Let's start by saying that this is my first (official) relationship ever.
A bit of background:
I've always had trouble socially relating to people; I'm so insecure and afraid of rejection, and I also had strict parents. Throughout the years, I've gained a bit of freedom for myself but it's not enough (I still live my parents).
I've always wanted to get close to people and have friends (I currently have just one) and a relationship, but I'm also afraid that I'm not interesting enough, that I won't know what to talk about, etc. So my strategy has always been to act cold towards people and wait for them to approach me first. If they approach me, it must mean that they have at least some interest in me...
In the past, I often found myself daydreaming about how a loving relationship would look like: he would love me a lot, accept me for who I am, not judge me for my physical little imperfections, have great emotional and physical chemistry, and I would love him back just the same. I know it might sound too perfect, but that's what I know I've always craved.
I have had a very few relationships/situationships where the men just never asked me to be their girlfriend and make things official. I think those "relationships" failed in part because I was so cold towards them even if inside I wanted to kiss or hug them first. I always hoped they asked me to be their girlfriend. Also, I always stayed till the end, until THEY didn't want anything to do with me anymore.
So with my current boyfriend, all things seem different. I met him at a mall. HE approached me first. At first I wasn't really attracted to him physically but he started telling me about his life and his varied life experiences. He seemed interesting. We exchanged numbers. Then we started going out. He's very different from me. He has a different clothing style than mine, he likes urban music, he has tattoos and has 1 piercing.
My very first impression of him was that he looked like the bad-boy type, so I didn't think he was interested in anything serious. But right on the second date, he mentioned he was looking for someone who really cared for him. He said something like: "it's nice to have someone that cares for you, even for the little things and even asks if you ate already, if you slept well, etc." Before that moment, I didn't have high expectations and was probably ready to accept whatever 🤦🏻‍♀️.
As time went by, I started liking more things on him, finding a few things in common. Until he asked me to be his girlfriend after one month of hanging out. I had waited for that moment for so long, and it finally came, but I didn't know how to feel. I felt kind of sad. Even though I knew he and me were looking for a serious relationship, I felt fearful, but I kept going.
We've shared beautiful moments so far. I feel at home, peaceful, respected, and loved when I'm with him. But sometimes I catch myself judging him for small imperfections. I'm physically attracted to him and we have good chemistry there, but I can't help noticing what he does "wrong." When we text, he sometimes writes with bad grammar and I can't help but judge him inside. Sometimes he sends me videos of him dancing happily for me, and I can't help but think "how isn't he afraid of being silly in front of me or even others?" I believe me judging him might stem from the same type of judgment I received when growing up. I just hate it and don't want to be like this. I know no one is perfect and yet my mind is obsessed with perfection.
My BF has had a difficult life and experiences, and yet he smiles all the time, has fun, is free, and has lots of love to give. He even says he loves me, but I don't feel sure to say it back to him. My mind tells me that I'm probably just using him and getting his love while I'm not able to love him back. I feel like a bad person for that. I do care for him. I've cried with him listening to how he feels when sad of bc of past hurtful events. When I look at him, I see someone sincere. I love to have him close, hug him, kiss him, feel his odor, listen to his voice, listen to him singing. Yet I have these other horrible thoughts that I can't let go.
I feel like I wasn't really ready for a relationship as I believed, and that there's a lot of work I need to do on myself, but I don't want to lose him either. I can't decide if I really like him, if I'm obsessed, if I'm dependant or what.
Need some advice on what to do and hear others perspective on this.
Sorry for the long post. I tried to give enough details 😅. Thanks in advance.

Hi M26 here. Europe/Norway/online I know the chances of meeting someone on here is low but i am a believer that the universe puts us on the path we are meant to be on no matter what happens so who knows what will happen. Also dating apps are horrible.
A little about me:

• 26 years old
  
• 176cm/88kg (slight dad bod but im working on getting in better shape)
  
• My eyes are grey/blue and yellow (rare. Ive been told)
  
• No tattoos even though i want some but i can never decide what or where
  
• I like dogs and most other animals although cats sometimes seem shady😅
  
• I spend my free time rewatching tv shows and movies i've seen many times before so i hope someone can introduce me to new things. Also sometimes i play some games or just doomscroll on my phone.
  
• Sometimes i go for a walk in the woods or go for a long drive in my car or my motorcycle. Other than that i spend some time at work and sleeping.
  
• I work in shifts so i mostly work evenings and nights so because of that i am a bit of a night owl currently.
  

I am a pretty chill guy i would say. Im still trying to figure out life and who i am and who i want to be, would like to share that journey with someone and grow with them. Someone to give my heart to and know they will keep it safe. I don't really have any close friends anymore, everyone moved to different cities and only a few of them i am still in contact with. So i can say i am a bit of a lonely guy, i do most things by myself but thats okay. I believe myself to be a loving guy with a lot to give. I've been told by some that i even give too much too fast sometimes😅 but that's something im working on although i personally don't see it as a bad thing. I may be a little shy at first but once i get comfortable that's when the fun/nightmare begins😂 I like car rides, movie nights, deep conversations in the night and things like that. I've always wanted to have a cooking partner because it's not fun to cook alone. Basically what im looking for is a person to do all the cheesy cozy cute couple things with. I am open to trying new things with the right person. Im an open book so if you have questions just ask😊
I went over my post at least 40 times for spell checks and grammar correction. Sorry if i missed some😅

I struggle with severe anxiety, depression, and OCD.
When the side effects of Zoloft began to outweigh the positive that it was doing for me last summer, I decided to switch to Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin made me the most anxious I have ever been in my entire life. I was on it for a month, and did not have one moment of peace for that entire month. Terrible.
I decided to try stopping meds all together after this. Also terrible.
In January, I went to see a new PCP. I told her I wanted to try meds again but expressed my concern with side effects. She suggested Genesight, but told me to call my insurance (Aetna ⚰️) first to make sure it was covered, otherwise I'd be stuck paying $330.
Sure enough, I call Aetna, they tell me it's covered (three times over the phone, I made her repeat it multiple times) so I get the test done January 10th.
PCP says I'll get the results mailed to my residence before they get them at the office (she gave me an ETA of about 6 weeks).
Not only did the results not get mailed to my residence, but a month later, a bill for the $330 from Genesight that Aetna said would be covered arrived at my residence. Aetna refuses to listen to the recorded call because of the service performed (a lab).
Additionally, when they did send it to my PCP's office, they weren't notified. So now it's May 21st, and I'm seeing these results for the first time while still battling with Aetna and Genesight. And what's the medication that is most recommended for me?
Wellbutrin.
Days after I got this test done and before all the trouble came, I told me therapist about it. My therapist told me that these tests are basically bullshit for antidepressants and Genesight is extremely exploitative as it's expensive and doctors' offices get a kickback for pushing them heavily. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, because I have nowhere to go from here but up, but now I know she's right about Genesite for antidepressants.
And now I'm stuck fighting this expensive bill that I was told I wasn't going to have to pay. Cumulatively, I've spent HOURS on the phone with both Aetna and Genesight, neither of whom have any interest in resolving this.
Overall, this has made my mental health 100x worse. Please, do not make the same mistake I did.
If your doctor suggests Genesight for antidepressants, run. These people aren't trying to help us, they’re trying to exploit us for money we don’t have while we’re at our absolute lowest.
Also, if your insurance says something is covered, PLEASE ask for it in writing
Edits to clear up misleading information or poor phrasing:
-docs do not receive kickbacks for pharmacogenomics testing, this is illegal. I was just repeating what my therapist told me, which I shouldn’t have published online before researching. Sorry for any confusion in this area.
-my PCP is actually a NP, I didn’t realize until I just looked her up. Options for help were scarce when I moved out here and my condition was severe. No time to be picky and I was simply grateful ~someone~ had an appointment available.
-doctors are not the con artists, that would be Genesight. Genesight has many doctors convinced that everyone needs this done apparently. I do not mean to imply that every doctor that recommends this test doesn’t have your best interest in mind, but keep in mind that they might be operating off of misinformation. With that said, I also do believe that doctors have a responsibility to look into this stuff before suggesting it to anyone and everyone, especially those of us without Medicaid but that’s just my opinion

it’s coming up to three months. i miss my girlfriend so much. I have achieved a few things since she passed and i just wish i could share them with her cause i know she’d be proud. I have so many things to tell her that she would’ve found funny too:( poetry has always been my hobby. And it’s also a way i find a little bit of peace when i’m trying to manage my emotions. This is my most recent poem. I’m sorry for anyone that has become a part of this group💔. I wrote this last night when i was breaking down and just missing her so deeply. I wanted to share it.
a flame burns brightest at the smallest wick
zero signs, no warnings. she is gone, tomorrow, the next day & forevermore. i can’t remember a time she wasn’t smiling, her smile is permanently tattooed in my brain. i simply don’t remember looking at her, and not seeing a grin that ran from her left ear to her right ear. She was a beacon of light, she was a complete breath of fresh air. The same sort of air you’d expect to fill your lungs with at a tranquil lake in sweeden, no signs of pollution, 100% purified air. I always felt lighter after breathing her air. In fact, i even dreamed of being even half as pure as her one day. However i was wrong, everyone was so so wrong. we all misjudged this so called “pure” air it was only ever pure in our heads, and in our minds. But in reality she was choking, coughing and spluttering. gasping for air, air she didn’t believe she deserved. even if she was granted oxygen tents, inhalers, and all the air on earth she would still believe she didn’t deserve to breathe, to live. She didn’t even realise she helped so many people, just by existing, with her radiance and pure grace. She allowed us all to breathe clearly. behind the greatest smiles lies the most pain, she was desperate to tell me she hadn’t felt so “complete” for ages and just like that she was gone, never to be seen again. A flame burns the brightest at its smallest wick.

When theorising in astrophysics, and more specifically the beginning and expansion of the universe (the big bang), the phenomenon of black holes and the mysteries behind dark matter and dark energy, we mistakenly use the two concepts interchangeably, they being 1. The philosophical zero, ie nothingness, and 2. The mathematics concept of zero, ie summarily attaching the philosophical concept of zero, with a numerical designation because it greatly assists the functionality of mathematic in the paradigm of our observable reality. Also please bearing mind the the math concept of zero allows negative values, unlike the philosophy, and when discussing space time, there is no place for negative numbers. Now that said and made clear, I believe it impossible for us to attempt to explain the unimaginable, without separation and distinction of the two concepts when infinity is brought into the conversation. Infinity, like zero, is a philosophical concept not all that dissimilar to zero, it has a mathematical conceptual basis also, but unlike the philosophical zero ie nothingness, it is given a numerical designation that more accurately relates to it philosophically, even though it is not strictly a number and cannot he used in any tangible calculation, mathematics certainly allows for its philosophical manifestation into mathematical equations.
I see this as a huge conflict, especially as it the very essence of big bang theory ie from nothing came infinity at the moment of the big bang. We surely cannot hope to solve this puzzle if the universe if we are conceptually flawed at he very starting point. 0 and infinity therefore cannot be used together in any calculation because we haven't yet reconciled the two conceptually. How can we look at this differently? How can we navigate passed mathematical dogma a concepts our brains are not capable of truly understanding on a practical level?
These are very tough existential and philosophical problems. So rather than just critise the current order and point out what I see as conflicts, but offer no alternative, may I suggest at least a starting point for discussion and exploration which may be found in the area of fractal science/mathematics. And a good place to focus the beginning of any theoretical discourse, in my opinion would be the work of, amoung others, Mandelbrot and the set named after him, the Mandelbrot Set. I suggest this because it mathematically the most relevant area of a field and is largely avoided by the popular culture's interest in fractals which is largely forcused on aesthetical beauty, particularly popular with the psychedelic subculture which I believe has a place and time to be investigated as a part of the whole discussion, but maybe for now should not be a point of focus in fear of contaminating a sterile discussion with with larger philosophically arguments about what is reality, due to the psychedelic substance insights of those schools. To incorporate any talk of altered states of consciousness, may be counter productive at this time. Hence my Mandelbrot suggestion achieves the mathematical parameters I believe are the best for theoretical mathematical support and cancels out the annoying noise that the fractal science field makes due to its attractiveness to non mainstream pop culture.
The Mandelbrot set is intriguing, not only because of the almost mindblowing graphical capability of AI, for as the Mandelbrot set seen by AI and then visualised for us to see, is nothing short of unbelievably beautiful. It also has an ability to provoke inner hought and discourse without one knowing the subject, topic or reason for the quiet peaceful internal discourse it inspires. I mention this, not because it can directly be incorporated in the radical discussion, but experiencing the astonishlng complexity if its beauty and the way it continues infinitely (or rather as long as it continues to be observed) because if the very self contained nature of the Mandelbrot set. After all, the mandelbrit set is simply a set of numbers, that when placed in the equation, do not spiral out into infinity. The equation value is always >0 or <2. So what as I see as irony, as the set was designed to avoid infinity in a sense, what it actually does is provide us with the best possible conceptualisation, in practice and theory, of a model demonstrating infinity. Even more bizarre is that the technology had only recently become available to show us visually by AI graphing. I'm not sure without the visual stimulus, could we have seen how beautifully fractal science demonstrates its potential unravelling existential and theoretical mysteries. I believe it lends itself perfectly to my proposed theory.
I think so because infinity is difficult for the human mind to grasp, some may say impossible. What is even more difficult for our minds to grasp is infinity of reducted values. Basically, if infinity can exist in an expanding sense, then it is not a stretch of conceptualisation to think it can infinitely get smaller. This breaks no rules of science. Searching for the building block of the universe has been crusade of quantum physicists dating back to the creation of the scientific theory. Much money and effort has been spent in search for smaller and smaller still subatomic particles. What they do is fractal science in its purest form, yet like with the study of Theoretical Astrophysics, quantum science theory is its self hampered by the concept if zero as a number, in my opinion. Even doing the work of factually reducing matter, they are blinded to its possible futility, should fractal reduction does forever decend in to fractal infinity or -ve infinity. For if that is the case, maybe quantum theory is in fact mankind's first exploration, albeit unknowingly, into what may well be a black hole. That is for a later discussion but certainly worth bringing to the attention for the purposes of this discussion.
So if we can accept that -ve infinity is as equally viable and logical as +ve infinity, what room in this discussion is left for the inclusion of zero? 1/r = 1/0 = infinity is a useless equation in understanding black holes. To say 1/r approaches infinity as r becomes closer to 0, is a much better way of phrasing it. It is in essence exactly what I refer to +be and -ve infinity and immensely helpful in understanding black holes, there's no equation that mathematics can put forward it's anywhere near as helpful because mathematics has to use zero and by its own rules and attempt to explain a fractal infinity is undefined.
I believe this leaves no room for zero in the same conversation as infinity. I am not suggesting zero should be stricken from mathematics. However I am suggesting that mathematics use of zero may, invalidate is ongoing use as an effective tool for measurement and communication, when the subject is beyond our ability to comprehend. Few people will argue that our 6 senses are significantly lacking the capacity to comprehend cosmological dynamics. Mathematics nothing more than an application of our 6 senses, to make sense of the chaos occurring all around us. Over hundreds and thousands of years, this is the best we have been able to do in terms of calculation and accurate prediction of future occurances. Even the concept of zero is less than 1000 years old. The Romans saw no use in incorporating it into their model, and to this day we wonder at their and other ancient civilisations ability for astonishing accuracy in measurement and prediction. Look at all they, the Egyptians and others managed without using zero in a single calculation. We can also break this down out of our conscious paradigm into nature. Numbers do not exist in nature (that includes the universe). It begs the question of do numbers really exist? Are numbers no more than part of our delusional reality? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, zero certainly doesn't exist anywhere outside of our consciousness. Not even in our own very bodies. How bodies clearly hold a knowledge that hasn't seemed to be passed over to our conscious, aware selves. Even on the smallest scale, without any intervention or guidance from any sort of intelligence, within our cellular membranes. Complex calculations are constantly being carried out. Consider cellular replication for example. In order for a cell to divide successfully, there must be a correct allocation of resources, let's just say primarily energy distribution for the sake of brevity. To split a cell but calculate the energy necessary to simply cary put the force of splitting. It must also calculate how much energy needs to be transfered to the new cell. This calculation must include how much energy for it take to replicate all cellular matter, how much energy is required for both cells to recover from the trauma, and how much energy on top of that, the new cell will require to become mature and begin its own replication. There are multiple complex calculations to be made there, and they then must be combined in to an overall and more complicated calculation again. All of this is done without intelligence and without using numbers ie mathematics. This same process can be observed all the way back to the very first beginning of not just life, but biochemistry in general. So I hope this demonstrates that the universe doesn't exist numerically. There are no rules in the universe. We created rules for our sciences, because if we didn't follow them the sciences would fail at unacceptable percentage of predictions.
So we make rules to overcome the shortcomings while waiting for future technologies or fixes. Mathematics and sciences are little more than a carefully ordered tapestry of rules, with too many exeptions for too many rules. We create rules and ideas to assist the conteived & malfunctioning intangible thing to not have to go to all the trouble of finding something that works better. We are just littered with examples through every field. Like 'zero', or Pi, or "bimdas" (brackets, indicies, multiply, division, addition and subtraction. I find this a good example, for not following this exact order of calculations, a correct answer to equation will nev a result) and thousands of others.
No rules exist in nature, it appears to be that it just is, always will be and always has been.
So in summary, given our restrictions on trying to understand the universe, namely intelligence, our 6 limited senses, our arrogance and our mortality, should we narrow the pursuits our restrictions can make us comfortable with? Thisbwilk lead us nowhere. By abandoning zero as the only accepted scientific approach to the universe, and allowing science to have multiple validating throeries for what is the same problem. The scientific community abhors divergence from dogma and academics are held to ransom with funding or being published, if their ideas are not with acceptable parameters.
But for the sake of this conversation, can we discuss the merits of looking at the big bang without reference to nothing ie zero, but instead +ve and -ve infinity.

