Fancy letter for myspace
Acronymphomania - A game of letters...and words.
2011.04.10 18:55 jimbojones230 Acronymphomania - A game of letters...and words.
2011.02.24 05:17 slamare247 amisexy
i'm fine with yeehaw as a description actually
2013.10.31 10:01 TheSnarkyKiwi My Little Science Fiction
Ponies. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship MyLittleSciFi. Its continuing mission; to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new art and new fanfiction. To boldly go where no sub has gone before.
2024.06.09 10:21 Quirky-Airport9280 WIBTA if I refuse to let my mother's boyfriend visit?
For 30 years (to my knowledge) my mother has been pining after this one man. I'll call him Adam. Adam was married with kids but was seeing my mother on the side. He would visit every so often when I was around 7 or 8 years old and he was this fun, mysterious dude who'd always bring mountains of junkfood. He would never say what his actual name was. Eventually he stopped visiting and my mother said he'd moved interstate. This was a lie. He was still visiting my mother but decided it was best to be sneaky about it.
As the years passed, I learned that he was still in the picture. I would hear them having sex, which was traumatic. What I hated the most was how it affected my mother. She never had his phone number (because he was married) so she'd wait for him to call her at any given time. She'd have whispered phone calls with him and then it'd be a coin toss of whether she was going spend the next few days being pathetically giddy or enraged. Most of the time it was enraged. It was fine for Adam, he didn't have to deal with her horrible mood. She'd bite my head off, mutter to herself, stare into space for hours all because it was yet another week or two before she and Adam could be "together forever" and she happened to say the wrong thing to him on the phone which prevented this.
Through my high school years my mother would point to the fancy new houses being built and tell me that Adam is building one just for her and we were going to be better off soon. It was always soon. Soon never happened. When I was 22, my mother told me she was done waiting for Adam. That lasted a few years until they spotted each other at a restaurant and he started calling her again. It fizzled into nothing. A few years ago my mother found out he had separated from his wife. She went and hand-delivered a love letter to his mailbox the following day. The entire time I voiced my disapproval. I hated Adam. I hated his ethics for cheating, I hated that he didn't live through the bad moods he caused, I hated how much of a hold he had over my mother's heart, I hated seeing her pain if he didn't call, visit, or keep a promise and I hated how she blamed herself for all of this. Once again, Adam did not come running to sweep my mother away, even though he was now free to do so. I held in my great big "told ya so" and cheered internally.
Fast forward a few more years and they recently bumped into each other again. This time my mother thinks it's going to happen because he's called her and they are talking again. She's told me about how they are going to travel the country. (I don't think they have discussed this) She says she is going to invite him to our family dinner night and he'll "totally show up". Based on his track record, I'm not holding my breath. She also said she wants to bring him to stay at mine and my fiances new house in the country. She knows how I feel about Adam. I tried to tell her a normal relationship should not be this hard, one-sided, or dysfunctional. She blamed herself yet again. I really deeply doubt that he's finally going to step up but if he does, I truly do not want this man in our house. I want my mother to finally be happy but WIBTA if I decide he's not welcome to visit and crush my mother in the process?
TLDR - My mother was having a on-again off-again relationship with a married man for decades. He's now single and they are reconnecting but I don't want him in our house.
submitted by Quirky-Airport9280 to AITAH [link] [comments]
As the years passed, I learned that he was still in the picture. I would hear them having sex, which was traumatic. What I hated the most was how it affected my mother. She never had his phone number (because he was married) so she'd wait for him to call her at any given time. She'd have whispered phone calls with him and then it'd be a coin toss of whether she was going spend the next few days being pathetically giddy or enraged. Most of the time it was enraged. It was fine for Adam, he didn't have to deal with her horrible mood. She'd bite my head off, mutter to herself, stare into space for hours all because it was yet another week or two before she and Adam could be "together forever" and she happened to say the wrong thing to him on the phone which prevented this.
Through my high school years my mother would point to the fancy new houses being built and tell me that Adam is building one just for her and we were going to be better off soon. It was always soon. Soon never happened. When I was 22, my mother told me she was done waiting for Adam. That lasted a few years until they spotted each other at a restaurant and he started calling her again. It fizzled into nothing. A few years ago my mother found out he had separated from his wife. She went and hand-delivered a love letter to his mailbox the following day. The entire time I voiced my disapproval. I hated Adam. I hated his ethics for cheating, I hated that he didn't live through the bad moods he caused, I hated how much of a hold he had over my mother's heart, I hated seeing her pain if he didn't call, visit, or keep a promise and I hated how she blamed herself for all of this. Once again, Adam did not come running to sweep my mother away, even though he was now free to do so. I held in my great big "told ya so" and cheered internally.
Fast forward a few more years and they recently bumped into each other again. This time my mother thinks it's going to happen because he's called her and they are talking again. She's told me about how they are going to travel the country. (I don't think they have discussed this) She says she is going to invite him to our family dinner night and he'll "totally show up". Based on his track record, I'm not holding my breath. She also said she wants to bring him to stay at mine and my fiances new house in the country. She knows how I feel about Adam. I tried to tell her a normal relationship should not be this hard, one-sided, or dysfunctional. She blamed herself yet again. I really deeply doubt that he's finally going to step up but if he does, I truly do not want this man in our house. I want my mother to finally be happy but WIBTA if I decide he's not welcome to visit and crush my mother in the process?
TLDR - My mother was having a on-again off-again relationship with a married man for decades. He's now single and they are reconnecting but I don't want him in our house.
2024.06.09 06:44 kaiiito11 Does where you go for undergrad matter? Yes and No (but mostly No)
After a decade removed from college and being in the workforce, working in a few different industries and meeting people from all walks of life, I wanted to share here my take on the age old question of "does where I go to undergrad matter?" I was once like many of you in this subreddit, obsessing over getting good grades, good extracurriculars, and doing my best to get into the best college I could, thinking it would "impact my entire future." The truth is, where you go to college does not matter as much as we are led to believe, but there is also an overcorrection now of "it makes absolutely 0 impact on your career outcomes." The answer is more nuanced:
For Investment Banking and Consulting, where you go to college absolutely can drastically impact your chances of getting hired, as well as getting hired by a prestigious firm. Due to how crazy competitive it is to get into investment banking and consulting due to the high salaries, and due to those industries being a bit more elitist than others, prestige does matter for these fields.
Common target schools are top 15ish schools (the ivy league, Stanford, Duke, UChicago etc). Students regardless of major will often find their way into elite boutiques and big banks (assuming they have good GPAs and/or are well connected).
Next in the tier of target schools are specific elite business programs where, while the school may not be overall ranked top 15 or so, their business schools are well regarded and students will be frequently hired into investment banks or top consulting firms. These are NYU, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UT-Austin, to name a few.
Then, the rest of the top 35 or so ranked schools are what are often called "semi-targets." Meaning investment banks and top consulting firms will stop by and will recruit from these schools, but at less high percentages and won't take "any majors" but rather focus on business/finance majors specifically. These are places like Michigan, UVA, Northwestern, Emory, WashU, Rice, etc etc.
However, keep in mind that most people are not cut out for the investment banking/consulting lifestyle. You may make a lot but you will be worked like a dog, be surrounded by elitist and toxic coworkers (drug use is very real just as depicted in movies), and it's a very high stress and high turnover job. Even at "target schools" Harvard is only sending about a few hundred max of their entire student body to investment banking per graduating class.
Now another field where going to a good college will help: Pre-med
In this case unlike investment banking it is not so much because med schools go "oh I think candidates from X Y Z bougie schools are smarter." It is more so because certain top schools, particularly those with strong medical school and research environments, give their premeds substantial opportunities and resources to build a strong premed resume.
Some of these include: Johns Hopkins, Penn, Harvard, Duke, WashU, Columbia.
All of those good universities (not an exhaustive list btw) have world-class med schools and many famous hospitals easily commutable from the school. It is easy for students to get research and shadowing opportunities at their school's med schools and this can really set them apart from other applicants at other schools who may not have access to such impressive resources. This is of course, assuming that they also do well on the MCAT (as those who are able to be admitted to these schools often are more likely to score higher).
Other than these fields though, where you go to college for undergrad really doesn't mean that much. Let's list a few examples:
Pre-Law: Unlike med school, law school is less focused on factors in your application besides your grades and your LSAT. If you do well on the LSAT you will get into a good law school, including top 13 ranked ones. If you are set on law school I recommend going to a local state school to save money and just make sure you ace the LSAT as where you go to law school will substantially affect your entire career, while where you went to college literally will mean squat.
Engineering/CS: Ok sure, I guess if you go to a very good program like MIT, Carnegie Mellon, or UIUC, it will probably help get your foot in the door more (assuming you also have good internship experience and decent grades). But otherwise, even if going to say Drexel means you may get a slightly less good starting job than someone at MIT, engineering and CS is not like IB or med school where getting your foot in the door in the first place is almost statistically impossible. Once you start working if you do a good job and/or work the social game well you can work your way up or switch to better and better jobs. Once you demonstrate you are a great engineer no one will ever care after your first job where you got your degree. You could be self-taught for all they care (esp in CS) and if you know your stuff employers will be fighting over you.
Any academic grad school: Same thing I said for law school. Do well during your undergrad with a good GPA, good relationships with profs for good rec letters, write a good thesis, and get a good GRE score. Where you went to undergrad will matter almost 0% if you have all of that. I know people who went to a local state school for undergrad and are now getting their PhDs at UChicago, Princeton, Stanford, all sorts of fancy places! Just like in law, where you get your grad degree in academia can make a significant difference on your career so I would also recommend going to a college that's cheaper (and less stressful!) over an elite college for undergrad if you know you want to go the academia route.
So yeah! Are there instances where going to a so-called "elite college" may make a difference? Yes there are. It is an overcorrection nowadays to say it never matters at all where you go to college. For certain fields and certain life goals going to Yale will certainly help tremendously. But for 95% of people (maybe 99%?) it does not matter. Pretty much unless you want to be a wall street suit, or you are dead set on med school (and even in the case of med school you can still get in without going to an elite school, it will just be a little harder) going to an elite college for undergrad is otherwise just a very expensive bragging right. A bragging right too that 99% of people won't care about once you graduate and if you bring it up it'll just make you look like a snobby douchebag.
submitted by kaiiito11 to ApplyingToCollege [link] [comments]
For Investment Banking and Consulting, where you go to college absolutely can drastically impact your chances of getting hired, as well as getting hired by a prestigious firm. Due to how crazy competitive it is to get into investment banking and consulting due to the high salaries, and due to those industries being a bit more elitist than others, prestige does matter for these fields.
Common target schools are top 15ish schools (the ivy league, Stanford, Duke, UChicago etc). Students regardless of major will often find their way into elite boutiques and big banks (assuming they have good GPAs and/or are well connected).
Next in the tier of target schools are specific elite business programs where, while the school may not be overall ranked top 15 or so, their business schools are well regarded and students will be frequently hired into investment banks or top consulting firms. These are NYU, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UT-Austin, to name a few.
Then, the rest of the top 35 or so ranked schools are what are often called "semi-targets." Meaning investment banks and top consulting firms will stop by and will recruit from these schools, but at less high percentages and won't take "any majors" but rather focus on business/finance majors specifically. These are places like Michigan, UVA, Northwestern, Emory, WashU, Rice, etc etc.
However, keep in mind that most people are not cut out for the investment banking/consulting lifestyle. You may make a lot but you will be worked like a dog, be surrounded by elitist and toxic coworkers (drug use is very real just as depicted in movies), and it's a very high stress and high turnover job. Even at "target schools" Harvard is only sending about a few hundred max of their entire student body to investment banking per graduating class.
Now another field where going to a good college will help: Pre-med
In this case unlike investment banking it is not so much because med schools go "oh I think candidates from X Y Z bougie schools are smarter." It is more so because certain top schools, particularly those with strong medical school and research environments, give their premeds substantial opportunities and resources to build a strong premed resume.
Some of these include: Johns Hopkins, Penn, Harvard, Duke, WashU, Columbia.
All of those good universities (not an exhaustive list btw) have world-class med schools and many famous hospitals easily commutable from the school. It is easy for students to get research and shadowing opportunities at their school's med schools and this can really set them apart from other applicants at other schools who may not have access to such impressive resources. This is of course, assuming that they also do well on the MCAT (as those who are able to be admitted to these schools often are more likely to score higher).
Other than these fields though, where you go to college for undergrad really doesn't mean that much. Let's list a few examples:
Pre-Law: Unlike med school, law school is less focused on factors in your application besides your grades and your LSAT. If you do well on the LSAT you will get into a good law school, including top 13 ranked ones. If you are set on law school I recommend going to a local state school to save money and just make sure you ace the LSAT as where you go to law school will substantially affect your entire career, while where you went to college literally will mean squat.
Engineering/CS: Ok sure, I guess if you go to a very good program like MIT, Carnegie Mellon, or UIUC, it will probably help get your foot in the door more (assuming you also have good internship experience and decent grades). But otherwise, even if going to say Drexel means you may get a slightly less good starting job than someone at MIT, engineering and CS is not like IB or med school where getting your foot in the door in the first place is almost statistically impossible. Once you start working if you do a good job and/or work the social game well you can work your way up or switch to better and better jobs. Once you demonstrate you are a great engineer no one will ever care after your first job where you got your degree. You could be self-taught for all they care (esp in CS) and if you know your stuff employers will be fighting over you.
Any academic grad school: Same thing I said for law school. Do well during your undergrad with a good GPA, good relationships with profs for good rec letters, write a good thesis, and get a good GRE score. Where you went to undergrad will matter almost 0% if you have all of that. I know people who went to a local state school for undergrad and are now getting their PhDs at UChicago, Princeton, Stanford, all sorts of fancy places! Just like in law, where you get your grad degree in academia can make a significant difference on your career so I would also recommend going to a college that's cheaper (and less stressful!) over an elite college for undergrad if you know you want to go the academia route.
So yeah! Are there instances where going to a so-called "elite college" may make a difference? Yes there are. It is an overcorrection nowadays to say it never matters at all where you go to college. For certain fields and certain life goals going to Yale will certainly help tremendously. But for 95% of people (maybe 99%?) it does not matter. Pretty much unless you want to be a wall street suit, or you are dead set on med school (and even in the case of med school you can still get in without going to an elite school, it will just be a little harder) going to an elite college for undergrad is otherwise just a very expensive bragging right. A bragging right too that 99% of people won't care about once you graduate and if you bring it up it'll just make you look like a snobby douchebag.
2024.06.09 04:37 Smooth-Ferret769 This had no success in r/ChanceMe. please help. just a girl from a rural town and not trying to brag
Disclaimer: I am absolutely NOT trying to brag in any way. I come from a small, isolated school with unmotivated students so I genuinely have no idea what other students like me are doing (apart from the students on this thread). I truly just would like some advice. Thanks!
Before judging harshly, read everything I have to say. I promise I'm not trying to be like the people who post the "am I cooked" posts, I swear.
Also I tried my best to format this so that it's easy to read.
My first attempt at this type of post failed, so I'm hoping to get better advice.
Background: rising junior, white, female, pretty high income (parents don't like sharing that information), rural-ish high school, NOT a feeder school, dual citizenship (Italy and U.S.), I speak Italian at home
GPA: 4.0 uw (don't know what my weighted GPA is). It's a 4.0 but my school has intense grade inflation so I actually haven't gotten absolutely perfect grades.
PSAT10: 1370 out of 1520 (730 Reading and 640 Math) (planning on taking the SAT next year)
Advanced Courses: my school only offers 2 APs, so I took both this year (AP World History and AP CSP), I also self studied for two exams (AP Italian and AP Spanish Lang), I'm doing the full IB program for the next two years
Extracurriculars (First two are in order, the rest are kind of just there): (I'm going to give enough information but also keep it vague because I feel weird sharing a lot on the internet like this).
I also realized that I forgot to include Letter of Rec predictions. Honestly, I don't really know how to form connections with my teachers because I've always been taught that your teachers aren't your friends. I just feel like it's weird but anyways...
Counselor: Since I ski 5 days a week practically year round with intense summer training on and off snow (another detail I forgot to mention), I have a special counselor who pays me special attention. However, she doesn't strike me as the best so idk. She really likes me so I'm hoping for a 9/10
History teacher: she taught me my freshman year and this year and she's the organizer for the Spanish Teaching assistant extracurricular. She also likes me but I don't have a particularly special connection to her. maybe a 6/10
Advisor: I have an advisory teacher who I really like because he seems my potential but I also think he's kind of scary and don't have a personal connection with him. He's super nice but he's also never been my teacher before. He always says that other teachers are impressed by my ability to handle sports and schoolwork but a lot of my classmates do that so idk maybe 8/10?
Another detail I forgot to mention is that my mom was born in Italy and my dad was born in France (idk if that affects anything). My mom attended college in Italy but my dad went to college in the U.S.
submitted by Smooth-Ferret769 to ApplyingIvyLeague [link] [comments]
Before judging harshly, read everything I have to say. I promise I'm not trying to be like the people who post the "am I cooked" posts, I swear.
Also I tried my best to format this so that it's easy to read.
My first attempt at this type of post failed, so I'm hoping to get better advice.
Background: rising junior, white, female, pretty high income (parents don't like sharing that information), rural-ish high school, NOT a feeder school, dual citizenship (Italy and U.S.), I speak Italian at home
GPA: 4.0 uw (don't know what my weighted GPA is). It's a 4.0 but my school has intense grade inflation so I actually haven't gotten absolutely perfect grades.
PSAT10: 1370 out of 1520 (730 Reading and 640 Math) (planning on taking the SAT next year)
Advanced Courses: my school only offers 2 APs, so I took both this year (AP World History and AP CSP), I also self studied for two exams (AP Italian and AP Spanish Lang), I'm doing the full IB program for the next two years
Extracurriculars (First two are in order, the rest are kind of just there): (I'm going to give enough information but also keep it vague because I feel weird sharing a lot on the internet like this).
- Skier for Italian "National" team. Technically, I could be considered a part of the national team (and I will be putting this on college applications), but my sport isn't very competitive in Italy. I've skied at Junior Worlds and European Cups and am hoping to compete in a few World Cups next season. (I haven't been getting significant results, though, so that's something to work on).
- Founder and Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper. Like I said, I don't go to a very competitive high school, so this was actually fairly easy to do. I'm finishing up a few details this summer so that I can start publishing next year. Yes, I haven't actually published anything yet. And it's not going to be anything fancy.
- Soccer (member). I was on JV for two years and hoping to make varsity for my last two years of high school. Also have played club my whole life. Kind of just a hobby now.
- Spanish Teacher Assistant: This year I assisted a math class and translated lessons to a girl who'd just moved to the U.S. from Mexico and didn't know English. I only racked up a few volunteer hours due to skiing, but I'm hoping to do this the next two years of high school and getting more hours.
- Spanish Honors Society: my school doesn't allow students to join Honors Societies before junior year, so I will just be doing this my junior and senior year.
- Book Review Blog: I'm trying to start a book review blog this summer so that I can practice writing and really show colleges that that's my passion. Hopefully I can publish a lot and get a decent amount of viewers.
- School of The New York Times camp
- Internship: I'm hoping to build up my resume this summer so that I can get an internship at my local newspaper next summer or spring.
- Volunteering: I want to start volunteering for a local organization that helps disabled people ski. Due to my insanely busy ski training schedule, I don't know if I can physically volunteer. Do you guys have any tips on how I could maybe get involved with fundraising or social media management?
- Volunteering 2.0: It might be a little late, but I want to volunteer for another organization that my mom's involved with. It sounds fun and hopefully I can get a decent amount of hours
- National Merit (aiming for 1450+ on PSAT in the fall)
- Small Town/Rural National Recognition
- AP Scholar with Honor
- Gold Honor Roll (all 4 years of high school)
- Maybe a Scholastic Writing award?
I also realized that I forgot to include Letter of Rec predictions. Honestly, I don't really know how to form connections with my teachers because I've always been taught that your teachers aren't your friends. I just feel like it's weird but anyways...
Counselor: Since I ski 5 days a week practically year round with intense summer training on and off snow (another detail I forgot to mention), I have a special counselor who pays me special attention. However, she doesn't strike me as the best so idk. She really likes me so I'm hoping for a 9/10
History teacher: she taught me my freshman year and this year and she's the organizer for the Spanish Teaching assistant extracurricular. She also likes me but I don't have a particularly special connection to her. maybe a 6/10
Advisor: I have an advisory teacher who I really like because he seems my potential but I also think he's kind of scary and don't have a personal connection with him. He's super nice but he's also never been my teacher before. He always says that other teachers are impressed by my ability to handle sports and schoolwork but a lot of my classmates do that so idk maybe 8/10?
Another detail I forgot to mention is that my mom was born in Italy and my dad was born in France (idk if that affects anything). My mom attended college in Italy but my dad went to college in the U.S.
2024.06.09 03:25 HyderNidPryder 500 o Ferfenwau / 500 Welsh verb-nouns with verb stems (Set 4)
submitted by HyderNidPryder to learnwelsh [link] [comments]
| Berfenw / Verb-noun | Ystyr / Meaning | Bôn y ferf / Verb stem |
|---|---|---|
| acennu | to accentuate, to stress | acenn- |
| achredu | to accredit; accreditation | achred- |
| adalw | to recall, to summon back, to revoke, to repeal | adalw- |
| ad-dalu | to repay | ad-dal- |
| ad-drefnu | to reorganise, to rearrange | ad-drefn- |
| adfeddiannu | to repossess, to regain | afeddiann- |
| adleoli | to relocate | adleol- |
| adlynu | to adhere | adlyn- |
| adsefydlu | to rehabilitate; to re-establish, to reinstate | adsefydl- |
| aduno | to reunite | adun- |
| adwerthu | to retail, to resell | adwerth- |
| afradloni | to waste, to squander, to spend extravagantly | afradlon- |
| angori | to anchor | angor- |
| ailadeiladu | to rebuild | ailadeilad- |
| aildrefnu | to rearrange, to reorganise, to restore | aildrefn- |
| ailddarganfod | to rediscover | ailddarganfydd- |
| ailddatblygu | to redevelop | ailddatblyg- |
| ailddefnyddio | to reuse | ailddefnyddi- |
| ailddosbarthu | to reclassify; to redistribute | ailddosbarth- |
| ailenwi | to rename | ailenw- |
| ailethol | to re-elect | ailethol- |
| ailfeddwl | to rethink, to change one's mind, to reconsider | ailfeddyli- |
| ailgartrefu | to rehouse, to rehome | ailgartref- |
| ail-greu | to recreate | ailgre- |
| ailsefydlu | to re-establish, to rehabilitate | ailsefydl- |
| ailstrwythuro | to restructure | ailstrwythur- |
| ailwampio | to revamp | ailwampi- |
| allbynnu | to output (in computing) | allbynn- |
| allforio | to export | allfori- |
| alltudio | to deport, to exile | alltudi- |
| allyrru | to emit, to give off | allyrr- |
| amaethu | to cultivate | amaeth- |
| amgodio | to encode (computing) | amgodi- |
| amgryptio | to encrypt | amgrypti- |
| amgylchynu | to surround, to encircle, to encompass | amgylchyn- |
| amharchu | to disrespect | amharch- |
| amlinellu | to outline, to sketch | amlinell- |
| amseru | to time, to date, to take your time | amser- |
| andwyo | to spoil, to ruin | andwy- |
| anesmwytho | to become or make uneasy, anxious or restless, to disturb, to disquiet | anesmwyth- |
| anfarwoli | to immortalize | anfarwol- |
| animeiddio | to animate (make an animation) | animeiddi- |
| anweddu | to evaporate, to vaporize, to produce steam | anwedd- |
| anwylo | to cuddle, to caress, to cherish, to endear | anwyl- |
| apwyntio | to appoint | apwynti- |
| aralleirio | to paraphrase, to reword | aralleiri- |
| arallu | to make changes, to alter; to alienate, to estrange | arall- |
| arddweud | to dictate (for transcription) | arddywed- |
| aredig | to plough | ardd- |
| arolygu | to survey, to inspect | arolyg- |
| asesu | to assess | ases- |
| atafaelu | to confiscate, to seize, to distrain | atafael- |
| atalnodi | to punctuate | atalnod |
| atgyfodi | to resurrect, to revive | atgyfod- |
| atodi | to append, to attach (document etc.), to add to | atod- |
| awdurdodi | to authorise, to empower | awdurdod- |
| awyru | to air, to ventilate, to aerate | awyr- |
| baldorddi | to talk nonsense, to babble, to prattle | baldordd- |
| beichio crio | to sob | beichi- |
| betio | to bet (money) | beti- |
| bigit[i]an | to provoke, to annoy, to pick a quarrel, to nag (De Cymru) | |
| bipian | to bleep, to beep | bipi- |
| blaguro | to form buds, to put out shoots, to sprout | blagur- |
| blaseiddio | to flavour, to season | blaseiddi- |
| blingo | to skin, to flay | bling- |
| blysio | to crave | blysi- |
| bod gan rywun | to have, to possess | |
| bod wrth eich bodd yn / gyda | to love, to be in one's element (doing / with) | |
| bod yn edifar gan rywun | to regret | |
| bod yn well gan rywun | to prefer | |
| boddhau | to please | boddha- |
| boneddigeiddio | to gentrify; to ennoble | boneddigeiddi- |
| botymu | to button | botym- |
| braenaru | to fallow, to prepare for cultivation | braenar- |
| bragu | to brew (with malt) | brag- |
| brechu | to vaccinate, to inoculate | brech- |
| bridio | to breed | bridi- |
| britho | to go grey (of hair or beard), to dapple, to speckle, to fleck, to mottle | brith- |
| brodio | to embroider | brodi- |
| bronfwydo | to breastfeed | |
| buddioli | to benefit, to profit | buddiol- |
| bwrw cenllysg | to hail (weather) (Gogledd Cymru) | bwri- |
| bwrw cesair | to hail (weather) (De Cymru) | bwri- |
| bwydo ar y fron | to breastfeed | |
| byddaru | to deafen, to become deaf | byddar- |
| byrddio | to board | byrddi- |
| byrhau | to shorten, to abbreviate | |
| byseddu | to finger | bysedd- |
| bywhau | to animate | bywha- |
| bywiocáu | to enliven | |
| cadwyno (wrth) | to chain (to) | cadwyn- |
| caethiwo | to enslave, to addict | caethiw- |
| cafflo | to cheat (De Cymru) | caffl- |
| calchu | to lime | calch- |
| camdreiglo | to mutate incorrectly (grammar) | camdreigl- |
| camgymryd | to mistake | camgymer- |
| camsefyll | to be offside (in football, rugby etc.) | |
| camymddwyn | to misbehave, to commit misconduct | camymddyg- |
| canlyn | to follow; to court | canlyn- |
| canoli | to centralize, to focus, to mediate | canol- |
| carco | to care, to take care of, to mind; to be thrifty (De Cymru) | carc- |
| cardota | to beg (for alms) | cardot- |
| carthu | to purge, to clean, to muck out animal dwelling | carth- |
| castio | to cast (especially in an acting part); to play tricks | casti- |
| catalyddu | to catalyse | catalydd- |
| cefnu ar | to turn one's back on, to forsake | cefn- |
| cenhadu | to propagate (message / faith), to conduct a mission, to proselytise | cenhad- |
| cenhedlu | to reproduce (offspring); to conceive (offspring) | cenhedl- |
| ceulo | to clot, to coagulate, to congeal | ceul- |
| ciwio | to queue | ciwi- |
| clatsio | to strike, to hit (De Cymru) | clastsi- |
| clatsio ymlaen | to crack on, to persevere (De Cymru) | |
| clau | to clean (De Cymru) | |
| clocsio | to clog dance; to make or repair clogs | clocsi- |
| clochdar | to cluck, to cackle, to boast | |
| clodfori | to praise | clodfor- |
| cloffi | to become lame | cloff- |
| cloncan | to chat, to natter, to gossip, to prattle (De Cymru) | clonc- |
| clustnodi | to ear-mark | clustnod- |
| clwydo | to roost | clwyd- |
| clytio | to patch | clyti- |
| cnoi cil | to ruminate (chew cud, also figurative), to think over | cno- |
| coethi | to refine, to purify | coeth- |
| colledu | to cause loss to, to damage | colled- |
| conan | to grumble, to complain (De Cymru) | |
| condemnio | to condemn | condemni- |
| costrelu | to bottle | costrel- |
| creithio | to scar | creithi- |
| cribddeilio | to extort, to plunder, to take by force | cribddeili- |
| cribinio | to rake (Gogledd Cymru) | cribini- |
| crisialu | to crystalize | crisial- |
| croeshoelio | to crucify | croeshoeli- |
| croesholi | to cross-examine, to cross-question | croeshol- |
| cronni | to amass, to collect, to gather (together), to accumulate; to dam up | cronn- |
| crosio | to crochet | crosi- |
| crychu | to wrinkle, to crimp | crych- |
| crygu | to stammer, to grow hoarse | cryg- |
| cuddio rhag | to hide from | |
| cwmpasu | to encompass, to circumscribe | cwmpas- |
| cwnnu | to raise, to put up, to rise (= codi, o cychwynnu) (De-ddwyrain Cymru) | |
