The Gospels are not anonymous. They aren't called the Gospel of John, Luke, Mark, Matthew out of thin air. The authors are given and Church history and early Christians also attribute them to those people.
The only people are people today, liberals or other "scholars" on reddit or in academia who are facing it with a bias, but do Not do this with any other work from the first century or before. I have absolutely no respect for atheist or agnostic or anybody who does this. It's dishonest, and hypocritical.
Nobody honestly argues the authorship of Plato, or Aristotle, or Homer's works and so on and on.
But when it comes to the Bible, there is a satanic bias and hypocricy and agenda, that holds no weight in a debate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZbgW_0ELnk
"TLDR : Every manuscript of the New testament that we have (with the relevant page surviving) is titled with the specific gospel author named. Not a single manuscript that we have is anonymous. Each Greek, Latin or Coptic (And Syriac according to one article I was using) manuscript from the earliest we have (2nd century) says something akin to "Euaggelion Kata (Author)" - "The Gospel according to (Author). Not one manuscript indicates any of them were anonymous, and not one of them disagrees with the traditional attribution of the Gospels.
Ancient sources are unanimous in attributing the four gospels to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Papias is the first to make a claim, he wrote some time from 90-110 AD, but was also someone who was alive during the lifetime of the apostles. He attributes Mark and Matthew's Gospels. Irenaeus (180AD), who was a student of Polycarp, a student of the apostle John attributes all four gospels to the respective authors.
There are many other ancient sources listed, from different times and across vastly different geographical areas and each of them all unanimously agree the gospels were written by the four authors.
The letter to the Hebrews is one we can say for sure was anonymous because 1) The manuscripts do not mention authorship and 2) there is disagreement amongst ancient writers on who wrote it. Different traditions emerged, with some saying Paul wrote it, others Clement, Barnabas etc. Origen simply shrugs and says "only God knows". It is extremely implausible, that anonymous gospels, being given a false attribution much later on could have gotten universal attribution across different geographical areas, as if a copyist in Egypt decided to attach Matthew's name to a Gospel, a counterpart in Rome would have no way of knowing and no reason to trust when he was used to only seeing anonymous texts.
This anonymous gospel claim is unsupported by any evidence. Writings like 1 Clement (70ad) support this, reporting of the specific apostles who preached the Gospel to Rome - Peter and Paul having been recently martyred, to which many in the Roman church that originated this letter would have been living witnesses to. 1 Clement shows that the teachings of Jesus including his resurrection were not part of a "Telephone Game", as it was the specific eye-witnesses who spread the message.
The theory also doesn't make sense. If someone was going to attribute anonymous gospels to followers of Jesus to give them legitimacy, why on earth would they choose Mark or Luke? Neither were eye-witnesses. Mark was a follower of Peter and Luke of Paul. Why choose Matthew? if not for his Gospel he would be one of the least noteworthy apostles. The only other thing we learn about him from the new testament was that he was a tax collector. We see with the later gnostic gospels that those who chose to invent a connection tended to choose figures that had far more presence in the gospel narrative. Falsely attributing the Gospels to Matthew, and especially Mark and Luke does not make sense. Besides, as soon as more than one gospel was circulating it would have been necessary for them to have titles in order to distinguish them."

Situation: Neighbors across the street are divorced. Dad lives in the house. Mom now lives somewhere else. They have two girls. One is 10 and one is 5. Another caveat is my wife teaches the 5 year old so she’s noticed things are a bit off and has definitely noticed both parents are nuts. A few weeks ago she basically had to pressure mom to get the 5 year old new shoes because her toes were popping out a hole on one of the shoes.
We have both suspected the kids are left home alone a lot. I often see them walking home alone when my 9 year old and I walk home from school. The elementary school is around the corner. It’s a 5 minute walk. And they always walk home without dad. I confirmed they are home a lot after speaking with their next door neighbor (whose child coincidentally also had my wife as her kindergarten teacher). The cops were at the house an hour ago (11pm local time) and mom was in a robe and slippers. No one was answering the door. Mom texted the neighbor to get girls’ father to answer the door. No one answered and the mom argued with the cop for about 20 minutes then both left. So we have no idea is A) Dad is there or B) Dad isn’t there and girls are by themselves or C) Neither is there.
We live in Houston and last week had a massive storm come through that left us without power for two days and others even longer. A tornado hit some homes around the corner from us. We talked to the neighbor and found out the girls were alone during this whole ordeal. The event was honestly scary as shit for me as an adult. To be frank it was probably the scariest weather event I’ve been through. And mom and dad weren’t home. Mom called the neighbor after to get the girls so they could stay at their house. Apparently dad was out of town and mom works 45 minutes away. The weather event happened at 6:00pm and mom didn’t show up until 10:00pm. So I surmise that this is probably a pretty common occurrence. Where the girls walk home and wait for either dad to get home or mom to come pick them up.
We haven’t seen signs of physical abuse. It just seems very neglectful. My wife has approached the counselors at her school about them being left alone but they have told her there really isn’t anything that can be reported on that because there is no age law in Texas that specifies how old kids need to be to stay at home alone. I looked and apparently that’s true.
I’m just very fearful something bad is going to happen. Those poor girls were understandably absolutely terrified last week after the tornado.
CPS being an absolute shitshow in this state gives me worry too.

