For context I've used H pattern shifters in sims since the very first commercially available Act-Labs shifter in the early 2000s, the different Logitech G series offerings, the Thrustmaster TH8A, and for the last 5 years I've been using the Frex GP.
I have not owned but have used the Pro-Sim shifter at a local sim shop so I can draw comparisons to this unit as well.
Of the above mentioned if I had my choice budget not being in question I would certainly go for the Pro-Sim, it simply had the most satisfying two stage feel to the gear engagement (getting into neutral and then getting into gear) however, at over 3x the price of the Frex I just felt like it didn’t offer enough to justify the move. Frex also simulates the two stage feel through detents on the shaft that gets acted on by a spring ball plunger, however with the Pro-Sim this feeling is much more pronounced. I kept going back to the shop over the last few years picking up the odd piece of equipment and giving the Pro-Sim a row each time but at the end of the day I figured I'd hold out for something "active".
On the subject of "Well does it feel like getting into gear in a real car", having driven dozens of cars I don't recall any two that feel the same. The feeling has been anything from G25 like spongy and sloppy in a 2007 Accord, to a very mechanical sharp and direct feel of a Mk4 Golf, to everything else in between. I have never driven anything race prepped that is H pattern equipped but I've rowed through some gears at an auto show in a stock car and a touring car and these felt closer to what the Pro-Sim feels like vs road cars.
Naturally the next thing in the evolution of the shifter was some kind of feedback, something to take the simulation further and prevent getting into gear if you aren't doing the correct things. Frex did this a long time ago but ultimately it wasn’t realistic as it was a mechanical solution, you have to press the clutch to shift gear and in real life both synchromesh and dog boxes allow for shifting clutches with correct technique.
On to the Bash Pro.
Construction is solid and the unit is heavy. The only nonmetal bits are what I'd call the dust guard, buttons and electronics housing frame components that are not stressed in any way. I wish the dust guard bit was polished in some way so you do not see the obvious 3d printer markings, same can be said for the other 3d printed bits, but hey if this shaved off some decent dollars from construction cost than why not. I've read a lot of "at this cost and 3d printed bits" and quite frankly I don't get the comments, the cost is actually "fair" considering the price of the competition.
Aesthetically its nothing to look at and if it were up to me I'd do away with the carbon fiber box for electronics and just make it all metal. I swapped the original 6+R knob for the black/carbon Frex knob and I think it looks miles better. It’s just a box that is pure function and I will take the footprint of this unit over the very cool looking competition any day. It does come with a mounting plate and easily screws into a piece of 40xXX profile. In my case it screwed into the Advanced Sim Racing shifter plate. The software controlling the unit is a plugin for SimHub.
How does it feel?
It has the gear engagement feel of the Pro-Sim at a 3rd of the size. There is a two stage feel to shifting gears but even more so due to the programable delay and the blocking gate mechanism. For delay we are talking about milliseconds, but it really makes for a great, into neutral and then into gear feel. There is a very strong and pronounced feel in taking it out of gear, into neutral, and then into gear again. The throw is heavy, but I don’t think its adjustable, this might be an issue for some, I’ll gladly leave it as is as I prefer heavy controls all around. In H sync mode you can control the delays between each gears, for example 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 can all have different delay timing set, or just remove delay all together. The unit is loud just like its pears.
The parts of the shaft which slide into the gates/gears have spinning bearings attached, the gates themselves are very thick as is the lockout gate which are all rounded off. The bearings fit perfectly into the slots which results in absolutely no play/slop when in gear and in a very smooth action when sliding in and out of the gates. In neutral position the lever just returns to middle position without bouncing around like the Frex would. The staged feel is achieved by the gate returning to the lockout position as soon as you pop into neutral and then muscle your way through the now "allowed to move away" lockout gate and into gear.
Price wise, this shifter comes in cheaper than the BDH and way cheaper than the Pro-Sim, making it a no brainer for me. There is nothing those shifters offer over the Bash Pro at this stage, hopefully the unit proves to be reliable. I do not like to talk about price/value as it’s really about what you want/need and willing to spend on something and from watches to cars, it starts at next to nothing to won’t afford it in a lifetime. But in this case, I must say it is good value if you compare it to the high-end competition. This is an innovative product, first of its kind, and its clocking in at a significant discount over the competition. This stands in stark contrast to the Simucube Active pedal, which is a first of its kind, and is an end-game product, however, the cost of this offering reflects it. With the Bash Pro you got something similar, something moving the hobby to the next level and its cheaper than its “passive” neighbours.
As I type this up, Pro-Sim is working on an addon for their H and sequential boxes that will also block out gears when not doing this correctly, and this is great news for existing Pro-Sim owners. This unit will also work off of SimHub, will be curious to see what kind of options it will have.

Disks are the most OBVIOUS AND SIMPLISTIC FLYING MACHINE.
As soon as people could carve wood they would have discovered throwing a disk whilst spinning it made it FLY a far distance and LAND ON IT HORIZONTAL AXIS.
Making it EXTREMELY RELIABLE FOR FLIGHT AND LANDING
People OBVIOUSLY discovered/noticed this even before they carved disks from wood and found flat stones skipped across rivers when SPUN.
The first modern UFO sighting by Kenneth Arnold describes his sighting as “saucers skipping on water”
Debate concerning his actual description of the exact shape varies but according to wikipedia:
“they seemed so thin and flat they were practically invisible”.
According to Jerome Clark,[3][4] Arnold described them as a series of objects with convex shapes, though he later revealed that one object differed by being crescent-shaped. Several years later, Arnold would state he likened their movement to saucers skipping on water, without comparing their actual shapes to saucers,[5] but initial quotes from him do indeed have him comparing the shape to a "saucer", "disc", "pie pan", or "half moon", or generally convex and thin
It’s a NO BRAINER someone in ancient history would have wanted to use the disk as a human flying machine.
This could only have been realised with extremely light weigh and incredibly strong materials AND and as of yet unknown or undisclosed power source but nothing incredibly advanced as Ive explained in the previous posts.
The first attempts may have even used steam power.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fNsucuC8fgA
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile
NOTICE THE ROTATIONAL SPIN
So can a steam powered saucer fly?? I don't know because i can’t find a clip of anyone who's actually let one loose from its frame but my guess is absolutely, given enough momentum and if it was light enough.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wxr-rd9fK08&pp=ygUZU3RlYW0gcG93ZXJlZCBmbHlpbmcgZGlzaw%3D%3D
If the ancients Greeks got this far and we know they did, then they would have pushed further with metallurgy to make a light weight shell and they would have looked for something better than steam power.

Every month I owe commissions to the creators of the models I sell 3d prints. What would be the easiest way to figure out what sold from them? I have tagged the listings with the relevant creator so i can group them in the listing page. How would you go about calculating sales from specific groups of listings?

I began talking to her back in November 2022. A common friend paired as up as we were both lonely people. She had just broken up 3 months ago. Things started to hit off, but initially it was slow for me. I used to reply her late, and not be very attentive in the beginning. Fast forward to 4th January 2023, we met for the first time. What we had on January was purely physical, but then as we spent more time together, we got to know each other. What we had was long distance, we live 480 kms apart. We met again on February and this time, things started to hit off really nice. The time when we were apart from each other, we used to call, text and communicate with each other a lot. During May, we stayed together for 11 days and that is when I saw the raw, unfiltered version of her. I saw what she was, in her day to day life, and I started to fall for her! This entire time from beginning, she used to pour a lot of efforts for me, shower me with gifts, food, compliments.
In August she faced something that hit her career hard, and she also had that pressure to get married from her family. She tried to break up with me as she was mentally exhausted with everything. However, I suggested if her family is pressurising her that much, then she should talk about us to her family. She agreed and asked if I was okay with marrying her. When I let her know that I will be happy to marry her, we didn't breakup. However, he family had backed from pressurising her and we did not have to go down that path. Fast forward to November, I was a few kilometres away from her home attending my brother's wedding. We met one day when it was a big festival in her city. She took the risk of meeting me and spending an entire day with me that day, even though she was at the risk of a number of her relatives seeing us. She didn't care, she wanted to spend that day with me. We again met few days after that and spent two days together. During the first day, I took her to a rooftop pub and she later said me that she had one of the best time of her life.
Let me give you some context before I say what happened the next day. She asked me in June to show my ex's DP (Display Picture), but I didn't like doing that. So I said I had deleted her number, which I had. Later I had collected my ex's number from a mutual friend just because I had found something that belonged to her, in my cupboard. I collected her number so that I can figure out a way to return that. So, me and my ex just had a transactional conversation about how I'd send it to her. That's it. After that I forgot to delete her number. P.S. I had saved my ex's number with the contact name "Red Flag"
Coming back to the main story, I was being very protective of my phone during those two days together because I was planning a surprise for her. She noticed that protectiveness towards my phone and asked me if I had actually deleted my ex's number. She took my phone to see if I had actually deleted my ex's number. She found the number and she was mad at me. She told me that I knew everything about her ex as she shared every detail with me, even when her ex used to message her and she used to ignore. She said "You lied to me about one of my most sensitive things, exes. I know you did not cheat but none the less you lied to me and hid from me that you talked to her". She also said me that she lost trust in me. That is the day I started to feel her drift away from me. After that she never again said me that she missed me. Before this incident she used to say a lot that she misses me, or she wished I was there with her.
She got a job on 15th March at a newly opened school and from 18th April students were supposed to join. From around 22nd of April, our communication went down from 2-3 hours a day to 20 to 30 mins a day. I figured it must be because of the new schedule of her life. This was her first job, I thought maybe she needs time to adjust. Even though she bought some of the best gifts on my birthday next week, she did not wish me at nigh. She wished me the next morning. I was a bit upset. Then I called her on 1st May as it is a holiday. I told her that I at least deserved a little update from her everyday. Even 5 mins of time per day would suffice. She said she'll try, but after that, from 3rd May she went No Contact with me. I tried to reach her out but she did not respond. 11th May I had a nightmare about her and I called her up. She disconnected and texted me "I am sorry, I cannot do this anymore. I thought about it a lot of times this week but I cannot do it anymore". My world turned upside down, I called her, she picked up and said that the new workplace, the toxic work culture, the immense pressure they are putting on freshers to the extent that they had no energy left when they returned home, the family pressure, everything stacked up high on her plate and this relationship is now becoming a baggage on her. She needs a break from everything. She said me that she is also hurting from this breakup but she is being calm about it because she does not want to make it messy. She has gone no contact with every exes in the past but she doesn't want to do that to me as she wants me in her life as a friend, as I am a good hearted human. She obviously has given me the choice to go no contact with her if I need it to move on.
Later, I found out from my friend that since February, my girlfriend had started losing interest on me. She cannot fight for a love marriage with her family based on the strength pf emotions she had. She had emotions, but not strong enough to fight for it and convince her family. Throughout the relationship I have been a bit clingy and needy due to the baggages of abandonment issues from my past relationships. I also had certain insecurities due to which she could never open up much in front of me. She is a kind of person who likes to share everything with her partner. But whenever there used to be a conversation about some other man, who she found intellectually very interesting and enjoyed a conversation with, or maybe some man who was very well in making drinks and made her some of the best drinks, I used to get insecure and make silly fights. She also did not like to sleep while on call, and she hinted me sometimes indirectly, but I couldn't catch upon it. So an accumulation of all these little things made her lose interest in me.
Now me, who was not that interested in the beginning, had fallen head over heels for this girl. This breakup shattered me. Every bit of my existence just wants to vanish away right now. It is unexplainable how broken I feel. It hurts, thinking about her is killing me from inside. I loved listening to music but I can't anymore. Everything reminds me of her. I am clinging on to the hope that if I fix my abandonment issues and learn to give space and be the kind of man she wants, maybe someday she will regain her emotions for me. I am praying to any god that listens. I want to marry her, be by her for the rest of my life, grow old with her and take my last breath while I am holding her hand.

