Names made with pictures
The real names of animals!
2016.04.29 05:14 Dexaan The real names of animals!
Noperopes, trash pandas, and more!
2017.12.14 18:41 duckyoumate Indian Girls on Tinder
No matter a guy or a girl, share some cringeworthy profiles or chats from your Tinder encounters, have fun! :) Also remember that this is NOT an incel jerk sub, so if you're looking to whine about women and how they won't date you. You won't find that here, nor will it be tolerated. Be kind, be civil. 500 post karma and 1000 overall karma required. Don't message the mods asking why your posts aren't showing up, if you don't meet the karma requirements.
2017.07.22 19:02 zbf 13 or 30
When you can't tell the age of the person.
2024.05.18 23:06 Karflowe Someone is trying to ruin my marriage
Someone is trying to ruin my marriage
A couple days ago my husband got a text from a person claiming im cheating with them. My husband has been texting this person for 2 days now. He wont show me the messages or give me details. I think because he’s believing them.
The little tidbits my husband has let slip is the phone number (it’s a TextNow number-I tried calling it), that this person told him I said he’s a bad dad, and that this person has sent “evidence” or “proof.” I also know they called me by name.
I can’t even begin to imagine what this person has said. Me and my husband are both active duty military. The number has the area code of where we live, so this person is most likely local. We don’t have friends really outside our units so it’s someone one of us works with. I suspect someone I work with more than my husbands coworkers because I’ve had issues with some higher ups at work in the last year. I think it’s probably someone with kids because I don’t think someone without kids would think to make up the “bad dad” lie. The other alternative in my mind is that there’s some crazy woman who is secretly obsessed with my husband and trying to ruin our marriage. Whoever it is obviously has something wrong with them mentally.
Another reason I suspect someone I work with is because they would know all the times my husband is gone (he’s gone often) and in my mind that’s the only logical “evidence” they could have is mentioning times I would have been cheating. That and the fact that this is obviously an attack on me and not him. This is meant to hurt me. And I have people in my work center who don’t like me. Never thought any of them would do something this deranged though.
Im frustrated with my husband and freaking out because of the situation. Adultery is against the UCMJ and this accusation could ruin my career. If this person is ballsy enough to message my husband lies with a clear intent to break us up or cause issues between us. And is dedicated enough to use a fake number and continue on talking to him, they are absolutely capable of making a report to my commander. Even if it’s found not to be true it will still negatively effect my career. You can’t do damage control after an accusation like that.
Without knowing the context of the messages I’m speculating a lot. I know my husband stayed up all night messaging this person and he made a comment about how he was obviously drunk and then this morning he suddenly didn’t have a lot to say.
My husband is trying to find out who it is and says he’ll share the identity if he finds out, but that’s it. Im also trying to find out who it is but have been wildly unsuccessful because of the use of a texting app. I’ve thought about filing a police report for defamation and seeing if they’ll trace the number, but I don’t have any proof because my husband won’t share the messages.
To be clear I have never cheated on my husband, messaged another man, anything. We’ve been rocky for a good bit of our marriage which may explain why he’s not believing me, but I love the hell out of him and things were just starting to get better in the last couple months.
All that to ask, does anyone have any advice? Know of a way to trace this person? Anything?
Also is you know a better place to post this please tell me. Im struggling to figure out where to post
submitted by Karflowe to Marriage [link] [comments]
A couple days ago my husband got a text from a person claiming im cheating with them. My husband has been texting this person for 2 days now. He wont show me the messages or give me details. I think because he’s believing them.
The little tidbits my husband has let slip is the phone number (it’s a TextNow number-I tried calling it), that this person told him I said he’s a bad dad, and that this person has sent “evidence” or “proof.” I also know they called me by name.
I can’t even begin to imagine what this person has said. Me and my husband are both active duty military. The number has the area code of where we live, so this person is most likely local. We don’t have friends really outside our units so it’s someone one of us works with. I suspect someone I work with more than my husbands coworkers because I’ve had issues with some higher ups at work in the last year. I think it’s probably someone with kids because I don’t think someone without kids would think to make up the “bad dad” lie. The other alternative in my mind is that there’s some crazy woman who is secretly obsessed with my husband and trying to ruin our marriage. Whoever it is obviously has something wrong with them mentally.
Another reason I suspect someone I work with is because they would know all the times my husband is gone (he’s gone often) and in my mind that’s the only logical “evidence” they could have is mentioning times I would have been cheating. That and the fact that this is obviously an attack on me and not him. This is meant to hurt me. And I have people in my work center who don’t like me. Never thought any of them would do something this deranged though.
Im frustrated with my husband and freaking out because of the situation. Adultery is against the UCMJ and this accusation could ruin my career. If this person is ballsy enough to message my husband lies with a clear intent to break us up or cause issues between us. And is dedicated enough to use a fake number and continue on talking to him, they are absolutely capable of making a report to my commander. Even if it’s found not to be true it will still negatively effect my career. You can’t do damage control after an accusation like that.
Without knowing the context of the messages I’m speculating a lot. I know my husband stayed up all night messaging this person and he made a comment about how he was obviously drunk and then this morning he suddenly didn’t have a lot to say.
My husband is trying to find out who it is and says he’ll share the identity if he finds out, but that’s it. Im also trying to find out who it is but have been wildly unsuccessful because of the use of a texting app. I’ve thought about filing a police report for defamation and seeing if they’ll trace the number, but I don’t have any proof because my husband won’t share the messages.
To be clear I have never cheated on my husband, messaged another man, anything. We’ve been rocky for a good bit of our marriage which may explain why he’s not believing me, but I love the hell out of him and things were just starting to get better in the last couple months.
All that to ask, does anyone have any advice? Know of a way to trace this person? Anything?
Also is you know a better place to post this please tell me. Im struggling to figure out where to post
2024.05.18 23:05 ImogenNewton The attic
One night I was just sleeping in bed and everyone that slept upstairs was not in the house so I was just laying in bed and I fell asleep but later that night my mum and dad shouted me down and my mum told me “hey love we are just piping out for drinks with aunts name look after the dogs please” I said okay and sighed but I ended up falling asleep in my bed seconds after they left but I woke up at 3:33 am in a cold sweat and was wondering what woke me up but as soon as I sat up I got a sharp pain in my head and I fell down, my dogs came upstairs to see what the loud bang was and I was laying there for at least 20 minutes trying to stand up and I finally got the strength to lift myself up at when I got up, I went downstairs and got myself a packet of crisps ate them downstairs and fed my dogs all of this may seem useless information but it’s not. I went upstairs. I got back in bed and my girl dog was sleeping in the bed with me when we both heard a loud bang from above and keep in mind. The attic is in my room, so this made it 1000 times more scary. When we heard the bang, it was really obvious someone was in the house maybe above us so I went downstairs, grabbed my boy dog and we went in the bathroom and I locked the doors. After I realised I might need a weapon so I went into my kitchen quickly grabbed a big knife and went back into bathroom. My dog got tired laid down and I turned off the lights and fell asleep. I woke up a couple hours later in the hospital. My mum and dad told me that there was a man living in our house. and the police said he had been there for months. There was black mould buildup in the back. That’s why my brother was getting so sick and it turns out when I was at school, he added pills that could have killed me in my drink (it’s was a Dr Pepper like how dare he) so yeah, that’s my craziest story
this is fake, sorry I hope you enjoyed it though
submitted by ImogenNewton to scaryshortstories [link] [comments]
this is fake, sorry I hope you enjoyed it though
2024.05.18 23:05 dinojack1000 Fnaf theory about the Mimic and Glitchtrap
So we all thought that Glitchtrap was the digital consciousness of Afton, then the Mimic came along and threw everything off. Now we think that Glitchtrap is just the Mimic mimicking Afton’s behavior. However, I think that Glitchtrap could still be Afton’s consciousness hooked up to Help Wanted. Now I’m going to pull a Candy Cadet and tell you a story.
Vanessa was working for Fazbear Entertainment on their new VR game. She knew this really was just a big cover up, but she was powerless to do anything about it. She had an inexplicable interest in the history of Freddy’s. More specifically the mysterious killings and the unidentified murderer that ruined Fazbear’s brand. One day, when she was testing the game, she noticed something strange in the corner of her eye. A purple tape on the track in the introduction section. Once she collected it, she entered the main hub and saw it. The green figure of a humanoid rabbit costume was standing in the doorway. It didn’t look like Bonnie. She wanted to notify management, but once she listened to the tape, she wanted to take matters into her own hands. And besides, it’s not like management was going to do anything about it anyway. Vanessa continued to collect tapes. As she collected them, she learned what had actually happened to one of her coworkers Jeremey. Management just said that he had an accident and had to be put out of work. But it was so much worse than that. He cut off his own face with a paper cutter! She needed to find out why he would do that. But each tape she collected, the rabbit would come closer and closer. She noticed more details as it came closer. The costume looked hand sewn and very low tech. And that smile. It was so unnerving, yet somewhat comforting to Vanessa. Once she gathered 15 tapes, the woman on the other side told her to stop collecting them. But she came this far and her curiosity got the best of her. She found the last one and was surprised by the switch of mood the person on the tape had. She said that bring the tapes together was the only way to get rid of whatever this virus was. But that was not correct. Venessa unknowingly brought together all of the parts that this thing needed. She tried to manually face this virus, and it seemed to have worked. The game ran nominally, minus the weird green rabbit plush in the hub. But as the days passed, Vanessa began to hear voices in her head. She would spend more and more time in the game. Coworkers said that on occasions, she would be found talking to herself when the headset was on. She had the ability to communicate with this virus. It told her to make an in-game rabbit mask, and she obeyed. She didn’t know why, but it was like she couldn’t help but obey. She had the mask and the plush, so now she could have an actual conversation with this being. It explained that it was William Afton, and that he was trapped in this game to escape death. But that was impossible! Mr. Afton died many years ago. Fazbear’s higher ups said that he retired and lived the rest of his life in his house on a hill. But he told her his fate was much, much worse. He was so close to death, but he had a safety measure. He figured out how to copy part of his consciousness into a circuit board so that his memories, thoughts, his very essence can live on in case anything happened to his physical body. Vanessa remembered that the game scanned old circuit boards to expedite the process of making the VR game. That must have been how he appeared in the game. He also explained that he was the one that killed all of those kids back in the day. Vanessa couldn’t believe it. The co-founder of Fazbear Entertainment was the man behind all of these slaughters? At first she was horrified, but then she felt a sort of happiness. In some sort of twisted way, she found it funny that a man so bent on making children happy was the one that took the lives of so many of them. She knew in the back of her mind that it was wrong, but she couldn’t help but laugh. Over time, Vanessa, now given the new name of Vanny by Afton, continued to complete tasks for Afton, because he couldn’t do them in his predicament. She was reluctant to say the least about doing these things, but Afton’s influence was so strong that she couldn’t say no. One day, she quit being a beta tester for the VR game, and instead was hired on to be a security guard for the new Mega Pizza Plex. In this position, she would have access to areas that were of importance to Afton. More specifically, under the Pizza Plex. The entire building was built over an old Freddy’s location. The one where Afton’s body still is. Vanny was tasked with finally freeing Afton from his digital prison and creating a new body for him. While this was happening, Vanessa’s coworkers took notice of her odd behavior. From her spending a lot of time in the basement, to her incriminating search history, it was clear that she needed help. So management sent her to therapy. There, she was always so distracted by that voice in her head. She would talk and answer questions, but if the therapist ever got too close to knowing the truth, Afton made sure that they were silenced. Vanessa didn’t want to do it, she just wanted a way out. But she was in too deep. It was finally time to put Afton’s plan into action. To do this, Vanny needed some way to create a new body for Afton. She read through old files and eventually stumbled across the solution. Deep under the Pizza Plex, in the storage section, held the key. An endoskeleton that was specifically designed to mimic things. It has the ability to mold into any animatronic costume. All Vanny needed to do was activate the robot, and transfer Afton’s consciousness into the robot, which will be in Afton’s old burnt costume. But after she turned on the robot, she got a bit preoccupied with Freddy and a small child. They could hinder her plans, so she had to go and stop them. But when the kid stepped out of Vanny’s hideout, she could feel a weight come off of her shoulders and the voice’s suddenly stopped. Vanessa was unknowingly freed for Afton’s control. Without Afton’s puppet, he is stuck in VR indefinitely. However, the robot that was supposed to be Afton’s new body is now freed under the pizza plex. The program that was inside it initially is still there and still dangerous. Vanessa knowing this, goes back with the help of Gregory and Freddy to trap the Mimic in the basement. But the Mimic heard Gregory’s voice, so now it has a tool to escape. Vanessa now feels like she is finally free from this horrible nightmare.