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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Note: This is a Fanfic of the Nature of Predators series by u/Spacepaladin15, that is being reposted from the NatureofPredators sub. Please support the original content.
Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
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My second to last quarter just ended and I'm pretty swamped with final reports right now, but I'm almost through. Not to mention, the next seven weeks are going to be pretty light because of a sudden lack of classes, since I busted my butt finishing up my remaining credits. I've decided to dedicate this time to (among other things) a writing frenzy! I wanna get some serioussss backlogs up because who knows how busy I'm going to be after graduation. (Not to mention, I'm having some troubles getting my VISA renewed, but that's a personal issue).
Anyways, don't wanna bore you with irl stuff. You're here for food and gay furry romance! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading! :D
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Thank you to Philodox on discord for proofreading and editing RfD.
Thank you to Pampanope on reddit for the cover art.
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Memory Transcript Subject: Sylvan, Venlil Citizen
Date: [Standardized Human Time]: December 13, 2136
​
It wasn’t too long that I was absent from the event. Sure, Kenta and I had run into a few hiccups when trying to load up the cart, but that was to be expected. Just looking at the absolute behemoth of an edible pile that he had somehow been able to put together in such a short amount of time, it was a wonder just how we were able to fit them all on there in the first place. And the promise that there was still more yet to be brought out had left me astonished. If I hadn’t already seen the ravenous vortex of Venlil that had so efficiently done away with the other dishes, I might have actually been worried about leftovers.
The food in question, long tubes made out of some kind of starchy form of strayu and packaged in an even starchier husk, were stacked in circular pyramids atop three large trays. As it turned out, this delicacy was the same “Tamale” recipe that I had heard mentioned the day before, the sheer amount being the product of Kenta’s, Julio’s, and even Jeela’s preparations. Unfortunately, I hadn’t received the full explanation of what they were just yet, but Kenta had thankfully given me at least a quick rundown.
Using the same steaming methods as the gyoza, these tamales had been folded carefully over a mix of fresh, crisp vegetables whose scent floated around each in a rich aura. They were hot out of the steamer, a cloud of gaseous water encircling the air above it in a decadent plume. If I hadn’t known better, with the combined mass of the tamales and the sheer volume of steam they collectively released, it might have made me believe the cart itself to be on fire. But of course, there was no such thing, and the cloud that spread into the sky only served to sweeten the air.
As I rolled out the cart, I looked at one last addition to the ensemble. There in a large bowl was something that Kenta hadn’t mentioned in the slightest when explaining the recipe and reasonings behind the tamales, and I had been so urgent to get these out the door that I’d forgotten to press for more details. It had been left in the refrigerator since the day before, which I had only noticed when doing inventory after the fiasco of event preparations.
‘It completely slipped my mind until now… I’m glad I didn’t forget it. Especially after what that note said.’
When I had found the bowl, a small piece of paper had been taped to it. On which, an alien text had been inscribed that required me to use my visual translator to make any sense of. It had been nothing but obvious that holding up the translator informed me that the language was indeed Terran. But what confused me was that instead of the morphemic script that I had come to slightly recognize from Kenta’s subculture, it instead appeared to be something more alphabetic.
On it, the note simply read: “Make sure to serve this with the tamales, my friend. Don’t forget!”
Additionally, below those words had appeared to be an additional message. That one, however, was partially scribbled out. When I scanned that one as well, the translator had taken a long time to process, and its output remained considerably fractured: “**od l*ck wit* y*u* n*w boyf***nd.”
Having not thought much of the note, I had just barely remembered to retrieve the bowl from the fridge and put it on the card while Kenta was off busy grabbing one last batch of tamales before rushing me out the door. I shook it out of my mind for the time being. After all, right now there were more pressing things to manage.
Wheeling the cart back outside, I was hit with the briefest shortage of breath. It had only been a momentary respite, but shifting from the quiet of the empty diner to the lively atmosphere of a crowded party would never not be a shock. By now, enough people had shown up that the event could already be considered at max capacity. People from all over filled the street, chatting and conversing in a rambunctious, lively gusto.
To see so many people take the time out of their schedules and come down to my family’s diner just because of the promise of our food… It was almost overwhelming, enough to bring a brief tear to the eye reminiscent of my reaction to that very first wave of people Ginro had brought soon after I first hired Kenta. I took a moment just to bask in it. A feeling I had all but begun to grow almost too accustomed to. A feeling of success, and of pride. And as I once again continued pushing the cart past the crowds of chatty party attendees, along with the piles of wool that it entailed, that feeling continued to pour into me. It was all almost too much to hear at once.
“Hey Sylvan! Great party!” said one voice to my left.
“Amazing food as always, Lackadaisy guy! I can’t get enough of these little strayu things in the salad!” piped another to my right.
“Ooooo! What are those things?” asked one more as I passed by them, who excitedly eyed up the stack of tamales I was delivering.
I laughed along and chatted with people on my way to one of the tables, chuckling at their jokes and accepting their praise on behalf of both myself and the mysterious ‘Kahnta.’ With each pleased guest and hungry gaze, I couldn’t help but feel myself bloom in sheer joy at the tidal wave of enthusiastic complements.
That was… until one otherwise innocent comment sounded from behind me.
“So you’re telling me this was all made by one chef?” they asked one of their friends, not intending me to hear as they talked with their mouth half stuffed with food. Looking closer, I could see that they were two Gojids chatting with one another. “Better enjoy it now, I guess. Not gonna be long before some fancy place in the Capital comes and recruits them. Honestly, if the owner of this place wants to have any hope of holding on to them, he better marry them or something.”
The partygoer’s friend laughed, “Well if he doesn’t, then I will! Can you imagine eating something like this every day?”
I couldn’t help but bloom even more overhearing this. But this was a different kind of feeling. Not the gentle warmth of normal delight, but instead the torrid heat of surging emotions. And as I began nonchalantly transferring the steaming tamales to one of the tables, these emotions steamed to the surface of my mind as well.
It was a mix of things that fueled my silent reaction. At first, the implication of asking Kenta into matehood was… well it was certainly something. I was sure the two Gojids were simply making innocent remarks, assuming that the lie about my precious chef being another, completely ordinary Venlil was correct, not realizing in the slightest just how much the implication left me flummoxed. And in normal circumstances, it would have been just that, a simple perk of the ears and a brief daydream of something so far away from me. But after yesterday, things had changed.
The previous day had been eventful, to say the least. I had eaten some amazing pastries and listened to an even more amazing alien melody. Only for it all to come crashing down when my idiotic brain forgot to turn back on the translator before pouring out my entire menagerie of pent up emotions before Kenta. My one chance to seize an opportunity at the height of a courageous high, only to tumble and fall flat during the execution. Even worse, I couldn’t muster the bravery to say the same thing even one more time.
I had completely blown it. And needless to say, I wasn’t exactly keen on remembering my mistakes from that previous day, especially during such a pivotal event. The only mediocre condolence I could take from the whole ordeal being the opportunity of waking up next to Kenta that same day. But even that was cut much too short by the mad rush to get preparation ready for the event.
‘I can still remember how warm he felt… And how peaceful he looked when his eyes were closed…’ I thought to myself in deep reminiscence.
“Hey there Sylvan!”
‘I can’t get it out of my head…! Ugh! I wish it wasn’t just a one time thing…’
“Sylvan?”
‘If we really were together romantically, then maybe I could see that every day… But that’s not–’
“Sylvan!!”
The moment my attention was pulled away from my internal thoughts, I audibly bleated out a high pitched noise of surprise, “Eeep!”
My ears jutted up and my tail straightened like a steel beam. My attention shifted over to my side, where I soon realized Fehnel now stood. She had her paws held firmly on her hips, with a head tilted to the side in a half puzzled, half amused demeanor. Then, when I realized I had been staring a little too long without saying anything, I quickly turned my attention back to the table.
“Oh hey Fehnel!” I stuttered out. “Didn’t see you there!”
“Sorry if I sneaked up on ya, hun,” Fehnel replied with a single wag of the tail. “Got somethin’ on the mind, I’m assumin’?”
The image of Kenta and I huddled together on my couch flashed through my mind once more, before I quickly shook it away. “Uhhhh… Nope! I’m just really focussing here on getting these tamales out.”
“‘Tamales,’ huh?” Fehnel chuckled. “Well between this and that ‘gee-yo-za’ stuff, I think I’m startin’ to give up on predictin’ what crazy name Kahnta’ll come up with next.”
“Yeah it’s pretty… uh–” I coughed awkwardly, clearing something nonexistent out of my throat. “It’s pretty creative.”
“You can say that again. By this point, they’re startin’ to sound almost alien!” Fehnel laughed again, and I cringed as the irony fell over deaf ears. “But hey, who am I to judge! I mean, to me all the stuff on this planet is alien, so what’s another ‘Tamale’ added to the pile, yeah?”
I had to stop my ears and head from shrinking too far towards the ground.
“Anyways, I’m assumin’ these are the actual foods I requested Kahnta to create, right?” Fehnel continued to ask.
“Uh– Y-yeah, yes they ar–” I tried to say before one of Fehnel’s paws suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Great!” she beamed, before dragging me away into one of the many chatty piles of fluffy wool that constituted our event.
It didn’t take more than a few rushed steps before I was suddenly pulled in front of another Yotul and Venlil, who I did well to recognize immediately. It seemed as though Kadew and Vuilen had arrived, the former of which looking just about as nervous as I had expected. Vuilen, on the other paw, was anything but. Her tail was wagging furiously, almost impossibly giddy with enthusiasm as her ears shifted around a swivel, likely allowing every new smell and sound to pull her attention to and fro.
Fehnel dragged me forward and plopped me down right in front of the two, before saying, “Tell them what you just told me.”
Vuilen leaned forward, bestowing me her full attention, while Kadew remained stationary, only doing as much as to straighten a single, skeptical ear.
“W-well, uh…” I stumbled, before quickly getting my act together. “Among a number of new strayu recipes, the main entree for today’s event is called ‘Tamales.’”
“Oooo!” Vuilen beamed. “What’s that, Lackadaisy guy? It sounds awesome!”
“According to Kahnta, it’s a mix of vegetables folded in a spongy strayu wrap and steamed inside a starchy husk. And…” I tilted my ears towards Kadew, “It’s supposedly a specialty that is designed to be eaten during times of celebration with family. Regardless of whether they be by blood, or found.”
Kadew huffed a short breath, before folding her arms. But before she got the chance to speak, Vuilen’s enthused voice overtook it. The black and white wooled Venlil leaned into her smaller Yotul partner and pulled them into a strong hug.
“Hear that, Dew? It’s like this food was MADE for your Running Day!” Vuilen piped, bouncing up and down like a cub and bringing the now deeply blooming Kadew along for the ride. “Well… I guess it literally was, but you know what I mean! Either way, there’s like a million new kinds of strayu foods here! Can you believe that? I think I even saw some sylvanas over on that table there! Can you even begin to wonder what they taste like? Oh my Sol, I’m so excited!”
Kadew, whose previously unimpressed countenance now had more steam coming out of her ears than the tamales off in the distance, stuttered out her response. “Uh– Uhmm– That’s… that’s great…”
“I know right!” Vuilen squealed. “This is going to be the BEST Running Day ever! I’m so happy for you!”
I couldn’t help but giggle out in response to this, something which Fehnel had long since been doing on her own volition. Unfortunately for Kadew, this did nothing to ease the sheer amount of embarrassment already flying around her dazed face.
“Of course, all guests are free to eat their fill, especially those invited by the Claw’s Lady herself,” I said, before gesturing a paw towards Fehnel. “All of it has been covered in advance by our generous sponsor.”
Vuilen retreated from her hug just as quickly as it had started, twisting her attention back towards Fehnel and I. “Really? I still can’t believe you’re just giving away all this for free!”
She walked towards the two of us, leaving a still dazed Kadew behind her, before rushing to give Fehnel herself another brief hug. “Thank you so much again for organizing something like this, ma’am.”
Fehnel returned the embrace, having nothing but pure pride and joy radiate through her voice. “Of course, hun. I hope you and my daughter enjoy your date.”
“Oh we will!” Vuilen replied quickly, pulling back once again. Just as fast, she began making a beeline for the buffet tables, almost disappearing into the crowd of fellow Venlil fluff before her voice was heard once more. “I’ll be back in a jiffy, Dew! I just gotta try some of this stuff before it’s all gone!”
Before she was out of range, I twisted around, raised a paw up to my mouth, and stood up high to help carry my voice after her. “Don’t forget to save room for dessert!”
Turning back, I joined Fehnel once again in her chuckling. It didn’t take long for Fehnel to comment on the situation now that Vuilen was out of earshot.
She leaned over and gently nudged me in the leg with her tail. “She’s a riot, ain’t she? Does my daughter know how to pick em’, or what?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen them together in the diner all the time. Honestly, I’ve been wondering how long it was going to take to knit that scarf,” I commented, referencing one of the more common and romantic Venlil courtship rituals.
“Guys I can HEAR YOU!” Kadew yelped, now seemingly freed of her hug-induced daze.
“Oh hun don’t you worry yourself about us,” Fehnel replied, a slight hum to her voice. “Us adults can’t help but watch the young love bloom.”
“That guy’s barely older than I am!” Kadew shot back, raising a finger to point at me.
I raised two paws in defence, much too similar to the way Kenta does when he’s been caught teasing me. “Hey, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when I see it. You’re doing great, by the way.”
The teasing, however, had been lost on her. I had meant it in good will, but my words had only served to aggravate Kadew, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. Then, she started stomping rapidly in place, her trained legs moving in a blur like overclocked turbines. From even the briefest glance, I could tell that something had been pulling away at her tail, and our comments were doing it no favours.
“Uhh… are you alright?” I asked tentatively.
“ARGH!” she groaned back. “No! No, I am very much NOT alright! Running Day’s here already, I feel like a pile of speh, my fur’s a mess, and I’m FREAKING THE BRAHK OUT!!”
‘Quite the vocabulary on this one, apparently,’ I judged silently, wondering how my mother would have reacted to hearing me talk like that.
“Honey, Vuilen’s not gonna care about any of that silly stuff,” Fehnel said jovially. “Why, I remember bein’ covered in dried mud the first time I went on a date with your father. We went down to the creek together and took turns tossing water at each other. Then, we went down to the local actin’ house and watched a show. But even after all of that, I still had a bit of dried mud crusted on my fur, but your father didn’t mind. Said it gave me ‘character,’ of all the silly things.”
“Isn’t dried mud just dirt?” I asked.
“Naw, see, dirt is sand, silt, and clay, but it only becomes mud when it has a higher content of clay.”
“So then what happens when dirt gets wet but doesn’t have a lot of clay?”
“Wet dirt.”
“Ah.”
“WHAT ARE YOU BRAHKING TALKING ABOUT!?” Kadew squealed in a panic, her stomping had not ceased in the slightest. She threw her paws up and pulled her ears down over her eyes. “Dirt and mud! That’s all that we Yotul talk about apparently! And trains! Can’t forget the brahking trains! Stars above, that’s all people ever say!”
“Trains are cool,” I said indifferently.
“I don’t care!” she huffed, before turning to Fehnel. “Mom. What if Vuilen comes back and sees you talking about dirt? She’ll just see that it’s the only thing a primitive uplift is capable of understanding! Do you really want to prove her right?”
Fehnel looked shocked, but replied nonetheless. “Has… she said something like that before?”
“Well…! No…! But…” Kadew stomped again. “She might, okay!? Especially if she sees you actively talking about it!”
“To be fair, I asked,” I replied. “Besides, Vuilen seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t make a rash assumption about the Yotul based off some random remark. Relationships are stronger than that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“What do you know about it!?” Kadew shot back, releasing her ears and letting them perk up to max height. “Unless I missed something, I don’t see you dating any other Venlil in that restaurant of yours! How do you know if any of this is fine!?”
Fehnel’s voice soured immediately. “Kadew! That is no way to talk to our new business partner! He was just tryin’ to help! Apologize this instant!”
Realizing something had shifted without my notice, I tried to mellow my voice in an attempt to calm the situation down. “Oh, that won’t be necessar–”
“No,” Fehnel interrupted. “I refuse to let my daughter be rude to anyone. We might not have much, but we at least have manners.” She turned her attention back to her daughter. “Kadew, if you have a problem, then I want you to tell me about it. If there’s somethin’ we can do to help, then–”
“No no, it’s not…” Kadew replied, bringing two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her snout. “It’s not that…”
“It’s not what?” Fehnel tried to guess. “It’s with Vuilen, isn’t it? You’re afraid she’ll not be able to appreciate the Runnin’ Day? Listen, I know this isn’t Leirn, but Sylvan and I are kickin’ our hardest to make it special for you regardless. Sure, it’s not the most traditional, but I’m sure Vuilen won’t mind! I understand that livin’ on a new planet is taxin’, the gravity here especially, but as foreigners it’s our job to show these nice people where we come from. We’re Yotul, and nothin’ will change that!”
“Mom…” Kadew grunted back, before taking a deep breath.
Before she could speak, Fehnel continued with a proud wag to her tail. “Do you remember what a Runnin’ Day is all about, Kadew? It’s about all the cubs that came of age that year comin’ together and sayin’ that they’ll be fine by themselves. But it’s also about family. It’s about knowin’ that no matter where you run off to, I’ll be there to support you. But you’re makin’ it real hard to do that every time you don’t tell me what the matter is! And if you don’t, how can I make this Runnin’ Day the best it can–”
“But it’s not a Running Day, is it!” Kadew yelled, instantly shutting Fehnel up.
Her mother stared forward blankly, stumbling over a few unclear words. “Wh-what do you…”
“It’s not a Running Day!” Kadew repeated. “It’s not! I mean look around you!” She lifted her arms up dramatically, motioning towards the crowds of unaware Venlil around us. “We’re the only Yotul here! We’re the only two people that even know what a Running Day is, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only people that care!”
I tried to speak, “Umm… I know what a Running Day i–” but the look of animosity Kadew immediately shot my way gave me Jeela flashbacks, and I shut up just as quick.
“Kadew… Hun, that’s not true,” Fehnel tried to defend. “I’m sure they’d be willing to open their minds if we just–”
“What? Tell them all about how great it is to come from an Uplift planet? Talk about brahking DIRT some more!? Careful there Mom, don’t want to spoil their meal!” Kadew continued her berating. “Because you and I both know that the only reason anyone even showed up to this thing is because of that guy’s food!” Another finger was shot out in my direction. “Even you know there’s nothing special about your stupid Uplift culture! There’s nothing here even remotely related to the Yotul! It’s all just Venlil decorations and Venlil food, for our solely Venlil guests! And look!!” She pointed directly at the statue Jeela had placed as the centerpiece. “They have a statue of a Venlil as the center of everything! It’s the star attraction, not us! They couldn’t give a damn about me or Running Day or our culture or… or anything!”
Fehnel appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“And now I’ve got to find some kind of excuse for all this!” Kadew added. “It’s bad enough I had to drag Vuilen into pretending to care about the Yotul. But now the entire town is a part of it too! They’re laughing at us, Mom! Just like at school! Just like everywhere else I go! They’re laughing at us and you’re proud about it!”
From the verge of tears, Fehnel’s voice had croaked into a soft weep. A glimmering stream of water had begun to crawl down the ridge of her rust-coloured face.
“I hate being born a Yotul! I hate this gross, rusty fur! I hate everyone thinking I’m primitive and that I must be in love with trains and steam engines! And I hate you trying to push your culture on me! Cause guess what? I’ve never even seen Leirn! It’s NOT my home and you need to stop pretending it is!”
Fehnel stood simply aghast, the occasional choked-up garble of sounds emerging from her throat. Meanwhile, I stood speechless as well. Obviously, I had accidentally walked in on and been exposed to something that had been going on for quite a while. But even worse, it seems as though I had done nothing but fanned the flame of this long-fueled fire. Instinctively, I began taking a few steps back to give the two their space, which went unnoticed by either party.
Fehnel swallowed, her eyes still welling tears. “I… I…” she tried to say, but no words would form. Instead, she choked on her own voice. And Kadew, who stood waiting for a response, sucked in heavy loads of air in the fleeting hope to catch her breath.
But instead of an answer, all that any of us heard was a scream.
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Hi, I am Presley, a 14 year old alter with a few years of developmental delays in a 22 year old body. Since I came back 3 months ago, I noticed that the other ones in me who are adults are so open about their DID and are finding their own communities within their interests during our study break. I don’t know how to summarise any of the paragraphs below.
I want to have friends too! I want to join activities I like! I want to stop masking my autism! But every time I come out, my parents [body] say I need to stop acting like a strange person because I don’t speak normally, I don’t behave normally, and I don’t express normally. Normal meaning people without special needs. I was diagnosed with both as a child. The outer world gatekeeper (also an emotional protector) in my body told me this socialising with people inside a consistent imaginary world in my head for many years and not knowing what is going on externally is called dissociative identity disorder. She told me that we are now bodily an adult with adult things and I need to be a “big sister” now to teenagers 👀. So weird. The body was 14 years old when I last came out!
I went to lots of therapy in childhood and I carry lots of autism symptoms in what they call “an ableist world”, so the adult alters experience it a lot less. Context: the body has had moderate special needs and was advised to attend a special school, but my parents decided not to comply, and the body “miraculously recovered” at age 12 when a lot of alters like me disappeared 🙃. I used to mask all the time but not anymore because I get so tired and I still don’t get it right. Other alters aren’t masking and people don’t look at them weirdly at all, but every time I go outside, people looked at me because of my hand gestures, facial expressions and voice+sounds — according to other alters and my family. My parents [body] scolded me both when I masked + didn’t mask and refused to talk to me until I resume being a “normal person”, that is when I no longer interact with this world. They threatened to report this to the psychiatrist and psychologist to get me fixed if I act like this and they spot it one more time. Staff in public always make angry sounds whenever I approach them for help. All of this is making me uncomfortable.
I feel like nobody wants me all over again, especially when the negative memory gatekeeper and the inner world gatekeeper (also an intellectual protector) said it’s better if I don’t come out at all to avoid stirring trouble for them. But the positive memory gatekeeper countered this by implementing an internal programme to integrate me to the rest of them. She even searched for activities that I like, but those organisations say it’s only for normal people and someone like me is unwelcome. But I really want friends with special needs and attend activities with people that won’t look down on me. Last time I went to an activity, it was 4 years of gymnastics from body ages 10-14, and I was stuck with children between 4-9 years old without levelling up for the entire time due to learning difficult. I was also ignored by my former classmates whom I tried to befriend after they levelled up a year later and I developed my later diagnosed social anxiety disorder from all my bad socialising experiences.
My point is, I question if I could interact with others at all. The neutral memory gatekeeper suggested that I go to a social centre for people with special needs, but they aren’t taking me in anymore because the staff saw one of us years ago as a volunteer and believed that I didn’t need any support. The positive memory gatekeeper, who takes care of alters with more impactful special needs, tried to get me touch with the counsellor whom she used to work with, but she does not seem to be contactable anymore because she’s not answering our emails. This makes me sad because she was very helpful to the others.
Nowadays, whenever the other alters bring me up to their friends externally, they always sound worried or embarrassed. The academic alter (also a verbal protector) in my system likes to pretend that I don’t exist to carry the strong person image in front of her social circle. Their social circles don’t seem interested to meet me and the negative memory gatekeeper has a friend who even said he wanted to give me hate comments for being this way. Context: the negative memory gatekeeper makes online friends who have controversial views and they engage in taboo topics together. There are 5 gatekeepers in my system and they’re all mentioned in this post.
I feel lonely. There’s still so much about me that is hard for me to accept, let alone embrace. Other people now talk about neurodivergence these days online and it’s so alien to me. I feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I’ve spent more than an hour texting these thoughts and feelings into this post. I just want someone to understand me and to reach me out. Please.