So I’m having issues with my fiancee. We are in counseling which works a little, but not when really deep issues bubble up.
Ex: I own/operate a marketing business on the verge of growth where things are getting very stressful and burning me out. Add in a toddler plus dogs. My super brain is on fire.
We never co-mingled finances. She asked for passwords in a way that I felt threatened. She is a stay at home mom, first time never working, feels super issolated and sub human.
I figured out how to get her a pw for her sub account I made, but it was too late. Shit spooled, I got loud.
Feels like everything is lost. We are both emotionally sensitive too.
Fast forward to the bigger issue: Im not nice enough. Or caring enough.
I personally have problems seeing the value in halmark gestures. Why should flowers = sex kinda thing.
Why isnt a home, actually 2, doing almost anything we want, not being abusive, etc not enough.
Oh, and I help around the house, do a lot with our son. I feel like my efforts are taken for granted and she always wants more.
I guess you shouldnt be a people pleaser but you have to please your partner.
And of course I want sex and she could care less for all of the reasons above and more. So i guess I have to change yet again.
Anyone else fed up?
I wasn’t disgnosed till last year. Im 43 male. Nothing is perfect but we have a good life. Im not hyperactive, mostly executive function, organization stuff

The IFoA has been proudly trumpeting its first ever Middle East Conference, held in Riyadh (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA) on 11 and 12 May 2024, and in Dubai (UAE) on 15 and 16 May 2024, with announcements on the home page of its website, and regular posts on Linked In.
This conference has already been controversial:

• several of its panels were male only, something 2021-2022 President Louise Pryor was very critical of in her Presidential Address, calling them "mannels"), see IFoA Middle East Conference currently due to have only men speaking... : Actuary_news (reddit.com))
• before the Conference the IFoA was publicly accused of "total disregard and [dis]respect for the local Saudi and Arab actuarial community" (see Hoist by the own petard: the IFoA publicly accused of "total disregard and [dis]respect for the local Saudi and Arab actuarial community". All actuaries involved MUST immediately self report for alleged breach of the Integrity Principle of the Actuaries' Code : Actuary_news (reddit.com)). The details of the row have been kept secret so far.

The Riyadh event was held only 15 minutes drive away from Deera Square, colloquially known as "chop chop square": it's where Saudi Arabia has carried out thousands of public executions, normally by beheading with a sword. In 2022 196 people were executed in KSA (see Deera Square - Wikipedia), and at least 172 in 2023 according to Saudi Arabia executed at least 172 people in 2023 (reprieve.org).
According to Amnesty International (The death penalty in Saudi Arabia: Facts and Figures - Amnesty International, an article that dates from 2015 but despite what those apologising for KSA's human rights records say - namely that since 2019 things have improved significantly - the number of recent executions show that things are still very bad):

Saudi Arabia remains one of the most prolific executioners in the world.
It is among the top three executioners worldwide, surpassed only by China and Iran, in Amnesty International’s latest global death penalty report.
...
People may be convicted solely on the basis of “confessions” obtained under torture, other ill-treatment or deception.
Non-lethal crimes including “adultery”, armed robbery, “apostasy”, drug-related offences, rape, “witchcraft” and “sorcery” are punishable by death.

The IFoA's website and Linked In posts show photographs of the Riyadh event, including one of a room filled almost entirely by women veiled from head to foot in black garb, with the only exceptions being the IFoA presenter (a woman) and one or two men seen in the front and to the side. The Taliban would have felt at home - although they might have wanted to stone the IFoA's female presenter for daring to be uncovered.
Credit where credit is due: the female IFoA presenter and the current President and President Elect, both women, did not cover themselves in black abaya.
How did the IFoA get from a position where in June 2021 it strongly criticised male only panels to one where three years later it proudly promotes such panels at a flagship conference, and where it not only condoned what looked very much (in the photo referred to above) like audience segregation by sex (even if "voluntary"), but is happy to promote itself 15 minutes away from a place where several hapless innocents are likely to have been beheaded after confessions obtained by duress?

How would humanity have figured out we are on a ball if we had never evolved eyesight (or rather lost it during the transition from our common ancestor ape to modern humans)? So much of the proof relies on eyesight.

Alakhai now understood. That impossibly strong psychic force was her sister, empowered by her own emotional instability. Alakhai knew not how to help her sister, or even if she should. Perhaps it would be best to simply put her down, give her a respite from her eternal pain. But as Alakhai approached her sister, she heard a rumbling, as if the ship was coming alive once more, and she could hear the groans of Marines, horrible groaning of the nearly dead.
Morrigan looked up to her sister, eyes wet with tears, wrapped in a soft embrace of vines and flowers that were attempting to calm her down. “Sister, I will not have you hurt my Lily. I suggest you leave. Because if you keep going, I will have no choice.” She took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of her flowers, the sweet smell of her Lily.
Alakhai unsheathed her sword, and her retinue readied their weapons, prepared for a fight to the death, or near death. But they didn't stand a chance, as vines from every direction attacked them in the gaps in their armor, breaking their breathing apparatuses, forcing them to breathe the ship’s toxic air, so strong that only Death Guard marines could hope to survive. The White Fang marines began to cough, keeling over in horrible agony as they tried to hold their breath and stumble back to the clear air of the stormhawk they arrived on. Alakhai rushed to attack her sister, only for a giant tree that had grown along the wall to reach out and grapple her in its twisting branches.
Morrigan approached her sister with a startling speed, her crying face now twisted in a visage of insanity. “I told you sister; you should have left when you still had a chance. I’m afraid my Lily had to do what was necessary to protect me. The only thing I can offer your sons is an eternal slumber before the fertilization process becomes….painful. Now I may let you leave unharmed, but I need to be sure that you won't hurt my Lily again. Goodnight sister.” Morrigan blows a cloud of powder in her sister’s face, knocking her out cold.
Her sons drug her sister back to the stormhawk, and the marine inside decided they didnt want to ask any questions and left immediately. WIth her sister taken care of, Morrigan inspected the White Scars that had been infected. “Oh my, it seems your mother has abandoned you. Don't worry, I’ll make sure to water and prune you once you sprout. Now sleep, my sons.” She blew more powder in the faces of the sprouting White Scars, bringing the coughing marines to a standstill.
Now that the foray was over, Morrigan began to cry once more, her tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry Lily, are you hurt? Are any of our children hurt?” The walls of the ship began to enclose upon her, wrapping her tightly in a swathe of leaves and ferns. A flower wipes away her tears as the white scars marines are taken further into the ship to gestate and sleep.
“It is alright love. I am unhurt. Our children are unhurt. Now it is time for you to calm down, you need rest.” Morrigan heard in her head. Her Lily had used telepathic messages since the accident, and it was the only thing that kept her grounded in reality. The blanket of plants began to carry their Lady to her chamber, the mass swimming through halls of the derelict ship.
“I’m fine Lily, I don't have time to sleep, I must care for our children, I must care for you!” Morrigan exclaimed to the emptiness of the ship. She couldn't bear to focus on sending her own telepathic message, but she figured her Lily could hear her anywhere in the ship.
“Love, you need rest. Just for a little while, trust me. Just….relax.” Morrigan heard in her head, as the flower released the same powder that was used to put the White Scars to sleep, though more potent to have any effect on their Lady. As Morrigan’s eyelids grew heavy, the plants lay her in her bed, still wrapped around her so she could sleep soundly, knowing her Lily was still there. As long as the plants stayed wrapped around her, Morrigan could sleep for days, without nightmares. At least usually. Their proximity to the warp would greatly affect the likelihood of nightmares, whether she snuggled tightly or not.
This time was different. Despite their distance from the warp, something about their previous encounter had shaken Morrigan, and the nightmares came like a flood. Lily did their best to cradle their Lady, but there was little else they could do, their Lady had expended a lot of psychic energy during her fight with her sister, and that had undoubtedly caused something to invade her dreams.
Morrigan saw visions of world burning, the emperor stuck to the Golden Throne, the people of the Imperium stuck in a cycle of endless fanatic violence against the enemies of Mankind. This is not what she wanted. She could help them; she could give them lives free from violence. But she also didn't want to threaten her sons, or her Lily by putting them in harm's way. And as this thought passed her mind, she awoke, shaken and in cold sweats, the leaves and vines still wrapped around her like a blanket. She began to cry once more, as her Lily tried their best to soothe their Lady, trying to give them some semblance of comfort as Morrigan struggled with the reality that faced her.
Morrigan decided that she would be able to think while she worked, and kindly asked the plants to let her go, which they did. Once again, Morrigan roamed the halls, prune growths, watering buds and checking the health of her new sons, those gestating, and the White Scars taken from her battle with her sister.
Now calmed by her work, Morrigan put thought to her predicament, mumbling to herself about not putting her sons in danger, whether she could save a world on her own, or take over other ships so Lily could be safe. Resolved to act, but with the safety of her Lily in mind, Morrigan made her way to the bridge, awakening the captain, instructing him to set course for the nearest derelict ship. The captain groaned in the affirmative, steering the ship towards the intended target, the ship's sunlight engines gently taking the hulking mass into close proximity.
Over the next several days, Morrigan seeded new ships with her sons, so that they may grow to become the ships new crew, all connected by her psychic energies. WIth her fleet now in a decent shape, she directed the flight to the nearest conflict zone. She would bring humanity from the brink. She would succeed where her father had failed, where her sisters had failed. She would cultivate a new future for humanity. They would. Together.

For context, I’ve been having hallucinations after waking up more and more often, and there’s been nothing scary so far since it’s usually obvious when i know something is not real - eg: the first time there was a human sized spider floating and spinning infeont of me super fast, which I knew wasn’t real of course. Other times have been rotating patterns on the ceiling after waking up that last for a few seconds before phasing out.
However today’s hallucinations (2 times) were quite cool. The environment I was in was in a pitch black cruise ship hotel room alone. And here is my log:
Had some insane hallucinations / sleep paralysis today.
For the first one when I woke up from my nested dream I couldn’t move and was so confused what was going on cause it felt like I could see the environment I was in (cruise hotel room in complete darkness alone) with my eyes closed. Then all of a sudden there was a sudden calmness n coldness and I felt like I was melting into my bed. From that point onwards for a while, it was actually insane cause I could hallucinate anything I wanted. I looked at my bed and there was a pigeon on it, and I’m like what the fuck. N I was like nah this ain’t real so I decided to try to move n touch it to see if it was real. And yo I grabbed that thing 💀💀 like I could feel my fingers indenting into its feathers.
So it was quite hard to decipher if this was real but I knew it wasn’t cause a pigeon in the room?? Then an intrusive thought was like if I’m hallucinating this then lemme try hallucinating something else. I chose a chicken and when I looked back, there was an entire chicken there 💀 I also did hallucinate a bunch of other things before I could finally properly move and then everything was gone.
I then went to the toilet to shit myself literally (I had stomach upset) n headed back to bed. I fell asleep relatively fast and had normal dreams and “woke up” to my normal bedroom late at night at home, which felt insanely real. I had my monitor in front of me in bed and I opened chrome, which accidentally played some Disney plus ad, and I heard my mom from the other room yelling at me for playing things out loud late, and I could hear her walking towards my room so I tried to put my monitor to sleep, and just waited for her to walk in, where I would pretend to be asleep, as one does. She opened the door, and it was at this point where I actually opened my eyes in real life unable to physically move and my mom was actually there 💀 and I didn’t even know whether I was hallucinating her because she looked VERY real.
Then she started to walk towards me and I’m like what the fuck. This entire time im not even scared because i was geneuinely trying to figure out whether she was actually real or whether I was hallucinating her. She then stopped infeont of the bed, and then she turned into a man with a fanny pack leaning against something looking at me. I was still confused as hell and tried to move a bit to get a better look at him (keep in mind this was in almost complete darkness) and I was just making eye contact with him for a few seconds before he phased out and the hallucinations stopped.
Overall I’d say this was a cool experience, nothing scary as the things I was hallucinating wasn’t too bad. But it was quite interesting that I was able to feel the pigeon, any thoughts on that?