| cwrcwd | to squat, to crouch | cwrcyd-, cyrcyd- |
| cydlynu | to cohere, to stick or cling together, to form a whole | cydlyn- |
| cydweithredu | to co-operate | cydweithred- |
| cydymffurfio | to conform | cydymffurfi- |
| cyfannu | to make whole or entire, to unite, to integrate | cyfann- |
| cyfanwerthu | to sell wholesale | cyfanwerth- |
| cyfeddach | to carouse (b) [unusually, this verbnoun is feminine]; carousal | |
| cyfeilio | to accompany (with music) | cyfeili- |
| cyflyru | to condition | cyflyr- |
| cyfodi | (form of codi) to lift, to rise, to raise | cyfod- |
| cyfosod | to place together, to juxtapose, to combine | cyfosod- |
| cyfrodeddu | to intertwine, to twist together | cyfrodedd- |
| cyfrwyo | to saddle (horse) | cyfrwy- |
| cyffesu | to confess (especially religiously) | cyffes- |
| cyhwfan | to wave, to flutter, to heave | cyhwfan- |
| cylchdroi | to rotate, to revolve | cylchdro- |
| cymedroli | to moderate, to temper | cymedrol- |
| cymodi â | to reconcile with | cymod- |
| Cymreigio | to make (more) Welsh | Cymreigi- |
| cymudo | to commute (travel) | cymud- |
| cymynnu | to bequeath | cymynn- |
| cynllwynio | to conspire | cynllwyni- |
| cyplysu | to couple | cyplys- |
| cysegru | to consecrate | cysegr- |
| cysodi | to type-set | cysod- |
| cysoni | to regularize, to harmonize | cyson- |
| cystuddio | to afflict | cystuddi- |
| cywasgu | to compress | cywasg- |
| c[y]weirio (S) | to mend, to put in order | cweiri- |
| chwerwi | to become bitter | chwerw- |
| chwilfriwio | to smash to pieces, to shatter | chwilfriwi- |
| chwyldroi | to revolutionize | chwyldro- |
| chwyrlïo | to whirl | chwyrlï- |
| dadbacio | to unpack | dadbaci- |
| dadlaith | to thaw [out] (De Cymru) | dadleithi- |
| dadlennu | to uncover, to unveil, to reveal, to expose | dadlenn- |
| dadrithio | to disillusion, to disenchant, to restore to original shape or form | dadrithi- |
| dallu | to blind, to become blind | dall- |
| damsang (ar) | to trample (on) (De Cymru) | damsang- |
| darfudo | to convect (heat in physics) | darfud- |
| dargludo | to conduct (electricity, heat in physics) | darglud- |
| dargyfeirio | to divert, to redirect, to diverge | dargyfeiri- |
| datganoli | to decentralize, to devolve | datganol- |
| datgarboneiddio | to decarbonize | datgarboneiddi- |
| datglymu | to untie | datglym- |
| datgoedwigo | to deforest | datgoedwig- |
| datgomisiynu | to decommission | datgomisiyn- |
| datgymalu | to dislocate, to disjoint, to take to pieces, to disassemble | datgymal- |
| datsgriwio | to unscrew | datsgriwi- |
| dedfrydu | to sentence (in court) | dedfryd- |
| deddfu | to legislate, to enact, to decree | deddf- |
| dengid | (= dianc) to escape (Gogledd Cymru) | dihang- |
| deigrynnu | to shed tears | deigrynn- |
| delfrydu | to idealize | delfryd- |
| deor | to hatch (egg etc.), to hatch out; to brood, to incubate | deor- |
| deud | (= dweud) to say (Gogledd Cymru) | |
| diarddel | to expell, to excommunicate, to disown | diarddel- |
| diarfogi | to disarm | diarfog- |
| diasbedain | to resound | diasbed- |
| dichon | (= gallu) to be able (formal) | dichon- |
| diddyfnu | to wean | diddyfnu- |
| diengyd | (= dianc) to escape (Gogledd Cymru) | dihang- |
| difrïo | to revile, to denigrate, to disparage | difrï- |
| difwyno | to spoil, to mar, to defile, to pollute | difwyn- |
| differu | to differentiate (calculus) | differ- |
| diffygdalu | to default (on debt repayment) | diffygdal- |
| digolledu | to recompense, to indemnify, to compensate | digolled- |
| diheintio | to disinfect | diheinti- |
| dihoeni | to languish, to pine, to fade away, to wither | dihoen- |
| dihysbyddu | to drain (liquid from), to empty, to exhaust | dihysbydd- |
| dinoethi | to strip, to make bare | dinoeth- |
| diosg | to take off (clothes / shoes), to undress, to strip; to divest, to cast off | diosg- |
| diota | to imbibe, to booze, to tipple | |
| diraddio | to degrade; to dismiss | diraddi- |
| dirprwyo | to deputize, to appoint a deputy; to act as a delegate, deputy or representative | dirprwy- |
| distewi | to be, keep or become silent, to silence, to hush | distaw- |
| distrywio | to destroy | distrywi- |
| distyllu | to distil, to drip, to fall in drops | distyll- |
| diweddu | to end, to conclude, to finish | diwedd- |
| diwydianeiddio | to industrialize | diwydianeiddi- |
| dodwy | to lay eggs | dodw- |
| dogfennu | to document | dogfenn- |
| dreifio | to drive | dreifi- |
| dryllio | to break to pieces, to shatter, to wreck | drylli- |
| dweud y drefn wrth rywun | to tell someone off | |
| dyddodi | to deposit (layer of sediment, fat), to precipitate | dyddod- |
| dyfeisio | to invent, to devise | dyfeisi- |
| dyfnhau | to deepen | dyfnha- |
| dyfrio | to water, to irrigate | dyfri- |
| dylunio | to design | dyluni- |
| dylynu wrth | to adhere to, to cling to | dylyn- |
| dynesu | to approach, to draw near, to come nearer | dynes- |
| echdynnu | to extract | echdynn- |
| eilio | to plait, to braid, to interweave; to compose (song or poetry) | eili- |
| eilio | to second | eili- |
| eilunaddoli | to idolise | eilunaddol- |
| eneinio | to anoint | eneini- |
| enllibio | to slander, to malign | enllibi- |
| eplesu | to ferment | eples- |
| euogfarnu | to convict, to find guilty | euogfarn- |
| euro | to gild | eur- |
| ewyllysio (i) | to will | ewyllysi- |
| ewynnu | to foam | ewynn- |
| ffansïo | to fancy | ffansï- |
| ffieiddio | to abhor, to detest, to loathe, to hate; to be digusted at, to be revolted by | ffieiddi- |
| ffromi | to be angry, to rage, to fume | ffrom- |
| ffrwtian | to splutter (also of engine) | ffrwti- |
| ffrwythloni | to fertilize (impregnate), to become or be fruitful | ffrwythlon- |
| ffyrnigo | to become angry or enraged, to grow fierce | ffyrnig- |
| gaeafgysgu | to hibernate | gaeafgysg- |
| galarnadu | to lament | galarnad- |
| gefeillio | to twin | gefeilli- |
| geirio | to express in words, to word | geiri- |
| gellwng | to allow to go, to let, to permit, to leave to, to release | gellyng- |
| glasu | to turn blue | glas- |
| gloddesta | to revel, to carouse, to feast; (g) revelry, carousal, feasting | |
| glynu (at) | to stick (to), to glue | glyn- |
| godinebu | to commit adultery, to fornicate | godineb- |
| goddiweddyd | to catch up with, to catch fugitive, to overtake | goddiwedd- |
| gogoneddu | to glorify, to extol | gogonedd- |
| gohebu | to report, to correspond | goheb- |
| goleddfu | to slope, to slant; to modify (in grammar) | goleddf- |
| goresgyn | to gain possession of; to overcome, to defeat | goresgyn- |
| gori | to brood, to sit on eggs | gor- |
| gorlenwi | to overfill | gorlanw-, gorlenw- |
| gorweithio | to overwork, to cause to overwork | gorweithi- |
| gorwneud | to overdo, to exaggerate | |
| graeanu | to grit (road etc.), to spread gravel over | graean- |
| grilio | to grill (food) | grili- |
| grymuso | to strengthen | grymus- |
| gwamalu | to be frivolous, to waver | gwamal- |
| gwangalonni | to lose heart, to become discouraged; to discourage | gwangalonn- |
| gwarafun (i) | to forbid, to prohibit; to prevent, to hinder, to deny; to begrudge, to resent | gwarafun- |
| gwarantu | to guarantee (a product etc. by agreement) | gwarant- |
| gwastatu | to level, to make level or even | gwastat- |
| gwawrio | to dawn | gwawri- |
| gwelwi | to grow pale | gwelw- |
| gwersylla | to camp | gwersyll- |
| gweu | to weave, to knit | gwe- |
| gweud | to say (= dweud) (De Cymru) | gwed- |
| gwledda | to feast, to revel | gwledd- |
| gwreichioni | to spark, to emit sparks | gwreichion- |
| gwrteithio | to fertilize (with manure, compost etc.) | gwrteithi- |
| gwrthdystio | to protest, to remonstrate; to give counter-evidence | gwrthdysti- |
| gwrthryfela | to rebel, to revolt | gwrthryfel- |
| gwrychio | to bristle | gwrychi- |
| gwyngalchu | to whitewash | gwyngalch- |
| hadu | to sow, to produce seed | had- |
| haeru | to insist, to assert, to allege | haer- |
| halltu | to salt | hallt- |
| hamddena | to spend time at leisure, to relax, to take respite | hamdden- |
| haneru | to halve | haner- |
| hunanasesu | to self-assess; self-assessment | hunanases- |
| imiwneiddio | to immunize | imiwneiddi- |
| impio | to graft; to implant; to (cause to) bud / sprout | impi- |
| inswleiddio | to insulate (in a technical sense) | inswleiddi- |
| integru | to integrate (calculus) | integr- |
| israddio | to downgrade, to demote | israddi- |
| labelu | to label | label- |
| llabyddio | to stone (cast stones at) | llabyddi- |
| llaesu | to slacken | llaes- |
| llafnrolio | to rollerblade | llafnroli- |
| llafurio | to toil, to labour, to strive | llafuri- |
| llanw | (=llenwi) to fill (De Cymru) | llanw- |
| llawenhau | to gladden, to make cheerful; to rejoice, to be cheerful | llawenha- |
| lleisio | to voice | lleisi- |
| llên-ladrata | to plagiarize | llên-ladrata- |
| llesgáu | to languish, to become feeble, to feel faint | llesga- |
| llethu | to overwhelm, to swamp, to stifle, to crush, to overpower | lleth- |
| llewyrchu | to shine, to give light, to gleam; to be successful | llewyrchu |
| llochesu | to harbour, to shelter | lloches- |
| lloffa | to glean | lloff- |
| lluniadu | to draw (in a technical sense) | lluniad- |
| llurgunio | to distort (facts, the truth), to mangle, to disfigure, to corrupt | llurguni- |
| llwydo | to turn grey, to go mouldy | llwyd- |
| llwyfannu | to stage (theatrical or musical performance); to appear on stage | llwyfann- |
| llwyo | to spoon out, to ladle out | llwy- |
| llyfnhau | to make smooth, to level, to polish | llyfnha- |
| llyfnu | to harrow; to smooth | llyfn- |
| llythyru | to correspond by letter, to write letters | llythyr- |
| maglu | to snare, to trap | magl- |
| magu pwysau | to put on weight | |
| malurio | to smash (to bits), to pulverize | maluri- |
| manwerthu | to retail | manwerth- |
| marchogaeth | to ride a horse | marchog- |
| martsio | to march (to make a marching movement) | martsi- |
| masnachu | to trade | masnach- |
| medi | to reap, to harvest | med- |
| meddalu | to soften, to become soft | meddal- |
| meddyginiaethu | to medicate, to treat medically | meddyginiaeth- |
| meiddio | to dare, to venture, to presume | meiddi- |
| meindio | to mind, to care | meindi- |
| meintoli | to quantify | meintol- |
| meiriol | to thaw, to melt | meiriol- |
| melynu | to become yellow; to make yellow or golden | melyn- |
| melysu | to sweeten | melys- |
| melltithio | to put a curse on, to curse | melltithi- |
| mercheta | to chase wowen, to womanise, to flirt | merchet- |
| merlota | to go pony trekking | |
| methdalu | to be bankrupt, to be insolvent; bankruptcy | methdal- |
| mewnfudo | to immigrate | mewnfud- |
| moduro | to motor, to drive | modur- |
| modylu | to modulate (in physics) | modyl- |
| moelyd | to overturn (turn vehicle etc. upside down), to topple (De Cymru) (from "ymhoelyd") | moel- |
| moli | to praise (in worship / adulation) | mol- |
| morgeisio | to mortgage | morgeisi- |
| morio | to voyage by sea, to sail | mori- |
| morthwylio | to hammer | morthwyli- |
| mudferwi | to simmer | mudferw- |
| mudo | to move, to migrate, to move something from one place to another | mud- |
| nadu | to prevent, to hinder, not to allow | nad- |
| naddu | to shape with a sharp tool, to chip (at), to hew, to whittle, to trim, to carve | nadd- |
| negyddu | to negate | negydd- |
| nodweddu | to characterize, to be characteristic of, to distinguish | nodwedd- |
| nychu | to become weak or feeble, to waste away, to pine; to make weak, to enfeeble | nych- |
| nyddu | to spin (wool, yarn), to wind, to twist | nydd- |
| odi | to snow (Gogledd-ddwyrain Cymru) | od- |
| odli | to rhyme | odl- |
| olynu | to succeed, to follow (in succession) | olyn- |
| optimeiddio | to optimize | optimeiddi- |
| paldaruo | to talk nonsense, to blather (Gogledd Cymru) | paldaru- |
| parablu | to utter, to say, to speak, to babble | parabl- |
| parlysu | to paralyse | parlys- |
| paru | to pair | par- |
| pasteureiddio | to pasturize | pasteureiddi- |
| peillio | to pollinate | peilli- |
| perffeithio | to perfect | perffeithi- |
| picedu | to picket | piced- |
| pilio | to peel | pili- |
| piltran | to potter about, to fiddle (Gogledd Cymru) | piltr- |
| pistyllio ['r glaw] | to pour with rain | pistilli- |
| plagio | to plague, to afflict, to annoy, to pester | plagi- |
| pledio | to plead (in law), to offer as excuse or justification | pledi- |
| plicio | to peel, to pluck (feathers), pluck stringed instrument | plici- |
| plisgo | to shell, to peel, to exfoliate | plisg- |
| plismona | to police, policing | |
| plymio | to dive, to dip, to sound (for depth), to plunge (into); to plumb | plymi- |
| poblogeiddio | to popularize | poblogeiddi- |
| pontio | to bridge, to span | ponti- |
| portreadu | to portray, to represent | portread- |
| prinhau | to become scarce, to diminish; to make scarce, to restrict, to curtail | prinha- |
| priodoli | to attribute, to ascribe | priodol- |
| prisio | to price; pricing | prisi- |
| puro | to purify, to refine | pur- |
| pwrcasu | to purchase | pwrcas- |
| pwyllgora | to hold, frequent or attend committees | |
| recriwtio | to recruit | recriwti- |
| rhacanu | to rake (De Cymru) | rhacan- |
| rhagdalu | to prepay | rhagdal- |
| rhagfynegi | to predict (in a technical sense) | rhagfyneg- |
| rhaglennu | to program; programming | rhaglenn- |
| rhamantu | to romance; to romanticize | rhamant- |
| rhechain | to fart | rhech- |
| rhefru | to babble, to rant, to scold, to complain | rhefr- |
| rheibio | to seize by force, to ravage, to plunder; to bewitch, to cast a spell on | rheibi- |
| rheoleiddio | to regulate (control indirectly through rules, processes or effects) | rheoleiddi- |
| rhicio | to score (a scratch or notch), to notch, to groove | rhici- |
| rhincian dannedd | to gnash / to grind teeth (especially from rage) | rhinci- |
| rhoid | (= rhoi) to give, to put, to place (Gogledd Cymru) | rhodd-, rhoi- |
| rhwydo | to net | rhwyd- |
| rhychu | to crumple, to crease, to wrinkle, to become rumpled; to cut trenches / furrows / grooves | rhych- |
| rhyfela | to wage war, to war | rhyfel- |
| rhynnu | to suffer from cold, to freeze; to cause to be freezing cold | rhynn- |
| saernïo | to fashion, to construct, to build (as an artisan; also figuratively) | saernï- |
| samplu | to select or capture samples (in a technical sense) | sampl- |
| sarnu | to trample on, to spoil, to spill | sarn- |
| sboncio | to bounce, to spring | sbonci- |
| sbrotian | to rummage, to nose about | sbroti- |
| seboni | to soap, to lather; to soft-soap, to flatter | sebon- |
| segura | to idle, to laze | segur- |
| sengi (ar) | to tread (on), to trample on | sang- |
| Seisnigo | to Anglicize | Seisnig- |
| selio | to seal | seli- |
| serennu | to shine like a star, to sparkle, to twinkle, to shine brilliantly, to dazzle | serenn- |
| sganio | to scan (in a technical sense e.g. with a machine) | scani- |
| sglefrfyrddio | to skateboard | sglefrfyrddi- |
| sglefrolio | to roller skate, to rollerblade | sglefroli- |
| sgleinio | to gleam, to shine (be or make shiny), to polish | sgleini- |
| sgrinio | to screen (for disease etc.) | sgrini- |
| sgriwio | to screw | sgriwi- |
| sgwrio | to scour (clean / polish by rubbing), to purge | sgwri- |
| siffrwd | to make a rustling sound, to shuffle (cards etc.) | siffryd- |
| sleifio | to wriggle, to steal past, to slink, to creep | sleifi- |
| sleisio | to slice | sleisi- |
| smentio | to cement | smenti- |
| snorclo | to snorkel | snorcl- |
| sodro | to solder, to fix firmly in place, to place firmly | sodr- |
| steilio | to style | steili- |
| stelcian | to skulk, to stalk, to prowl, to lurk | stelci- |
| stido bwrw glaw | to pour with rain (Gogledd Cymru) | |
| stilo | to iron (De Cymru) | stil- |
| straffaglio | to struggle | straffagli- |
| stryffaglio | to struggle | stryffagli- |
| stwna | to potter about, to fiddle about | |
| suro | to sour | sur- |
| swatio | to crouch, to squat; to cuddle, to snuggle (up) in bed | swati- |
| sychlanhau | to dry clean | sychlanheu-, sychlanha- |
| syflyd | to budge, to move, to stir | syfl- |
| syfrdanu | to stun, to stupefy, to amaze, to astound | syfrdan- |
| syrffedu | to suffer from a surfeit, to feel fed up, to overindulge, to be bored stiff | syrffed- |
| taeru | to insist, to assert, to argue, to disagree | taer- |
| taflunio | to project (an image) | tafluni- |
| taranu | to thunder, to sound with thunder | taran- |
| teilwra | to tailor | teilwr- |
| teneuo | to thin (out), to dwindle | teneu- |
| tirlenwi | to landfill | tirlenw- |
| tonni | to undulate, to form waves, to oscillate, to surge up, to fall in waves (of hair) | tonn- |
| traddodi | to deliver (verdict, speech, sermon); to hand down, to hand over, to transfer | traddod- |
| traethu | to talk, to narrate, to relate, to speak (publicly) | traeth- |
| trafaelio | to travel; to labour | trafaeli- |
| traflyncu | to guzzle, to gobble up, to devour | traflync- |
| trawsgyweirio | to change key, to transpose, to modulate (in music) | trawsgyweiri- |
| treiglo | to mutate (grammar); to roll | treigl- |
| treio | to ebb, to drain away | trei- |
| tresio bwrw glaw | to pour (thrash) with rain | |
| tresmasu | to trespass, to encroach, to infringe | tresmas- |
| troedio | to tread, to step | troedi- |
| trosleisio | to dub, to do a voice-over | trosleisi- |
| trydaneiddio | to electrify | trydaneiddi- |
| trydar | to tweet, to chirp, to twitter | trydar- |
| tryledu | to diffuse (in physics and chemistry) | tryled- |
| trysori | to treasure | trysor- |
| twrio | to rummage, to burrow (= tyrchu, turio) | twri- |
| tyllu | to make a hole or holes [in], to dig, to bore, to drill, to perforate | tyll- |
| tyrru | to pile up, to amass, to throng | tyrr- |
| tystio | to testify, to witness | tysti- |
| unioni | to straighten, to put right, to redress | union- |
| wado | to beat, to strike (De Cymru) | wad- |
| wyna | to give birth to lamb, to lamb | |
| ymbarchuso | to make oneself respectable, to become respectable | ymbarchus- |
| ymbellhau (oddi wrth) | to distance oneself (from), to go further away | ymbellha- |
| ymdoddi | to integrate (into society); to melt, to dissolve, to merge | ymdodd- |
| ymdrochi | to immerse oneself (in water, or figuratively), to bathe | ymdroch- |
| ymdynghedu | to swear an oath, to vow, to pledge | ymdynghed- |
| ymddiddan | to converse, to chat, to speak | ymddiddan- |
| ymfudo | to emigrate, to migrate, to move (house) | ymfud- |
| ymgeleddu | to care for; to cherish, to succour, to provide shelter / comfort / food | ymgeledd- |
| ymgodymu | to wrestle, to grapple | ymgodym- |
| ymgolli | to lose oneself | ymgoll- |
| ymgreinio | to grovel, to prostrate oneself, to wallow | ymgreini- |
| ymgrymu | to bow, to stoop | ymgrym- |
| ymgyfarwyddo | to get acquainted with, to familiarise oneself with, to get used to | ymgyfarwydd- |
| ymgynnull | to assemble, to congregate, to gather together | ymgynull- |
| ymhél â rhywbeth | to be involved with something | ymheli- |
| ymhelaethu | to elaborate, to expand on | ymhelaeth- |
| ymlwybro | to make one's way, to wander | ymlwybr- |
| ymofyn | to seek, to desire, to want | ymofynn- |
| ymrafael | to differ; to disagree, to quarrel, to wrangle | ymrafael- |
| ymresymu | to reason, to think logically, to argue | ymresym- |
| ymryson | to compete, to contend, to quarrel | ymryson- |
| ymsefydlu | to establish oneself | ymsefydl- |
| ymsuddo | to sink, to submerge, to immerse oneself | ymsudd- |
| ymwrthod | to abstain (from), to refuse, to reject, to forsake | ymwrthod- |
| ysgafnhau | to lighten (load, weight) | ysgafnha- |
| ysglyfaethu | to prey upon, to plunder | ysglyfaeth- |
| ysgwyddo | to shoulder | ysgwydd- |
| ysigo | to sprain, to buckle (distort) | ysig- |
| ystreulio | to rinse | ystreuli- |
| ystwytho | to make or become supple | ystwyth- |
2024.06.09 02:10 Correct-Geologist-91 17f/ FL, USA searching for a summer (or longer?) distraction abroad!
hi, i’m manny! i did have a post here last summer as well, but removed it once school started~
anyways hellooo, i’d love to exchange letters/postcards with someone (preferably) outside of the USA! i really like learning about other cultures, so i’d love to see postcard art, exchange gifts, and/or talk about our daily lives! if you’re interested in talking but can’t do international mail, i’m fine with any other mode of communication as well! when it comes to letter i can be a little fancy, but i don’t mind if yours are just black pen on white paper!
i’m 17 but will be turning 18 soon, so i’d like it if you were 17+, that’s just the most comfortable for me lol.
my interest include sports (i play soccer & volleyball, watch premier league), music (i play violin & french horn, but listen to everything!), mathematics (stats, trig, alg), history (specifically war history), traveling (i’ve been to multiple countries, going to japan in ‘25), languages (native english, knows french), shoes & clothing, philosophy + physchology, anime, gaming (minecraft, roblox, omori, ddlc, NieR, persona, danganronpa), photography (i’ll send lots of photos of my surrounding area!), and more!! i’m down to talk about pretty much everything~
i’m starting my last year of hs in august, so apologies in advance if my response time lags. i usually send letters about 1 weeks after i receive yours, but if there are any problems then i’ll text you to lyk!
if you have any other questions for me before we start corresponding, please ask! thank you for taking the time to read this, and i’m excited to hear from you :)
submitted by Correct-Geologist-91 to penpals [link] [comments]
anyways hellooo, i’d love to exchange letters/postcards with someone (preferably) outside of the USA! i really like learning about other cultures, so i’d love to see postcard art, exchange gifts, and/or talk about our daily lives! if you’re interested in talking but can’t do international mail, i’m fine with any other mode of communication as well! when it comes to letter i can be a little fancy, but i don’t mind if yours are just black pen on white paper!
i’m 17 but will be turning 18 soon, so i’d like it if you were 17+, that’s just the most comfortable for me lol.
my interest include sports (i play soccer & volleyball, watch premier league), music (i play violin & french horn, but listen to everything!), mathematics (stats, trig, alg), history (specifically war history), traveling (i’ve been to multiple countries, going to japan in ‘25), languages (native english, knows french), shoes & clothing, philosophy + physchology, anime, gaming (minecraft, roblox, omori, ddlc, NieR, persona, danganronpa), photography (i’ll send lots of photos of my surrounding area!), and more!! i’m down to talk about pretty much everything~
i’m starting my last year of hs in august, so apologies in advance if my response time lags. i usually send letters about 1 weeks after i receive yours, but if there are any problems then i’ll text you to lyk!
if you have any other questions for me before we start corresponding, please ask! thank you for taking the time to read this, and i’m excited to hear from you :)
2024.06.08 22:43 SmartPrimate There is a paradox between omniscience and omnibenevolence (proof ft. infinity and Turing Machines)
Was doing some semi mathematical/philosophical thought experiments, and of all the things I did not expect to stumble on a paradox between these two concepts so I thought I'd share.
I'm going to give the main idea, but at the bottom I'll share some preliminaries for those unfamiliar with the relevant concepts, as in I explain it all so this post is still self contained. So if you're feeling lost below, skip to the bottom first. Even if you don't care for this specific argument, I think it's worth thinking about or extrapolating from the concepts in preliminaries, since a lot of people talk about God's infinite nature but don't often confront the paradoxes that have to do with infinity and are mathematically sound but can pose problems (the first time I engaged with it was after learning Cantor's theorem, since that seriously seems to imply either God's infinity is not the biggest infinity, or somehow not remotely definable/it doesn't even mean anything). So I think this is overall good practice.
EDIT (can skip this and go on to actual paradox if you’re getting impatient): While reflecting, I realized a lot of readers might think I'm a crank for writing something this technical on something related to God. I promise everything I wrote however is technically sound and coherent. The reason it is this technical is because it has to be to construct a logically precise question which God can no longer answer, if He's generous enough to share (even if we restrict to only being after an eternity) all His knowledge to any one person. And that's what it takes to show the paradox between being "the most knowledgeable you can conceive" with "the most generous you can conceive." I'm not myself convinced any of this argument is overkill.
The Specific Paradox
Suppose human lives are infinite, which you believe if there’s an eternal afterlife, then consider the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time”. Obviously this set can be enumerated, f(1), f(2), f(3),… etc. Now what I'm about to describe is a construct that cannot really exist physically, but it is perfectly definable in math, in a sense that you can ask questions about it that have objective truth values. Basically define a modified Turing machine, but one where there is a second head, and instructions for when the second head takes a step, such that each step of the second head is essentially enumerating that set we just named (so in a single step it will print a new element of that set on the tape, wherever the head is). Now for this new type of machine, each such machine can be encoded with a number just like Turing machines, and such that you can code one machine to be able to simulate others when given the corresponding encoding. Each such machine can either halt or not halt like a regular Turing machine, and just like regular Turing machines, you can prove that no such machine in this class can solve the halting problem for this type of machine. This also means that the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time” cannot contain the solution to this class of machine’s halting problem, since if it did that would be a contradiction with the fact this machine can enumerate that set as a feature.
Now, we can define a set, the set of all encodings of machines in this class, such that those encodings correspond to halting machines in this class.
If God is the most knowledgeable that we can conceive of, He can decide this set, can take any number and say whether it’s in the set or not.
That would imply God has more knowledge than the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time.”
On the other hand, suppose a person really likes knowledge, and asks for “all knowable truths but after infinite time.” Then if God is the most generous we can conceive of, it seems not unfair for God to grant this, especially since the person is asking after infinite time, it’s not like they're even asking for it all at once/will ever really have it at one point in time. So it seems more than fair to grant that request, especially if you belong to one of the monotheistic faiths that believes heaven is where you're granted "whatever the heart desires that's possible." And it isn't inconceivable some nerd would want this, but if it is granted to them then it would contradict God being “the most knowledgeable we can conceive of,” since the set of numbers we described above and deciding it (meaning you can name whether an element is in it or not) would not be encompassed by the set of all of God's knowledge, since that would lead to the earlier halting contradiction we described. So you end up having one or the other, either the most generous we can conceive of or the most knowledgeable we can conceive of.
Analysis (skip below if you need preliminaries)
So a couple things. I'd like to repeat that even this request is somewhat restricted, since you're not even asking to be granted all of God's knowledge, you're asking to be “granted it only if we consider the set union of my knowledge at all future points of time.” And in fact, in some people's minds, "the most generous we can conceive of" would already pre-emptively entail an agreement to share all possible knowledge, since sharing knowledge is good no? So an explicit request isn't even necessarily necessary for this paradox.
Some other points. All of this falls under the framework that all knowledge in existence (including God’s knowledge) is a countable infinity, obviously God might instead have an uncountable amount of knowledge, but my issue with that is once you allow it, it becomes a “where do we stop” thing, because for every set you can define the set of all subsets of that set which will always be bigger by Cantor's theorem. So either the “set of all of God’s knowledge” is not even meaningful to talk about, or there is a limit, specifically a certain size of infinity where we stop at, and if it’s the latter then it seems very humanly arrogant to assume it’s any one specific cardinality (cardinality just means size but rigorously generalized to include size of infinities). Even if it's some specific uncountable cardinality however, you can easily modify this paradox to work with that cardinality as well.
You could also alternatively even reject any infinity exists, which would imply God is not an actual infinity and therefore can’t solve even the normal halting problem, that is a legitimate possibility too. But the property of being “greatest [insert property] that we conceive of” for most people is usually taken to mean an actual infinity, so they have to reckon with this. You could simply opt for agnosticism on this point, but in that case you cannot then use infinite as an adjective freely.
Ultimately, in the case that one does believe God exists and has an infinite nature and/or really does have attributes of the form "greatest [insert property] I can conceive of" (which would be infinite in certain cases like knowledge, e.g. even the standard halting problem has a solution but you provably need infinite knowledge to be able to solve it for instance, unless it having a solution is not in the possible knowledge you can conceive of, though that seems absurd), then this paradox illustrates that one of three things must be true:
Now, as I promised, here are some preliminaries:
Preliminaries
Countable and uncountable infinity, turtles all the way down
One relevant concept I brought up that might be unfamiliar to people, that I think should be the most well known though it's not central to the argument, is that of sizes of infinity. Honestly, I'm a little lazy so I'm just going to link this 8 minute video that does a marvelous job at explaining it. I know 8 minutes is a tough ask but I promise it's worth, and the rest in this post is self contained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvOZm0d4H0
No technical background needed, a grade schooler can understand it, and I think it's worth learning about regardless of who you are, since Cantor's theorem really is one of humanity's greatest intellectual achievements.
Note he goes into the specific example of a countable infinity (the natural numbers) and how the first uncountable infinity is bigger (using the real numbers as an example). However Cantor's more general theorem applies to all sets, saying the set of all subsets of that set will always be a bigger set, even when our sets are infinite. Stated differently, there is always a bigger infinity. If you haven't seen this theorem before, depending on who you are this is either surprising to you or not surprising to you, and in both cases I can guarantee whatever reasoning you're using is wrong, but to see why watch the video :)
The exact proof in the video is a proof by contradiction similar to the halting problem proof I'll do below. But for Cantor's more general theorem I just stated, the proof while in the same spirit is a little more abstract than the specific example in the video, so I won't explain it here but feel free to check it out on wikipedia if you're curious.
Turing Machines
So the most relevant concept is that of a Turing Machine. While this may sound fancy, it's actually not hard to understand at all. Imagine a mathematician who can only write one symbol at a time. Except the chalkboard he's using to write is infinitely long. Do you get that? Then congratulations, you now know what a Turing Machine is.
Why the exact details of Turing Machines don’t matter
Sometimes people will present it as more technical, as a head that moves along an infinite tape writing only 0's and 1's. But that is basically what we just described, minus the limitation to 0 and 1. But the reason people use 0 and 1 is to show that in fact, this simplicity where you only have a 2 letter alphabet, is still powerful enough that you can use this model still to simulate other models that have a bigger alphabet. So the point when people do that isn't that we're intentionally restricting to 2 letters, but that 2 letters is all we need, even to do stuff that requires more! Even other details like the number of tapes or the dimension of the tape don't matter, since they can all simulate each other. So the point really is just that we can get away with something as minimal as possible, and that in some sense the details really don’t matter.
Why Turing Machines philosophically matter
Really the more relevant point though is that a Turing Machine is simply philosophically codifying what was already intuitive to humans, namely the idea of any finite procedure. Like an algorithm, a recipe, etc. As long as you allow instructions for behavior, and that behavior is allowed to be unbounded (while loop), then you basically have a Turing Machine.
On the other hand if you have a programming language with programs that contain if statements ("if [this] do [this"), for loops (which is just specifying an action to be done a certain number of times, but not infinitely), but NOT while loops (while [this is true] do [this'), then this is not a Turing Machine, because the "while" is the key, the infinite chalkboard, since what that opens up is the ability to never stop. Which might seem like a flaw at first, and it is in certain respects, but opening up that possibility is actually what gives computers the expressive power they have in solving problems believe it or not.
