist at school per the deans suggestion and he goes but the one session he’s had at home, he got off within 30 minutes and said “he didn’t have much to talk about with her” and he’ll see her maybe once a month back at school. We are doing healthy gamer coaching as parents, but he is refusing to sign up for coaching on his end. My guess is the name alone. The risk of losing games is not something he’d ever discuss right now. I swore up and down they won’t make him get rid of games lol! Did not work.
What’s dad doing? Half. Literally half at all times we make a plan at night and in the morning and check in with each other about it all day long. It’s so exhausting and Jake is just ready to do whatever it takes at this point as well. He’s having the same struggles as I am and is 100% convinced it’s an addiction and has listened to a lot of podcasts exc.
My new plan…. Because I have to have “something” or I might blow up. Now I have to let natural consequences take the lead. He doesn’t have a license, because he couldn’t pick up driving skills with how his brain is on games. We tried teaching him for two years and it was honestly dangerous sometimes after a “bender. He asked me to go tomorrow and after 9 hours I’m just going to say I’d feel more comfortable if he went to driving school and he can pay with the money he earns this summer. It j=is just not safe, why does he deserve to take my car and put me in an unsafe position? I don't have to allow that... but it feels like I am still the bad guy. Looking forward, IF he fails college....when he is home he cannot have our wifi, will contribute to groceries, phone bill, and rent. We live in a rural area and without a car he can’t work. I will not be driving a 20 year old to and from work due to his brain on games. It feels wrong. Maybe he can’t support his habit without working. That’s all the “what ifs” but rarely does life go exactly how you picture it. We will just continue to get creative and roll with it.
Does anyone have any advice on how to not enable but also let them be in charge of their own destiny? Not saying anything or giving him a sad look feels impossible but I did it tonight. J was able to pretend it did not bother me that he’s been on there forever. I think I can keep that up? But I also don’t want to enable him.
My family is hurting so much. So many hugs to anyone who struggled and is currently struggling. Same to the parents who have that knot that won’t go away. Thanks for reading
submitted by Vast_Ad_660 to StopGaming [link] [comments]
I’ve been following this page and a few others once I saw information on video game addiction a few months ago. I saw my family and step-son in so many of the stories, my heart and mind was transformed. I don’t feel alone and my son is certainly not alone in his struggles. To be honest I’m scared to start this new journey, and I’ll get to that more later.
I always knew something was different about my step-son’s gaming, and it’s been a struggle since 2-3 years old based on what his Dad has told me. Here’s a bit of a background of our family dynamic.
Jake had Pete when he was 19 and never had a relationship with Mom, Kate. They split custody and it was evident she was using hard drugs and lost full custody of Pete when he was 9. A lot of his time with Mom was spent on an iPad without regulation as early as 2. Routines, locations, and security was not always present. It’s tough to think about the severity of what Pete experienced. At this time school was difficult, and Pete was diagnosed with ADHD. Meds helped a lot, and once Jake had full custody he was all about routine routine routine, healthy foods, activities, table top games nightly, camping, you name it! His passion for being a single Dad to Pete is why I ultimately fell in love with him two years later. When I started hanging out I noticed Pete playing a lot of games and not being the sporty type or hanging out with friends. By this point he was playing Minecraft after school and on the weekends pretty regularly. Jake was a good video game police officer and we still had a ton of time together as a new family. Pete is kind and very easy going and we started a great relationship fairly quickly. Jake and I agreed and often disagreed about the severity of Pete’s gaming, but we would come together and set some house rules and go on with life. As soon as we got busy, Pete would dive deep into computer games and grades would drop. We would see feces in his underwater, lack of hygiene, not getting up, laptop under his pillow, exc. Almost like clockwork by spring break, we’d have this intense struggle and Pete would pull it together for the semester at the very last minute. Pete is gifted and was always in accelerated math and science glasses, but was able to do the bare minimum without studying. Repeat for the next 3 years. Fast forward to High School he went to a smaller school in a new town and actually saw more independence. He made a friend, Dan who’s still around and is everything you’d hope a friend would be to your kid. Their bond is awesome. We’d still have to police but things were getting easier and we weren’t seeing those intense “downs” like we were in elementary and middle school. I think he was more confident and even his teachers said he was crushing it! The summer was tough and we tried to fill his time up but nothing seemed to interest him. If he hung out with friends and was hygienic we just made nudges about time limits. Thinking back I think there was one more period where we found feces in his underwater end of Senior year and gaming picked up, probably because we dropped our guard.