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800 u/BakeGullible9975 u/Didnotseemecomein and u/medium_jock
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
*Starts to cry* I am so so happy! Isn’t that great? Finally some good news and great things to go forward!
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Breaking News tonight from the Apollo 11 memorial landing site, as Admiral Adam Vir and Captains Warren Richards and Mary Chavez were rescued from the Pacific Ocean, following a journey that was supposed to be historical, turned harrowing. Amy Grey comes to us this morning with the story.
Thank you Julie, it was only a week ago here on the historic Cape Canaveral launch site, that the reconstructed Saturn V rocket was launched by the UNSC International Space and Aeronautics Division on the two thousand and fifty first anniversary of the original Apollo 11 mission. On board The reconstructed rocket were astronauts Fleet Admiral Adam Vir, head of the UNSC deep space exploration division, Captain Warren Richards five year veteran and historical aeronautics expert, and Mary Chavez, six year shuttle pilot veteran, and communications specialist.
The reconstructed Saturn V rocket took off thirty minutes behind schedule at 10:03 GMT July 16 after delays attributed to engineering standbys. However, reports by UNSC investigation early this morning indicate that the delays were called for by engineering head Jade Clein who noticed something strange during her final checks of the Saturn V recreated rocket.
In an interview early today, flight director, Aaliyah Seif of the Apollo re-creation mission informed outlets that there was evidence of attempted tampering on the hull of the Saturn V rocket. The tampering case in the shape of these small silver tape strips covering loosened bolts along one of the Saturn V side panels. Engineers stated that the tape was not heat resistant and would have burned off in time to rattle the bolts loose and, likely, cause a devastating spin that would destroy the rocket.
While this attempted tampering was thwarted, the mission would only become more dire. A sudden and shocking report by Mericanda News 5 showed an uncut image of an unknown alien hybrid woman claiming that the UN President had ordered the attempted assassination of Admiral Vir, in conjunction with an audio recording by Admiral Colter Massie, Head of the Galactic intelligence division and known isolationist, that admitted to the attempted assassination of Admiral Vir, and the acquisition of twenty Thunderhawk’s, which were used to harry the Saturn V on its way to the moon. Admiral Kelly, longtime friend of Admiral Vir, corroborated the story, saying she caught General Massie just after he ordered the deployment of the twenty Thunderhawk’s. During their conversion, he attempted to kill her, before being detained by two members of Admiral Vir's crew, and was later seen being escorted into custody by Military Police.
Indeed, footage has been captured from the hull of the Saturn V, showing approximately twenty Thunderhawk’s attempting to destroy the rocket while Rundi remote piloted drones and an unknown group of what appear to be racing jets, fought back to delay the attack, while word was sent to the UNSC to deploy F-90 Darkfire pilots to assist. This all after communications between Houston and the rocket were sabotaged shortly after leaving orbit. The F-90 Darkfire pilots were able to arrive on time to rescue the rocket, though a hole was reportedly torn in the hull, sucking Admiral Vir out into space. Luckily, he was later recovered and returned to his ship without any injuries. Patch teams were then able to repair the torn hull and the astronauts completed their mission landing to crowds on the moon and returning to earth on time, landing in the Pacific Ocean only nine miles away from the waiting ship.
All three astronauts were recovered and are reported to be in good health.
The investigation into the UN president's involvement is still ongoing at this time, however preliminary reports from the Global Bureau of Investigation suggest evidence is both staggering and damning to the current UN president, who earlier today, attempted to cut all ties to the sabotage efforts, saying she was framed. Political experts report that, even assuming her innocence, she will likely not last to the end of her term.
International News Network was able to interview Admiral Vir shortly after his landing while still on board the rescuing ship UNSS Victory.
Here is what the Admiral had to say:
"I find it... Really very disheartening that someone we all trusted, and someone that we all should have looked up to could do something like this. It really is a heinous demonstration of what political corruption can lead people to do."
"And how do you feel, personally about all of this?"
"Personally, I... well to be honest I am hurt and appalled. Not to mention that I fear for the safety of my family and my friends. Every day I wonder if my involvement with them is going to get someone I love killed... The thought haunts me, but I hope after all of this is over I... and all of us can breathe a little easier."
"Were you scared?"
"I don't think that even needs to be a question. Of course I was scared, getting sucked out of your spaceship isn't ideal."
"What do you hope will happen now?"
"I hope that justice can be upheld to those who deserve it."
"What do you have to say to the UN president."
”...”
”So?”
"I have nothing to say. Wouldn't want to waste the air.”
[…]
What followed would be one of the largest scandals in recent political history. At some point an unknown number of classified government documents was leaked onto the internet, and after that it was all over for the Presidency. Thousands of enterprising humans, and aliens alike, viewed the documents to discover all the underhanded and dirty things which had been going on in the UN governmental body over the past few years. Forensic accounting experts (mostly Tesraki), uncovered plenty of fiscal tampering which shed light on plenty of isolationist related projects and bank accounts. There was even evidence that they had something to do with the original assassination attempt against Admiral Vir so many months ago. The drama had even managed to capture the attention of Rundi political experts and Vrul computer science geniuses, and together they unearthed a world of unfathomable, but not unexpected corruption. The process to remove the UN president from office was probably one of the fastest movements of human government ever seen by UN congressional leaders, who were likely trying their very best to distance themselves from association with the president, who despite not being the only one involved, had become the political scapegoat for everyone else that had a supposed link with isolationism.
Even the VP fell under suspicion and was watched closely for the rest of his term.
Admiral Massie and the UN President were placed under arrest and set up for court dates in the nearing future, though everyone saw a long and arduous litigation process ahead. Even Ramirez's family had filed for damages against the government after the news came to light, confirming that their son had been shot as collateral in one of the UN presidents plans to assassinate Admiral Vir. They settled out of court to the tune of an unknown, but impressive sum of money.
No one really knew how much, but a couple months later Ramirez's younger sister was seen training at one of the most prestigious Olympic academies on earth.
Ramirez himself was suddenly able to afford housing on the moon in a condo just next door to his best friend, though no one else inquired further.
The Rundi chairwoman came forward with her own investigation, admitting to being suspicious for a long time though she feared accusations without proper proof. Admiral Vir was seen having lunch with her not so many months after the events took place, suggesting that the trust between the two of them had not been completely dissolved. With much of the isolationist element gone from government, public policy began to lean heavily towards integration with the alliance. The occasional isolationist demonstration or protest was held, but none of them managed to gain traction.
Admiral Vir was finding himself more important than ever, though it was to his chagrin that his ship was grounded for the intervening months while the investigation continued.
No one was entirely sure what the future held.
[…]
Admiral Vir stepped into Admiral Kelly's office. The last time he had actually visited her here had been over a few years ago, before his promotion to captain of the Harbinger. It seemed so distant now, and he never expected to walk into her office with a star on his shoulder. She stood as he entered, and the two of them shook hands, ignoring all the stuffy formalities that usually come with the meeting of two military officers.
The wall behind her was decorated with a myriad of metals and awards she had received over her career, and he couldn't help but note the slight tinge of grey he could see forming in her hair. He knew that feeling, he was going prematurely white much to his chagrin. She stood and the two of them shook hands.
"Vir."
"Kelly."
She motioned him to sit, and he sat, sighing lightly as he had been on his feet all day consulting with political figures and other members of the UNSC.
"A strange couple months wouldn't you say?”
"Tell me about it."
Kelly reached under her desk and withdrew an amber bottle which she placed between them,
"I always forget; do you drink?"
"On occasion."
"Well consider this an occasion."
She said, popping off the top and pouring two glasses for them. She handed his across the desk and he leaned back in his seat cupping the cool glass in both hands.
She swirled the amber liquid around in her glass,
"So what are your plans after all this?”
He took a sip of water warmed by the burning liquid,
"Hoping things will go back to normal and I can go back to traveling the galaxy."
Kelly grunted,
"A simple man with simple motivations."
He laughed,
"Sometimes I think a stupid man with simple motivations."
She chuckled then grew serious,
"A lot of people make the mistake of assuming simple people don't have the intelligence to match. Some people assume that trusting means gullible means dumb. Just because we are trusting and expect others to do the right thing is not necessarily a fault. I believe there is a kind of beauty in assuming the fundamental goodness of humanity."
Admiral Vir shook his head,
"How can you after seeing what we have seen?”
"How can you not?"
She shrugged,
"We always knew that politicians were corrupt, but think about everything else we have seen."
Admiral Vir nodded slowly,
"The enthusiasm for the Apollo 11 recreation mission, the people who flew up to help us. All of those people who went digging through years of information just to uncover the truth."
She raised her glass,
"Precisely. Goodness in humanity is all around us, but we tend to overlook the good in favor of the bad."
She placed her hat on the desk and sighed,
"It is up to good people to keep their goodness going even when it might seem easier to give into the bad. I have and will always believe in the fundamental good of humanity. Some may call it naive, or even stupid. Others have said I have a romanticized view of a species that is fundamentally broken."
She turned her head to look out the window, a contemplative expression on her face before turning back to look at Adam.
"You understand me, I think."
He nodded slowly.
"People need to be believed in. You tell someone for long enough that they are fundamentally bad at their core and they will begin to believe you. For thousands of years pessimists have gotten it into our heads that we are no better than animals, worse even since animals don't fight in wars. But I believe that is wrong, I have seen people, I have met people, and I have interacted with people who prove to me that humanity cannot just be fundamentally bad or else these people wouldn't exist."
She tapped her nails against the glass,
"I think it is easier to corrupt purity than wash away a stain."
He listened quietly as she continued.
"Humans are born good, Adam, and life stains us. We aren't born stained while some of us are wiped clean."
She shook her head,
"Doesn't make sense to me."
She caught him with a look, pinning him to the spot with her intense stare,
"People like you convince me of this every day."
"Me!?..."
She held up a hand.
"Adam Vir, I am convinced that the best outcome this universe ever had, was when a happy go lucky science fiction freak was lucky enough to be the first man to meet aliens. Any other way things would have gone horribly wrong."
She leaned across her desk,
"The universe needs men and women like you, and not only that but the universe needs people who are going to support men and women like you."
She sat back,
"Which is why I have made a decision…"
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, not entirely sure where this could be going.
She smiled,
"I have decided to run for UN President."
He nearly spit his mouthful of expensive scotch onto the table, but managed to choke it mostly down.
Eyes wide he set his glass down,
"Are you serious?”
She smiled,
"Seriously serious."
"Well shit, you have my vote for sure."
He raised his glass to her,
"I couldn't think of a better outcome."
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