Footnote on Turing Machine usefulness in real life (can skip to next section if you don’t care): An asterisk here is that in real life there is no infinite memory so computers will always eventually stop, but A. we obviously don't want programs to run out of memory because they would have needed infinite memory anyway, both cause it's bad to use all memory but also you'd ideally want to know to stop it short before it meaninglessly loops like that and B. In some cases programs are meant to run for long enough/as long as possible before hitting some constraint that it's more or less still useful to model them as functionally infinite. Regardless for the sake of this paradox and mathematicians, even if it wasn't useful the idea of algorithms that might not stop still represent perfectly definable mathematical objects we can meaningfully talk about which belong to "the set of all possible knowledge".
Universal Simulation
Turing Machines are encodable. Once you settle on the specifics of the machine, like what the alphabet is etc (which isn't that important), then there will exist a way to encode each machine as a single whole number. And in such a way that you can define a Turing Machine that can in fact parse this number in order to simulate the machine.
You can even define a machine that takes in the encoding of any other machine, and all it does is simulate it, essentially a universal computer which is conceptually like your laptop at home. Also you can define the encoding scheme to involve every natural number, simply by having non valid encodings (which can also be recognized by machines as non valid) represent by default a basic machine that just does nothing. So essentially all natural numbers are Turing Machines. From now on if M is a Turing Machine, will refer to the number encoding it.
Undecidability of the standard halting problem
Anyway so because we have the possibility of our programs never halting, the halting problem is quite literally to decide whether a Turing Machine will halt or not halt.
(More specifically you have a number, and you want to decide if that number represents a Turing Machine that halts. Technically it's if the Turing machine halts on a specific input, so you would need an input in addition to the number, however we can actually change our encoding so that every natural number encodes both a Turing Machine and input for it. If you do that, then the problem really does become equivalent to "you have this well defined set of numbers, each representing Turing Machine-input pairs, and you're trying to decide for any number if it's in that set, meaning it represents a Turing Machine-input pair that halts" which is how I prefer to think of the halting problem, I'm just abusing my language and will keep doing so for consistency, but it's not that important).
Now if the halting problem is solvable, by a mathematician, computer, whatever, we can represent that as a Turing Machine Q that takes in an encoding of a machine and an input x, (so we can represent it's behavior as Q(, x)) and tells us whether M halts on x or never halts. You can then easily construct a machine Q' where Q'() does the following:
Q'():
)? If Q' halts on itself then it loops forever, and if it does not halt on itself, then it halts, a contradiction. Yet this program is easily constructible if the halting problem is solvable, since it's built by simulating the program that solves that. Therefore that assumption must be wrong. So no program, no mathematician or anyone, can take in an encoding of a Turing Machine and some input, and tell us whether it halts or does not halt. The only way to do that would be if you have infinite knowledge, and I would assume most monotheists here upon learning about this problem really would believe "God can do it. God can solve the halting problem," thus implying God's knowledge is an actual infinite, since otherwise you would run into contradiction like this proof. In fact for some, this may even be used to reinforce why God must be of an infinite nature, that omniscience wouldn't be compatible with any fact to the contrary. The alternative is either believing He can't, or choosing agnosticism on such matters.
More turtles all the way down
Note that you can always define a new type of Turing Machine that's exactly the same but has an oracle that can solve the halting problem. Just like before this machine is also encodable. And just like the modified machine in the paradox this can't really exist remotely physically, even if we forgot finiteness constraints since we already showed the halting problem is unsolvable - this oracle is purely a theoretical construct. However, this new type of machine will have it's own halting problem that it can't solve for equivalent machines. And then you can define an oracle for that halting problem. But once again you'll just get an even higher level halting problem. So even if you can solve the halting problem there are higher level halting problems you still can't solve (google "arithmetic hierarchy" if you're interested, it's more general but basically quantifies how "unsolvable" a set is, yielding an infinite tower of classes, each containing sets "more unsolvable" than the last). Of course if you're like me, you would just shrug it off as God can solve all of these problems.
EDIT WITH SOME MORE THOUGHTS:
Just wanted to add you can also use the argument I presented to show that assuming the set of "all of God's knowledge" is a real infinite set (I argue in preliminaries why most who accept omniscience would agree it's infinite), you can always construct a question that's solution is not in the set, a paradox of omniscience alone since we can refer to a question that by definition can't be solved by God. To be fair this also runs into issues of epistemology itself, since you could use the same for the set of all knowledge in general, and therefore one could even argue that in some sense certain "truths" just don't exist/truth isn't definable. Which I guess has already been sorta established by folks like Tarski using other methods. In any case I presented the argument I'm giving as a generosity paradox, since once it's a question that is derived by being defined as unsolveable with respect to the set of all of a human's knowledge (which is what we're doing in some sense), that feels far more like intuitively it should have a solution by the being that's "the most knowledgeable we can conceive of" than a question that's specifically defined to be unsolveable with respect to all of just their knowledge (which again, defining it like that is what we're doing in some sense, though we need to do work to show it's well defined which is what the proof was). Maybe what I'm trying to say is, if omniscience alone can't deal with logical omniscient paradoxes, perhaps it should always at least maintain the hierarchy/superiority aspect of it, and that even that sorta goes into disarray if we allow a maximal generosity (in the context of this post, that being sharing all of one's knowledge, not necessarily all at once, I used a more relaxed condition, where it's in a way that they'd still get all of it given infinite time).
submitted by SmartPrimate to DebateReligion [link] [comments]
I'm going to give the main idea, but at the bottom I'll share some preliminaries for those unfamiliar with the relevant concepts, as in I explain it all so this post is still self contained. So if you're feeling lost below, skip to the bottom first. Even if you don't care for this specific argument, I think it's worth thinking about or extrapolating from the concepts in preliminaries, since a lot of people talk about God's infinite nature but don't often confront the paradoxes that have to do with infinity and are mathematically sound but can pose problems (the first time I engaged with it was after learning Cantor's theorem, since that seriously seems to imply either God's infinity is not the biggest infinity, or somehow not remotely definable/it doesn't even mean anything). So I think this is overall good practice.
EDIT (can skip this and go on to actual paradox if you’re getting impatient): While reflecting, I realized a lot of readers might think I'm a crank for writing something this technical on something related to God. I promise everything I wrote however is technically sound and coherent. The reason it is this technical is because it has to be to construct a logically precise question which God can no longer answer, if He's generous enough to share (even if we restrict to only being after an eternity) all His knowledge to any one person. And that's what it takes to show the paradox between being "the most knowledgeable you can conceive" with "the most generous you can conceive." I'm not myself convinced any of this argument is overkill.
The Specific Paradox
Suppose human lives are infinite, which you believe if there’s an eternal afterlife, then consider the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time”. Obviously this set can be enumerated, f(1), f(2), f(3),… etc. Now what I'm about to describe is a construct that cannot really exist physically, but it is perfectly definable in math, in a sense that you can ask questions about it that have objective truth values. Basically define a modified Turing machine, but one where there is a second head, and instructions for when the second head takes a step, such that each step of the second head is essentially enumerating that set we just named (so in a single step it will print a new element of that set on the tape, wherever the head is). Now for this new type of machine, each such machine can be encoded with a number just like Turing machines, and such that you can code one machine to be able to simulate others when given the corresponding encoding. Each such machine can either halt or not halt like a regular Turing machine, and just like regular Turing machines, you can prove that no such machine in this class can solve the halting problem for this type of machine. This also means that the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time” cannot contain the solution to this class of machine’s halting problem, since if it did that would be a contradiction with the fact this machine can enumerate that set as a feature.
Now, we can define a set, the set of all encodings of machines in this class, such that those encodings correspond to halting machines in this class.
If God is the most knowledgeable that we can conceive of, He can decide this set, can take any number and say whether it’s in the set or not.
That would imply God has more knowledge than the set of “all knowledge humans would obtain after infinite time.”
On the other hand, suppose a person really likes knowledge, and asks for “all knowable truths but after infinite time.” Then if God is the most generous we can conceive of, it seems not unfair for God to grant this, especially since the person is asking after infinite time, it’s not like they're even asking for it all at once/will ever really have it at one point in time. So it seems more than fair to grant that request, especially if you belong to one of the monotheistic faiths that believes heaven is where you're granted "whatever the heart desires that's possible." And it isn't inconceivable some nerd would want this, but if it is granted to them then it would contradict God being “the most knowledgeable we can conceive of,” since the set of numbers we described above and deciding it (meaning you can name whether an element is in it or not) would not be encompassed by the set of all of God's knowledge, since that would lead to the earlier halting contradiction we described. So you end up having one or the other, either the most generous we can conceive of or the most knowledgeable we can conceive of.
Analysis (skip below if you need preliminaries)
So a couple things. I'd like to repeat that even this request is somewhat restricted, since you're not even asking to be granted all of God's knowledge, you're asking to be “granted it only if we consider the set union of my knowledge at all future points of time.” And in fact, in some people's minds, "the most generous we can conceive of" would already pre-emptively entail an agreement to share all possible knowledge, since sharing knowledge is good no? So an explicit request isn't even necessarily necessary for this paradox.
Some other points. All of this falls under the framework that all knowledge in existence (including God’s knowledge) is a countable infinity, obviously God might instead have an uncountable amount of knowledge, but my issue with that is once you allow it, it becomes a “where do we stop” thing, because for every set you can define the set of all subsets of that set which will always be bigger by Cantor's theorem. So either the “set of all of God’s knowledge” is not even meaningful to talk about, or there is a limit, specifically a certain size of infinity where we stop at, and if it’s the latter then it seems very humanly arrogant to assume it’s any one specific cardinality (cardinality just means size but rigorously generalized to include size of infinities). Even if it's some specific uncountable cardinality however, you can easily modify this paradox to work with that cardinality as well.
You could also alternatively even reject any infinity exists, which would imply God is not an actual infinity and therefore can’t solve even the normal halting problem, that is a legitimate possibility too. But the property of being “greatest [insert property] that we conceive of” for most people is usually taken to mean an actual infinity, so they have to reckon with this. You could simply opt for agnosticism on this point, but in that case you cannot then use infinite as an adjective freely.
Ultimately, in the case that one does believe God exists and has an infinite nature and/or really does have attributes of the form "greatest [insert property] I can conceive of" (which would be infinite in certain cases like knowledge, e.g. even the standard halting problem has a solution but you provably need infinite knowledge to be able to solve it for instance, unless it having a solution is not in the possible knowledge you can conceive of, though that seems absurd), then this paradox illustrates that one of three things must be true:
- God would grant the request of someone that desires “all possible knowledge given infinite time” but then God is no longer of the class of “the most knowledgeable we can conceive of” because there is a countable set of natural numbers we can even refer to that He cannot decide.
- God would deny that request, and thus all possible sets we can refer to are decidable by Him, but then God is potentially not of the class of “the most generous we can conceive of."
- God can’t grant that request to begin with because His knowledge is a greater cardinality than the natural numbers, and my usage of “infinite time” here was meant to be countable, although you could easily alter the paradox to include higher cardinalities in the request so this isn't really a point it just changes the goalposts.
Now, as I promised, here are some preliminaries:
Preliminaries
Countable and uncountable infinity, turtles all the way down
One relevant concept I brought up that might be unfamiliar to people, that I think should be the most well known though it's not central to the argument, is that of sizes of infinity. Honestly, I'm a little lazy so I'm just going to link this 8 minute video that does a marvelous job at explaining it. I know 8 minutes is a tough ask but I promise it's worth, and the rest in this post is self contained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elvOZm0d4H0
No technical background needed, a grade schooler can understand it, and I think it's worth learning about regardless of who you are, since Cantor's theorem really is one of humanity's greatest intellectual achievements.
Note he goes into the specific example of a countable infinity (the natural numbers) and how the first uncountable infinity is bigger (using the real numbers as an example). However Cantor's more general theorem applies to all sets, saying the set of all subsets of that set will always be a bigger set, even when our sets are infinite. Stated differently, there is always a bigger infinity. If you haven't seen this theorem before, depending on who you are this is either surprising to you or not surprising to you, and in both cases I can guarantee whatever reasoning you're using is wrong, but to see why watch the video :)
The exact proof in the video is a proof by contradiction similar to the halting problem proof I'll do below. But for Cantor's more general theorem I just stated, the proof while in the same spirit is a little more abstract than the specific example in the video, so I won't explain it here but feel free to check it out on wikipedia if you're curious.
Turing Machines
So the most relevant concept is that of a Turing Machine. While this may sound fancy, it's actually not hard to understand at all. Imagine a mathematician who can only write one symbol at a time. Except the chalkboard he's using to write is infinitely long. Do you get that? Then congratulations, you now know what a Turing Machine is.
Why the exact details of Turing Machines don’t matter
Sometimes people will present it as more technical, as a head that moves along an infinite tape writing only 0's and 1's. But that is basically what we just described, minus the limitation to 0 and 1. But the reason people use 0 and 1 is to show that in fact, this simplicity where you only have a 2 letter alphabet, is still powerful enough that you can use this model still to simulate other models that have a bigger alphabet. So the point when people do that isn't that we're intentionally restricting to 2 letters, but that 2 letters is all we need, even to do stuff that requires more! Even other details like the number of tapes or the dimension of the tape don't matter, since they can all simulate each other. So the point really is just that we can get away with something as minimal as possible, and that in some sense the details really don’t matter.
Why Turing Machines philosophically matter
Really the more relevant point though is that a Turing Machine is simply philosophically codifying what was already intuitive to humans, namely the idea of any finite procedure. Like an algorithm, a recipe, etc. As long as you allow instructions for behavior, and that behavior is allowed to be unbounded (while loop), then you basically have a Turing Machine.
On the other hand if you have a programming language with programs that contain if statements ("if [this] do [this"), for loops (which is just specifying an action to be done a certain number of times, but not infinitely), but NOT while loops (while [this is true] do [this'), then this is not a Turing Machine, because the "while" is the key, the infinite chalkboard, since what that opens up is the ability to never stop. Which might seem like a flaw at first, and it is in certain respects, but opening up that possibility is actually what gives computers the expressive power they have in solving problems believe it or not.
Footnote on Turing Machine usefulness in real life (can skip to next section if you don’t care): An asterisk here is that in real life there is no infinite memory so computers will always eventually stop, but A. we obviously don't want programs to run out of memory because they would have needed infinite memory anyway, both cause it's bad to use all memory but also you'd ideally want to know to stop it short before it meaninglessly loops like that and B. In some cases programs are meant to run for long enough/as long as possible before hitting some constraint that it's more or less still useful to model them as functionally infinite. Regardless for the sake of this paradox and mathematicians, even if it wasn't useful the idea of algorithms that might not stop still represent perfectly definable mathematical objects we can meaningfully talk about which belong to "the set of all possible knowledge".
Universal Simulation
Turing Machines are encodable. Once you settle on the specifics of the machine, like what the alphabet is etc (which isn't that important), then there will exist a way to encode each machine as a single whole number. And in such a way that you can define a Turing Machine that can in fact parse this number in order to simulate the machine.
You can even define a machine that takes in the encoding of any other machine, and all it does is simulate it, essentially a universal computer which is conceptually like your laptop at home. Also you can define the encoding scheme to involve every natural number, simply by having non valid encodings (which can also be recognized by machines as non valid) represent by default a basic machine that just does nothing. So essentially all natural numbers are Turing Machines. From now on if M is a Turing Machine,
Undecidability of the standard halting problem
Anyway so because we have the possibility of our programs never halting, the halting problem is quite literally to decide whether a Turing Machine will halt or not halt.
(More specifically you have a number, and you want to decide if that number represents a Turing Machine that halts. Technically it's if the Turing machine halts on a specific input, so you would need an input in addition to the number, however we can actually change our encoding so that every natural number encodes both a Turing Machine and input for it. If you do that, then the problem really does become equivalent to "you have this well defined set of numbers, each representing Turing Machine-input pairs, and you're trying to decide for any number if it's in that set, meaning it represents a Turing Machine-input pair that halts" which is how I prefer to think of the halting problem, I'm just abusing my language and will keep doing so for consistency, but it's not that important).
Now if the halting problem is solvable, by a mathematician, computer, whatever, we can represent that as a Turing Machine Q that takes in an encoding of a machine
Q'(
Simulates Q, specifically running Q(Now, what happens if we run Q'(, ) and thus checking if M halts on the encoding that represents itself.
If it does not halt, this program Q' halts.
If it does halt, this program Q' loops forever.
More turtles all the way down
Note that you can always define a new type of Turing Machine that's exactly the same but has an oracle that can solve the halting problem. Just like before this machine is also encodable. And just like the modified machine in the paradox this can't really exist remotely physically, even if we forgot finiteness constraints since we already showed the halting problem is unsolvable - this oracle is purely a theoretical construct. However, this new type of machine will have it's own halting problem that it can't solve for equivalent machines. And then you can define an oracle for that halting problem. But once again you'll just get an even higher level halting problem. So even if you can solve the halting problem there are higher level halting problems you still can't solve (google "arithmetic hierarchy" if you're interested, it's more general but basically quantifies how "unsolvable" a set is, yielding an infinite tower of classes, each containing sets "more unsolvable" than the last). Of course if you're like me, you would just shrug it off as God can solve all of these problems.
EDIT WITH SOME MORE THOUGHTS:
Just wanted to add you can also use the argument I presented to show that assuming the set of "all of God's knowledge" is a real infinite set (I argue in preliminaries why most who accept omniscience would agree it's infinite), you can always construct a question that's solution is not in the set, a paradox of omniscience alone since we can refer to a question that by definition can't be solved by God. To be fair this also runs into issues of epistemology itself, since you could use the same for the set of all knowledge in general, and therefore one could even argue that in some sense certain "truths" just don't exist/truth isn't definable. Which I guess has already been sorta established by folks like Tarski using other methods. In any case I presented the argument I'm giving as a generosity paradox, since once it's a question that is derived by being defined as unsolveable with respect to the set of all of a human's knowledge (which is what we're doing in some sense), that feels far more like intuitively it should have a solution by the being that's "the most knowledgeable we can conceive of" than a question that's specifically defined to be unsolveable with respect to all of just their knowledge (which again, defining it like that is what we're doing in some sense, though we need to do work to show it's well defined which is what the proof was). Maybe what I'm trying to say is, if omniscience alone can't deal with logical omniscient paradoxes, perhaps it should always at least maintain the hierarchy/superiority aspect of it, and that even that sorta goes into disarray if we allow a maximal generosity (in the context of this post, that being sharing all of one's knowledge, not necessarily all at once, I used a more relaxed condition, where it's in a way that they'd still get all of it given infinite time).
2024.06.08 22:37 Artistic-Ad7437 My “cheating” story
I (23f) think I should start off with some background. I had just ended a three-year toxic relationship near the end of June. I was still living in the apartment my ex and I shared until the apartment that I had lined up was ready for me. I was long ready to move on before the relationship ended. However, I was not ready for another relationship. I made this very clear to anyone I was getting involved with. I had a friend, we’ll call Jack (22m), that I’ve known since I was 16, almost immediately after the break up. He had heard about the break up and decided to shoot his shot. He was in an open relationship with his fiancé. Well, I was invited into the relationship and hooked up with both of them, separately, however the intention was for a threesome, something I’ve always fantasized about. Well, jack and I started hooking up regularly and it was apparent there may be some feelings there, so I ended things. Shortly after I met, let’s call him Kody (30m). We started seeing each other pretty regularly, he’s a social butterfly and filled the awkward silences as I am not and initially agreed neither of us wanted anything serious. Due to this agreement, I thought it would be okay if I started seeing Jack, as the dust had settled and he and his fiancé had reevaluated the terms of their open relationship (not my monkey). This continued for a month until jack had said he was thinking about ending things with his fiancé, that he thought of her more as a friend than a forever lover. I told him I wanted no part in his decision and ended things again. This lasted for about a month and things between Kody and I progressed, but I still hadn’t felt ready for a relationship. I was comfortable with what we had established, however later on he had confessed that he isn’t okay with casual, and actually wanted to be monogamous. And after jack and I broke things off, I thought i was too. Until I had jack over after he had ended things with his fiancé to get him out of his shared apartment because things were getting hostile, and we ended up hooking up. This was around September. I know I’m the ahole here, but genuinely justified what I did due to the fact both of these men knew I didn’t want a relationship, and because we weren’t in a relationship I didn’t owe either of them monogamy. Jack knew about Kody, but Kody didn’t know about Jack. Kody had previous relationship trauma and I felt justified enough to not tell him about Jack because I didn’t feel I owed him anything. Jack and I continued to be on and off for about a month until I broke things off once again, feeling like I had wanted to get serious with Kody. November, it was just Kody and I, until Jack made a grand gesture in early December to take me to a fancy hotel. We spent the night together and it ended up reigniting things, and by this point I was pretty sure I didn’t want to be with Jack or Kody, partly because of things in the relationship but mostly because I was coming to my senses about all of my wrongdoings. I knew I didn’t deserve Kody, the one I actually saw myself with, because of what I had done, I was working on ending things between Kody and I as gently as possible, sparing as much of the growth the fostered in our situationship as possible, as I helped him work through a lot of his trauma. December is a difficult month for me, i lost a friend last December to Covid doubling as that friend was my other friend’s fiancé and i was trying to help her through that month, as well as some deep seeded trauma. In other words, I wasn’t in the best headspace and was acting totally irrationally. It was at this time Jack proposed I move out of state with him, as he got a job out of state. He outlined no relationship would be forced, I would just help him take care of his animals and pay the bills, and it was a chance for me to escape the area I dreaded so deeply, and I agreed. I completely ended things with Kody, started job hunting, apartment hunting, put in a notice to my job and my landlord, and was working to solidify plans with Jack. However, the job I had found ghosted me when it was time to present proof of income to the apartments and everything fell through. I had lost my job, my apartment, and my cat because I had to move in with Jack as his landlord didn’t allow cats or dogs (she stayed with my step brother who took over my new apartment). I was completely crushed. Depression was at an all time high, and I couldn’t help but think this was my karma. I ended up in a pseudo relationship with Jack, as he had assumed we were in one despite not having a conversation about it. Jack was not supportive in the least, all he wanted when he came home to visit, as he was staying with a friend out of state for training for his new job, was to get his rocks off and expected me to be the perfect housewife for him. I was miserable, ended up finding a new job that was better paying than my previous, ended things with Jack, and finally got my life on track. However, things did not end pleasantly with Jack. We got into nasty arguments, where I learned throughout this time he’s a narcissist, and used everything from past trauma, relationships, and our living situation against me. When things had ended, this was in February, he assumed that I had went back to Kody, which wasn’t the case. Months later, in April, Jack decided to send a letter to both me, outlining how I’m a horrible human being simply because I didn’t want to remain friends after we split, and to Kody, saying god awful things not only to hurt him but to hurt me as well. He twisted a lot of things and timelines, quoting me as saying some of the awful things he said about Kody. Kody and I talked things out, smooth things over, I clarified a lot. He got a glimpse of what I had to endure while living with Jack. I will never forgive myself for hurting Kody as deeply as I did I will never forgive myself for adding to his trauma. We’ve had many deep conversations since then, and we’re on good terms. Since then, I’ve started to see someone new, and I’m doing it the right way this time. I’ve never been in a situation like this, and I acted overly selfish and self-centered with no regard to anyone else. I think I deserved what happened to me, but the things Jack put me through will forever scar me. I didn’t expect a friend to play such mind games. Kody and I still talk, but there’s no emotional ties there anymore. I spared a lot of details, because this happened over a very long period of time. If there’s anything that needs clarification, let me know, but this was my cheating story.
submitted by Artistic-Ad7437 to okstorytime [link] [comments]
2024.06.08 18:47 Valha28 EWW: The Man
Hello and welcome to episode 100 in a series inspired by u/kamikazeb0y and CinemaSins, where I'll be sinning each and every episode of Gumball.
Before we start I just want to point out that (not including the Early Reel) we have officially reached Episode ONE HUNDRED of Every Wrong With The Amazing World of Gumball!
It's been an incredibly fun journey so far, and with some very iconic and important episodes still to cover we have a lot to still look forward too! WIth 140 episodes left to cover, I've still got my work cut out for me! But trust me, no matter how long it takes, I will get to the end...hopefully before Season 7 releases and pushes the finish line further away!
Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you for the next one hundred episodes!
Quick Disclaimer: I know this is just a children's cartoon and isn't meant to be taken seriously. This, like the show itself, is not at all meant to be taken seriously or considered an actual critique of the show. It is all in good fun. With that out of the way I present you, Everything Wrong With: The Man!
Granny Jojo: Why are there so many candles? I'm only sixty-three. Anais: Sorry. We didn't know exactly how old you were, so we based it on looks Firstly, I understand the kids not knowing how old she is, but Richard? How does one not know the age of their own mother!? +5
Secondly, BWAHAHAHAHAA! -5
Richard: The alphabet of my mom. "A" is for "Amazing" 'cause that's what you are. "B" is for "Breakfast", one of my twelve favorite mealtimes, and because you're amazing, Mom. "C" is for... [He continues talking] Granny Jojo: Nicole, I just wanted to say that you look really average today. Nicole: Oh, yeah? Well, you look like someone drew an ugly face on a butt with a— wait, what? Did you just say "average"? That's gotta be the least offensive thing you've ever said to me. You need a lie down? Gumball: Yeah, and you gave us real candy instead of your expired fungus medication- Darwin: And your face looks wrong. It's like your mouth is upside down- Anais: It's almost as if you are...smiling. Richard: ...why? Because I like them. And "Z" is for "Zebra", an amazing mythical creature. But not as amazing as you, Mom. Okay, there's no way Richard read through A-Z already. He had to have skipped like half the alphabet to fit it all in that short conversation +1
[Richard slams the door in Louie's face. His outstretched arm sticks out through the letter flap. Granny Jojo reopens the door] Granny Jojo: This is Louie. He's my boyfriend. Okay, what is with episodes and huge lore reveals/changes recently? First Gumball and Penny become a couple, then Carrie's origin and Dad are revealed, and now Granny Jojo is dating Louie. Feels the writers change one thing in The Shell then went wild with power and did a whole bunch more.
I mean, I'm not complaining though. They're pretty cool -1
[Richard finally recovers. He sees Gumball, wobbling in his vision. His voice is distorted and echoing] Gumball: Dad, are you alright? Darwin: What's with the voice? Gumball: [Distorted, but no longer echoing] I don't know. It just felt appropriate. PFFT -1
[Gumball takes a pack of nachos and hands it to Nicole] Nicole: Clear! [She opens it. Immediately, Richard springs up, biting into the nacho bag and chewing on it wildly] I don't know why, but the writers were on point when writing the jokes for this episode and I love it -10
Granny Jojo: To be honest with you, I have no idea what he said. My hearing isn't what it used to be. Louie: Me, neither! I was just laughing and hoping it wasn't a question. [They laugh] Louie: We got so much in common. Granny Jojo: Yeah, we're both falling apart. [They laugh again. Louie kisses Granny Jojo] Awwww -5
Richard: Call me son one more time! I dare you! I DOUBLE-DARE YOU! You MOTHER ROBBER! God damn it actually kinda hurts seeing Richard like this. It's so unlike him to act so aggressively and it makes it really clear how much his Dad leaving him affected him. I demand the entire family give him hugs now! -1
[Richard grunts, and pushes Louie away on his scooter. Afterwards, he storms back inside to confront Granny Jojo] Somehow all of them have, in the span of a few seconds Nicole ahs gone and made a cup of coffee and Gumball and Anais have sat down and started an entire card game. +1
Though, Gumball and Anais just casually hanging out and playing some card game is pretty cute. We never really saw him or Darwin actually hanging out with or chilling with her that often, if ever, so this is nice to see -1
Granny Jojo: Let me explain something— Richard: No, let ME explain something! I don't want you to see that guy anymore! Granny Jojo: Well, I don't think it's for you to decide, young man! Richard: When you're under my roof, you follow my rules, old lady! Gumball: I don't think anyone should follow your twelve-meals-a-day rule. Granny Jojo: Richard, I'm old enough to make my own rules, and I'm seeing Louie TONIGHT! Richard: Go to your room, you're grounded! Granny Jojo: You go to your room, you're grounded! What? But surely Jojo is just visiting for her birthday right? Plus even if she wanted to stay there isn't really any rooms she could stay in except Anais', and it's debatable if said room even exists or not +5
Granny Jojo: Gumball. [Opening an eye, he sees his grandmother beside him, wearing fancy clothes with make-up on. The jump cuts closer to her face] Gumball: [Gasps] Oh wait, this is clearly a nightmare. Nothing could be this ugly in real life. Darwin: We helped Granny Jojo make herself pretty for Louie. What do you think? Gumball: Huh, what do you know? [Screams hysterically] Anais: Yeah, I agree with you. But this is the best we could do short of a face transplant. Okay, I get you think she looks hideous, byt after what happened between her and your Dad earlier I very highly doubt she's in the mood for such insults nor appreciates such comments. You can think it, sure, but you reaaally don't need to say it out loud +5
Granny Jojo: Oh, Gumball, if you could only understand the meaning of true love. The yearning to be at one with another soul. To hold them tightly in your arms- Gumball: Please stop, I'm getting a mental picture. It's really high-def. Granny Jojo: Hear them whisper in your ear: I love you, I love you- Gumball: Fine! Fine! We'll do it, just, please stop talking. Firstly, pretty sure he does know that feeling considering he was crushing over a girl for who knows how long, and is now finally with said girl +1
Secondly...Jojo actually bothered to learn Gumball's name since The Kiss? Neat -1
Nicole: Richard, your mother's never been this happy... or nice. I don't want you to ruin that. Richard: Alright, I'll speak with her. Aww, nice to see Nicole actually helping out Jojo for once...even if it is partially for selfish reasons -1
Gumball: Alright! So the plan is we knock over the DVDs, which sets off the mouse trap, which sends the golf ball up there, which sets off the dominoes, which sets off the toy car, which will switch on the fan, which will send the turtle to the rope, which she bites through, dropping the desk, propelling Granny Jojo through the window and she uses her bloomers to land safely in Louie's arm. Everybody ready? Gumball calls the Evil Turtle "she" here despite the Wattersons not yet knowing that she is a she. Aka, the writers pretty much unintentionally spoiled that twist reveal almost an entire season beforehand +5
Also, Gumball's entire plan here relied on the fact that the Evil Turtle would actually bite the rope upon reaching it. And a plan that relies on someone else out of your control maybe doing something isn't a very good plan +1
Richard: Get away from my mom, get out of our lives! I am the man of this house! So much for talking to him +1
Gumball: Next round: Man washing! [Anais evaluates them washing themselves. Richard washes himself with his clothes on, and Anais is grossed out by his smell. Louie washes himself with a toothbrush. When Anais smells his breath, her head spins around, her ears pop off, and she melts] Ew. No man actually washes like this. At least I'd very much hope not +5
[Louie cooks some meat, and Gumball eats it. He spits it out] Gumball: Ugh, it's rare!Louie: That's how a man eats. No, that's how you kill your grandson +1
[Gumball, Darwin, and out two man-off contestants are sitting around the living room table.] Gumball: And for the final challenge: sharing your emotions! Louie and Richard: What? Gumball: [Evil laugh] Yes! All of this was a trick to make you confront man's deepest, darkest fear: talking about your feelings. Gumball taking Granny Jojo's idea and turning it into a clever plot to trick Richard and Louie into talking things out is actually genius. Which is why It'll never stop annoying me that despite a mountain of evidence proving otherwise the show continues to portray Gumball as stupid. He isn't, and I'm fed up of seeing otherwise -10
Granny Jojo: Oh, Richard, what about your dad? I thought you understood he didn't really go to get milk? [Richard suppresses his emotions. He struggles to keep himself from crying.] Richard: I know… I know. It's just that I really… r-really… Granny Jojo: I know, I know. I liked him too. It's just…he felt otherwise. Come on, just let it all out. [Richard cries hard. Granny Jojo comforts him amidst the shower of tears and mucus.] Granny Jojo: Come on, kid. That's it. Richard: [Stops crying] It's just, I'm worried that you'll like Louie better than me— [Sniffs] And then-and then, I'll lose you too. [Sniffs] Granny Jojo: [Kisses him on cheek] Don't be sillier than you already are. Your brain might stall once and for all. Richard: You know, I want you to be happy too. LOUIE! [Hugs] From now on, I'll call you Daddy! Louie: Um, [Clears throat] A lot of weather we've been having lately. [Richard puts him down, and Louis pats him] Anais: Are you gonna be okay, Dad? Richard: Yes, sweetie. There comes a time when in your life, you have to grow up, and become a man. [Richard hugs his family. Louie and Granny Jojo kiss happily, making him gag one last time] Awww, now this is how you end an episode like this. Wholesome and poignant. -5
Total Sins: -11
Most Sinned Episode So Far: The Hero (1,490,894) Least Sinned Episode: The Shell (-999, 958)
Previous Episode: https://www.reddit.com/gumball/comments/1d9wxta/eww_the_mirro
submitted by Valha28 to u/Valha28 [link] [comments]
Before we start I just want to point out that (not including the Early Reel) we have officially reached Episode ONE HUNDRED of Every Wrong With The Amazing World of Gumball!