This is a bit long.
I had moved into a new apartment with my little dog and cat, and always made sure to ask my downstairs neighbor if he ever heard her and he said he never heard anything from my unit ever. He moved out after about 4 months, and a Karen moved in. At the time I was (27/28F) who had over ten years of experience with toxic neighbors and roommates.
Two months after she moved in my dog was killed by a pit bull as i wrestled to get its jaws open. i still have scars on my fingers from where the pit bull's fangs dug into me as i was prying. (And no i was in so much trauma that I could not bear the idea of killing someone else's puppy when I knew that was a pitbull puppy, that was not receiving proper training and he thought killing my dog was playing with a toy. i later found out someone else called and got animal services to arrive, and the owner had skipped out on the unit disappearing legally and situationally to avoid criminal charges.) I need emotional support dogs because of a very traumatic life, and part of that trauma will be relayed in another story. I waited 6 months for a new puppy to be born after searching carefully for breeders i agreed with and the temperament and sensitivity of their parent dogs. I have owned 3 dogs of the same breed (Larger yorkshire terrier who are sensitive to mood swings, seizures and other medical conditions more than a lot of big dogs 'supposedly' do. I do not tolerate a nitpicky dog they are fully desensitized by me in preparation for my future children ) before this and it was my first time experiencing the next problem.
My downstairs Karen had been friendly with me and chatted a lot but I could tell she was one of those 'no-nonsense' people and she even tried to give me rules like "No noise above me after 6pm" when I work early in the morning and wouldn't be home till after 7 which meant i was not allowed to VACCUME my own home except on my 1 day per month off of work. Usually those one days off were because i was sick from exhaustion and they were recovery days, not cleaning ones.
When she started complaining every single day about how her water was not 'hot enough' and she demanded she should have entitlement to piping hot water I realized she really was a Karen kind of woman. I let her know I had adopted a new puppy and that I was going to do extensive training to make sure it was a good little neighbor but asked her to bear with me. By the time the Karen moved out she had been under me for 2 years. and I got my new puppy around halfway through that.
At first she would lie to me and tell me she 'could never hear my dog' at all. I knew my dog barked in separation anxiety from her personality for the first 30-45 minutes after I left for work around 10 am, and otherwise stopped. 6 months before the Karen moved out, my dog was barking constantly because the Karen would sit on her patio below mine and talk so loudly it was as if she were talking in the middle of my house! I started getting text messages constantly about how my dog would not stop barking and when her friend had a baby over my dog barked so much it traumatized the baby. I told her repeatedly "Do not talk to my dog o r it makes her bark more." I told her repeatedly how LOUDLY she talked on the patio at 6-8 in the morning when I worked a day and a night shift and she was waking ME up. She would then claim I was imagining things as she worked night shift and couldnt POSSIBLY be awake that early. I the discord messages to my friends complaining about her to confirm I was not crazy but never showed her. She then tried to claim that my dog was disturbing all the neighbors and barked all day long. At this point, i had realized she was a very entitled Karen, and thanks to my late hours I found out her 'early morning' or 'nightshifts' were total lies. The hours she would need to be home to impose the '6pm curfew of noise' was ridiculous as she was coming home closer to 10pm. When she switched her tune of saying she needed silence in the morning, is when she was waking ME up at 6 in the morning.
At this point, I put up those cameras that are free and use your internet to monitor whatever to your phone. I could confirm that my dog would bark for the 45 minutes at most and then the only time she barked was maybe 4 or 5 times if someone was making strange loud noises below her. This meant someone pulling a cart or suitcase-type bag clicking across the sidewalk and she would bark until she couldn't hear it anymore so maybe a minute at most. She had been fully trained with sonic noise makers, dog whistles, training, and even that 'open door at odd intervals ' tricks. I refuse to use electric shock on my little girl or drugs when she is just fine for most of the day with her kitty brother. This is when the Karen's lies got worse!
Thats when the construction started. Every day for a week, that Karen was blowing up my phone saying my tiny dog was howling and screaming at all times. She even got the complex ownership to threaten me and tell me to control my dog with training or the complex would either evict me or forcibly remove my dog. This is illegal to do in my state as she is medically signed off on an Emotional support dog. I showed the office proof that my dog did NOT bark every single day and even witness reports that I had been so stressed I had actually been taking my dog to work as a caregiver, and she was making my client really happy, every other day. Further disproving the Karens claims. Over two weeks I discovered that the noises that DID make my dog bark were from the intense roof renovations that were going on, and the extensive painting and landscaping efforts that made it sound like people were trying to break down our walls. I fully understood why my poor girl was freaking! It even scared me so badly that the first time I heard them on the roof i ran to the office with the sound recording and they explained the rooftops were being re-tarred.
The Karen would not give up and the last time she texted me it was something like how "You need to control your dog. I cannot tollerate her barking at all times of the day and night! I will report you to the office and have the other neighbors sign a petition to get you eveicted if you do not put her in doggie daycare or get rid of her!" I replied with "Sure. You pay for the Doggie Daycare which is about $75 per day and then she will be quiet. Also I know for a fact you exaggerate and lie. My dog is wiht me half the times you claim she is barking and I know you are friends with your next-door neighbor whos dog barks worse and louder than mine out on his porch. Do not contact me again or speak to me in passing. If you do i will take this to more legal action" and I blocked her. A week later the office again tried to say they were getting complaints but admitted it was just one neighbor. I had made friends with the office worker and they loved my little dog. I even proved to them she was only making a small amount of noise the days she was left home. The stress this neighbor caused me with my new dog, who was supposed to reduce my clinical depression and anxiety went through the roof. If it weren't for my client letting me bring my dog for him to play with I dont think I would have been able to stay sane.
4 months before Karen moved out she tried one last trick to force me to deal with my dog 'her way' by submitting a proposal to the metro city district that i live in where they order me to cease and desist my dogs noise and that i was 'not compliant' with the required law ordinates. I could tell from the writing she had exaggerated the time, frequency, and duration of my dog's barking, much of which my cameras which were set to noise-sensitive, identified as two separate neighbors' dogs barking, not mine. My latest dog has a VERY unique bark with a pitch that is undeniably hers and is the first dog I ever had with barking or separation issues so i could easily tell the others were a medium and large barking dog. I laughed at the letter which said to further enforce the complaint they would require a petition of all my immediate neighbors, all of which said they couldn't hear my dog in comparison to the other barkers, and would not likely give their signatures to Karen. I decided if she ever did try anything else I would report to the office that she had a breech of contract 3 cats in her house two of which were identical and were grounds for immediate eviction, but I waited to see if she would cross me one last time. I laughed off the city mandate letter and tossed the letter out after the Karen moved away and never faced any repercussions but she gave me so many dirty looks. I started living in my home MY way after the text message that i had sent about 2 weeks prior to getting the notice, and had been vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and doing any other cleaning i needed and wanted to do, ignoring her 'noise hour' demands. I good-naturedly would not do anything after 9pm as I consider that normal for neighbors who do not have children in a building that is mostly cement blocks per unit.
I am VERY happy to report that the neighbor who replaced the Karen actually LOVES that my dog barks when i go, and whenever someone is passing the area to the stairs of our shared entry. She has some paranoia of ghosts and when they lived on the 2nd floor she kept hearing footsteps on the roof at night. She says hearing my dog bark at normal loud things a dog should bark at helps her feel safe and comfortable because my dog tells her if shes hearing things or actually has someone being too close for comfort in our entryway and outside our mutual porches. The best part is we did a noise test! She couldn't hear my vacuum, my carpet shampooer, my blender OR my TV even when it was at a volume that was painful for MY ears! That Karen was such a dirty liar!!!
I was not overly concerned about Karen's attempts after her first failure, it was mostly just a source of stress because of how often she bombarded me or the wonder if another fake allegation against me would appear. I learned a lot in my teenage years and childhood about what is legally allowed and that was unfortunately given a crash course the year before I found this little paradise complex. I also use legal rights knowledge as a caregiver to help my clients stay safe from abusive sources or ones that would extort them. I know how and when to react and to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have proof to back up my end.

(This is a nonviolent text.)
Around a month ago, I felt a sudden urge to read a breezy novel, and without thinking about it, went to the library and borrowed Airframe by Michael Crichton, which is about the commercial aircraft industry. I couple hundred pages dribbled down my chin before I had to stop – the plot point about labor unions being filled with thugs and psychopathic killers was too much for me, especially when the payoff felt like it was lifted straight from so-called right-to-work laws that are a pox on the soul of humanity. I didn’t care how the book ended, assuming the shareholders and corporate climbers that populated the story felt satisfied with their bonuses. To the novel’s credit, the opening scenes were really well done – a commercial flight encounters such horrible turbulence that passengers die, get hospitalized, and the interior of the plane is entirely trashed.
Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines Flight 321 from London engaged in an emergency landing in Bangkok after encountering catastrophic turbulence over Myanmar. One passenger died of a heart attack, and more than a hundred were injured, including twenty victims in intensive care. One of the passengers described the scene: the fasten-seatbelt light came on, and moments later, without warning, the plane dropped so sharply that unbuckled passengers hit the ceiling, then fewer than ten seconds later, they hit the floor, as the airplane’s operational condition returned to normal. The witness said those who were sleeping at the time were hurt the worst – he saw twisted necks and concussions and gashes. Some of the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and panels of the plane’s interior were busted. Clear-air turbulence – a preliminary explanation.
An hour and a half passed between the instance of catastrophic turbulence and touchdown in Bangkok, and I can’t imagine how horrifying the inside of that plane must have been – people with broken necks, broken backs, busted hips, missing teeth, bloody scalps, broken fingers, split lips, black eyes – this is what the passenger list looked like after those fewer-than-ten-seconds passed, when the plane fell out of the sky. Flecks of blood were probably everywhere. People were moaning, crying, pulling loose teeth out of their mouths, possibly hunched over, bracing themselves in case another case of clear-air turbulence was encountered. And of course, there was one dead body – he died of a heart attack, and his wife was with him, injured herself. Those in nearby seats would have known he was dead. Word would have filtered through the plane.
In the Crichton book, the cause of the problem is not clear-air turbulence but a faulty something or other that causes the slats on the wings to deploy, after which the pilot overcompensates and sends the airplane into a dive. Is that it? I don’t much care – I was just wondering if something like that caused the accident and not the turbulence. Or is it an incident? Accident or incident – one category or another – I know from the novel that investigations like this will seek to place the liability somewhere other than operator error, which would place it with the airline, engine failure, which would place it with General Electric, or a problem with the airframe, which was made by Boeing, one of their 777s. Instead, the source of the error will seem to evaporate, even as many of those injured passengers, some of them permanently so, will try to seek legal relief.
The horror of the incident slash accident for a moment notwithstanding, this is not the first time complaints about insufficient precognition have led to circumstances like this – I can’t really explain it, except to say the present and future seem to avidly interact, and sometimes the past seems to propel us forward, and other times the future seems to draw us to its breast. However these interactions occur, I always imagine alerting all relevant parties to catastrophic harm that might conceivably be avoided. Hello, Singapore Airlines? I’ve just experienced prophecy! In the form of a gripping read by a popular novelist with an irrational axe to grind against organized labor. The irrational axes tend to be the worst kind – we can agree on that – and when they get to felling trees, and there’s no more trees, none to be seen – there’s no telling what falls next.
Can you see how prophecy, even if one could plausibly make the case, has virtually zero social efficacy when it comes to the lives and deaths of human beings? The making and breaking of fortunes? The cinematic rendering of prophecy makes visions seem relevant from the start, both specific enough to act on and convince others of, but also with a sufficient engendering of faith that one would find any interest in sharing it. I mean, I have premonitions all the time, I bet you do too, but hardly any of our visions stand out so vividly that we would contemplate alerting corporate capitalism about them, even if we could. Oh, General Electric! A bright light filled my vision at midnight, and I thought of you. Oh, Boeing! Poor Boeing! I saw your airframes dance in the eyes of category 5 hurricanes – wider than ever thanks to anthropogenic climate change.
Did you hear about the new book produced by the Crichton estate? A work left unfinished and subsequently completed by another immensely popular author, which work will be released early next month – about a massive volcanic eruption, plus related crisis regarding a possible planetary toxification event by means of a military secret. This comes from a newspaper review that seemed equally like promotion. The mind in a mood for prophecy thinks – if I receive one Crichton-oriented message from the future, maybe it was really in service to this even stranger thing – of an unfinished novel seeing the light of day 16 years after the original author’s death. I considered looking for reports about unaccountable tremors, but really, volcanology is not an inexact science anymore – if a mountain is about to blow, everyone knows well ahead of time.
Then I realized the significance of those plot points together, along with a phrase that came to mind yesterday for no reason at all – how an explosive lightning strike blew a back window out of the sky. Crichton was not describing a volcano and global toxic waste – he was describing a nuclear strike and its fallout. Eruption, the book is called, though one imagines its success in the marketplace will be overshadowed if some glowing fireball should rise in the sky, especially if the eruption is more like the international war that would follow. As a peace activist, should I phone the government, tell it to be on the lookout for a nuclear weapons attack? A survey of the popular discourse indicates that threats to use nuclear weapons have been made recently by the U.S., Russia, N. Korea and Israel – if the investigation should start anywhere, let it start there.