Hey guys I wrote two versions of the first fight scene of dumb machop isekai and would like your opinions on which you think is more engaging, more interesting, better written, whatever. Let me know.
Obviously there is prior context to the scene missing, but basically our boy is in the middle of the woods when an Abra walks up to him, generates some weird distortion in the air, and makes it clear its time to throw hands. This is our boys first fight of the story.
I tried making the second draft a little less verbose in areas where I felt it was unnecessary, but you let me know if the missing, added, and rearranged detail makes it better or worse, and in what ways. I also added an injury at the start of the fight and made the ending more violent for emphasis. Not injuring the Abra makes the MC seem crazy, risking himself like that to bask. More understandable without an injury to spur his fear in that first draft, but still, I think a more complete incapacitation seems the way to go either way. Feel free to point out grammar mistakes, they are drafts for a reason. The rewrite divergence point begins at the arrows.
Isekai machop vs abra, drafts 1 and 2.
Draft 1:
I didn't know what that distortion was. Maybe it was a landmine, maybe it was a tripwire that would let Abra attack from two angles if I got between it and them. Maybe it was the beginnings of a battlefield coverage move, or a bomb, or an arbitrary marker in 3D space that would help Abra orientate itself, or the anchor by which it was now pushing itself off the ground and levitating with. But another possibility rested at the back of my mind, a possibility with an obvious path to victory, if it were true. I chose that path.
Fighting types were weak to psychic types, I knew this. I also knew that psychic powers were fucking scary. Strong and invisible and without any startup, in theory. In some fictional stories they didn't even need to see you, and they could do things like directly modify your thoughts. If there weren't strict limitations to a power like that then it would just be unreasonably strong, so strong that psychics should have wiped every other species off the face of the planet. The fact they hadn't, I hoped, meant that I still had a chance. I would make decisions based on the assumption I did.
First things first, testing the waters. If this failed, I would run away. That Abra was walking until it saw me, implying flight took some kind of energy. I probably had more endurance than this thing's flight, and more speed than it did in two legs. I could probably escape if the need arose.
I crouched to pick up a hefty rock, a little larger than my hand, and started to run sideways at top speed, circling my opponent from a distance. Its eyes began to glow as it tracked me in place, like it sat on an invisible swivel chair. I tensed in preparation to be struck with sudden pain, either from a killer headache, twisted muscle, or full body hold. Then I saw it, a faint purple haze snaking its way between us, so faint that I certainly only noticed it because of my enhanced senses, fast as a bullet.
→I dropped to my knees and slid beneath it, before I launched myself behind the nearest tree. My chest thrummed with excitement! I can do this! Psychic energy has travel time! It couldn't just bridge gaps in space arbitrarily, and its speed wasn't like a particle of light or something equally ridiculous. This Abra was nothing more than a glorified turret.
I tore off an impressive chunk of wood from the tree, and crushed a handful into smaller chunks with a squeeze. I darted out and shotgunned them at the floating fox. A middle chunk of the wood seemed to waver and slow, apparently colliding midair with whatever attack it had sent my way. The remaining wood shrapnel flew fast enough and in a cone wide enough that the abra simply couldn't dodge, though its attempt revealed its prodigious speed. Holy shit it could fly. It was hit, and though I half expected a skewered fox, all I got was a disorientated psychic. Good enough, I rushed it down myself, bashing rock still in hand.
As I bore down on its position, stuck choosing between a pressured retreat and close quarters combat with me, it chose a third, less risky option. The instant its body distorted, I turned around and hurled the rock with all my might. The moment Abra appeared at the distortion it placed earlier, it was struck by something nearly its own body weight moving at the speed of a musket ball, directly against its forehead.
Abra was launched away at speed, flipping backwards violently. Abra seemed to try and correct its orientation with its levitation powers, but that proved a mistake, because it only served to toss itself sideways into a tree waist first, eliciting a proper yelp. It flipped like a beyblade now, having hardly killed its initial speed. Soon afterwards, its remaining momentum was focused into another tree to the head. Instead of sending it sprawling, it started to finally stabilize in place. Abra began to float slightly higher while its upper body was pushed over its lower, forcefully orienting itself into a sitting position.
It was from this position that Abra was finally able to see the Machop two strides away, eyes opening wide in reaction. I never drop the follow through. By the time I was airborne in my first stride, Abra was floating up fast. By the time I landed, I had already understood its reactionary choice, and leapt. Though it started earlier, I rose faster. I caught its leg in as iron a grip I could muster. My forward momentum and weight shot us out of the sky before I sledgehammered the thing full body into the dirt.
I shot forward and down to grasp its thin neck just tight enough that I could wring it with a bit more force, and held my other fist ready to pummel. Normally this is the part where I would finish it, but instead I grinned and waited. Fucking do something. Its head was bleeding, though far less than I would have expected, as it looked into my eyes with its own, now wide, peepers. Even across the species barrier its sheer terror was palpable.
It was at this point that the littlest bulbasaur appeared above ground, looking at us with its mouth agape. "You won!?"
Draft 2:
I didn't know what that distortion was. Maybe it was a landmine, maybe it was a tripwire that would let Abra attack from two angles if I got between it and them. Maybe it was the beginnings of a battlefield coverage move, or a bomb, or an arbitrary marker in 3D space that would help Abra orientate itself, or the anchor by which it was now pushing itself off the ground and levitating with. But another possibility rested at the back of my mind, a possibility with an obvious path to victory, if it were true. I chose that path.
Fighting types were weak to psychic types, I knew this. I also knew that psychic powers were fucking scary. Strong and invisible and without any startup, in theory. In some fictional stories they didn't even need to see you, and they could do things like directly modify your thoughts. If there weren't strict limitations to a power like that then it would just be unreasonably strong, so strong that psychics should have wiped every other species off the face of the planet. The fact they hadn't, I hoped, meant that I still had a chance. I would make decisions based on the assumption I did.
First things first, testing the waters. If this failed, I would run away. That Abra was walking until it saw me, implying flight took some kind of energy. I probably had more endurance than this thing's flight, and more speed than it did in two legs. I could probably escape if the need arose.
I crouched to pick up a hefty rock, a little larger than my hand, and started to run sideways at top speed, circling my opponent from a distance. Its eyes began to glow as it tracked me in place, like it sat on an invisible swivel chair. I tensed in preparation to be struck with sudden pain, either from a killer headache, twisted muscle, or full body hold. Then I saw it, a faint purple haze snaking its way between us, so faint that I certainly only noticed it because of my enhanced senses, fast as a bullet.
→It didn't work. I failed to dodge it. I should run. Can I run?
On earth, my body was simply more fragile than my will. It's all too easy to push your body to its end. Humans spend more time working around limitations than they do pushing their limits. And every time you find something worth pushing your will to its fullest for, your body will inevitably fail. Because of this, the greatest combatants use only as much as is necessary, push their bodies as far as they are worth pushing and no more. If that isn't enough, they fill the gap with schemes and techniques. If that too, isn't enough, they can simply escue all their limits, use up everything their flesh will give, and die. Put it all on one moment.
Seems most people never found whatever they'd push that hard for, or at least were never put into a situation where they had to fight for it. I was. Some people think their lives have value beyond what those lives can bring to them. Existence is just a net. Every step is a sway through the waters of experience, to capture it, that moment. You only get one. Because the body can't handle more.
It was only now, as my thigh turned into pulp, ripped to the bone, my body screaming at me, that I was possessed of a revelation so strong it rippled through my whole being.
Now, there's no gaps to fill, now, I can push as hard as I want, now, I can experience that moment as many times as my will can reach it.
Half a moment after I was attacked, I bent my remaining leg and catapulted myself behind the nearest tree. By the time I hit its cover I was laughing. By the instant I left it, I was squeezing a massive wood chunk ready to throw. I chucked it hard, a portion of the shrapnel losing its speed and wobbling midair against the Abras follow up attack. The remaining splinters shotgunned forwards and met flesh.
Instead of a skewered fox, I got a disoriented psychic, but that's fine. I was already galloping forward on a leg and its opposite arm. When my enemy recovered, I was already bearing down. My senses were so close to their peak that I realized Abras next move at the same time they made it. When I bore down on it for long enough that it should have started moving, should have several instances beyond enough time to react with at least something panicked, and it had not, I knew what it was about to do.
The fact that it hadn't tried to create distance or panicked told me that its startup was at least fast enough to save them from the rock I was slamming down upon them right now. So I adjusted my muscles, and burned them to plow right through Abra and around again. As the abras form wavered, it disappeared. Then they reappeared at the distortion they placed when this fight began, and was immediately blasted in the skull by the rock I had cannoned behind my swing.
By the time they'd hit two trees trying to correct with levitation, and beybladed through the air thanks to sheer velocity, I was nearly upon them. As they regained control. Their eyes opened in fear. Without their little fallback, they really couldn't run now. They began to float higher, my foot hit the ground, they created distance, I closed it. Though they began earlier, my leap rose faster, I caught their leg in a grip akin to a garbage compactor and a raccoon that just didn't know any better, let my weight and sheer momentum tear us from the sky, and hammered them into solid bark covered root.
I didn't stop now, everyone knows what you do to zoners who get in range. I struck, though the force was great, there was hardly any damage. I struck, the Abras eyes were alight with panic, it helds its hands towards me. I felt what it was about to do, and let the gravity of my acceptance hold my heart and mind steady for the shock of having my kidneys blown out. It didn't come. I struck, and this one was different.
When I hit it with the wood, it seemed little different from taking a push and some dust in the eye, when I hit with my rock, it bled and flew, but nothing more. When I struck once and twice, with the might of ten men, it seemed to take it as the blows of one. Now, its skull cracked audibly, blood vessels burst out to open air as an eye swelled from hidden pressure. I struck, the other side transformed into something more horrible than the first, Abra engulfed air with a staggered rhythm, like a reverse whoopee cushion, the pitch and tone of the intake close to what a child's sobbing would be.
I gathered its wrists in my hands and destroyed them as easily as making a fist. Its discordant gasps were now constant, burbling and choking on its panic. Not a thought in that head. I smiled. I laughed. I flipped my opponent over and sat on its back, relaxed as my hand descended to grace its neck, ready to crush at the slightest provocation.
Before anything else, I saw that runt of a bulbasaur moving from its shelter with trepidation in its step, and purpose in its eyes. When it saw me, the weight left its gaze, it froze, mouth hanging open. "You won?!"

I don’t know exactly what to tag this, but I’ve been dating my boyfriend for a little over 5 months now. He is a survivor of CSA that spanned from ages 8-14, had a heroin addicted dad, left a very toxic relationship, lost his grandparents to Covid, then lockdown happened shortly after and it triggered his descent into binge drinking for 3 years straight. His family is very toxic and dysfunctional (and enablers) which doesn’t help matters.
I knew him when he was still drinking. We became very close friends and at one point and he even talked me out of suicide and I am eternally grateful for that. Eventually, we confessed our feelings for one another and we started dating. He quit cold turkey 14 days into our relationship. And he was sober for three months before he relapsed and then stopped drinking again 6 days ago.
Not even the next day, his mom gave him some of her Percocet and Dilaudid. He was snorting them for 3 days straight. Two days ago, his Aunt (heroin addict and crashing at their place for a few days until she finds a place to live) gave him alcohol, and he drank it.
When I finally was able to call him, we were supposed to discuss a game plan for him getting help and boundary setting (something neither of us know how to do, really), and it was unproductive as he was near blackout drunk and he, his family, and aunt were all arguing and screaming at each other (typical) and he was just having anger outbursts left and right, and loudly expressing his ongoing suicidal ideation. And while his anger was never directed at me, it still was very scary for me to witness and hear (trauma trigger). That was my breaking point and is why I’m writing this today.
When he quit drinking the first time, shit hit the fan. He was doing okay financially (given the current economy), and was eventually gonna move out. His doctor lost his papers he filled out to keep getting disability money, and he’s been unable to work (he works at home) due to his mental state. He is trying to get the disability part figured out. Not having any real income, no way to move out, and dealing with his dysfunctional home life, he was finding it harder to remain sober and eventually relapsed. He started pawning his possessions (things he genuinely enjoyed, like his ps2 and mtg decks) to fund his drinking habits. It started out tame and then just became binge drinking again.
He also struggles with CPTSD, ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, and dissociation. We both suspect he might have a cluster b personality disorder. I have the same mental health issues, but change the potential personality disorder to dxed Schizoaffective (bipolar 2 subtype). We both have issues with emotional regulation (in different ways) and catastrophic thinking. I am currently in a severe depressive episode and he got me to get professional help. I am getting help, but it’s difficult because we are very codependent and overextend ourselves to each other too much and too often.
We both know that this is toxic and want/need to change it. Yesterday was the first official day of my second burnout, and yesterday was when he texted me apologizing for everything he has put me through, how much shame he feels, and that he is now (finally) pursuing professional help for substance abuse and mental health issues. Such inopportune timing, if you ask me. I told him ‘I appreciated his apology but I need time to forgive him and need to take time for myself’. He understands and told me to take all the time I need.
I genuinely want us to work out, and he does too. We both want to live together someday and get a cat. He is an amazing human being despite all of his struggles and is the first relationship I’ve been in that isn’t one-sided, and just about getting sex out of me. We have a lot in common and shared interests, we spend a lot of quality time together, and we both love and care for each other (I’m burned out atm for an indefinite period of time so I am kinda apathetic in regards to how I feel about him rn), but I’m just at a loss. I don’t know how it’ll all turn out on my end of things and I hate that. I hate the uncertainty of the future.
Right now, I’m at a low point and am considering suicide if things don’t work out. My home life is shit, and I have no other real support system but him. I’ve burned so many bridges in the past being bipolar, so I don’t have any friends anymore. And it’s so hard trying to make real life friends again and maintain those friendships. He’s the only consistent person in my life as he’s the only person that’s able to tolerate my symptomatic bullshit, and there’s just something about being in love (especially with him) that I don’t want to lose out on. I just feel lost and hopeless as he’s my only reason to live until I can start living for myself eventually. And now I’m worried that that it’ll go down the drain and I’ll have nothing, again.
I’m aware that I have attachment issues and that I’m a very codependent person. I know that I’m not an angel in this situation either, mainly because of this. I have so much severe trauma (especially grooming and sexual) that he can relate to, in a way, and I guess we’re also trauma bonded as well.
I honestly don’t know anymore. I just want us to be okay, I can’t stand the idea of moving on and I just want to fall back in love again. This is the second time I’ve burned out and I don’t want it to be permanent. I’m currently spending my days just crying a lot about this, and dissociating. I just want to love him again, especially because he is now seeking help. I want to love him and feel like I’d be fucking him over if things just didn’t work out because he’s finally doing what he needs to recover, and get better for the both of us.
Also, I am getting help. I am in a partial hospitalization program, and am being discharged this week. I’m hoping the DBT place I was referred to is willing and able to take me. However, I just don’t know if I’m functional enough now for the help to even work at this point. All I can do is cry.