It's been an incredibly fun journey so far, and with some very iconic and important episodes still to cover we have a lot to still look forward too! WIth 140 episodes left to cover, I've still got my work cut out for me! But trust me, no matter how long it takes, I will get to the end...hopefully before Season 7 releases and pushes the finish line further away!
Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you for the next one hundred episodes!
Quick Disclaimer: I know this is just a children's cartoon and isn't meant to be taken seriously. This, like the show itself, is not at all meant to be taken seriously or considered an actual critique of the show. It is all in good fun. With that out of the way I present you, Everything Wrong With: The Man!
Granny Jojo: Why are there so many candles? I'm only sixty-three. Anais: Sorry. We didn't know exactly how old you were, so we based it on looks Firstly, I understand the kids not knowing how old she is, but Richard? How does one not know the age of their own mother!? +5
Secondly, BWAHAHAHAHAA! -5
Richard: The alphabet of my mom. "A" is for "Amazing" 'cause that's what you are. "B" is for "Breakfast", one of my twelve favorite mealtimes, and because you're amazing, Mom. "C" is for... [He continues talking] Granny Jojo: Nicole, I just wanted to say that you look really average today. Nicole: Oh, yeah? Well, you look like someone drew an ugly face on a butt with a— wait, what? Did you just say "average"? That's gotta be the least offensive thing you've ever said to me. You need a lie down? Gumball: Yeah, and you gave us real candy instead of your expired fungus medication- Darwin: And your face looks wrong. It's like your mouth is upside down- Anais: It's almost as if you are...smiling. Richard: ...why? Because I like them. And "Z" is for "Zebra", an amazing mythical creature. But not as amazing as you, Mom. Okay, there's no way Richard read through A-Z already. He had to have skipped like half the alphabet to fit it all in that short conversation +1
[Richard slams the door in Louie's face. His outstretched arm sticks out through the letter flap. Granny Jojo reopens the door] Granny Jojo: This is Louie. He's my boyfriend. Okay, what is with episodes and huge lore reveals/changes recently? First Gumball and Penny become a couple, then Carrie's origin and Dad are revealed, and now Granny Jojo is dating Louie. Feels the writers change one thing in The Shell then went wild with power and did a whole bunch more.
I mean, I'm not complaining though. They're pretty cool -1
[Richard finally recovers. He sees Gumball, wobbling in his vision. His voice is distorted and echoing] Gumball: Dad, are you alright? Darwin: What's with the voice? Gumball: [Distorted, but no longer echoing] I don't know. It just felt appropriate. PFFT -1
[Gumball takes a pack of nachos and hands it to Nicole] Nicole: Clear! [She opens it. Immediately, Richard springs up, biting into the nacho bag and chewing on it wildly] I don't know why, but the writers were on point when writing the jokes for this episode and I love it -10
Granny Jojo: To be honest with you, I have no idea what he said. My hearing isn't what it used to be. Louie: Me, neither! I was just laughing and hoping it wasn't a question. [They laugh] Louie: We got so much in common. Granny Jojo: Yeah, we're both falling apart. [They laugh again. Louie kisses Granny Jojo] Awwww -5
Richard: Call me son one more time! I dare you! I DOUBLE-DARE YOU! You MOTHER ROBBER! God damn it actually kinda hurts seeing Richard like this. It's so unlike him to act so aggressively and it makes it really clear how much his Dad leaving him affected him. I demand the entire family give him hugs now! -1
[Richard grunts, and pushes Louie away on his scooter. Afterwards, he storms back inside to confront Granny Jojo] Somehow all of them have, in the span of a few seconds Nicole ahs gone and made a cup of coffee and Gumball and Anais have sat down and started an entire card game. +1
Though, Gumball and Anais just casually hanging out and playing some card game is pretty cute. We never really saw him or Darwin actually hanging out with or chilling with her that often, if ever, so this is nice to see -1
Granny Jojo: Let me explain something— Richard: No, let ME explain something! I don't want you to see that guy anymore! Granny Jojo: Well, I don't think it's for you to decide, young man! Richard: When you're under my roof, you follow my rules, old lady! Gumball: I don't think anyone should follow your twelve-meals-a-day rule. Granny Jojo: Richard, I'm old enough to make my own rules, and I'm seeing Louie TONIGHT! Richard: Go to your room, you're grounded! Granny Jojo: You go to your room, you're grounded! What? But surely Jojo is just visiting for her birthday right? Plus even if she wanted to stay there isn't really any rooms she could stay in except Anais', and it's debatable if said room even exists or not +5
Granny Jojo: Gumball. [Opening an eye, he sees his grandmother beside him, wearing fancy clothes with make-up on. The jump cuts closer to her face] Gumball: [Gasps] Oh wait, this is clearly a nightmare. Nothing could be this ugly in real life. Darwin: We helped Granny Jojo make herself pretty for Louie. What do you think? Gumball: Huh, what do you know? [Screams hysterically] Anais: Yeah, I agree with you. But this is the best we could do short of a face transplant. Okay, I get you think she looks hideous, byt after what happened between her and your Dad earlier I very highly doubt she's in the mood for such insults nor appreciates such comments. You can think it, sure, but you reaaally don't need to say it out loud +5
Granny Jojo: Oh, Gumball, if you could only understand the meaning of true love. The yearning to be at one with another soul. To hold them tightly in your arms- Gumball: Please stop, I'm getting a mental picture. It's really high-def. Granny Jojo: Hear them whisper in your ear: I love you, I love you- Gumball: Fine! Fine! We'll do it, just, please stop talking. Firstly, pretty sure he does know that feeling considering he was crushing over a girl for who knows how long, and is now finally with said girl +1
Secondly...Jojo actually bothered to learn Gumball's name since The Kiss? Neat -1
Nicole: Richard, your mother's never been this happy... or nice. I don't want you to ruin that. Richard: Alright, I'll speak with her. Aww, nice to see Nicole actually helping out Jojo for once...even if it is partially for selfish reasons -1
Gumball: Alright! So the plan is we knock over the DVDs, which sets off the mouse trap, which sends the golf ball up there, which sets off the dominoes, which sets off the toy car, which will switch on the fan, which will send the turtle to the rope, which she bites through, dropping the desk, propelling Granny Jojo through the window and she uses her bloomers to land safely in Louie's arm. Everybody ready? Gumball calls the Evil Turtle "she" here despite the Wattersons not yet knowing that she is a she. Aka, the writers pretty much unintentionally spoiled that twist reveal almost an entire season beforehand +5
Also, Gumball's entire plan here relied on the fact that the Evil Turtle would actually bite the rope upon reaching it. And a plan that relies on someone else out of your control maybe doing something isn't a very good plan +1
Richard: Get away from my mom, get out of our lives! I am the man of this house! So much for talking to him +1
Gumball: Next round: Man washing! [Anais evaluates them washing themselves. Richard washes himself with his clothes on, and Anais is grossed out by his smell. Louie washes himself with a toothbrush. When Anais smells his breath, her head spins around, her ears pop off, and she melts] Ew. No man actually washes like this. At least I'd very much hope not +5
[Louie cooks some meat, and Gumball eats it. He spits it out] Gumball: Ugh, it's rare!Louie: That's how a man eats. No, that's how you kill your grandson +1
[Gumball, Darwin, and out two man-off contestants are sitting around the living room table.] Gumball: And for the final challenge: sharing your emotions! Louie and Richard: What? Gumball: [Evil laugh] Yes! All of this was a trick to make you confront man's deepest, darkest fear: talking about your feelings. Gumball taking Granny Jojo's idea and turning it into a clever plot to trick Richard and Louie into talking things out is actually genius. Which is why It'll never stop annoying me that despite a mountain of evidence proving otherwise the show continues to portray Gumball as stupid. He isn't, and I'm fed up of seeing otherwise -10
Granny Jojo: Oh, Richard, what about your dad? I thought you understood he didn't really go to get milk? [Richard suppresses his emotions. He struggles to keep himself from crying.] Richard: I know… I know. It's just that I really… r-really… Granny Jojo: I know, I know. I liked him too. It's just…he felt otherwise. Come on, just let it all out. [Richard cries hard. Granny Jojo comforts him amidst the shower of tears and mucus.] Granny Jojo: Come on, kid. That's it. Richard: [Stops crying] It's just, I'm worried that you'll like Louie better than me— [Sniffs] And then-and then, I'll lose you too. [Sniffs] Granny Jojo: [Kisses him on cheek] Don't be sillier than you already are. Your brain might stall once and for all. Richard: You know, I want you to be happy too. LOUIE! [Hugs] From now on, I'll call you Daddy! Louie: Um, [Clears throat] A lot of weather we've been having lately. [Richard puts him down, and Louis pats him] Anais: Are you gonna be okay, Dad? Richard: Yes, sweetie. There comes a time when in your life, you have to grow up, and become a man. [Richard hugs his family. Louie and Granny Jojo kiss happily, making him gag one last time] Awww, now this is how you end an episode like this. Wholesome and poignant. -5
Total Sins: -11
Most Sinned Episode So Far: The Hero (1,490,894) Least Sinned Episode: The Shell (-999, 958)
Previous Episode: https://www.reddit.com/gumball/comments/1d9wxta/eww_the_mirro
2024.06.08 12:16 Ruzzawuzza Let’s Write… A Low-Level Adventure!
Roleplaying games are a fantastic way to tell a story with friends, and Pathfinder is no different! Something that certainly attracted me to the system (way back in the pages of Dungeon magazine, pre-Pathfinder) was Adventure Paths and the immense amount of pre-written content out there for GMs. However, there’s still plenty of room for you and your group to tell the story that fits you best. One of the best resources you have for writing adventures is the GM Core book - especially Chapter 2: Building The Game, which begins on page 63. I’ll be referring to these rules and suggestions (and others) often throughout the post, but think of this as a more focused resource than the Core book.
I’ve been approached by GMs looking to write adventures in the past and I often hear the same thing: “Okay, the group starts out as small town villagers, but then they will go on to defeat one of the risen demigods of death!” Which is to say, I hear about massive, epic stories, but no real plans on how to get there. What I’d like to do with this little exercise is look at how we write an adventure in service to a story, not just one or the other. We’ll approach our games from both a mechanical and storytelling perspective and work to make something like a guide to adventure writing. Hopefully, we can explore a variety of adventure archetypes together, from dungeon crawls to diplomatic missions to planar escapades.
Why Should I Write Adventures? I wouldn’t think of it as “writing an adventure” so much as it is “approaching GMing from a new angle.” If you’re someone (like me) who mostly runs pre-written adventures, you may not see the advantages of peeling back the curtain on both the storytelling and mechanical aspects of the game. And that’s okay! But sometimes those games go off book and it’s a helpful skill to have in your back pocket. It also lets a GM craft more personal encounters for their group to tie them more strongly to the story. It’s also just a fun solo exercise that can be entertaining for GMs with time on their hands.
What A Story Needs - Structure There are numerous ways to tell a story and one could dedicate their life working on perfecting what it means to write a story. Something, of course, to keep in mind is that story writing provides one singular perspective and outcome to how the tale unfolds while an adventure allows for numerous (if not limitless) ways for the story to develop. That said, for this first adventure, let’s keep things simple. We’ll focus mostly on the mechanics of adventure design and just make sure that we have a few storytelling elements before we begin. When I say elements, I mean:
Adventure Flow - The Five Scene Adventure So while you may have some narrative idea of the direction you’d like the adventure to go, we have to start thinking about how that story comes together at the table. Just as there are countless ways to tell a story, there are numerous ways to construct an adventure. I’d like to take a look at one that you may see crop up in adventures from time to time and is quite easy to execute. If you play a lot of Pathfinder Society, this sort of format should feel a bit familiar. I’ll refer to it as the “Five Scene Adventure”
Now this is specifically setting out to create a low-level adventure, so let’s take a look at how to make those sorts of adventures really play well at the table!
Low-Level Things To Keep In Mind - Tips What follows is a list of tips of things to keep in mind when writing for low-levels. An adventure doesn’t need to cater to every single one of these points, but they’re good guidelines when designing.
So let’s start simple. Let’s make an adventure for level 1 characters. Our goal as adventure writers is to provide a fairly straightforward low-level adventure for PCs to get a handle on adventuring. Let’s look at our narrative elements: Inciting incident, adversaries, and goals. I always find it easiest with smaller games to take an adversary and work backwards, as they often provide plenty of good roleplaying opportunities. Let’s take a look at some potential adversaries. This is a list of level -1 to level 1 creatures and gives us a nice range of opponents to consider.
After some searching, I settled on doing something with Tooth Fairies, as there’s a lot of fun stuff to work with. They’re tricky little fey with strange motivations who, like many fey, have a weakness to cold iron. There’s plenty to work with! Perhaps our inciting incident involves an attack by a swarm of tooth fairies who have been pushed to the limit and are attempting to exact revenge for a slight the PCs don’t quite understand yet. Looking through the list of potential adversaries, I see that a number of animals could also fit in nicely. Something to keep in the back pocket. Now we just need a goal - typically one in opposition to the adversary: the tooth fairies. What if the fey creatures stole away something that the PCs want to return. I propose something that could be a bit fun while maintaining the darkness of the fey: a dog. Let’s take a look at what we have narratively so far.
The Adventure - The Mechanics Now we get into the actual mechanics of the adventure. You can have all of these ideas ready to go before the game begins, but if you just start throwing out your ideas without any planning, things can get messy real quick! Before I go too much further, I want to put a very important clause here for everyone:
We are not professional game designers and are not getting paid for our work. Don’t pour blood, sweat, and tears into a project and burn out. We’re writing adventures for our friends to play in. Do not let perfect become the enemy of good. An adventure scrawled on the back of a napkin plays just as well as one printed in a Paizo book.
Now, that said, I am putting a little bit more effort into the adventures you see just because I am sharing them with you all and want to provide more clarity in the process than what my typical note-taking would be. Find what works for you!
Now let’s get started! Let’s go through the mechanical bits one-by-one and address how to create them. For our first adventure, I won’t go into too much detail about every choice made since we’ve already covered a lot of material, but rather an explanation of how to accomplish the encounter design. We’ll be focusing more on encounters in this post. While we could talk about designing monsters, hazards, or even subsystems, let’s keep things simple.
First up is the inciting incident in the roadside inn. Now, a tooth fairy swarm at such a low level would be a disastrous first encounter for a group, so we’ll rule that out right away. We’ll be using the guidelines found starting on page 75 of the GM Core Book for this, but I’ll be referencing the AoN pages throughout. The first thing we need to do is decide what our encounter budget is. Given that we want this to be an introduction to the game, let’s make this a Low encounter for our level 1 group. This means we have 60 XP to use to choose our creatures. To find out how much a creature is worth, we compare its level against the party’s level and use this handy chart. Our Tooth Fairies (only level -1) are worth 20 XP to our level 1 party. That means we can use three of them for our encounter. Nothing fancy, but we’ll mix things up as we continue!
Our investigation is going to be a bit more open-ended. We know when combat starts and ends, but the players dictate the flow of the story when they are given the reins of what to do next. And that’s a good thing! But we need to provide them with options that both advance the story and engage them. We have a pretty easy path here - the PCs want to chase after the tooth fairies, but they don’t know where to start. Let’s create a few areas for them to explore. Something like…
And we come now to overcoming challenges, where the meat of our adventure lies. Now, our group should know their enemy and where they’re located, or at least they have a goal in mind. Now it’s our job to put barriers in the way to that goal. Looking back over our rough draft, there are a few ideas for encounters there that seem interesting. I picked out three and want to workshop them a little. We also look through the Bestiary for creatures that fit the theme we’re going for, which is something of a fight against the fey and nature.
This is also the point in adventure writing where we want to start thinking about Treasure. Now this is hardly enough to get the group the 1000 XP they need to level up - maybe about 1/3rd of that. So we can take a look at the Treasure By Level and roughly sprinkle about a third of that throughout the adventure. Again, I personally like to put in things that will be immediately useful at lower levels.
With all that said and done, let’s take a look at the finished product!
Stepping in with a quick note here, much of this idea was put together during the transition from Legacy PF2 content to Remastered. The following adventure includes some Legacy content, but not in any way that will complicate the experience.
Link to the Low-Level Adventure, “Dognapping!”
As we said earlier, there’s a little more effort put into the presentation of this adventure just to make it easier to parse and for people to use at home if they like. You don’t need to do so much with your own games! If you know the story well enough, just a few notes on a piece of paper and you’re good to go.
Making It Spicy - Alterations Rough drafts are our way of getting ideas down on paper so that we can refine them into a complete thought. However, that’s not to say that we’re always finished after that. Something I enjoy doing is looking at encounters or adventures that I’ve written and adding a little “spice.” What this means is putting in a bit more flavor to either make a scene more memorable, give characters in an encounter more options, or to change how my players look at the game. Adding “spice” does not mean making things harder - it looks to enhance the experience, not bog it down.
While this is certainly not a necessary part of adventure design, I recommend keeping it in the back of your mind. It can even help when running pre-written adventures! So, here are a few “spicy” ideas for this adventure.
Up next? We’ll take a look at mid-level adventures, when characters start to break the rules a little more!
submitted by Ruzzawuzza to Pathfinder2e [link] [comments]
I’ve been approached by GMs looking to write adventures in the past and I often hear the same thing: “Okay, the group starts out as small town villagers, but then they will go on to defeat one of the risen demigods of death!” Which is to say, I hear about massive, epic stories, but no real plans on how to get there. What I’d like to do with this little exercise is look at how we write an adventure in service to a story, not just one or the other. We’ll approach our games from both a mechanical and storytelling perspective and work to make something like a guide to adventure writing. Hopefully, we can explore a variety of adventure archetypes together, from dungeon crawls to diplomatic missions to planar escapades.
Why Should I Write Adventures? I wouldn’t think of it as “writing an adventure” so much as it is “approaching GMing from a new angle.” If you’re someone (like me) who mostly runs pre-written adventures, you may not see the advantages of peeling back the curtain on both the storytelling and mechanical aspects of the game. And that’s okay! But sometimes those games go off book and it’s a helpful skill to have in your back pocket. It also lets a GM craft more personal encounters for their group to tie them more strongly to the story. It’s also just a fun solo exercise that can be entertaining for GMs with time on their hands.
What A Story Needs - Structure There are numerous ways to tell a story and one could dedicate their life working on perfecting what it means to write a story. Something, of course, to keep in mind is that story writing provides one singular perspective and outcome to how the tale unfolds while an adventure allows for numerous (if not limitless) ways for the story to develop. That said, for this first adventure, let’s keep things simple. We’ll focus mostly on the mechanics of adventure design and just make sure that we have a few storytelling elements before we begin. When I say elements, I mean:
- Inciting Incident (Adventure Hook): What happens to drag the PCs into the adventure? Seeing a poster in town promising gold for the defeat of some goblins may motivate a group to action, but it’s hardly dynamic. The tower at the edge of town collapses, spurring the group on to investigate. Or perhaps a child is thrust into the care of the PCs with only the name of a close family member to go off of. What about fire that springs up at night suddenly calling out the names of the PCs? These all are interesting ways to involve the PCs directly into the adventure and tease them into the story rather than them existing as outside entities who have no connection to the story.
- Adversary: An adversary has many meanings and can range from things such as other people, to forces of nature, to one’s own inner struggles. Once more, keeping it simple, let’s keep our adversaries as external, physical opponents; opponents that we can dispatch through encounters. While adventures certainly don’t need combat encounters to succeed, it’s a good place to start in a combat-focused game like Pathfinder 2e.
- Goal(s): And one of the most important elements that an adventure should have is a goal - the thing that keeps the PCs moving forward on the right track and should, presumably, tie somewhat into resolving the resolving incident and will put them up against the adversary (who may have their own goals in opposition to the party).
Adventure Flow - The Five Scene Adventure So while you may have some narrative idea of the direction you’d like the adventure to go, we have to start thinking about how that story comes together at the table. Just as there are countless ways to tell a story, there are numerous ways to construct an adventure. I’d like to take a look at one that you may see crop up in adventures from time to time and is quite easy to execute. If you play a lot of Pathfinder Society, this sort of format should feel a bit familiar. I’ll refer to it as the “Five Scene Adventure”
- Inciting Incident - The story has to start somewhere, and just like with narrative structure, having a strong opening that establishes the goals of the adventure is key.
- Investigation - Instead of having the group charge headlong at the goal, they should get a chance to engage with the story and uncover more of what’s going on. This could be through roleplay, encounters, or skill checks, but they should serve to further the players’ understanding of the adventure.
- Overcoming Challenges - From here, the PCs are armed with some knowledge of what they’re doing and most now overcome challenges on their way to accomplishing their goal. This is often done through a series of encounters, but can actually be handled in many different ways so long as the PCs are challenged.
- Climax - The major turning point in the adventure where the PCs come face to face with their adversary and accomplish their goal. This is typically the scene where everything comes to a head and is the greatest challenge that the group has faced up until this point.
- Resolution - An oft-forgotten part of the adventure, but the portion where the PCs return home as heroes and see the fruits of their labor in accomplishing their goal. This is a scene for the heroes to collect their rewards and unwind from a trying adventure.
Now this is specifically setting out to create a low-level adventure, so let’s take a look at how to make those sorts of adventures really play well at the table!
Low-Level Things To Keep In Mind - Tips What follows is a list of tips of things to keep in mind when writing for low-levels. An adventure doesn’t need to cater to every single one of these points, but they’re good guidelines when designing.
- The encounter building guidelines work great across all levels of play in Pathfinder 2e, but I’ll make a small caveat here - if you want to explore more difficult Severe encounters, you should look towards using a larger amount of weaker enemies than a single strong enemy at lower levels. To illustrate, a Severe encounter for a group of level 1 PCs could be a single level 4 opponent. Let’s use an owlbear as an example: with 21 AC, your players will likely only be hitting it around 35% of the time while it’s going to be critting your group about 35% of the time and with damage (7 to 16 on a hit, 14 to 32 on a crit) that’s likely going to be dropping them in one blow. That same Severe encounter budget can instead give us a fight with two ghasts (which, I still don’t love for 1st level parties, but it beats an owlbear), or a healthy trio of mephits. At low-levels, characters don’t have a large breadth of options to help them survive and mitigate damage as well as impact an enemy’s stats. So for low-levels, aim to keep difficult combats against a large quantity of weaker foes as opposed to a singular powerful foe.
- Magic is not ubiquitous. Depending on your group, this could be a real selling point for low-level adventures. Problems are solved through skill checks and investigation and the opposing forces don’t often use magic to foil senses (no invisibility used to escape, no teleportation, no flight, no illusions). It also means that simple problems that get handwaved at higher levels (such as crossing a river, navigating through a forest, or getting food in the wilderness) can become interesting challenges for the PCs to overcome.
- Weaknesses and resistances are felt the most at low-levels. This can give players a real sense of agency over the game when they correctly identify an opponent’s weaknesses and come prepared to exploit it. Likewise, giving PCs enemies with resistances out of nowhere is a bit of an unfair move. If the group was unaware of a ghost lurking in the mine and had no way to discover it, they would feel a little cheated in being unable to overcome its resistances.
- Healing is not assured at the very lowest of levels. Even groups with dedicated healers may fumble that Treat Wounds check or lack the spell slots available to keep everyone topped up. Low-level games should provide groups with opportunities to rest and recover and aren’t served well by throwing encounter after encounter into the PCs.
- Low-level games are some of the best times to play around with non-magical light sources or the lack thereof. A dark room is suddenly much more dangerous when the human fighter has to put away his greatsword to carry a torch because the wizard didn’t prepare light.
So let’s start simple. Let’s make an adventure for level 1 characters. Our goal as adventure writers is to provide a fairly straightforward low-level adventure for PCs to get a handle on adventuring. Let’s look at our narrative elements: Inciting incident, adversaries, and goals. I always find it easiest with smaller games to take an adversary and work backwards, as they often provide plenty of good roleplaying opportunities. Let’s take a look at some potential adversaries. This is a list of level -1 to level 1 creatures and gives us a nice range of opponents to consider.
After some searching, I settled on doing something with Tooth Fairies, as there’s a lot of fun stuff to work with. They’re tricky little fey with strange motivations who, like many fey, have a weakness to cold iron. There’s plenty to work with! Perhaps our inciting incident involves an attack by a swarm of tooth fairies who have been pushed to the limit and are attempting to exact revenge for a slight the PCs don’t quite understand yet. Looking through the list of potential adversaries, I see that a number of animals could also fit in nicely. Something to keep in the back pocket. Now we just need a goal - typically one in opposition to the adversary: the tooth fairies. What if the fey creatures stole away something that the PCs want to return. I propose something that could be a bit fun while maintaining the darkness of the fey: a dog. Let’s take a look at what we have narratively so far.
- Inciting Incident: The PCs are attacked by a swarm of tooth fairies while they are at a friend’s home/roadside tavern/storefront. The tooth fairies escape with a dog that potentially has a connection to the PCs
- Adversaries: Tooth fairies, fey creatures, animals
- Goal: Retrieve the dog safely from the tooth fairies.
- Inciting Incident: I’d like to keep this adventure somewhat general while still setting it in a place a bit farther from civilization. It’s also interesting to me if it’s something that you can use to bridge two adventures or start a new campaign! So, while it may be a bit cliche, the PCs are at a roadside inn that is suddenly attacked by a swarm of fey creatures! (To me, cliches get a bit of a pass in low-level games as it sort of builds on something familiar that everyone can easily get into the headspace of).
- Investigation: The PCs discover that the inn’s dog has gone missing! The fey are suspected. During the course of this investigation, the PCs can learn about where the fey are known to be, some of their weaknesses, and perhaps even a cold iron weapon to help deal with weaknesses.
- Overcoming Challenges: We have the trip to the fey home - not sure if we want to do anything here as we want this area to seem relatively safe. The fey could live somewhere interesting, like an abandoned farmhouse, tunnels beneath a tree, or a thicket of unruly briars. From here we could plan out some encounters. We don’t need to think about the exact mechanics of things right now, just general ideas. We don’t have to use all of these, but it gives us a good idea of where we’d like to go with our encounters
- An encounter with wildlife to get the party warmed up
- An encounter with a Hazard and some sort of guard as a means of protecting the fey base
- A larger encounter against many fey
- A plant based encounter (either Hazard or creature)
- A fey puzzle - perhaps involving teeth?
- Climax: We should have the PCs come face-to-face with a group of tooth fairies, the truly most malicious of this fey group. This could be an encounter with numerous tooth fairy and maybe one elite version, or perhaps a Hazard to keep this interesting. Our dog should be here - maybe locked away (poorly) so that there are alternate ways to approach this encounter (such as simply sneaking in and freeing the dog).
- Resolution: The return to the inn should be a triumph, with a reward coming to the PCs for what they’ve done - even small rewards like a free meal and night at the inn and perhaps an item that is special to the owner. This is also a great time to have the group really feel like heroes and perhaps plant the seeds for future adventures.
The Adventure - The Mechanics Now we get into the actual mechanics of the adventure. You can have all of these ideas ready to go before the game begins, but if you just start throwing out your ideas without any planning, things can get messy real quick! Before I go too much further, I want to put a very important clause here for everyone:
We are not professional game designers and are not getting paid for our work. Don’t pour blood, sweat, and tears into a project and burn out. We’re writing adventures for our friends to play in. Do not let perfect become the enemy of good. An adventure scrawled on the back of a napkin plays just as well as one printed in a Paizo book.
Now, that said, I am putting a little bit more effort into the adventures you see just because I am sharing them with you all and want to provide more clarity in the process than what my typical note-taking would be. Find what works for you!
Now let’s get started! Let’s go through the mechanical bits one-by-one and address how to create them. For our first adventure, I won’t go into too much detail about every choice made since we’ve already covered a lot of material, but rather an explanation of how to accomplish the encounter design. We’ll be focusing more on encounters in this post. While we could talk about designing monsters, hazards, or even subsystems, let’s keep things simple.
First up is the inciting incident in the roadside inn. Now, a tooth fairy swarm at such a low level would be a disastrous first encounter for a group, so we’ll rule that out right away. We’ll be using the guidelines found starting on page 75 of the GM Core Book for this, but I’ll be referencing the AoN pages throughout. The first thing we need to do is decide what our encounter budget is. Given that we want this to be an introduction to the game, let’s make this a Low encounter for our level 1 group. This means we have 60 XP to use to choose our creatures. To find out how much a creature is worth, we compare its level against the party’s level and use this handy chart. Our Tooth Fairies (only level -1) are worth 20 XP to our level 1 party. That means we can use three of them for our encounter. Nothing fancy, but we’ll mix things up as we continue!
Our investigation is going to be a bit more open-ended. We know when combat starts and ends, but the players dictate the flow of the story when they are given the reins of what to do next. And that’s a good thing! But we need to provide them with options that both advance the story and engage them. We have a pretty easy path here - the PCs want to chase after the tooth fairies, but they don’t know where to start. Let’s create a few areas for them to explore. Something like…
- Common Room: Asking patrons, maybe even tending to injuries; success here should put the players on the right track on where to go, and introduce the idea that the fey had a goal in mind during the attack (Using Charisma skills)
- Kitchen: Searching through to find what the fey may have been looking for - a great place to introduce treasure, especially a cold iron weapon (likely a dagger) to give the PCs something to combat the fey (Searching, Perception)
- Overnight Rooms: Here we can put in some more hints about what the group may encounter when they confront the fey; I like the idea of a traveling merchant staying here who offers the PCs a way to deal with a Hazard they could run into later in the adventure
- Backyard: Here we can see that the inn’s dog has been taken, but Investigating PCs can find more clues - like a trail of blood from where the dog fought back. (Nature, Survival, Perception?)
- Quick note: The game should never hinge on the PCs discovering something. If we want to go this route, we instead introduce a way to “fail forward” like “the PCs can find the fey camp after some wandering, but the sun has already gone down, giving them an hour of dim light before it becomes dark.”