Summer before college I got him set up with an awesome outdoor job working on a zipline/climbing course and he thrived in Pete’s type of way. Climbing is one of the only things I can suggest to Pete and he’ll usually show some interest. Confident, peppy, excited, getting himself up. Always going back to games everyday but maintaining work, a friendship, and a little independence is what we wanted so left him alone most of the home time. We nudged him into a climbing retreat as an incoming freshman to give him a head start making friends, and a clear head going into the dorms! Scary fun times, and thought it would help. Then we officially dropped him off. Wow, so many smiles and happy tears had by all. The light in his eyes and showing us around and saying how cool he felt it was probably the happiest day of our lives along with my wedding day. The day I read vows to Pete saying I’d be there forever and unconditionally. It felt like my son was ready for his future. As we were driving away Pete said his friend gave him a gaming computer for free and he was at the tech center getting it hooked up to the campus internet. Dun dun dun.
Today he’s 2 weeks into his first summer break after a year of college. Yikes. Things are not great and that’s why I am here.
It was Spring Break (here comes the pattern) and Pete was gaming, not verbally making much sense, unhygienic, lost weight, gaming non stop. He almost missed his 2 hour bus ride back to school and that’s when we snapped. The typical what the hell is going on, you’re out of control. Pete usually cries when this happens because he knows the gig is up. Eventually he told us the truth, he failed two classes his first semester (told us winter break he did fine) and is now on track to fail another science and lab. WHAT!! We drove out there the next day to meet with the dean because he told us he was on probation and we wanted to support him. We were so worried. It turns out he hasn’t had any social interaction other than winter and spring break and spent his days alone in his dorm. He didn’t even seem like himself it was so scary. We get there and we spent two days walking, going out to eat, the typical “you got this buddy” “just stop playing games for a bit” and insert the other 100 life sayings you want to say to your kid that sound so annoying to them. We can’t help it. We love him. He was like yep I got this, nodded through all of it and we left. Three weeks later we noticed on the phone things were sounding off again, and he confessed he hasn’t made up any of his work. His Dad got disappointed on the phone and Pete said he called the suicide hotline because he was getting “yelled” at. I was standing there, he wasn’t yelling but I’m sure just the sheer reality of the situation got to him. We were heart broken, and at the same time angry. We couldn’t believe he was feeling this much anxiety and possibly depression. We always knew gaming was an escape and most likely due to his background, but this just seemed too much for anyone to handle. Again, he promised to limit himself. We checked in everyday for the last three weeks not with a nag but just, how’s it going. Did you set a timer today? Amazing that’s great you’re so close to being done!! Just trying to keep it super positive. We knew it was totally out of our control. He failed, and actually never made up the work his professor said he could over a month prior. He lied more.
We knew something had to change and we were preparing his return home. Can we do game quitter? Can we just put him right into a detox in our home? Family therapy? Healthy gamer? Olganon? We wanted to smash his computer trust me, if it weren’t for my job I wouldn’t have wifi because my stomach is in knots. But, we decided relationship first, let him set his own limits (with our house rules) and really try to get to the root cause of anxiety and depression. We had good convos, we let him tell us how it’s basically all of our fault because of the pressure, no judgement. We communicated with notes and texts sometimes when things were getting frustrating. He skirted around the 3 hour daily limit every possible way. All he wants to do is play video games, watch to tube of video games, talk to “friends” on discord about games, play D&D online, or draw D&D characters. It’s just too much, it’s impossible to limit. He always had an excuse for a screen and we were still seeing 10+ hours a day on screens. He told us he’s feeling crappier everyday by us, and honestly we’re feeling freakin awful and exhausted too.