I struggle with severe anxiety, depression, and OCD.
When the side effects of Zoloft began to outweigh the positive that it was doing for me last summer, I decided to switch to Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin made me the most anxious I have ever been in my entire life. I was on it for a month, and did not have one moment of peace for that entire month. Terrible.
I decided to try stopping meds all together after this. Also terrible.
In January, I went to see a new PCP. I told her I wanted to try meds again but expressed my concern with side effects. She suggested Genesight, but told me to call my insurance (Aetna ⚰️) first to make sure it was covered, otherwise I'd be stuck paying $330.
Sure enough, I call Aetna, they tell me it's covered (three times over the phone, I made her repeat it multiple times) so I get the test done January 10th.
PCP says I'll get the results mailed to my residence before they get them at the office (she gave me an ETA of about 6 weeks).
Not only did the results not get mailed to my residence, but a month later, a bill for the $330 from Genesight that Aetna said would be covered arrived at my residence. Aetna refuses to listen to the recorded call because of the service performed (a lab).
Additionally, when they did send it to my PCP's office, they weren't notified. So now it's May 21st, and I'm seeing these results for the first time while still battling with Aetna and Genesight. And what's the medication that is most recommended for me?
Wellbutrin.
Days after I got this test done and before all the trouble came, I told me therapist about it. My therapist told me that these tests are basically bullshit for antidepressants. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, because have nowhere to go from here but up, but now I know she's right about Genesite for antidepressants.
And now I'm stuck fighting this expensive bill that I was told I wasn't going to have to pay. Cumulatively, I've spent HOURS on the phone with both Aetna and Genesight, neither of whom have any interest in resolving this.
Overall, this has made my mental health 100x worse. Please, do not make the same mistake I did.
If your doctor suggests Genesight for antidepressants, run. These people aren't trying to help us, they’re trying to exploit us for money we don’t have while we’re at our absolute lowest.
Also, if your insurance says something is covered, PLEASE ask for it in writing
Edits to clear up misinformation or poor phrasing:
-as one of the commenters stated, doctors do not receive kickbacks for pharmacogenomic testing. This was information that my therapist told me, which is incorrect. Sorry for confusion.
-my PCP is actually a nurse practitioner, I did not realize until I looked her up. My options were very limited when I moved here and I needed assistance ASAP.
-doctors are not the con artists, that would be Genesight. Genesight has many doctors convinced that everyone needs this done apparently. I do not mean to imply that every doctor that recommends this test doesn’t have your best interest in mind, but keep in mind that they might be operating off of misinformation. With that said, I also do believe that doctors have a responsibility to look into this stuff before suggesting it to anyone and everyone, especially those of us without Medicaid but that’s just my opinion