And we come now to overcoming challenges, where the meat of our adventure lies. Now, our group should know their enemy and where they’re located, or at least they have a goal in mind. Now it’s our job to put barriers in the way to that goal. Looking back over our rough draft, there are a few ideas for encounters there that seem interesting. I picked out three and want to workshop them a little. We also look through the Bestiary for creatures that fit the theme we’re going for, which is something of a fight against the fey and nature.
- A Low encounter with a Hunting Spider and a number of Hampering Webs
- A Moderate encounter with three Melixies who have swiped some sweets from the inn
- Finally, a Severe encounter with six Tooth Fairies - our finale
- A Trivial encounter of an elite Sprite who was left to watch the inn. Their role is not to engage the PCs directly, but tail them and strike when they’re preoccupied. Players then have a chance to spot the sprite out and chase him off before he ambushes them in the spider fight.
- The Melixie encounter is changed to have the three fey fighting loudly and distractedly over cake or pie. Clever characters could use the opportunity to slip by or get the jump on them.
- As a side note, we can also tempt the group with some treasure here, as well as another hazard
- Lastly, let’s keep the Severe encounter, but instead of a boring fight against six Tooth Fairies, we’ll make it three Tooth Fairies and their “pet” Snapping Flytrap who has the weak template since the fey have been feeding it nothing but stolen sweets, coins, and teeth.
- I’m a little leery of this combat, but if we make the arena large enough, it should be easy for the group to keep away from the plant.
This is also the point in adventure writing where we want to start thinking about Treasure. Now this is hardly enough to get the group the 1000 XP they need to level up - maybe about 1/3rd of that. So we can take a look at the Treasure By Level and roughly sprinkle about a third of that throughout the adventure. Again, I personally like to put in things that will be immediately useful at lower levels.
With all that said and done, let’s take a look at the finished product!
Stepping in with a quick note here, much of this idea was put together during the transition from Legacy PF2 content to Remastered. The following adventure includes some Legacy content, but not in any way that will complicate the experience.
Link to the Low-Level Adventure, “Dognapping!”
As we said earlier, there’s a little more effort put into the presentation of this adventure just to make it easier to parse and for people to use at home if they like. You don’t need to do so much with your own games! If you know the story well enough, just a few notes on a piece of paper and you’re good to go.
Making It Spicy - Alterations Rough drafts are our way of getting ideas down on paper so that we can refine them into a complete thought. However, that’s not to say that we’re always finished after that. Something I enjoy doing is looking at encounters or adventures that I’ve written and adding a little “spice.” What this means is putting in a bit more flavor to either make a scene more memorable, give characters in an encounter more options, or to change how my players look at the game. Adding “spice” does not mean making things harder - it looks to enhance the experience, not bog it down.
While this is certainly not a necessary part of adventure design, I recommend keeping it in the back of your mind. It can even help when running pre-written adventures! So, here are a few “spicy” ideas for this adventure.
- Stitchleaf carries with him a few nets that he happily throws on the PCs when they’re doing battle with the spider before extinguishing his light and slipping away to Hide behind a tree. Likewise, the sprite could even speed ahead to warn the thicket should it look like the PCs will overcome the spider. This removes the possibility of slipping past the melixies and Stitchleaf can join in another encounter, becoming a recurring enemy.
- The thicket itself has enough space within its thorns to allow Tiny creatures like the fey to enter, Take Cover, Sneak, and Hide. When the odds start to turn against them, the melixies use this to great effect.
- The tunnels into the thicket and between the two “rooms” act as choke points for Medium creatures, requiring them to Squeeze (DC 15 Acrobatics) through. On a failure they treat the tunnels as difficult terrain, but take 1d4 piercing damage in the process. This can create a feeling of being “locked in” once a battle has begun.
Up next? We’ll take a look at mid-level adventures, when characters start to break the rules a little more!
2024.06.08 06:43 SmurtBrandon My (mis)adventures in secret-hunting
Howdy. Here is a list of things I spent varying amounts of time investigating because I was 100% sure they were secrets. I’ve come up empty on all of these. I thought it might be fun (or maybe cathartic) to share. Would be interested in reading about things others have looked into. Or maybe, one of things here might spark an idea and create a new lead for someone else. I’m not part of Discord, so have no idea if people are talking about these things. Though I imagine the secret-hunting community has thought of pretty much everything.
1. A silly one first: Almost immediately after obtaining the pencil, I went around the entire map trying to “erase” it, thinking it would uncover something hidden.
2. I started making note of the hanging lanterns across the map – by color (including the oddly colored yellow ones), by shape, by the sides of it that light up under the UV wand. I was especially intrigued by the ones (13, by my count) that have moths flying around them. I started marking them on the map thinking they would uncover a hidden message or a hidden flute song or a hidden something.
3. I made note of all the rooms with pigeons and thought the count of pigeons in each room would uncover a flute song. But one room (and only one room) had nine pigeons. OF COURSE.
4. I really thought (and actually still do) there is a hidden message to be found in the names of the eggs. I tried anagramming egg names and groups of egg names (grouped by row and by their hidden UV binary numbers). I concatenated all of the egg names in the order they appear in the egg room and counted off certain letters (according to the hidden UV binary numbers), thinking there was a hidden encrypted message (callback to ARG). I even googled “peacock cipher” to see if that was a thing. I eventually gave up on this, but as I said, I really think there’s something there.
5. In the room with the chameleon boss fight, the right side is populated with the ghost creatures. Almost. Not the entire right side. There is a line that cuts through the group where there are no ghosts, kind of like a path. I thought this represented either a flute song, or a path to travel from different starting points in the bunny realm, but I couldn’t find anything.
6. I was obsessed with this one for a bit. I am convinced there is a secret to be found in the layout of the stars in the bunny realm. Plus there’s something going on with the fact that in three of the bunny realm screens, one star is a different place. I thought for sure the star layout would point to a location on the map, or moreso something that could be drawn on the bunny mural. I overlaid a 20x40 grid (size of bunny mural) onto a screenshot of the stars and it was uncanny how it almost perfectly fit.
submitted by SmurtBrandon to animalWell [link] [comments]
1. A silly one first: Almost immediately after obtaining the pencil, I went around the entire map trying to “erase” it, thinking it would uncover something hidden.
2. I started making note of the hanging lanterns across the map – by color (including the oddly colored yellow ones), by shape, by the sides of it that light up under the UV wand. I was especially intrigued by the ones (13, by my count) that have moths flying around them. I started marking them on the map thinking they would uncover a hidden message or a hidden flute song or a hidden something.
3. I made note of all the rooms with pigeons and thought the count of pigeons in each room would uncover a flute song. But one room (and only one room) had nine pigeons. OF COURSE.
4. I really thought (and actually still do) there is a hidden message to be found in the names of the eggs. I tried anagramming egg names and groups of egg names (grouped by row and by their hidden UV binary numbers). I concatenated all of the egg names in the order they appear in the egg room and counted off certain letters (according to the hidden UV binary numbers), thinking there was a hidden encrypted message (callback to ARG). I even googled “peacock cipher” to see if that was a thing. I eventually gave up on this, but as I said, I really think there’s something there.
5. In the room with the chameleon boss fight, the right side is populated with the ghost creatures. Almost. Not the entire right side. There is a line that cuts through the group where there are no ghosts, kind of like a path. I thought this represented either a flute song, or a path to travel from different starting points in the bunny realm, but I couldn’t find anything.
6. I was obsessed with this one for a bit. I am convinced there is a secret to be found in the layout of the stars in the bunny realm. Plus there’s something going on with the fact that in three of the bunny realm screens, one star is a different place. I thought for sure the star layout would point to a location on the map, or moreso something that could be drawn on the bunny mural. I overlaid a 20x40 grid (size of bunny mural) onto a screenshot of the stars and it was uncanny how it almost perfectly fit.
- Speaking of the bunny mural, here is the one I spent the most time on. This was so frustrating for me, because I really thought I was onto something. Again thinking back to the ARG, I thought of the bunny mural (the original picture) as a nonogram puzzle. I backed out the numbers for each row and column that produced the nonogram puzzle that would recreate the picture in the bunny mural when it was solved. Here’s the funny thing about that though. If you’re familiar with nonograms/picross, you know that those puzzles are usually designed so that there is one unique solution. But that doesn’t need to be the case. You can have a nonogram that has more than one solution. And in the case of the bunny mural, it is the 12 blocks in the lower left area of the original picture, all of which (COINCIDENTALLY of course) are colored white, different than every other box, that can be shaded in more than one way and still produce a valid nonogram solution. If you focus just on that 11x5 area where those blocks are shaded, through some fancy combinatorial analysis (i.e., coding up a simple brute force counter), you can determine that there are in fact 29,414 different ways to shade those blocks and still have a valid solution to the nonogram puzzle. I could have started shading the blocks in one of the 29,413 other valid ways to see if something would happen but that seemed to be a fool’s errand. So I started analyzing the number itself. If it wasn’t for that damn 9, that number would have made for a possible flute song. Then I converted it to binary and started playing around with it that way to find a flute song, but ultimately nothing worked. I went a little too deep down the “rabbit hole” on this one.
2024.06.08 02:43 Obsequium_Minaris The Vampire's Apprentice - Chapter 18
First / Previous / Royal Road / Patreon (Read 12 Chapters Ahead)
XXX
The four of them sat in that room for hours, none of them saying anything as their thoughts ran rampant with possibilities. This was uncharted territory for all of them, which was cause for concern – Lawrence had been agreeable enough so far, Alain supposed, but there was always the chance that this was just a pretense. Then again, he had to admit that didn't make much sense – after all, none of them were responsible for what had happened in Los Banos, and Lawrence seemed to know it. Eventually, though, the door to the room opened, and Lawrence stepped in.
"Alain Smith, come with me," was all he had to say. Lawrence began to turn around but paused. He stared at Sable with a look of minor amusement, which she returned with a glare of her own. "Do not worry – even if he were to upset your judges, we will be returning him to you shortly. Your Thrall will not be harmed during any of this, you have my word."
Satisfied with himself, Lawrence's attention was directed once again to Alain before leaving the cell. He motioned for Alain to follow after him, then began to step out. All Alain could do was give the others a shrug before following suit.
The two walked for several minutes, passing by several closed doors and hallways. Occasionally, they passed a pair of guards blocking a door; Alain couldn't help but note that they looked more like statues than anything in their surprisingly fancy outfits – it reminded him of an old-fashioned military unit more than anything. Their demeanor only reinforced that thought – the only thing that moved was their eyes, never blinking and always directed at him. Alain forced himself to refrain from allowing his hand to drift to his holstered Colt as he passed yet another set of statuesque guards.
He didn't expect them to try anything, and even if they did, he doubted he'd make it out alive. But he could at least empty his revolver's cylinder and take one or two down with him if that were to happen. Lawrence eventually stopped, with Alain nearly stumbling into him. A sly smirk crossed the vampire's face, which his amusement, but no words were exchanged between them. The door ahead of them opened by itself, slowly revealing a large, dimly lit room. Alain took a deep breath, adjusted his belt, and walked in.
The room was larger than anticipated. It had vaulted ceilings that scraped to the top of the mountain where windows were placed to allow diffused light to come in along with fresh air. The architecture was ornate and confusing; the closest Alain had come to recognizing any of it was from a lithograph of The Notre Dame shown at a world's fair he'd once attended long ago. In the center of the room were three stone thrones, built to loom downward to the entryway. Each seat was occupied by a person in black robes; they reminded Alain of his Sunday schooling back home more than anything.
As if he needed yet another sign that this was likely going to end poorly for him.
"The facade of your world and ours has been breached," one of the figures, the only woman among the group of three, said. Her eyes were red but with blonde hair, just like Sable's; however, the streaks of gray throughout betrayed her age. How old she was supposed to be, Alain had no idea, but given that Sable was apparently several hundred years old, this woman had to be even older than she appeared. She had an accent that Alain couldn't place, but it sounded like she may have been from the East Coast. "We three will divine the truth from you, and you will not resist," she added.
Alain looked over the other two. They were both men, one of them with a pencil-thin mustache and hair slicked with oil. If it weren't for the Bishop's outfit, he could have looked like someone who owned a bank or a fancy restaurant. The other was less of a man, and more of a frail wrinkle. Marred with age, his eyes were milky blue and his vision looked distant. His face looked somewhat alert, but otherwise seemed to be concentrating on something else.
"State your name," said the lucid man, a thick French accent permeating from his lips. "Do include any surnames, titles, or honors you have been given."
"Uh, Alain Smith? I don't have any titles. Hell, I don't even have a middle name," he said, trying to warm up to the three.
Without warning, his entire body suddenly froze, leaving unable to move a muscle. A heat began to build up within him; it was like he was back in the Arizona desert, only somehow, it was flaring up from inside him. He winced out of discomfort more than anything; it was painful, of course, but it felt more like a bad sunburn more than anything debilitating. Still, it was highly uncomfortable, enough that, had he been able to do so, he would have shouted. As fast as the pain flared up, though, it dissipated completely.
He fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him for a moment as he struggled back to his feet. The three seemed nonplussed, as if he didn't just act like he'd been punched in the gut. Alain took several breaths to steel himself. Whatever had just happened, it was clear to him now that the Tribunal were not people he wanted to be messing with, even with the gun on his hip. No doubt they had something that could kill him before he could even get a shot off.
No, he was going to have to play their game if he didn't want to suffer through whatever they'd just done to him for a second time.
"May I know the names of my accusers at least?" He asked. A wince escaped him in anticipation of what he was sure would be more pain, but nothing came.
"We accuse you of nothing yet, unless you wish to confess something to us," the woman said. "I am Thorne. The man who asked you your name is Julius, and our esteemed elder Owen is presiding over this talk in a more passive fashion. Now, tell me of your master and her butler."
Alain took a step back in confusion "My master? I'm not a servant, if that's what you think, ma'am. Sable hired me as an escort."
"And how did they commission you for this job?" Julius questioned.
"A diamond about the size of my fist. I was to take them from San Francisco to Sacramento. Los Banos was a simple stop since it's a well-known place for people to rest and restock on goods before traveling farther north. It was supposed to be a simple job, but… well, you three know how it ended already. Hence why I'm here now."
"Indeed," Owen said dryly. ""Do you have the diamond with you now?"
Alain reached into his pocket and retrieved the small jewelry box, then tossed it to the Adjudicator, who caught it and opened it. He appraised it for a moment, then passed it around so the others could look at it.
"Quite the pay for a simple escort mission," Thorne pointed out as she tossed the box back to him.
Alain shrugged. "I didn't dig any deeper. They held the diamond in front of my face; I knew better than to ask any questions about it."
"And they never mentioned where that jewel was from?"
"No."
"You may want to take a closer look at it, then."
Alain's heart skipped a beat. He opened the box and retrieved the gem, turning it around in his hand as he held it up to the light. As he did so, he noticed something he hadn't seen before – a small inscription of some letters etched into the side.
"C and S," he said. "What does that mean?"
"It is short for Clan Sable," Thorne explained.
"Clan…?" A thought occurred to him in the moment, and he looked back to the Adjudicators, surprise crossing his face. "Sable did mention a sister at some point…"
"You know her as Sable," Owen said. "But while we kept you all confined in that room, I had Lawrence do some digging around in our records. We keep track of every vampire clan's lineage as they are created or pass away. I figured her name sounded familiar, and I was correct – Sable is her clan name; her first name is Lilith. Does that information mean anything to you?"
"No, it doesn't."
"It shouldn't unless she told you. After all, you are newly exposed to this side of the Veil." Owen shook his head. "Clan Sable is the most powerful clan in Romania. They were led by Lilith's parents, until her sister Cleo killed them and usurped their positions. She was cooperative for a while, but recently, Romania has gone dark. We have sent envoys to try and make contact with her once again, but none have returned."
"Respectfully, what does that have to do with what happened in Los Banos?" Alain asked. "This seems unrelated."
"We are trying to establish why Lilith sought to make landfall here, in the United States," Thorne answered.
Alain's heart skipped a beat. "...You think her sister sent her," he realized, his eyes widening. "You think she's somehow responsible for what happened to the town. Am I understanding that correctly?"
"You have to realize how suspicious the timeline is," Julius implored. "Lilith is missing for several centuries-"
"Because she was staked and left for dead, and had to slowly regenerate over time," Alain growled. "Look, I don't know how else to tell you all that you're wasting your time and effort by focusing on her. You want the truth about what happened? Here it is – the mayor of Los Banos was dabbling in otherworldly forces he had no business messing with in the first place. He sacrificed many townspeople to try and make himself immortal, and when people tried to discover the truth and fight back, he summoned hordes of undead to descend upon them. In the end, his ritual backfired somehow; I'm not sure exactly how, but it did. And that's what happened – you can ask anyone in this group about it and they'll tell you the same thing. Now, if there's nothing else, I'd like to return to my friends, already."
The Adjudicators exchanged a glance with each other, but said nothing. Figuring they were finished, Alain rose to his feet and marched towards the door. He was about to step outside when Thorne called to him.
"Wait."
He paused, then turned back towards her. "Yes?"
"There is one more thing. It concerns you, in particular."
Alain's eyes narrowed. "I assure you, the only thing I did during the siege was-"
Thorne shook her head. "This is unrelated."
"What could possibly-"
"It involves your parents."
His eyes suddenly widened, and his breath hitched. Alain stared at her, frozen in shock for a moment, but then, his legs moved almost automatically. He stepped past the chair he'd been sitting in, marching right up to the trio of stone seats that towered above him. Standing in front of them, he crossed his arms and then uttered just two words in response.
"I'm listening."
XXX
Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, Ickbard for the help with writing this story.
submitted by Obsequium_Minaris to HFY [link] [comments]
XXX
The four of them sat in that room for hours, none of them saying anything as their thoughts ran rampant with possibilities. This was uncharted territory for all of them, which was cause for concern – Lawrence had been agreeable enough so far, Alain supposed, but there was always the chance that this was just a pretense. Then again, he had to admit that didn't make much sense – after all, none of them were responsible for what had happened in Los Banos, and Lawrence seemed to know it. Eventually, though, the door to the room opened, and Lawrence stepped in.
"Alain Smith, come with me," was all he had to say. Lawrence began to turn around but paused. He stared at Sable with a look of minor amusement, which she returned with a glare of her own. "Do not worry – even if he were to upset your judges, we will be returning him to you shortly. Your Thrall will not be harmed during any of this, you have my word."
Satisfied with himself, Lawrence's attention was directed once again to Alain before leaving the cell. He motioned for Alain to follow after him, then began to step out. All Alain could do was give the others a shrug before following suit.
The two walked for several minutes, passing by several closed doors and hallways. Occasionally, they passed a pair of guards blocking a door; Alain couldn't help but note that they looked more like statues than anything in their surprisingly fancy outfits – it reminded him of an old-fashioned military unit more than anything. Their demeanor only reinforced that thought – the only thing that moved was their eyes, never blinking and always directed at him. Alain forced himself to refrain from allowing his hand to drift to his holstered Colt as he passed yet another set of statuesque guards.
He didn't expect them to try anything, and even if they did, he doubted he'd make it out alive. But he could at least empty his revolver's cylinder and take one or two down with him if that were to happen. Lawrence eventually stopped, with Alain nearly stumbling into him. A sly smirk crossed the vampire's face, which his amusement, but no words were exchanged between them. The door ahead of them opened by itself, slowly revealing a large, dimly lit room. Alain took a deep breath, adjusted his belt, and walked in.
The room was larger than anticipated. It had vaulted ceilings that scraped to the top of the mountain where windows were placed to allow diffused light to come in along with fresh air. The architecture was ornate and confusing; the closest Alain had come to recognizing any of it was from a lithograph of The Notre Dame shown at a world's fair he'd once attended long ago. In the center of the room were three stone thrones, built to loom downward to the entryway. Each seat was occupied by a person in black robes; they reminded Alain of his Sunday schooling back home more than anything.
As if he needed yet another sign that this was likely going to end poorly for him.
"The facade of your world and ours has been breached," one of the figures, the only woman among the group of three, said. Her eyes were red but with blonde hair, just like Sable's; however, the streaks of gray throughout betrayed her age. How old she was supposed to be, Alain had no idea, but given that Sable was apparently several hundred years old, this woman had to be even older than she appeared. She had an accent that Alain couldn't place, but it sounded like she may have been from the East Coast. "We three will divine the truth from you, and you will not resist," she added.
Alain looked over the other two. They were both men, one of them with a pencil-thin mustache and hair slicked with oil. If it weren't for the Bishop's outfit, he could have looked like someone who owned a bank or a fancy restaurant. The other was less of a man, and more of a frail wrinkle. Marred with age, his eyes were milky blue and his vision looked distant. His face looked somewhat alert, but otherwise seemed to be concentrating on something else.
"State your name," said the lucid man, a thick French accent permeating from his lips. "Do include any surnames, titles, or honors you have been given."
"Uh, Alain Smith? I don't have any titles. Hell, I don't even have a middle name," he said, trying to warm up to the three.
Without warning, his entire body suddenly froze, leaving unable to move a muscle. A heat began to build up within him; it was like he was back in the Arizona desert, only somehow, it was flaring up from inside him. He winced out of discomfort more than anything; it was painful, of course, but it felt more like a bad sunburn more than anything debilitating. Still, it was highly uncomfortable, enough that, had he been able to do so, he would have shouted. As fast as the pain flared up, though, it dissipated completely.
He fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him for a moment as he struggled back to his feet. The three seemed nonplussed, as if he didn't just act like he'd been punched in the gut. Alain took several breaths to steel himself. Whatever had just happened, it was clear to him now that the Tribunal were not people he wanted to be messing with, even with the gun on his hip. No doubt they had something that could kill him before he could even get a shot off.
No, he was going to have to play their game if he didn't want to suffer through whatever they'd just done to him for a second time.
"May I know the names of my accusers at least?" He asked. A wince escaped him in anticipation of what he was sure would be more pain, but nothing came.
"We accuse you of nothing yet, unless you wish to confess something to us," the woman said. "I am Thorne. The man who asked you your name is Julius, and our esteemed elder Owen is presiding over this talk in a more passive fashion. Now, tell me of your master and her butler."
Alain took a step back in confusion "My master? I'm not a servant, if that's what you think, ma'am. Sable hired me as an escort."
"And how did they commission you for this job?" Julius questioned.
"A diamond about the size of my fist. I was to take them from San Francisco to Sacramento. Los Banos was a simple stop since it's a well-known place for people to rest and restock on goods before traveling farther north. It was supposed to be a simple job, but… well, you three know how it ended already. Hence why I'm here now."
"Indeed," Owen said dryly. ""Do you have the diamond with you now?"
Alain reached into his pocket and retrieved the small jewelry box, then tossed it to the Adjudicator, who caught it and opened it. He appraised it for a moment, then passed it around so the others could look at it.
"Quite the pay for a simple escort mission," Thorne pointed out as she tossed the box back to him.
Alain shrugged. "I didn't dig any deeper. They held the diamond in front of my face; I knew better than to ask any questions about it."
"And they never mentioned where that jewel was from?"
"No."
"You may want to take a closer look at it, then."
Alain's heart skipped a beat. He opened the box and retrieved the gem, turning it around in his hand as he held it up to the light. As he did so, he noticed something he hadn't seen before – a small inscription of some letters etched into the side.
"C and S," he said. "What does that mean?"
"It is short for Clan Sable," Thorne explained.
"Clan…?" A thought occurred to him in the moment, and he looked back to the Adjudicators, surprise crossing his face. "Sable did mention a sister at some point…"
"You know her as Sable," Owen said. "But while we kept you all confined in that room, I had Lawrence do some digging around in our records. We keep track of every vampire clan's lineage as they are created or pass away. I figured her name sounded familiar, and I was correct – Sable is her clan name; her first name is Lilith. Does that information mean anything to you?"
"No, it doesn't."
"It shouldn't unless she told you. After all, you are newly exposed to this side of the Veil." Owen shook his head. "Clan Sable is the most powerful clan in Romania. They were led by Lilith's parents, until her sister Cleo killed them and usurped their positions. She was cooperative for a while, but recently, Romania has gone dark. We have sent envoys to try and make contact with her once again, but none have returned."
"Respectfully, what does that have to do with what happened in Los Banos?" Alain asked. "This seems unrelated."
"We are trying to establish why Lilith sought to make landfall here, in the United States," Thorne answered.
Alain's heart skipped a beat. "...You think her sister sent her," he realized, his eyes widening. "You think she's somehow responsible for what happened to the town. Am I understanding that correctly?"
"You have to realize how suspicious the timeline is," Julius implored. "Lilith is missing for several centuries-"
"Because she was staked and left for dead, and had to slowly regenerate over time," Alain growled. "Look, I don't know how else to tell you all that you're wasting your time and effort by focusing on her. You want the truth about what happened? Here it is – the mayor of Los Banos was dabbling in otherworldly forces he had no business messing with in the first place. He sacrificed many townspeople to try and make himself immortal, and when people tried to discover the truth and fight back, he summoned hordes of undead to descend upon them. In the end, his ritual backfired somehow; I'm not sure exactly how, but it did. And that's what happened – you can ask anyone in this group about it and they'll tell you the same thing. Now, if there's nothing else, I'd like to return to my friends, already."
The Adjudicators exchanged a glance with each other, but said nothing. Figuring they were finished, Alain rose to his feet and marched towards the door. He was about to step outside when Thorne called to him.
"Wait."
He paused, then turned back towards her. "Yes?"
"There is one more thing. It concerns you, in particular."
Alain's eyes narrowed. "I assure you, the only thing I did during the siege was-"
Thorne shook her head. "This is unrelated."
"What could possibly-"
"It involves your parents."
His eyes suddenly widened, and his breath hitched. Alain stared at her, frozen in shock for a moment, but then, his legs moved almost automatically. He stepped past the chair he'd been sitting in, marching right up to the trio of stone seats that towered above him. Standing in front of them, he crossed his arms and then uttered just two words in response.
"I'm listening."
XXX
Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, Ickbard for the help with writing this story.
2024.06.08 02:27 FormerFruit What kind of letters should I write to myself?
I bought some fancy notepaper and want to write some letters to myself, things to put in a book and look back on later in life.
But I have no idea what to write. What kind of ideas can you give for letters to write to myself?
submitted by FormerFruit to TheGirlSurvivalGuide [link] [comments]
But I have no idea what to write. What kind of ideas can you give for letters to write to myself?
2024.06.08 01:50 secure-raspberry-763 Aita for losing my shit on my husband on the day of his family reunion?
I am not OP. That is u/Nervous_Ad8260 who posted to AITAH
Original post May 19th 2024
I’m a 35 y.o f married to a 38 y.o. Man. We have been together for 10 years and have 2 children 9 and 5. My husband works very hard he has multiple jobs he works throughout the week. Recently we had a discussion about taking time off and spending some time together. It is difficult because of things in his past he accumulated a lot of debt which is why he works so much.
I work 60+hrs a week and take care of the household and childcare things while much of his income goes to paying his debts. I keep up with the household I do the house work, and lawn work, repairs etc and he contributes where he can. With in this year he has taken time off for family and co-worker events. He has scheduled time to take trips with his friends, and when he does so I’m the designated baby sitter.
Many days after he gets home he is responsible for his parents. He takes them grocery shopping fixes things at their household and does some of their housework. I forgot to mention he is one of 5 and all 4 siblings live close to his parental home. His parents assist in child care for his siblings but not for ours.
I’ve told him my frustrations of being consistently placed on the back burner. The other day I lost it, I found out he invited his family to our house for a family reunion last week. I thought he took time off of work and he didn’t. The house was a mess, and most of the mess is his. I was expected to clean the house, get the groceries, run the kids to their weekend events.
Start cooking and get the reunion set up as he set the time for 4pm the time he gets out of work. The kids are helpful in doing their chores and cleaning their rooms. I got the house clean and by the time his family started pouring in I was stewing as he was at work. He asked me why there weren’t any clean towels as he was going to take a shower and I freaked out in front of his whole family.
I ran down the list of how I am always on the back burner for “these people” how I am one person and I’m the one contributing to the household while he works just to pay off his debts, how I have no security or support in this relationship and that he is like having another child and that all I feel like I’m worth is an occasional fuck whenever he is in the mood. I let it all out.
I ended with im done, I packed a bag and I took off. I’m sat in a parking lot hysterical. And no the kids weren’t present they were outside playing. He is a good father to the kids but as a husband I feel like I am better off by myself. I have so much resentment towards him. And no he hasn’t called he texted me “loud and clear” which made me even more angry because THIS IS EXACTLY HOW HE DEALS WITH EVERYTHING! I’m now feeling like an asshole for going off and saying all I did especially in front of his family. Aita?
Update 1 May 20th, 2024
Update wow oh wow! Thank you all for all the advice, the kind words and some kick in the pants type of support. I came here to see if I was the asshole and was body slammed with a lot of harsh truths. I’m not going to lie, much of it was cathartic to hear that I’m not the asshole and it hurts to hear that I am being taken advantage of. So, here’s where I’m at.
After the “loud and clear” text I was bombarded with phone calls and texts from his family. I sent a message to my husband to give me some space and if he had any care for me and this relationship to call off his dogs. I put my phone on do not disturb with the exception of my children’s ipad. I had called my mother, sent her some money and she picked them up for a special grandma date/sleep over. Once they were there I face timed them and told them I was working. I’m not working. I had a secret rainy day fund and splurged on a nice hotel and spa day, had a few drink, cried my eyes out some more and just spent the day unplugged and journaled all my feelings. (I haven’t had time to do any of that in a very long time). After that I mustered up the courage to open Reddit and read my fate and wow was I surprised! I was fully expecting a ton of “you ARE the asshole” comments.
To clear up a few things. I shamefully do not know the lengths of his debts, much of it was from his parents putting bills in his name, others is just mismanagement of money credit cards etc. I took over the finances after I found a letter in the mail saying that we were going to lose the house. I was contributing to the household bills at the time and he was doing the finances. I trusted things were well. This was after marriage and after kids. We went to counseling because of it and he said he was ashamed and afraid to tell me the truth. I took over about 3 years ago and I told him to focus on clearing his debt and I’d hold the household down while he did. I did not expect it to take this long and with inflation everything has just become more expensive and that much more hard for me.
I was supposed to go back to school and that was put on hold so I could catch up on what we were behind, hence the working 60+ hours. Im a nurse and I work 12hr shifts and capitalize on overtime where I can. I agree with the comment saying im burnt out, I realized this today. I realized at work or at home im constantly in critical thinking care giver mode. My job is to care and problem solve for everyone but myself. To clear up the comment of his family doesn’t watch our kids is because they did so one time and threw it in our faces and I said never again. I see how they use him, I have said something before and he returns with “one day they won’t be here and I’ll wish I could have done more.” I told him that’s fine but you have siblings that are equally responsible, some that don’t have spouses or kids that can contribute.
As far as the house and things go he does really help when he can (don’t jump on me I just want to be truthful) I think it came across that he comes home and does nothing, he just works up to 16 hours 7 days a week so a lot of times it’s me doing the majority of it. As far as the trips goes… yeah…. That’s a sore spot…He tells me about them, he takes the day off, it pisses me off. I have to BEG for time and if and when we do get it we end up in a fight or I have to plan everything or we can’t get sitters and sit home and he sleeps all day. And to be honest I’m so full of resentment that it’s almost too little too late. Like when I’m around him I’m just so pissed off! He says I always have an attitude and that he’s trying but nothing is ever good enough.
So, I just stopped and accepted my fate, hence the blow up. I haven’t spoken to him yet besides telling him to call off his family, he was part of the dnd on my phone. I’m enjoying the peace, I’m enjoying being by myself, and just being present and aware of my feelings. Knowing my kids are safe and I can truly take some time for myself and my mental health right now is everything.