What now? Nothing. I’m literally doing nothing anymore starting today. I can’t stop crying. He won’t do his own research into gaming addiction and does not want to change. Today we just said ya know what, this isn’t working so we’ll just figure something out in a few weeks. At this very moment he’s going on hour 9 of gaming straight. Knowing how much we tried as a family to limit this for the last few weeks. I’m still angry and it’s hard to look at him right now. It feels personal to me? I know it isn’t, but it just feels that way.
Therapy!? Yep. We tried. Back when he was in middle school and high school. Didn’t want to go back and didn’t talk much. He got his own therapist at school per the deans suggestion and he goes but the one session he’s had at home, he got off within 30 minutes and said “he didn’t have much to talk about with her” and he’ll see her maybe once a month back at school. We are doing healthy gamer coaching as parents, but he is refusing to sign up for coaching on his end. My guess is the name alone. The risk of losing games is not something he’d ever discuss right now. I swore up and down they won’t make him get rid of games lol! Did not work.
What’s dad doing? Half. Literally half at all times we make a plan at night and in the morning and check in with each other about it all day long. It’s so exhausting and Jake is just ready to do whatever it takes at this point as well. He’s having the same struggles as I am and is 100% convinced it’s an addiction and has listened to a lot of podcasts exc.
My new plan…. Because I have to have “something” or I might blow up. Now I have to let natural consequences take the lead. He doesn’t have a license, because he couldn’t pick up driving skills with how his brain is on games. We tried teaching him for two years and it was honestly dangerous sometimes after a “bender. He asked me to go tomorrow and after 9 hours I’m just going to say I’d feel more comfortable if he went to driving school and he can pay with the money he earns this summer. It j=is just not safe, why does he deserve to take my car and put me in an unsafe position? I don't have to allow that... but it feels like I am still the bad guy. Looking forward, IF he fails college....when he is home he cannot have our wifi, will contribute to groceries, phone bill, and rent. We live in a rural area and without a car he can’t work. I will not be driving a 20 year old to and from work due to his brain on games. It feels wrong. Maybe he can’t support his habit without working. That’s all the “what ifs” but rarely does life go exactly how you picture it. We will just continue to get creative and roll with it.
Does anyone have any advice on how to not enable but also let them be in charge of their own destiny? Not saying anything or giving him a sad look feels impossible but I did it tonight. J was able to pretend it did not bother me that he’s been on there forever. I think I can keep that up? But I also don’t want to enable him.
My family is hurting so much. So many hugs to anyone who struggled and is currently struggling. Same to the parents who have that knot that won’t go away. Thanks for reading
2024.05.16 16:20 _rosedarling_ Timeline shift- can we go early? And bring our dogs?
TL/DR pension early + unexpected windfall. Do we have enough? 40k net annual income w/ health insurance. Liquid in 2 million range. 400k in retirement accounts. Mid forties. Health issues. Where to go with dogs?
Original plan was to FIRE in 10 years when husbands pension kicked in. He’s 45, I’m 43.
Have about 400k in retirement though mostly untouchable to us now as primarily 401k. Maybe 50k in brokerage, 70k in cash accounts. Conservatively 550k equity in our house. No other debt beyond our mortgage at sub 3% interest. Which is timed to be paid off in about 10 years as well. We’ve stopped making extra payments on it and have been stashing money in savings instead due to interest rates. Only kid is through college, debt free! (yes we started quite young -he was a happy, but scary surprise). We have 3 cars, a couple motorcycles, and a big farm tractor that would probably net 120k if we liquidated all. Have no idea what we could net on other household items. I do have some inherited artwork that holds some value, and some jewelry. Husband owns every tool in existence I think.