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Chapter 168 – The moment to live and the moment to die
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„Jumping!“ an Ensign announced loudly as the Sun's view-windows very briefly flickered into a dark black only to go back to a full view of the ongoing battle basically instantly, having barely shifted the ship's position at incomprehensible speed. „Shot clear of allied ships.“
Vice-Admiral Kazadi tapped his finger on one of the armrests of the Commander's seat that still felt anything but comfortable for him to sit in as the tight grid of flashing lights reflected in his eyes within the twilight of the bridge.
“Fire,” he then ordered. Not even a blink later, a burst of colorful light broke into his view from the side of his very own ship, lighting up the entirety of the bridge even through the automatically tinting windows that absorbed a lot of the harmful light so the crew wouldn't flashbang themselves with each shot.
The relativity canon fire tore through the enemy ship at an almost literal instant with any travel time barely being conceivable to a mortal mind. In a large unload of energy that left almost the entire stern-side of the zodiatos ship as a molten mass of dispersing slag, the main propulsion was taken out. Simultaneously, the two accompanying cruisers had also taken their shots; with the 'Civil' taking out the engine of one more enemy vessel while the 'of the roses' had instead used its shot to disperse one of the enemy projectiles in order to buy their own hunter ships more freedom of movement. Those huge ones didn't go down easy from one of the hunters' smaller shots, so using one of the large canons to dispatch it took some of the heat off them.
Meanwhile, smaller targets on the enemy vessels, such as their own canons, were gradually taken out by said hunters, whose own fire – while able to be quite destructive if intended no doubt – could be used in a far more precise manner. With more and more of their canons failing, the protective volleys the coreworld terrorists could fire to hide themselves away also became less and less effective.
“Send the fallback-beacon,” Kazadi then ordered, since close quarter attacks became less and less necessary.
It seemed that the zodiatos had a hard time adjusting to the combat style of the human unkindnesses, however that didn't mean they should take any unnecessary risks. Even if a pilot could've been able to avoid all enemy attacks in a perfect world, he knew that his pilots were only human.
Casualties of their own had been comparatively minimal so far, however as if to prove him right about his thoughts, he could see on his surveillance screen how, just in that moment, one of their ships was taken out by an enemy craft.
He grimaced to himself and let out a mild sigh. One more family who would never see one of their own again...
It took a moment before all the ships were reached by the beacon. Due to the nature of their own combat strategies, as well as the particular nature of hyperspace, it was entirely impossible to effectively contact any of their ships directly while they were out in the battle. Therefore, the order to fall back had to be broadcast as a general signal, that each of the pilots could individually pick up as soon as they would keep still for long enough so that it could reach them.
By now, the battle was already won. None of the zodiatos' weapons were able to match the relativity canons in effective range and without the larger ships to back them up, their small hunters wouldn't be able to launch an offensive – shields or not. They could just stay back and fire until surrender now. As the signal was picked up, one of their ships after another disappeared in one last flash of hyperspace as they joined back up with the larger vessels in an enclosing formation.
“Prepare for the retrieval of some of those projectiles,” the Vice-Admiral then ordered as he hoped they would be able to track some of those spent shots their enemies had fired. They would have to figure out what kind of tech that was.
In such a small-scale conflict, it was more than manageable to face it. However, it could offer some difficulties in larger fleets – especially since they didn't know how far this kind of tech could possible be expanded and refined. It was quite possible this was just some form of prototype.
While that order was followed, one of his Lieutenants suddenly spoke up.
“Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the planet. Civilian. Not encrypted, but they seemingly had an access code,” they related quickly.
“Is the earlier interference cleared up?” he immediately asked back, to which the answer was positive. “Put it through then,” he immediately ordered as soon as he heard that.
He rubbed one of his tight braids between his fingers as he waited for contact to be established. Once the line was clear, things remained quiet for a moment.
“What are we best at?” he then asked the silent line, his chest tightening ever so slightly, even if he didn't have to wait long for a reply.
“Topping from the bottom,” a very familiar voice replied from the other end, sounding incredibly strained but most certainly alive.
The code phrase was an old in-joke about something that had been said back during humanity's first contact with the tonamstrosites due to a slightly choppy translation. However, it more than sufficed here to tell Kazadi that the person on the other side of the line was not only genuine, but also not in any immediate distress – at least none that was brought onto her by someone else.
“Good to hear your voice Ma'am,” he greeted the Admiral after taking a brief moment to allow his heart to settle.
“The pleasure is all mine, Celestin,” Admiral Krieger replied in between heavy breaths that sounded like a combination between being ready to collapse and absolutely willing to tear anyone's throat out at a moment's notice. “Excuse me for the unorthodox contact, my own means of communication have all been destroyed. Update me.”
A brief smile played on the Vice-Admiral's lips.
“No problem, Ma'am. Things are under control up here, but multiple allied coluyvoree ships were destroyed and we suffered some casualties of our own which I will take full responsibility for,” he quickly complied. “By now, the enemy crafts have been largely disabled and our fighters are falling back. What's the situation on your end?”
There was a bit of a grunt from the other side of the line that seemed unrelated to the ongoing conversation.
“I'm sure you did everything by the books,” Krieger then replied a moment later. “Down here the situation is precarious but momentarily under control. We have an unconfirmed number of casualties after an attack with an unknown weapon. All squads are either KIA or unresponsive. We took down six enemy combatants but can't confirm if there's more. I'm going to need clean up, rescue teams, as well as pickup for me and two large offworlders asap.”
Celestin nodded.
“We're in a stable position, so we'll jump teams down right away. Hold out just a minute more,” he assured her while already signing in the necessary order to the troops they had on standby. “How bad are your injuries?”
There was another groan of pain from Krieger's side.
“Crushed cranberries,” she replied after a long moment that sounded like she needed to catch her breath.
“Copy that,” Kazadi replied with a grimace. “Sending muti-team with the evac.”
“Copy that,” Krieger confirmed. “Krieger out.”
With that, the call was hung up. On his screen, Celestin could see how the preparations for dispatch of the requested teams was already well underway. Jumping towards a planet at FTL was generally discouraged by the Galactic Community. However, this was an emergency. They couldn't wait for normal re-entry.
After watching the reported progress for just a moment, his eyes returned to the ongoing battle. He watched the enemy ships as they hovered dead in space, unable to maneuver.
They seemed to have recalled their own fighters back in order to form some sort of protective wall around the 'mother ships' with their own small shields. Obviously it wouldn't be very effective, so it seemed like needless cruelty to make their own soldiers get in the way of the incoming fire. Something within Kazadi told the Vice-Admiral they weren't going to stand down.
“Sir, we're getting some strange hyperspace-readings,” his Lieutenant suddenly announced, making him look up.
“Weapon-grade?” he immediately asked, knowing they had less than a moment to react if it was. However, he also figured there would've been more urgency to their voice had it been so.
“No, Sir. Travel-grade,” the Lieutenant quickly replied. “However the readings are unusual. It seems like they are creating a stretch solely around themselves.”
Kazadi's lips shifted a bit as he took that in and he briefly ran a hand over his mouth in thought. “Prepare to collapse,” he ordered. “Maybe they will attempt some sort of running start. We can't let them get away.”
Right then, the light of what was happening had not yet caught up to the spacial distortion that their sensors were detecting, meaning the ships still looked perfectly normal – if damaged – when he looked at them. However, they were planning something. And that made them appear all the more ominous.
His mind quickly went through their own protocols. The U.H.S.D.F. employed hyperspace in nearly all its possible facets in their tactics. If it was even close to sensible, they would have something that was akin to the maneuver their foes were attempting to execute right now.
A bubble of hyperspace solely around their ships...a dodge? Hardly, there was nothing to dodge like that. An attempt to hide away? No, they knew human ships could collapse hyperspace from the outside easily.
Before him, the windows of the ship once again automatically dimmed, protecting the crew's eyes as the colorful light of the created hyperspace-bubble finally reached them.
“Hyperspace collapsed!” the Lieutenant then suddenly announced, causing Kazadi to blink in surprise as his eyes shot up to his screen. He hadn't given any order to collapse it yet. But indeed, it was gone. For a moment, he thought that the stress had caused his officer to use the wrong term in haste, however no, they had been completely right. It had not been dispersed in a controlled manner. It had collapsed.
In a mild 'thud', the Vice-Admiral's fist descended on the armrest, hand firmly clenched into a fist.
“Those cowardly ba-” he began to growl but then bit his tongue and released a low, almost grunting exhale while his fist quivered from momentarily clenching tighter. “Prepare to search for survivors,” he instead said in a much more controlled manner a moment later. “Preserve lives.”
“Yessir,” multiple of his officers echoed back as he looked out of the window, where he could still see the ghostly afterimage of the hyperspace bubble linger for a bit longer. It was always a strange feeling, seeing someone in the distance who was already dead...
–
With her view darkened and her goggles momentarily pulled off her eyes, Shida stared at the glowing bubble of impossible colors. Her sensors had already told her what was about to happen at any moment now, however her eyes still heavily constricted as they finally witnessed what unfolded themselves.
In what could be described as nothing else than a 'snap' , the light of the hyperspace-stretch instantly condensed down into its original size as the universe all at once remembered that the laws of physics were a thing that existed and brutally forced space to conform to them once again – no matter what may have been in between it and its original form.
Anything within the strange, round stretch was mercilessly ripped along with the convulsion, forcing all the injected warships and fighters into the single, small point that the stretch had been generated from. Though not even a faction of a second later, it all exploded outwards again as the megatons of mass realized that they could not all exist in the same place at once, since the energy of the event was not quite potent enough to press it all into a neutron star or singularity.
No longer recognizable blotches of undefined, white-hot matter were instantly scattered in all directions like some sort of micro-supernova that accentuated the sometimes still burning nano-stars that the earlier battle had created from the opposing fighters.
It was almost pretty...but still, Shida couldn't help but let her ears hang as she wondered how many of the enemy combatants had known about the decision to end things this way. Had any of them even been asked?
Even if it was the far more disturbing answer in a way, Shida almost hoped that this had actually been one mutual suicide-pact instead of the decision of one single commander to choose death over dishonor. Especially while sitting in a ship that was technically under the command of someone else herself, that was certainly the less immediately petrifying option – even if it would probably spell far worse things in the long run.
As she said there, the 'shockwave' of the collapsing hyperspace suddenly hit her, spreading out through space even without any medium to carry it and rocking her ship gently while also penetrating all throughout her body. Of course the earlier relativity fire had already caused similar ripples and she was therefore quite used to the feeling, however these ones sure felt a bit more severe than those of the U.H.S.D.F.'s own canons. It was like she felt her own body distort while also remaining perfectly in palace – almost like she was a stiff container full of water that someone had given a heavy smack from the side, riling up the liquid without it actually having any place to plash to.
According to everything they knew, this phenomenon felt incredibly odd but was entirely harmless to living beings – which was instinctively very hard to believe when one felt it on their own body.
However, her dwelling thoughts were, perhaps luckily, interrupted as she – or more precisely one of her scanners - picked up on a peculiar signature that one of the scattered debris pieces was sending out.
Well, it was 'peculiar' to her that there was a signal at all at first, however then she quickly realized what it actually was. This particular signal was hammered into any pilot's head six ways to Sunday, and so she reacted relatively quickly when she glanced at the grid and realized that she was the closest ship to it. Firing up her engines, she turned her ship on the spot in a slight drift before activating her generator and making a jump right behind the flying object.
Once there, she allowed her computer to take aim for a second before firing out a harpoon that quickly struck the flying debris and latched her ship onto it through a long cable, allowing her to pull the thing along with her after slowly using her backwards thrusters to disperse its speed little by little. Pressing the indicator of her communication, she then spoke up.
“Scratches to Sun,” she announced. “I just recovered a black box. Permission to return for inspection?”
The black boxes of modern ships truly were among the most ridiculous pieces of tech out there, in Shida's humble opinion. Built to withstand almost everything that would likely take a ship out through a combination of brilliant engineering and extremely flexible material that only worked in its indented manner on very small scales. Well, very small compared to the ships they were built into. The things were about half the size of Shida in the end. For many years, armies of scientists had attempted their very best to make this same sort of defense useful in ways that could maybe be used to protect actual people from catastrophic events – but to no avail so far. For now, the only thing those little marvels could allow to survive even something as ludicrous as hyperspace collapsing was information.
“Permission granted, Lieutenant-Commander,” the answer came almost immediately. “Return to hangar three.”
“Copy,” Shida replied. “Scratches out.”
With that, she moved her ship around and prepared for her jump back to the Sun. Hopefully this thing would give them some answers on what exactly this whole thing was meant to accomplish...
–
Far away in another part of the galaxy, a pair of mildly glowing red eyes was laser-focused on a large screen that was just one of many that had merged all over Nedstaniot-Station to broadcast the breaking news to anyone willing to lift their eyes at a slight angle to look at them.
An attack on a coreworld. And not just any coreworld. Gewelitten itself. Something like this hadn't happened in...well, Curi didn't even know how long.
Details seemed to still be incredibly fuzzy as the battle so close to the coluyvoree homeworld had either just happened or was still happening at the moment of the broadcast, however what few details were known were already repeated on end in an endless scroll of text that was meant to catch as many people up to speed as was at all possible through the medium of television. Obviously the same emerging details could already be looked up on the net as well to find them in a more digestible format than the endlessly moving text next to the not exactly top quality footage of the occurring conflict.
However, despite the speed with which it went by, Curi had no problem following the scroll as they stared at the screen intensely.
“Attack was unannounced. Multiple Gewelitten fleet ships destroyed. Official sources confirm: Humanity NOT the aggressor. Attacking ships presumed to be of zodiatos origin. Unknown weapon technology deployed during the attack. U.H.S.D.F. ships engaged in combat after aggression. Myiat delegation ship confirmed unharmed. Attack on government facility on planet simultaneous to spacial attack. Councilman-Candidate Aldwin confirmed unharmed. Status of U.H.S.D.F. General Krieger unknown. Status of Gewelitten Governor H. Cierrophai unknown. Status of Acting-Councilman Afuéhner unknown. Allied coreworld defense fleets activated and inbound. General alert level raised to 8. Hyperspace-travel shut down around the system.”
“Mother, oh no...” Mueen said with absolute shock in his eyes, both of his hands clasped over this mouth as his wide pupils quivered in fear from what they witnessed.
Curi could understand his worry. Though Moar had supposedly been with James, so she would probably be fine. The cyborg was certainly more than just a little relieved that James was already confirmed to be safe. Though the idea that Admiral Krieger's situation was unknown was more than just a little disconcerting.
Though despite the supposed lack of their commanding officer, it seemed like the humans had decisively won out in the battle outside of the coreworld's atmosphere; unknown technology or not.
Given the sub-par footage that some drone was likely recording from quite far away from the actual conflict, it was very hard to tell just what sort of weapon the unknown but presumed to be zodiatos attackers had unleashed there. It looked like some sort of emanating energy that destroyed what it came into contact with but also interacted with it as if it had a physical presence.
Curi had never seen anything remotely like it before – not even in their wildest theories – and their mind immediately wanted to go wild with speculations and ideas about how such a thing might work now that they knew for a fact that it was possible from seeing it with their own eyes.
However, the cyborg pulled themselves together and successfully forced the briefly almost overwhelming desire to focus on nothing else down as they shifted their gaze slightly away from the screen to look over at their other currently nearby company.
Then again, as much as they knew they couldn't let their guard down around him, Reprig's eyes were just as immovably attached to the large screen as Mueen's were as he witnessed the unfolding battle with quivering horror.
His trunk was wiggling wildly in his face and one of his hands nervously scratched over the plate of the table they were all sitting and standing at and on, right next to a piece of paper with a hastily drawn sketch of a spring-like mechanical leg that was inspired by what humans called 'running blades'. The Warrant Officer's weapon also laid on the table, pushed a but further away from his hand so he wouldn't be able to easily reach it.
Though despite his focus, Curi couldn't quite help but speak up after a moment of watching him. “A coreworld attacking another coreworld,” they said to the man, who they knew either had to know far more than they did about this – or would be far more invested in it unfolding. “This is unprecedented.”
Reprig seemed to notice that they were talking to him, however he still remained silent and stared a good few moments longer before finally pulling his gaze away from the screen.
As his eyes met theirs, he looked a bit sick. It almost reminded the cyborg of one of the first interactions they had with the man, back when they nudged him slightly to hand his spy-device back to him after he tried to hide it in James' cabin. Though this time, the cyborg was quite sure that they were not the reason why the man seemed like most of his blood was currently rushing into his stomach.
Could he actually be shocked about what was happening? Was this not part of the plan?
“Unprecedented doesn't even come close to describing it...” he mumbled and couldn't hold the cyborg's gaze for long, looking down to the table's plate instead. “And these aren't just any coreworlds. Osontjar and Gewelitten have been allied for an unimaginably long time. The thought that they would even think of attacking each other...what sort of madness could've caused something like this?”
Curi was the first to admit to themselves that they were far from the best at reading people. If someone with even a modicum of skill in acting wanted to make them believe something untrue about the person they were talking to, they would never deny that there was a good chance of that person succeeding.
Still, Reprig's reaction felt...genuine to them. As if he had actually never expected something like this to happen. Not in a million years.
Maybe it was just skillful acting. And Curi knew that they should have been suspicious like that. However, despite everything he had done, they couldn't quite bring themselves to suspect that he was lying at that moment.
“I know it is unlikely you will give me an honest answer, but-” Curi began to say, however Reprig was more than able to anticipate what they were going to ask and replied long before they were finished.
“No. No. Never,” the sipusserleng said, shaking his head heavily and standing his trunk up while making a denying gesture with his hand that was so brash that he actually knocked his crutch off the small outcrop in the table it had been laid down on. “This must be some absolutely deranged people, no two ways about it. To attack a coreword...”
Curi noticed Reprig's gaze briefly twitching down, his eyes jumping onto the personal assistant strapped to his lower arm as if he suddenly got the urge to use it for something.
Curi suspected he likely wanted to call someone; question them to make extra sure that they had, in fact, nothing to do with this. Though the sipusserleng suppressed the urge and pulled his eyes away, bringing them back up to the screen.
Just at that moment, the implosion of collapsing hyperspace suddenly lit up the footage moments before the glowing remnants of what once had been the zodiatos ships were scattered across the star-system.
Mueen mumbled something in his home's language as his eyes remained affixed to the screen. Curi couldn't even begin to guess what he was saying. However, his voice sounded pleading.
“Suicide instead of surrender?” Reprig meanwhile mouthed breathlessly as his nervous tick of excessively licking his trunk began to show.
Although he had often been otherwise employed in recent times, Curi could see it in the man's eyes that he was still, in a way, military at heart. He knew the general values and doctrines that were conveyed to the soldiers of the Communal Military, both inside and out. And the idea of someone choosing death like this...it seemed to rock him to his very core.
Slowly, he turned his gaze over to Curi. His eyes were almost pleading with the cyborg, even if they seemed to already know that his next question would be asked in vain.
“Could it maybe have been the humans and their-” he began, but this time, it was Curi's term to cut him off after anticipating what was coming.
“While humans very much employ the collapsing of hyperspace as a tactic in war, the process is not invisible – or even subtle. Had the human ships caused that collapse, it would've been noticeable,” they explained succinctly. “It could've still been a mere unexpected failure of the hyperspace generation, of course. However, with the rarity of such events, the timing seems...unlikely.”
“They weren't even trying to generate a real stretch...” Reprig concurred dejectedly and left his head hanging, his trunk also sinking down limply. “I can't even imagine- Well...I hope they will at least find peace now, away from the madness.”
Curi paused for a long moment, staring at the Warrant Officer some more. Admittedly, the cyborg was a bit confounded at something. They knew for a fact the man had put his own life on the line for his orders, with a very real chance that they would lead to his death, more than just once. And yet the idea of being ordered to die seemed to disturb him. They couldn't quite figure out the difference that led to the results in reaction being so incredibly different, however it was still very clear that there was one.
And it seemed to hit the man hard.
Self-admittedly, Curi didn't exactly pity the man. They didn't quite have the capacity to. They knew about so many horrible things he had done that simply seeing him distressed was far from enough to stir such deep empathy for him within them.
Yet still, they weren't left entirely cold by it either – and if it was only because he seemed to be affected by these events in the ways a, for a lack of a better term, 'normal person' would be. He was shocked at the sudden, seemingly senseless violence, and concerned about the people involved.
Granted, it was likely only because they were people he considered worth being concerned about, yet still, the reaction was so...'normal', in a way they didn't quite expect from someone with such a capability for unceremonious acts of cruelty and violence. Even this person who had tried to kill them, or at least had been entirely comfortable with them getting killed, was capable of such a reaction.
And Curi...wasn't sure if that made things better or worse, if they were being honest.
It felt better because there was the capability for empathy there, however...it felt worse because they felt how they had been and likely still were willingly denied said empathy.
He could have cared...he just didn't want to.
Curi shook their body heavily, causing mild sounds from the engines running their legs' movements from the sudden force as they tried to shoo away emotions that they really didn't want to be feeling at that exact moment.
The thing that mostly kept them from following up on some of their uncomfortably aggressive thoughts at that moment was the fact that Mueen was still with them, the worry for his mother written across his features like a deep engraving in a metal plaque. He did not need anything like that around him right now, that much was clear.
Slowly, they moved over to him and reached up one of their long legs to run it along his arm while he still covered parts of his large face with both hands.
“She will be alright,” Curi then assured the dark-furred rafulite, switching from their usual voice box to their more “melodic” one to put on a gentle, calming tone. “She is stronger than she seems.”
Inhaling deeply as his nostrils flared, Mueen closed his dark eyes and swallowed heavily, taking his gaze off the large screen for the first time in many minutes while slowly hanging his head down.
“Yeah,” he said, seeming to force hopefulness into his tone. “Yes, she'll be fine. She made it his far. This won't get to her.”
Curi nodded with their entire body and continued to run the tip of their leg along his arm.
“She will be,” they repeated, both to the man and themselves as their own eyes moved upwards, their gaze falling back on the battlefield riddled with burning remnants of matter. “I'm sure of it.”
–
Never in his life had James felt so drunk and so sober at the same time. His mind was entirely clear, running a light-year a minute as it desperately tried to simultaneously process all the admittedly little information that he had in his current situation AND to not absolutely freak out while doing so somehow – a task he was ludicrously failing at. And it did NOT help that his body could barely keep itself on his own two feet.
He had avoided completely fainting by a hair earlier after reminding himself that, instead of being terrified for Shida's life, it would be much more fair towards her to simply focus on trusting in her skills to carry her through. However, that was barely a little patch on an enormous crack in his facade as he couldn't help but go over and over and over the fact of how much worse the situation that she needed to jump into here had been for her simply because it was his damn birthday and they wanted to indulge over it. He should've stopped that, but noooo, he just had to go and let himself be swayed so damn easily, as if he was still that little boy following Koko around whenever she visited the compound to try and get some attention.
Of course, a quiet voice in the back of his head tried to politely remind him that Shida had, in fact, not only taken part in the festivities as well but also encouraged him to do so, however it was easily overpowered by the screaming rest of his mind.
He briefly glanced over at the only somewhat conscious Commander. When she said that they should match each other's drinks, that should've been the moment he stopped. She was like half his weight, what the hell was he thinking?
His mechanical hand shot up, heavily gripping a fist full of hair as he tried to force himself to focus. What's done is done. There's no changing it. He should focus on anything else right now.
Though as he painfully pulled on his hair like that, his eyes suddenly went wide as he noticed something. Or, more precisely, didn't notice something.
When had the alarm stopped? Just now? Or had it been out and he just hadn't noticed?
Letting go of his hair, he lifted his face and looked around. If the alarm was over, then that meant...
The uncoordinated movement of soldiers reaching for their phones and radios with different speeds went through the room, and after brief confirmation, the uniformed forces began to move, having seemingly gotten new orders other than guarding the safe-rooms. Apparently, the threat was over.
James quickly fumbled for his own phone, his barely coordinated hands struggling extremely with the simple task of trying to call one of his contacts – much to the frustration of his already cleared mind. His finger trembled as he swiped it across the screen, trying to get it to the right damn place to make a simple god-damn call.
However, he froze in the motion at a quiet sound that was immediately followed by a sudden stir behind him as multiple people seemed to move quickly. And after just a second, James was among them as well.
Nearly tripping over his feet, he damn near threw himself onto the sickbed that didn't stand too far away from him, his phone momentarily forgotten and eyes wide open as they stared over at an endlessly familiar dark face, that however had life in it for the first time in what felt like an eternity at that moment.
Slowly and twitchy, Nia's eyes fluttered open as she let out quiet groans while mildly stirring in place while her doctors and nurses hurried around her and quickly began to take her vitals.
After flinching heavily as a flashlight was quite suddenly shone into her eyes to test her photopupillary reflex, she began to move even more. Meanwhile, James and Tuya were basically pressed shoulder to shoulder close to the foot of her bed, the only thing keeping them from dashing right up to her face being just enough awareness to not get in the doctor's way.
Still, although her movements were very slow, stiff, and groggy, Nia eventually lifted up her head, looking around with still somewhat hazy and half-closed eyes. But that didn't stop her from smiling when her gaze fell onto the two who so nervously stood at her bedside there.
“Hey,” she said in a quiet, croaky, but still very much cheerful voice as her unkempt hair fell down both sides of her face.
Though James didn't see much more than that, because just about at that moment, his vision was entirely taking away by welling-up waters sweeping him along.