That was my interpretation of the Glitchtrap/Mimic/Vanny story so far. Sorry it was a long read but I think it’s worth it. I’d like to know your thoughts.
submitted by dinojack1000 to GameTheorists [link] [comments]
Vanessa was working for Fazbear Entertainment on their new VR game. She knew this really was just a big cover up, but she was powerless to do anything about it. She had an inexplicable interest in the history of Freddy’s. More specifically the mysterious killings and the unidentified murderer that ruined Fazbear’s brand. One day, when she was testing the game, she noticed something strange in the corner of her eye. A purple tape on the track in the introduction section. Once she collected it, she entered the main hub and saw it. The green figure of a humanoid rabbit costume was standing in the doorway. It didn’t look like Bonnie. She wanted to notify management, but once she listened to the tape, she wanted to take matters into her own hands. And besides, it’s not like management was going to do anything about it anyway. Vanessa continued to collect tapes. As she collected them, she learned what had actually happened to one of her coworkers Jeremey. Management just said that he had an accident and had to be put out of work. But it was so much worse than that. He cut off his own face with a paper cutter! She needed to find out why he would do that. But each tape she collected, the rabbit would come closer and closer. She noticed more details as it came closer. The costume looked hand sewn and very low tech. And that smile. It was so unnerving, yet somewhat comforting to Vanessa. Once she gathered 15 tapes, the woman on the other side told her to stop collecting them. But she came this far and her curiosity got the best of her. She found the last one and was surprised by the switch of mood the person on the tape had. She said that bring the tapes together was the only way to get rid of whatever this virus was. But that was not correct. Venessa unknowingly brought together all of the parts that this thing needed. She tried to manually face this virus, and it seemed to have worked. The game ran nominally, minus the weird green rabbit plush in the hub. But as the days passed, Vanessa began to hear voices in her head. She would spend more and more time in the game. Coworkers said that on occasions, she would be found talking to herself when the headset was on. She had the ability to communicate with this virus. It told her to make an in-game rabbit mask, and she obeyed. She didn’t know why, but it was like she couldn’t help but obey. She had the mask and the plush, so now she could have an actual conversation with this being. It explained that it was William Afton, and that he was trapped in this game to escape death. But that was impossible! Mr. Afton died many years ago. Fazbear’s higher ups said that he retired and lived the rest of his life in his house on a hill. But he told her his fate was much, much worse. He was so close to death, but he had a safety measure. He figured out how to copy part of his consciousness into a circuit board so that his memories, thoughts, his very essence can live on in case anything happened to his physical body. Vanessa remembered that the game scanned old circuit boards to expedite the process of making the VR game. That must have been how he appeared in the game. He also explained that he was the one that killed all of those kids back in the day. Vanessa couldn’t believe it. The co-founder of Fazbear Entertainment was the man behind all of these slaughters? At first she was horrified, but then she felt a sort of happiness. In some sort of twisted way, she found it funny that a man so bent on making children happy was the one that took the lives of so many of them. She knew in the back of her mind that it was wrong, but she couldn’t help but laugh. Over time, Vanessa, now given the new name of Vanny by Afton, continued to complete tasks for Afton, because he couldn’t do them in his predicament. She was reluctant to say the least about doing these things, but Afton’s influence was so strong that she couldn’t say no. One day, she quit being a beta tester for the VR game, and instead was hired on to be a security guard for the new Mega Pizza Plex. In this position, she would have access to areas that were of importance to Afton. More specifically, under the Pizza Plex. The entire building was built over an old Freddy’s location. The one where Afton’s body still is. Vanny was tasked with finally freeing Afton from his digital prison and creating a new body for him. While this was happening, Vanessa’s coworkers took notice of her odd behavior. From her spending a lot of time in the basement, to her incriminating search history, it was clear that she needed help. So management sent her to therapy. There, she was always so distracted by that voice in her head. She would talk and answer questions, but if the therapist ever got too close to knowing the truth, Afton made sure that they were silenced. Vanessa didn’t want to do it, she just wanted a way out. But she was in too deep. It was finally time to put Afton’s plan into action. To do this, Vanny needed some way to create a new body for Afton. She read through old files and eventually stumbled across the solution. Deep under the Pizza Plex, in the storage section, held the key. An endoskeleton that was specifically designed to mimic things. It has the ability to mold into any animatronic costume. All Vanny needed to do was activate the robot, and transfer Afton’s consciousness into the robot, which will be in Afton’s old burnt costume. But after she turned on the robot, she got a bit preoccupied with Freddy and a small child. They could hinder her plans, so she had to go and stop them. But when the kid stepped out of Vanny’s hideout, she could feel a weight come off of her shoulders and the voice’s suddenly stopped. Vanessa was unknowingly freed for Afton’s control. Without Afton’s puppet, he is stuck in VR indefinitely. However, the robot that was supposed to be Afton’s new body is now freed under the pizza plex. The program that was inside it initially is still there and still dangerous. Vanessa knowing this, goes back with the help of Gregory and Freddy to trap the Mimic in the basement. But the Mimic heard Gregory’s voice, so now it has a tool to escape. Vanessa now feels like she is finally free from this horrible nightmare.
That was my interpretation of the Glitchtrap/Mimic/Vanny story so far. Sorry it was a long read but I think it’s worth it. I’d like to know your thoughts.
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2024.05.18 23:05 throwawayvio94 My husband always forces me to dress seductive everywhere although I don't want it. I'm worried about him and our marriage.
Me (30F) and he (33M) is married for 3 years. We met in college so we have a relationship for 10 years. The first 2 years of our marriage was like a dream, I was pretty sure he is the one and he always said he thinks the same for me. Is he still gentle and loving? Yes. But he changed so much. Sometimes I'm just disgusted of him because he is becoming a cuck.
One year ago, he suddenly started to criticize the way I dress. Literally the opposite way you might think, he was saying I was not dressing "good enough". I generally wear blouses, jeans dresses etc. He said for a hot woman like me I dress like a granny. At the first he said that like a joke, but as he started to repeat it many times I was a bit pissed off so eventually I asked him what's his problem. He said he just wants to see me beautiful as his woman.
By time, I thought he will be fixed but he got even worse. I generally chose long t-shirts when I wear leggings, not wanting unnecessary stares. I was getting ready for gym and he made a comment on that too, told me I dress like a sister in the church and that's not how women dress for workout. Next day, he came with literally ten pairs of leggings and cropped tops. He told me to try them. I was happy for his surprise at first but when I tried them I was a bit shocked. Not being offensive against anyone who wears it, but it turns out he bought these "butt lift leggings" which completely fits the butt and shows it so detailed. I thanked him although it was a bit awkward, and told him there was no need for such a buy. He said he will like to see me wearing them for gym and take pictures. Strange right, well this is only the beginning.
He went even worse. By time, he started to come home buying supermini dresses with deep cleavages, even more butt lift leggings, lingeries, really short skirts etc. I'm definitely not conservative and I have no problems with the way people dress, but wearing these was making me uncomfortable. When I rejected, he was making a drama and one time he even cried for it. Once I rejected it all and threatened him to throw them away, he cried again and screamed at me. After that, he literally never talked a word with me for a straight week. I was loving him so much, so eventually I agreed to dress the way he wants.
Last summer, we planned a vacation. He bought micro bikinis for me although I didn't want. I told him I'm not gonna wear any of these, but he threatened me to cancel the vacation which I longed for so much. He made me wear these micro bikinis all the time during our vacation, and he didn't seem a sign of jealousy when I could even feel all other men's eyes on me although I tried to ignore.
The time I was really starting to concern about him to be a cuck, was when he took me to meet one of his coworkers at a cafe. I took a bath and when I went to our bedroom for getting dressed he immediately stepped in, he just picked a crop top -with deep cleavage of course- and a really really short tiered skirt, it was barely covering my butt. When I asked what's all this about, he told me to not wear any underwears. We started arguing again and he was about to make a scene again... So I said whatever and accepted. I was disturbed of all these other men's looks on me, especially his coworker. He didn't seem like he cares.
I was starting to get used to this life although I hated it. It only went worse by time. I was going everywhere in the way he wants. But I was loving him still, and I knew he is manipulating me. By time, he discarded all my previous clothes from our wardrobe and filled it with the seductive and revealing ones he wanted. As I tried ignore and move on, he made it far. One morning, I caught him recording my butt while I was sleeping. It was the breaking point and I argued with him about it again. It was the biggest one so far. I forced him to give me his phone and I was literally horrified by what I saw. It turns out he was doing this repeatedly, there were dozens of pictures he took secretly. Me sleeping, in the bath, tons of our vacation pics, my naked pictures etc. I left house for a week and stood at my parents, but not telling them about any of these.
He eventually apologized and said he is sorry. He said he just wants to be proud of having a hot wife, and he started crying AGAIN when I called him a cuck. And eventually, I came back to our house while he didn't even change a bit.
This situation is traumatizing me everyday. A few years ago, I was dreaming of a happy family with that guy, not he enjoying while I dress like a pornstar and other guys fuck me with their eyes. I completely lost my hope on him, and although I loved him so much I can feel it's finally waning everyday. I'm planning on a divorce already but didn't tell anyone anything.
What should I do? Is divorce the way? I always hoped he will get better with therapy, but at this point I completely lost my hope. Sorry for any grammatical issues, I'm Croatian and I moved to USA with my parents 15 years ago, I still try my best while I write and speak.
submitted by throwawayvio94 to AITAH [link] [comments]
One year ago, he suddenly started to criticize the way I dress. Literally the opposite way you might think, he was saying I was not dressing "good enough". I generally wear blouses, jeans dresses etc. He said for a hot woman like me I dress like a granny. At the first he said that like a joke, but as he started to repeat it many times I was a bit pissed off so eventually I asked him what's his problem. He said he just wants to see me beautiful as his woman.
By time, I thought he will be fixed but he got even worse. I generally chose long t-shirts when I wear leggings, not wanting unnecessary stares. I was getting ready for gym and he made a comment on that too, told me I dress like a sister in the church and that's not how women dress for workout. Next day, he came with literally ten pairs of leggings and cropped tops. He told me to try them. I was happy for his surprise at first but when I tried them I was a bit shocked. Not being offensive against anyone who wears it, but it turns out he bought these "butt lift leggings" which completely fits the butt and shows it so detailed. I thanked him although it was a bit awkward, and told him there was no need for such a buy. He said he will like to see me wearing them for gym and take pictures. Strange right, well this is only the beginning.
He went even worse. By time, he started to come home buying supermini dresses with deep cleavages, even more butt lift leggings, lingeries, really short skirts etc. I'm definitely not conservative and I have no problems with the way people dress, but wearing these was making me uncomfortable. When I rejected, he was making a drama and one time he even cried for it. Once I rejected it all and threatened him to throw them away, he cried again and screamed at me. After that, he literally never talked a word with me for a straight week. I was loving him so much, so eventually I agreed to dress the way he wants.
Last summer, we planned a vacation. He bought micro bikinis for me although I didn't want. I told him I'm not gonna wear any of these, but he threatened me to cancel the vacation which I longed for so much. He made me wear these micro bikinis all the time during our vacation, and he didn't seem a sign of jealousy when I could even feel all other men's eyes on me although I tried to ignore.
The time I was really starting to concern about him to be a cuck, was when he took me to meet one of his coworkers at a cafe. I took a bath and when I went to our bedroom for getting dressed he immediately stepped in, he just picked a crop top -with deep cleavage of course- and a really really short tiered skirt, it was barely covering my butt. When I asked what's all this about, he told me to not wear any underwears. We started arguing again and he was about to make a scene again... So I said whatever and accepted. I was disturbed of all these other men's looks on me, especially his coworker. He didn't seem like he cares.
I was starting to get used to this life although I hated it. It only went worse by time. I was going everywhere in the way he wants. But I was loving him still, and I knew he is manipulating me. By time, he discarded all my previous clothes from our wardrobe and filled it with the seductive and revealing ones he wanted. As I tried ignore and move on, he made it far. One morning, I caught him recording my butt while I was sleeping. It was the breaking point and I argued with him about it again. It was the biggest one so far. I forced him to give me his phone and I was literally horrified by what I saw. It turns out he was doing this repeatedly, there were dozens of pictures he took secretly. Me sleeping, in the bath, tons of our vacation pics, my naked pictures etc. I left house for a week and stood at my parents, but not telling them about any of these.
He eventually apologized and said he is sorry. He said he just wants to be proud of having a hot wife, and he started crying AGAIN when I called him a cuck. And eventually, I came back to our house while he didn't even change a bit.
This situation is traumatizing me everyday. A few years ago, I was dreaming of a happy family with that guy, not he enjoying while I dress like a pornstar and other guys fuck me with their eyes. I completely lost my hope on him, and although I loved him so much I can feel it's finally waning everyday. I'm planning on a divorce already but didn't tell anyone anything.
What should I do? Is divorce the way? I always hoped he will get better with therapy, but at this point I completely lost my hope. Sorry for any grammatical issues, I'm Croatian and I moved to USA with my parents 15 years ago, I still try my best while I write and speak.
2024.05.18 23:04 Theo-Dorable Ideologies (and their descriptions)
A list of all the ideologies (within the game files), including their descriptions. Enjoy.
National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Democratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
"Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
submitted by Theo-Dorable to CWIC [link] [comments]
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy and authority, and property rights. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as monarchy, religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity.National Conservatism National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural or ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually Eurosceptics.
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic.
Corporatism I do not know where the description for this is. Considering corporatism doesn't exactly fit within conservatism I believe this is a mistake, but I'm including it here anyway.
Republican Party [sic]
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, a major ideology of the American Revolution. Founded by anti-slavery activists, economic modernizers, ex-National Republicans, ex-Free Soilers and Whigs in 1854, the Republicans largely dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern states between 1860 and 1932.
Religious Zionism Formed as a nationalist opposition and acts as the basis of the Israeli right, Revisionist Zionism envisions territorial integrity over the historical Land of Israel and supports Jewish nationalism. Revisionist Zionists believed that Jews have sovereignty over both banks of the Jordan river and its followers question the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan. Currently, Revisionist Zionism is regarded as a fringe ideology but its proponents have recently began a push to make the ideology more moderate and hence more electable.
Black Conservatism Black Conservatism is a type of conservative ideology popular among Africans in both hemispheres. Individuals which would promote black conservatism would likely be advocates of free market capitalism, promotion of traditional beliefs (generally in regards to Catholic and Protestant Christianity), and Patriotism or Jingoism. Black Conservatism generally is opposed to Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Anti-Imperialism.
Liberal Conservatism
Liberal conservatism combines conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic, social and ethical issues. It incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal government intervention in the economy, according to which individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life, therefore liberal conservatives believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. They also support civil liberties, along with some social conservative positions.Conservative Liberalism Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. It is a more positive and less radical variant of classical liberalism.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a form of conservatism and a political ideology which emerged in 19th century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching, as well as Neo Calvinism. It was originally conceived as a combination of traditional Catholic beliefs and modern democratic ideas, and it grew to incorporate the social teaching of other Christian denominations, such as the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church.Vatican [sic]
The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of an theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
Socialism
Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. Social ownership may refer to forms of public, collective or cooperative ownership, or to citizen ownership of equity. There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them, though social ownership is the common element shared by its various forms. Socialist economic systems can be divided into non-market and market forms. Non-market socialism involves the substitution of factor markets and money, with engineering and technical criteria, based on calculation performed in-kind, thereby producing an economic mechanism that functions according to different economic laws from those of capitalism. Non-market socialism aims to circumvent the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system. By contrast, market socialism retains the use of monetary prices, factor markets and in some cases the profit motive, with respect to the operation of socially owned enterprises and the allocation of capital goods between them. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm, or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend. The socialist calculation debate discusses the feasibility and methods of resource allocation for a socialist system.Democratic Socialism Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, with an emphasis on self-management and democratic management of economic institutions within a market or some form of decentralized planned socialist economy.