I know tomorrow I have to go back to reality and deal with everything. I promise to update when I can. I’m sorry to leave you all hanging if this isn’t the update you had hoped for. I just want to enjoy this escape a little while longer while I can before my world implodes. Thank you all and please keep the advice coming, I truly am alone on this one and need all the advice and support I can get.
Update 2 May 21st, 2024
Update Thank you all again for all the advice. I woke up this morning with a clear head. I’m still upset, and disappointed. I had tons of voicemails from his family, I don’t have the energy to listen through them all. I don’t care, like I said I’m angry but I also feel embarrassed.
I did call my husband this morning. I could tell by his voice he didn’t sleep last night and he confirmed that he in fact did not. He told me after the blow up he asked everyone to leave. He was surprised to see my mother as I sent her to pick up the kids. He said that’s when it really became real.
We had a long conversation. I did apologize for exploding and doing so when I did and not communicating better. He said he understands why I felt like I couldn’t and was actually glad it happened the way it did. His family finally got to see how much they affected his home. According to him, after I left he laid into them and told them that he can no longer be the only one to help his family out and that a lot of the mess he’s in is their fault. He said that after the blow up he told his siblings they need to step up and help with his parents.
His parents were obviously upset with the whole ordeal. I couldn’t care less to be honest. They couldn’t believe that they are “such a burden because they ask for a little help from time to time”. I just rolled my eyes in disgust as he was talking.
My new space along with my feelings of hurt and anger just let me speak all my truths. I had nothing left to give or lose so I told him how I felt about everything. He sat in silence for a while, then finally broke down and said he feels like a failure. He’s ashamed of the debt, and how much he has let us down. He said he was exhausted and has been feeling depressed because he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and feels as though he’s ruined our future. That he goes out with his friends to feel “normal and himself” because all he does is work. That he does this because of this black cloud that’s been hanging over him.
I wasn’t my best self in this moment and told him to save me the self pity it’s pathetic. That he got himself into this mess and I’m digging him out. I’m fucking depressed too, there’s a ton of shit I want to do that I can’t do because I’m financially unable to do so. I went off how over the past 3 years his income has gone solely to debt repayment yet there’s no end in sight, because I haven’t even seen the so called debt! I’ve given him my all and as much support as I could gather but I’m angry. This isn’t the life I pictured or set myself up for either. It’s not the life my kids deserve, Ive missed out on so much because I’m working or I’m cleaning or I’m just so tired I can’t even open my eyes. I told him he has no one to blame but himself.
I think my disdain was concerning. He said he will show and prove, that he will print out his credit report and list out all the debt he has along with all his pay stubs and bank records and the receipts of what’s paid off and whatever else I want as far as his finances are concerned. He promised me my hard work was not in vain and that he is almost debt free. Come to find out his parents opened credit cards and bills in his name when he was younger and accrued close to 100k of debt in his name, not including interest, they trashed his credit and that’s why it has taken so long.
According to him, he has been fighting with the collection companies to settle, trying to consolidate or get a lower interest as it was multiple companies and debts. What I didn’t know is some were so bad his wages were being garnished. He was in tears and said he didn’t know how to tell me, that he didn’t even know the extent of what they did. He was basically working all these hours with nothing to take home to us and accruing more debt just to survive. I stayed silent. My blood was boiling. He didn’t even realize he just helped me make my decision.
He jokingly said my outburst took care of the family situation and that is why he texted me “loud and clear” meaning he and they got the message I told him I didn’t find it funny. It’s a shame that it took an outburst from me for everyone to hear what I’ve been saying all along. That he’s an idiot for not filing charges on his parents and just taking it up the ass and allowing it to ruin my life and the children we created lives. I told him he’s apíñeles and I feel so stupid! He said he didn’t call me because he knew how mad I was and was scared he would say the wrong thing and say things just like that.
I thanked him for the honesty and the conversation and told him I am so broken angry and hurt right now that I can’t even pick up my pieces let alone his. Right now I need to clear my head. He said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to turn this around, he even suggested marriage counseling. He told me he used his PTO and took the rest of the week off to work on this. I lost it and sobbed uncontrollably. If it was that easy to take time off, why now and not then? I asked him why didn’t I matter before we got here? Why now? I told him he needs the time off to find counseling both personal and legal. That I won’t be coming home.
He asked me if I was serious, he begged me to rethink my decision. He said all the things I’ve been wanting to hear. He asked me where I was going to go, and what about the kids and the house and the bills. That I couldn’t tear the kids from the only home they know. I simply replied I know this is what needs to be done and I’ve already set the ball in motion. He hung up on me.
I cried then went to get the kids. We are going to have a wonderful week in a somewhat fancy hotel and swim in the pool and order room service and make some memories. I took some of the money I had saved in my rainy day fund and extended my hotel stay to include me and the kids. I have an awful lot to catch up on with them. The look on their faces when I said “no mommy doesn’t have to work tonight was priceless” I also have an appointment with legal consultants tomorrow. Hopefully I can talk to a lawyer and figure out what’s next. Wish me luck everyone and thanks again.
I am not the original poster. Please don't contact or comment on linked posts
submitted by secure-raspberry-763 to BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]
Original post May 19th 2024
I’m a 35 y.o f married to a 38 y.o. Man. We have been together for 10 years and have 2 children 9 and 5. My husband works very hard he has multiple jobs he works throughout the week. Recently we had a discussion about taking time off and spending some time together. It is difficult because of things in his past he accumulated a lot of debt which is why he works so much.
I work 60+hrs a week and take care of the household and childcare things while much of his income goes to paying his debts. I keep up with the household I do the house work, and lawn work, repairs etc and he contributes where he can. With in this year he has taken time off for family and co-worker events. He has scheduled time to take trips with his friends, and when he does so I’m the designated baby sitter.
Many days after he gets home he is responsible for his parents. He takes them grocery shopping fixes things at their household and does some of their housework. I forgot to mention he is one of 5 and all 4 siblings live close to his parental home. His parents assist in child care for his siblings but not for ours.
I’ve told him my frustrations of being consistently placed on the back burner. The other day I lost it, I found out he invited his family to our house for a family reunion last week. I thought he took time off of work and he didn’t. The house was a mess, and most of the mess is his. I was expected to clean the house, get the groceries, run the kids to their weekend events.
Start cooking and get the reunion set up as he set the time for 4pm the time he gets out of work. The kids are helpful in doing their chores and cleaning their rooms. I got the house clean and by the time his family started pouring in I was stewing as he was at work. He asked me why there weren’t any clean towels as he was going to take a shower and I freaked out in front of his whole family.
I ran down the list of how I am always on the back burner for “these people” how I am one person and I’m the one contributing to the household while he works just to pay off his debts, how I have no security or support in this relationship and that he is like having another child and that all I feel like I’m worth is an occasional fuck whenever he is in the mood. I let it all out.
I ended with im done, I packed a bag and I took off. I’m sat in a parking lot hysterical. And no the kids weren’t present they were outside playing. He is a good father to the kids but as a husband I feel like I am better off by myself. I have so much resentment towards him. And no he hasn’t called he texted me “loud and clear” which made me even more angry because THIS IS EXACTLY HOW HE DEALS WITH EVERYTHING! I’m now feeling like an asshole for going off and saying all I did especially in front of his family. Aita?
Update 1 May 20th, 2024
Update wow oh wow! Thank you all for all the advice, the kind words and some kick in the pants type of support. I came here to see if I was the asshole and was body slammed with a lot of harsh truths. I’m not going to lie, much of it was cathartic to hear that I’m not the asshole and it hurts to hear that I am being taken advantage of. So, here’s where I’m at.
After the “loud and clear” text I was bombarded with phone calls and texts from his family. I sent a message to my husband to give me some space and if he had any care for me and this relationship to call off his dogs. I put my phone on do not disturb with the exception of my children’s ipad. I had called my mother, sent her some money and she picked them up for a special grandma date/sleep over. Once they were there I face timed them and told them I was working. I’m not working. I had a secret rainy day fund and splurged on a nice hotel and spa day, had a few drink, cried my eyes out some more and just spent the day unplugged and journaled all my feelings. (I haven’t had time to do any of that in a very long time). After that I mustered up the courage to open Reddit and read my fate and wow was I surprised! I was fully expecting a ton of “you ARE the asshole” comments.
To clear up a few things. I shamefully do not know the lengths of his debts, much of it was from his parents putting bills in his name, others is just mismanagement of money credit cards etc. I took over the finances after I found a letter in the mail saying that we were going to lose the house. I was contributing to the household bills at the time and he was doing the finances. I trusted things were well. This was after marriage and after kids. We went to counseling because of it and he said he was ashamed and afraid to tell me the truth. I took over about 3 years ago and I told him to focus on clearing his debt and I’d hold the household down while he did. I did not expect it to take this long and with inflation everything has just become more expensive and that much more hard for me.
I was supposed to go back to school and that was put on hold so I could catch up on what we were behind, hence the working 60+ hours. Im a nurse and I work 12hr shifts and capitalize on overtime where I can. I agree with the comment saying im burnt out, I realized this today. I realized at work or at home im constantly in critical thinking care giver mode. My job is to care and problem solve for everyone but myself. To clear up the comment of his family doesn’t watch our kids is because they did so one time and threw it in our faces and I said never again. I see how they use him, I have said something before and he returns with “one day they won’t be here and I’ll wish I could have done more.” I told him that’s fine but you have siblings that are equally responsible, some that don’t have spouses or kids that can contribute.
As far as the house and things go he does really help when he can (don’t jump on me I just want to be truthful) I think it came across that he comes home and does nothing, he just works up to 16 hours 7 days a week so a lot of times it’s me doing the majority of it. As far as the trips goes… yeah…. That’s a sore spot…He tells me about them, he takes the day off, it pisses me off. I have to BEG for time and if and when we do get it we end up in a fight or I have to plan everything or we can’t get sitters and sit home and he sleeps all day. And to be honest I’m so full of resentment that it’s almost too little too late. Like when I’m around him I’m just so pissed off! He says I always have an attitude and that he’s trying but nothing is ever good enough.
So, I just stopped and accepted my fate, hence the blow up. I haven’t spoken to him yet besides telling him to call off his family, he was part of the dnd on my phone. I’m enjoying the peace, I’m enjoying being by myself, and just being present and aware of my feelings. Knowing my kids are safe and I can truly take some time for myself and my mental health right now is everything.
I know tomorrow I have to go back to reality and deal with everything. I promise to update when I can. I’m sorry to leave you all hanging if this isn’t the update you had hoped for. I just want to enjoy this escape a little while longer while I can before my world implodes. Thank you all and please keep the advice coming, I truly am alone on this one and need all the advice and support I can get.
Update 2 May 21st, 2024
Update Thank you all again for all the advice. I woke up this morning with a clear head. I’m still upset, and disappointed. I had tons of voicemails from his family, I don’t have the energy to listen through them all. I don’t care, like I said I’m angry but I also feel embarrassed.
I did call my husband this morning. I could tell by his voice he didn’t sleep last night and he confirmed that he in fact did not. He told me after the blow up he asked everyone to leave. He was surprised to see my mother as I sent her to pick up the kids. He said that’s when it really became real.
We had a long conversation. I did apologize for exploding and doing so when I did and not communicating better. He said he understands why I felt like I couldn’t and was actually glad it happened the way it did. His family finally got to see how much they affected his home. According to him, after I left he laid into them and told them that he can no longer be the only one to help his family out and that a lot of the mess he’s in is their fault. He said that after the blow up he told his siblings they need to step up and help with his parents.
His parents were obviously upset with the whole ordeal. I couldn’t care less to be honest. They couldn’t believe that they are “such a burden because they ask for a little help from time to time”. I just rolled my eyes in disgust as he was talking.
My new space along with my feelings of hurt and anger just let me speak all my truths. I had nothing left to give or lose so I told him how I felt about everything. He sat in silence for a while, then finally broke down and said he feels like a failure. He’s ashamed of the debt, and how much he has let us down. He said he was exhausted and has been feeling depressed because he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and feels as though he’s ruined our future. That he goes out with his friends to feel “normal and himself” because all he does is work. That he does this because of this black cloud that’s been hanging over him.
I wasn’t my best self in this moment and told him to save me the self pity it’s pathetic. That he got himself into this mess and I’m digging him out. I’m fucking depressed too, there’s a ton of shit I want to do that I can’t do because I’m financially unable to do so. I went off how over the past 3 years his income has gone solely to debt repayment yet there’s no end in sight, because I haven’t even seen the so called debt! I’ve given him my all and as much support as I could gather but I’m angry. This isn’t the life I pictured or set myself up for either. It’s not the life my kids deserve, Ive missed out on so much because I’m working or I’m cleaning or I’m just so tired I can’t even open my eyes. I told him he has no one to blame but himself.
I think my disdain was concerning. He said he will show and prove, that he will print out his credit report and list out all the debt he has along with all his pay stubs and bank records and the receipts of what’s paid off and whatever else I want as far as his finances are concerned. He promised me my hard work was not in vain and that he is almost debt free. Come to find out his parents opened credit cards and bills in his name when he was younger and accrued close to 100k of debt in his name, not including interest, they trashed his credit and that’s why it has taken so long.
According to him, he has been fighting with the collection companies to settle, trying to consolidate or get a lower interest as it was multiple companies and debts. What I didn’t know is some were so bad his wages were being garnished. He was in tears and said he didn’t know how to tell me, that he didn’t even know the extent of what they did. He was basically working all these hours with nothing to take home to us and accruing more debt just to survive. I stayed silent. My blood was boiling. He didn’t even realize he just helped me make my decision.
He jokingly said my outburst took care of the family situation and that is why he texted me “loud and clear” meaning he and they got the message I told him I didn’t find it funny. It’s a shame that it took an outburst from me for everyone to hear what I’ve been saying all along. That he’s an idiot for not filing charges on his parents and just taking it up the ass and allowing it to ruin my life and the children we created lives. I told him he’s apíñeles and I feel so stupid! He said he didn’t call me because he knew how mad I was and was scared he would say the wrong thing and say things just like that.
I thanked him for the honesty and the conversation and told him I am so broken angry and hurt right now that I can’t even pick up my pieces let alone his. Right now I need to clear my head. He said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to turn this around, he even suggested marriage counseling. He told me he used his PTO and took the rest of the week off to work on this. I lost it and sobbed uncontrollably. If it was that easy to take time off, why now and not then? I asked him why didn’t I matter before we got here? Why now? I told him he needs the time off to find counseling both personal and legal. That I won’t be coming home.
He asked me if I was serious, he begged me to rethink my decision. He said all the things I’ve been wanting to hear. He asked me where I was going to go, and what about the kids and the house and the bills. That I couldn’t tear the kids from the only home they know. I simply replied I know this is what needs to be done and I’ve already set the ball in motion. He hung up on me.
I cried then went to get the kids. We are going to have a wonderful week in a somewhat fancy hotel and swim in the pool and order room service and make some memories. I took some of the money I had saved in my rainy day fund and extended my hotel stay to include me and the kids. I have an awful lot to catch up on with them. The look on their faces when I said “no mommy doesn’t have to work tonight was priceless” I also have an appointment with legal consultants tomorrow. Hopefully I can talk to a lawyer and figure out what’s next. Wish me luck everyone and thanks again.
2024.06.07 22:01 AlpineAnaconda More Speculation: Expansion of the Timeline
For all those who haven't been able to look for themselves, here's the image that 2K is still hosting on their site (even though the page itself is now down): Image Link (I promise it ain't a rick roll)
Since we're all speculating about this, I thought I'd throw hat into the ring.
The image looks like the cover of a book. The letters are embossed in layers like you might find on the cover of a super fancy leather bound book. The background has a leather-like quality to it. The hexagon looks like it was cut out of leather, with very soft edges rather than sharp ones. There appears to be an indent around the words "Sid Meier's", as if pressed onto the leather behind them.
I think we may be seeing a significant expansion or improvement on the historic moments, timeline, and eras features that came with Rise and Fall. Something to inspire us as we write the histories of our empires.
That's it. I know, pretty mild.
submitted by AlpineAnaconda to civ [link] [comments]
Since we're all speculating about this, I thought I'd throw hat into the ring.
The image looks like the cover of a book. The letters are embossed in layers like you might find on the cover of a super fancy leather bound book. The background has a leather-like quality to it. The hexagon looks like it was cut out of leather, with very soft edges rather than sharp ones. There appears to be an indent around the words "Sid Meier's", as if pressed onto the leather behind them.
I think we may be seeing a significant expansion or improvement on the historic moments, timeline, and eras features that came with Rise and Fall. Something to inspire us as we write the histories of our empires.
That's it. I know, pretty mild.
2024.06.07 14:56 itsdirector The New Threat 42
Prev First
Wiki
Chapter 42
Subject: Drone N436Z984A026 [AKA Naza]
Species: Unknown
Description: Humanoid
Ship: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union
Location: Grand Shipyard of the Universal Omni-Union
My implants buzzed to wake me from my charging cycle. Too early. It's always too damn early. My bay's screen moved into view, demonstrating the tasks that would be expected of me this work cycle. Repairs and replacements, same as the last twenty cycles.
For every cycle we spend on construction, we have to spend dozens more on maintenance. If the Minds would permit the creation of more drones, we might actually get this damn ship done within the next trillion years. But they're more focused on getting materials to build the ship and ruling over us with an iron fist.
A small shock tickled my brainstem. A remnant of the inhibitor that I had altered thousands of years ago. Its original purpose was to cause near-paralyzing pain whenever one thought about the incompetence of the Minds, but thanks to my modifications the shock is actually somewhat pleasant. It's more than a little amusing that the tech they installed to to force me into blind subservience now serves to reward my deviance.
I disconnected from my bay with a small sigh, began equipping the proper implants for this cycle's work, and gave my neighbor a short wave as she did the same. At least most of this cycle's workload is molecular rebinding. It's mindless work, but it gives me the chance to zone out and think for a while. The mundanity of the task may bother some drones, but I've always fancied myself a bit of a Hfkilno {philosopher, derogatory} and I require time to think so that I can decompress. Mundane tasks are the only way I've lived this long.
I left my room and boarded the shuttle, which was extra cramped this cycle. Bits of flesh and metal poked into me, and my flesh and metal poked into those around me. When I was in school, I hated being touched, but I've since gotten used to the proximity of others. I've gotten so accustomed to it that it would feel weird to have personal space at this point.
I managed to catch a glimpse through the shuttle's oxygen retention field through the press of bodies. Working on the outer layer of the Grand Vessel is worth it for a view like this. The stars of distant galaxies winked at me, encouraging thoughts of freedom and escape.
Of course, the overdrones would prefer that I not think at all and simply accomplish my tasks. If my higher brain functions weren't crucial, I'm sure they or the Minds would have had them removed at birth. Unfortunately for them, and likely for me as well, many of the tasks that drones are charged with are too intricate for even lesser AI to handle. A higher AI could, but creating enough of them to replace the drones would be cost-prohibitive.
The shuttle docked at my stop and the retention field disengaged with a harsh hiss. After sliding my way through the other drones and stepping onto the platform, I glanced at those that had disembarked the shuttle with me. Before I could spot any familiar faces, a metal claw patted my shoulder. I turned to find Nizi, one of my few actual friends, grinning at me.
"Ready for another cycle of suck?" he asked.
"Nah, I'm gonna enjoy this cycle," I said, winking with my upper eye.
He laughed at my sarcasm, closing all three of his eyes and opening his mandibles to indicate a sort of exasperated humor. Nizi and I had become fast friends, mostly because our unauthorized names are so similar. Even our designations are nearly identical. His is N426Z894I016, which is only a few numbers and a letter different than my own.
Such an occurrence is almost a miracle. There are so many designations and drones are swapped around so frequently that the odds of meeting someone with a designation even close to your own are astronomical. The last time I'd met anyone with a designation beginning with N was in school, and they had been immediately transferred once the overdrone found out we'd become friends.
"If you say so," he said as we walked. "They confiscated my music player, so I'm going to be plenty bored."
"What? Why?"
"It wasn't an authorized device, so they took it and told me that I would have to buy an authorized one. As if I could afford one. Did you know it costs twenty cycle's pay for some tunes? Can you believe that?"
"You still sending all of your pay to your hive?"
"Yeah. The kids are right about to start career assignments, so my mates are trying to get them some extra schooling. If one of them manages to become an overdrone, maybe we can start working for them and take it easy," he laughed.
"That's not how it works," I chuckled. "The Minds won't let you or your kids work for each other. Plus, overdrones whose workers don't put in maximum effort don't last long."
"Yeah, that's true. Oh well, at least we'll be getting more money into the hive. Maybe I'll be able to retire in another few thousand years!"
"That's the spirit," I chuckled darkly. "This is my stop, I'll see you later."
"Have a good one."
I watched Nizi continue on his way and turned my attention to the task at hand. I hate talking about kids. It always opened a deep wound that would never fully heal. My hive's gone, and I can't help but envy those who still have one.
My parents had died of old age long ago, but my eight siblings and twelve children had been executed for taking part in the last revolt. They were charged with inciting violence, attempted murder, mutiny, and every other crime that the Judicials could throw at them. Only two of them even held a weapon. The other ten had only been trying to recruit others.
My siblings families hadn't fared much better. Out of all their mates and children, I only have one nephew left. He's started his own hive, and we don't talk anymore. Too many painful memories of happier times.
Those previously happy times turned into the darkest cycles I've ever known in the blink of an eye, and I'll never get over the guilt of not being around for any of it. I was far too busy working, like a good little drone. When everything was said and done, only two of my five mates survived the Judicials.
The other three were found guilty of collusion and executed. I'd lost most of my family in a single cycle, and didn't even hear about it until the Judicials pulled me in for questioning. They suspected that I had murdered my two remaining mates, but they had taken their own lives out of grief. I nearly did too, but I'm too ashamed to face my hive in the afterlife.
My elder brother had asked me about my thoughts regarding the Minds and Overdrones. He had apparently found my answered unsatisfactory, and had left me out of the attempted insurrection. The shame I felt when I finally connected the two events was overwhelming. My hive had excluded me because they believed that I valued the Omni-Union more than them, and now I'm the only one left.
With a small sigh, I began rebinding the hull that had begun to crack under the strain of its weight. Could I start a new hive? Sure. I'm still in my prime and there's plenty of female drones who would love to become brood mates and raise children instead of slaving away cycle after cycle. But I can't even bring myself to try. I loved Temil, Hruos, Lami, Prasi, and Jula with my entire being, and I somehow managed to love our children even more.
The thought of trying to find someone else to love makes me feel guilty and dirty. Like I'm a scumbag who doesn't know how lucky I had it. And the fear of finding that and losing it again only serves to seal the deal. I lost my hive, and I'll never have another.
"Drone N436Z984A026, use caution with the wiring," an automated voice said over a nearby intercom.
"Understood," I replied automatically.
I adjusted my clamp and got back to work, remembering all of the cameras and microphones monitoring my progress. If I suddenly snapped and decided to start ripping wires out of the wall, I'd get a visit from one of the mechs. Perfect system for making sure that we stay productive, and likely how my hive's insurrection was found out.
The way they make the mechs is supposed to be a secret, but it can't be a coincidence that new mechs are released only after someone snaps and gets arrested. The obvious conclusion is that criminals are turned into mechs. I shuddered at the thought that my kids may have become mechs.
That would be a terrible fate. Not that being forced to work all cycle, every cycle is much better. Still, at least the tasks that I'm assigned are safe. The leading cause of death among drones is task-related fatalities, so I truly have it made in that regard.
The second leading cause of death is dissention. As it turns out, people don't want to perform back-breaking and dangerous tasks with little or no rest. And the OU is truly terrible in their response to protests, peaceful or otherwise. What happened to my hive is a somewhat unique story, but only because I survived it. All of this pain and death, just to build this damn ship.
Every piece of effort we expend goes toward the construction of the Grand Vessel, and has for eons now. We're taught as children that our whole purpose for living is to complete it. Of course, the Minds claim that once the Grand Vessel is finally finished, we'll be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of our labor. But the odds of any of us living to see that are pretty damn slim. And the odds of the Minds keeping their word are even more slim.
There was once a time that we didn't have to work all cycle. Before my ancestors surrendered to the Universal Omni-Union, we had our own worlds and ships. Children played instead of going to school all cycle. Workers went home to their mates at the end of every cycle, instead of once every twenty cycles specifically to engage in procreation. There were even people who didn't work at all, instead spending their time finding new and exciting ways to entertain themselves.
We had honor, prestige, and friends among neighboring species. An alliance that claimed to rule the stars. Then one of our more troublesome neighbors got a certain idea in their head and turned to fanaticism. They built ships to rival our own and converted entire star systems into weapons. They destroyed our stations, burned our worlds, killed our women and children, fought us to near-extinction, and only then did they finally demand our surrender.
Our leaders unanimously agreed, and the Omni-Union took our weapons and enslaved us, forcing us to work for the rest of our lives. They augmented our biology to give us longer lives to serve them and make us more effective at our tasks. Then they began calling us drones, and now no one even remembers the name of our species.
I wonder... If my ancestors had known what would become of us once they surrendered, if they had known about all the pain and misery their descendants would be forced to endure, if they knew of how many of us would still be murdered by the Omni-Union... Would they have still surrendered?
Or would they have opted to die fighting?
The Story Continues in
The New Era
Prev First
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submitted by itsdirector to HFY [link] [comments]
Wiki
Chapter 42
Subject: Drone N436Z984A026 [AKA Naza]
Species: Unknown
Description: Humanoid
Ship: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union
Location: Grand Shipyard of the Universal Omni-Union
My implants buzzed to wake me from my charging cycle. Too early. It's always too damn early. My bay's screen moved into view, demonstrating the tasks that would be expected of me this work cycle. Repairs and replacements, same as the last twenty cycles.
For every cycle we spend on construction, we have to spend dozens more on maintenance. If the Minds would permit the creation of more drones, we might actually get this damn ship done within the next trillion years. But they're more focused on getting materials to build the ship and ruling over us with an iron fist.
A small shock tickled my brainstem. A remnant of the inhibitor that I had altered thousands of years ago. Its original purpose was to cause near-paralyzing pain whenever one thought about the incompetence of the Minds, but thanks to my modifications the shock is actually somewhat pleasant. It's more than a little amusing that the tech they installed to to force me into blind subservience now serves to reward my deviance.
I disconnected from my bay with a small sigh, began equipping the proper implants for this cycle's work, and gave my neighbor a short wave as she did the same. At least most of this cycle's workload is molecular rebinding. It's mindless work, but it gives me the chance to zone out and think for a while. The mundanity of the task may bother some drones, but I've always fancied myself a bit of a Hfkilno {philosopher, derogatory} and I require time to think so that I can decompress. Mundane tasks are the only way I've lived this long.
I left my room and boarded the shuttle, which was extra cramped this cycle. Bits of flesh and metal poked into me, and my flesh and metal poked into those around me. When I was in school, I hated being touched, but I've since gotten used to the proximity of others. I've gotten so accustomed to it that it would feel weird to have personal space at this point.
I managed to catch a glimpse through the shuttle's oxygen retention field through the press of bodies. Working on the outer layer of the Grand Vessel is worth it for a view like this. The stars of distant galaxies winked at me, encouraging thoughts of freedom and escape.
Of course, the overdrones would prefer that I not think at all and simply accomplish my tasks. If my higher brain functions weren't crucial, I'm sure they or the Minds would have had them removed at birth. Unfortunately for them, and likely for me as well, many of the tasks that drones are charged with are too intricate for even lesser AI to handle. A higher AI could, but creating enough of them to replace the drones would be cost-prohibitive.
The shuttle docked at my stop and the retention field disengaged with a harsh hiss. After sliding my way through the other drones and stepping onto the platform, I glanced at those that had disembarked the shuttle with me. Before I could spot any familiar faces, a metal claw patted my shoulder. I turned to find Nizi, one of my few actual friends, grinning at me.
"Ready for another cycle of suck?" he asked.
"Nah, I'm gonna enjoy this cycle," I said, winking with my upper eye.
He laughed at my sarcasm, closing all three of his eyes and opening his mandibles to indicate a sort of exasperated humor. Nizi and I had become fast friends, mostly because our unauthorized names are so similar. Even our designations are nearly identical. His is N426Z894I016, which is only a few numbers and a letter different than my own.
Such an occurrence is almost a miracle. There are so many designations and drones are swapped around so frequently that the odds of meeting someone with a designation even close to your own are astronomical. The last time I'd met anyone with a designation beginning with N was in school, and they had been immediately transferred once the overdrone found out we'd become friends.
"If you say so," he said as we walked. "They confiscated my music player, so I'm going to be plenty bored."
"What? Why?"
"It wasn't an authorized device, so they took it and told me that I would have to buy an authorized one. As if I could afford one. Did you know it costs twenty cycle's pay for some tunes? Can you believe that?"
"You still sending all of your pay to your hive?"
"Yeah. The kids are right about to start career assignments, so my mates are trying to get them some extra schooling. If one of them manages to become an overdrone, maybe we can start working for them and take it easy," he laughed.
"That's not how it works," I chuckled. "The Minds won't let you or your kids work for each other. Plus, overdrones whose workers don't put in maximum effort don't last long."
"Yeah, that's true. Oh well, at least we'll be getting more money into the hive. Maybe I'll be able to retire in another few thousand years!"
"That's the spirit," I chuckled darkly. "This is my stop, I'll see you later."
"Have a good one."
I watched Nizi continue on his way and turned my attention to the task at hand. I hate talking about kids. It always opened a deep wound that would never fully heal. My hive's gone, and I can't help but envy those who still have one.
My parents had died of old age long ago, but my eight siblings and twelve children had been executed for taking part in the last revolt. They were charged with inciting violence, attempted murder, mutiny, and every other crime that the Judicials could throw at them. Only two of them even held a weapon. The other ten had only been trying to recruit others.
My siblings families hadn't fared much better. Out of all their mates and children, I only have one nephew left. He's started his own hive, and we don't talk anymore. Too many painful memories of happier times.
Those previously happy times turned into the darkest cycles I've ever known in the blink of an eye, and I'll never get over the guilt of not being around for any of it. I was far too busy working, like a good little drone. When everything was said and done, only two of my five mates survived the Judicials.
The other three were found guilty of collusion and executed. I'd lost most of my family in a single cycle, and didn't even hear about it until the Judicials pulled me in for questioning. They suspected that I had murdered my two remaining mates, but they had taken their own lives out of grief. I nearly did too, but I'm too ashamed to face my hive in the afterlife.
My elder brother had asked me about my thoughts regarding the Minds and Overdrones. He had apparently found my answered unsatisfactory, and had left me out of the attempted insurrection. The shame I felt when I finally connected the two events was overwhelming. My hive had excluded me because they believed that I valued the Omni-Union more than them, and now I'm the only one left.
With a small sigh, I began rebinding the hull that had begun to crack under the strain of its weight. Could I start a new hive? Sure. I'm still in my prime and there's plenty of female drones who would love to become brood mates and raise children instead of slaving away cycle after cycle. But I can't even bring myself to try. I loved Temil, Hruos, Lami, Prasi, and Jula with my entire being, and I somehow managed to love our children even more.
The thought of trying to find someone else to love makes me feel guilty and dirty. Like I'm a scumbag who doesn't know how lucky I had it. And the fear of finding that and losing it again only serves to seal the deal. I lost my hive, and I'll never have another.
"Drone N436Z984A026, use caution with the wiring," an automated voice said over a nearby intercom.
"Understood," I replied automatically.