I'm asking this here cause I can't seem to find any posts or explanations elsewhere, but in Meet the Grahams, there's the line:
"To any woman that be playin’ his music, know that you’re playin’ your sister Or better, you’re sellin’ your niece to the weirdos, not the good ones"
Now I get the two obvious points here that I believe have already been covered elsewhere: - By supporting/playing Drake's music, you're endangering women ("playing your sister"), by giving Drake a platform. - He then says "or better" and rephrases it as "selling your niece", "selling" over "playing" to emphasize the severity of the betrayal, and the idea that Drake is trafficking these women, "niece" over "sister" because while a sister is often around the same age as you, your niece is usually much younger, implying Drake would be more interested in someone much younger than the women Kendrick is addressing here.
But what's thrown me off since I first listened is this last part: "to the weirdos, not the good ones"
I get that "weirdos" is referring to Drake/OVO but what does he mean by "the good ones?" Is he implying there's a "good" group of people to sell women/children out to? That doesn't sound like Kendrick but I can't imagine he'd use that specific phrasing for no reason. What do you guys think? Did I miss something or am I just overthinking it? The line just throws me every time cause it sounds so off and I can't seem to make sense of that particular phrasing.

New Bedford Highway Killer - Wikipedia
"The New Bedford Highway Killer is an unidentified serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least nine women and the disappearances of two additional women in New Bedford, Massachusetts, between March 1988 and April 1989.^\1]) The killer is also suspected to have assaulted numerous other women. All the killer's victims were known sex workers or had struggles with addiction. While the victims were taken from New Bedford, they were all found in different surrounding towns, including Dartmouth, Freetown and Westport, Massachusetts, along Route 140. The main detective that pursued the case was John Dextradeur.^\2])

1. Robbin Lynn Rhodes, 29, also referred to as “Bobbie Lynn” was found on March 28, 1989, along Route 140 southbound in Freetown by a search dog. She is believed to have gone missing sometime in March or April 1988. Rhodes had dated suspect Kenneth Ponte. She had a young child and was addicted to heroin and cocaine. While she was never involved in prostitution, she knew many of the other victims and was friends with victim Mary Rose Santos.^\3])
2. Rochelle Clifford Dopierala, 28, of Falmouth, disappeared sometime during late April 1988. Her body was found on December 10, 1988, in a gravel pit along Reed Road beneath a tree grove, about two miles from Interstate 195, by people riding ATVs. She was partially clothed and had been beaten to death. She had dated and stayed at the home of suspect Kenneth Ponte, who was arrested for her murder, but the charges were eventually dismissed due to a lack of evidence. This was the only time charges were brought in this case. Rochelle had testified against another man who had raped her, but he is not suspected in this case. She was last seen with victim Nancy Paiva’s boyfriend, an ex-convict. He was cleared in both deaths and is not a suspect.^\3])
3. Deborah Lynn McConnell, 25, of Newport, Rhode Island, was mother to one daughter. Deborah was last seen sometime in May 1988 by her father after the funeral of her mother at the local cemetery. She is believed to have been the third victim. Her body was found on December 1, 1988, off Route 140 northbound in Freetown, through a cadaver dog search. She was found nude with a bra wrapped around her neck.^\3])
4. Debra Medeiros, 29, of Fall River lived with her mother. Debra was known to both police and family to have had long standing substance abuse issues but no record for prostitution. She was last seen by her boyfriend in New Bedford after a fight, and was reported missing on May 27, 1988. She was the first of the bodies found and she was identified in December 1988. Her body was found on July 3, 1988, by a woman who went to relieve herself just in the woods on the side of the road on Interstate 140 in Freetown. Her remains were severely decomposed with her body positioned on her back with her feet pointed towards the highway. Her cause of death was strangulation, she had a bra wrapped around her neck, and she was found only partially clad. Her boyfriend was ruled out as a suspect. After her death, her mother counselled drug and alcohol addicts in honour of her daughter’s death.^\3])
5. Christina Monteiro, 19, was last seen sometime in May 1988 and has not been seen or heard from since. Christina had a child and had a known substance abuse history. She was a Cape Verdean American female with brown hair, brown eyes with scars on both wrists and a scar near her left eye. She was between 5’3 and 5’5 and was 110 lbs. She had initials and words tattooed on her arms. She was wearing a shirt, blue jeans and sneakers when she was last seen.^\3])
6. Marilyn Cardoza-Roberts, 34, was last seen sometime in June 1988 and has not been seen or heard from since. She was reported missing in December 1988. She was neighbours with victim Christina Monteiro, who is also still missing.^\3])
7. Nancy Lee Paiva, 36, of New Bedford, was last seen walking home from a bar called “Whisper’s Pub” on July 7, 1988, after a reported fight with her boyfriend in the South End in the early hours of the morning. Nancy reportedly had substance abuse issues but was not known to be a prostitute. Nancy had gone to secretarial school, but dropped out. She was married at 19, divorced and had two teenaged daughters. Nancy was known as a very supportive mother and grandmother. At the time of her death, she had a steady boyfriend, who was a drug dealer known to police. Her relationship with her boyfriend had been dysfunctional with domestic violence issues. Her nude body was discovered beside Interstate 195 Westbound in Dartmouth on July 30, 1988, by two men who were riding motorcycles. Her body was found in the same position as victim Debra Medeiro’s – on her back with her feet pointing towards the highway. Nancy’s cause of death was also believed to be strangulation. Her boyfriend is not a suspect in her death.^\3])
8. Debra Greenlaw Demello, 35, was a mother of three; a fifteen year old daughter, Chandra and two boys who were eight and three respectively at the time of her death. She had struggled with substance abuse issues since her teenage years. She had walked away from a prison work-release program to which she had been sentenced due to a prostitution charge on June 18 and was last seen in New Bedford, on July 11, 1988. Her body was found off the eastbound Reed Road ramp of Interstate 195 by a state highway crew on November 8, 1988. Debra’s nude body was in an area with trees with her clothing strewn in the branches. She was found with some belongings of another victim, Nancy Paiva.^\3])
9. Mary Rose Santos, 26, of New Bedford, was a mother of two, who was dropped off on July 16, 1988, by her husband, with whom she had recently reconciled, near the downtown bus station and last seen dancing at “The Old Quarterdeck Lounge” five hours later. Friends said her husband had no idea she was working the streets to help pay bills, and she was known to have a substance abuse issue. Mary Rose Santos’ nude body was found with a beer bottle on March 31, 1989, along Route 88 in Westport by two boys. Suspect Kenneth Ponte had represented Mary Santos in a civil case and helped her husband make flyers after her disappearance.^\3])
10. Sandra Botelho, 24, was a mother of two young sons who were both four and six-years-old. Botelho was known to have a significant substance abuse issue and engaged in prostitution. Botelho reportedly left her apartment on August 11, 1988, at 11 pm and never returned. She was the final body found, located in the woods along Interstate 195 in Marion on April 24, 1989. Her body was nude and reportedly was folded into a foetal position.^\3])
11. Dawn Mendes, 25, was last seen in New Bedford, on September 4, 1988, walking from her apartment to a family christening party. Mendes was one of ten children and was also the mother of a five-year-old boy. She had a history of prostitution and drug use. Her body was found on November 29, 1988, on the westbound Reed Road ramp off Interstate 195 by a search dog. There were mostly skeletal remains but her hand was able to yield a fingerprint which lead to her being identified. Her mother raised her son after her death.^\3])^"

Hi, I’m bonzos-number-1-fan You might know me from such theories as; "Theory of Fears; or, Zur Furchtlehre", "What R# Means: The ABCs of Fear" or, "Padlocks, How Do They Even Work?".
I’m back with another essay about this show. Today’s subject is a little different from previous ones. Rather than explaining what I think something in this show is, I’ll be explaining what I think it isn’t. What I’m going to be talking about is the very popular theory that CAT1/2/3 means the supernatural aspect is a Person/Place/Object.
Because I’m talking about other people’s ideas here I do want to start off by saying I understand why this theory is attractive and I don’t think anyone is stupid or anything for believing it. I just personally think there are angles from which it doesn’t work and that the sum of them makes it fairly certain to be untrue. I could be very wrong about that, and my other theories, or I could be very right. I don’t think either scenario matters much. This essay isn’t about being right but about talking about a big thing in the community. I just happen to not believe this one and people have signalled interest in hearing why.
So with all that out of the way I’m going to start by establishing the terminology being used. Then I’ll break down what this theory is positing and follow it up with the ways I think it does and doesn’t work. That’s basically it but with 16 episodes and supplemental material to cover it’s still not going to be terribly short.
Huge thanks to @brettanomycroft for proof reading/editing this madness.

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol up to and including episode 16.

 

What is a CAT#?

A CAT# is the first 4-5 characters of an OIAR's incident report header. While these are not often referenced in the main body of the show, each incident we hear is accompanied by one in the show's description and transcript. As an example this is the case number for the first incident of episode 1.

CAT1RBC5257-12052022-09012024

Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]

The first line is the case number. CAT1 is this incident's CAT#. The RBC (R#/Rank) and 5257 (DPHW) have been topics I've discussed in essays I linked at the start. The second line is the header and is formatted “Section (Subsection) -/- Crosslink [Format]”. CAT#s is all we're concerning ourselves with today but I will be using this terminology going forward.
Now we know what they look like, what is it we know about them? Well, not much at all. From the show itself we know there are CAT1s, CAT2s, CAT3s and CAT23s. From the Klaus excel sheet that was found as part of the ARG (and can be found here) we also know there are CAT12s and CAT13s. With that information we can say with some certainty that CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3 are non-mutually exclusive groupings. It's very likely not a linear scale of some description—i.e CAT23 isn't between CAT2 and CAT3—because CAT13 doesn't fit such a scale. Which means that where there are two numbers in a CAT# that incident likely fits both groups rather than being a new group. This also strongly implies that an incident could be CAT123 although we have yet to see that demonstrated.
We also know that CAT is short for "Category". In the Klaus sheet these numbers are located in the "Kategorie" column. "Kategorie" being German for "category". This unfortunately doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. CAT#s denote some form of grouping.
There is only one other fact we know about CAT#s and that's this:

ALICE
Right, so, after each entry there's four numbers. That’s the DPHW. So, “dolls comma watching” is… 1157. Then you cross reference with the table here, that would be a 2-C, and then you type that into the box here, along with date of incident if there is one and today’s date.

Which is not a lot to go on at all but it does raise an important question. How is a CAT# assigned? There are two major assumptions you could make here. The first is the “objective method” and that it’s a factor of either the section, subject, DPHW or a combination thereof. This means that they are pre-assigned in the same way that DPHWs are. This method has an inherent trait in that it means every header manifests as the same sort of thing. While it’s not a problem to say that every Doll (Watching) is the same— that could just be the rules of the setting—it does make CAT# itself somewhat redundant. The terminology of the headers will often describe something inherent about the CAT#. We have a CAT3 case that’s Dice (Bone) -/- Fate but dice are objects so why would you need to restate that?
The second is the “subjective method” in which the assessor chooses the CAT# based on the incident itself. The subjective method has a larger assumption built into it in that they know what CAT#s are. They don’t know what DPHW is and have shown no indication of knowing what CAT# is either. So I’d say it’s less likely that CAT#s are subjective rather than objective. However, for the purposes of this essay I will assume that both are as likely to be true as each other and will refer to them both. Different cases show different flaws when one of these is true over the other, so both will get discussed.
 