Market Socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy.
Royal Socialism No information in the game files. Probably a scrapped ideology, but still here for showcase purposes.
Neocommunism Ditto to above.
African Socialism African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Common principles of African socialism are social development guided by a large public sector, incorporating the African identity and what it means to be African, and the avoidance of the development of social classes within society.
Ujamaa The Swahili word Ujamaa means 'extended family', 'brotherhood' or 'socialism'; as a political concept it asserts that a person becomes a person through the people or community. Ujamaa was a term made popular by the political philosophy applied under Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Labor Zionism (Mapai) Labor Zionism is the left-wing of the Zionist movement. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations. It saw itself as the Zionist sector of the historic Jewish labor movements of Eastern and Central Europe, eventually developing local units in most countries with sizable Jewish populations. Labor Zionists believe that a Jewish state could only be created through the efforts of the Jewish working class settling in the Land of Israel and constructing a state through the creation of a progressive Jewish society with rural kibbutzim and moshavim and an urban Jewish proletariat.
Kemalism Kemalism is the founding ideology of the Republic of Turkey. Kemalism, as it was implemented by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was defined by sweeping political, social, cultural and religious reforms designed to separate the new Turkish state from its Ottoman predecessor and embrace a Westernized way of living, including the establishment of democracy, secularism, state support of the sciences and free education.
Oriental Personalism Oriental Personalism is the official ideology of Ngo Dinh Diem's Can-Lao Party in South Vietnam. Owing as much to the influence of his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu as Diem himself, Oriental Personalism has diverse ideological influences, including Emannuel Mournier's theory of Personalism, Marxism, and the folk traditions and religions of Vietnam. The Can-Lao manifest calls for the gradual transformation of Vietnamese society through two phase. In the first phase, the Personalist Revolution, the Social and Working Classes will tear their divisions and join as one. Then comes the Social Revolution, where all forms of capitalism and colonial influence will be swept out on a triumphant march to a utopian, socialist, and proudly Vietnamese society.
Social Democracy
Social Democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, as well as a policy regime involving a commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution, and regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state provisions.Democratic Party [sic]
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Labor Zionism Functionally the exact same as Labor Zionism (Mapai), with the same description. I have no clue why it's divided as such.
Social Liberalism
Social liberalism is a political ideology that believes individual liberty requires a level of social justice. Like classical liberalism, social liberalism endorses a market economy and the expansion of civil and political rights and liberties, but differs in that it believes the legitimate role of the government includes addressing economic and social issues such as poverty, health care, and education.Progressivism
Progressivism is the support for or advocacy of improvement of society by reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.Green politics Green politics is a political ideology that aims to create an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.
Centrism
Centrism is a political outlook or specific position that involves acceptance or support of a balance of a degree of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy, while opposing political changes which would result in a significant shift of society either strongly to the left or the right.Classical Liberalism
Democracy (yes, that is the entire description)Libertarianism Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, but they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems.
Zionism (General Zionism) Many people and parties chose not to follow any of the distinct Zionist schools of thought and chose to stick to the core ideology of Zionism, settling in Israel and the establishment of the Jewish State. Many of the parties that stick to the 'core' of Zionism are centrist parties that don't associate themselves with either the left nor the right and tend to be economically liberal.
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism is the ideology combining Marxist socioeconomic theory and Leninist political praxis, which is the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of the Communist International. The purpose of Marxism-Leninism is the revolutionary development of a capitalist state into a socialist state, effected by the leadership of a vanguard party of professional revolutionaries from the working class.Liberal Communism I can find no reference. I presume this refers to the like of Gorbachev.
Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and related policies implemented from around 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. Stalinist policies and ideas as developed in the Soviet Union included rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, a totalitarian state, collectivization of agriculture, a cult of personality and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, deemed by Stalinism to be the leading vanguard party of communist revolution at the time.
Juche Juche is the official state ideology of North Korea, described by the government as Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought. It postulates that the Korean masses are to act as the masters of the revolution and construction and that by becoming self-reliant and strong a nation can achieve true socialism.
Ho Chi Minh Thought Ho Chi Minh Thought is the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam under the leadership of Chairman Ho Chi Minh. Though firmly Marxist-Leninist, Ho believes in a more nationalistic reintepretation of Marxism for the unique conditions of the Vietnamese revolution, even taking some influence from Sun Yat-Sen's "Three Principles of the People" and the American revolutionaries. Ho Chi Minh Thought is as proudly Vietnamese as it is Communist, and calls for a "national democratic revolution" -- a truly Vietnamese path to socialism where worker, peasant, soldier, and merchant will unite against inequality and imperialism in all its forms.
Revolutionary Socialism
Revolutionary socialism is the socialist doctrine that social revolution is necessary in order to bring about structural changes to society. More specifically, it is the view that revolution is a necessary precondition for a transition from capitalism to socialism.Revolutionary Islamic Socialism Your guess is as good as mine.
Trotskyism Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Russian Leon Trotsky. Trotsky identified as an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist. He supported founding a vanguard party of the proletariat, proletarian internationalism and a dictatorship of the proletariat based on working class self-emancipation and mass democracy.
Sartre Thought No description given.
Anarcho-Communism Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labor and private property in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Posadism No description. Another relic.
Titoism Titoism is described as the post-World War II policies and practices associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War, characterized by an opposition to the Soviet Union. It usually represents Tito's Yugoslav doctrine in Cold War international politics. It emerged with the Yugoslav Partisans' liberation of Yugoslavia independently of the Red Army, resulting in Yugoslavia being the only Eastern European country to remain socialist, but independent after World War II as well as resisting Soviet Union pressure to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.
Left-wing Military Dictatorship a Left-wing Military Dictatorship is a government which may espouse specific socialistic beliefs to gain second world support, but is however a military-controlled oppressive autocratic state. [sic]
Person Dignity Theory (Nhuism) Person Dignity Theory, also known as Spiritualistic Marxism, describes the more radical worldview of Ngo Dinh Nhu. Influenced by his involvment with French syndicalism in the 1930s and the left-wing nationalism of the Viet Minh, Nhu's views are significantly to the left of his older brother. Nhu's interpretation of \"True Marxism\" calls for a total centralization of state power in the Can Lao Party and the complete destruction of traditional society in favor of the strict regimentation of the peasants in collectivist \"Strategic Hamlets\" and the city dwellers through \"Urban Revolutionary Syndicates\". Some believe Nhu's ambitions may lie beyond Vietnam, given his calls for a worldwide crusade against \"Materialistic Capitalism\". [sic]
Maoism (Mao Zedong Thought)
Actually clumps together "anti-revisionist" ideologies, but for our purposes we'll start with Mao Zedong Thought.Mao Zedong thought is the product of the combination of the basic principles of Marxism Leninism and the specific reality of the Chinese revolution. It is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese Communists. It is a political, military and development theory advocated by Mao Zedong and widely practiced in the Chinese revolution in the 20th century. It is generally considered to be the development of Marxism Leninism in China.
Anti-Revisionism A Marxist-Leninist position emerging after the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Anti-revisionist movements oppose the reforms of the Khrushchev period and uphold Stalinist and Maoist developments in Marxism.
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism The synthesis of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism did not occur during the life of Mao Zedong. From the 1960s, groups that called themselves Maoist or which upheld Maoism were not unified around a common understanding of Maoism and had instead their own particular interpretations of the political, philosophical, economical and military works of Mao; these disorganized ideological trends comprised, and still comprise, Mao Zedong Thought.
Scientific Socialism Scientific Socialism was founded by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, but was widely used by Deng Xiaoping of the PRC to reform Maoism. It is often Maoism, but with a few reforms that add more emphasis on science, industrialization, and overall a new focus on the economy.
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labor of Albania. The ideology is named after Enver Hoxha, a notable Albanian communist leader.
Guevarism Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with communist revolutionary Ernesto \"Che\" Guevara. The ideology promotes exporting revolution to any country whose leader is supported by the empire (United States) and has fallen out of favor with its citizens. The ideology has three main points, namely that the people can win with proper organization against a nation's army; that the conditions that make a revolution possible can be put in place by the popular forces; and that the popular forces always have an advantage in a non urban setting. [sic]
Third Positionism
Encompassing a variety of ultra-nationalist movements, third positionism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader. Third Positionism is presented as its own unique ideology as a third option to capitalism or communism.Falangism An authoritarian ideology with traits of fascism and conservatism, Falangist values national and Catholic identity.
Rexism Strongly opposed to both liberal and communist ideals, Rexism is a staunchly conservative nationalist movement who advocate a corporatist economic policy. Employing increasingly populist and authoritarian rhetoric, their ideals are shifting closer to other fascist movements.
Hindu Nationalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Salazarism Salazarism is a nationalist authoritarian ideology focusing on 'God, Fatherland and Family' and emphasizing the social role of Catholicism - setting it apart from mainstream variations of Fascism.
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology of Nazism. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism up to xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-Romanyism, antisemitism, anti-communism and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.
National Bolshevism National Bolshevism is a political movement that combines elements of nationalism and Bolshevism.
Baathism Baathism is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of a unified Arab state through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary government.
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan is an American white supremacist hate group. The Klan has existed in three distinct eras at different points in time during the history of the United States. Each has advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and-especially in later iterations-Nordicism and anti-Catholicism.
Kahanism No information.
Authenticité Ditto.
Trujillism Ditto.
Peronism Ditto.
Nationalism
Encompassing a variety of ultra nationalist movements, Nationalism typically venerates devotion to the state and uniting the people under a strong leader.National Democracy no desc.
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all people of African descent. Based on a common fate going back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans, with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.
Leftwing Nationalism Leftwing Nationalism is a form of nationalism which promotes the raising of societal standards for one's own national people generally through the introduction of social equality and government nationalization. Leftwing Nationalism is often anti-imperialist and can commonly represent national liberation fronts. Generally, Leftwing Nationalism will be a response to repeated exploitation of a nation by outside factors.
Bourguibism No desc.
Nasserism Nasserism is a revolutionary ideology, inspired by the second Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; espousing the unification of what is referred to as the Arab world. It asserts that the Arab people constitute a single nation or federation, based upon a shared language and culture, transcending Islam and Christianity. Advocates of Nasserism have often been described representing political and economic positions which are secular, socialist, nationalistic, socially progressive, and anti-imperialist.
Revisionist Zionism See above.
Monarchism
A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, generally a family representing a dynasty, embodies the country's national identity and its head, the monarch, exercises the role of sovereignty.Islamic Monarchy Islamic monarchies are a type of Islamic state which are monarchies. They are historically known by various names, such as Mamlakah, Caliphate, Sultanate, or Emirate.
Negusa Nagast
Negusa Nagast, or king of kings, is a type of selective hereditary imperial monarchy that became the prevalent leadership of Ethiopia since Negus Zemene Mesafint ended the Age of Princes period where Ethiopia was fractured between small principalities, kindoms, and sultanates.
Reactionary (also Neutrality)
In political science, a reactionary is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which he or she believes possessed characteristics that are negatively absent from the contemporary status quo of a society.Despotism Despotism is a form of government in which a single person rules with absolute power.
Military Dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein a military force exerts complete or substantial control over political authority.
Oligarchic Oligarchy is a form of government in which a group of people rule with absolute power.
Colonialism Colonialism is the policy of a foreign polity seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories, generally with the aim of opening trade opportunities. The colonizing country seeks to benefit whilst the colonized country or land mass, as many of the colonized countries were not countries at all, modernize in terms defined by the colonizers, especially in economics, religion, and health.
Independent An independent politician is an individual politician not affiliated with any political party.
Haredi no desc.
Vennamoism Vennamolaisuus, or Vennamoism in english is name given to the ideology and political movement of Veikko Vennamo, the leader of Finnish Rural Party. It is categorized by populism, reliance on slogans and support for agriculture.
Islamism
Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the exemplary behavior of the Islamic prophet MuhammadDemocratic Islamism Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public policy within a democratic framework. Islamic political theory specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy: leaders must be elected by the people, subject to sharia and committed to practicing \"shura\", a special form of consultation practiced by Prophet Muhammad
Ibadi Imamate no desc.
Radical Shiaism
Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor (Imam).Shia Monarchy no desc.
Houthiism
Houthiism is an armed movement stemming from a sect of Shia Islam, Zaidiism. Houthiism is almost nonexistent outside of Yemen. The Houthi movement strongly opposes Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel and seeks to combat the 'underdevelopment and marginalization' of Yemen.
Salafism
Salafism is a reform branch or revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in the late 19th century as a response to Western European imperialism, with roots in the 18th-century Wahhabi movement that originated in the Najd region of modern day Saudi Arabia."Eereerhmm... where are the ideology tags?" NOWHERE! I will not add them.
2024.05.18 23:04 SnooDrawings8392 Mother in Law shaming me
Thinking back since i was my husband’s girlfriend, to being married , to having her first grandchild , that disgusting woman shamed me 8years straight. I’m a sweet calm person maybe i though taking her shit was maybe gonna change her. Now looking to it she always bullied me ,mom shamed me, and made me look like the bad person.