[I just recently learned of this community after I had shared this in the raisedbynarcissists sub, and I couldn't figure out how to crosspost it so I'm just copy&pasting]
As the title states, (and despite the existential risk to myself - as I am disabled, impoverished, and my survival is reliant on the room I rent in her attic - given her recent threat to have have me thrown out by the police because she could not handle the feelings she had during the argument that she initiated), I have finally drawn a bright red line in the metaphorical sand regarding my nMom's treatment of me. This is the culmination of 8+ years of sustained, one-sided, unreciprocated, and unsuccessful effort on my part to sustain, salvage, repair, or improve our "relationship".
 
Reading through some of the posts on this sub over the past day or so has been very validating, as one thing she's always been extremely committed to is making sure she's the loudest voice in my life telling me how invalid all of my emotions and experiences and realities are.
 
I am very grateful for anyone who takes the time to read this post, and any input, commentary, criticism, insight, commiseration, etc, is welcome and appreciated (especially on the topic of being NC-except-as-a-tenant). Her lifelong response to my needs or inconvenient requests for respect or attempts to hold her accountable for her behaviour (throughout literally hundreds and hundreds of interactions that she has walked away from or hung-up on) has essentially been "tl;dr 🖕". So I'm acutely aware of the length of what I'm written, and I'm very used to her cold (or even mocking) avoidance and dismissal of valid issues by commenting on the length or format of my communications without ever engaging on the merits.
 
Anyways, enough preamble, here's the full letter (all of the square-bracketed disclaimers and AI-summary are part of the letter as delivered to her, to try and counter the acute and selective illiteracy she develops whenever she begins to read something she doesn't like):
 
[Start of Letter]
 
[This document begins with a 382 word AI-generated summary (titled "AI- GENERATED SUMMARY:" below the square-bracketed opening remarks), estimated at 1m23s time required to read. If you are unable or unwilling to make it through even this brief summary, then there is literally nothing else I could possibly do to assist in your comprehension of my positions. The full message following the summary is approximately 2100 words, estimated at approximately 8 minutes to read.]
 
[If you would like assistance in understanding things I've written that you're struggling to interpret or comprehend, you can go to chatgpt.com (no account necessary), or download the ChatGPT app from the Google Play Store on your phone. You can simply interact with the chat in natural language (in other words, type as though you were texting another person) and it will understand what you are saying. If you are struggling to understand how to interact with it effectively, you can simply inform it of that (in any wording you choose) and it will assist you with altering your approach to receive more effective results.]
 
AI-GENERATED SUMMARY:
 
Your son's message is a powerful declaration of his boundaries, grievances, and intentions within your relationship. Here's a breakdown to help you understand:
 
Preface: He advises you to read with an open mind and, if needed, with assistance due to the emotional complexity.
 
Declaration of Disengagement: He firmly states his decision to disengage from any form of interaction or acknowledgment outside of essential landlord-tenant matters.
 
Condemnation of Abuse: He accuses you of perpetuating a cycle of abuse that has deeply impacted his health and stability.
 
Rejection of Coercion: He dismisses the idea that being evicted is a viable solution to the abuse, highlighting the coercive nature of such a choice, and how it leaves him vulnerable to further harm.
 
Criticism of Your Behavior: He unreservedly condemns your actions, particularly your exploitation and manipulation, emphasizing the gravity and effects of your conduct.
 
Challenges to Your Claims: He directly confronts your claims regarding his efforts in the relationship, asserting that he has consistently made extensive attempts to maintain it, despite your accusations to the contrary.
 
Commitment to Compliance: He unequivocally affirms his commitment to compliance with all landlord-related demands, demonstrating his unwavering respect for your authority as the homeowner.
 
Demand for Clarity: He demands clear and unambiguous knowledge of the requisite terms when any changes to living arrangement paradigms are demanded, underscoring his willingness to comply with any directives you may issue.
 
Defense Against Gaslighting: He firmly asserts his unwavering commitment to respecting your property and authority, preemptively refuting any attempts to accuse him otherwise.
 
Insights into Your Behaviour: He offers insights into patterns in your behaviour, linking them to moments of vulnerability or distress in your life.
 
Call for Self-Reflection: He urges you to seek professional help for your narcissism and unresolved childhood traumas.
 
Caution Regarding Gravity: He states that failing to address your responsibilities would be a missed opportunity for both of you to salvage the relationship and resolve underlying issues.
 
Reiteration of Hope: Despite his current stance, he leaves the door open for reconciliation if you undergo necessary personal growth.
 
Closure on Unequal Effort: He firmly states that he can no longer sustain the one-sided effort in the relationship and won't continue to do so.
 
It's evident that he's deeply hurt and demanding acknowledgment, change, and resolution in your relationship.
 
[end of AI-generated summary; my full, non-AI-generated message follows below]
 
[I recommend that you read this in its entirety at a time and capacity level where your literacy and comprehension are at their highest level, and preferably with the interpretational assistance of a knowledgeable and competent support person or technological assistant.]
 
[Presumably, after reading a few sentences or less, your defense mechanisms will be activated and you will eject. However, as with the vast majority of the things I have said to you that have gone unacknowledged, I am completely certain that the contents are cogent and comprehensible, and I believe that with competent support and vulnerable effort you undoubtedly have the raw cognitive capacity necessary for comprehension if you are able to stabilize your emotional reactions and put real effort into the actions necessary for you to understand my words.]
 
I will not talk to you.
I will not look at you.
I will not approach you.
I will not acknowledge you.
 
If you attempt to interact with me on any interpersonal level not related to your role as a landlord, I will reserve the right to express just how fucking despicable it is to treat such a vulnerable person with such utter disregard and abuse for so fucking long.
 
The cycle of abuse you have maintained to destabilize me for your own pathological reasons has caused - and continues to cause - extensive damage to my health, stability, and existence. However, since I know your response to this would likely be some variation of "you're not a victim here [my name], so if I treat you so bad, just leave", I'll preemptively and unequivocally condemn such coercive and abusive tactics, and state again (as I did the other day), that the forced choice between your abuse and life-threatening-homelessness is obviously no choice at all, and leaves me perpetually subject to your coercion and abusive control.
 
Such exploitation by you is absolutely disgusting, and honestly I understand why you run away from yourself at every single instance where you're in danger of having your lifelong house-of-cards ego even slightly threatened. I know if I treated another human being the way you treat me for even a moment, let alone for the literal years you have done so, I would not be able to face myself in the mirror either. You should be fucking ashamed of yourself.
 
You say I "don't want to be your son anymore", as though it has been someone other than me making hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours of efforts and attempts in order to try and single-handedly keep our relationship alive, and as though it has been someone other than you who has stonewalled me for years about every single legitimate and valid time I attempted to gain even the slightest foothold as a full human being in the owner-pet relationship you have fought so hard to maintain. You siphon, in fact demand, emotional supply whenever you so choose, and then fucking discard me as soon as it appears that I might do anything that would result in you losing even a fraction of a percent of the 99% to 1% imbalance you believe is an immutable part of our "relationship".
 
I will do my absolute best to be in my room as much as physically possible when you are home, so as to minimize the need to be physically adjacent to you in the course of our respective activities of daily living.
 
I, again, remain unequivocally committed to my position of deference and compliance towards any rules/demands related to my existence, presence, or activities as your tenant.
 
As you refuse to provide any sort of unambiguous guidance or clarification whatsoever regarding your shifting demands affecting my ability to access/perform basic activities of daily living, I will continue to act in good faith with respect to my adherence to all previously-established arrangements and protocols (whether codified or de facto) regarding such activities. To the full extent of my abilities, and to the extent that it is physically possible, I will immediately and unequivocally comply with any alterations, additions, or excisions you choose to impose regarding the nature of our physical coexistence as landlord and tenant, regardless of your disregard or intent for any harm to my stability that will ensue as a result.
 
If you intend to attempt to manipulate or threaten or gaslight me to illegitimately and dishonestly accuse me of failing to comply with your rights and demands as the homeownelandlord, then I can assure you that such efforts will be ineffective and inadvisable. The extensive history of my genuine, documented, and unwavering commitment to absolute respect of your home, property, and landlord-tenant authority is unassailable, and nothing has or will change about the good faith nature of my efforts to simply live peacefully and work on stabilizing my health and continuing to attempt to develop basic protocols that offer me the opportunity to seek the ways and means required to sustainably exist, survive, and seek meaning and fulfilment as a human being.
 
To try and make it a bit more bite-sized (without warranty as to the efficacy of said efforts), since I know when your ego is threatened you conveniently - and dishonestly - become completely unable to read a couple thousand words:
 

• I have never been more disgusted by the actions of anyone or anything more in my entire fucking existence.

 

• I will continue to be an absolute model tenant, despite the harmful effects of your constant abuse, and I will unequivocally comply with any demands you make with your authority as my landlord. I will explicitly and aggressively defend against any attempts to gaslight me, or attempt to dishonestly accuse me of failing to comply with any such demands.

 

• Feel free at anytime in your life to decide that maybe it might be time to face the fact that - though skillful in your delusion - you are the same scared child you were 40 years ago, and if you ever want to truly and meaningfully experience what it's like to be secure with yourself beneath the false veneer of superficial and ego-protecting interactions you surround yourself with at the exclusion of true and honest existential vulnerability, then you need to seek, engage with, and be honest and vulnerable with, professional clinical care for your intractable narcissism and the lifelong effects and deficits associated with same. In other words, to reductively and rhetorically restate what you disgustingly told me the other day as a means of deflecting from the fact that you couldn't go more than two seconds without contradicting yourself, “get your fucking meds adjusted”.

 

• When faced with any sort of challenge to your control or authority, your lifelong fear of abandonment has caused you to push people away before they have the opportunity to leave you, resulting in premature, self-created, and misdirected sabotage of significant relationships at the first sign of disturbance or genuine vulnerability. I know you're terrible at recognizing or interpreting patterns or facts, but think, for example, about when your efforts to remove me from your life and/or house have been at their most intense:

 

• (a) in 2016(ish) when conflicts about my role in helping with the [redacted address][job of cleaning out my grandpa's apartment after Alzheimer's took hold] triggered feelings of grief and fear in you at the decline of your father's health and the inevitability of his then-upcoming death,

 

• (b) in late 2019 through 2020ish, in the leadup to and aftermath of your father's death, where you threatened or demanded my removal from your house during damn-near every single minor conflict about utterly insignificant household disputes. The vulnerability and grief you felt surrounding his death triggered the core-level unresolved sense of abandonment you carry as a result of the lack of parental affection you received because of, inter alia, the level of care required by your [editor's note: dying of CF as a teenager] sister and resultant lack of parental support available to you as a result,

 

• (c) in 2021ish, surrounding your mother's acute medical events and her subsequent death, where your treatment of me followed effectively the same patterns and underlying causes as the item above (sans explicit threats of eviction, opting instead for the more oblique and covert references that have been your MO until the recent regression to explicit threats within the past few days).