I am outpatient in a rehab, living in a house with 3 other guys from the rehab. One of my roommates eats no meat and juices a lot. I asked him to let me try some juice he made earlier and when he gave it to me I took one drink then asked what was in it. He said fermented tea. (It was raw kumbucha mixed with a bunch of other juices) I immediately went and tried to force myself to puke it up but I couldn't, I literally took only one big swallow. I have a drug sweat patch on for drug court, I'm scared that I'm going to test positive for alcohol with the sweat patch. I UA'd myself 50 minutes after the incident and my pee was clean but I'm scared the sweat patch will come back dirty or maybe I urine tested myself to soon. I have my probation officers number and immediately reported the incident to her via text but haven't heard back from her because i text her at 9pm on a saturday, I also reported the incident to the rehab staff over the outpatient house. Do you all think the one big swallow of the concoction will make my sweat patch come back dirty? Does alcohol come out through your sweat much? I honestly don't know much about this stuff, I'm scared. I really don't want to go back to jail, I'm not scared of jail, my mom died when I was in jail and I just have been doing my best to never go back. I'm really just over stressing it probably, I immediately reported the incident to my parole officer I guess I'm just stressed because of if they go by technicalities of having the patch come back dirty ?

I am outpatient in a rehab, living in a house with 3 other guys from the rehab. One of my roommates eats no meat and juices a lot. I asked him to let me try some juice he made earlier and when he gave it to me I took one drink then asked what was in it. He said fermented tea. (It was raw kumbucha mixed with a bunch of other juices) I immediately went and tried to force myself to puke it up but I couldn't, I literally took only one big swallow. I have a drug sweat patch on for drug court, I'm scared that I'm going to test positive for alcohol with the sweat patch. I UA'd myself 50 minutes after the incident and my pee was clean but I'm scared the sweat patch will come back dirty or maybe I urine tested myself to soon. I have my probation officers number and immediately reported the incident to her via text but haven't heard back from her because i text her at 9pm on a saturday, I also reported the incident to the rehab staff over the outpatient house. Do you all think the one big swallow of the concoction will make my sweat patch come back dirty? Does alcohol come out through your sweat much? I honestly don't know much about this stuff, I'm scared. I really don't want to go back to jail, I'm not scared of jail, my mom died when I was in jail and I just have been doing my best to never go back.

Hi, you can read both posts in better formatting here:
An Year of Swing Trading in Review
My Swing Trading Guide & Routine
Adding text from both posts in case you don't want to click links:
------------------START OF FIRST POST------------------
One year ago I decided to pick up swing trading instead of long term investing based on stock fundamentals because time is very limited to me and I don’t have the time left to sit and wait for the big gains to come around. I needed a system for generating gains consistently with little exposure to risk in bad market conditions. Little did I know that completing this system would take almost a year!
I am writing this in hopes that the reader who is just starting to learn swing trading or even those who are halfway into their journey can read this and relate to the mistake I have made and figure out the mistakes they have yet to make so that they can improve their process at a much faster rate than I did. I will go over all steps of progress that I have made along with the mistakes made and lessons learned.

Learning the chart patterns

This was the very first introduction that I had to swing trading. When you research about trading, you will inevitably learn about chart patterns like the VCP, or bullish/ bearish flags/ pennants/ triangles, darvas boxes, etc. What you need to understand is that all these patterns are just a way of interpreting the supply and demand mechanics of the market. ALL of these patterns work (unless you are drawing a thousand funky lines on the chart and trying to see things that don’t exist).
As a beginner, don’t freak out and over-study every single pattern, start trading using just a couple of patterns, understand the mechanics behind them and you will soon just trade most other patterns without even realizing it. It’s never the patterns you are trading, it's the characteristics they share (volume contraction, price range tightness, relative strength, & breakouts with high volumes etc.).

Making poor entries (Incorrect setups, Late entries)

After learning the patterns, I made a few successful trades but soon afterwards I ran into the first problem. I found myself drifting away from the setups I learned and made a few trades that actually did not have the correct setup - I was trying to make the reality fit to my imagination. After every loss I would go back to see what I did wrong and found this to be the reason. Sometimes the volume pattern was incorrect. Sometimes the base was not tight enough.
Another mistake I was making was that I was copying the trades of my mentors or peers and trying to enter too late due to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), thinking to myself that 1-2% inefficient entry wouldn’t matter. But I was wrong- late entries matter a lot in the long run by skewing your risk-reward ratio, so you should never make late entries unless the market itself fills your order at a late price. The lesson here for the reader is that try to make every trade perfectly- make a mental checklist of the characteristics of your setups and don’t enter them if it's not perfect. Tightness before the breakout, high volume on the breakout, low volume on the down days prior to the breakout, overall volume drop, everything has to be perfect. Don’t settle for less. Review your trades often- try to be so perfect that the last 9/10 entries in your journal don’t have any errors from your side.

Stop loss level mistakes

While reviewing my losers, I also found that sometimes my stop losses were incorrect often, they were too narrow, or too wide, or at a static level that had nothing to do with the trade- You might find that stop losses don’t always matter- sometimes your winners just run, but over a long period of time, the trades that you get knocked out of before running to the target will add up and accumulate. Your stop loss should be at a level where it gets triggered if you are wrong, or it gets triggered if you are very unlucky. Your stops should not be getting triggered in a normal price action noise.
To simplify, if you are entering a high volume breakout and you catch it later in the day in the upper half of the candle, you can set a stop loss slightly below the day’s low, as a reversal from such a strong day often means that the trade does not go your way. If you catch the breakout early, then you can afford a deeper stop loss, but you need to interpret the price action always and sometimes exit at breakeven if you see warning signs. The stop loss is unfortunately the one thing where discretion is more helpful than always being objective. Review all your trades, check where you placed the stop loss and figure out if that level is where you could conclude that the trade wasn’t working. Try not to have stop losses more than 4-5% for a good risk-reward ratio.

Not improving stop loss (Protect your breakeven)

Sometimes the market just sucks and there is very high volatility, you don’t have the luxury of sitting back and letting your stop loss do the work. If the index is in a range bound market (touching the same high and lows over a few months) then all your 4-5% stop losses in fresh trades will be hit every time the market approaches its resistance and turns, and you will give back a chunk of your profit if you are heavily invested.
If the trade starts going your way (let's say you’re up 5%) then start improving your stop loss. Maybe it doesn’t need to be at 5% below your entry anymore, move it as high as possible where you feel that random noise in price action or a pullback doesn’t knock you out. Remember the section before- the stop should be at a place where it gets hit when the trade is going wrong. If your stop is moved to breakeven you have 0 risk left in the trade- use this to your advantage as often as possible. Mark Minnervini describes this very accurately- “always improve your worst case scenario”.

The Pyramiding madness

Soon after correcting my stop loss mistakes, another correction had come and gone, and we were in another small rally. I made some good trades here, however I noticed that I was making too little money for my account size- The person I was learning from told me that I needed to pyramid (add to my position progressively as the trade went in my favor). And this is where I made new mistakes. When I added to positions, I added too early and my trades just became heavier causing me more risk, or I added too much when I was in profit, this caused my average price to go way up and a minor pullback caused my profitable trade to become breakeven.
Slowly pyramiding also doesn’t work well in small range bound market where you get only 10-12 good trading sessions in a rally before it turns back down, so I advice the reader to start using pyramiding only when the index has broken through and is at all time high levels & advancing unidirectionally. Decide your max allocation beforehand (let's say based on your stop loss and risk you can only invest 10%- then decide your initial size and pyramid addition sizes before you enter the trade and don’t make discretionary decisions while in the trade).
Personally I still have not completely learned pyramiding- I prefer to allocate a decently sized position without pyramiding (The market is very range bound at the time of writing this)

Position Sizing errors- small winner and big losers

Due to lack of confidence, I used to make very small entries in stocks while learning the process. After watching them move up quickly, I would make larger entries and watch them draw down or hit my stop loss because by the time I scaled up, the rally was almost over. You have to understand that there is no way to be completely risk free- you cannot win without betting anything, always make meaningful entries or don’t enter at all. Your confidence should come from trusting your system, not your short term outcomes.

GTT Orders as an entry tool

Once my entry and exit strategy was almost concrete and I had enough confidence, I started making better entries, however I would always get out performed by full time traders- Their entries were always more efficient than mine, this is where I learned how to use a GTT order to place trades better. If you think that you should enter a stock above a specific level, you can put a GTT buy order at slightly above that level. When that buy order gets filled, keep a very close eye on the intraday movement to see if the entry was right- are the volumes correct? Is the breakout failing? After entry is triggered I wait till the end of day- if the price for the day is about to close under my breakeven & volume was weak, I exit with a marginal loss. Personally I only put GTT in trades where the chart is very perfect and which I can’t afford to miss. Out of 10 stocks on my watchlist, I set a GTT on maybe 2 or 3 stocks.

Trying too many things

In the middle of the year I got into and tried a lot of different lanes of trading- intraday on different timeframes, different strategies promoted by youtubers, and eventually decided to stick to swing trading. If you as a beginner start experimenting with something else while you are learning swing trading, make sure you do it in your extra time, do not let your side adventures take your focus away from what you are learning.
Eventually you will get back to swing trading and drop these random ventures, or just get lost on some unclear path with nothing to show for the time spent. Once you pick up swing trading for learning, stick to this and this only. The only other thing you probably can do along with swing trading is buy some stocks for your long term portfolio, which is healthy for your financial growth & doesn’t take as much time.

Market direction system

Finally after all my small losses & wins, mistakes and lessons I had learned a system of trading. But I still felt as if something was missing- Every book and resource kept telling me to “trust the setups” or do progressive exposure to risk, but in bad markets this resulted in me taking multiple trades and all of them failing (I have gone 0 wins and 10 losses in a correction, losing 5% of my capital), and in good markets I would make the money back. Sure I was still profitable, but it did not feel right- I felt like there should be an objective signal to stop taking entries and a signal to start trading again, so that I could stay out of weak markets. I studied the charts and discussed with my mentor about this- and created my objective entry-exit signal. I look at 2 indices (small cap and nifty 500) and market breadth (how many stocks are still up trending and how many have entered their downtrend.
This system is a warning sign in an uptrend- when it tells me I stop taking new entries, tighten the stop losses and cut losing positions immediately. When there is a correction, it tells me to resume trading so I take my first two trades after a buy signal. Once I fleshed this part out, finally I felt like a complete trader. I dodged a correction perfectly, and caught the low of a rally and made good money.
I cannot stress this enough- an objective market direction signal is the most important thing you need to create as a trader as most of your entries will fail in a bad market no matter how perfectly you make them, and even a monkey can flip a coin and pick stocks in a good market and stay above breakeven.

Putting it all together

Maybe you are tired of reading too many words and waiting for me to actually say something concrete instead of abstract ideas and generic lessons found in books. So I will share my system, which if followed will guarantee a profitable outcome if you trade with it for a year, provided that you are disciplined and don’t violate your own rules. You can go through it and apply what you think is valuable or missing in your own system. Following is my trading guide, which I personally follow. I am a short term trader, you can tweak it as per your timeframe (For example, using 20 EMA as a guide instead of 9 EMA which I use)
--------------------END OF FIRST POST-------------------------
--------------------START OF SECOND POST-----------------------

My Trading routine and strategy

Every trader must have their own trading guide- an objective system that they follow majority of the time, with only a few discretionary decisions. Without an objective system, your results will not be consistent. This is my trading system and routine.

Market Direction Guide

• Before the market opens every day, you must first decide if this is a day you will trade, or just sit back. Check the prior day close of CNXSMALLCAP and NIFTYEQUALWEIGHT100 index. These must both close above their 9 EMA. The 9 EMA must be higher than the 20 EMA. If either index has closed below, you will not take new trades- a sell signal has been generated.
• The second signal is to check how many stocks above 2000 Cr market cap are trading above their 10 day moving average. If it is less than 500, you will not take any new trades- This is also a sell signal. Until this number is above 500, you will not take new trades. (Create a screener on chartink for this, or just use mine) If you follow both of these signals, it will ensure that you are out of short term corrections and you stop increasing your risk at the end of a rally.
• Start taking new trades when all signals are fulfilled- This usually happens in a correction. It means the correction could be coming to an end. Take 2 trades, and as long as those two trades are net positive and market direction is still fulfilling the above criteria, you can keep taking additional trades till a sell signal is generated. Don’t take too many in a day- the maximum I would take is 2.