I feel stupid and heart broken , the fact my husband knew and saw and I mentioned to him breaks my heart even more, he knew she shamed me and my daughter, that woman came to live with us and still I opened the doors, until one day i had enough and i made it clear to my husband she needs to go or I’m leaving divorce will be served. She then left saying i have kicked her out and left her homeless. Never did i ,she had her house she just got kicked out for cheating🤷♀️
She had a new grandchild from her daughter sends my husband endless pictures and describes how she is happy to actually be a grandma ,im glad for her don’t get me wrong who wouldn’t be happy. Breaks me i gave her time with my daughter but she never ever even paid attention and always shamed a toddler, my toddler is a smart kid and will tell me what grandma said, so i stopped letting her near her grandma and she continued to shame me that im a bad DIL to not let her see my babygirl. I have then blocked her from everything i don’t want her to reach me , my point is im so hurt how do i even tell my husband to understand, we are having baby number 2 he wants to mention it to his mom i don’t want that i want to keep this baby surprise to my self , i don’t want her to be part of my pregnancy i dont want her to even now this baby exists,the last time i told her she wanted throw me a baby shower i said no, i have no family i felt uncomfortable with people i didn’t don’t know she shamed me saying i’m fucken stupid. I knew i shouldn’t have mentioned it , but thats why i dont wanna mention this pregnancy 🥹 am i wrong?
submitted by SnooDrawings8392 to JUSTNOMIL [link] [comments]
I feel stupid and heart broken , the fact my husband knew and saw and I mentioned to him breaks my heart even more, he knew she shamed me and my daughter, that woman came to live with us and still I opened the doors, until one day i had enough and i made it clear to my husband she needs to go or I’m leaving divorce will be served. She then left saying i have kicked her out and left her homeless. Never did i ,she had her house she just got kicked out for cheating🤷♀️
She had a new grandchild from her daughter sends my husband endless pictures and describes how she is happy to actually be a grandma ,im glad for her don’t get me wrong who wouldn’t be happy. Breaks me i gave her time with my daughter but she never ever even paid attention and always shamed a toddler, my toddler is a smart kid and will tell me what grandma said, so i stopped letting her near her grandma and she continued to shame me that im a bad DIL to not let her see my babygirl. I have then blocked her from everything i don’t want her to reach me , my point is im so hurt how do i even tell my husband to understand, we are having baby number 2 he wants to mention it to his mom i don’t want that i want to keep this baby surprise to my self , i don’t want her to be part of my pregnancy i dont want her to even now this baby exists,the last time i told her she wanted throw me a baby shower i said no, i have no family i felt uncomfortable with people i didn’t don’t know she shamed me saying i’m fucken stupid. I knew i shouldn’t have mentioned it , but thats why i dont wanna mention this pregnancy 🥹 am i wrong?
2024.05.18 23:03 rajkhar Fake Charles Schwab website
This morning I tried to log in charges Swab account. The website looked exactly Schwab website. I entered my user name and password. Got a message on screen saying “ there had been too many suspicious attempts to access your account, so your account has been blocked. please call xxxxxxxxxx to resolve this issue”
I called the number. A lady with an Indian Accent (I sensed something wrong! First red flag). Asked my name and DOB, which I supplied. She spoke with very broken English (2nd red flag). She said someone was trying to access my account several times in China, Dubai, and third county i forgot. Asked me if I shared by account info to anyone in those countries. I said no!
She asked me to go to “search bar” in my Window screen and type “GoProFix.Org”. I DID NOT! I went to the browser and typed GoProFix.Org and saw a picture of a lady with a phone!
Then I realized I was talking to a scammer! I hung up and called Schwab! Security section asked me to change my user name and password right away and since I entered those info into their website, they might have gotten it. I changed those info right away. I was also asked to scan my computer for any virus! Right now It I am restoring my system to 2 days earlier setting. Once it is completed I will scan using Window defender.
Security advised me to block my account for online access from anywhere in the world at least for a day until my computer is cleaned of any virus. I agreed. Schwab has locked my account for 24 hours!
So be careful !!!
If there is any scam baiter out there, please dm me for the phone number of these scammers so you guys make them pay!
submitted by rajkhar to scambait [link] [comments]
I called the number. A lady with an Indian Accent (I sensed something wrong! First red flag). Asked my name and DOB, which I supplied. She spoke with very broken English (2nd red flag). She said someone was trying to access my account several times in China, Dubai, and third county i forgot. Asked me if I shared by account info to anyone in those countries. I said no!
She asked me to go to “search bar” in my Window screen and type “GoProFix.Org”. I DID NOT! I went to the browser and typed GoProFix.Org and saw a picture of a lady with a phone!
Then I realized I was talking to a scammer! I hung up and called Schwab! Security section asked me to change my user name and password right away and since I entered those info into their website, they might have gotten it. I changed those info right away. I was also asked to scan my computer for any virus! Right now It I am restoring my system to 2 days earlier setting. Once it is completed I will scan using Window defender.
Security advised me to block my account for online access from anywhere in the world at least for a day until my computer is cleaned of any virus. I agreed. Schwab has locked my account for 24 hours!
So be careful !!!
If there is any scam baiter out there, please dm me for the phone number of these scammers so you guys make them pay!
2024.05.18 23:02 Klokinator The Cryopod to Hell 560: Ancient Domains
Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,182,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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Join the Cryoverse Discord server!
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...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
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(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
2024.05.18 23:02 Klokinator Cryopod Refresh 560: Ancient Domains
"Hell yeah, I wanna go exploring." Jason says to Calanthra with a smile. "How do we navigate around Ripspace though? Traveling to other galaxies is going to take billions of years, right? Surely, there's a shortcut."
"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
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"Ripspace is not as it seems." Calanthra explains, gesturing grandly to the epic sight before them. "It is a connection between the past and the present; the near and far. The further away or the further back you want to travel, the higher the price you will have to pay."
Jason's smile vanishes. "Wait... you can use Ripspace to travel back in time?!"
"No." Calanthra clarifies. "Time is linear. We cannot travel through it. Some can slow it down or speed it up. A rare few can even pause it for a short while. But moving forward and backward is impossible. Countless have attempted to do so over the eons, but all have failed."
She looks at Jason meaningfully. "Many Rulers would wipe out galaxies if it might let them obtain such a power. The fact they still haven't proves it is impossible."
Jason nods slowly. "I won't lie. I have a lot of regrets. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and save my daughter from dying."
"Everyone has regrets." Calanthra muses, looking off into the distance. "I have plenty, myself. But it's better this way. There would be pandemonium if time travel ever became possible."
She pauses before continuing with her explanation. "While we cannot go back in time, we can look back into time. Pinpointing exact moments in history is difficult, to say the least, but it is possible to use Ripspace to search for key moments in intergalactic history."
"So it's like a massive seer-stone." Jason muses aloud. "But wait, didn't you imply earlier that you used Ripspace to travel to the Milky Way from Andromeda? How does it allow you to jump between galaxies? Are other species using Ripspace for intergalactic travel?"
"You can indeed use Ripspace to travel to distant reaches of space." Calanthra explains. "But... you have to pay a certain price. Akasha's Barriers still protect every galaxy. Cosmics cannot travel between them easily. Mortals can, but the price we must pay is unimaginably steep. That is also the reason my mother perished not long after arriving in the Milky Way and giving birth to me."
The Fairy Monarch sighs softly.
"My people used the power of Ripspace to travel to several other galaxies. We were fortunate that the Creator had died, allowing us to take up residence here in secret, but the Angels, Titans, and Dragons were still a threat we could not overlook. Later, the Volgrim rose up too, and that was something that worried us for a while. Particularly when their Sentinels began to rapaciously erase the lives of innumerable Sentients."
She waves her hand. "Ultimately, very few galaxies didn't have a Ruler in power. Traveling to one that did meant flipping a coin and praying our people could avoid their gaze. Sadly, time has shown me that we were likely unsuccessful. I have lost contact with all my sisters across the cosmos."
The image of innumerable galaxies floating in the distance changes before Jason's eyes. Calanthra manipulates some unseen power, causing herself and Jason to suddenly materialize directly in front of a beautiful spiral galaxy.
"This is our Milky Way." Calanthra explains, waving her hand to conjure another, far bigger galaxy beside it. "And this is Andromeda."
"Is it just me or does Andromeda seem... brighter?" Jason asks.
"Andromeda contains far more interstellar particles, cosmic energy, and latent magical power than the Milky Way." Calanthra says. "Of course, in the ancient past, it had even more than it does now, but such is the way of entropy and Chaos."
Jason nods. "How exactly do galaxies lose power over time? Doesn't this feel self-defeating in a way?"
"Every Ruler enters the Unending War with a strategy." Calanthra says, motioning with her hands to disperse the galaxies and reveal images of ghostly creatures, some standing on two legs, some on four, and plenty that appear as mere blobs of energy. "I cannot pretend to know the thoughts of such high and mighty beings, especially as I am a mere mortal myself. Even so, I can definitively state that there are Rulers who seek to put as much galactic energy into their initial creations as possible, while others wish to adopt a more energy-efficient growth-model."
She pokes her finger against Jason's chest. "Take the angels and humans, for instance. The Creator poured the vast majority of his power into creating a galaxy full of Apex Cosmics. At their peak, the angels as a whole commanded enough power to flatten other galaxies. But what did they do instead? They fought with one another, killing themselves due to sheer boredom, if not outright ego."
"I see." Jason says, brushing Calanthra's finger away. "So the Creator dumped all the Milky Way's energy into the angels. I take it this is uncommon among Rulers?"
"Of course. It's a wasteful strategy and usually loses Rulers the War for that Eternity." Calanthra says dismissively. "The Timeless used a different strategy. She created the fairies as mere mortals that evolved over time, gaining greater and greater power through their own efforts. This meant that instead of devouring Andromeda's abundant Cosmic energy, they could slowly sap off its excess over time. For you see, the more energy a galaxy has, the more it can produce. If you ration it long enough, you can reap more of it across the duration of an Eternity."
"That makes sense." Jason concludes. "It's like a Rush build in an RTS versus an Economy build. You sacrifice long-term gains in exchange for short-term power. The problem is, with Akasha's Barriers preventing Rulers from attacking their enemies straight away, a Rush build is dumb because you're just wasting your resources and sacrificing Cosmic energy when you'll actually need it."
Calanthra blinks twice. She looks at Jason with a strange expression, then turns away for a moment, trying to understand the strange terms he's used. They mostly make sense, but some of them are a little...
She shakes her head and returns to the topic at hand. "Right. Rush strategy versus Economy. Of... course. Well, in any case, there is one advantage toward the first strategy. If you drain all the energy from your galaxy, it becomes less appealing for other Rulers to attack. Because Andromeda was so large and still filled with Cosmic power even billions of years after the Expansion Era, it stoked the hunger of the Dark Ones. Meanwhile, the Milky Way only needs to deal with the Plague, which is threatening for mortals, but manageable for Cosmics. In that respect, we've gotten off much luckier."
"I get the bigger picture now." Jason says with a nod. He turns to look back at the cosmos before him. "So, what about all this? Are we gonna go exploring, or what?"
"In order to explore the universe presented here, we would need to make sacrifices we cannot afford. I think you would find the price most disagreeable. But there is something we can explore freely..."
She waves her hand, and instantly, the brilliant and beautiful cosmic view of the universe vanishes.
In its place, Jason and Calanthra suddenly appear inside a dead, barren wasteland. Brown and grey dirt rises up in huge dunes stretching off into the distance. Fallen towers made of gold and stone lay on their sides, or stick into the ground, buried nearly up to their tops as they point diagonally toward the sky.
And speaking of the sky, it glows faintly grey, as if some weak, pale imitation of a star were trying to shine through a thin atmosphere clouded by dust and grime. The very air itself smells of sulfur and toxins, making Jason's nose curl up when he takes a breath.
"Ugh... what the hell? Where are we now?" Jason asks, as he turns and looks around at the dead world surrounding him.
"An Ancient Domain." Calanthra says softly. "A remnant of a dead universe. All life stripped away. All hope lost. Septillions of different Sentient species, gone. Their mortals, their Cosmics, reduced to dust by the Contraction."
The Wordsmith frowns. "This Ancient Domain represents a dead universe? But how can that be possible? If the Heat Death played out and all the galaxies faded to cosmic dust, then there already wouldn't be anything left. And then, if the entire universe collapsed into a singularity before exploding again, there definitely wouldn't be anything left behind resembling physical matter."
"You perceive reality through just three dimensions." Calanthra intones. "Time and space can be considered two dimensions. Cosmic Power is another dimension. I must admit I do not understand how Ancient Domains have continued to exist across countless Eternities, and I don't know how they retain a vaguely familiar form... but I can assure you that in spite of bending logic itself, they do exist and they can provide tangible benefits to those dedicated to exploring them."
"You've been exploring them, then?" Jason asks, turning away from the dead world to scrutinize Calanthra's phantasmal image.
"Me, a little. But often, I dispatch my descendants to scour these Ancient Domains for things of value. It may surprise you, but there are powerful artifacts, vengeful spirits, and all manner of other inter-dimensional horrors lurking within these so-called dead-lands."
Calanthra pauses. She shifts her posture to look at Jason deeply.
"And that is why I've brought you here, Jason. It's time for me to get down to the crux of the matter and breach the subject that I find most important."
He nods. "I'm listening."
"It's like this." Calanthra explains. "The Ancient Domains are unfathomably broad. Think of how large a universe is. Think of how many universes have existed. Think of how much space my people have yet to explore."
She pauses.
"The gains we have received have made my people stronger than you would expect. Among those gains are Yredelemnul's Eye and other leftover remnants of power that many dead ancient Rulers lost when their Existences became forfeit. While their tangible Existences may have perished, their spirits sometimes live on in these broad, unending dead universes..."
"That's why you approached me." Jason says, while crossing his arms and leaning on the ball of his heel. "You said you wanted an alliance with humanity. You... want humans to help you explore the Ancient Domains?"
"Trust is hard to come by among mortals, Cosmics, and Rulers." Calanthra says simply. "I never would have considered allying with the humans before, but you have shown me the broadness of your mind during the debate against your clone and the commander of your military. To some, you certainly appear naive, but to me I see an opportunity I would be foolish to ignore."
She continues. "The Fairies cannot reproduce efficiently. Every fairy we send into the Ancient Domain is one less fairy we have among our Empire. We already have a difficult time replenishing our numbers through the remaining Male Fairies, but do you think it is easy for us to reproduce with other species?"