The change is my husband was injured on the job and after nearly a year of recovery, PT, surgery etc it looks now like he will not be cleared to return to work. Will be pensioned off early, and keep healthcare coverage for both of us. Net income with pension approx 40k a year. Cutting his take home about in half.
Simultaneously, my company is being acquired and because of my role, I will not be expected to stay on long post acquisition. Expected to receive 100k in severance at my departure.
And then last week we were offered just a bit more than a million dollars for some acreage we own adjacent to our house.
We would not want to stay in our home next to this development. We picked up this land as kind of a lark a few years ago. It was completely landlocked so very cheap and is just forest. We were able to get special environmental status on it so pay virtually nothing in taxes Mostly we did it to preserve our backyard view and privacy, and to make sure no one else on an adjacent lot on the street next to us, who would be able to provide access, picked it up and tried to develop it. Well that’s what is happening now. A developer is interested in purchasing a neighbors empty 10 acre lot, with street access, if we will also sell. The neighbor is anxious for us to say yes.
So we could not sell the land, I could get a new job post acquisition and stay where we are. But that does not seem smart as we would get more than 20x gain in 5 years on what we paid for that land, though that kind of value is only possible when it’s tied to a neighbors lot with access. Also, with my husbands injuries we have had to take on some additional expense to maintain our property as there are things he can no longer do. Our lot is a couple of acres on its own. I would need to find a job making significantly more to make up for husbands income loss and additional expense and that doesn’t seem likely locally. I’m at about the top of my industry pay scale currently for our location. Obviously I’ll have a buffer with my severance, but I will be lucky to find another position making what I do now. As I had to know about the acquisition early, I got a fairly sizable salary bump to retain me during the transition.
We could sell and move locally or somewhere else in the US I suppose. But the plan had always been to FIRE when he got his pension, and with the revenue from the land it feels like maybe we could do this now?
We’re both social security eligible with sufficient credits, but that’s quite a ways away if it will still even exist then. Approx 3500 a month collectively at age 67, if we stop contributing in the near future per social security website and accounting for WEP.
We’ve spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain and France and the plan had always revolved around Europe, to be determined largely by tax implications in place at that time.
We don’t love hot, but I’ve been thinking about Mexico as we also have two dogs right now that I can’t imagine parting with. I realize not ideal, but we’ve always been a dog owning family and our plan was to bring no new dogs in the 10 years leading up to his retirement so we would not have this encumbrance then. But with a timeline shift, that plan becomes irrelevant. Anyone drive into Mexico with pets?
I would plan to work some. Probably consulting. I do a little bit of that now on the side and I think part time I could probably bring in 30-40k. But for budgeting I’d rather treat that as bonus money as I don’t know how quickly I can get it set up etc. I don’t know about my husband. All of his jobs and hobbies have historically been quite physical, so this is a major shift for him.
Thinking we were still a ways off I have done enough research to be dangerous. When he got hurt a year ago, I never imagined he wouldn’t eventually go back. I know staying in US, unless we significantly downsize and alter our lifestyle, my husband will feel like he has to do something for work. I don’t want that for him. He has worked incredibly hard, at his primary job and various side hustles to provide a wonderful, stable, financially sound life for a young family that was dead broke when we started out. With this injury, I want him to relax and hopefully continue to heal.
We will have his excellent US health insurance benefits intact, but will likely need to supplement to make sure he can continue to get any ongoing care he needs.
We’re probably going to have make some decisions relatively quickly on the land. We’re good with living a lot more simply, but also don’t want to be in a position where we feel like we’re counting every penny to survive. Should we try this? Where would you go? With pets!
submitted by _rosedarling_ to ExpatFIRE [link] [comments]
Original plan was to FIRE in 10 years when husbands pension kicked in. He’s 45, I’m 43.