 

• (d) in 2024, surrounding the final decline and subsequent death of [dog], where all of the same behaviours described above returned and steadily escalated, culminating in telling me to get the fuck out of your house because I wouldn't stop moving some boxes for 30 minutes, and then telling me that you were going to call the police to have me removed from your house as a result of your inability to force me to stop making accurate statements that damaged your ego and need for unquestioned interpersonal control in your self-appointed role as the sole ruler of the relational hierarchy you fought so hard to maintain.

 

• You need to actively and vulnerably seek and participate in professional clinical treatment for the lifelong effects of the hollow narcissism that has maladaptively protected you from your deepest childhood injuries and vulnerabilities, at the expense of truly genuine connection with, at the very least, your firstborn and only son.

 

• [note that the contents of this bullet point are neither a threat of suicide, nor an indication of any intent whatsoever to harm myself or others. I am including this disclaimer to preemptively remove your ability to selectively manipulate my words in order to further gaslight me]
  If you want me gone from your house, and life (and possibly my own life, given the extreme existential risk posed by homelessness for a vulnerable person with the significant disabilities I am faced with), then you will have to have me physically removed from your house in cold blood, and until the day you (or I, depending on the order) die you will live with that being the last time you ever saw the son that you took for granted and abused for 32 fucking years while he groveled at your feet begging for even scraps of affection or humanity from the person who constantly love-bombed and discarded him at her convenience to serve her own narcissistic desires worth no regard for the whole entire person she was subjugating to the role of, barely, a pet.
  

 

• Be aware that if you choose to remove me from your life as a pathological and assuredly-ineffective avoidance mechanism to try and preemptively shield yourself from the fear of abandonment that is triggered in you as a result of my overwhelmingly valid and necessary actions to demand that you cease your lifelong efforts to subjugate me in your self-created hierarchical position at the top of our unequal relationship, then you will be doing yourself an irreparable disservice by extinguishing whatever sliver of opportunity might remain for you to get the help you need to allow you to finally see me as a real person and begin making real decisions and changes and efforts to participate in efforts to salvage whatever scraps of hope might remain for us to have a relationship before both/either of us die.

 

• Feel free to ignore and/or conceal the tens of thousands of words of documented history in order to share contextless excerpts of this text within your self-serving echo chambers in your efforts to receive false validation of your delusional victimhood. Or, alternatively, feel free to vulnerably share this in its entirety - along with the full corpus of my messaging regarding the severity of the harms caused by your behaviours - with a competent and knowledgeable mental health professional(s) for the purposes of seeking treatment for your underlying pathologies and working towards genuine growth.

 

• In the unlikely (though incomprehensibly-or-perhaps-delusionally-still-hopeful) event that you are still reading, I will conclude by saying that the possibility for any hope of salvaging our relationship lies firmly and solely within your control.

 

• After over 8 years of significant, relentless, documented, often-vilified, and absolutely unreciprocated efforts to single-handedly to put 100% of the effort into a relationship that you reaped the benefits of while remaining unwavering in your abdication of even the slightest of responsibilities, I have run out of ways, means, ideas, and capacity to continue unsuccessfully trying to do both of our parts.

 

• I am not closing the door to the possibility of reconciliation if/once you have undertaken the extensive individual work you need to do if you are ever going to be able and willing to put the necessary effort into repairing our relationship. But neither am I continuing to continue working outside your closed door hoping that one day I might be able to do enough to influence you to treat me like a full, real, EQUAL, human being.

 
I love you, and goodbye for now. I hope to see you on the other side, but I cannot force you to undertake the journey.
 
- [my name]
 
[/End of Letter]
(any edits are fixing formatting/copy&paste errors)

Introduction

Christian religious education is defined as the process where by Christian learning takes place. It often involves “teaching which enables practicing Christians to adopt and deepen their Christian belief, values and dispositions to experience and act in a Christian way. It depends to a greater extent on how this process is adopted and practiced in different churches.

Different practices in Christian education in local churches

At some degree of certainty that all Christian churches have a similar aim’s and practices. The liturgical aspect is of paramount importance in the Trinitarian belief and practices in that it serves as introduction to what Christianity is all about. This is where the process of Cognitive learning takes places it involves the worship service where hymns are sang, lessons extracted from the books of the bible are read, sermon often punctuated with exhortation, admonishment and instruction in righteous living is delivered and prayers are said. It also involves the celebration of the holy Eucharist which Jesus Christ himself, recognized as the head of the church, initiated based on experience acquired in the worship service, it can be seen as Christian religious education is a confessional churchly activity of evangelism, instruction and nurture.
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I assure that “Youth are the most critical of all critics when it comes to religion”. Today, common inhabitants do pray and accept the holiness in church for Christ which they are aware that Christ constitutes the sacred bread and wine, but do not entirely act upon worshipping and fail to confront the thoughts and feelings to masses which would spread dignity of godliness among selves. The moral lies in the fact that this creates lackness to reach spiritual beliefs through worship and liturgy resulting in declination the faith which affects the divine nature approaching positivity.
Christian education is a vital important part in youth development. For Christian education to be explored, generation of today should be brought into contact through various practices. In the early centuries, reformers emphasized and trusted true faith and doctrines, to change and reform behaviour as the only solution for salvation in Christian education. Christian school movements prove a challenge as a messenger to convey god’s given mission and honour god.

Traditional approach

This approach was practiced since many decades and is still continued to be practiced which helps in binding and governing the ethics and morality within the religion and belief. Since beginning described, in leaving our homeland to teach the gospels throughout the world through scriptures, god conveyed his message – by sending his son Jesus for us, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Church, and Baptism for building unity.
Christianity consists of three things – Religious faith, way of life and community of mankind towards salvation are most important. The most vital of all belief preached is that there is only one god. The term Christian does not imply on the fact that a Christian should grow up in a Christian community, but precisely accepts Christian faith and belief, follows and leads the path of life on which Jesus walked on and made mankind accept Christian community through involvement and participation physically and mentally, as a result, traditional approach is how the local churches and preachers go about conducting their services. The apostle’s creed was apparently developed to summarize the Christian doctrine for man who baptised himself.

Theological and Biblical approach

This approach is regarded as an abstract discipline which teaches what bible is written. It is the study of god expressing god’s thought. The movement of bible indicates the doctrines to the kerygma to didache, to theological ethics, to revealed truth, to the way of living in Christian community.
God’s salvation to the world, worshipping the holy spirit, baptizing people in the name of god, preaching gospels as the word of god, share Christ’s own body and blood as bread and wine in holy communion, repenting and confessing god’s forgiveness etc are the concepts of theological and biblical foundation to Christian education. Even though mankind is aware but fail to involve due to the increasing evil and greed.
The service is organized to accept the call of god and to love him and others and which aims to gather people to worship him in return allowing him to take control over the world and through his presence spread peace, righteousness, justice, joy and helps in the growth of the life in an individual through increased faith.

Activities organized and performed in different local churches through to these practices

Some churches develop the initiative of the worshippers by confessing their faith in the words of the apostle creed. Each activity is correlated and composes a range of varied elements. Their current activities reflect the lives of an individual and drive them for a purpose through various numbers of activities to attain a better quality of life.
Due to activities, all age group gain variety of skills through many spiritual centred activities. Church acts as an interpreter between god and the worshippers to support in training the composition of these activities which are far more complex to solve a disturbed youth. They have to thereby standardize their curriculum and activities in regards to implement it. Different denominations organize activities to resolve the aim therefore to meet the need of the youth. Curriculum should be more focused than just on providing knowledge.
Activities are necessarily planned to build youth commitment. I believe it is necessary to reach them, i.e. train them to be strong future leaders. They should be kept one step ahead, for their life is very challenging. I believe that the best way to outreach youths mind is to be a youth like them to understand their psychology as it differs from every individual. The same activities do get affected as the youth is choosy and subtle.