Jason slowly shakes his head. "Blinker and Kar's children were all crocodiles, not fairies. From that, I can only imagine that most of the time, your mating attempts do not create more of yourselves, but instead more non-fairy children."
"That's exactly correct." Calanthra replies. "But that all changed recently when I found out one of your human males somehow spontaneously altered his genetic profile to become a fairy. There is no doubt about it; Samuel Baker harnesses all the capability to reproduce that you humans do, as well as the trueborn powers of any male fairy."
"So... are you seeking a marriage alliance with Samuel Baker?" Jason asks, scratching his head in confusion. "You could just ask him yourself, you know?"
"This is not about one man." Calanthra retorts. "Samuel Baker, if he were to join our ranks, would certainly help us stave off extinction for a while longer. But that is hardly worth all this melodrama and me taking you to the Ancient Domain in person..."
Jason's eyes widen in realization. "I see! You... you're thinking that if my magic could make one male fairy, I could surely make another, and another..."
"Yes, precisely." Calanthra says, revealing a beautiful smile. "Additionally, if humans were to assist us in scouring these Ancient Domains, we could make great gains together. There is plenty of room for another species to join ours in locating powerful artifacts and other items capable of Uplifting us."
"You want to become Cosmics still." Jason muses. "You haven't resigned yourselves to your current fate."
"Quite the opposite." Calanthra says. "The curse placed upon us is unbreakable by those beneath the realm of Ruler. As I said before, the fairies have lost this Eternity's war. However, while we cannot Ascend any longer, that does not mean the humans are subject to the same limitation. If we could groom a human into becoming the Milky Way's Ruler, we could finally break free of our shackles by virtue of having a powerful ally."
She pauses, looking meaningfully at the Wordsmith.
"If the Demons or the Volgrim were to become our Ruler, we would not enjoy such a benefit. At best, we would only maintain the status quo, and at worst, they might eradicate us out of fear of having an unsightly tumor in their midst."
"Haha." Jason laughs. "So you brought me here to show your sincerity. I get it. Well, I'm definitely not opposed to helping you. Blinker is my good friend. If she were to ask me, I'd definitely say yes to just about any request."
Jason turns away. He walks a few feet off to the side and pauses, standing to gaze out at the Ancient Domain and its endlessly rolling plains which stretches off into the infinite distance...
"Here's what I can do." Jason says. "My people are already working on laying out the options for humanity and where our fellow men and women will depart over the next few weeks. Some will travel to Maiura. Some will go to Sharmur. Some will stay on Tarus II. It's no trouble at all to put Pixiv on the list, especially as I was already planning to do that. I even have some other places I'd like to include, too..."
"Such as Camael's Cube?" Calanthra asks with a smile. "Or do you perhaps mean Chrona and Hope's Hall of Heroes?"
Jason nearly jumps out of his skin. He whirls around to look at Calanthra with shock in his eyes. "What?! How do you know about Chrona? How do you also know about where Hope has been hiding?? I don't even know that much!"
"For those who are talented in magic, it is possible to see through many lies and deceptions." Calanthra says calmly, unfazed by the alarm on Jason's face. "Your Spynet Sphere isn't so different from the many options I have at my disposal. I have many means to keep an eye on the galaxy. And while Diablo does not know exactly where or what Chrona is, he certainly knows of its general existence."
Her smile turns cold. "I would advise you not to take Unarin lightly either, Wordsmith. That ancient creature is more capable than you can imagine. He is hiding a great many secrets from the galaxy... secrets he does not know that I am aware of. If he were to learn of the true extent of my information web, I fear that he would dispatch a handful of High Psions to eliminate the fairy species tomorrow."
Calanthra's words truly rock Jason to his core. All along, he assumed the precautions he put on Chrona, precautions that fooled even Hope, would make his hidden dimension impossible to detect.
But how could he be so naive?
As the daughter of an Apex Cosmic, Calanthra must have her means, and that likely means Unarin and Diablo aren't too far behind either.
"Shit." Jason curses, lowering his head as a flicker of anger smolders in his heart. "I was too complacent. Chrona isn't secure, which means it's only a matter of time before more Cosmics learn of its existence. How long before they can find its exact location and invade it?"
"Calm yourself, child." Calanthra says soothingly. "The situation is not that dire. After all, Chrona still exists within a highly accelerated timespace. Any biological entity that wishes to travel there could suffer severe after-effects. Furthermore, the entities born inside will be too adapted to living within a higher dimension, so they won't pose much threat to the creatures of realspace."
She waves her hand. "Let's move on, Jason. I want to discuss other matters before dying of old age."
The Wordsmith cools himself off. He inhales deeply, then returns his attention to her.
"Alright. What next, then?"
"Fairies are not the only Sentients capable of entering Ancient Domains." Calanthra explains. "There are others who rarely appear inside here. That is why exploring these domains can be dangerous. The good news is that Cosmics have little need to enter these barren lands, as most of the heritages, treasures, and other such gains you might find inside are only useful to mortals. There are exceptions, but they are so rare as to be a needle found within ten million haystacks. A waste of effort better spent simply progressing one's Cosmic power the ordinary way."
"So what you're saying is, when you send fairies into an Ancient Domain, they can die as a result of crossing paths with Sentients from other galaxies." Jason concludes. "But if you had an army of humans to enter with you, your people would be a lot safer."
"Safety in numbers, yes. And you humans are... uniquely advantaged in Ancient Domain exploration." Calanthra says mysteriously. "Before that, though... do you know what the Power of Imagination is, Wordsmith?"
Jason raises an eyebrow. "Imagination? Like the mental ability to visualize stuff in your head? Yeah. It's not that complicated to understand."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong." Calanthra chides gently. "Imagination is the key to magical power. Imagination, Conception, Visualization, these are all key capabilities powerful maguses and sorcerors use to uplift their capabilities! And as it turns out, most Sentients are actually quite terrible at conceptualizing thoughts into imagery."
She gestures grandly. "Just take the Volgrim! You may think they are a powerful Sentient species, but in fact the Volgrim have terrible imaginations. They are stodgy, dull, and lack a great deal of creativity. All the gains their Technopaths make through technology are developed via brute force. They slowly improve their technological prowess by minute fractions over long periods of time, eventually resulting in a large and cohesive buildup."
"At the same time, the Psions Uplift themselves through meditation and sitting motionless for thousands of years at a time. Can a species capable of such incredible feats of drudgery also possess limitless imagination? I think not."
"Maybe the reason they're able to sit still for so long is because they live in their imagination?" Jason posits. "In which case their power of imagination should be quite formidable, right?"
"Possible, but unlikely." Calanthra says with a wave of her hand. "Never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that humans have an extremely high affinity for magic. If your people were to ally with mine, we could teach you our ways. You could help us through your Wordsmithing and superior genetics, creating more fairies and humans alike. This would create a recursive cycle that would continually bolster both our species to greater and greater heights!"
She lowers her voice back to normal. "An alliance with humanity would have other benefits. You humans are equally adept in technology and magic both. You are versatile, capable of learning any skill provided you have time to devote to your studies. The bursts of inspiration you receive also allow you to make large jumps in capability as well, which could mean that in a relatively short period, you might even be capable of challenging the Volgrim."
Jason nods. "That does sound tempting, Calanthra. I'm willing to help you, but I won't demand my people join the fairies. It would be better if those who were the most interested did so instead."
Calanthra playfully twirls a finger through her hair. "Well. My daughters are all beautiful. Perhaps you should make mention that the fairies are... aggressively interested in copulation?"
"COUGH COUGH!" Jason wheezes, taking a step back as he asses her bold choice of words. "Yeah! Uh, I can probably- I'll let everyone know about that too. Obviously!"
Calanthra chuckles. "Such a cute boy. Well, it seems I've accomplished what I wanted. Let's return for now. You can always pay Ripspace a visit later."
"I will." Jason says, nodding seriously. "Waypoint."
Calanthra raises an eyebrow. "You think you can return here without a Ruler's power?"
"Won't know unless I try." Jason smiles back.
...
Not long after, Jason and Calanthra emerge back into Realspace. He shivers as he feels the Eye of Yredelemnul fixating on him from behind, but Calanthra quickly reactivates the Formation of Light, sending the sliver of a Ruler back to the shadows so it can no longer interact with the physical world.
"You know, Jason." Calanthra says. "You are a Candidate. You have the capability to become a Ruler someday."
"I am?" Jason asks, before thinking back to a conversation in the past. "Oh yeah, someone did mention that to me before. But... eh. I don't know. Becoming a Ruler sounds awful."
"Awful?" Calanthra asks. "How so?"
"It seems... lonely." Jason says, his voice softening. He looks at the space between the four statues, where Yredelemnul's Eye has disappeared. "Imagine all your loved ones dying, but you're stuck behind, living through the end of an Eternity, which takes trillions of years before Heat Death finally eradicates everything. Then comes the next Eternity, where you can remake your species again... but it won't be the same. Even if you remake your loved ones, it won't really be them."
Jason lowers and shakes his head. "That sort of life doesn't suit me."
"I understand why you'd think that way." Calanthra says. "In fact, you are suffering from the same affliction that plagues all Candidates who began their Existences as Biologicals. We have too many ties to the mortal world, so the majority of Biologicals who ascend to the rank of Ruler... fall to their non-biological opponents."
"As for the things which are not biological..." Calanthra says, looking at Jason with disgust. "You should already know what they are."
"Highly evolved Artificial Intelligences?" Jason guesses.
"That's right." Calanthra affirms. "There are several tiers of power a superintelligence can possess. The Volgrim have taken great care to prevent anything above a Beta Core from forming in the Milky Way, but once, a long time ago... they made a huge mess by accidentally creating the Milky Way's first Alpha Core Synthmind."
Calanthra chuckles. "The stupid fools didn't only create an Alpha Core, they gave it autonomy in the hopes it would be able to stop the wars between their factions. They built indestructible bipedal bodies for its splintered intelligences, and called them... Sentinels. Luckily, they were able to defeat the Alpha Core before it ascended further, but countless other biological species have failed at that juncture, creating an Alpha Core that ultimately devoured the full power of their galaxy for itself."
A chill trickles down Jason's spine. "You're saying the vast majority of Rulers are actually Alpha Core AIs? AIs that control entire galaxies?!"
"No, Jason." Calanthra counters. "Alpha Cores can defeat advanced civilizations. But there is one Existence higher than an Alpha Core, a tier that can only be reached once it has swallowed the power of a galaxy."
"That would be an Omega Core. a sentient artificial intelligence that has become Ruler over one or more galaxies. And in Akasha's game, more than 90% of all Rulers are estimated to be these superior lifeforms."
"It is for that reason that these highly adaptable entities are known as The Evolved."
2024.05.18 23:02 ask1ngforadvic3 My gf and the prom situation.
Me (17m) and my gf (17f) were so excited to go to prom together. She wanted to go out for dinner so I let her go with her friends cause u felt awkward being there with her friends and just me. I also wanted her to have time with them expecting her to hangout with me most of the night. When I arrived to prom I found her with her friends (who all hate me) and she came out of the restroom in her pretty dress. She didn't really seem to acknowledge me being there and chatted more with her friends I followed her around most of the night saying hi to my friends and stuff but she stuck by her best friend the whole night which made me feel like a puppy dog following her. ( for context her best friend has been flaking on her cause she doesn't like me and i think thats why she hung out with her alot). The best I got that night was a few hugs and one kiss. No slow dance ni professional pictures (of which I needed otherwise my mom would be pissed) and to be honest I feel hurt. I'm afraid I will hurt her feelings if I tell her how I feel and I don't want her to be mad at me cause those are some of the vibes I'm getting lately.
submitted by ask1ngforadvic3 to Advice [link] [comments]
2024.05.18 23:02 Blesynn Season 2
I just started watching TWD and OMG I already was starting to dislike Shaun or however you spell his name. Since they made it to that Farm area, he just thinks too much of himself for me. Ion wanna say I hope a walker get him or something else 👀😂 but…. Along with Rick when something don’t go his way, thinking everyone counting on him. However, atleast his is only then and for like a brief second.
submitted by Blesynn to thewalkingdead [link] [comments]
2024.05.18 23:01 Capital-Ear-1116 Can someone share the Hammerfall tour setlist? Or give some hints...
Almost 20 years ago I was an insecure teenager, Hammerfall was my favorite band and Kamelot my second favorite. Back then I lived in a place no power metal band would ever visit. Now I will get to listen both bands live. My 14 year old self would be incredibly proud and think that I made it in life.
As time passed I kind of grew over Hammerfall and the templars of still while the dark bittersweet cheesiness of Kamelot still resonates with me. I know and like most of Kamelot's songs. But I know nothing about Hammerfall's more recent albums.
I don't want to disappoint my 15yrs old self by not singing to every single song Hammerfall plays. Would any of you care to share the names of the songs they are playing in the North American tour? Is it a subset of their own tour setlist?
Thanks in advance!
submitted by Capital-Ear-1116 to kamelot [link] [comments]
As time passed I kind of grew over Hammerfall and the templars of still while the dark bittersweet cheesiness of Kamelot still resonates with me. I know and like most of Kamelot's songs. But I know nothing about Hammerfall's more recent albums.
I don't want to disappoint my 15yrs old self by not singing to every single song Hammerfall plays. Would any of you care to share the names of the songs they are playing in the North American tour? Is it a subset of their own tour setlist?
Thanks in advance!