What is Person/Place/Object?

Person/Place/Object is the theory that the three single digit CAT#s stand for Person, Place, and Object respectively. Combinations of these digits represent that an incident falls into each category. A CAT1 incident indicates that the supernatural element of an incident is a person in some respect, while a CAT23 would indicate both a place and an object.
As I have mentioned this isn’t a theory with a single theorist or origin to point to. As such this theory isn’t a monolith and there is variation in how these categories are presented from theory to theory. Sometimes “Person” is literal and other times it includes any sentient thing, “places” aren’t always strictly physical locations, and the narrative framing of what “objects” are may shift. As such I will be taking the broadest interpretation of these categories as their definitions.
People will include animals and other sentient beings. Places will include metaphysical locations. Objects won’t need to be physical in nature. This is both the fairest I can be to all theories and also the strongest I can make this theory. The broader I can make these definitions, the more different ideas can be represented and the more wiggle room the CAT#s get.
What I’ll do next is run through all the incidents the show has mentioned and explain them as I see it. We’ll start with the ones that fit this theory well because they require little explanation. Then when that’s established we’ll talk about the places I think this theory falls down.
 

Which Incidents fit well?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: There is something like a zombie in this incident. That’s something like a person and so fits well.
CAT1RB4824 Injury (Needles) -/- Intimidation: Needles is definitely a person, no question there.
CAT1RB2275 Mascot (Kids) -/- Murder: Bonzo walks, “talks”, and probably thinks. He’s a person.
CAT1B4728 Mascot (Kids) -/- Frenzy: Bonzo is still doing that stuff so is still a person.
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/-Horde: There was a person and they turned into snakes. Snakes count as people here too. Given the amount of snakes this is the most CAT1 CAT1.
CAT1RB-6451 Hunt (Aristocratic) -/- Compulsion: Lady M is the most person on this list.
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Definitely involves a person doing something supernatural.
 

CAT2:

CAT2C8175 Infection (Full Body) -/- Arboreal: This incident takes place in a time and space bending garden. Makes perfect sense for CAT2.
CAT2RB2377 Disappearance (Undetermined) -/- Invitation: A spooky theatre is a location for sure.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: In this instance the object in question is the tattoo. Which I think is really stretching the definition of “object” but I’m still going to give it to the theory.
CAT3C7494 Collection (Blood) -/- Musical: A magical violin is definitely an object.
CAT3RB3354 Dice (Bone) -/- Fate: Bone dice are inarguably objects.
CAT3RB4622 Gambling (Application) -/- Murder: It’s another stretch to call an app an object but, again, happy to give it to the theory.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RAB2155 Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass: In this incident’s case the location is the Magnus Institute and the object is the box RedCanary stole. I think there are some problems with this one but there is enough to get through.
 

Which Incidents Don't?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: You’re not misremembering, I did say this fit well. Because on the surface it really does make sense, but I think if you push just a little it makes very little sense. Why? Because any category you want to place this in is easily justified in the incident itself. There is a zombie-esque thing but also a Frankenstein-esque figure for CAT1. CAT 2 would be the location of the graveyard itself. It was chosen by the presumed creator of this zombie-like creature and is depicted similar to the one in Marked, a CAT23 incident. If this theory is correct and the Marked graveyard is supernatural I can’t see a reason to discount that possibility here. CAT3 fits too because the presumed creation method is that they were Frankenstein-ed which does require some sort of surgical apparatus. But whichever choice you make you’ve not really clarified the incident at all.
This issue is further seen in the methodology of assigning CAT#s.Objectively it has the same problem all objective assignments do. Reanimation implies there is going to be a reanimated person so restating that doesn’t add much. If we look at the subjective method then this is chosen largely at random. There isn’t enough of an indication in this incident to clearly state which CAT this is. So it’s neither helped in the assessment of the incident and doesn’t provide anything for response because all choices are justifiable.
 
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/- Horde: Not misremembering here either. There is a problem with this one in that it’s demonstrated to be an infection. This makes the source of the affliction basically unknowable. The source could qualify it for other CATs but the larger issue here is that what CAT1 means here and what it means elsewhere are not that comparable. Needles, Bonzo, and Lady M are all sentient and independent. The afflicted we see in this case are normal people until they get very rapidly sick, summon a portal to the snake dimension in their throats, and die. Which leaves CAT1 translating to “something in the rough shape of a person” which is a really wide range of interpretations. Which is something I feel has little practical utility in either assessing or responding to these incidents.
 
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Still not misremembering. While you can say that Ink5oul or Madame E are the person in this instance there is a major conflict here with CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic. If Daria’s transformation was CAT3 because tattoos are objects then there is no reasonable justification that this isn’t at least CAT13. It’s the same person, doing the same thing, to a very similar result but in a different CAT. The headers are entirely different, and so this/that may be misfiled, but it highlights a problem with Daria’s incident. If the incident with the Tattoo header isn’t an object then tattoos are probably not objects under this scheme.
If this is objective then this is always a person, or on people, which makes a great deal of sense. However if that’s the case then the objective method for Daria’s case sort of falls apart because there wasn’t really a secondary object there. Additionally, because all incidents with that case’s header being objects is a huge stretch. So if this incident, or that incident, is misfiled it doesn’t really matter. In either case (or even if both of them are misfiled), it largely disproves that tattoos are objects, creating a larger issue with that theory as it affects more than just this case. Subjectively as far as we’re aware Sam filed all three of the Ink5oul incidents. So he chose an object in Daria’s case but then opted against it here despite there being no real reason to that we can see. You could say that now Ink5oul has been in it more, he thinks Ink5oul has some sort of supernatural power themselves which makes them a CAT1; that would still make this CAT13 as episode 11 was CAT23.
 

CAT2:

CAT2RC1157 Dolls (Watching): This is a big one in my opinion. It’s not only the first incident we’re told about, but it's both Sam’s and our first exposure to an explanation of the OIAR’s filing system. It’s also one I see ignored in most of the posts that posit the Person/Place/Object theory. That is understandable as we don’t hear the incident itself but we do hear enough of it to show that there is a flaw in the theory.
What we hear about this incident is entirely focused on the doll itself and questions about its nature. It’s a split between Dolls (Watching) and Dolls (Human Skin) with the former being chosen as the latter is only implied. Dolls themselves are objects which would make this CAT3, and if the doll is sentient a CAT1. However, this is placed in CAT2 indicating that it's actually caused by the location in some respect. In order for that to make sense you have to make 3 major assumptions. Assumption 1: despite no indication in the conversation about this incident suggesting anything outside of the doll being strange there was actually a “haunted house”. Assumption 2: despite there being sections far more descriptive of locations—i.e Architecture—Dolls is more suited to this incident. Assumption 3: despite this being Sam’s/the audience’s first exposure to this system it leaves out the real source of the incident when, narratively, this is an explanation of it. Those are some fairly major assumptions to make to justify a theory.
This also has issues with either method of assigning CAT#s. If CAT# is objective then every Dolls (Watching) is actually a location. Unlike with something like Reanimation (Partial) that doesn't make much sense as dolls themselves are objects. In the subjective method, Alice assigned this as a location but their discussion of it centred solely on an object and she didn't explain to Sam why she did it.
 
CAT2RC3338 Agglomeration (Miscellany) -/- Congregation: This might be my favourite example of issues I have with this theory. To explain it we’ll look at this from both the objective and subjective methods while taking into account outside knowledge of the show from an audience perspective.
Everyone I’ve seen posit this theory attributes CAT2 to Hilltop here.They do this solely because of TMA. There is nothing in this episode that makes Hilltop out to be anything special in any way. But because Hilltop is special in TMA the audience is primed to view this location as special. It may very well be but there is no reason to think that. In fact, I’d argue there's reason to think otherwise based on this episode, but that is a little off topic for this essay. However from an objective perspective it can’t take Hilltop into account because not every header of this sort will take place in Hilltop. They could only manifest at special locations but that seems like a stretch. If it is true, why does this unique combination of words not include a word that describes it as a location? Subjectively it could be a misfile. Celia would be the only person who knows what Hilltop is in TMA— assuming some of the theories on her are correct—but that doesn’t make Hilltop important in and of itself. It also means she ignored large parts of this incident when filing it just to focus on that element. As this case is the one Alice uses to teach Celia the system with, then this also relies on Alice knowing or not correcting Celia. In either scenario this case is full of people of definite supernatural quality, lacks a location of supernatural quality, but has 100s of objects of dubious supernatural quality. Something doesn’t make sense here if this theory is correct.
 
CAT2RBC3366 Architecture (Liminal) -/- Hunger: This one is interesting because it shows a flaw not in the theory per se but in the methodology as a whole if the theory is correct. If CAT# is what the theory says it is why is this just CAT2? It being CAT2 at all is redundant when its header describes a location but in this incident we see it’s populated by supernatural creatures. I call them Uncannybals—as should you—and they’re monsters living in the shadow realm. That seems like very important information to include. So it should be CAT12 as there are both people and a place. The OIAR methodology already has the problem that you can’t include multiple headers but CAT#s, if they worked like this, could be used to alleviate that issue. The way it’s implemented here just makes it virtually pointless to include at all.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: This was largely already covered. So simply put if Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic is an object because of the tattoo, and Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion is an object because of the tattoo, but Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac isn’t an object despite being virtually identical to this case then CAT3 doesn't mean object.
The method problems are the same as above too. Now this case is the one most likely of the three to be misfiled. So you could say that Daria's case is misfiled and would actually be CAT1 if filed correctly. Tattoos aren’t objects, this case is a mistake. Then you could explain that Marked is CAT23 because corpses are objects (so 13 if he was alive). Objectively this header always being CAT3 still poses problems because we know there are Transformations that don’t require objects. Which brings us back to the problem of “why are the headers so bad at describing these things?”. If it’s subjective Sam decided that object instead of person made more sense here. Seemingly based on the fact that there is a tattoo. Later on he changed his mind about this but choosing it in the first place seems like a stretch. If he knew what these things meant in order to choose them, object seems like a very unobvious choice.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RC5246 Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion: This one is fairly clear to me. I’m going to be very generous and suggest that the corpse here is the object based on the above. The reason this one is a problem is that there wasn’t a location here. I’ve seen people say that it must be the graveyard but that’s confirmation bias IMO. It wasn’t a large feature of the episode, didn’t do anything coastal graveyards don’t do, and had no overt supernatural properties to it. I don’t personally think anyone would categorise this as CAT23 based on the incident alone but because CAT23 people will justify it to fit. That’s not inherently a problem because sometimes you have to make assumptions but given all of the above I don’t think that assumption is a reasonable one to make.
Objectively all compelling corpse tattoos are found in magical graveyards—or morgues, tombs, goth bars, and other corpse hangouts—and I think we can all agree that’s sort of wack. Subjectively Sam decided the graveyard was magic despite there being nothing to suggest that.
 

Klaus’ CAT#s:

This is a bit of a special section. I briefly mention Klaus in the intro but I didn’t mention that some of the incidents we’ve heard have been found on the Klaus sheet. The canonicity of these aren’t 100% and I would say the show takes precedent so this is supplemental rather than definitive. I think I’ve more than shown that this theory doesn’t hold up. This is more of an academic exercise.
The big thing to know here is that Kluas’ cases lack headers entirely but that some Klaus cases have notes and it’s these notes attached. It’s only one’s with those notes I’m interested in for this because of how they relate to things we’ve heard. One case is CAT3RBC1567 with the note “tinte”. CAT3RBC1567 is Daria’s case and “tinte” is German for “ink”. So this is very likely that case. There are 4 other cases with that note and they’re two CAT1s, a CAT3, and a CAT13. So even if Daria’s case is misfiled not all of those are the correct CAT# for that assumption. There are also two CAT1s and a CAT2 marked “Herr B”, which is “Mr B” in English. These aren’t tied to a Bonzo case we’ve heard yet but one of them does take place in Bland Theme Park, Somerset. That’s not definitively Bonzo but it’s a good hint at it.
Additionally there are 6 CAT2 cases that have the note “Katzen LOL” or “Cats LOL” which you’d expect to be CAT1s if there are cats involved. In a similar vein there are one CAT1 and five CAT2s marked “Kreigsvolk” which is literally “War People” but more likely “Army” or “Soldiers”. Again, you’d expect more CAT1s if CAT1 is people.
I’m not saying any of the above is the backbone of my reasoning here but these are things that are showing up in the show and they do seem to be pointing the same direction as what I’m saying. Ignoring them entirely I think the theory doesn’t hold up but with them I think it’s very clear.
 

Conclusion

I don’t have much of a wrap up here. Anyone who’s been reading my posts for a while has known that I’ve never thought this theory worked. It’s not something I ever get too deep into because I’m also obviously happy for people to have ideas I disagree with, as am I happy for them to disagree with my ideas. That’s just healthy theorising. I’d been considering writing this for a while though but was mostly held back by not wanting to come across as some sort of arbiter of what is and isn’t correct, and didn’t want to seem like I was calling anyone out specifically. However a few people now said they wanted to see this and there are enough instances of parallel thought on this theory that it’s impossible for me to really single people out now. So here we are.
Just to reiterate for people that did/do believe this theory I don’t think anyone was stupid and/or wrong for thinking it. I hope if the above has convinced you that I’m right about it that you’re not dissuaded from making and sharing future theories. I’ve have 3 or 4 terrible CAT# theories and a few R# theories too. My current ideas on DPHW and R# might be awfully wrong in the long run and that’ll be okay.
That’s me anyway, hope this was at the very least an interesting read if it didn’t manage to be a convincing one. Bonzo! Bonzo!! Bonzo!!!