Changing activities for tomorrow

Here the question is voiced that, what substantial change can be brought apart from the current activities to eradicate the above upcoming and dynamic problems in nature with respect to behavioural management or of what medication of healing would work out.
I would comment, the activities in the practices should be expanded and conduct likewise programmes workshops on educating purity before marriage, sex, child abuse, exploitation, rape, adultery, adolescence sex, teenage mothers, drugs addiction, aids, and divorce. Workshops, seminars for sex, abuse, peer mentoring, identifying preventive measures instead of curative measures targeting the social, political and the economical factors would be effective for incorporating the overall issues to bring the insight of the good and evil sides of every consequence, discussion on essential real life skills. Our goal is to create “world changers”, inviting the sacrifiers of evil and giving and sharing healthy priorities to save ourselves and the world, before it becomes a terrible fate and a debt for our own selves.
As the world is in unsafe fists of crime, terrorism, corruption, violence, youth have been diverted to a fast-paced and expects instant opportunities. Perhaps, the approaches of these local activities tend to be helpful and may bring positive results but I still feel that there is something missing, to monitor the youth from within. In an article – Practical: The Role of the Full-Time Youth Pastor in the Local Church, by Graeme Codrington, Denomination: Baptist (All), submitted on, May 18, 1997, states that, “In a world that is so busy, and demands so much of all of its inhabitants, young people need a secure environment, where they can experiment and decide who they want to be. They need significant people to be there to help them through this process. They need role models to follow”.
Above statement eventually satisfies the fact that these folks are craving for friendly support socially and for stimulation. Overall factors which conglomerate are peers, parents, teachers, church members and Christian community. All factors rely on one common feature which constitutes leadership. Ironically, most youth do understand the surrounding factors but the factors themselves become tough unknowingly that they can’t quite control the situation which then becomes too late to recover. The task is questioned commonly as what kind of leader a person should be to prove creditability and capability to influence the youth to pursue the direction towards god? In an article again stated by, Graeme Codrington, Denomination: Baptist (All), – Practical: The Role of the Full-Time Youth Pastor in the Local Church, submitted on, May 18, 1997, “Young people are not just “little adults” (cf. Elkind 1984:18). They are complex individuals who are battling to deal with the awesome transformation of their bodies, minds, and emotions. They are in a time of transition and growth, developing from the birthed bundle of potential to a fully integrated, functional member of society. The church is in a unique position to assist in this process”. Church as a role model fosters spiritual growth in every youth making them responsible to participate in Christian faith; she is a sign for an entrance of the god’s kingdom to the world of salvation, repentance, justice and peace to bring equality. She struggles hard and performs her duties wholly and solemnly reminds parents to structure their offspring’s life in Christian formation.
Church members acting as supporters, preach to establish and to promote a platform and share to encourage several types of civic, cultural, religious educational associations. In an article by Arthur Paul Boer – What must a Pastor know? Reflection on Congregational studies defines on writer James Hopewell’s statement saying beyond the embarrassment. “He has also observed that churches are sometimes chagrined by the change of hypocrisy and lament that they cannot measure upto ideals of Christian community”. Writer James Hopewell referred by Arthur Paul Boer notes that Christian leaders are incharge and build a church thereby rise in hypocrites. I observe practically that, though the world is changing, church strategy is also changing in complementing the growth. It still targets the set mission. Even though, somewhere in the corner hypocrites do exist but church leaders aim to find out what is the outcome in the people from the traditional, theological and biblical practices.
Perhaps according my research, I suggest they experiment bringing out good approaches to youth’s growth. Instead of the current activities followed in churches I would want to suggest the approach can be focused to bring in the outcome irrespective to exploration and innovation of ideas and thoughts for internal and external behaviour of an individual related to the surroundings around him, deepening of commitments to the teaching, provide opportunities to analyse socially and theologically and viewing his life in a theological manner. To build a framework of an activity consist of – to have an experience “like us”, to sense new boundaries by exploring new links to every Christian among themselves and to god across social and cultural boundaries.
In addition, exploration and inventive programmes can be executed to judge youth’s spirituality. Daily opportunities resulting in disorientation gets support through mission of god. Integration conceptual activities also can help in building and to capture ‘a born leader’. Church leader serves them as task leaders in the corrosion and freeing the task of a disconnected mind by planning tactics and dividing the burden of other’s through consultation. As the purpose is commitment, to serve the lost, skill based leadership formation training programmes can be organized to develop an effective leader so as to sustain the capability and capacity of the leader to solve the complaints lies in the dimensions of the ability. Workshops on intersections to shape boundaries of an individual and communities through theological and biblical language, symbols, and rituals to attain certain centered objectives.
As growth of globalization is tremendous, these leaders come across and face new opportunities and challenges. I believe they help in building an integral performance in conducting entrepreneurial business-based activities, describing the activities because youth’s mind is business-oriented, therefore the activities are to be structured keeping business in mind involving biblical and theological approaches with the existing resources for a business oriented youth. They tend to produce facilitate management sources to sustain and develop faith and love. When the youth develops a church from within, he will be able to observe and analyse the holistic environment.
The activities require presence of not only church members but also worshippers for youth development in successful implementation of these practices. Some worshippers form in small groups, some large varied to race culture. Arthur Paul Boer also examines simultaneously that when a group of pastors were having service of congregation, one among them exclaimed in deep breath “It showed me I’m not alone”. So often in our churches we berate ourselves for problems we face: not enough men, too few youth, preponderance of a certain race or culture. He is clear with the fact that a single person fails, unity increases strength. We ourselves give birth to a problem and then strive hard to face it because as there are few leaders left to catch a grip to support a large community. Due to less number of youth, less support is achieved to sustain the laws and policies of the church and unable to accomplish god’s mission. It is not only one who contributes but many. Above mentioned statement “It showed me I’m not alone” expresses that each race and culture form their own group; build small churches for their own community within their own boundaries, where god expects togetherness, wholeness. It requires lot of efforts to help small churches grow whereas large church with mass contribution grows as their already exist efforts in large numbers which take over the chained actions for development. Whether single church group or many, big or small, the development is important.
On this contradiction, I would suggest that this also includes that in small group the development is paid more attention and given a close eye, problems are spotted quickly and easily to meet the challenges. No matter how large or small challenges occur, the way we approach it is unique and comprehensive as this brings out effects of development in the youth. Whereas in large it becomes difficult to assist as there are more than one individuals. Due to small groups according to races and culture, differentiation exists. But the important criterion is group commitment and work effort in all sets of practice for congregations in any race or culture for a healthy youth so that to accomplish god’s mission. As a result both objectives are co-related to each other.
To understand the nature of Christian youth it is a very distinguished and a unique phenomenon. Due to the increasing issues of ‘peer pressure’, this has led to the obstruction in the development of youth. There are negative as well as positive aspects of it. Negative aspects influence a weaker mind. It is the most consistent findings revealed in observation. Due to the inquisitive innocence, an innocent becomes a prey of the negative aspect, thereby exploited and develops an evil companionship where he adopts negative qualities and habits. But there is positive aspects as in there are some groups who work towards peer relationship. Here innocent gets an opportunity to identify his fear, weakness and have control over his own power. The peer mentors play the part in organizing programmes to understand the behaviour. They interact with the teens and open lines of communication, build up action plans to change the behaviour by using the discipline skills wherever necessary. As church members play an integrate role, it is a challenge for them to develop the youth and make Christian education reachable to them.
Teachers are responsible preachers. Youth growth depends on a teacher infact they are the true facilitators of our learning, are Baptist figures and true authors of an individual’s life book. They also act as the resource developer and planner setting the curriculum for the healthy growth of an individual, depending how the curriculum is designed with the kind and level of leadership skills to recognize the youth psychology. Parents play a significant role in Christian education. They are the promising leaders which shape up Christianity, infact are the real teachers of Christian education. Parents act as a moral standard and support, therefore can synchronize to their growing youth to be aware from their early hood to gain knowledge in Christian faith and this is done when they themselves too experience a fullness of church.
Misunderstandings and miscommunication between parents and their children are one of the issues which follow breakings in the development of the youth. Due to parent’s own principles, for respect and love of family values often creates harmness to the children’s growth which tempts them to behave against them. Thus youth becomes a totalitarian of his own life by going against the values and ethics and unknowingly gets stucked in the torturous situations. Most Christian youth, fail to act upon the 10 commandments of bible.
I must say, I myself as a youth in my real life experience have observed that the originality of the commandments has changed excessively and replaced with the following:
Thou must worship money
Thou must “lyrically” murder
Thou must have evil possession
Thou must have sex
Thou must enjoy drug addiction
Thou must prosper, worship own self
Thou must not feel guilty
Thou must have no respect for ancestral values
Thou must not serve, sacrifice
Thou must differentiate
Due to the above, youth fails to feel guilty in which guiltness is a part of our conscience creating a false belief system as an obstacle in his maturity and creating structure of his own. Under such circumstances he avoids promoting prayer, sacrifice, grace, redemption, worship and meditation, atonement. Considering money and sex are the only two things reliable to satisfy the needs, creating a limitation and a boundary for establishing personal spiritual growth and development.
In general terms, when the efforts of religious and educational institutions, society lack to perform the planned task for Christian education, a positive approach is expected and constructed to gain knowledge and teaching through parents and teachers. Youth must be aware of guiltiness which is a gift from god to help us in being and doing well.
Still the question is raised in a Journal: Volume 5 Number 4, October 2003 by Author Charlene Tan, “Can Christian teachers and parents teach Christian beliefs without indoctrinating their students and children?”
Yes, they can teach Christian beliefs without indoctrinating their students and children they need to be careful when a child is to be handled as their minds are immature. At times it is difficult to understand them because their way of thinking is varied. Firstly before going to the next process, the first process has to be resolved. As teachers and parents are the role models for the development. In order to develop and understand these three role models should be systematically developed first. Only by abiding this rule, they can achieve the development in child. But the point lies beneath that how teachers and parents can prove themselves as an effective source of development by keeping in mind the relative factor of Child’s mind compatibility and psychology? As there are variations in psychological behavior teachers and parents should be mentally prepared, be changeable and adjustment oriented accordingly.
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The political and current affair of the nation is affected by corruption and evilness rationally which gave birth to vivid factors like jealousy, modesty and so on, making human’s built a tendency to mislead the positive factors. The situations have made the teachers adapt those inequalities within them, affecting the surrounding factors. Parents have too due to their increasing self priority created barriers of understanding among their families.
Many people are often drawn towards the attention of the church because of their felt needs and not for spiritual needs.
For instance, it does occur that why the youth is tuned out of his own way? Even in their interaction with their own members it tends to happen with them that they fail to hear a word said to them – stating “I didn’t hear a word you said?”, even though it is obvious that they have said something relating to us. This proves a kind of negligence in contacting the positive mechanism which grows in the back of our minds. Such system blocks all the wanted and useful messages allowing us to hear and see only what our mind tells us to hear and believe. As this tendency is increased in the youth generation, it is creating gaps between a believer and faith of god.
The question is – How? How can we overcome this problem? Youth have themselves developed a capacity in mind to hear only what pleasures them without taking a decision that whether it is false or truth. My query is – How we can bring these groups of youth closer to god? Unconsciously resulting in unexpected calamities and unknowingly they are unable to repent it wisely. Due to this increasing factor, youth can’t get a grip of effective communication and develop themselves internally. Here the parents then enter the scene to play their role.

The main question lies whether the local churches fulfill and meet to mature disciples in Christian education?

As stated above, ‘youth’ are the most critical of all critics when it comes to religion. In this modern era, youth is distracted to church because they are building castles in air due to the unmaterialistic desire. Youth today have focused their vision to crave success and prosperity for their rising life graph; they exploit their own ones due to greed and selfishness. During the primary phase of struggle and hard work, youth craves to achieve prosperity, at the same time, do thank god and accept his involvement for success, but hand in hand, lack to follow the bibles ethics which says to respect others in and with unity. Due to the competition and growth politically, more often youth seem to push the fellow mates and strive to takeover their place. They themselves are unaware that they give birth to exploitation and inequality. And due to inequality, unity is declined, wherein bible does not specify inequality. In a book source, Pastor – “Rick Warren’ – illustrates in his book – The Purpose-Driven Church -“The issue is church health, not church growth!” declares warren. “if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. Healthy consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.”
In addition to this he also declares that “If u concentrate on building people, God will build the church”.
I agree at a certain point with the above statement. I herewith would want to magnify on “How would one build a healthy youth for a healthy church”? In this sense I believe that both are co-related with each other. Again the issue arises in my mind ‘How will the church be healthy if the youth is unhealthy?’ The issue can’t be only concentrated on church. For a church to survive, the basic foundation is the youth and for the youth to be saved and attracted the church has to be healthy. In my knowledge it is a ‘Vicious Circle’.
Local churches upto some extent do specifically fulfill the discipleship through the practices and play a great emphasis in fulfilling and conveying the message of god to us, but still lack to read the minds and bring the youth closer to her, for which she has to upgrade her atmospheric appearance with new packages to reach the youth in a new taste due to the competitive modernism which is hovering on the youth.
The latter part can play the best part coz when first falls in place, everything else falls in place, from the beginning to the end, from all angles in all walks of life. Towards a healthy faith, healthy church can turn and seed a growth of spirituality through which mankind will grow spiritually from within thereby causing church growth.
Author Perry G. Down states in his book – “Teaching for spiritual growth” that ‘how can we best enable Christians to grow towards maturity?’ For this question he suggests three key concepts- ministry, believer, and purpose. But my understanding says that these concepts are incomplete somewhere to create a bond in reaching the results because today’s youth is attracted towards the unrealistic worldly matters, but has resulted in declination towards the god’s spiritual growth. The major role connecting these three concepts is commitment and effort. As the church ministry is the foundation pillar, the main aim is how much measure of commitment is valued and given to achieve the target successfully. Mankind is able to commit only when he chooses the right direction in fear and is able but this is unfortunate as the alien world tend to let us unidentify the type of strategies of growth for maturity. By identifying the type of strategies of growth, we can understand the level of growth required towards maturity at which we can be spiritual. Another reason for in growth is fear. As the youth fears to face unexpected problems, the efforts are less and require the hierarchy’s support.
Author Gary C. Newton stated in his book – “Going towards spiritual maturity” quotes the principle that “God is ultimately responsible for all spiritual growth”. The question arises at this point that if god is responsible for everything, what will be the purpose and role of human? I comment that while god supplies the resources like bible, church, Holy Spirit, baptism, it is also our responsibility to supply effort and commitment to utilize those resources and give results to god. In bible, Paul highlights this principle of his personal lifestyle and in his teachings comparing with the example of a soldier or athlete to illustrate the amount of sincerity and efforts. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), Paul states that “In a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize”. I herewith conclude in a Christian race all runners (ministry, believers, purpose) will fail to get a prize if there is no effort that is commitment from everyone.
Along with the concept of ministry, believer, purpose; effort is also the key concept and it has to be achieved from the youth as well. A healthy youth will gain efforts only when the growth will favour them from within, when the forces of the ministry believers and youth will collide with each other to form a healthy growth.
This will create a mutual relationship between god’s provisional resources and our active involvement in process which is more clearly in Philippians 2:12-13: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is god who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”. This principle is intricate but the application is clear.
If one is to grow towards maturity in Christ then one must cultivate and demonstrate the efforts with passion, Philippians 2:17-18: ” But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you be glad and rejoice with me”.
Therefore the conclusion lies in the above concept, both; effort of the youth along with the work of ministry, believers proves in the healthiness of the church. In the book “Youth At Risk” by Peter Christian Olsen, 2003, he highlights four basic needs which he has clearly created an awareness of the effects that affects the development of youth:
Acceptance – belonging
New beginnings and second chances – forgiveness
Significance – generosity
Freedom – independence
I agree with his confirmation that he examines in deriving the above developmental needs from the provision of the Almighty’s resources as the absence of these needs do intentionally contribute in how they shape the personality, maturity, responsibility and stability of emotions. He emphasizes Christian community in respond to the needs determining that, the resources will be polishing youth through support during the fear and avoid them from destruction. At times the concepts will be foreign, indigestive for youth because unable to realize its importance. Rather the community need not re-interpret or change the language but simplify their thoughts and improve their visionary and understanding by change in structure through a friendly communication by becoming an effective leader to bridge the gap between the church and the youth. Therefore forces and efforts are needed for decision making which is an effective key in respond to ministry believer and purpose for a possibility of a healthy youth to build a healthy church, which will make the church flourish.