2024.05.18 23:01 GeneralAkimbo Broken Sway Bar End Link?
 | Hello! I believe I have diagnosed an issue with my truck but I'm not sure and wanted more perspectives. I have a 2019 Nissan Titan PRO4X that I do some relatively serious off-roading with. Last weekend I did a trail that had the suspension completely flexed out. Later, I noticed that my truck had some kind of shudder or shimmy from what seemed like the rear end only on hard and quick accelerations from a stop. Originally I thought it might be something wrong with the driveline or something wrong with the transmission/transfer case. But I really couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with those and so thought it might be something wrong with the suspension when the truck leaned back on hard acceleration. On inspection I noticed a scratch on the left side frame from the leaf spring mount and noticed that right rear sway bar end link appears to be damaged compared to the left one and they also moved move a little bit but I'm not sure if the movement is normal (In the video and pictures, sorry for the poor camera work). The truck has a 3 inch lift and 35s and while I changed out the front sway bar end links but the rears are stock and probably need to be changed to ones made for a lifted application. What do y'all think? Does it need to be fixed immediately? Is it something else? Thanks! submitted by GeneralAkimbo to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/wlo2t9ec191d1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84354bf3147620a97296d8288f1ecf66a5c6d5fb https://preview.redd.it/2co1aryc191d1.jpg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=300bd30d19b05bee63aecb77a0ac7db0ccede76a https://preview.redd.it/48xe9myd191d1.jpg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1210b2fce1d9275c860cf0f79147cfd64ed3d3d9 |
2024.05.18 23:01 Reeebalt Supreme Commander 1 unit folder naming convention tip
I had some fun digging through the gamefiles today, importing unit models to Blender 2.7 and after some guessing I managed to learn how the folder names work. Each of the folders containing a unit / building is made of three letters and a bunch of numbers (e.x. UEL0306). The meaning behind each of the letters goes as follows:
U-- - unit is from base game
X-- - unit is from FA
-A- Aeon
-E- UEF
-R- Cybran
-S- Seraphim
--L land
--A air
--S naval
--B building
-For the base game units, the first number that is not a 0 will indicate the tier of the unit
So for example, if I want to find a Seraphim T1 mobile artillery, I'm going to be looking at folders that start with XSL01- ; if I want to find a Tier 1 Aeon Air Scout I should be looking at a folder near UAA01-
Hope someone will find that helpful, happy digging!
submitted by Reeebalt to supremecommander [link] [comments]
U-- - unit is from base game
X-- - unit is from FA
-A- Aeon
-E- UEF
-R- Cybran
-S- Seraphim
--L land
--A air
--S naval
--B building
-For the base game units, the first number that is not a 0 will indicate the tier of the unit
So for example, if I want to find a Seraphim T1 mobile artillery, I'm going to be looking at folders that start with XSL01- ; if I want to find a Tier 1 Aeon Air Scout I should be looking at a folder near UAA01-
Hope someone will find that helpful, happy digging!
2024.05.18 23:00 AutoModerator What is #VALZUBIRIAGENDA and some ideas and insights
The 3 basic parameters of hashtag #Valzubiriagenda:
- We artists and everyone else can write and self-publish art- and artist-related books: memoirs, biographies, art books and art catalogs. Books are forever. Pamphlets and brochures are not books.
- We announce a schedule of increasing prices of our art pieces, which includes quantities (scarcity numbers) per price point and overall (the total quantity of art pieces we might ever make). This helps art traders, art investors and art collectors speculate or even stop speculating and instead join a community of investors working together to hopefully skyrocket to the higher announced prices in a shorter span of time.
- We can use the NFT world, because NFTs provide the tracking (who owns what) and trading.
Valzubiriagenda NFTs
NFTs only came about a few years ago. But I had been working on this since the 1990s. I wrote a book, Valzubiriagenda, along with fellow artist Silverio Perez, and released it in 2018 (Amazon and elsewhere), tackling everything related to #1 & #2. We'll come up with #3 in a later book/ memoi marketing book.
Any artist, including tangible artists can release 10,000 NFTs if the artist chooses to do so. For tangible artists, the NFT first becomes an Art Commission Contract for sight unseen, yet-to-be made art. Once the art is made, the NFT becomes proof of ownership that the actual, tangible art is theirs.
Warehousing our tangible art
Another related idea is that the tangible art may be warehoused by the artist so that the NFT traders continue to trade. This means that even 10-ton 10-foot tall sculptures can be owned and traded by anyone without worrying about shipping, reshipping, scratches, smudges, parts breaking off, etc. The newness of the pieces remain because they are stored by the artist, source, gallery, etc. The art piece gets shipped to the art collector, the ultimate owner.
An artist who makes ceramic coffee mugs - smaller art pieces, can release 10,000 NFTs with a schedule of increasing prices so that NFT traders can trade immediately. The 10,000 coffee mugs can get damaged, so as they are made, they continue to be stored by the artist, until the time when art collectors decide to have the art pieces shipped to them.
Why only now?
I decided to write as many book-length memoirs as I can before I came out to promote this.
I'm an artist and an author. Both need time to "master." I would not even fully use "master" on myself, because there's always something new, even to my own art, my own writing and publishing.
I am now claiming that I'm the visual artist who has produced the most artist memoirs in the world. I have 5 on Amazon. I count Valzubiriagenda as both a marketing book and a memoir-of-sorts, because it has a lot of my own life lessons on writing and publishing. I would not care to contest my claim of having the most memoirs. I will release 5 more over the next 3 years.BARTER! Get help to write, photograph art and publish your books!
Anyone can hire 11 ghostwriters for 11 memoirs. If you can make art, but you cannot write, then barter your forever art with those who can help you produce forever books.
I don't feel the pressure of writing and publishing because I feel my focus should be on art students and art experts who would study my art and my books 100 years from now. Don't expect relatives and friends to read your books.
I call myself the Dollman
For my NFTs, I am proposing to make dioramas - my original, costumed, bejeweled porcelain dolls in backdrops that will also have precious metals and gemstones. This way I can incorporate precious metals and gemstones in my work, to make sure that people perceive my art as expensive, just in case I myself don't become "famous" - there's no need to get world famous. We are artists and all we need to do is to satisfy the art niche.
Use your laptop now!
I will encourage you to start writing your book-length memoir. Write, Edit and then Self-publish it. Get help. Why wait a hundred years for someone to write about you when all you need is a laptop and a nearby coffee shop.
Don't start counting chickens before the eggs hatch. I have encountered a lot of would-be writers who immediately see themselves as bestselling. world famous assets to society. Two even wanted me to sign NDAs (Nondisclosure agreements), because they did not want me to steal their book ideas.
Here's a suggestion. I would not personally do it. From one manuscript can come 2 books: The Original Draft (unedited, with misspellings, considered to be an art piece, scanned pages(?) of your handwritten original effort), and The Final Edition (edited).
PROVENANCE!
Another way to enhance our investability, tradability and collectability is PROVENANCE - how art ownership proceeds through time. The way this can be done is also through publishing books. Everyone can write their memoirs, biographies, art books and art catalogs, including traders, investors and art collectors. In effect, we artists can continue to be included or mentioned in even more books, without any additional effort by us.
You as an investor, reseller, trader, art collector should be able to publish a catalog with 250 works by 250 different artists, but they need to agree to this right from the start - it's your money, you should require them to follow your version of the hashtag #valzubiriagenda parameters, which preferably should include permission for you to publish their art. Why would you track down 250 artists later?
No exclusive contracts
If you're a café, you can call for artists, and come up with a book with for example, 30 artists, with a chapter devoted to each artist's profile and images of the artist's art.
You can distribute your catalogs to businesses and individuals near and far and online.
The book Valzubiriagenda even cites that funeral homes and janitors closets can sell art, with or without exclusivity. Airline catalogs can include million dollar art pieces. Car manufacturers, showrooms and even car repair shops can sell art as well. Everyone should be able to do this, anywhere in the world, especially not just because of the pandemic, but right now, we are in really bad economies.
What's with the name #Valzubiriagenda
I was into conspiracy theories in 2018, and this term, "The Mandela Effect," was popular. I had read many times that an artist coined the term, but I had to research online, for her name, many times, before remembering it. I'm not good at remembering names. It took me a year and a half to finally tell you that Fiona Broome coined "The Mandela Effect."
I also thought I might have to research trademarks and copyrights just to come up with a generic name. So I decided on "Valzubiriagenda." I was not really sure at first, but I decided to use it as the title for my book (with co-authoartist Silverio Perez) so that there would be no turning back and I can move on.
Am I a FUTURIST?
Someone I recently met this May 2022 just called me a futurist.
In the 1990s, I proposed to a pension fund that they can raise billions of dollars, especially for emergencies, or as needed, or out of desperation, if the pension fund purchases a quantity of art from an artist who not only has a current, reasonable price, but an announced future price that the artist wants to reach.
That future price would obviously be higher than the current price. The art commission contract for multiple art pieces can be taken to the fund's financial lender for a loan. The higher future price can be used for financing purposes.
The pension fund's treasurer, a publicly elected official, said this idea might work, but we had to keep this a secret and discuss this some more, because other pension funds might copy and do this prematurely. This idea had to come from the two of us. The treasurer needed his votes and I needed credentials.
Added into the pot was my idea that I, as the artist, will also write one book-length artist memoir. This was and still is a strong factor, because the leadership and marketing books I had read then mentioned a strong tip. If you want to advance in your field, write a full-length book that is related to the field.
Unfortunately, the elected official, the treasurer of the pension fund, who was also a friend, passed away - he was old and had ailments. At that point in time, I cannot just approach another pension fund treasurer to share this idea with.
I realized I had to write a few memoirs. I needed to set an example for other artists, so I needed to write more than one memoir. Then I felt I should also make ready another book - the how-to of what I'm up to. I wrote Valzubiriagenda, which was a memoir of sorts. I knew how long it would take me to write a book, so I had to make sure I can also consider this book a memoir.
In 2008, I imagined that someone like Bernie Madoff, or a fund like Lehman Brothers, would be desperate enough to use this to save themselves and their companies. I was not ready. I had only written 1 manuscript for a memoir.
In 2012, I released Dollman the Musical, A Memoir of an Artist as a Dollmaker. Once again, I was not ready because writing it depressed me a little, and I knew I had to write more.
In 2014, I released 3 memoirs, and re-released Dollman the Musical. Besides releasing regular books, I released special editions of the 4 books, which had a "Special Secret Insert for Bankers," which explains my ideas of an announced schedule of exponentially increasing prices, to satisfy investors, and the publication of artist memoirs, to satisfy art collectors.
In 2014, I also issued out a press release. Google "Can Billion Dollar Artist Save Investors and World Economy Valentino Zubiri PRWeb August 19 2014" and you will see the press release.
What I did was stake a claim on my ideas. I did not promote my books and the press release. I just wanted them to stay online, like a sleeping giant or a dormant volcano. I even designed 3 of the book covers to look like indie books from the 1980s. I was planting the seeds, thinking they will eventually grow and bear fruit in the future.
In 2015, I was interviewed by Richard Syrett, about one of my memoirs, Hocus Pocus Lately. This book is my memoir with paranormal stories. I could have pursued promoting my paranormal stories, but I wanted to be known first as a visual artist and memoirist, so I allowed myself one interview related to Hocus Pocus Lately. Richard Syrett has(had?) his own syndicated radio show, The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett, about the paranormal. He also guest hosts on Coast to Coast AM, another internationally syndicated show about the paranormal.
In 2018, I released Valzubiriagenda (co-authored by artist Silverio Perez, a fellow artist). Finally, this book is "the how-to of what I'm to."
I'm going to end this with some strangeness. In 1986, a lady at a religious gathering went into a trance and left a good number of messages. Supposedly, anyone who got into a trance would have messages, but once the trance was over, the person would not remember what was said.
I was not part of the group, but the lady turned her head to face me. She "foretold" that whatever I would decide to do in the future, it will take time, but it will be the right thing. This is one of my stories in one of my memoirs, Hocus Pocus Lately.
The Tulipmania of 1634-37
I discovered that there was this incident of rare tulips becoming collectible during the Dutch Golden Age. There were tulips so rare and so well-desired that their prices equaled to that of a house. You can read more about this online (Wikipedia) or watch a few YouTube videos about it.
Here is the most useful idea that I gleaned from the Tulipmania. The tulip bulbs remained safe inside nurseries. The traders were carrying the deeds of ownership to the tulip bulbs.
Then NFTs came to the forefront
I started learning PHP, an HTML scripting language, and MySQL, the database that PHP can connect to in the background, in 1999, when there were only 3 books about PHP and MySQL at the bookstores.
By 2014, I was trying to figure out how to make the "ledger," or database that can be used to update ownership and who can be contacted. If we are trading art, then the art ownership should be updated.
Then NFTs came about. This can be used as our ledger. Everyone can immediately trade NFTs of future, yet-to-be made art pieces, especially because it takes time to make tangible art.
NFTs actually went a step ahead, by allowing digital art to be traded.
The only setback with NFTs, in my opinion, is that it still lacks a commission system for resellers and representatives.
For example, if a café wants to represent me, then they can promote me at their café and on their online pages. If I make one piece of art that will be exclusively represented by a gallery, then that commission will be different and more specific. As ownership is transferred, the subsequent owners should be able to reset the commission. We should also have the option of giving commissions to hundreds of representatives at one time with different percentages if need be.
The recent crypto crash
Lately, we have observed that NFTs and cryptocurrencies have been behaving like the stock market and other markets. They have been fluctuating.
I believe that it is time for a trend which discourages fluctuation of prices.
I have also seen YouTube videos where social influencers are encouraging us to be on the lookout for exponentially profitable ventures, because we have all seen this happen with the exponential increase of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Let's see if #Valzubiriagenda trends
We can announce present and future art prices. The galleries won't do this (yet?) because they follow a more traditional approach to the business of art.
We have a choice of using incrementally or exponentially increasing prices. We still reserve the right to change things in the future, so everyone should know to follow the latest update.
If this trends, if you as an artist simply announces that you will write an artist memoir, or that you will include the future works in future art books, you might have more art traders, investors and collectors approaching you.
Get your pen, paper and calculator
Imagine yourself as an artist, where you are right now. Let's just say you still do not have a book about yourself and your art yet. Imagine now that you have a memoir out there. Don't you think it makes sense to charge more than what you are charging now? Writing and publishing books is just the beginning. I'm just standardizing this approach. The books also say to do other related projects. In my case, getting Dollman the Musical onstage is one idea. You will have other related projects, but the publication of memoirs, biographies, art books and art catalogs will help all of us.