Have about 400k in retirement though mostly untouchable to us now as primarily 401k. Maybe 50k in brokerage, 70k in cash accounts. Conservatively 550k equity in our house. No other debt beyond our mortgage at sub 3% interest. Which is timed to be paid off in about 10 years as well. We’ve stopped making extra payments on it and have been stashing money in savings instead due to interest rates. Only kid is through college, debt free! (yes we started quite young -he was a happy, but scary surprise). We have 3 cars, a couple motorcycles, and a big farm tractor that would probably net 120k if we liquidated all. Have no idea what we could net on other household items. I do have some inherited artwork that holds some value, and some jewelry. Husband owns every tool in existence I think.
The change is my husband was injured on the job and after nearly a year of recovery, PT, surgery etc it looks now like he will not be cleared to return to work. Will be pensioned off early, and keep healthcare coverage for both of us. Net income with pension approx 40k a year. Cutting his take home about in half.
Simultaneously, my company is being acquired and because of my role, I will not be expected to stay on long post acquisition. Expected to receive 100k in severance at my departure.
And then last week we were offered just a bit more than a million dollars for some acreage we own adjacent to our house.
We would not want to stay in our home next to this development. We picked up this land as kind of a lark a few years ago. It was completely landlocked so very cheap and is just forest. We were able to get special environmental status on it so pay virtually nothing in taxes Mostly we did it to preserve our backyard view and privacy, and to make sure no one else on an adjacent lot on the street next to us, who would be able to provide access, picked it up and tried to develop it. Well that’s what is happening now. A developer is interested in purchasing a neighbors empty 10 acre lot, with street access, if we will also sell. The neighbor is anxious for us to say yes.
So we could not sell the land, I could get a new job post acquisition and stay where we are. But that does not seem smart as we would get more than 20x gain in 5 years on what we paid for that land, though that kind of value is only possible when it’s tied to a neighbors lot with access. Also, with my husbands injuries we have had to take on some additional expense to maintain our property as there are things he can no longer do. Our lot is a couple of acres on its own. I would need to find a job making significantly more to make up for husbands income loss and additional expense and that doesn’t seem likely locally. I’m at about the top of my industry pay scale currently for our location. Obviously I’ll have a buffer with my severance, but I will be lucky to find another position making what I do now. As I had to know about the acquisition early, I got a fairly sizable salary bump to retain me during the transition.
We could sell and move locally or somewhere else in the US I suppose. But the plan had always been to FIRE when he got his pension, and with the revenue from the land it feels like maybe we could do this now?
We’re both social security eligible with sufficient credits, but that’s quite a ways away if it will still even exist then. Approx 3500 a month collectively at age 67, if we stop contributing in the near future per social security website and accounting for WEP.
We’ve spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain and France and the plan had always revolved around Europe, to be determined largely by tax implications in place at that time.
We don’t love hot, but I’ve been thinking about Mexico as we also have two dogs right now that I can’t imagine parting with. I realize not ideal, but we’ve always been a dog owning family and our plan was to bring no new dogs in the 10 years leading up to his retirement so we would not have this encumbrance then. But with a timeline shift, that plan becomes irrelevant. Anyone drive into Mexico with pets?
I would plan to work some. Probably consulting. I do a little bit of that now on the side and I think part time I could probably bring in 30-40k. But for budgeting I’d rather treat that as bonus money as I don’t know how quickly I can get it set up etc. I don’t know about my husband. All of his jobs and hobbies have historically been quite physical, so this is a major shift for him.
Thinking we were still a ways off I have done enough research to be dangerous. When he got hurt a year ago, I never imagined he wouldn’t eventually go back. I know staying in US, unless we significantly downsize and alter our lifestyle, my husband will feel like he has to do something for work. I don’t want that for him. He has worked incredibly hard, at his primary job and various side hustles to provide a wonderful, stable, financially sound life for a young family that was dead broke when we started out. With this injury, I want him to relax and hopefully continue to heal.
We will have his excellent US health insurance benefits intact, but will likely need to supplement to make sure he can continue to get any ongoing care he needs.
We’re probably going to have make some decisions relatively quickly on the land. We’re good with living a lot more simply, but also don’t want to be in a position where we feel like we’re counting every penny to survive. Should we try this? Where would you go? With pets!