Supporting surveys

According to a survey, some findings proved that church fails to answer every question of the youth.

Q.1 In what way and sense is Christian religion, faith and church viewed by today’s modern youth?

Youth of today’s modern era is firm on the point stating that inspiration is lacked in religion; they feel that the world is divided through religion and is the major factor which is affecting the growth. A 17-year-old Jude from Kent says confidently that “He does not agree with the church who talks on subject morality” and is “Overfilled with traditionality”.
Youth pick their ideas which suit their taste through various religious beliefs. There are few in bunch who strongly believe, there exist only single religion which has controlled the truth. Young generation refer to perform all activities as per their own desire which in return less importance to the religious belief are being given, which gives birth to the side effects of the conduct.

Q.2 Why do young crowd feel that Christianity is not a ‘happening’ cultural activity?

An 18-year-old Marcus said that he left church when he was 15 because the teachings did not amuse him and it did not interest him of anything as a youth.
The major quest, a struggle for a religion is to impose an exertion of force of involvement in terms of attraction. I usually attend church service wherein I find young ones missing the services. I kept questioning myself that, where the young crowd has disappeared? Surprisingly the young ones have taken charge for the attendance of the church. In this consequence the church should give priority to change its curriculum and its way of presenting the services with new attractive packages for enhancement.

Q.3 Are the young preachers practicing different approaches in Christianity declining. What are your suggestions?

As the attendance of the youth in church has declined, but on the other hand people practicing approaches are increasing in numbers. The following is revealed through one of the youths that more the deepening are the studies of the bible, more a person becomes a hypocrite of the Christian leadership and unintentionally accepts and performs the lifestyle of the clergy right or wrong at times unknowingly. In such case, the practices are affected and become different from those which are to be precise. Seen are still some true Christian youngsters who are different in their attitude and conduct, but in spite of such difference, they are not involved into the immorality and violence activities with other youths. They present themselves as they are from a different unknown religion, but practice the religion and it

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm which is on the subject of the existence of a society of animals living on the Manor Farm. One first thinks that this novel is about the animals living in a farm from the title. But as the story goes on, it gradually begins to make the readers understand the depth content of the workings of society in Communist Russia. George has accurately compared the society of human to the animals to the animals living in the Manor Farm. In this novel, author has compared the Russian revolution, where animals represent the significant personage and act as the leaders in the Russian Community. Animals are used to demonstrate the operation of the communist class system and how the citizens(people) respond to this and the effect of the leadership by early Russian leaders such as Stalin on the behavior of the people of Russia. For instance, the Old Major makes the speech to other animals about the idea of revolution. Since he dies before the beginning of the revolution, it could be compared to the Karl Marx, whose ideas set to the Communist revolution in motion. The seven commandments are consider as one of the important step in the revolution which changed by the rulers of the Farm. This paper talks about how the seven commandments were altered during throughout the story and whether it reflects the message of the Communist Manifesto.
After the rebellion took place in Manor Farm, it changed to Animal Farm where the set of laws was introduced to the citizens of the farm by the leaders. The set of laws which are known as The Seven Commandment are said to be “form an unalterable law by which all animals on Animal Farm must live forever after.”(Orwell) These Commandments were so important that they were painted by Snowball and Squealer “in giant white letters that could be read from thirty yards away.”(Orwell) The original Seven Commandments ran as:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall sleep in a bed
4. No animal shall drink alcohol.
5. No animal shall kill other animal.
6. No animal shall wear clothes.
7. All animals are equal.

These commandments were to be followed by all the animals living on the farm at all times regardless. As one can think from the reading, the simplest phrase that explains these commandments is “Four legs good, two legs bad.” As time passed by, the commandments were altered by the rulers of the farm. Napoleon (the pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after rebellion) who very cleverly broke the commandment and reintroduced as “four legs good, two legs are better” Even though the first two commandments state that anyone on two legs is bad and should not be allowed in the farm, they were wracked in the first year. Since the pigs started walking on two legs, the first commandment was violated and more over, the hero of the Battle of the Cowshed, Snowball turned into an enemy of the Farm as he was thrown out by Napoleon and allowing trading through Mr. Whymper resulting in violation of commandments .
The pigs moved back in to the farm house which result into alteration of the first commandments. The third commandment restricts animals of the farm to sleep in the bed which was forced to change by Napoleon with the modification of the commandment by adding “with sheets.” After the rebellion took place in the farm, the first commandment overruled which was being “all animals equal.” As we read thru out the story the pigs were keep on changing the “unalterable laws” for their comfort just like we saw above with sleeping in the bed. According to Napoleon, sleeping on beds is not a major change yet it was not allowed earlier since humans lived on the farm slept on the bed. The pigs changed the commandment so wisely that the other animals of the farm didn’t think as the violation of the commandment.
The next commandment to change is “No animal shall kill other animal”. This happens not long after the confessions and executions of animals on the farm that were supposed traitors and in league with Snowball. After these executions, again Muriel, Clover and also Benjamin plus some other animals felt this did not square with this commandment. Once again, the pigs have changed the Commandments in order to justify their actions. The animals read the Commandment they though did not agree, “No animal shall kill other animal without cause”, and then the animals see how really the Commandments had not been violated.
The next commandment to change is when Napoleon abuses his power and made life harder for other animals. The pigs impose more control while reserving privileges for themselves. Squealer justifies every statement Napoleon makes, even the pigs’ alteration of the Seven Commandments of Animalism. “No animal shall drink alcohol” is changed to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess” when the pigs discover the farmer’s whisky.
One would never think that pigs ever made change to the commandment about the clothes as they were enough powerful to rule other animals. The seventh commandment explains that all animals in the world are treated equally without distinction. Instead of considering the commandments as “unalterable laws,” they were replaced by worthless slogan “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others,” which is totally opposite to with what they were introduced to other animals.
Orwell has used images to make his argument stronger. He has used events to help readers to understand his thoughts. While reading, we develop a feeling of sadness inside getting attach emotionally to the story. Orwell writes in a way to targets readers emotions because they have the ability to experience and feel the pain suffered by the animals in the farm. The following scene could create a strong sorrow to the readers “So Napoleon, with the help of his dogs, slaughters anyone who is said to be disloyal. The tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones.” To top it off, Napoleon outlaws Beasts of England, which had served as one of the only remaining ties between Animal Farm and old Major?” (Orwell 65).
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In conclusion, it is clear that George Orwell intended his novel to allegorically represent the figures and events of the Russian Revolution, and through the characters of Mr. Jones as Czar Nicholas, Old Major as Karl Marx, and Napoleon as Joseph Stalin, Animal Farm makes a profound statement regarding the abuse of power. The animals began their revolution with the best intentions. However, their noble ideas of a utopian society where “all animals are created equal” gradually deteriorated into a totalitarian state with a cruel and unjust dictator which, of course, mirrors the chain of events that turned Marx’s dream of a classless society into the nightmare of Stalin’s ruthless regime. This evil cycle of rebellion, power, and then corruption is best described by Barbara Tuchman: “Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.”
Work Cited
Orwell, George. George Orwell’s Animal Farm. New York: Nick Hern Books, 2004. Print
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. Western Civilizations. 16th ed. Vol. 2. 500 Fifth Ave, New York, N.Y. 10110: Norton & Company, 2008. Print.

...ang para sa streets, sabi nya. Tapos its from some Hev Abi song pala . Eh sya etong biglang nakasakay sa wheels ng iba. Nasa baguio, reliving life kuno. Sabay mag lalash out nung nalamang blocked na siya. Good riddance. Mang bbait ka pa talaga by saying things na naimbento mo lang. Kakatuwang tunog bitter 'to pero alam mong ikaw 'tong nag tanim ng kung ano inani mo ngayon. Can't curse someone who stopped being human. Atleast figuratively.
Kaya kayo, dont dare waste years on someone who'd rather let the relationship crumble and ultimately let it perish altogether rather than simply showing humility. As if naman gaganda pa buhay ko, sa'yo na future-coffee-shop-talk-in-a-good-day mo. ✨️

So, we're running a homebrew campaign that I like to call the "training wheels campaign" since it's my first time as a DM and my players are new to DnD. Everyone is on the same page that this campaign is meant for all of us to mess around a bit, get a hang of the game and find out what works best for us to make everyone have fun.
The original party was Karl-Otto, the human artificer (he's going to end up breaking us), who is basically Iron Man; Fern Witherbloom, the fairy barbarian; Makoto, a half-elf bard; Presley, another half-elf bard; and Sakaria, a tabaxi wild-magic sorceress (DMPC to balance the party a bit). Makotos player left the group after their little prequel adventure because they realized they're not interested in DnD. The prequels were my idea to have them play a little before session one and thereby having a better introduction than just "you're all at the same tavern at the same time". Presley will most likely be the next to leave because since his prequel adventure his player couldn't make it to any session we had so far. Next game night will be their final chance to show up.
So for pretty much all of the game so far the group was Karl-Otto, Fern and Sakaria. Now that I've given context let's take a look at what Karl-Otto did.
After hearing some business men complain about the lack of energy and enthusiasm some workers of theirs were showing lately the party headed out to interrogate one of the workers. He didn't spill the beans but the group just trailed him for the rest of the day. During the night this NPC snuck out and made his way to an old barrack that was left untouched since the civil war around 250 years ago. They managed to solve a puzzle to get access to the long forgotten catacombs beneath the city. There they had an encounter with some specters before finding a group of cultists in the main chamber.
Karl-Otto had Fern take place inside of his Handy Haversack playing dead to deceive any potential threat. Sakaria managed to sneak out of sight but Karl-Otto wasn't stealthy at all due to his heavy armor. The cultists noticed him immediately and confronted him about his motive for being here. He stated that he wanted to apologize to the NPC from earlier but he rolled low on his persuasion check. No one in or out of the game believed him so of course a fight broke out. It was the three PCs versus four cultists, a cultist leader and a hidden succubus I nerfed a little to better match the player levels.
After a few rounds Karl-Otto was paralyzed by the Hold Person spell but didn't take any hits due to his high AC. The NPC from earlier fled the scene and a few cultists were looking rough. That's when I decided to have the succubus show herself, tell the cultists they suck and then vanish into thin air again. It was just too fitting to not do it. We killed most of the cultists, leaving only the guy who fled earlier and one other alive. This last one was quickly interrogate but not after Fern in her rage tried to kill him too, accidentally killing Karl-Otto in the process (nothing a quick cure wounds spell couldn't handle).
When asked how they summoned that succubus the cultist reveals that they didn't actively summoned her. Their group was a bunch of incels and their combined sexual frustration is what attracted the succubus. With that information Karl-Otto and Fern were roleplaying a bit giving me time to rummage through my note to find what I had planned for after the combat. But I noticed someone asked me a question and it was Karl-Otto's player. He repeated what he asked but I still couldn't figure out what he wanted to know. Fern's player stepped in to give me context.
Turns out Karl-Otto wanted to know if the succubus would show up again if we force our prisoner to do nasty things to the corpses of his comrades. My mind went blank for a moment before I started to laugh and cry at the same time. We wrapped up the session shortly after but since he was staying at my place for the night I had a chance to talk to him afterwards. I still can't believe I actually had to tell him that Necromancy is okay at the table but Necrophilia isn't.
Now he rolled up a druid character since that's what he wanted to play to begin with but since he's new to DnD he just copied the Iron Man build from the YouTube channel DnDbuilds as his first character