Hi, I’m bonzos-number-1-fan You might know me from such theories as; "Theory of Fears; or, Zur Furchtlehre", "What R# Means: The ABCs of Fear" or, "Padlocks, How Do They Even Work?".
I’m back with another essay about this show. Today’s subject is a little different from previous ones. Rather than explaining what I think something in this show is, I’ll be explaining what I think it isn’t. What I’m going to be talking about is the very popular theory that CAT1/2/3 means the supernatural aspect is a Person/Place/Object.
Because I’m talking about other people’s ideas here I do want to start off by saying I understand why this theory is attractive and I don’t think anyone is stupid or anything for believing it. I just personally think there are angles from which it doesn’t work and that the sum of them makes it fairly certain to be untrue. I could be very wrong about that, and my other theories, or I could be very right. I don’t think either scenario matters much. This essay isn’t about being right but about talking about a big thing in the community. I just happen to not believe this one and people have signalled interest in hearing why.
So with all that out of the way I’m going to start by establishing the terminology being used. Then I’ll break down what this theory is positing and follow it up with the ways I think it does and doesn’t work. That’s basically it but with 16 episodes and supplemental material to cover it’s still not going to be terribly short.
Huge thanks to @brettanomycroft for proof reading/editing this madness.

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol up to and including episode 16.

 

What is a CAT#?

A CAT# is the first 4-5 characters of an OIAR's incident report header. While these are not often referenced in the main body of the show, each incident we hear is accompanied by one in the show's description and transcript. As an example this is the case number for the first incident of episode 1.

CAT1RBC5257-12052022-09012024

Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]

The first line is the case number. CAT1 is this incident's CAT#. The RBC (R#/Rank) and 5257 (DPHW) have been topics I've discussed in essays I linked at the start. The second line is the header and is formatted “Section (Subsection) -/- Crosslink [Format]”. CAT#s is all we're concerning ourselves with today but I will be using this terminology going forward.
Now we know what they look like, what is it we know about them? Well, not much at all. From the show itself we know there are CAT1s, CAT2s, CAT3s and CAT23s. From the Klaus excel sheet that was found as part of the ARG (and can be found here) we also know there are CAT12s and CAT13s. With that information we can say with some certainty that CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3 are non-mutually exclusive groupings. It's very likely not a linear scale of some description—i.e CAT23 isn't between CAT2 and CAT3—because CAT13 doesn't fit such a scale. Which means that where there are two numbers in a CAT# that incident likely fits both groups rather than being a new group. This also strongly implies that an incident could be CAT123 although we have yet to see that demonstrated.
We also know that CAT is short for "Category". In the Klaus sheet these numbers are located in the "Kategorie" column. "Kategorie" being German for "category". This unfortunately doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. CAT#s denote some form of grouping.
There is only one other fact we know about CAT#s and that's this:

ALICE
Right, so, after each entry there's four numbers. That’s the DPHW. So, “dolls comma watching” is… 1157. Then you cross reference with the table here, that would be a 2-C, and then you type that into the box here, along with date of incident if there is one and today’s date.

Which is not a lot to go on at all but it does raise an important question. How is a CAT# assigned? There are two major assumptions you could make here. The first is the “objective method” and that it’s a factor of either the section, subject, DPHW or a combination thereof. This means that they are pre-assigned in the same way that DPHWs are. This method has an inherent trait in that it means every header manifests as the same sort of thing. While it’s not a problem to say that every Doll (Watching) is the same— that could just be the rules of the setting—it does make CAT# itself somewhat redundant. The terminology of the headers will often describe something inherent about the CAT#. We have a CAT3 case that’s Dice (Bone) -/- Fate but dice are objects so why would you need to restate that?
The second is the “subjective method” in which the assessor chooses the CAT# based on the incident itself. The subjective method has a larger assumption built into it in that they know what CAT#s are. They don’t know what DPHW is and have shown no indication of knowing what CAT# is either. So I’d say it’s less likely that CAT#s are subjective rather than objective. However, for the purposes of this essay I will assume that both are as likely to be true as each other and will refer to them both. Different cases show different flaws when one of these is true over the other, so both will get discussed.
 

What is Person/Place/Object?

Person/Place/Object is the theory that the three single digit CAT#s stand for Person, Place, and Object respectively. Combinations of these digits represent that an incident falls into each category. A CAT1 incident indicates that the supernatural element of an incident is a person in some respect, while a CAT23 would indicate both a place and an object.
As I have mentioned this isn’t a theory with a single theorist or origin to point to. As such this theory isn’t a monolith and there is variation in how these categories are presented from theory to theory. Sometimes “Person” is literal and other times it includes any sentient thing, “places” aren’t always strictly physical locations, and the narrative framing of what “objects” are may shift. As such I will be taking the broadest interpretation of these categories as their definitions.
People will include animals and other sentient beings. Places will include metaphysical locations. Objects won’t need to be physical in nature. This is both the fairest I can be to all theories and also the strongest I can make this theory. The broader I can make these definitions, the more different ideas can be represented and the more wiggle room the CAT#s get.
What I’ll do next is run through all the incidents the show has mentioned and explain them as I see it. We’ll start with the ones that fit this theory well because they require little explanation. Then when that’s established we’ll talk about the places I think this theory falls down.
 

Which Incidents fit well?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: There is something like a zombie in this incident. That’s something like a person and so fits well.
CAT1RB4824 Injury (Needles) -/- Intimidation: Needles is definitely a person, no question there.
CAT1RB2275 Mascot (Kids) -/- Murder: Bonzo walks, “talks”, and probably thinks. He’s a person.
CAT1B4728 Mascot (Kids) -/- Frenzy: Bonzo is still doing that stuff so is still a person.
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/-Horde: There was a person and they turned into snakes. Snakes count as people here too. Given the amount of snakes this is the most CAT1 CAT1.
CAT1RB-6451 Hunt (Aristocratic) -/- Compulsion: Lady M is the most person on this list.
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Definitely involves a person doing something supernatural.
 

CAT2:

CAT2C8175 Infection (Full Body) -/- Arboreal: This incident takes place in a time and space bending garden. Makes perfect sense for CAT2.
CAT2RB2377 Disappearance (Undetermined) -/- Invitation: A spooky theatre is a location for sure.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: In this instance the object in question is the tattoo. Which I think is really stretching the definition of “object” but I’m still going to give it to the theory.
CAT3C7494 Collection (Blood) -/- Musical: A magical violin is definitely an object.
CAT3RB3354 Dice (Bone) -/- Fate: Bone dice are inarguably objects.
CAT3RB4622 Gambling (Application) -/- Murder: It’s another stretch to call an app an object but, again, happy to give it to the theory.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RAB2155 Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass: In this incident’s case the location is the Magnus Institute and the object is the box RedCanary stole. I think there are some problems with this one but there is enough to get through.
 

Which Incidents Don't?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: You’re not misremembering, I did say this fit well. Because on the surface it really does make sense, but I think if you push just a little it makes very little sense. Why? Because any category you want to place this in is easily justified in the incident itself. There is a zombie-esque thing but also a Frankenstein-esque figure for CAT1. CAT 2 would be the location of the graveyard itself. It was chosen by the presumed creator of this zombie-like creature and is depicted similar to the one in Marked, a CAT23 incident. If this theory is correct and the Marked graveyard is supernatural I can’t see a reason to discount that possibility here. CAT3 fits too because the presumed creation method is that they were Frankenstein-ed which does require some sort of surgical apparatus. But whichever choice you make you’ve not really clarified the incident at all.
This issue is further seen in the methodology of assigning CAT#s.Objectively it has the same problem all objective assignments do. Reanimation implies there is going to be a reanimated person so restating that doesn’t add much. If we look at the subjective method then this is chosen largely at random. There isn’t enough of an indication in this incident to clearly state which CAT this is. So it’s neither helped in the assessment of the incident and doesn’t provide anything for response because all choices are justifiable.
 
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/- Horde: Not misremembering here either. There is a problem with this one in that it’s demonstrated to be an infection. This makes the source of the affliction basically unknowable. The source could qualify it for other CATs but the larger issue here is that what CAT1 means here and what it means elsewhere are not that comparable. Needles, Bonzo, and Lady M are all sentient and independent. The afflicted we see in this case are normal people until they get very rapidly sick, summon a portal to the snake dimension in their throats, and die. Which leaves CAT1 translating to “something in the rough shape of a person” which is a really wide range of interpretations. Which is something I feel has little practical utility in either assessing or responding to these incidents.
 
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Still not misremembering. While you can say that Ink5oul or Madame E are the person in this instance there is a major conflict here with CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic. If Daria’s transformation was CAT3 because tattoos are objects then there is no reasonable justification that this isn’t at least CAT13. It’s the same person, doing the same thing, to a very similar result but in a different CAT. The headers are entirely different, and so this/that may be misfiled, but it highlights a problem with Daria’s incident. If the incident with the Tattoo header isn’t an object then tattoos are probably not objects under this scheme.
If this is objective then this is always a person, or on people, which makes a great deal of sense. However if that’s the case then the objective method for Daria’s case sort of falls apart because there wasn’t really a secondary object there. Additionally, because all incidents with that case’s header being objects is a huge stretch. So if this incident, or that incident, is misfiled it doesn’t really matter. In either case (or even if both of them are misfiled), it largely disproves that tattoos are objects, creating a larger issue with that theory as it affects more than just this case. Subjectively as far as we’re aware Sam filed all three of the Ink5oul incidents. So he chose an object in Daria’s case but then opted against it here despite there being no real reason to that we can see. You could say that now Ink5oul has been in it more, he thinks Ink5oul has some sort of supernatural power themselves which makes them a CAT1; that would still make this CAT13 as episode 11 was CAT23.
 

CAT2:

CAT2RC1157 Dolls (Watching): This is a big one in my opinion. It’s not only the first incident we’re told about, but it's both Sam’s and our first exposure to an explanation of the OIAR’s filing system. It’s also one I see ignored in most of the posts that posit the Person/Place/Object theory. That is understandable as we don’t hear the incident itself but we do hear enough of it to show that there is a flaw in the theory.
What we hear about this incident is entirely focused on the doll itself and questions about its nature. It’s a split between Dolls (Watching) and Dolls (Human Skin) with the former being chosen as the latter is only implied. Dolls themselves are objects which would make this CAT3, and if the doll is sentient a CAT1. However, this is placed in CAT2 indicating that it's actually caused by the location in some respect. In order for that to make sense you have to make 3 major assumptions. Assumption 1: despite no indication in the conversation about this incident suggesting anything outside of the doll being strange there was actually a “haunted house”. Assumption 2: despite there being sections far more descriptive of locations—i.e Architecture—Dolls is more suited to this incident. Assumption 3: despite this being Sam’s/the audience’s first exposure to this system it leaves out the real source of the incident when, narratively, this is an explanation of it. Those are some fairly major assumptions to make to justify a theory.
This also has issues with either method of assigning CAT#s. If CAT# is objective then every Dolls (Watching) is actually a location. Unlike with something like Reanimation (Partial) that doesn't make much sense as dolls themselves are objects. In the subjective method, Alice assigned this as a location but their discussion of it centred solely on an object and she didn't explain to Sam why she did it.
 
CAT2RC3338 Agglomeration (Miscellany) -/- Congregation: This might be my favourite example of issues I have with this theory. To explain it we’ll look at this from both the objective and subjective methods while taking into account outside knowledge of the show from an audience perspective.
Everyone I’ve seen posit this theory attributes CAT2 to Hilltop here.They do this solely because of TMA. There is nothing in this episode that makes Hilltop out to be anything special in any way. But because Hilltop is special in TMA the audience is primed to view this location as special. It may very well be but there is no reason to think that. In fact, I’d argue there's reason to think otherwise based on this episode, but that is a little off topic for this essay. However from an objective perspective it can’t take Hilltop into account because not every header of this sort will take place in Hilltop. They could only manifest at special locations but that seems like a stretch. If it is true, why does this unique combination of words not include a word that describes it as a location? Subjectively it could be a misfile. Celia would be the only person who knows what Hilltop is in TMA— assuming some of the theories on her are correct—but that doesn’t make Hilltop important in and of itself. It also means she ignored large parts of this incident when filing it just to focus on that element. As this case is the one Alice uses to teach Celia the system with, then this also relies on Alice knowing or not correcting Celia. In either scenario this case is full of people of definite supernatural quality, lacks a location of supernatural quality, but has 100s of objects of dubious supernatural quality. Something doesn’t make sense here if this theory is correct.
 
CAT2RBC3366 Architecture (Liminal) -/- Hunger: This one is interesting because it shows a flaw not in the theory per se but in the methodology as a whole if the theory is correct. If CAT# is what the theory says it is why is this just CAT2? It being CAT2 at all is redundant when its header describes a location but in this incident we see it’s populated by supernatural creatures. I call them Uncannybals—as should you—and they’re monsters living in the shadow realm. That seems like very important information to include. So it should be CAT12 as there are both people and a place. The OIAR methodology already has the problem that you can’t include multiple headers but CAT#s, if they worked like this, could be used to alleviate that issue. The way it’s implemented here just makes it virtually pointless to include at all.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: This was largely already covered. So simply put if Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic is an object because of the tattoo, and Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion is an object because of the tattoo, but Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac isn’t an object despite being virtually identical to this case then CAT3 doesn't mean object.
The method problems are the same as above too. Now this case is the one most likely of the three to be misfiled. So you could say that Daria's case is misfiled and would actually be CAT1 if filed correctly. Tattoos aren’t objects, this case is a mistake. Then you could explain that Marked is CAT23 because corpses are objects (so 13 if he was alive). Objectively this header always being CAT3 still poses problems because we know there are Transformations that don’t require objects. Which brings us back to the problem of “why are the headers so bad at describing these things?”. If it’s subjective Sam decided that object instead of person made more sense here. Seemingly based on the fact that there is a tattoo. Later on he changed his mind about this but choosing it in the first place seems like a stretch. If he knew what these things meant in order to choose them, object seems like a very unobvious choice.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RC5246 Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion: This one is fairly clear to me. I’m going to be very generous and suggest that the corpse here is the object based on the above. The reason this one is a problem is that there wasn’t a location here. I’ve seen people say that it must be the graveyard but that’s confirmation bias IMO. It wasn’t a large feature of the episode, didn’t do anything coastal graveyards don’t do, and had no overt supernatural properties to it. I don’t personally think anyone would categorise this as CAT23 based on the incident alone but because CAT23 people will justify it to fit. That’s not inherently a problem because sometimes you have to make assumptions but given all of the above I don’t think that assumption is a reasonable one to make.
Objectively all compelling corpse tattoos are found in magical graveyards—or morgues, tombs, goth bars, and other corpse hangouts—and I think we can all agree that’s sort of wack. Subjectively Sam decided the graveyard was magic despite there being nothing to suggest that.
 