You can also imagine that a law firm that has meeting rooms, with someone who wants to form a local #valzubiriagenda group, can have meetings. A local café can do the same. Local photographers for your art, writers, editors, book designers, proofreaders and others can join in.
I suggest have printed books to share. 15 copies of your memoir or art books will be better than an e-reader or laptop or your phone to show. These gadgets can be stolen, sabotaged, broken, have coffee spilled on them, etc. 15 printed books means simultaneously showing to 15 people. You can even give them away to potential resellers, investors, traders and collectors.
When it rains, it pours, as in the days of Noah
There's a saying, "When it rains, it pours." There is a negative interpretation and a positive interpretation.
Negative: When trouble comes, they cascade to even more.
Positive: When opportunity comes knocking, more follow suit. We can assume that if one gets our art because of #valzubiriagenda, more want to do it now, because of the rising prices, and FOMO - fear of missing out. What will they lose if they miss the boat?
As I have said earlier, if the #valzubiriagenda trends, if you announce a future memoir or art catalog, you might have an increase of investors, traders and art collectors who would want to check you out. You might encourage more sales. Just remember to write and publish that memoir and art catalog.
There's this saying, "As in the days of Noah." Imagine Noah, building his ark, with members of his own family, putting all his time and effort into it. Noah was a nice guy. I'm sure every once in a while a neighbor offered him coffee, or chai latte, or whatever refreshing drink they might have back then.
Here's the lesson to be learned. Just because they offered him some type of bubble tea drink, or coca cola, they still didn't make it to the ark. Rubbing shoulders with actors does not make you an actor. I have told my artist friends to write their memoirs. They told me that once they see me succeed, after all these many years of seeing my seemingly useless efforts, then they will write their memoirs and follow the road that I had paved for them.
Good luck to them, but if I were you, act now, get my art or make art. Support the 5-year old artist whose parent promised to release a comprehensive art catalog. If you get that 5-year old's art, and mine, I would be honored to be in the same art catalog that you will produce. I'm already successful at that point. You have gotten the mission just right.
I have already claimed to have written the most book-length artist memoirs in the world. Dethrone that claim. Barter. Use ghostwriters. Success to me means facing God one day and saying, I wrote my memoirs and left the world a legacy of books and art. I will not tell God, smiling and proudly, that I encouraged a run for my art by announcing a schedule of exponentially increasing prices that reached 9 figures. I'm sure God knows we had fun.
JOIN THIS GROUP
If you want to try out #valzubiriagenda, in any capacity, join this group. Let others know about this group as well.If you are an artist, you can let everyone know here that you will produce your memoir, art catalogs, etc. It's okay if you don't know how to go about publishing yet, I will discuss this. Please be honorable enough to produce what you promise to produce.
If you want to meet fellow artists, investors, resellers, etc., join us here.
If you are a book writer, editor, proofreader; if you can photograph art pieces; if you are a book designer, etc., join us here. Let us know if you charge, barter for art, or both.
If you have your own tips and knowledge to share, join us here.
If you have underaged artists you are managing (parents, etc.) join us here.
Join this group if you want to sell works. Post your works. You web links. I'm sure I will.
You can announce meetings in your area. You might have meeting rooms, a café, restaurant, etc. where people can meet. In the future, you can have the regular show and tell, where books can be shown and shared.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if I need to edit some parts. Please share and join this group. - Valentino Zubiri, Dollman, Artist, Memoirist
Underaged artists are welcome here, so please be mindful of your language. We cannot post your adult-oriented art pieces, but you can direct us to a separate page or community. There will be limits to your posts, and there will be adult-oriented art that we cannot allow to be posted.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if I need to edit some parts. Please share and join this group. - Valentino Zubiri, Dollman, artist & memoirist
2024.05.18 22:59 rajkhar Fake Charles Schwab website
This morning I tried to log in charges Swab account. The website looked exactly Schwab website. I entered my user name and password. Got a message on screen saying “ there had been too many suspicious attempts to access your account, so your account has been blocked. please call xxxxxxxxxx to resolve this issue”
I called the number. A lady with an Indian Accent (I sensed something wrong! First red flag). Asked my name and DOB, which I supplied. She spoke with very broken English (2nd red flag). She said someone was trying to access my account several times in China, Dubai, and third county i forgot. Asked me if I shared by account info to anyone in those countries. I said no!
She asked me to go to “search bar” in my Window screen and type “GoProFix.Org”. I DID NOT! I went to the browser and typed GoProFix.Org and saw a picture of a lady with a phone!
Then I realized I was talking to a scammer! I hung up and called Schwab! Security section asked me to change my user name and password right away and since I entered those info into their website, they might have gotten it. I changed those info right away. I was also asked to scan my computer for any virus! Right now It I am restoring my system to 2 days earlier setting. Once it is completed I will scan using Window defender.
Security advised me to block my account for online access from anywhere in the world at least for a day until my computer is cleaned of any virus. I agreed. Schwab has locked my account for 24 hours!
So be careful !!!
If there is any scam baiter out there, please dm me for the phone number of these scammers so you guys make them pay!
submitted by rajkhar to ScammerPayback [link] [comments]
I called the number. A lady with an Indian Accent (I sensed something wrong! First red flag). Asked my name and DOB, which I supplied. She spoke with very broken English (2nd red flag). She said someone was trying to access my account several times in China, Dubai, and third county i forgot. Asked me if I shared by account info to anyone in those countries. I said no!
She asked me to go to “search bar” in my Window screen and type “GoProFix.Org”. I DID NOT! I went to the browser and typed GoProFix.Org and saw a picture of a lady with a phone!
Then I realized I was talking to a scammer! I hung up and called Schwab! Security section asked me to change my user name and password right away and since I entered those info into their website, they might have gotten it. I changed those info right away. I was also asked to scan my computer for any virus! Right now It I am restoring my system to 2 days earlier setting. Once it is completed I will scan using Window defender.
Security advised me to block my account for online access from anywhere in the world at least for a day until my computer is cleaned of any virus. I agreed. Schwab has locked my account for 24 hours!
So be careful !!!
If there is any scam baiter out there, please dm me for the phone number of these scammers so you guys make them pay!
2024.05.18 22:59 Ashamed_Bumblebee486 Kin-Killer's Canticle; or, Herein the Marks of Cain on the Eve of his Dying
No one yet knew how long we lived, but still did they prepare me for a life-long journey. Cheeses and fruits fresh-picked did Our Mother gather to sustain me, and Our Father stowed in woven sacks grain to keep my strength, heaving and strapping barley on our beast's ready back. I looked out at the sun setting in its westerly nape, weak in th'numbness of heavy sentence newly laid, when force struck at my thighs and grasped around my waist. My stomach was in th'dirt, my mouth fined with dust. Above me I saw looming our first father, rock in ready hand, pinning me to th'ground as he raised up his arm to Heaven in twisted invocation, something sick and wicked crinkling in his eyes. Waiting for tight- held stone to shatter my brow, the seconds stretched as centuries, but death stood still. Looking up, the stone and arm that held it sat limp against his knee as he rose with heavy breath. He reached down his hand, as though to help me rise up to my feet. I held doubts.
"I won't kill you, boy,"
he softly said. after a moment, I took his hand and he then hoisted me upwards. As he spoke he started dusting blotches of earth from my robe.
"No, I won't kill you. It's not a father's place to inherit from the son. I'll let you wander. Let the world do its bloody office. Pity your brother, that he bleeds the fields. Pity your mother, that she mourns two sons,"
his gaze finally meeting mine,
"the better one and you. Don't pity me. As man you bear my shape and name, but you're no son of mine."
His piece then said, he went toward where worm-food Abel lay interred. Ever watchful was Eve. A look half-mad lingered about her eyes as she stood in grief-mute stupor. Maybe by Abel's blood was she made deaf. No matter. I grabbed the halter, starting on my lonesome, weary way. Cresting the hill that would forever stand as sentry between me and home, I couldn't help but look back. There were th'fields from youth I'd tilled. I saw the altar where we made offerings to th'Potter, th'olive tree I had watered with brother's blood. In the midst of it all I saw Our Mother, still where I left her, looking at me. I waved meekly, my arm meeting my side almost as soon as I raised it. She was unmoved. With wavering breath, I turned toward my portion. East had He bid me. East would I then go.
I had an idea a few weeks ago for a poem about Cain after he kills Abel, so that's what this is. I'm a four books into what I think is going to be a five book piece. Just wanted to gauge folk's interest, and would definitely appreciate any constructive criticism. Thanks in advance for reading this monstrosity.
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1cv3ihc/comment/l4n8uh8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1cupdbh/comment/l4neah7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
submitted by Ashamed_Bumblebee486 to OCPoetry [link] [comments]
"I won't kill you, boy,"
he softly said. after a moment, I took his hand and he then hoisted me upwards. As he spoke he started dusting blotches of earth from my robe.
"No, I won't kill you. It's not a father's place to inherit from the son. I'll let you wander. Let the world do its bloody office. Pity your brother, that he bleeds the fields. Pity your mother, that she mourns two sons,"
his gaze finally meeting mine,
"the better one and you. Don't pity me. As man you bear my shape and name, but you're no son of mine."
His piece then said, he went toward where worm-food Abel lay interred. Ever watchful was Eve. A look half-mad lingered about her eyes as she stood in grief-mute stupor. Maybe by Abel's blood was she made deaf. No matter. I grabbed the halter, starting on my lonesome, weary way. Cresting the hill that would forever stand as sentry between me and home, I couldn't help but look back. There were th'fields from youth I'd tilled. I saw the altar where we made offerings to th'Potter, th'olive tree I had watered with brother's blood. In the midst of it all I saw Our Mother, still where I left her, looking at me. I waved meekly, my arm meeting my side almost as soon as I raised it. She was unmoved. With wavering breath, I turned toward my portion. East had He bid me. East would I then go.
I had an idea a few weeks ago for a poem about Cain after he kills Abel, so that's what this is. I'm a four books into what I think is going to be a five book piece. Just wanted to gauge folk's interest, and would definitely appreciate any constructive criticism. Thanks in advance for reading this monstrosity.
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1cv3ihc/comment/l4n8uh8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/1cupdbh/comment/l4neah7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
2024.05.18 22:59 VermillionVenom 35[F4M] MA/USA - Chunky Morticia type seeking Wade Wilson type for laughs and more - Also open to friendship
Please be 30-45 if you're going to message me.
Me: https://imgur.com/a/W9O0uUj
A bit about me: I love old school turn based jrpg's (SaGa Frontier, Chrono Trigger, Wild Arms, I can go on) and am currently replaying Dragon Quest XI as well as a fresh game of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, tabletop rpg's (D&D, 7th Sea, Desolation etc.), and music (such as stoner metal/rock, hair metal, some hip-hop, although I like many things).
For the boring stuff: No kids, never married. I work from home and spend my days working on reports. More interesting stuff: I am a dog mom (her name is Honey Havok) and snake lover (all animals, really), liberal, love to cook, a bit of a wrestling mark (AEW, GCW, NJPW, etc.), and love to learn new things.
The real stuff: I am demi/asexual, and have depression and anxiety. This means I am not always the easiest woman to deal with and my moods can fluctuate. I try not to take my feelings out on others though, I'm just a bit of a crybaby. I am currently living in MA although not exactly married to the area. I'm thinking of moving back to NH eventually.
In general, I am pretty laid back, have an odd sense of humor (give me all your questionable memes, dad jokes and dark humor). I'm also a little spooky in that I love taxidermy and wet specimens. I don't have a huge collection (yet) but it's growing slowly.
As for the kind of men I enjoy...I tend to like them nerdy, strong, and even possibly intimidating. Tattoos are a plus as is a well-kept, very short beard. Mohawks are one of my weaknesses. I also greatly value good communication skills and a sense of humor. I would like for us to be able to express ourselves without fear of judgement and be able to laugh at the absurdity of life together. I love the written word and appreciate men that are intelligent, witty, and able to participate in a little banter. Make me fall for your words and mind.
I am ideally looking for a non-smoking 30+ nerdy and/or alt guy with a good personality, similar interests, is in or near the US (possibly open to someone who would relocate to the northeast), and who is open to something serious after we get to know each other and build up a close friendship. However, I am open to friendship as well, just let me know.
If anything in my post sparks your interest; feel free to message me with a little about yourself, a picture so I can put a face to the name, and why you chose to message me. Bonus Points for dog or reptile pictures. Low effort messages will be ignored.
submitted by VermillionVenom to r4r [link] [comments]
Me: https://imgur.com/a/W9O0uUj
A bit about me: I love old school turn based jrpg's (SaGa Frontier, Chrono Trigger, Wild Arms, I can go on) and am currently replaying Dragon Quest XI as well as a fresh game of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, tabletop rpg's (D&D, 7th Sea, Desolation etc.), and music (such as stoner metal/rock, hair metal, some hip-hop, although I like many things).
For the boring stuff: No kids, never married. I work from home and spend my days working on reports. More interesting stuff: I am a dog mom (her name is Honey Havok) and snake lover (all animals, really), liberal, love to cook, a bit of a wrestling mark (AEW, GCW, NJPW, etc.), and love to learn new things.
The real stuff: I am demi/asexual, and have depression and anxiety. This means I am not always the easiest woman to deal with and my moods can fluctuate. I try not to take my feelings out on others though, I'm just a bit of a crybaby. I am currently living in MA although not exactly married to the area. I'm thinking of moving back to NH eventually.
In general, I am pretty laid back, have an odd sense of humor (give me all your questionable memes, dad jokes and dark humor). I'm also a little spooky in that I love taxidermy and wet specimens. I don't have a huge collection (yet) but it's growing slowly.
As for the kind of men I enjoy...I tend to like them nerdy, strong, and even possibly intimidating. Tattoos are a plus as is a well-kept, very short beard. Mohawks are one of my weaknesses. I also greatly value good communication skills and a sense of humor. I would like for us to be able to express ourselves without fear of judgement and be able to laugh at the absurdity of life together. I love the written word and appreciate men that are intelligent, witty, and able to participate in a little banter. Make me fall for your words and mind.