I adjusted my clamp and got back to work, remembering all of the cameras and microphones monitoring my progress. If I suddenly snapped and decided to start ripping wires out of the wall, I'd get a visit from one of the mechs. Perfect system for making sure that we stay productive, and likely how my hive's insurrection was found out.
The way they make the mechs is supposed to be a secret, but it can't be a coincidence that new mechs are released only after someone snaps and gets arrested. The obvious conclusion is that criminals are turned into mechs. I shuddered at the thought that my kids may have become mechs.
That would be a terrible fate. Not that being forced to work all cycle, every cycle is much better. Still, at least the tasks that I'm assigned are safe. The leading cause of death among drones is task-related fatalities, so I truly have it made in that regard.
The second leading cause of death is dissention. As it turns out, people don't want to perform back-breaking and dangerous tasks with little or no rest. And the OU is truly terrible in their response to protests, peaceful or otherwise. What happened to my hive is a somewhat unique story, but only because I survived it. All of this pain and death, just to build this damn ship.
Every piece of effort we expend goes toward the construction of the Grand Vessel, and has for eons now. We're taught as children that our whole purpose for living is to complete it. Of course, the Minds claim that once the Grand Vessel is finally finished, we'll be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of our labor. But the odds of any of us living to see that are pretty damn slim. And the odds of the Minds keeping their word are even more slim.
There was once a time that we didn't have to work all cycle. Before my ancestors surrendered to the Universal Omni-Union, we had our own worlds and ships. Children played instead of going to school all cycle. Workers went home to their mates at the end of every cycle, instead of once every twenty cycles specifically to engage in procreation. There were even people who didn't work at all, instead spending their time finding new and exciting ways to entertain themselves.
We had honor, prestige, and friends among neighboring species. An alliance that claimed to rule the stars. Then one of our more troublesome neighbors got a certain idea in their head and turned to fanaticism. They built ships to rival our own and converted entire star systems into weapons. They destroyed our stations, burned our worlds, killed our women and children, fought us to near-extinction, and only then did they finally demand our surrender.
Our leaders unanimously agreed, and the Omni-Union took our weapons and enslaved us, forcing us to work for the rest of our lives. They augmented our biology to give us longer lives to serve them and make us more effective at our tasks. Then they began calling us drones, and now no one even remembers the name of our species.
I wonder... If my ancestors had known what would become of us once they surrendered, if they had known about all the pain and misery their descendants would be forced to endure, if they knew of how many of us would still be murdered by the Omni-Union... Would they have still surrendered?
Or would they have opted to die fighting?
The Story Continues in
The New Era
Prev First
Support me and get early access to new chapters and bonus content!
Patreon Ko-fi
New Chapters Every Friday!
2024.06.07 13:53 WitchingBarbie I’m going to change my name. Advice, please?
I’ve been no contact with both parents for 2 years. I’ve been doing lots of therapy. At the moment, I’m doing EMDR, and the impact it’s had on my flashbacks has been miraculous. I feel like it’s finally possible to move on from my past and enjoy life on my own terms.
However: when I fill out forms, I’ve been getting very resentful, angry and frustrated. My middle name is the same as my egg donor. I have my sperm donor’s surname. I find myself getting really stressed out about it and it brings me down. Like they still have control over my identity. I hate feeling this way despite all my hard work and feeling so much better in general. It’s also generally making me feel not like my true self.
I’ve picked a new first name. It has the same first, last and middle letters as my current one. It’s quite similar, but a little prettier. My first name doesn’t cause me too much distress. But if I’m going to go to all this trouble, why not go all out? Plus, the idea of being harder to google (that is, if I’m lucky enough for them to not find out my name) has a lot of appeal.
My new middle name is a little more fancy, but obviously, I won’t be using it most days. I’ve chosen a very short surname that is crazy easy to spell. Why not make life easier? lol
I’m 100% decided that I will do this. I was wondering how others handled the transition? My biggest annoyance will be people who already know me by my birth name asking why I’m changing it. Apart from a small number of trusted people, I don’t want to tell people, ‘my parents are abusive pieces of shit, and my old name was causing me significant distress.’
For those who’ve done this for the same reasons, how did you tell people? What reason did you give? And how long was it until people remembered to call you by your new name without being reminded?
submitted by WitchingBarbie to EstrangedAdultKids [link] [comments]
However: when I fill out forms, I’ve been getting very resentful, angry and frustrated. My middle name is the same as my egg donor. I have my sperm donor’s surname. I find myself getting really stressed out about it and it brings me down. Like they still have control over my identity. I hate feeling this way despite all my hard work and feeling so much better in general. It’s also generally making me feel not like my true self.
I’ve picked a new first name. It has the same first, last and middle letters as my current one. It’s quite similar, but a little prettier. My first name doesn’t cause me too much distress. But if I’m going to go to all this trouble, why not go all out? Plus, the idea of being harder to google (that is, if I’m lucky enough for them to not find out my name) has a lot of appeal.
My new middle name is a little more fancy, but obviously, I won’t be using it most days. I’ve chosen a very short surname that is crazy easy to spell. Why not make life easier? lol
I’m 100% decided that I will do this. I was wondering how others handled the transition? My biggest annoyance will be people who already know me by my birth name asking why I’m changing it. Apart from a small number of trusted people, I don’t want to tell people, ‘my parents are abusive pieces of shit, and my old name was causing me significant distress.’
For those who’ve done this for the same reasons, how did you tell people? What reason did you give? And how long was it until people remembered to call you by your new name without being reminded?
2024.06.07 00:38 Mizzgendered July 1st Room Ridgewood
JULY 1ST MOVE IN!!!!!!
Hi all 1 room in our 3bed 2bath apartment is opening up.
Located in Ridgewood off the Forest M stop. It is a second floor walk up, laundry in unit, AC as well as a dishwasher and there will be a kitten and cat in the apartment, we are 420 friendly as well. No other pets please!
The rent is split equally amongst everyone so 1167.66 per room, utilities are not included they run about 100-150 we have all amenities from A/C dishwasher and Laundry in unit!! The neighborhood is very quiet and chill with a bunch of cafes around there is a new grocery store opening up on the same block as the apartment!
Ideally looking for someone who wants to hop on the lease with us for long term, guarantors are accepted as well! Let me know and I can direct you to my landlord for further details. Usual requirements 40x rent 680+ credit rental reference letter unless you are using a guarantor then 80x rent and they need to have a credit score of 700.
About the roommates:
*Im Julio 27 year old queer from Miami Florida I’ve been in NY for about 4 years. I usually hang with my friends or partner most of the time, love to be with my kitten I like to cook or stay in my room unwinding when I’m home also down to watch a movie or hang w roommates. I’m a server at a fancy Japanese restaurant in greenpoint so I spend most of my nights/weekends there.
submitted by Mizzgendered to NYCApartmentHunting [link] [comments]
Hi all 1 room in our 3bed 2bath apartment is opening up.
Located in Ridgewood off the Forest M stop. It is a second floor walk up, laundry in unit, AC as well as a dishwasher and there will be a kitten and cat in the apartment, we are 420 friendly as well. No other pets please!
The rent is split equally amongst everyone so 1167.66 per room, utilities are not included they run about 100-150 we have all amenities from A/C dishwasher and Laundry in unit!! The neighborhood is very quiet and chill with a bunch of cafes around there is a new grocery store opening up on the same block as the apartment!
Ideally looking for someone who wants to hop on the lease with us for long term, guarantors are accepted as well! Let me know and I can direct you to my landlord for further details. Usual requirements 40x rent 680+ credit rental reference letter unless you are using a guarantor then 80x rent and they need to have a credit score of 700.
About the roommates:
*Im Julio 27 year old queer from Miami Florida I’ve been in NY for about 4 years. I usually hang with my friends or partner most of the time, love to be with my kitten I like to cook or stay in my room unwinding when I’m home also down to watch a movie or hang w roommates. I’m a server at a fancy Japanese restaurant in greenpoint so I spend most of my nights/weekends there.
- JV is 26 gay/queer working in graphic design. He loves concerts/nights out, video games, reading, hiking, and his cat Simba who turns 2 this September 🙂
2024.06.06 23:10 meltduru Glasses Blurry and Distorted Around Edges.
The first pair I bought was from Eye Buy Direct, however, as mentioned in the title, there was an issue with the lenses. Around the edges, be it the top, bottom, left or right, there is some blurriness. In fact, it felt like there was nothing on the lenses except but the very center of them. If I look perfectly straight? Absolutely zero issues, I can see crystal clear, but the second I shift my eyes to look at any other direction or you know my head, well, all I can see is blurriness.
Worth mentioning is that on the computer's screen when I shift my head or my eyes I see, not exactly double, but they end up with "shadows" extending out of them. It's particularly noticeable with letters.
I bought a second pair from Clearly at a friend's recommendation, and after doing some research and finding out that apparently EBD glasses come out faulty quite frequently. I was hopeful this time, but once again, exact same issue. What is going on? Could two different places make the same mistake? Something's off.
For reference, Both the EBD and Clearly glasses were made with High Index 1.74 Lenses. Anti-Scratch and Anti-Reflect on both as well.
Did even more research, all kind of possible issues came up as the possible cause. Bad manufacturing, wrong pupillary distance and the lenses index were the ones that stood out. I remember seeing that even the anti-reflective coating could have been the issue.
Third time, I decided to stop being fancy and just do things tried and true and do them locally from a trusted source rather than play the online lottery once more. To err on the side of caution, despite it barely being a year since I last went to get my eyes checked but I went and did it again anyway just to have the most up to date and accurate numbers on my eyes. One never knows.
After explaining the issues I had, the person who attended me checked the glasses with some fancy machine they had there and discarded the possibility of it being a manufacturing issue. The formula was just as the one written on the prescription. PD was also good. She was honestly kind of at a loss.
Her suggestions for what could be causing the issues were, firstly, the lenses material, I don't remember what was the one she mentioned, but the lenses were not made out of it so that possibility was discarded. The other option she suggested was the lenses index because my prescription was simply too high so the formula blurred and became weaker around the borders from the lenses thinning so much so her suggestion was simply to try a lower index, 1.68 in this case, of course, this would mean the lenses would be thicker, but whatever, I just wanna be able to see. Aesthetics are the the least of my concerns.
Once more, I decided to not be fancy, no anti-scratch or anti-reflect this one, plain and simple. Just in case. And I remember reading the anti-reflect coating could also be the cause.
And after picking them up today... Nope. Nothing. The exact same issues continue. Perfect vision right in the center. Blurriness all around that pinpoint center. All I was told was the usual platitudes about how I should just wait a few days to get used to them first and yadda yadda, I'm sure you all know the drill.
Even worse, I genuinely cannot see anything on my computer's screen with these brand new glasses. Looking at any sort of electronic screen makes everything extremely unfocused. Unusable. So in a way, these glasses are even worse.
This is my third attempt and still nothing. Just what in God's name could be the cause? And what can I do to fix it? I truly am at a complete loss.
A small anecdote from a friend who's a teacher, one of his students suffered from a similar issue as mine and he asked her about it. -13 in both eyes, no matter what she wore she kept having the same issues. Apparently, her doctor told her the only real solutions were laser surgery or contacts. The kid wears contacts now, which surprised me, because through all my life I've heard that contacts are not an option for people who are blind as a bat since the prescription is simply too high to be able to make them. I can only imagine how many gorillion dollars they're worth. So that's the last idea I can think of, I am simply way too blind beyond normal glasses and unless I cash out a ton I'll always have issues one way or another.
For reference, here's the numbers with which I got the glasses made on these attempts.
EBD & Clearly Glasses Prescription:
OD - SPH: -8.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:25
OS - SPH: -7.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:150
Local Glasses Precription:
OD - SPH: -9.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:20
OS - SPH: -8.75. CYL: -1.25. Axis:150
Thank you very much in advance for any advice and help in regards to this.
submitted by meltduru to glasses [link] [comments]
Worth mentioning is that on the computer's screen when I shift my head or my eyes I see, not exactly double, but they end up with "shadows" extending out of them. It's particularly noticeable with letters.
I bought a second pair from Clearly at a friend's recommendation, and after doing some research and finding out that apparently EBD glasses come out faulty quite frequently. I was hopeful this time, but once again, exact same issue. What is going on? Could two different places make the same mistake? Something's off.
For reference, Both the EBD and Clearly glasses were made with High Index 1.74 Lenses. Anti-Scratch and Anti-Reflect on both as well.
Did even more research, all kind of possible issues came up as the possible cause. Bad manufacturing, wrong pupillary distance and the lenses index were the ones that stood out. I remember seeing that even the anti-reflective coating could have been the issue.
Third time, I decided to stop being fancy and just do things tried and true and do them locally from a trusted source rather than play the online lottery once more. To err on the side of caution, despite it barely being a year since I last went to get my eyes checked but I went and did it again anyway just to have the most up to date and accurate numbers on my eyes. One never knows.
After explaining the issues I had, the person who attended me checked the glasses with some fancy machine they had there and discarded the possibility of it being a manufacturing issue. The formula was just as the one written on the prescription. PD was also good. She was honestly kind of at a loss.
Her suggestions for what could be causing the issues were, firstly, the lenses material, I don't remember what was the one she mentioned, but the lenses were not made out of it so that possibility was discarded. The other option she suggested was the lenses index because my prescription was simply too high so the formula blurred and became weaker around the borders from the lenses thinning so much so her suggestion was simply to try a lower index, 1.68 in this case, of course, this would mean the lenses would be thicker, but whatever, I just wanna be able to see. Aesthetics are the the least of my concerns.
Once more, I decided to not be fancy, no anti-scratch or anti-reflect this one, plain and simple. Just in case. And I remember reading the anti-reflect coating could also be the cause.
And after picking them up today... Nope. Nothing. The exact same issues continue. Perfect vision right in the center. Blurriness all around that pinpoint center. All I was told was the usual platitudes about how I should just wait a few days to get used to them first and yadda yadda, I'm sure you all know the drill.
Even worse, I genuinely cannot see anything on my computer's screen with these brand new glasses. Looking at any sort of electronic screen makes everything extremely unfocused. Unusable. So in a way, these glasses are even worse.
This is my third attempt and still nothing. Just what in God's name could be the cause? And what can I do to fix it? I truly am at a complete loss.
A small anecdote from a friend who's a teacher, one of his students suffered from a similar issue as mine and he asked her about it. -13 in both eyes, no matter what she wore she kept having the same issues. Apparently, her doctor told her the only real solutions were laser surgery or contacts. The kid wears contacts now, which surprised me, because through all my life I've heard that contacts are not an option for people who are blind as a bat since the prescription is simply too high to be able to make them. I can only imagine how many gorillion dollars they're worth. So that's the last idea I can think of, I am simply way too blind beyond normal glasses and unless I cash out a ton I'll always have issues one way or another.
For reference, here's the numbers with which I got the glasses made on these attempts.
EBD & Clearly Glasses Prescription:
OD - SPH: -8.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:25
OS - SPH: -7.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:150
Local Glasses Precription:
OD - SPH: -9.50. CYL: -1.00. Axis:20
OS - SPH: -8.75. CYL: -1.25. Axis:150
Thank you very much in advance for any advice and help in regards to this.
2024.06.06 20:43 ninjamaster890 Completed the true ending and wow…
This game clicked it with me, it’s one of the best games I ever played in my opinion. That doesn’t mean I think it’s perfect however so imma get into that now.
So the part that kept me invested the whole game was inaba and the slice of life gameplay… tending to your garden, reading books, studying, hanging out with friends (or lover) in the evenings. It’s all so realistic. It brings me back to when I played animal crossing new horizons during lockdown but this feels a lot more realistic as time is taken up by doing these activities so you have to plan each day carefully to ensure you’re increasing your social stats like knowledge and courage while also doing s links to not only get to see the characters develop but also to get bonuses on persona fusions.
Speaking of the characters, these are no joke the best written characters I have seen in a piece of fiction. Every single one feels realistic (except rise, STOP CALLING ME SENPAI ONE THOUSAND TIMES YOU STUPID BIT- can you tell I don’t like her?) anywayyyy the rest are all so enjoyable to watch, they get a ton of development and they grow with you alongside the story. The one minor grape would be that at times the characters (particularly the girls) put you on a pedestal and it gives off main character syndrome. Eh but it’s slice of life anime game so it’s got to have some of that I guess.
Anyway, here are some particularly notable characters I particularly enjoyed: Kou and deisuke (seriously why are they not part of the main cast?! Getting to understand the struggles of being a orphan and not even being accepted by your family is both very depressing and bittersweet by the end where he accepts it and gives you the letter, symbolising he is letting go of something he can’t control and accepting the truth- OH YEAH THATS THE MESSAGE OF THE GAME) 10/10
Best girl Yukiko 11/10 (Okay this section is gonna be major bias so take this part with a grain of salt but OMG HER BLUSHING FACE I CANT…. Anyway…. In all seriousness yukiko’s arc feels the most relastic and she feels the most grounded of the cast as she initially wants to run away and get a job away from the inn to be independent before realizing that the people around her and support her are what keep her going and decides to stay at the inn… character anyalsis done…. New year January when you pick “let’s go to my house” 😏 (if you know you know)
Natao (I find her s link very endearing as she learns to accept her gender instead of letting it bring her down in case of the lover route…. Sorry yukiko… learns to accept it’s ok to be weak and rely on others… 2nd best girl, I made a alternative save for her), 9/10 (Also I really like her childish side who still likes to make detective toys as she yearns for those days and is very touching she trust enough to tell us about them) ((also also her valentines day event is her best event, as is yukiko’s, but her’s is better than natao, in fact yukiko’s is one of my favorite scenes alongside the February skip trip one where you and yukiko get lost in the ski resort, oh godamitt I got off topic from natao)
Nanako and dojima (I’m combing these two since I think they’re equally good… they’re both fundamentally broken by dojima’s wife and nanko’s mother passing away in a car accident and learning their struggles and slowly fix the family over the playthrough is just the best, also nanako saying “big bro” is the cutest thing ever and you can’t change my mind) 10/10
The nurse (I know I know let me explain… initially I was VERY disturbed by the early s link in this one… if you know you know 😨 however I would say after like rank 3 she starts to get… really good? It turns from pedo nurse to a bittersweet story about working too much and working to suppress bad feelings and it reastonated with a lot of people including me) 8/10
Honorable mention: Yosuke (I don’t think as attached to this one and I don’t really get the craze for a romance option but his s link is still rather sweet ether way with rank 10 boosting this one quite a bit… but ehhh he still a bit of a creep so like 6-7/10
Now… the dungeon/tv portion of the game 💀💀💀 oh BOY where do I begin? First dungeons are just random generated slop with a different background each time as you got the same gloopy shadow monster on the floor for the 1,000,000 time with every so often you get a gold dummy to slash instead…. Yay….
The ONLY dungeon in the game that felt like it actually tried to do something unique is the hollow forest with the sp half gimmick which actually makes you think and plan wisely… for like the first two floors before you get op sp bands and bang! Back to hitting goopy monsters again! These get 0/10
In contrast I like the persona fusion mechanic as I was intrigued to see what would I would get each time… wondering what type it will be and what moves I’ll give it… sort of like Pokemon in a way, 6/10
Shuffle time is just fancy free gambling, that’s all I have to say about it, 3/10
Now the villians….
Mitsuo (the best one… and I wish I was joking…. The whole red herring angle is very clever and the whole time of this kid being a massive man child who had a extreme enough temper tantrum to kill someone is kinda low key hilarious to me, 7/10
Nametame (I know he’s not really a villian but I’m talking about here anyway cause I can… he is quite endering and his backstory is really depressing and makes you feel bad for this poor man who lost his wife, then tried to save a bunch of people only to find out not only was he doing the exact opposite but suspected with all the murders must feel hopeless and terrifying, at least he seems to do be doing okay in the epilogue, 8/10 (also justice for him in the bad endings)
Adachi (…. Why? Like it makes sense how he did it and what he did to get there but…. You wanna know his reason for doing all this? BECAUSE HE COULD AND IT WAS FUN, for a game all about realistic characters this was VERY jarring, he’s basically if you took a Saturday morning carton character villain like egg man but except he can murder people now because it’s not a kids game, that’s basically what adachi is, and he’s not even the worst villain like how 😭3/10
The evil side of marie (I forget the name) you want to know why this villain is so terrible? Because you don’t even get to know the damm thing! AT LEAST with adachi the game had him in the story the whole time and you cab slowly get to know him but here? Errrrr random npc at the start of the fame is EVIL MWHAHAHAHAHAHA… yeah no…. At least the cutscene to defeat her was cool? Yeah I got nothing 1/10
Conclusion: just have a full game with the slice of life elements PLEASEEEEEEE?!?!?! In all seriousness though that portion of the game is so good to me it kinda drowns out my negatives of the dungeons and villains of the game, overall I came out of it pleased with my 60 or so hours of playtime and would highly recommend this game!
God I wrote a lot, nobody is gonna read this huh 😅 WELL TOO BAD YOU DONT GET A TDLR READ IT ALL MWHAHAHAHAHAH………………………. come on the whole inaba game section is about reading basically so come on
Also one last thing… yes I have terrible spelling and I don’t care!
submitted by ninjamaster890 to persona4golden [link] [comments]
So the part that kept me invested the whole game was inaba and the slice of life gameplay… tending to your garden, reading books, studying, hanging out with friends (or lover) in the evenings. It’s all so realistic. It brings me back to when I played animal crossing new horizons during lockdown but this feels a lot more realistic as time is taken up by doing these activities so you have to plan each day carefully to ensure you’re increasing your social stats like knowledge and courage while also doing s links to not only get to see the characters develop but also to get bonuses on persona fusions.
Speaking of the characters, these are no joke the best written characters I have seen in a piece of fiction. Every single one feels realistic (except rise, STOP CALLING ME SENPAI ONE THOUSAND TIMES YOU STUPID BIT- can you tell I don’t like her?) anywayyyy the rest are all so enjoyable to watch, they get a ton of development and they grow with you alongside the story. The one minor grape would be that at times the characters (particularly the girls) put you on a pedestal and it gives off main character syndrome. Eh but it’s slice of life anime game so it’s got to have some of that I guess.
Anyway, here are some particularly notable characters I particularly enjoyed: Kou and deisuke (seriously why are they not part of the main cast?! Getting to understand the struggles of being a orphan and not even being accepted by your family is both very depressing and bittersweet by the end where he accepts it and gives you the letter, symbolising he is letting go of something he can’t control and accepting the truth- OH YEAH THATS THE MESSAGE OF THE GAME) 10/10
Best girl Yukiko 11/10 (Okay this section is gonna be major bias so take this part with a grain of salt but OMG HER BLUSHING FACE I CANT…. Anyway…. In all seriousness yukiko’s arc feels the most relastic and she feels the most grounded of the cast as she initially wants to run away and get a job away from the inn to be independent before realizing that the people around her and support her are what keep her going and decides to stay at the inn… character anyalsis done…. New year January when you pick “let’s go to my house” 😏 (if you know you know)
Natao (I find her s link very endearing as she learns to accept her gender instead of letting it bring her down in case of the lover route…. Sorry yukiko… learns to accept it’s ok to be weak and rely on others… 2nd best girl, I made a alternative save for her), 9/10 (Also I really like her childish side who still likes to make detective toys as she yearns for those days and is very touching she trust enough to tell us about them) ((also also her valentines day event is her best event, as is yukiko’s, but her’s is better than natao, in fact yukiko’s is one of my favorite scenes alongside the February skip trip one where you and yukiko get lost in the ski resort, oh godamitt I got off topic from natao)
Nanako and dojima (I’m combing these two since I think they’re equally good… they’re both fundamentally broken by dojima’s wife and nanko’s mother passing away in a car accident and learning their struggles and slowly fix the family over the playthrough is just the best, also nanako saying “big bro” is the cutest thing ever and you can’t change my mind) 10/10
The nurse (I know I know let me explain… initially I was VERY disturbed by the early s link in this one… if you know you know 😨 however I would say after like rank 3 she starts to get… really good? It turns from pedo nurse to a bittersweet story about working too much and working to suppress bad feelings and it reastonated with a lot of people including me) 8/10
Honorable mention: Yosuke (I don’t think as attached to this one and I don’t really get the craze for a romance option but his s link is still rather sweet ether way with rank 10 boosting this one quite a bit… but ehhh he still a bit of a creep so like 6-7/10
Now… the dungeon/tv portion of the game 💀💀💀 oh BOY where do I begin? First dungeons are just random generated slop with a different background each time as you got the same gloopy shadow monster on the floor for the 1,000,000 time with every so often you get a gold dummy to slash instead…. Yay….
The ONLY dungeon in the game that felt like it actually tried to do something unique is the hollow forest with the sp half gimmick which actually makes you think and plan wisely… for like the first two floors before you get op sp bands and bang! Back to hitting goopy monsters again! These get 0/10
In contrast I like the persona fusion mechanic as I was intrigued to see what would I would get each time… wondering what type it will be and what moves I’ll give it… sort of like Pokemon in a way, 6/10
Shuffle time is just fancy free gambling, that’s all I have to say about it, 3/10
Now the villians….
Mitsuo (the best one… and I wish I was joking…. The whole red herring angle is very clever and the whole time of this kid being a massive man child who had a extreme enough temper tantrum to kill someone is kinda low key hilarious to me, 7/10
Nametame (I know he’s not really a villian but I’m talking about here anyway cause I can… he is quite endering and his backstory is really depressing and makes you feel bad for this poor man who lost his wife, then tried to save a bunch of people only to find out not only was he doing the exact opposite but suspected with all the murders must feel hopeless and terrifying, at least he seems to do be doing okay in the epilogue, 8/10 (also justice for him in the bad endings)
Adachi (…. Why? Like it makes sense how he did it and what he did to get there but…. You wanna know his reason for doing all this? BECAUSE HE COULD AND IT WAS FUN, for a game all about realistic characters this was VERY jarring, he’s basically if you took a Saturday morning carton character villain like egg man but except he can murder people now because it’s not a kids game, that’s basically what adachi is, and he’s not even the worst villain like how 😭3/10
The evil side of marie (I forget the name) you want to know why this villain is so terrible? Because you don’t even get to know the damm thing! AT LEAST with adachi the game had him in the story the whole time and you cab slowly get to know him but here? Errrrr random npc at the start of the fame is EVIL MWHAHAHAHAHAHA… yeah no…. At least the cutscene to defeat her was cool? Yeah I got nothing 1/10
Conclusion: just have a full game with the slice of life elements PLEASEEEEEEE?!?!?! In all seriousness though that portion of the game is so good to me it kinda drowns out my negatives of the dungeons and villains of the game, overall I came out of it pleased with my 60 or so hours of playtime and would highly recommend this game!
God I wrote a lot, nobody is gonna read this huh 😅 WELL TOO BAD YOU DONT GET A TDLR READ IT ALL MWHAHAHAHAHAH………………………. come on the whole inaba game section is about reading basically so come on
Also one last thing… yes I have terrible spelling and I don’t care!
2024.06.06 15:05 Ares_49789 Warheims: The Ego Saga
Chapter 1: Togeter
What keeps people together? A leader? No, leaders end up dying or becoming tyrants, they aren’t able to keep people together for a long time, A symbol? Just like leaders, symbols get erased with the flow of time, tainted by whatever actions are done in their name and end up corrupted, stagnant, like the water of a pond, Religion? Well, religion keeps people together, as long as they share the same values, but when a religion decides a value is not something that should be kept, it is erased from existence, no, religion can’t keep all people united, then--- an objective? People that unite because of a reason are far more diligent than any other group in what keeping together means, but, as soon as that objective disappears, the division inside of the group make it impossible for them to remain as one and they simply destroy themselvesWe come back to the same question, What keeps people together? Hate, hate is in human nature, it appears whenever we find something not to our liking, that is something everyone is conscious of, but hate, hate blooms when we see someone different from us, different from whatever we have known for all our lives, that someone, well, someones those are the Holders, the Carriers, those who not only are different, but are objectively better than the average human
They are capable of creating a hellscape in a few moments, as well as reconstructing a whole city in less than a week, able to make plants grow so tall that not even the tallest of the human-made buildings could surpass it in barely a week, they can burn it to ashes without a single remorse, end the lives of hundreds of soldiers in a breath, bring them back to see another sunrise or make whole nations forget they even existed
Being different is one thing, but, being able to play with the others as they wish makes them hateable, easy to mark as an objective, the perfect target for all those who want power to lean on, to laugh at, and of course, to hate, the greatest threat, a variable that cannot be expected in any way
And even if they have all those powers, even if they are capable of the worst things, they are also capable of love, just like us, they feel, they can bring the light if they put their minds to it, if they are treated accordingly, wouldn’t you treat those who treat you right with respect? those who make your life easier day by day? wouldn’t you repair their kindness with everything in your hand? That was what the greeks thought
They engraved the great doings of those who helped them in history using their stories, they dignified, them with all they had, they worshiped them and in return, they became one of the greatest civilizations in all western culture at the time, yes, their ‘gods’ weren’t perfect, but they helped them in all they could, they sent their descendents to help those in need and where the king makers, they supported the kings of their cities, later even those who became the leaders, always had a ‘god’ or ‘demigod’ backing their doings, and they were reverenced because of that. The greek civilization grew, and just like them, others started using the carriers instead of pursuing them, that was the era of gods and empires, where no expert is able to draw the line between fantasy and reality
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That introduction was good, or that’s what Tobias thought when he turned the page, history books that talked about history had always a stand in the everlasting debate between non-carriers and pro-carriers, it was a given, the boy preferred those that didn’t simply throw their opinions at the reader when they were just starting, this one was obviously written by a pro-carriers no doubt, but, at least they were not so desperate as to simply say it directly, most of those who write about the Ancient era are, after all it was one of the golden carriers era, the best one known to man as someone ever said
He let a sight out as he looked through the picture window that led to the balcony, the wind was blowing hard, and the dark skies where taking good account of those fools who had committed the mistake of leaving their houses without a proper umbrella to stop the water from soaking their clothes
It was a good day, quiet, as they had all been for week since his parents and sisters had left for the province capital to see their grandmother who had fallen ill recently, the 13-year-old Tobias had been left behind because of an important exam and well, his reluctance to being in a cramped car with the two annoying brats his sisters had become after finishing highschool and moving to their corresponding universities, well, they had always being annoying, now they just had to catch up with the time lost while in college
So he had the house all to himself and was glad of it, he had so many books to catch up to, this one was the fourth he had started this week, the other three were now on a pile over the tea table, as for him, he was comfortably lying on the couch of the living room with the dim lights lit, the dark clouds on the sky made it so even at 5PM he had to turn then on to be able to read without having to turn around every so many lines
Still, even if the world outside was cold, inside of the three bedroom flat everything was warm, just like he liked it, his father had told him that if anything went wrong during the week they were going to be out, he should call his grand father and he would come get him to the countryside were he lived with his grandmother, well, when she was not on the hospital of the region capital, of course. Even if his father had said that, Tobias had had no problems during the week and hadn’t called his grandfather, his mother had left a container with the food for each meal excluding breakfast and he had been able to go to school everyday without a single problem, had aced his history exam and even---
The ring of the living room landline broke his train of thought and the boy had to sit up from the couch before walking his way to the TV cabinet, where all the technological devices were stored, with the only exception of the old computer, which had claimed its place near the window at the back of the room, Tobias reached to the speaker
“Diga?”-- “Yeah?”