Klaus’ CAT#s:

This is a bit of a special section. I briefly mention Klaus in the intro but I didn’t mention that some of the incidents we’ve heard have been found on the Klaus sheet. The canonicity of these aren’t 100% and I would say the show takes precedent so this is supplemental rather than definitive. I think I’ve more than shown that this theory doesn’t hold up. This is more of an academic exercise.
The big thing to know here is that Kluas’ cases lack headers entirely but that some Klaus cases have notes and it’s these notes attached. It’s only one’s with those notes I’m interested in for this because of how they relate to things we’ve heard. One case is CAT3RBC1567 with the note “tinte”. CAT3RBC1567 is Daria’s case and “tinte” is German for “ink”. So this is very likely that case. There are 4 other cases with that note and they’re two CAT1s, a CAT3, and a CAT13. So even if Daria’s case is misfiled not all of those are the correct CAT# for that assumption. There are also two CAT1s and a CAT2 marked “Herr B”, which is “Mr B” in English. These aren’t tied to a Bonzo case we’ve heard yet but one of them does take place in Bland Theme Park, Somerset. That’s not definitively Bonzo but it’s a good hint at it.
Additionally there are 6 CAT2 cases that have the note “Katzen LOL” or “Cats LOL” which you’d expect to be CAT1s if there are cats involved. In a similar vein there are one CAT1 and five CAT2s marked “Kreigsvolk” which is literally “War People” but more likely “Army” or “Soldiers”. Again, you’d expect more CAT1s if CAT1 is people.
I’m not saying any of the above is the backbone of my reasoning here but these are things that are showing up in the show and they do seem to be pointing the same direction as what I’m saying. Ignoring them entirely I think the theory doesn’t hold up but with them I think it’s very clear.
 

Conclusion

I don’t have much of a wrap up here. Anyone who’s been reading my posts for a while has known that I’ve never thought this theory worked. It’s not something I ever get too deep into because I’m also obviously happy for people to have ideas I disagree with, as am I happy for them to disagree with my ideas. That’s just healthy theorising. I’d been considering writing this for a while though but was mostly held back by not wanting to come across as some sort of arbiter of what is and isn’t correct, and didn’t want to seem like I was calling anyone out specifically. However a few people now said they wanted to see this and there are enough instances of parallel thought on this theory that it’s impossible for me to really single people out now. So here we are.
Just to reiterate for people that did/do believe this theory I don’t think anyone was stupid and/or wrong for thinking it. I hope if the above has convinced you that I’m right about it that you’re not dissuaded from making and sharing future theories. I’ve have 3 or 4 terrible CAT# theories and a few R# theories too. My current ideas on DPHW and R# might be awfully wrong in the long run and that’ll be okay.
That’s me anyway, hope this was at the very least an interesting read if it didn’t manage to be a convincing one. Bonzo! Bonzo!! Bonzo!!!

I (26F) and my husband (32M) are childfree. We aren’t open about it, but my parents know.
My brother (29M) and his wife (? lol) do want children. They live 15-20 minutes away from my husband and me. They are the kind of people to book a trip and last second ask you to watch their cat. They are also the kind of people that expect help and money and etc from others while rarely giving in return. I’m not close with my brother at all, and we are low contact or about to be (now that major life events are over such as buying a house and getting married). My SIL is actually not bad and I get along with her. However, sometimes it’s like walking on eggshells around her and one wrong thing you say can turn into this whole stupid thing cause she makes a big deal out of everything. That being said I don’t think they know about my child freedom.
Recently, they have given me more gifts that I thought they would for my wedding (the only people I felt obligated to get gifts from given I spent $1000+ on theirs). It’s creating some kind of obligation in my head to help them out even though I know they were just doing what they should do. I’ve always been this way and it’s hard to shake sometimes.
I believe they intend to have a child next year. Which means they will be asking me to babysit, go to baby showers and etc. I don’t want to do any of that. I’m very good with putting my foot down and setting boundaries and telling people I absolutely won’t do certain things and not budging. For example, I definitely plan to bring up the fact that I do NOT do babies at ALL and if I ever were to help out in times of emergency or something, the kid would have to be past the toddler stage at LEAST.
So I know when the time comes I will definitely communicate as such but I just want to find the right words to use so I don’t offend anyone or whatever. Also, is it appropriate to tell them not to expect help from me before the baby is even born? I feel like I should so they don’t create assumptions as they usually do, but I also feel like that’s crass or wrong? How should I phrase things going forward, and when should I say certain things? Has anyone had a similar experience?
Thank you!

The truth is, I’ve never experienced a relationship. I’ve never kissed someone, I’ve never been with someone sensually and I never had a deep conversation with someone. I never had that chance to have a connection with someone and I feel like there aren’t people out there who truly understand what I’m dealing with. I’m not perfect and unfortunately people strive for perfection. I've pretty confidence when it comes to looks face wise but I'm not confident when it comes to my body. I’ve always put in the effort and truly want to experience loving someone. I’ve always wanted to experience silly moments. I’ve always wanted to enjoy company with someone where I can put overthinking aside. I've always wanted someone that I can grow with sensually. I’m someone who enjoys moments of quiet without expecting someone to talk to me. I believe being comfortable is key to having good communication. I know saying all of this is meaningless for some because preferences are key but that’s just how I’ve been thinking lately. I don’t mind any culture or race and I wish people judged based on personality.
My life a years ago while suffering through depression and anxiety affected me greatly. I’ve been dealing with negative energy which caused me to be unestablished with life with no type of motivational goals. I was extremely overweight lying in bed all day doing nothing but playing games. My family had put a lot of their problems on me, and I was usually the scapegoat for their narcissistic traits. Regardless, I am still grateful because my life could have been worse. While my parent’s gave me a hard time, I am still able to pursue life goals and bettering myself with a roof over my head, which is why I will always be grateful for them. While my life now has changed a lot. I am still in the process of self improvement. Currently I’m finishing up my first year in college studying for a technology degree. I’ve always wanted to experience college and I also wanted to have a good future with a degree that can open multiple opportunities for me. I’ve also lost a significant amount of weight. I don’t have the “ideal” body that most look for, but I’ve been feeling better for myself recently which is all I need. Self care plays a major role in changing my wellbeing. I picked up some new hobbies along the way. I’ve been fascinated with aquariums and aqua scaping. I’ve been in love with nature and everything to do with it. I’ve also started watching more shows and movies.
If you’ve reached the end, I appreciate you giving me the time to even read this. I don’t like sharing my name randomly, but you can call me Ken for now. I’m willing to show my picture so don’t be afraid to ask. My height is 5’9, I’m a black American with a light skin complexion. I wear glasses, I don’t have any tattoos, I don’t have any piercings, I don’t smoke or do drugs, I drink on special occasions but would be nice to finally have someone to casually drink with, I normally dress presentable, I smile a lot and tend to be silly, I don’t mind any humor. I lean more to be extremely introverted which gave me my shy and awkward traits, I am respectful and treat people how I want to be treated. I love to game, especially on PC. I’m always down to trying a variety but my favorites so far have been anything from Tom Clancy or a game to vibe to whether it’s Mine Craft or some old 2d games like maple story. I love watching streams especially GTA RP, I love watching YouTube, I love watching anime and reading manga. When I’m not too focused on college I tend to do them more. I don’t mind going out, which is something I would love to get more comfortable with. I’m always willing to try new hobbies.
All that I can ask from you is to be patient with me. Most importantly, JUST BE YOU. Besides interest being the most important thing when it comes to connecting, I would appreciate someone closer to me in NYC or train distance. I will consider another distance if the connection is right. My personality and hobbies are very important when it comes to connecting so I would appreciate it if you’re similar in thar regards. I tend to stick to one person than multiple people at one time. I want to be able to understand you how you would understand me. Before you talk to me, understand that I’m in the process of improving my life. That means, don’t expect a 27 year old to be established with everything. I’m working on it. So please, to avoid certain spams, can you tell me about yourself just like how I did in this post of mine. Thank you.

The truth is, I’ve never experienced a relationship. I’ve never kissed someone; I’ve never been with someone sexually and I never had a deep conversation with someone. I never had that chance to have a connection with someone and I feel like there aren’t people out there who truly understand what I’m dealing with. I’m not perfect and unfortunately people strive for perfection. I've pretty confidence when it comes to looks face wise but I'm not confident when it comes to my body. I’ve always put in the effort and truly want to experience loving someone. I’ve always wanted to experience silly moments. I’ve always wanted to enjoy company with someone where I can put overthinking aside. I've always wanted someone that I can grow with sexually. I’m someone who enjoys moments of quiet without expecting someone to talk to me. I believe being comfortable is key to having good communication. I know saying all of this is meaningless for some because preferences are key but that’s just how I’ve been thinking lately. I don’t mind any culture or race and I wish people judged based on personality.
My life a years ago while suffering through depression and anxiety affected me greatly. I’ve been dealing with negative energy which caused me to be unestablished with life with no type of motivational goals. I was extremely overweight lying in bed all day doing nothing but playing games. My family had put a lot of their problems on me, and I was usually the scapegoat for their narcissistic traits. Regardless, I am still grateful because my life could have been worse. While my parent’s gave me a hard time, I am still able to pursue life goals and bettering myself with a roof over my head, which is why I will always be grateful for them. While my life now has changed a lot. I am still in the process of self improvement. Currently I’m finishing up my first year in college studying for a technology degree. I’ve always wanted to experience college and I also wanted to have a good future with a degree that can open multiple opportunities for me. I’ve also lost a significant amount of weight. I don’t have the “ideal” body that most look for, but I’ve been feeling better for myself recently which is all I need. Self care plays a major role in changing my wellbeing. I picked up some new hobbies along the way. I’ve been fascinated with aquariums and aqua scaping. I’ve been in love with nature and everything to do with it. I’ve also started watching more shows and movies.
If you’ve reached the end, I appreciate you giving me the time to even read this. I don’t like sharing my name randomly, but you can call me Ken for now. I’m willing to show my picture so don’t be afraid to ask. My height is 5’9, I’m a black American with a light skin complexion. I wear glasses, I don’t have any tattoos, I don’t have any piercings, I don’t smoke or do drugs, I drink on special occasions but would be nice to finally have someone to casually drink with, I normally dress presentable, I smile a lot and tend to be silly, I don’t mind any humor. I lean more to be extremely introverted which gave me my shy and awkward traits, I am respectful and treat people how I want to be treated. I love to game, especially on PC. I’m always down to trying a variety but my favorites so far have been anything from Tom Clancy or a game to vibe to whether it’s Mine Craft or some old 2d games like maple story. I love watching streams especially GTA RP, I love watching YouTube, I love watching anime and reading manga. When I’m not too focused on college I tend to do them more. I don’t mind going out, which is something I would love to get more comfortable with. I’m always willing to try new hobbies.
All that I can ask from you is to be patient with me. Most importantly, JUST BE YOU. Besides interest being the most important thing when it comes to connecting, I would appreciate someone closer to me in NYC or train distance. I will consider another distance if the connection is right. My personality and hobbies are very important when it comes to connecting so I would appreciate it if you’re similar in thar regards. I tend to stick to one person than multiple people at one time. I want to be able to understand you how you would understand me. Before you talk to me, understand that I’m in the process of improving my life. That means, don’t expect a 27 year old to be established with everything. I’m working on it. So please, to avoid certain spams, can you tell me about yourself just like how I did in this post of mine. Thank you.