I am ideally looking for a non-smoking 30+ nerdy and/or alt guy with a good personality, similar interests, is in or near the US (possibly open to someone who would relocate to the northeast), and who is open to something serious after we get to know each other and build up a close friendship. However, I am open to friendship as well, just let me know.
If anything in my post sparks your interest; feel free to message me with a little about yourself, a picture so I can put a face to the name, and why you chose to message me. Bonus Points for dog or reptile pictures. Low effort messages will be ignored.
2024.05.18 22:59 Throwawy22480 What To Do When Witnessing Signs of Abuse?
Hello,
I’m 23 f and I have at least 3 women I know who are most likely in abusive relationships. One of them is my friend, one of them is my aunt, one of them is boss. All three of them I’ve had a situation where I witnessed a clear sign of abuse. This is a long one. But I feel like each situation matters.
The first one is my best friend. She would tell me all types of events that happened between them where he was not a good man. Mostly cheating. I tell her to leave him multiple times. Next thing you know she’s pregnant and they move in together. He didn’t change though. Next thing you know they were fighting and he hit her in the car, bruising her. I beg her to leave. She doesn’t. The next event that happens is that they’re arguing in the house and he pulls a knife on her threatening her. He eventually gets mad and throws their baby onto the bed and storms out the apartment. She sent me the footage and I tell her to please leave for the safety of her baby and call the police. The police didn’t do anything but make his whole family mad at her. The police did not care at all. She tells me she’s going to have her dad get her a ticket to leave and move in with her dad. I kept asking about how that’s going everyday. And it turns into a month afterwards. She stayed. She gets pregnant again. And her boyfriend hates me and told me if I go to her baby shower he won’t be there and neither will his family. So I don’t go because of this and also because I’m scared he’ll hurt me too. She doesn’t tell me about what happens with him anymore. I feel like through speaking up and trying to help I made her situation worse.
The second woman is my auntie. She’s not my aunt by blood and not even by marriage but she has my biological uncles children. You can’t go anywhere with them without them arguing at the end of the night. They’re both still young and only 4-5 years older than me and they both have a drug addiction with coke. However, I notice he gives her coke more than he does it himself. He goes out of his way to embarrass her, call her names, and ruin the night. He doesn’t care whose it’s in front of. I’ve never seen him physically hit her, but I wouldn’t doubt for a second he does. Nobody in my family speaks up because he’s blood. And they’ll always take his side because they just see her as the coke head baby mom. And she does have her issues. She’s had fights with other members of my family because of them. And I don’t excuse her from them. But I think the way my uncle talks to her is unacceptable and verbally abusive. Not only does he do it front of our family, but he does it in front of his own kids who are all girls. One night we’re all getting back from somewhere and they start fighting and he’s just berating her over nothing all because she asked if I wanted to go get something to eat. I tell him calm down it’s okay it’s not that deep and then he tells me “you’re not helping at all”. I’m not a very confrontational person. I’m often scared to be the one to speak up. So I put my hand on her should and tell her it’s okay. And he gets mad at me and tells me “you’re not helping AT ALL stay out of it”. It’s a quiet way back home. Weeks pass and it’s my birthday so we’re all playing board games having a good time and drinking. Me and my aunt start talking about mental health and stuff and my uncle doesn’t like it so he tells her it’s time to go to bed. And my aunt is like we’re talking and we’re about to watch another movie. I agree and my uncle gets mad at both of us. When he walks out we talk about him being weird and he starts blowing up when he gets back. I’m drunk and I’m like this is the moment I speak up because this is not okay. I stand my ground and I continue watching the movie with her even though he’s throwing a fit in the background. Eventually he just shuts the tv off. And I turn it back on. Eventually we’re fighting over the buttons and he tells me you’re my niece and you’re turning against me don’t ever ask me for anything ever again. My dad wakes up and tells us all to be quiet. And he tells ME to calm down. When this all started because of him. I go and hug my aunt and just go to bed. The next morning they’re laid up together again and they’re both not talking to me. And the rest of my family tells me I should’ve just minded my business and to stay out of peoples relationships. But how can I stay silent seeing this happen? This scars me because It felt like everyone turned against me instead of the obvious abuser. My aunties smiles at me, but she wont speak to me because it’ll start another fight with my uncle. We eventually hang out again but I feel discouraged for speaking up anymore. Because nothing changes.
The next person is my boss. I know this is odd. And I’m not that close to my boss. And I don’t know what happens when she’s at home with her husband. But there was a work trip and my boyfriend and I go to the event in her husbands car to carpool. I’m the car I guess she gave the wrong directions on accident. He starts driving crazy yelling at her and calling her stupid. The way he was driving at that moment you would’ve thought he was drunk. He’s driving over sidewalks, speeding on city roads cutting off other people while berating her. She just stays silent. And I stay silent. My boyfriend stays silent. I’m scared to speak up anymore. Because I know nothing will change. But something needs to be said. But if I feel like if said anything I would’ve caused more trouble.
What am I supposed to do in situations like these? Do I really say nothing? It’s like every part of my body is fighting to speak up but the only person who gets punished is me and the victim. But never the abuser. What do I do when witnessing this?
submitted by Throwawy22480 to blackladies [link] [comments]
I’m 23 f and I have at least 3 women I know who are most likely in abusive relationships. One of them is my friend, one of them is my aunt, one of them is boss. All three of them I’ve had a situation where I witnessed a clear sign of abuse. This is a long one. But I feel like each situation matters.
The first one is my best friend. She would tell me all types of events that happened between them where he was not a good man. Mostly cheating. I tell her to leave him multiple times. Next thing you know she’s pregnant and they move in together. He didn’t change though. Next thing you know they were fighting and he hit her in the car, bruising her. I beg her to leave. She doesn’t. The next event that happens is that they’re arguing in the house and he pulls a knife on her threatening her. He eventually gets mad and throws their baby onto the bed and storms out the apartment. She sent me the footage and I tell her to please leave for the safety of her baby and call the police. The police didn’t do anything but make his whole family mad at her. The police did not care at all. She tells me she’s going to have her dad get her a ticket to leave and move in with her dad. I kept asking about how that’s going everyday. And it turns into a month afterwards. She stayed. She gets pregnant again. And her boyfriend hates me and told me if I go to her baby shower he won’t be there and neither will his family. So I don’t go because of this and also because I’m scared he’ll hurt me too. She doesn’t tell me about what happens with him anymore. I feel like through speaking up and trying to help I made her situation worse.
The second woman is my auntie. She’s not my aunt by blood and not even by marriage but she has my biological uncles children. You can’t go anywhere with them without them arguing at the end of the night. They’re both still young and only 4-5 years older than me and they both have a drug addiction with coke. However, I notice he gives her coke more than he does it himself. He goes out of his way to embarrass her, call her names, and ruin the night. He doesn’t care whose it’s in front of. I’ve never seen him physically hit her, but I wouldn’t doubt for a second he does. Nobody in my family speaks up because he’s blood. And they’ll always take his side because they just see her as the coke head baby mom. And she does have her issues. She’s had fights with other members of my family because of them. And I don’t excuse her from them. But I think the way my uncle talks to her is unacceptable and verbally abusive. Not only does he do it front of our family, but he does it in front of his own kids who are all girls. One night we’re all getting back from somewhere and they start fighting and he’s just berating her over nothing all because she asked if I wanted to go get something to eat. I tell him calm down it’s okay it’s not that deep and then he tells me “you’re not helping at all”. I’m not a very confrontational person. I’m often scared to be the one to speak up. So I put my hand on her should and tell her it’s okay. And he gets mad at me and tells me “you’re not helping AT ALL stay out of it”. It’s a quiet way back home. Weeks pass and it’s my birthday so we’re all playing board games having a good time and drinking. Me and my aunt start talking about mental health and stuff and my uncle doesn’t like it so he tells her it’s time to go to bed. And my aunt is like we’re talking and we’re about to watch another movie. I agree and my uncle gets mad at both of us. When he walks out we talk about him being weird and he starts blowing up when he gets back. I’m drunk and I’m like this is the moment I speak up because this is not okay. I stand my ground and I continue watching the movie with her even though he’s throwing a fit in the background. Eventually he just shuts the tv off. And I turn it back on. Eventually we’re fighting over the buttons and he tells me you’re my niece and you’re turning against me don’t ever ask me for anything ever again. My dad wakes up and tells us all to be quiet. And he tells ME to calm down. When this all started because of him. I go and hug my aunt and just go to bed. The next morning they’re laid up together again and they’re both not talking to me. And the rest of my family tells me I should’ve just minded my business and to stay out of peoples relationships. But how can I stay silent seeing this happen? This scars me because It felt like everyone turned against me instead of the obvious abuser. My aunties smiles at me, but she wont speak to me because it’ll start another fight with my uncle. We eventually hang out again but I feel discouraged for speaking up anymore. Because nothing changes.
The next person is my boss. I know this is odd. And I’m not that close to my boss. And I don’t know what happens when she’s at home with her husband. But there was a work trip and my boyfriend and I go to the event in her husbands car to carpool. I’m the car I guess she gave the wrong directions on accident. He starts driving crazy yelling at her and calling her stupid. The way he was driving at that moment you would’ve thought he was drunk. He’s driving over sidewalks, speeding on city roads cutting off other people while berating her. She just stays silent. And I stay silent. My boyfriend stays silent. I’m scared to speak up anymore. Because I know nothing will change. But something needs to be said. But if I feel like if said anything I would’ve caused more trouble.
What am I supposed to do in situations like these? Do I really say nothing? It’s like every part of my body is fighting to speak up but the only person who gets punished is me and the victim. But never the abuser. What do I do when witnessing this?
2024.05.18 22:59 Adept-Entertainer-87 *important* Hi all Reddit users! I am wondering if anyone out there that uses facebook would be able to help me with an issue.
In high school, I had a “boyfriend” and I was only 14 years old. He made his facebook at the time with our names as the name. [EX: Carol N John]. There is also our pictures on there (not explicit; just normal ideal teenage couple photos of us hugging or standing next to one another). For YEARS I have been plagued by this facebook as its got everyone I know as a friend on it (literally even my brother) and its just an embarrassment and a reminder of a horrible time in my life (first loves are a mess when you’re newly heartbroken at 14😂).
I have asked said Guy in 2016 when he broke up with me to please take down the photos and delete them. He wouldn’t. He hated me so much that he could not wait the 60 days to change the name back. So he made a whole new facebook account. Then he claimed that he forgot the password and e-mail to the account. So its just been sitting there for years.
Guy now has a new Wife and a new baby (i relish in the karma that the baby is a girl. If yk, yk) and I have had 0 contact with Guy for years, so I messaged his wife (because why message the Guy, and not the wife thats weird).. they did nothing/said nothing.
I have messaged facebook several times, reporting the page is my hobby, I have built a small army of my friends to report it, facebook will NOT take it down.
The question here is, what do I do now? Do I have any legal ground to take with this? Do I have to take it that far? Help.
submitted by Adept-Entertainer-87 to facebook [link] [comments]
I have asked said Guy in 2016 when he broke up with me to please take down the photos and delete them. He wouldn’t. He hated me so much that he could not wait the 60 days to change the name back. So he made a whole new facebook account. Then he claimed that he forgot the password and e-mail to the account. So its just been sitting there for years.
Guy now has a new Wife and a new baby (i relish in the karma that the baby is a girl. If yk, yk) and I have had 0 contact with Guy for years, so I messaged his wife (because why message the Guy, and not the wife thats weird).. they did nothing/said nothing.
I have messaged facebook several times, reporting the page is my hobby, I have built a small army of my friends to report it, facebook will NOT take it down.
The question here is, what do I do now? Do I have any legal ground to take with this? Do I have to take it that far? Help.
2024.05.18 22:58 kwyjibo7734 Question regarding Duratorq 3.2 oil pump
I've been following this sub for a while, recently I bought myself a 2014 Ford Ranger (T6 I believe) 3.2 20V diesel, 140k km. EGR and DPF are still clean and good, but their removal is in the cards (remap + downpipe).
I heard about the oil pump prone to failures if oil change is not made within 10 minutes, and the cooling hoses being too soft or bursting. Well, the hoses i had replaced with reinforced ones, and i managed to place a spacer where some hoses tend to vibrate against one another. Now, for the oil pump, I am having trouble finding the "legendary" geared oil pump, and I heard from a 4x4 group that Duratorq engines have some degree of part interchangeability, namely the oil pump being one. In this case the oil pump from Ford Transit 2.4 being compatible with 3.2 duratorq. Searching the internet I came across a shop from Philipines that sold an oil pump for RangeBT-50, that was a geared one. Part code : 1C1Q6600CG. The infamous vane pump from 3.2 has part code: BK2Q6600CA.
looking at first glance, both parts look quite similar, however, before buying parts left right and center, I ask in this sub if someone had a oil pump replacement, if it was the vane pump or this geared pump im after, if this compatibility is real or just garage talk.
PS: I'm from Brazil, for reference.
submitted by kwyjibo7734 to fordranger [link] [comments]
I heard about the oil pump prone to failures if oil change is not made within 10 minutes, and the cooling hoses being too soft or bursting. Well, the hoses i had replaced with reinforced ones, and i managed to place a spacer where some hoses tend to vibrate against one another. Now, for the oil pump, I am having trouble finding the "legendary" geared oil pump, and I heard from a 4x4 group that Duratorq engines have some degree of part interchangeability, namely the oil pump being one. In this case the oil pump from Ford Transit 2.4 being compatible with 3.2 duratorq. Searching the internet I came across a shop from Philipines that sold an oil pump for RangeBT-50, that was a geared one. Part code : 1C1Q6600CG. The infamous vane pump from 3.2 has part code: BK2Q6600CA.
looking at first glance, both parts look quite similar, however, before buying parts left right and center, I ask in this sub if someone had a oil pump replacement, if it was the vane pump or this geared pump im after, if this compatibility is real or just garage talk.
PS: I'm from Brazil, for reference.