The call lasted less than two minutes, Tobias had cut it short, his face pale as if he had just seen a ghost, and for the news he had just received, might as well have seen it
Tobias walked to the window and opened it, letting the winds of one of the last winter storms into the house, causing the pages of the book he had been reading barely three minutes ago to run free, still he didn’t mind, it was just a book, his world was crumbling down as he leaned on the railing of the balcony, his lungs wanted to let all the air out in a loud cry that would be heard all over the town, but his throat was sore, a knot had formed on his stomach, preventing him from throwing up his lunch on the streets barely eight meters down. He buried his fingers on his black hair as he crunched on the balcony, soaking on the rain that was able to evade the balcony of the upper levels and the glass railing
It was pitiful, he was, he felt like it, who wouldn’t? Many 13-year-olds lost their families in catastrophic traffic accidents, they were pitiful, and so was he, so what now? would he just have to live without Marta and Sara making fun of his dumb stories? Would he have to forget the warmth of his mother’s embrace whenever something was wrong? The hunting trips with his father even when they argued about everything? Was that even something remotely possible?
The weight on his shoulders, no, on his chest, it wouldn’t let him breathe properly through the mucus and tears, he couldn’t get up, his clothes had soaked in the rain and their weight made it so Tobias had even less will to get up, What reason would he have to even do that?
And after countless long hours, his body gave up there, on the balcony, the storm had already passed, but he hadn’t had the strength to lift himself up and get in the apartment, no, someone did it for him when he was sleeping, yeah, that hadn’t been his best friday night
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Time decided to speed up, well, Tobias felt it like it had, he spent the whole weekend in a state of shock, it was a given, people told him everything he had ever read that was said to people who had lost someone “They are in a better place now” “They are watching you” “They will always be on your heart” “Time will make the pain go away” “They were such good people, they will not be forgotten” Lies. Each and everyone of them was laying, time would not make it hurt less, nothing they said could make it feel better for him, the boy felt his own body as if it had gone numb as his mind revolved around the memories he had about his family, only when he was carrying the casket with his father inside could he feel the weight, he wanted to shed tears, let his emotions show to the hundreds if not thousands of people that were attending the funeral, he knew less than a tenth of the attendants, still, no tear was shed in front of anybody, at least, not by Tobias, not even when the event finished and they all lined up to tell the now orphan how bad they felt for his lost, a line of people that made his heart ache more than it had ever ached, Tobias felt his body numb, but his thoughts and his feelings were as strong as the flow of a river which dam had broken and threatened with overflowing and make it everybody’s problem
That feeling lasted until Monday morning, his grandfather had decided to take it on his hands to take care of the pre-teen before the family lawyer would be free to make the kid the official heir to everything the two parents had ever owned and of course, for the government to take their proper cut, because no legal institution would look at a boy that had lost his family without thinking about what they could win from the situation they were just a bunch of shameless idiots, all the same, he too had lost his son, but that feeling wasn’t a new one, as sad as it might sound, but, Cristian had to be there for his grandson, and he would be the only one to step up even if others wouldn’t
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“With this signature, today, February 19th, 2018, you, Tobias Fernández, recognise Cristian Fernández, second degree relative as your new legal guardian as well as the holder for the inheritance left behind by Salvador Fernández and María Burgos, as well as their daughters Marta and Sara Fernández” Tobias nodded before drawing his signature on the document the lawyer was offering, his grandfather was sitting next to him with his arms crossed, deep in thought “Then this is everything I can do” said the lawyer as he stood up from the chair after arranging the last few documents, they were at the living room in what now was Tobias’s apartment, the man had made all the arrangements left on his parents will and after getting the signature, the adoption papers were now finished, so, he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder with a sad smile “Have a good life, kid” He said, Tobias heard how the man walked to the front door and closed it, leaving the apartment and making the elevator start working, he also heard his grandfather’s chair creak as the old man moved
“Tobias, do you want to go to school today?” He asked, the pre-teen shaked his head lightly and Cristian let out a sight “I figured, let’s go home”, The man stood up from the chair, he was in pretty good shape for his recently turned 73 years of age, in fact, his physique was so well kept that he barely appeared more than a muscled old man whose prime was still yet to pass, he put his hand out for his grandson to take and when Tobias took a hold of it, he helped him up
After that, the pair went to where the old man had parked his car, a garnet KIA rio, nothing fancy, just something that he could use to move in and out of a town like Yecla, well, Tobias was practically dragged because it didn’t matter what his grandfather said, he wouldn’t move on his own, so the old man had taken his hand and pull him to the car, once they were both with the seatbelts on, Cristian drove ‘home’, a plot of land little over a hectare, were more than forty years ago, the old man had built a house where he could spend the rest of his life, it didn’t amount much at a first glance, but the old styled house had a beautiful garden with a pool where Tobias and his sisters used to spend their days on summer, a big workshop where both Salvador and Cristian had practiced their woodworking profession as carpenters, half a hectare of an orchard that the old man was proud of and a place for the animals of the family to reside, four dogs that started barking as soon as the mechanic door of the wall that surrounded everything started to slowly open
The car followed the dirt road to the heart of the land, the house, it had been followed by the four dogs, the first one to get there, a white breton with black spots named jack because of the skull-like appearance of his head, he was the youngest of the four being barely two years old, he was followed by Diamond and Sun, two old half breed between Breton and Spanish Hound, the last one, a Teckel named Mona whose short legs barely let her keep up with the energetic ball of hair that was Jack and the old hags that were Diamond and Sun
As soon as the doors of the car opened, the first thing Tobias had to do was evade being jumped by Jack, the dog meant well, but he had a tendency to land his front paws on the boy’s jewels, and he was not on the mood to chase him all over the property as he normally would, so he sat down cross legged on the ground and let the ‘pup’ calm down before supporting his back on the back left wheel of the car as the dog put his chin on his thigh, noticing his young master’s mood, similarly, the other three walked up to the pair and as if they knew what had happened, started comforting the boy
Cristian saw this and remembered how good it was to have dogs on the property, he smiled sadly as he looked to the house, that place had been built not only by him, but, when he was old enough, his son, Tobias’s father, had helped him renovate whatever had to be renovated, now the two-storey house was filled with those little signs that his son had made there, and seeing his grandson with the dogs had reminded him of Salvador doing the same just a few decades before, his heart ached as he thought of that
“Kid, feed the dogs, i’ll be on the workshop for a while” He said, as he entered the house, on the ground floor, (often called basement because of the inclination of the terrain) there was a set of stairs that led to the workshop, which in reality was an industrial unit with far too much dust and sawdust than it should with many different machines that helped with the woodwork that was performed by the men in the Fernandez family
Cristian went to the office, a little room inside the workshop where they kept all kinds of documents about the works and the payments, as well as some books in a bookshelf, the man sat down on the desk there, and from one of the drawers, he took out two books, one, an album full of photos of his son’s life, from the day he was baptized, to his 45th birthday that had happened barely five months before, he looked so happy as he blew the candles in the party María had thrown for him, in the photo he still had the blue overall he used to work
As for the second book, a red leather cross was sewed to the white leather of the heavy book, both the white leather and the thread that had been used to sew both fabrics had started yellowing as time passed and now, the parts that were not tied by the thread had started to separate from the white leather, it was simple, no signs of writing could be seen at the cover, only the red cross, the man sighed as he opened the book
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¹: This story is situated in Spain, in a city known as Yecla, as such, characters speak spanish and the reason why dialogue is in bold letters is for the reader to know it is a translation of what the person is saying, other languages that will appear on the future will also be represented on a different way
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[First] - [Next]
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Hello everyone, just like I promissed on my first post, here is the first chapter of The ego saga, i hope you like it and once again, if you ever notice any spelling mistake that could be avoidable or a way for it to be better described, i ask you to write them down bellow
2024.06.06 12:37 King_Dinosaur_1955 Serling vs Aubrey -- Round 2
 | [NOTE: This is the second part of my post involving Rod Serling's fight against his most powerful opponent --- James T. Aubrey, Jr.; CBS Television President from 1959 to 1965] submitted by King_Dinosaur_1955 to TwilightZone [link] [comments] (See photo #1) James Aubrey was highly educated although the average CBS viewers probably felt like Aubrey was just an 'Average Joe' they could sit and have a beer with. Some quotes from Mr. James T. Aubrey, Jr: ▪︎“The American public is something I flyover”; ▪︎" Feed the public little more than rural comedies, fast-moving detective dramas, and later, sexy dolls. No old people; the emphasis was on youth. No domestic servants, the mass audience wouldn’t identify with maids. No serious problems to cope with. Every script had to be full of action. No physical infirmities." Born December 14, 1918 in La Salle, Illinois; James Aubrey spent much of his childhood in Chicago's affluent suburb, Lake Forest, and New York City. A privileged, tall, athletic teenager; Aubrey was educated in a private boarding academy in New Hampshire and graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in English. During World War II he served as a test pilot in the U.S. Air Force achieving the rank of 'Major'. In 1944, actress Phyllis Thaxter married James Aubrey. Interestingly, Phyllis Thaxter starred in a single episode of The Twilight Zone originally titled simply "The House" written by Richard Matheson. The episode title was changed to "Young Man's Fancy" just before filming. The entire episode was shot in early June of 1961, but sat on a shelf for almost a full year. (See photo #2) After hints of affairs and the development of conflicting differences, James Aubrey and Phyllis Thaxter divorced in April 1962. Either by coincidence or conspiracy, less than one month later "Young Man's Fancy" was finally broadcasted for the first time on May 11, 1962. The episode title is derived from a passage from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Locksly Hall". The true meaning within the poem seems like a pointed jab at Aubrey. (See photo #3) In 1961 the U.S. Senate held hearings, led by Sen. Thomas Dodd, on the concerning rise in juvenile delinquency and television's role. Dodd was a former FBI agent and Nuremburg prosecutor. Executives from the three major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were instructed to appear for questioning. Dodd, at one point, referred to testimony that CBS's James T. Aubrey Jr. had called for more sex and violence and had recommended that 'Route 66,' then a popular weekly program, feature "broads, bosoms and fun." CBS president Frank Stanton told Dodd it never happened. (See photos #4 and #5) Various CBS executives had confirmed, in later years, that the formula dubbed 'Aubrey's Dictum' was indeed the quoted “broads, bosoms, and fun”. Route 66 --- quick samplings of Broads, Bosoms, and Fun 4.5-minute YouTube video montage During James Aubrey's CBS presidency, the combined revenue for the network nearly doubled, rising from $25 million to $49.6 million. CBS also dominated the Nielsen ratings, placing six shows in the top ten from 1960 to 1964. In the 1963–1964 yearly season, the network enjoyed the then unprecedented feat of airing fourteen of the fifteen highest-rated shows for the television season ('Bonanza' on NBC ranked #2 and was the sole rival network to disrupt the flow of the top 15 programs). (See photo #6) Aubrey presold all half-hour programs to no more than two advertising sponsors with contracts that ran for fifty-two weeks at full price. It's doubtful that these strong armed tactics were extended to The Twilight Zone since the series struggled to maintain longterm sponsorship. The Twilight Zone didn’t stand a fighting chance with Aubrey being captain of the CBS Hickville Love Boat. On at least two separate occasions James Aubrey and his network cronies blocked the Twilight Zone and Rod Serling from getting greater audience exposure during the original series run. (1) Around 1962, a group of UCLA professors were consulted and screened many short films, from different sources, for educational value and instruction in public school classrooms. The professors agreed on only one short film as containing strong values as a substantial discussion generator for all grade levels from elementary schools to universities. That was the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street". Rod Serling had conveyed that he would be more than happy to cooperate with the request, but the final approval was needed from CBS Television since the episode was a joint venture between Cayuga (Serling's production company) and the network. After James Aubrey was informed of the request the CBS network sent a rejection letter for the use of "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" as an educational aid. A dozen or so years later "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" was cleared to be shown to classrooms of students, but Rod Serling did not live long enough to know that happened. (2) Around 1964, a high ranking member of a meat cutters labor union (affiliated with the AFL -CIO labor unions) contacted Rod Serling about getting a film copy of "The Brain Center At Whipple's" to run at their annual convention with over 2,500 international delegates attending. With the offer of "whatever cost would be involved, our International Union would be agreeable to pay same." In plain terms, this amounted to a blank check. Rod Serling wrote back and stated that the CBS vice-president, John Reynolds, be contacted and "I'm sure that he'll see to it that you receive a copy of the film. If you run into any kind of trouble or delay, please contact me." After two weeks without a response from CBS, Serling wrote to Reynolds "Since I rather assured the (labor union) gentleman that a copy of the film could be made available to him, I'm hopeful that you'll be able to handle this. Public relations, I always say John --- public relations!" A surrogate responded for John Reynolds with a letter containing this relevant passage: "Apparently the episode requested deals with automation and consequential technological unemployment. In CBS' opinion, it would be better not to make the film available since the wisdom of feeding this kind of material to a union is subject to serious question particularly since network sponsors are manufacturers." And adding this line about the CBS rejection letter sent to the meat cutters union "I took the liberty of telling (the union) that (Rod Serling) would take no objection to this response and, indeed, feel that it would be in your interests to avoid becoming enmeshed in any kind of union campaign against technological unemployment." [End of Round 2. Later today I will post the final chapter in the battle with James T. Aubrey, Jr. and a bizarre twist that took down a network tyrant like something straight out of The Twilight Zone!] |
2024.06.06 09:17 stucknarkansas MIL doesn't ever get to see HER (grand)kids and we're to blame
I (43) and my husband (43), met 18 years ago, married 14 yrs ago. While we were dating, I saw his mom exhibit behavior towards their family that made it clear she has no respect for anyone but herself. I can't be too detailed, but she alienated her siblings to a degree that most of them have little to nothing to do with her. She stomped boundaries put in place by the older cousins of my husband that had kids when we were dating. I personally saw her laugh as she told one of them that she blatantly disregarded their rules for their infant. She would buy holiday gifts for kids whose family didn't celebrate holidays for religious reasons while telling the parents in front of the kids their beliefs are wrong and she'll do as she likes. This red flag behavior made me extremely wary of her.
Years went by and my husband and I eloped. We didn't see any reason for a big wedding and didn't want to start our life together (more) broke. We called our parents the night before we got married and told them. My parents were congratulatory, but MIL immediately started in on why my husband shouldn't do it. She told him I'm lazy, selfish, inconsiderate, etc. She spent an hour trying to talk him out of marrying me. He told her she was being an ass and that he wasn't asking permission, he just thought she'd be happy. Spoiler alert, we got married the next day.
We didn't live near our families at the time, so all was well. Then we decided to start a family and within a few months I was pregnant with our first. We decided to move closer to home and ended up staying with MIL the last two months of my pregnancy while finding and closing on our house. While living with her she told me to be a SAHM, don't go to work, take care of our kids because they are more important than extra money. I actually am a SAHM, and guess who still calls me lazy? We had our first and 2 weeks later moved into our new home.
I was so ready to go. Yes, we were in her home, but this woman would come running in our room at all hours because the baby was crying yelling "What's wrong!" and "Give my baby to grandma!" Calm down woman, it's time to nurse. She wanted me to stop trying to nurse our baby the first 2 weeks so she could feed HER baby and I was selfish for not cooperating. She wanted to take our fresh newborn to her office to show off. We weren't even taking the baby to the grocery store.
After we moved, she NEVER came over. We lived 30 minutes from her house and 2 hours from my parents and they visited every weekend. We had to go to her. About 6-8 months after we moved in, MIL moved 5 hours away✌️. We made a few trips to see her and she came to visit for a couple of hours for baby's first birthday. My parents came and helped set up for the party then helped us break down the party.
Shortly after, we found out we were having baby #2. MIL showed up for the baby shower then left after an hour, even though 1 was at the party. When 2 was born, there were health issues and 2 was in the NICU for 20 days. She came to see him for 2 days then went back home while my parents got a hotel and took care of 1 for us so we could stay at the hospital as much as possible. I think she came back once more before Christmas that year.
That summer she came into town and did everything in her power to get husband and I to argue. Now, I grew up with a MASTER manipulator so I learned early to brush most of it off. When she tried to convince me and husband that he was ready to propose to another girl weeks before he met me/while we were dating, I was laughing. She clung hard to this story, too. Naming the restaurant husband took me to on our first fancy date, the time we went was the only time he'd been up to when she was telling us this. Talking about things that happened to us but maintaining it was another girl. The best was that this "girl" had a name that starts with the same letters mine does. Husband was getting frustrated because they were obviously lies but I was dying laughing. It was just so sad funny. She even told us about a seagull stealing our fries as if it happened with Husband and Other Woman. This behavior has continued, but it's just sad now. How unhappy do you have to be to seek to suck the joy out of others.?
About a year and a half after 2 was born, we moved 45 minutes away from my parents and 3 hrs from MIL. In the two years we lived there, MIL came 3 times to visit. All other trips we had to go see her. We went there for festivals, to visit her at work and once for my husband to complete a job interview, on top of just random trips.
Two years later, we moved 18 hours away for my husband's career. We've been here for 7 years and she has only come once a year at either Christmas or Thanksgiving for 3-4 days to visit. The best was when she wanted to take 1and 2 on a 20 hr roadtrip Christmas Day, right after opening their presents, just to turn around and drive back 20 hours the 27th. Of course I was the AH when I pointed out how dumb of an idea that was. No kid wants to leave their presents to ride in a car 40 hrs over 3 days. I'm am adult and I don't want to do that.
About a year after we moved into our house here, we got a surprise in baby #3! Being significantly older now, 3 was more of a shock than a surprise. MIL kept to her regularly scheduled visits. She didn't come out to meet 3 until Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, a couple years later, she lost her youngest son. He passed around Thanksgiving so we went to her and stayed 2 weeks to help her with funeral arrangements and just to be there. Kids 1 and 2 were in school, but they were excused(I think this is why now she thinks they can visit whenever with zero consequences). BIL had 3 kids of his own, all with ages that align with 1, 2, and 3, but due to MIL and BIL having a bad relationship, we have never met BIL youngest 2 children. Their mother wants nothing to do with MIL and, since we have included her in our travel plans to their home state, SIL 2 would have nothing to do with us, understandably so. As far as I'm aware, even BIL's other child has little to no relationship with her. She has gone to visit once since the kids birth for a weekend yet she expects his mother to send the kid to stay with her this summer.
Two years ago, we traveled to our home state to visit and rented a beach house with room for her to stay with us. She opted to rent her own place off the beach and wanted the kids to stay with her. We had family visiting every day, we said no, but you can have them x night. They had great grandparents, my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides come stay nights to visit with tons of kids so the kids wanted to stay with us.
Last summer, we traveled to our home state and stayed a week at an airBNB two hours from her. We invited her to stay with us and she refused. She said she was too tired to drive. I offered to pick her up. She refused. Husband offered to pick her up. She refused. Husband was left feeling hurt that she wouldn't come visit. Kids 1 and 2 were also hurt, but they had cousins to play with so they brushed it off.
The vacations I've mentioned aren't our only trips to home state the last 7 years. Plus, I make it a point to go to MIL's first and last on those trips. Partly because my parents come visit multiple times a year and partly because, apparently, I'm a huge glutton for punishment. We paid for her to go to Disney World with us for six days when 1 and 2 were five and four years old (never again). She only actually went into the parks two days and one of them, she just walked off with our kids and wouldn't answer her phone, didn't send a text, didn't take 2's emergency meds, just vanished for almost an hour.
MIL has been asking us to send 1 (ONLY 1, she says she can't handle 2 and 3 and she and 1 have a "special bond" because 1 is HER baby🤮) to go on special vacations to different states and countries since 1's birth. We aren't doing that. One, these kids are the Three Muskateers, all for one and one for all, and B, we haven't felt comfortable with interstate travel until now due to many factors but primarily their ages and 2 has ongoing health concerns from his birth trauma. Out of the country trips without us just aren't happening until they're adults.
All this, that's just backstory. We have ongoing, current drama. My parents retired in the last 3 years and have rented a home near us and have been here the last year to help as we prepare to move (yes, AGAIN🙄!) for my husband's career. They had to return home for a visit to help with my grandparents and, since they were leaving at the beginning of summer vacation, we agreed to send the kids back with them. We called MIL and told her and at first she was super excited. Yay🎉! We called to let her know the dates they would be there and arranged a week to stay with her. When we called again to let her know they had left and would be in our home state the next day (18 hour drive), she was upset 1,2, and 3 would be with my parents a whole 24 hours longer than her. Then she told us that she had taken extra days off and planned to keep them longer and when we told her that won't work because others have taken time off to see the kids, she decided we are keeping HER kids from her.
The last 2 days have been back and forth drama because we won't let her see HER kids. She has been told numerous times she can come here to visit any time she wants. We have a bedroom for her and everything. She says we can come visit her more. Husband tells her he gets 3 weeks of vacation to her 6, she can spend her money and time however she wants, but if she CHOOSES to go elsewhere, we are not responsible for her not seeing the kids (she has a 2 week abroad vacay scheduled this summer). Again she says, we can come there those 3 weeks, the kids lives are here. They have school, activities, friends. Kid 2 is missing weeks of necessary PT and OT, he can't miss much more without backsliding. We finally had to explain to her that her expectations just aren't realistic. We won't ever be sending our kids to stay with her the whole summer, her latest demand. She is, however, welcome to come visit during the summer.
Bear in mind, all this is stemming from us refusing to let her keep the kids extra because another family member rearranged their schedule to spend time with them. This family member loses hundreds of dollars each client they cancel and fits 3-6 clients in a day, so no, MIL, I don't feel comfortable asking them to suck it up for a last minute schedule change you didn't run by anyone else, her actual request BTW. Also, she's mad because I decided to fly to home state to surprise the kids and now she can't bully my mom into giving in to her.
I feel like I have been very accomodating. I try to include her as much as possible. I call her after every big milestone, I send pictures of the kids, and when 1 got a cellphone, we told MIL to text/call anytime outside of school hours and bedtimes. She's never called and only text 3-4 times. She's only been to three birthday parties total out of their combined 24, even when we lived 2 hours away. .
I told my husband I refuse to feel guilty because she doesn't see the kids as often as she thinks she could. I'm done always reaching out and being the one making an effort. My phone rings and receives texts, the interstate goes both directions, there are flights at the airport daily and she can always Huck Finn it up the river if nothing else, but I'm done. He is so disappointed with her and angry that she has decided to be so difficult over an issue that's her own doing. She took two weeks two summers ago to visit her niece and her baby but only came here for 4 days at Thanksgiving. Last year she drove out 2 days before Christmas and left the day after Christmas after dodging our summer trip home. Yet we're somehow responsible for her not seeing the kids more often. The lack of logic confounds me.
And while this isn't an AITA post, I can't help wondering if I am an AH because I'm not at all sad she comes to visit as rarely as she has and I am kind of hoping she "punishes" us by not coming to visit this year🙏. After all, she's getting her time with the kids out the way early, right?
submitted by stucknarkansas to CharlotteDobreYouTube [link] [comments]
Years went by and my husband and I eloped. We didn't see any reason for a big wedding and didn't want to start our life together (more) broke. We called our parents the night before we got married and told them. My parents were congratulatory, but MIL immediately started in on why my husband shouldn't do it. She told him I'm lazy, selfish, inconsiderate, etc. She spent an hour trying to talk him out of marrying me. He told her she was being an ass and that he wasn't asking permission, he just thought she'd be happy. Spoiler alert, we got married the next day.
We didn't live near our families at the time, so all was well. Then we decided to start a family and within a few months I was pregnant with our first. We decided to move closer to home and ended up staying with MIL the last two months of my pregnancy while finding and closing on our house. While living with her she told me to be a SAHM, don't go to work, take care of our kids because they are more important than extra money. I actually am a SAHM, and guess who still calls me lazy? We had our first and 2 weeks later moved into our new home.
I was so ready to go. Yes, we were in her home, but this woman would come running in our room at all hours because the baby was crying yelling "What's wrong!" and "Give my baby to grandma!" Calm down woman, it's time to nurse. She wanted me to stop trying to nurse our baby the first 2 weeks so she could feed HER baby and I was selfish for not cooperating. She wanted to take our fresh newborn to her office to show off. We weren't even taking the baby to the grocery store.
After we moved, she NEVER came over. We lived 30 minutes from her house and 2 hours from my parents and they visited every weekend. We had to go to her. About 6-8 months after we moved in, MIL moved 5 hours away✌️. We made a few trips to see her and she came to visit for a couple of hours for baby's first birthday. My parents came and helped set up for the party then helped us break down the party.
Shortly after, we found out we were having baby #2. MIL showed up for the baby shower then left after an hour, even though 1 was at the party. When 2 was born, there were health issues and 2 was in the NICU for 20 days. She came to see him for 2 days then went back home while my parents got a hotel and took care of 1 for us so we could stay at the hospital as much as possible. I think she came back once more before Christmas that year.
That summer she came into town and did everything in her power to get husband and I to argue. Now, I grew up with a MASTER manipulator so I learned early to brush most of it off. When she tried to convince me and husband that he was ready to propose to another girl weeks before he met me/while we were dating, I was laughing. She clung hard to this story, too. Naming the restaurant husband took me to on our first fancy date, the time we went was the only time he'd been up to when she was telling us this. Talking about things that happened to us but maintaining it was another girl. The best was that this "girl" had a name that starts with the same letters mine does. Husband was getting frustrated because they were obviously lies but I was dying laughing. It was just so sad funny. She even told us about a seagull stealing our fries as if it happened with Husband and Other Woman. This behavior has continued, but it's just sad now. How unhappy do you have to be to seek to suck the joy out of others.?
About a year and a half after 2 was born, we moved 45 minutes away from my parents and 3 hrs from MIL. In the two years we lived there, MIL came 3 times to visit. All other trips we had to go see her. We went there for festivals, to visit her at work and once for my husband to complete a job interview, on top of just random trips.
Two years later, we moved 18 hours away for my husband's career. We've been here for 7 years and she has only come once a year at either Christmas or Thanksgiving for 3-4 days to visit. The best was when she wanted to take 1and 2 on a 20 hr roadtrip Christmas Day, right after opening their presents, just to turn around and drive back 20 hours the 27th. Of course I was the AH when I pointed out how dumb of an idea that was. No kid wants to leave their presents to ride in a car 40 hrs over 3 days. I'm am adult and I don't want to do that.
About a year after we moved into our house here, we got a surprise in baby #3! Being significantly older now, 3 was more of a shock than a surprise. MIL kept to her regularly scheduled visits. She didn't come out to meet 3 until Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, a couple years later, she lost her youngest son. He passed around Thanksgiving so we went to her and stayed 2 weeks to help her with funeral arrangements and just to be there. Kids 1 and 2 were in school, but they were excused(I think this is why now she thinks they can visit whenever with zero consequences). BIL had 3 kids of his own, all with ages that align with 1, 2, and 3, but due to MIL and BIL having a bad relationship, we have never met BIL youngest 2 children. Their mother wants nothing to do with MIL and, since we have included her in our travel plans to their home state, SIL 2 would have nothing to do with us, understandably so. As far as I'm aware, even BIL's other child has little to no relationship with her. She has gone to visit once since the kids birth for a weekend yet she expects his mother to send the kid to stay with her this summer.
Two years ago, we traveled to our home state to visit and rented a beach house with room for her to stay with us. She opted to rent her own place off the beach and wanted the kids to stay with her. We had family visiting every day, we said no, but you can have them x night. They had great grandparents, my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides come stay nights to visit with tons of kids so the kids wanted to stay with us.
Last summer, we traveled to our home state and stayed a week at an airBNB two hours from her. We invited her to stay with us and she refused. She said she was too tired to drive. I offered to pick her up. She refused. Husband offered to pick her up. She refused. Husband was left feeling hurt that she wouldn't come visit. Kids 1 and 2 were also hurt, but they had cousins to play with so they brushed it off.
The vacations I've mentioned aren't our only trips to home state the last 7 years. Plus, I make it a point to go to MIL's first and last on those trips. Partly because my parents come visit multiple times a year and partly because, apparently, I'm a huge glutton for punishment. We paid for her to go to Disney World with us for six days when 1 and 2 were five and four years old (never again). She only actually went into the parks two days and one of them, she just walked off with our kids and wouldn't answer her phone, didn't send a text, didn't take 2's emergency meds, just vanished for almost an hour.
MIL has been asking us to send 1 (ONLY 1, she says she can't handle 2 and 3 and she and 1 have a "special bond" because 1 is HER baby🤮) to go on special vacations to different states and countries since 1's birth. We aren't doing that. One, these kids are the Three Muskateers, all for one and one for all, and B, we haven't felt comfortable with interstate travel until now due to many factors but primarily their ages and 2 has ongoing health concerns from his birth trauma. Out of the country trips without us just aren't happening until they're adults.
All this, that's just backstory. We have ongoing, current drama. My parents retired in the last 3 years and have rented a home near us and have been here the last year to help as we prepare to move (yes, AGAIN🙄!) for my husband's career. They had to return home for a visit to help with my grandparents and, since they were leaving at the beginning of summer vacation, we agreed to send the kids back with them. We called MIL and told her and at first she was super excited. Yay🎉! We called to let her know the dates they would be there and arranged a week to stay with her. When we called again to let her know they had left and would be in our home state the next day (18 hour drive), she was upset 1,2, and 3 would be with my parents a whole 24 hours longer than her. Then she told us that she had taken extra days off and planned to keep them longer and when we told her that won't work because others have taken time off to see the kids, she decided we are keeping HER kids from her.
The last 2 days have been back and forth drama because we won't let her see HER kids. She has been told numerous times she can come here to visit any time she wants. We have a bedroom for her and everything. She says we can come visit her more. Husband tells her he gets 3 weeks of vacation to her 6, she can spend her money and time however she wants, but if she CHOOSES to go elsewhere, we are not responsible for her not seeing the kids (she has a 2 week abroad vacay scheduled this summer). Again she says, we can come there those 3 weeks, the kids lives are here. They have school, activities, friends. Kid 2 is missing weeks of necessary PT and OT, he can't miss much more without backsliding. We finally had to explain to her that her expectations just aren't realistic. We won't ever be sending our kids to stay with her the whole summer, her latest demand. She is, however, welcome to come visit during the summer.
Bear in mind, all this is stemming from us refusing to let her keep the kids extra because another family member rearranged their schedule to spend time with them. This family member loses hundreds of dollars each client they cancel and fits 3-6 clients in a day, so no, MIL, I don't feel comfortable asking them to suck it up for a last minute schedule change you didn't run by anyone else, her actual request BTW. Also, she's mad because I decided to fly to home state to surprise the kids and now she can't bully my mom into giving in to her.
I feel like I have been very accomodating. I try to include her as much as possible. I call her after every big milestone, I send pictures of the kids, and when 1 got a cellphone, we told MIL to text/call anytime outside of school hours and bedtimes. She's never called and only text 3-4 times. She's only been to three birthday parties total out of their combined 24, even when we lived 2 hours away. .
I told my husband I refuse to feel guilty because she doesn't see the kids as often as she thinks she could. I'm done always reaching out and being the one making an effort. My phone rings and receives texts, the interstate goes both directions, there are flights at the airport daily and she can always Huck Finn it up the river if nothing else, but I'm done. He is so disappointed with her and angry that she has decided to be so difficult over an issue that's her own doing. She took two weeks two summers ago to visit her niece and her baby but only came here for 4 days at Thanksgiving. Last year she drove out 2 days before Christmas and left the day after Christmas after dodging our summer trip home. Yet we're somehow responsible for her not seeing the kids more often. The lack of logic confounds me.
And while this isn't an AITA post, I can't help wondering if I am an AH because I'm not at all sad she comes to visit as rarely as she has and I am kind of hoping she "punishes" us by not coming to visit this year🙏. After all, she's getting her time with the kids out the way early, right?