Buying Guide

• Stocks that you select for trading must first fulfill fundamental criteria - Revenue growth in the most recent quarter must be greater than 20% AND greater than the growth shown in the same quarter of last year. Earnings must be positive OR rapidly improving from big negative to 0. Promoters & FII/ DIIs must not be decreasing their holdings in the recent period. The quarterly earnings report must not be upcoming in the next 4 days.
• The stock must also fulfill technical criteria - Price should be above 200 DMA, 50 DMA, and 20 DMA, also 20 DMA should be above the 50 DMA. This makes sure we are not trading the losers.

Only trade these two setups, on the DAILY chart:

• Bullish Tight flag (a tight consolidation period after a rapid run up)
• Base breakout (A proper base structure with higher lows, also called a VCP or ascending triangle)

You can trade any setup that you are comfortable with. It can be moving average crossovers, etc. But the above setups work fine for me.

Selling Guide

• Initial stop loss below swing low if breakout candle is caught early. Initial stop loss should be below breakout day candle if the candle was caught late. If the closing on the same day is a big fail and ends in red, you can exit on the same day.
• Once trade starts going your way up to 1R, start improving the stop loss little by little after every closing day to a level where you think it will not get hit by random price noise. Sometimes it can still be under break even but improved from initial level.
• Once a trade is up 2R, sell half position, move stop loss to breakeven if you haven’t already. Trail the remaining position using a daily 9EMA on a closing basis. You can use first close to sell or wait for a second close below the first based on how much room you think the stock deserves.
• If today’s the day that the market looks like it's going to generate a sell signal, (cnx smallcap OR niftyequalweight100 are now trading under the 9EMA) then exit all trades which are in loss immediately, and set stop loss to previous day's low or today’s low (whichever is lower) to all other positions. If prices are already at that low, exit.
• Always sell before earnings day. Do not hold stock overnight when earnings will be out post-market.

Hi, you can read both posts in better formatting here:
An Year of Swing Trading in Review
My Swing Trading Guide & Routine
Adding text from both posts in case you don't want to click links:
------------------START OF FIRST POST------------------
One year ago I decided to pick up swing trading instead of long term investing based on stock fundamentals because time is very limited to me and I don’t have the time left to sit and wait for the big gains to come around. I needed a system for generating gains consistently with little exposure to risk in bad market conditions. Little did I know that completing this system would take almost a year!
I am writing this in hopes that the reader who is just starting to learn swing trading or even those who are halfway into their journey can read this and relate to the mistake I have made and figure out the mistakes they have yet to make so that they can improve their process at a much faster rate than I did. I will go over all steps of progress that I have made along with the mistakes made and lessons learned.

Learning the chart patterns

This was the very first introduction that I had to swing trading. When you research about trading, you will inevitably learn about chart patterns like the VCP, or bullish/ bearish flags/ pennants/ triangles, darvas boxes, etc. What you need to understand is that all these patterns are just a way of interpreting the supply and demand mechanics of the market. ALL of these patterns work (unless you are drawing a thousand funky lines on the chart and trying to see things that don’t exist).
As a beginner, don’t freak out and over-study every single pattern, start trading using just a couple of patterns, understand the mechanics behind them and you will soon just trade most other patterns without even realizing it. It’s never the patterns you are trading, it's the characteristics they share (volume contraction, price range tightness, relative strength, & breakouts with high volumes etc.).

Making poor entries (Incorrect setups, Late entries)

After learning the patterns, I made a few successful trades but soon afterwards I ran into the first problem. I found myself drifting away from the setups I learned and made a few trades that actually did not have the correct setup - I was trying to make the reality fit to my imagination. After every loss I would go back to see what I did wrong and found this to be the reason. Sometimes the volume pattern was incorrect. Sometimes the base was not tight enough.
Another mistake I was making was that I was copying the trades of my mentors or peers and trying to enter too late due to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), thinking to myself that 1-2% inefficient entry wouldn’t matter. But I was wrong- late entries matter a lot in the long run by skewing your risk-reward ratio, so you should never make late entries unless the market itself fills your order at a late price. The lesson here for the reader is that try to make every trade perfectly- make a mental checklist of the characteristics of your setups and don’t enter them if it's not perfect. Tightness before the breakout, high volume on the breakout, low volume on the down days prior to the breakout, overall volume drop, everything has to be perfect. Don’t settle for less. Review your trades often- try to be so perfect that the last 9/10 entries in your journal don’t have any errors from your side.

Stop loss level mistakes

While reviewing my losers, I also found that sometimes my stop losses were incorrect often, they were too narrow, or too wide, or at a static level that had nothing to do with the trade- You might find that stop losses don’t always matter- sometimes your winners just run, but over a long period of time, the trades that you get knocked out of before running to the target will add up and accumulate. Your stop loss should be at a level where it gets triggered if you are wrong, or it gets triggered if you are very unlucky. Your stops should not be getting triggered in a normal price action noise.
To simplify, if you are entering a high volume breakout and you catch it later in the day in the upper half of the candle, you can set a stop loss slightly below the day’s low, as a reversal from such a strong day often means that the trade does not go your way. If you catch the breakout early, then you can afford a deeper stop loss, but you need to interpret the price action always and sometimes exit at breakeven if you see warning signs. The stop loss is unfortunately the one thing where discretion is more helpful than always being objective. Review all your trades, check where you placed the stop loss and figure out if that level is where you could conclude that the trade wasn’t working. Try not to have stop losses more than 4-5% for a good risk-reward ratio.

Not improving stop loss (Protect your breakeven)

Sometimes the market just sucks and there is very high volatility, you don’t have the luxury of sitting back and letting your stop loss do the work. If the index is in a range bound market (touching the same high and lows over a few months) then all your 4-5% stop losses in fresh trades will be hit every time the market approaches its resistance and turns, and you will give back a chunk of your profit if you are heavily invested.
If the trade starts going your way (let's say you’re up 5%) then start improving your stop loss. Maybe it doesn’t need to be at 5% below your entry anymore, move it as high as possible where you feel that random noise in price action or a pullback doesn’t knock you out. Remember the section before- the stop should be at a place where it gets hit when the trade is going wrong. If your stop is moved to breakeven you have 0 risk left in the trade- use this to your advantage as often as possible. Mark Minnervini describes this very accurately- “always improve your worst case scenario”.

The Pyramiding madness

Soon after correcting my stop loss mistakes, another correction had come and gone, and we were in another small rally. I made some good trades here, however I noticed that I was making too little money for my account size- The person I was learning from told me that I needed to pyramid (add to my position progressively as the trade went in my favor). And this is where I made new mistakes. When I added to positions, I added too early and my trades just became heavier causing me more risk, or I added too much when I was in profit, this caused my average price to go way up and a minor pullback caused my profitable trade to become breakeven.
Slowly pyramiding also doesn’t work well in small range bound market where you get only 10-12 good trading sessions in a rally before it turns back down, so I advice the reader to start using pyramiding only when the index has broken through and is at all time high levels & advancing unidirectionally. Decide your max allocation beforehand (let's say based on your stop loss and risk you can only invest 10%- then decide your initial size and pyramid addition sizes before you enter the trade and don’t make discretionary decisions while in the trade).
Personally I still have not completely learned pyramiding- I prefer to allocate a decently sized position without pyramiding (The market is very range bound at the time of writing this)

Position Sizing errors- small winner and big losers

Due to lack of confidence, I used to make very small entries in stocks while learning the process. After watching them move up quickly, I would make larger entries and watch them draw down or hit my stop loss because by the time I scaled up, the rally was almost over. You have to understand that there is no way to be completely risk free- you cannot win without betting anything, always make meaningful entries or don’t enter at all. Your confidence should come from trusting your system, not your short term outcomes.

GTT Orders as an entry tool

Once my entry and exit strategy was almost concrete and I had enough confidence, I started making better entries, however I would always get out performed by full time traders- Their entries were always more efficient than mine, this is where I learned how to use a GTT order to place trades better. If you think that you should enter a stock above a specific level, you can put a GTT buy order at slightly above that level. When that buy order gets filled, keep a very close eye on the intraday movement to see if the entry was right- are the volumes correct? Is the breakout failing? After entry is triggered I wait till the end of day- if the price for the day is about to close under my breakeven & volume was weak, I exit with a marginal loss. Personally I only put GTT in trades where the chart is very perfect and which I can’t afford to miss. Out of 10 stocks on my watchlist, I set a GTT on maybe 2 or 3 stocks.

Trying too many things

In the middle of the year I got into and tried a lot of different lanes of trading- intraday on different timeframes, different strategies promoted by youtubers, and eventually decided to stick to swing trading. If you as a beginner start experimenting with something else while you are learning swing trading, make sure you do it in your extra time, do not let your side adventures take your focus away from what you are learning.
Eventually you will get back to swing trading and drop these random ventures, or just get lost on some unclear path with nothing to show for the time spent. Once you pick up swing trading for learning, stick to this and this only. The only other thing you probably can do along with swing trading is buy some stocks for your long term portfolio, which is healthy for your financial growth & doesn’t take as much time.

Market direction system

Finally after all my small losses & wins, mistakes and lessons I had learned a system of trading. But I still felt as if something was missing- Every book and resource kept telling me to “trust the setups” or do progressive exposure to risk, but in bad markets this resulted in me taking multiple trades and all of them failing (I have gone 0 wins and 10 losses in a correction, losing 5% of my capital), and in good markets I would make the money back. Sure I was still profitable, but it did not feel right- I felt like there should be an objective signal to stop taking entries and a signal to start trading again, so that I could stay out of weak markets. I studied the charts and discussed with my mentor about this- and created my objective entry-exit signal. I look at 2 indices (small cap and nifty 500) and market breadth (how many stocks are still up trending and how many have entered their downtrend.
This system is a warning sign in an uptrend- when it tells me I stop taking new entries, tighten the stop losses and cut losing positions immediately. When there is a correction, it tells me to resume trading so I take my first two trades after a buy signal. Once I fleshed this part out, finally I felt like a complete trader. I dodged a correction perfectly, and caught the low of a rally and made good money.
I cannot stress this enough- an objective market direction signal is the most important thing you need to create as a trader as most of your entries will fail in a bad market no matter how perfectly you make them, and even a monkey can flip a coin and pick stocks in a good market and stay above breakeven.

Putting it all together

Maybe you are tired of reading too many words and waiting for me to actually say something concrete instead of abstract ideas and generic lessons found in books. So I will share my system, which if followed will guarantee a profitable outcome if you trade with it for a year, provided that you are disciplined and don’t violate your own rules. You can go through it and apply what you think is valuable or missing in your own system. Following is my trading guide, which I personally follow. I am a short term trader, you can tweak it as per your timeframe (For example, using 20 EMA as a guide instead of 9 EMA which I use)
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--------------------START OF SECOND POST-----------------------

My Trading routine and strategy

Every trader must have their own trading guide- an objective system that they follow majority of the time, with only a few discretionary decisions. Without an objective system, your results will not be consistent. This is my trading system and routine.

Market Direction Guide

• Before the market opens every day, you must first decide if this is a day you will trade, or just sit back. Check the prior day close of CNXSMALLCAP and NIFTYEQUALWEIGHT100 index. These must both close above their 9 EMA. The 9 EMA must be higher than the 20 EMA. If either index has closed below, you will not take new trades- a sell signal has been generated.
• The second signal is to check how many stocks above 2000 Cr market cap are trading above their 10 day moving average. If it is less than 500, you will not take any new trades- This is also a sell signal. Until this number is above 500, you will not take new trades. (Create a screener on chartink for this, or just use mine) If you follow both of these signals, it will ensure that you are out of short term corrections and you stop increasing your risk at the end of a rally.
• Start taking new trades when all signals are fulfilled- This usually happens in a correction. It means the correction could be coming to an end. Take 2 trades, and as long as those two trades are net positive and market direction is still fulfilling the above criteria, you can keep taking additional trades till a sell signal is generated. Don’t take too many in a day- the maximum I would take is 2.

Buying Guide

• Stocks that you select for trading must first fulfill fundamental criteria - Revenue growth in the most recent quarter must be greater than 20% AND greater than the growth shown in the same quarter of last year. Earnings must be positive OR rapidly improving from big negative to 0. Promoters & FII/ DIIs must not be decreasing their holdings in the recent period. The quarterly earnings report must not be upcoming in the next 4 days.
• The stock must also fulfill technical criteria - Price should be above 200 DMA, 50 DMA, and 20 DMA, also 20 DMA should be above the 50 DMA. This makes sure we are not trading the losers.

Only trade these two setups, on the DAILY chart:

• Bullish Tight flag (a tight consolidation period after a rapid run up)
• Base breakout (A proper base structure with higher lows, also called a VCP or ascending triangle)

You can trade any setup that you are comfortable with. It can be moving average crossovers, etc. But the above setups work fine for me.

Selling Guide

• Initial stop loss below swing low if breakout candle is caught early. Initial stop loss should be below breakout day candle if the candle was caught late. If the closing on the same day is a big fail and ends in red, you can exit on the same day.
• Once trade starts going your way up to 1R, start improving the stop loss little by little after every closing day to a level where you think it will not get hit by random price noise. Sometimes it can still be under break even but improved from initial level.
• Once a trade is up 2R, sell half position, move stop loss to breakeven if you haven’t already. Trail the remaining position using a daily 9EMA on a closing basis. You can use first close to sell or wait for a second close below the first based on how much room you think the stock deserves.
• If today’s the day that the market looks like it's going to generate a sell signal, (cnx smallcap OR niftyequalweight100 are now trading under the 9EMA) then exit all trades which are in loss immediately, and set stop loss to previous day's low or today’s low (whichever is lower) to all other positions. If prices are already at that low, exit.
• Always sell before earnings day. Do not hold stock overnight when earnings will be out post-market.