这是一篇为所有中国同胞写的中英双语帖子，为了让所有人都能看懂，我会全部如实写成中英文两版，不但可以为中国战友提供一个温暖的港湾，也可以让所有其他地区的人知道中国战友与他们同在！本文章仅代表个人看法，不构成任何投资建议。 This is a bilingual post written for all Chinese Apes in both Chinese and English. To make this post understandable to all of us, I will write everything faithfully in both Chinese and English versions. Not only can this provide a warm harbor for Chinese people, but it can also let people from all over the world know that an extremely strong Chinese army is standing with them!! This article represents only my personal views and does not constitute any investment advice.
首先，我们这次战斗的最终目的是让看空这只股票的对冲基金付出惨痛的代价！！大家一致的目标应该是收割华尔街空头口袋里的钱，而不是做T低买高卖收割战友的钱。而达成这一目标我们要做的是低价买入并坚定持有，等待股价飞涨，最终形成轧空。当价格足够高的时候，做空机构就会权衡利弊，放弃抵抗被迫平仓以数十亿甚至数百亿的代价回购将来可能涨到50块甚至上百块一股的股票。到时候因为做空机构的大量回购，就会进一步推动股价继续飞速上升，到达更高，那一刻才是我们的最终胜利！ First of all, our ultimate goal in this battle is to make the hedge funds that are shorting this stock pay a painful price!! Our objective should be to harvest the money from the pockets of Wall Street shorts, rather than engaging in short-term trading to harvest money from our brothers and sisters. To achieve this goal, all we need to do is to BUY the DIP and HODL, waiting for the stock price to rise and finally cause a short squeeze. When the price is high enough, hedge funds institutions will weigh the pros and cons, give up resistance, and be forced to cover their positions at a cost of tens of billions or even hundreds of billions to buy back the stock, which may rise to $50 or even hundreds of dollars per share in the future. At that moment, due to the massive buybacks by short-selling institutions, the stock price will be further propelled upwards rapidly, reaching even higher levels, which will be our ultimate victory!
而此战我们的初步战略目标是从5月16日开始算起连续10个交易日FFIE收盘（美东时间下午4：00）价格保持在1以上不退市，就可以撤销纳斯达克的退市要求。首先你需要知道，在纳斯达克上市的股票如果连续30个交易日收盘价格低于1美元，就可能面临退市风险。纳斯达克会向公司发出通知，要求其在收到通知后的180个日历日内将股价提高到至少1美元，并保持至少10个连续交易日。目前FFIE公司已经收到了通知，并且开始10个交易日倒计时，我们必须要首先保证FFIE不会退市。为了做到这一点，已经有数十万来自全球各地的散户战友集结于此守在1块钱，随时准备买进，抵挡住空头大军的攻击，此刻，我们固若金汤！但即使某天闭市价格低于1，也不必惊慌，退市之前都随时有机会卷土重来！请继续持有！ In this battle, our initial strategic objective is to ensure that the FFIE closing price remains above $1 for ten consecutive trading days, starting from May 16th, to avoid permanently delisting by Nasdaq. You need to understand that for stocks listed on Nasdaq, if the closing price remains below $1 for thirty consecutive trading days, they may face delisting risk. Nasdaq notifies the company, requiring it to increase the stock price to at least $1 within 180 calendar days of receiving the notification, and maintain it for at least ten consecutive trading days. Currently, FFIE has received the notification and the countdown of ten trading days has begun. We must ensure first and foremost that FFIE does not get delisted. To achieve this, hundreds of thousands of retail comrades from around the world have gathered here, ready to buy at $1 and resist the attacks of the short sellers. At this moment, we stand as solid as a rock! But even if the closing price is below 1 on a certain day, no need to panic at all! We always have the opportunity to make a comeback until the stock is delisted! Please keep HOLDING!
目前截至5月21日，我们的战斗已经连续胜利了3天，还需再努力坚持7天，我们就可以达成初步胜利！而这个过程亦是让世界的焦点凝聚于我们的过程，只要让全世界看到我们的团结和壮大，就可以吸引更多志同道合的人，壮大队伍，甚至吸引名人和做多机构的加入，朝着更高的价格一路高歌猛进！🌟🚀
As of May 21st, our battle has been continuously victorious for 3 days. With another 7 days of determined effort, we can achieve preliminary victory! This process also draws the world’s attention to us. By showcasing our unity and strength, we can attract like-minded individuals, enlarge our community, and even entice celebrities and organizations to join us, marching forward, full sail ahead! 🌟🚀
而我们作为散户团体所要坚持的只有一句话，**逢低买入并坚定持有！逢低买入并坚定持有！逢低买入并坚定持有！**重要的事情说三遍。
As retail investors, we only need to remember one phrase: “BUY the DIP and HODL!” BUY the DIP and HODL! BUY the DIP and HODL! Important things are worth repeating three times.
这么喊的原因：
Reasons for this:
为什么要逢低？因为当买入价格够低，股票在购买价格之上波动的时候心态才会更稳定，不会因为机构砸盘而过分恐慌。
Why Buy the DIP? Because when the buying price is low enough and the stock fluctuates above the buying price, the mentality will be more stable and people will not panic sell because of the institution's attack.
为什么要坚定持有？因为越来越多的人坚定持有，市场上流通的可交易股票数量就会越来越少，空头机构可操作的空间就会越来越小，无法操纵价格，从而无力回天。每次担心成本过高或者做T的买卖操作，都会成为空头机构的棋子和韭菜。所以请坚定持有！
Why should we HOLD? When more and more people are holding, the number of tradable shares available in the market will decrease, reducing the space for short-selling institutions to operate. This makes it impossible for them to manipulate the price, rendering them powerless. Every time you worry about high costs or engage in quick buy and sell operations (like day trading), you become the chess of institutions and your money get reaped by them. So, please HOLD!
而如果你已经买了，你不需要担心自己是不是买的价格稍微高了，因为如果我们胜利，价格将会是几十或者几百，几十倍翻倍，不差这点买入价格。
Additionally, if you have already bought in, you don’t need to worry if your purchase price was a bit high because if we succeed, the price will be in the tens or hundreds, multiplying many times over, so a slightly higher buying price won't matter.
在这十天中，空头机构可能会想尽一切肮脏的手段制造各种舆论压力，社区关闭，并让股价下跌和造成恐慌，请心情忐忑的散户朋友们不要慌张，我们有数十万的散户坚守在这里，所有人都与你同在！在上周五，下作的做空机构突然关闭了Reddit上Roaringkitty板块，让大家变成了无头苍蝇，但在周五最后，我们还是坚持住了最后一道防线，险胜空头。而这个周末，我们的各种社区频道在Discord, Reddit, Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram以及X（Twitter)如雨后春笋般到处野蛮生长，空头机构已经再也无法造成任何恐慌，打不倒我们的只会让我们更强大！！而我们中国人更是有一句人尽皆知的俗语，一鼓作气再而衰三而竭。周五第一波我们扛住了，相信后面空头的气势只会越来越弱。
In these ten days, short-selling institutions may try every dirty trick to create various public opinion pressures, close communities, and cause stock prices to fall and create panic. Retail investors who are feeling uneasy, please don't panic. We have hundreds of thousands of retail investors holding the line here; we are together! On last Friday, the unscrupulous short-selling institutions suddenly shut down the Roaringkitty section on Reddit, leaving everyone like headless chickens. But by the end of Friday, we still held the last line of defense and narrowly defeated the shorts. Over the weekend, our various community channels on Discord, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and X (Twitter) sprang up like mushrooms after rain. The short-selling institutions can no longer cause any panic; What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger! And we Chinese have a well-known saying, 'Charge with the first drum, wane with the second, and be exhausted by the third.' We withstood the first wave on Friday, and we believe the momentum of the shorts will only get weaker from here on.
最后，我们要让以后的人也知道，我们为了这场和华尔街空头的战斗都做了什么！从周五最后一秒股价的力挽狂澜，到各个社区的崛起，以及各种多语言网站的搭建。我们还有百万粉丝油管UP和百万粉丝Tiktok大佬的加入。而这一切只用了短短两天，在这里大家互相鼓励，互相学习股票知识以及同步信息，无论老少男女，每个人都在尽自己所能为胜利而战！而我们中国人在这次战役中也发挥着举足轻重的作用！我们必须要尽一切可能让所有人听到数十万中国人的声音！让说英语的人知道，他们不是孤单的。
让我们一起坚定持有！！！HODL!!!!!!
Finally, we must let future people know what we did in this battle against Wall Street shorts! From the last-second rally in stock prices on Friday to the rise of various communities and the establishment of multi-language websites. We also had the support of YouTubers with millions of followers and TikTok stars with millions of fans. And all this was achieved in just two short days. Here, everyone encourages each other, learns about stocks together, and shares information voluntarily. Regardless of age or gender, everyone is doing their best to fight for victory! We Chinese also play a crucial role in this battle! We must do everything possible to make the voices of hundreds of thousands of Chinese heard! Let English speakers know they are not alone.
Let's HODL together!!!!!!!!

This title is a bit long, but it is meant to pre-empt some of the nitpicky caveats I know people would come up with otherwise. I know that most people on Reddit (or at least on this sub) are vaguely moral subjectivists or error theorists (even though I don't think most have a worked out view, but more a vibe that morality at least isn't objective). This is the reason why I have phrased my title as a conditional in the way I have: IF you think x is wrong THEN you should think y is wrong. This avoids the inevitable "well, there is nothing really good or bad, it is all just people's preferences".
Secondly, I say buying factory farmed meat in the way most people do, because it avoids strange hyper-specific edge-cases like "what if I bought a package of meat right before closing, and asked the store manager whether they would order more meat if I bought this package", or something like that. When I say "in the way most people do", I mean going into a store, taking a package of factory farmed meat and buying it, no questions asked, or weird caveats added.
Now to the actual argument. First off, the conditions of factory farmed animals are very bad - far worse than being lives worth living. Consider chickens. Broiler chickens live in very crowded spaces (approx. 1 sqft. per chicken) and grow so fast that their limbs cannot keep up and they end up being in constant pain. They get chemical burns on their joints because they are living in their own shit which is high in ammonia. And they have their beaks removed so they don't peck each other because they're so stressed. Now ask yourself, if you had the choice at your deathbed to die and disappear, or to live a life as a factory farmed chicken and then die, which would you choose? I doubt many of you would choose living the life of the chicken. If so, then it isn't worth living in your judgement.
Furthermore, when you buy a package of meat you are causing animals to go through this suffering. You might object something like this: "When I buy a package of meat, it is highly unlikely that I will cause the shop to order more meat, causing factory farms to produce more meat. Thus, most of the time I am not causing more animals to suffer."
This argument doesn't work. Let's look at a simplified example: A shop orders chickens in stocks of 100. When they reach a certain limit in demand, they increase or decrease the amount of stocks they order, depending on whether demand has risen or fallen. You don't know how close they are to ordering a new stock, since you are buying meat like a regular person, and not asking how close they are. But you know that there is a 1/100 chance that your purchase will cause them to order a new stock. Furthermore, ordering a new stock involves ordering 100 more chickens. So on standard decision theory, the expected outcome of your buying a chicken is that one more chicken is ordered (100*1/100).
This is of course an idealized example, but it is how the meat industry works on average: A decrease in demand of x amount of meat packages will reduce the amount of meat packages produced by x on average, even if the industry isn't perfectly sensitive to demand.
So when you buy meat, the expected outcome of your action is that animals are harmed. The amount will be the total money value of the animal in question divided by the money value of the product you bought all multiplied by the amount of suffering of the animal. Likewise, when you kick a stray cat, you are causing it suffering.
Why are you causing these animals suffering?
In the case of the cat, it is for trivial pleasure. Likewise, in the case of meat, it is for pleasure. I think almost everyone who reads this would be able to stop eating meat at trivial cost to themselves. It might take a bit of getting used to, and you might have to order the slightly less tasty option, when going to a restaurant, but generally it would be of quite trivial cost.
The person going around kicking stray cats for fun could stop doing so at little cost to themselves too. They might have a little less fun in their life, but that is certainly outweighed by not kicking cats. We can even imagine that it is a big part of their life. They feel like it is a hobby, and they would have to spend a lot of effort to find a new thing to spend their time doing, and it would never be as fulfilling. Imagine you meet someone who is in the middle of beating a cat until it can barely walk, and you tell them to stop doing it. They then reply the above, that it would make them very sad, and be really inconvenient to them. Would you then answer "oh, of course then, carry on!"? Of course not.
It is not like it being for taste pleasure or nutritional convenience makes any difference either. Suppose it is discovered that the saliva of distressed cats is very tasty, and also high in c vitamin. You now come across the same person again, brutally beating a cat, and you stop them. They now say "oh, haven't you heard, distressed-cat saliva is very tasty and nutritional. And I can't be bothered to incorporate oranges into my diet, so I thought I might as well have some fun and beat this cat for its saliva". Would you now be okay with it?
But in the case where someone is beating a cat, they are hurting something which already exists. But the animals on factory farms wouldn't exist, if they weren't raised for meat. Okay, so imagine if instead of going out and beating cats on the street, the guy in question instead bred cats and kept them in small cages so he could beat them for fun, and perhaps even drink some of their tasty saliva. Is it okay now?
Perhaps the important thing is that you are not doing the killing yourself, but you are instead paying someone else to do it. So imagine instead that the person in question pays someone else to breed and beat cats, and to send videos of it to them so they can enjoy it, and perhaps even send some vials of distressed-cat saliva. Is it okay to pay a person to do that? No.
I doubt anyone actually thinks this, but someone might say "I don't care about factory farmed animal, but I do care about cats". This is why the example is kicking cats for fun. If you do it for fun, that means that you don't care about the cat - that is just stipulated into the example (or well not strictly, but it would be very strange to go around kicking cats for fun if you actually cared about them). You might think that that would mean that it is ok, since you by stipulation don't care, but then you reject the antecedent of my conditional, and so the argument isn't refuted. You might also think that someone cares about cats, and that makes it bad. But that is why I use stray cats - they don't have relationships with anyone. Perhaps someone cares about stray cats in general, without knowing about any particular stray cat. But people (including me) also care about animals in factory farms in general, without knowing about any particular animal.
Another objection one might raise is that crop production also kills animals - approx. 7.3 billion annually (which is less than a tenth of the amount killed in meat production, by the way). So vegans are equally killing animals for food! I will give you ten seconds to think about why this is a bad argument. (Hint: What do the animals killed for food eat?)
I think the actual reason why people are okay with buying factory farmed meat, but not kicking cats for fun is twofold: First off, we are much more used to buying meat than to beating cats. Secondly, it feels much less bad to buy meat than to beat a cat. But clearly neither of these are morally relevant differences. Something wrong doesn't become permissible when you are used to it. Likewise, it doesn't become permissible because it feels less bad.
I am sure there are many possible responses that I haven't adressed directly, but I want to encourage everyone to be a bit honest with themselves before they respond: Do I actually think that this is a plausible position, or am I only drawn to this because the alternative would be inconvenient for me? Would I also believe this principle if I applied it to other cases, or do I only find it plausible in the single example of factory farming?

Hello there,
Before we dive in, let's talk dealbreakers. These are non-negotiables for me, so if any apply to you, it's best to skip my post. (Please respect my preferences, and refrain from dismissing them as delusional.)
Dealbreakers: - You're not open to relocating in the future. (I've got roots - a home, farm, and a non-remote job. I cannot leave that.) - Hygiene isn't a priority for you. - You're not into anything 'esoteric/occult.' or you think this is bullshit - You're deeply devoted to Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. (I'm Pagan; our paths won't align.) - You thrive in big cities and can't imagine village life. - Exotic travels are your thing. - You're just here for casual dating, not something serious. - You deny the reality of mental illnesses. (I'm on my way to becoming a therapist.) - You're not a fan of girls with piercings and tattoos. - Basic live skills like cooking or cleaning aren't your forte. - You're without a job or driving license. - Future children aren't in your plans. - Monogamy isn't your style.
If you don't check any of those boxes, let's continue:
Bonus Points if: - You're into Slavic/Nordic folklore. - You reside in Europe. - You're curious and love to learn. - You're open to a Female-Led-Relationship (FLR). - Phone calls about your day, thoughts, and dreams are your jam. - Fantasy, games, and all things nerdy excite you.
About me:
I stand at 150cm, currently 75kg (and dropping), a curvy brunette. Though my background is in IT engineering, I've veered off that path. However, if you're in the field, I can still keep up with the tech talk! Glasses, piercings, tattoos - they're all part of me. I believe that love transcends appearances; I'm more interested in brains and skills than looks. In your first message Tell me something about yourself. What is your favourite flower? Feel free to slide into my DMs (untill i will find my Prince Charming)
I'm looking forward to getting to know you.