PC divers, in your steam userdata directory is the controls config file, and it's the best documented and most capable controls config I've ever seen. A lot of controls that aren't exposed in the game's ui can be found in a bloody markdown file on an ArrowHead website.
You can easily bind an action to more than one key just by duplicating an input section. You can supposedly also use Overlap = 0.2 or a Chain statement to require multiple inputs (the one containing Overlap and the one immediately following) to trigger an action, but there aren't any examples in the defaults. (even with the uncertainty, it's still amazing).

I've reproduced important sections below.

The input settings file can be edited in any text editor. If you have cloud saves enabled it is here: [Steam install directory]\userdata\[userid]\553850\input_settings.config If you do not, then it is here: %APPDATA%\Arrowhead\Helldivers2\saves\[steamid]_input_settings.config Check the cloud save folder first, it is most likely there.
READ FIRST
Make a backup of the file before you start making changes, so you can revert more easily without losing your settings. Should you get stuck and be unable to boot the game, please report this (and attach your settings file) so we can make this more robust. Then delete the file to revert to defaults. You may need to briefly disable cloud saves if a broken file has been uploaded.

Settings in this file

Verbatim from the documentation.

The available settings values are (and defaults): ``` // Number of frames over which to smooth mouse input (zero means no smoothing). Note that this applies to the _movement_, not the position! mouse_smoothing_frames = 3 // If set (per axis) the look axis is inverted _when aiming down sights_ for gamepads. gamepad_scope_inverted_x = false gamepad_scope_inverted_y = false // If set (per axis) the look axis is inverted _when aiming down sights_ for mice. mouse_scope_inverted_x = false mouse_scope_inverted_y = false // If set (per axis) the look axis is inverted for gamepads gamepad_inverted_x = false gamepad_inverted_y = false // If set (per axis) the look axis is inverted for mice mouse_inverted_x = false mouse_inverted_y = false // Gamepad look sensitivity in first component, vertical multiplier in second. // Range is any valid real value. gamepad_sensitivity = [5 0.6] // Mouse look sensitivity, range is any valid real value. mouse_sensitivity = [0.072 0.072] // If zero or exactly one, no acceleration is applied. // Otherwise, mouse movement is scaled by the following formula: // movement = movement_after_sensitivity ^ acceleration // Settings menu shows this value offset by 1, so the settings range of [0, 3] maps to [1, 4], // essentially cutting off the deceleration part of the curve. mouse_acceleration = 1.0 // The first value is the speed at which we accelerate. Zero means we do not apply acceleration at all. // The second value is the exponent applied to the acceleration rate. gamepad_acceleration = [0.7 3.0] // Multiplier of sensitivity while aiming gamepad_aim_sensitivity = 0.5 // Multiplier of sensitivity while aiming down sights gamepad_scope_sensitivity = 0.5 // Sensitivity of PlayStation controller touchpad when using this to move the map cursor ([0,1] range) touchpad_map_sensitivity = 0.5 // Multiplier of sensitivity while aiming mouse_aim_sensitivity = 1.0 // Multiplier of sensitivity while aiming down sights mouse_scope_sensitivity = 1.0 // Multiplier of sensitivity while scrolling map mouse_map_sensitivity = 1.0 // Size of gamepad deadzone (lower bound, absolute value, [0,1] range). deadzone = 0.1 // Disables the Steam input in-game warning when connecting a DualSense or DualShock controller while Steam input is ON. dont_warn_about_steam_input = false // Veteran mode toggle + scale (percentage of max observed input, [0,1] range). veteran_mode = false veteran_mode_scale = 0.8 // How much stickyness should there be to aiming with controllers when looking at enemies controller_sticky_aim = 0.5 // How strong the Dualsense adaptive triggers should be. [0,1] range, where 0 is disabling all trigger feedback. trigger_effect_strength = 1.0 // How strong the Dualsense haptics or conroller rumble should be. [0,1] range, where 0 is disabling all feedback. haptics_rumble_strength = 1.0 ``` 

Default Controls

These include controls that are not exposed by default. Copying this section into the controls file will replace your binds with the defaults for all platforms, but lets you change them all in the file.
I massaged the formatting because sue me. The original is in the markdown file I linked at the top of this post, which ArrowHead saints linked at the top of the config file. You can remove the bindings for controllers you don't use, but this does unbind those controls for those devices!
Since I did technically make changes, I tested this by launching the game. It didn't crash. Caveat emptor, refer to the markdown file if you have doubts!

Menu = { Up = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "up", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "w", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 } ] Down = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "down", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "s", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 } ] Left = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "left", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "a", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 } ] Right = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "right", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "d", trigger = "RepeatInterval", threshold = 0.2 } ] Back = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "escape", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 },{ device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonRight", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Select = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonLeft", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "space", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 },{ device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "enter", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Social = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "o", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ExtraOption1 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "tab", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ExtraOption2 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "r", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ExtraOption3 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "t", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ExtraOption4 = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonMiddle", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CategoryNext = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "e", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CategoryPrev = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "q", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SubcategoryNext = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "c", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SubcategoryPrev = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "z", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Rotate = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonMiddle", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ReadyUp = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "enter", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.2 } ] Zoom = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y", threshold = 0.2 } ] ZoomIn = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.5 } ] ZoomOut = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.5 } ] Scroll = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y", threshold = 0.2 } ] WarbondOverviewScroll = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y", threshold = 0.2 } ] ScrollHorizontal = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "X", threshold = 0.2 } ] MouseScroll = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y", threshold = 0.2 } ] MoveCursor = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Any", threshold = 0.0 } ] MouseCursorAbsolute = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseCursor", trigger = "Any", threshold = 0.0 } ] InspectItem = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "left ctrl", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ItemInfo = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "tab", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ToggleMenu = [ // main menu { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "backspace", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] KeyboardToggleMenu = [ // also main menu "for technical reasons" { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "escape", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CloseWheelMenu = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonRight", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab1 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "1", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab2 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "2", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab3 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "3", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab4 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "4", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab5 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "5", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab6 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "6", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab7 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "7", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SelectHeaderTab8 = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "8", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] OpenChat = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "enter", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 }, ] InvitePopupAccept = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "y", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 }, ] InvitePopupDecline = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "n", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 }, ] AxisUp = [] // default directional menu for controller AxisDown = [] AxisLeft = [] AxisRight = [] CursorRight = [] // Directly moves the cursor? CursorLeft = [] CursorUp = [] CursorDown = [] RotateRight = [] // rotates the Inspect Item model? RotateLeft = [] RotateUp = [] RotateDown = [] InvitePopupModifier=[] // ??? } Map = { MoveRight = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X+", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveLeft = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X-", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveUp = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveDown = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.0 } ] ZoomIn = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.0 } ] ZoomOut = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.0 } ] PlaceMarker = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonLeft", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] } Avatar = { MoveLeft = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "a", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveRight = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "d", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveForward = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "w", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] MoveBack = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "s", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] LookRight = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X+", threshold = 0.0 } ] LookLeft = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X-", threshold = 0.0 } ] LookUp = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.0 } ] LookDown = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.0 } ] Aim = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonRight", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Fire = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonLeft", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Reload = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "r", trigger = "Tap", threshold = 0.2 } ] Use = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "e", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Crouch = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "c", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Prone = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "z", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Climb = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "space", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Sprint = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "left shift", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Dodge = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "left alt", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Melee = [ // Patriot Parry { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "f", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] QuickStim = [ // a control so handy they { // yote what it's quicker than device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "v", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentQuickGrenade = [ // press to throw { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "g", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentPrimary = [ // Change to primary weapon { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "1", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentSecondary= [ // Change to secondary weapon { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "2", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentSupport = [ // Change to support weapon { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "3", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentGrenade= [ // equip then fire to throw { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "4", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SwitchAimMode = [ // between ADS and 3rd person { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonMiddle", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CameraSwitchSide = [ // from shoulder to shoulder { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButton4", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Map = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "tab", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] WeaponFunctionUp = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.0 } ] WeaponFunctionDown = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseWheel", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.0 } ] WeaponFunctionLeft = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonLeft", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] WeaponFunctionRight = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonRight", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] BackpackFunction = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "5", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 }, ] WeaponFunctionOpen = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "r", trigger = "LongPress", threshold = 0.2 } ] DropOpen = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "x", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] ChangeEquipmentContextSensitiveShort=[] ChangeEquipmentContextSensitiveLong=[] } Player = { NagForRespawn = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "space", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CommunicationWheelOpenBasic = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "q", trigger = "LongPress", threshold = 0.2 } ] Emote = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "b", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] CommunicationSpot = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "q", trigger = "Tap", threshold = 0.2 } ] RadialMenuRight = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X+", threshold = 0.0 } ] RadialMenuLeft = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "X-", threshold = 0.0 } ] RadialMenuUp = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y-", threshold = 0.0 } ] RadialMenuDown = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Axis", input = "MouseMovement", trigger = "Y+", threshold = 0.0 } ] DialogueSkip = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "space", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] VoicePushToTalk = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "caps lock", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] SpectateNext = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "d", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] SpectatePrevious = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "a", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] } Stratagem = { Start = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "left ctrl", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] Left = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "a", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Right = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "d", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Up = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "w", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] Down = [ { device_type = "Keyboard", input_type = "Button", input = "s", trigger = "Press", threshold = 0.0 } ] } Vehicle = { FireDualWieldLeft = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonLeft", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] FireDualWieldRight = [ { device_type = "Mouse", input_type = "Button", input = "MouseButtonRight", trigger = "Hold", threshold = 0.0 } ] } 

Chat GPT suggests, Yes, domestic abuse charges can still be pursued even if the victim is deceased. Here's how this works:
Historical Abuse: Law enforcement can investigate and charge someone for historical instances of domestic abuse that occurred while the victim was alive. The deceased victim’s testimony can be substituted with documented evidence, such as:

• Medical records showing injuries consistent with abuse.
• Witness testimonies from friends, family, or neighbors who observed signs of abuse or heard the victim’s account of it.
• Written communications from the victim, such as text messages, emails, or diary entries detailing the abuse.
• Police reports filed by the victim during her lifetime.

Criminal Investigation: If the death of the victim is suspected to be related to the abuse, it becomes even more critical to investigate the historical context of domestic abuse. This investigation can lead to additional charges such as homicide, manslaughter, or negligent homicide
JP, are you worried yet?

My friend was involved in a serious incident on April 22 and was stabbed in the rib. They've been in the hospital since then trying to recover.
I finally heard from them on May 9 and they told me what happened. They also mentioned that they really sick (six days after the stabbing) that they got pneumonia and mono all at once and was moved to a sterile room in the ICU.
Like I mentioned earlier I last heard from them on the 9th of may. They showed me the police report as soon as they got it and I just couldn't wrap my head on how something like this could happen to someone I care about.
Since then, I've been unable to reach them. My texts aren't going through and when I call it says they can't accept calls, and I can't leave a voicemail.
Everytime I call it specifically says: "The person you are calling cannot accept calls at this time. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause"
I'm extremely worried to the point I can't sleep, and I'm fixating on the worst possible scenarios. I dont know what to do next. I don't know if I should contact their family or not. I really want to but I don't want to overstep. What am I supposed to do now? Feeling hopeless right now

I come from a family where we always tell at least someone about our whereabouts before going somewhere. Usually for me, it's my partner I tell. But my boyfriend doesn't want to tell me about his whereabouts.
We are in a LDR so the only basis of communication is mobile and internet. However, when my partner goes out somewhere, he doesn't pick up my calls or reply to my texts ever. Plus I'm not even aware a lot of times that he isn't home. He'll tell me the next day that oh yeah I was partying in this this neighbouring city or that I was partying with my friends or something like that.
I honestly don't like that. I like knowing what he would be doing. It's something I also do. I always tell him about my plans, just so he feels included. But he will hardly tell me about his and then say "I don't like this reporting". What reporting?? It's not like I'm going to ask him not to go somewhere. I don't even say anything like that. I already have a lot of stress, cause I'm a UPSC aspirant. Can't take stress of another human being.
Mostly, I feel one should at least tell someone where they are going in case something happens to them. Whenever I'm with my boyfriend, I tell my bestie about our whereabouts and when I was in hostel, I used to tell my roommates too. My partner doesn't tell anyone and goes to some other town or some city without a soul knowing about it. Sometimes I don't even know who he is with. I don't like this opacity, especially in a LDR. It's already really tough maintaining one.
Is this too much to ask??

Hey all, I'm considering purchasing a manual 2013 brz premium w/ 80k miles. I was initially entertaining the idea of buying a gr86, but it would not be financially responsible of me as I'm currently in grad school and will most likely have to drastically cut my hours at work for practicum (essentially an unpaid internship), if not quit outright, in the near future. However, I do feel ok with buying used for now.
The car has had 4 previous owners. According to the carfax report, the spark plugs were changed at 77k miles. I also looked up the vin and it didn't flag for needing any recalls. I also plan on taking it to a subaru dealership for a pre purchase inspection.
One thing I noticed, however, is that this particular brz has a pioneer scion am/fm radio - I believe it's this one: https://canada.crutchfieldonline.com/ImageBank/v20231101161200/ImageHandlescale/978/978/core/learn/article/3638/radio1.jpg
Were any brz's sold with these radios? Is this a red flag or is it as simple as a previous owner opted to switch it out? I may be overthinking this, but it does seem weird to me.
The dealer's asking for 14k, but I'm definitely going to try to negotiate that down, especially considering that's before taxes and fees.
Any input would be appreciated. Sorry for the wall of text. Thank you.

A dad on Facebook says he can't afford child support and filled out a motion to have it lowered, but was informed by mail that it was raised $400 instead.
I'm not an attorney and this is not legal advice.
You wrote:
(Above)
Federal law requires a formula:

(2)There shall be a rebuttable presumption, in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award which would result from the application of such guidelines is the correct amount of child support to be awarded. A written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, as determined under criteria established by the State, shall be sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case.
42 U.S. Code § 667 - State guidelines for child support awards
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/667

One reason that the agency raised this may be to punish dad for requesting a reduction as a means to extort and threaten him and other fathers from seeking the just and correct application of the formula and the best interests of children.
Using the child support as a sexist means to punish fathers is a violation of federal law.
Possible:

Fraud
Fraud is both a civil tort and criminal wrong.
In civil litigation, allegations of fraud might be based on a misrepresentation of fact that was either intentional or negligent. For a statement to be an intentional misrepresentation, the person who made it must either have known the statement was false or been as to its truth. The speaker must have also intended that the person to whom the statement was made would rely on it. The hearer must then have reasonably relied on the promise and also been harmed because of that reliance.
https://www.law.cornell.efdu/wex/fraud

Possible cause for a federal civil rights action or lawsuit (often against a municipality, state, non-profit agency, or company) under:

42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983

US courts provide forms:

Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Non-Prisoner)
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms/complaint-violation-civil-rights-non-prisoner

Possible basis of a class action lawsuit for similar situated people:

https://centerjd.org/system/files/CivilRightsClassActionsF.pdf

Possible:

18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/242
Extortion
Forcing action or obtaining something by illegal means. Anyone may commit extortion through force or coercion. A public or private official may also commit extortion under the color of office.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/extortion

May violate civil rights on garnishment limitations:

"(2)The maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek which is subject to garnishment to enforce any order for the support of any person shall not exceed—...specified in clause (B) shall be deemed to be 65 per centum,:
15 U.S. Code § 1673 - Restriction on garnishment

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1673#a\_1
While I hope in this case such actions may not be life threatening, to the extent any criminal of fraud or extortion may lead to the death of the victim or the child of a victim (because that child may be denied the love and protection of their father which is known to by science to statistically protect them from a variety of negative and potentially life threatening outcomes).
Fraud or other felonies which cause the death of target may be:

As of August 2008, 46 states in the United States had a felony murder rule,[18] under which felony murder is generally first-degree murder. In 24 of those states, it is a capital offense.[19] When the government seeks to impose the death penalty on someone convicted of felony murder, the Eighth Amendment has been interpreted so as to impose additional limitations on the state power. The death penalty may not be imposed if the defendant is merely a minor participant and did not actually kill or intend to kill. However, the death penalty may be imposed if the defendant is a major participant in the underlying felony and exhibits extreme indifference to human life.[20]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony\_murder\_rule#United\_States

State child support, parenting time, and child protection, and elder abuse are all primarily funded under federal law Title IV-D and Title IV-E. Consider filing complaints.

HHS Office of Inspector General
Phone. 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477)
https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/contact.asp
HHS Office of Civil Rights
https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/filing-a-complaint/index.html

Department of Justice Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.
https://www.justice.gov/crt

Anyone may report federal crimes to the FBI.

(202)324-3000
http://tips.fbi.gov/

Please keep us updated.
I wish you the best of luck in your search for justice.

North Dakota, USA. Tonight my boyfriend and I decided to go on a little night walk so we headed out at about 10pm and strolled around a bit. We got back to about 10:45 and noticed one of the cars parked on our street was absolutely bodied. The entire back bumper was ripping off, the brake lights were broken. They hit the left side so hard that it pushed the backside towards the curb, causing the rim to pop off and fly about two feet into the grass. I noticed it when I saw a piece of the red brake light covering by my feet and we looked up to see the carnage.
We discussed it and both agreed that the car was not like that before our walk. The man that owns the car generally takes pretty good care of it and parks well enough. My BF swears that he didn't park crooked before so it's not like the damage has been there for a while. Unfortunately, we can't inform the owner because we don't really know who he is. I could recognize him in a lineup but he lives in the complex two buildings down from us and we've never been formally introduced. I don't know his name, where exactly he lives, etc.
We can only assume it was a drunken hit-and-run. Our street is a straight-shot from about three different bars downtown, and with it being Saturday night and us living in one of the US' drunkest states, it's the most plausible explanation. No note was left on the car and no other cars were damaged.
Anyway, I was wondering if we had any legal obligation to contact the police over this? We didn't see it happen and we don't know the car's owner but we could at least give a timeline on when it happened. Filing a police report seems a little excessive but maybe I could message the text-a-tip line? Should I? I'm not sure if the owner will file a police report so would it help anything? Or am I just sticking my nose into somebody else's business? TIA.

I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/Parking_Breadfruit80
Originally posted to AITAH
Previous BoRU
[New Update]: AITA for refusing to have my dad in my life after he chose his new family?
Editor’s Note: changed letters to names for readability, originally used Logan, but now switched to Luke based on OOP’s latest update.
Editor’s Note 2: Also have removed some older relevant comments as they have been covered in the further updates and needing more space to fit all posts here.
Thanks to u/queenlegolas and u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for suggesting this BoRU
Trigger Warnings: verbal abuse, emotional abuse and manipulation, infidelity, gaslighting, betrayal. vandalism, obsessive behavior
RECAP
Original Post (rareddit): April 20, 2024
When I was 13 my dad had an affair and left my mom and moved in with his affair partner who ill call Jane.
At first me and my sister would visit every weekend and I will admit he was a good dad although I never liked Jane.
When Jane got pregnant and had their son our visits became less frequent and my dad was more concerned with his new family. He would miss some of my my recitals or my sisters competitions because he was busy with his son.
When I was 16. Jane decided she wanted to move for a new job opportunity. Me and my sister begged him not to leave us bit he just said "I need to prioritise my family". He moved 10 hours away. That pretty much ended our relationship and I decided to go no contact as it was clear he did not consider me family.
My younger sister stayed in contact with him. He would try and call me and offer for me to come and visit with my sister but I refused. When he came back to see my sister I would refuse to speak to him when he turned up at the house. I didn't invite him to my high school or college graduation.
I'm now 33 and have remained no contact with him, he has over the years repeatedly tried contacting me and getting his family to contact me on his behalf to reconcile. I have avoided family events in case he attended including my sisters wedding and baby showers.
My dad and his family moved back to our home town 3 months ago and he has been relentless trying to reconcile.
I have received messages from my half brother and sister wanting a relationship saying he's a great dad. My dad found out I'm getting married and keeps trying to contact me and has even tried to speak to my fiancé.
Jane messaged me saying I have broke my dads heart repeatedly and I'm pathetic and should get therapy. I replied back that she was nothing but a home wrecking whore and then blocked her.
Everyone seems to be wanting me to let him back in my life. I'm sick of all the harassment and accidentally bumping into my dad and his family in the town. Whenever I see him I just walk away and refuse to speak to them. Everyone is saying he's a good dad and tried his best to remain in contact but I pushed him away.
Everyone is pressuring me my mom, sister. Grandparents aunts and uncles, even some of my friends. My fiancé has even started saying I'm the AH for shutting him out. Its all starting to get to me so am I aita?
Edit:
Thank you for your comments I haven't got through all of them but I'm glad to know that most of you think I'm NTA which is a huge relief as I thought I was going insane.
I'm going to have a serious conversation with my fiancé as most of you pointed out he should have my back. If he continues to defend my dad then I'm going to have to think if this relationship should go any further. We are 12 weeks out from the wedding but need to sort this out sooner than later.
For information
I own a local business moving away is not an option
I live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and he is friends with a lot of people including my fiancé family.
My dad did not come back for me - he came back because Jane’s parents need help and care.
He has not financially supported me since I was 17 he withheld my college fund to try and blackmail me into having a relationship with him so I had to work and get loans.
I've avoided events because my family use it as a chance to force reconciliation. He also won't leave me alone and makes scenes - hell come up to me talking as if nothing has happened try to hug me or starts crying.
I cant simply cut everyone off - everyone is on his side and against me including my own mother.
Edit 2
To give you all a bit more context when he left my mom for Jane he only wanted us on the weekend my mom offered him 50/50 but refused.
I didn't like Jane and was standoffish with her because I knew what they had done- my sister was too young to understand and was more accepting of her. Jane was mean to me but nice to my sister when I was at my dad's I felt uncomfortable and she would purposefully leave me out of fun activities or plan things purely for my sister. We had a few arguments over minor things but my dad always took her side. My dad and me used to have daddy daughter date at least once every 2 weeks. Jane put a stop to that.
When she had my half brother we went from going every weekend to once every 6 weeks. My dad was MIA and had finally gotten his precious son. He stopped trying with me.
When they moved I was so upset he chose to leave us. He didn't want custody just for us to visit him every now and again and speak to him on the phone. Parenting at a distance so all of his focus was on his new family
When I graduated from high school and refused to invite him everything blew up Jane called me some terrible names and so did my dad and he refused to give me my college fund unless I started being part of the family again. From what I gathered, he spent it on his new family.
I'm sick of being the one to miss out on events with my family. I would be willing to be in the same room but not interact or even be civil but he pushes things and makes it impossible
Edit 3
Have spoken to my fiancé. Update will be posted shortly
AITAH has no consensus bot, OOP was NTA
OOP on staying away from the father and his family and blocking Jane

OOP: I've tried my best to stay away from him and his family but with it being a small town its impossible to avoid them. Some of the times I've bumped into him seemed a bit too coincidental and feel like it was a set up.
I have blocked Jane can't stand the woman she was always mean to me even when I was a child because I was standoffish. My sister is 5 years younger and was more accepting of her so my sister and Jane have a good relationship.

 
Update #1 (rareddit): April 20, 2024 (10 hours later)
Thank you for all of the comments although most seem to be NTA some were YTA. Some of you gave helpful suggestions which I am planning to take on board.
I have just spoken to my fiancé and unfortunately it has not gone well but at this point in time I've had enough and want to runaway and never come back.
My fiancé knows my history with my dad and Jane. I explained to him that him siding with my father and pressuring me was hurting me and as my fiancé he should be supporting me.
My fiancé who I'll call Luke told me he can't support me in doing something that he knows is wrong. Luke told me that he had spoke to my father and had an understanding of both sides of the story and believes that if we both sit down and talk we can sort this out and reconcile.
I told Luke I don't want this and want no contact and asked why he is even speaking to my father. Luke admitted his father who is friends with my dad encouraged Luke to speak to him and hear him out.
Luke told me my dad loved me very much and always wanted to be in my life and has pictures of me (I'm guessing he got these from my family as my social media is set to private). Luke said my dad is heartbroken at the state of our relationship because I was being unreasonable about him moving away when I was young. Luke stated I got on the wrong foot with Jane and that I was not innocent in the breakdown of the relationship. He told me that everyone can see the truth but me and to look in the mirror because I'm the problem.
Needless to say I broke down crying and asked him why he was doing this to me and not supporting me. Luke claims to love me but won't stand by and watch me be "a heartless bitch".
After he said this I stood up told him that he shouldn't marry a heartless bitch and walked out. I'm currently sat in my car. My phone is blowing up with Luke trying to contact me but I don’t want to speak to him. I feel like I'm losing everything and everyone I dont understand what is happening.
 
Update #2 (rareddit): April 21, 2024
Hi everyone thanks for the comments and letting me sound off on you as I desperately need an outside perspective.
I know a lot of you are telling me to cut all contact with my family and leave town. That is not an option for me financially and I would not be able to set up business elsewhere all my money is invested in it and I have only managed to get established recently with steady income, relocating is not an option for me. I love my friends and family and don't want to cut everyone off, I love my hometown I grew up here this is my life and I'm not willing to walk away from it.
I didn't expect to write another update this fast but a lot has happened today.
So firstly I agreed to meet my dad to talk and try and get him to back off and leave me alone. I asked my mom to arrange it, just him no one else. I wasn't sure if he would agree to that but within 15 minutes of her calling he was at the door.
I asked my mom to stay and mediate. To summarize the conversation. These are a bit messed up because it's a lot to remember.
Me: * I asked him to give me space and stop trying to get everyone on his side and let me live my life.

• I told him he stopped being my father when he moved 10 hrs away
  
• I told him Jane was mean to me and told him about all the horrible things she has said to me over the years.
  
• I hate how he chose Jane and his new family over me and how he told me he had to prioritise them and how he basically told me I wasn't family
  
• He was an AH for withholding my college fund and trying to blackmail me and then spending it on his new family
  
• I hate how I have missed major family events because he attended the events and would make them awkward.
  
• I don't see his son and daughter as my family and I'm sick of them trying to speak to me and approach me
  
• he keeps making scenes every time he sees me and making me look the bad guy
  
• he keeps inserting himself into my life going to my fiancé’s family events, going behind my back to talk and sway Luke to his side
  
• I hate how he cheated on my mom and broke our family up and then listened to Jane who stopped our dates, missed my recitals, reduced contact and was more concerned about his son.
  

Him * He loves me and always has he is never going to give up trying to reconnect and he has given me enough space over the years and he is done hearing about my life from 2nd hand knowledge and is not willing to miss any more if it.

• he loves Jane and and can't regret his past because he wouldn't have her or his 2 kids. He wishes he had done it differently and ended his marriage with my mom first.

*his kids are innocent and I shouldn't be taking it out on them they just want to know their big sister

• I was difficult child who was rude and disrespectful to Jane breaking her belongings, calling her names, ruining day trips.
  
• when Jane got pregnant she was high risk and me coming every week and starting arguments was stressing her out so for her and his sons sake he stopped the weekend visitation. He still spoke to us on the phone and took us out for dinner and days out but just didn't let us sleep over.
  
• when his son was born he was premature and had health complications which meant him staying in hospital for weeks and frequent hospital admissions. Jane was also going through PPD so he wasn't able to see us as much and had to miss some events when he was taking care of Jane and his son.
  
• Jane was unable to get a job locally and the opportunity was too good to pass up so they had to move. He pointed out that he came back to town for weekends as much as he could to see us and would always invite us to fly out and spend vacations with him. He phoned everyday but I refused to speak or see him.
  
• They had flown in for my graduation but I refused to invite him and he lost his temper and refused to give me my college fund. He apologised for this and tried to fix this a few weeks later and give me the money but I refused it. He has not spent the money he still has it and I have only to ask and I can have it.
  
• he had visited me at my college to try and talk to me but I refused to see him.
  
• He is not going to miss family events
  
• he makes a scene because he misses me and just wants to talk to me and reconcile but I always end up running way or shouting insults at him and Jane.
  
• He has been trying for 16years to reconnect but I shut him down at every turn he just wants to be my dad.
  
• He is old friends with my fiancé dad and he hoped my fiancé could talk some sense into me and open a line of communication.
  
• he feels I never gave Jane a chance no matter how she tried in the beginning and hoped we could be civil. Jane hates knowing I talk bad about her, am mean to her children and won't speak to him.
  

He wants:
My dad is in therapy and wants me to join him for family sessions.
He wants me to spend time with him 1-1
To stop being rude and mean to his children and spend time with them.
Stop trash talking Jane to everyone and actually give her a chance
Invite for him and my family to my wedding and to walk me down the aisle.
I want:
Him to stop talking to my friends and getting others to try and talk to me on his behalf
Keep Jane away from me completely
To be be civil at events or in town providing he does not try and hug me or talk to me.
My mom told him he was being unrealistic with some of the things he wants especially regarding Jane and his other children so we have agreed for now.
I will attend 3 therapy sessions with him when he arranges it. (my mom thinks I need individual therapy as well) He will stop trying to interfere in my life and relationships He will keep Jane away from me and talk to his kids to give me space. I will be civil to him in public as long as he respects my personal space and does not approach or pressure me.
As for my fiancé - I still havent spoken to him, he turned up at my moms but she refused to let him in. He keeps blowing up my phone and so does his family and friends telling me to hear him out.
During my conversation with my dad I found out my dad has paid for most of the vendors and services for my upcoming wedding and they have been on speaking terms for quite some time ( longer than I thought). Luke told me his family had paid for these and i believed him. I feel betrayed by him and that I can't trust him. I'm going to have to speak to him eventually but I dont feel ready.
Relevant Comments
OOP on if she can block her father and if she can have an order on him to stay away from her

OOP: I wouldn't be able to get a restraining order against him. What am I going to do tell the police my dad is talking to people in the town and my friends about me. He is showing up to parties and events he's invited to. He's trying to talk to me when he bumps into me in town?
He is not on my social media , he is blocked on my phone other than events and meeting in town that can be chalked up to coincidence I have nothing to report

 
Update #3 - April 27, 2024
Firstly I'd like to apologise for taking down my posts. I was really upset and felt under lot of pressure and needed space to think without constant messages. Some of you were trying to be helpful and I apreciate that but some of the abusive messages I received was terrible.
I'm updating for those who have asked for an update and were supportive to me. This will be my last post and I wont be posting again.
Firstly the deal with my dad is off the table. He couldn't even manage a week without overstepping my boundaries. So there will be no therapy sessions with him and I will remain no contact.
As you are all aware after speaking to my dad and agreeing a way forward and my conditions.
Keep Jane away from me Tell his kids to back off Don't pressure me or invade my space
It lasted all of 3 days. Everyone seemed happy I had "forgiven" my dad and told me so. My sister was excited I was willing to give him a chance and with some pressure I agreed to have dinner with just her and my dad.
When my sister and I arrived at the restaurant to meet our dad he was not alone. He had invited Jane, my grandparents his son and daughter. He got up and tried to hug me.
I immediately became upset asking why they were there. My dad told me that if we have any hope of repairing our relationship I had to accept Jane and my younger siblings. I told him he just broke our deal and to never contact me again and tried to leave. He refused to let me leave and grabbed hold of me.
When I say all hell broke loose I mean it. I started shouting at them. My Dad, Jane and grandparents tried to gaslight me and convince me to sit down when that didn't work things got very heated and a shouting match started and a lot of unforgivable things were said by my dad and Jane including remarks about my appearance and calling me a psychopath. My half brother walked out of the restaurant and my half sister started to cry.
My sister actually surprised me and defended me, shouting at my dad for ruining things after all this time when I had finally given him a chance. She even slapped Jane. She got me out of there and apologised to me. I think this was the first time she had really seen how Jane was with me and how she treat me. She kept saying she couldn't understand how dad had spent years saying he would do anything to have me back and then would do this when he finally got his chance to rebuild the relationship.
My dad has been trying to contact me but I have blocked him and refused to talk to him. I have also refused to speak to my grandparents. My dad has tried to convince my mom and sister to speak to me but I think he's burned his bridges with them.
The incident from the restaurant has spread and some people seem to be backing off. Like I said what my dad and Jane shouted at me was unforgiveable and they were overheard and this is a small town. Hopefully people will back off and those who won't Im going to have to cut them out.
My sister is very unhappy with my dad and Jane and not speaking to them. She is blaming them for me going no contact again. My sister is not letting them see her kids. I don't know if my sister will reconcile but right now she is furious. My mom is also furious and apparently had a few choice word with my dad and Jane and has promised she will never pressure me again to speak to him.
I am going to go to individual therapy I think I definitely need it. I do feel bad about my half siblings as they havnt done anything wrong and am maybe open to having a distanced kind of relationship with them in the future but I'm not ready yet or if I'll ever be. I did send them a message on Facebook to apologise and tell them they've done nothing wrong.
Lastly to update you all - in regards to my fiance well I spoke to him yesterday about everything I had been radio silent since walking out on him.
Basically he was pressured by his father to speak to my dad and was fed a sob story of a misunderstood father desperately wanting to be in his daughters life. Luke had become annoyed with me refusing to attend his family events and walking out of his mother's birthday party when I realised my dad and Jane was there as he was getting pressure from his family about me ruining their events.
He just wanted everyone to be happy and get along clearly at my expense.
Luke admitted my dad had paid for some of the vendors for the wedding but he did not know this until after it was already paid. His father had told Luke that him and his mom had paid. My dad had told Luke it was a gift and his way of contributing. Luke admitted my dad had asked him to speak to me on his behalf.
I told Luke he had betrayed my trust and I couldn't see myself marrying someone who does not support me. He broke down crying and apologising to me and promising to never do it again. Luke was heartbroken and begged for a 2nd chance.
To those of you who wanted me to break up with him, I'm sorry to disappoint you but we are going to try and work through this. Apart from this issue he had been the best partner and I genuinely think that he had been manipulated by his family and my dad. Luke has promised to stand up to his family and go no contact with my dad.
I'm still living at my moms as I still need some space which I wont have if I move home. We are going to contact our wedding vendors and see what our options are next week. Luke is begging for a postponement rather than cancel it altogether. We may still break up as actions speak louder than words and I need to see if he can rebuild what we had and show me I can trust and depend on him.
Relevant Comments
OOP on if she is able to change her contact information and what about Luke

OOP: There's no point changing my number when I've done this before he always manages to get it again.
As for Luke - breaking up is not off the table. I'm giving him a chance to show me he means what he says. I always thought I had a decent relationship with Luke’s family, but clearly not. I'm not asking him to go NC with them thats for him to decide. I'm certainly going to distance myself from them and any further incidents no contact.
As for any future children if we are still together I won't be trusting them with my children at all

 
Update #4: May 4, 2024
Hi everyone I did not plan to make another update at all but I'm still getting messages for an update and thought I would let you know the recent developments.
Firstly I have cancelled the wedding I was able to get some partial refunds but have lost some money. Luke begged me not to cancel the wedding but there was no way I could marry him after what he did.
I was set on giving him a 2nd chance and he promised me he would go low contact and stand up to his parents and issue an ultimatum that we would not tolerate any contact with my dad and Jane. Basically he would tell them we would not attend any event or party if they were invited and we would not tolerate any attempt to force contact or relationship with my dad.
He met with them to explain this to them. When he came back from this meeting he was quite irritable with me and appeared to have had a change of heart to summarize it - he was trying to convince me his family only meant well and that he can't go low contact with his family because he loves them and he can't dictate their friendships. He then tried to convince me it won't be an issue in the future and his father would speak to my dad and tell him to be on his best behaviour in my presence.
As soon as I heard this people's comments went through my head and the main one being if we had children he would take them to his family where my dad and Jane would be and I would have no control over this. At that moment
I realised I couldn't trust Luke and never would be able to.
I broke up with him, he is not taking it well and keeps begging me to take him back and that he would go no contact with his family. His family and friends are trying to convince me on his behalf not to end our relationship. He has made his choice and proven to me he is spineless. I don't need him in my life.
In regards to my dad I'm looking into getting a restraining order given what happened in the restaurant I might be able to but i dont know yet a friend of mine is helping me look into this.
My dad has kept a low profile since last week apart from a couple of attempts to apologize to me I havnt heard much from him. My sister still won't speak to him or Jane. Unlike me my sister is highly confrontational and has blasted him and Jane on social media with what happened at the restaurant and things that have happened in the past which I didn't know about.
My sister and Jane had a very public screaming match when she had seen them in town due to my sisters posts and demanding to take them down it ended up with Jane assaulting my sister. My dad apparently sided with Jane in this. My sister now hates Jane and refuses to speak to our dad who is also trying to contact her.
My dad and Jane’s reputation seems to have taken a hit and between the incident in the restaurant and my sisters fight with Jane and het numerous Facebook posts about them, People are gossiping. This has worked well for me because some people have backed off which Im happy about unfortunately there are a few people still on his side including my ex's parents.
As for my half siblings there's not much of an update in regards to them.
I've found a therapist however there is a bit of a waiting list before I can start my therapy. I'm still living with my mom who is completely on my side and I have found a kitten and pick her up next week.

 

----NEW UPDATE----

Update #5: May 19, 2024 (2 weeks later)
Hi everyone thought I would give you an update as to what's been happening the last couple of weeks for those of you who are still interested.
Firstly I'm still at my moms and I got my little kitten. I've named her sascha and she is the sweetest thing but very energetic. For those of you asking for pictures I'll try, but she refuses to stay still long enough to get a one that's not blurred. I love her already. My mom continues to be my rock. IM still waiting for therapy but am finding reddit useful and therapeutic and the support I've received from most of the people on here has been great and helped me see things more clearly so a big thankyou to everyone.
As for my ex now that we've broken up I feel lighter and free and being away from him has made me see all the red flags that I was blind to in our relationship and feel like I've dodged a bullet. Luke (using real names because my posts were discovered) is not taking the breakup well and has taken over from my father constantly bothering me.
If you read this Luke we are DONE and I'm not changing my mind so stop calling me, stop coming to the house and stop sending me flowers! I'm moving on so you should too.
My sister Emma is still firmly on my side and has washed her hands of Jane (stepmonster) and they are not on speaking terms after my sister told everyone about Janes affairs.
Jane is still trying to save face saying my sister is lying and telling everyone she can how we are just the worst and that we have treated her terrible over the years and trying to ruin her marriage. Don't think anyone is buying what she is saying. She has sent abusive messages to me and my sister and when we've bumped into her she's been screaming at us and threatening us. My sisters car had been keyed and my store windows were smashed. We can't prove its her unfortunately but she is the most likely culprit.
My half siblings are definitely my dads children they tested then years ago when she was a baby. From what I've heard they're not speaking to Jane at all.
As for my dad he seems to have grown a spine and has kicked out Jane she is now living with her parents. From what I've heard he's thinking about divorce. I havnt had any contact with my dad except for a text saying he was sorry for everything. As for getting a restraining order I'm more concerned about getting one against Jane at the moment.
Relevant Comments
OOP on if she has cameras at her place

OOP: I have cameras but you can't see if it her because of the angle I'm getting more fitted for better coverage

OOP on if she has been speaking to her half siblings (father’s side) and how their relationships are with Jane now that the truth got out. And how the family is reacting

OOP: I'm not speaking to my dad or Jane or my half siblings. I've gotten this info from a cousin on my dad's side so not sure if it's true or if there is more to this. + The only people who knew were my grandparents and sister. Unfortunately when Jane and my sister fell out my sister decided to expose her on social media to everyone. My half siblings knew about her recent affair but not the one years ago.
As for my dad I don't know and I'm not going to reach out to ask

OOP on if she will forgive her father and if he would get a second chance without Jane present

OOP: Yep- hes destroyed my relationship, his and janes relationship with Emma and by sounds of it his own relationship. All because he couldn't respect my boundaries
No the damage is already done. He had his chance to fix things with me and he blew it. I just want to be left alone and get on with my life

 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

Is my major holding me back? I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I also just graduated.

I couldn’t find a timer because it was leave at door. There was already the same exact order sitting there at the closed salon. I called and texted for 20 mins. What will likely happen? Will I get a not delivered report? Will the app think I was 20 mins late since I called and texted for 20 mins? She obviously put in her work address at 1030 pm and refused to answer my calls or texts