The mods are letting me do a little self-promotion of my yearly gear video, probably because I haven’t asked in 3 years. :) Thanks Mods.
Here it is. Some background though…
In 2012 I made my Reddit login and not long after I was in ultralight, a tiny sub (~ 7,500 members) with some seriously weird people. Mountain Laurel Designs and GoLite seemed like Gods of UL gear, we watched every Chad Poindexter video and Andrew Skurkas spreadsheets were handed around like proof of alien contact. ultralight had a lot of different people. Some were looking to go SUL (under 5 lbs,) some people wanted to get under 10lbs, and a handful came by to tell us we were all going to die in the woods or our setups were ridiculously uncomfortable.
In 2016 I thought I had some things figured out, so I made a “What’s in My Pack” video focused on being deeply ultralight but still comfortable and safe. That was my thing, always trying to push comfort up, but pack weight down. It wasn’t easy to do then, but 8 years on I’m doing much better. We're all doing better.
This sub has grown roughly 14,811% since my first post. While the sub is largely what it was in 2012, there are people here, actively participating, still in that “die in the woods/it’s not comfortable” class. They’re here looking for individual gear ideas, but holding onto inflated baseweights, and seemingly unable to understand how good we have it now. From DCF, better down fill, 0.3mil titanium, 300% more cottage companies, to mainstream gear companies making actually UL things - the availability of ultralight gear that still retains function, durably, is way better. It’s not 2012 anymore, and you may not know it.
So, my 2024 gear video is for all those “you’re gonna die” types. Remember, if you don’t agree with a choice, you still have 2.5lbs/1.3kg to fix it before you break 10lbs. Incidentally, I do think ultralight is just a number – 10lbs/4.5kg.
Please give the video a watch and then tell me what you would improve. Since 2012, I’ve been stealing ideas from people just like you.
.
.
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Video Notes (it’s been out for awhile now)
1) I didn’t know GearSkeptic had debunked the mold in a sleeping pad thing. My bad. I’d still like to know why those dark spots corresponded to baffle welding failure in two pads of mine.
2) Some of you are saying the Outdoor Vital sun hoody is better, but they don’t list UPF and they have an abrasion warning. Sounds kinda bad, yeh?
3) Some people are mad I’m still using gear that has been discontinued. In general, be suspicious of any YouTuber whose links are all fresh affiliate links. They’re there for the money. Also, it proves alot of UL gear lasts years. Again, people love to say UL gear doesn’t last.
4) In 2024 if you bought all this gear at once it would be a lot of money. I added it all up in 2021 and it was only $300-$400 more that the average PCT Thru Hiker Gear cost according to HalfwayAnywheres survey. I'm ok with that.

So…what happened at last night’s 5+ hour meeting? The top story is that the committee voted 6/0/1 (the Mayor abstained) to ask the city for $79.4 million to fund our schools in the 2024-25 fiscal year. This is $8.2 million more than what the district received this year, $5 million more than the number initially provided to the district from the city, and $2.7 more than the number that we received at the May 6 meeting (which included $2.3 million worth of cuts to close the gap between the city’s initial number and the full ask). You can see this laid out before and after public comment (2:21 and 5:09 marks, respectively).
What’s next? The superintendent will present this “ask” to the city council as part of their review of the Mayor’s proposed city budget. Eventually, the Mayor will present a final city budget to the council and once approved, the amount allotted to the schools will come back to the Superintendent as a number so she and her team can create the final budget proposal within that final number. School committee will then need to vote to approve that budget for the upcoming fiscal year (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025).
What else? Recap below. As always, observations and opinions are solely my own. Agenda is here, recording is here. This update also includes some clarification about the difference between level funding and level services, as these are terms getting thrown around a lot.

1. Consent agenda - Two amendments (to add a link to one of the subcommittee meeting minutes and strike from the record the street addresses of students who presented at the budget hearing) but otherwise this approval was routine.
2. Report from the Ad Hoc Handbook Review subcommittee - The proposed policy (in the agenda) was approved in its first reading. (New policies get read twice over the course of two meetings to give relevant stakeholders a chance to comment on them, unless the committee decides to waive the second reading. We declined to do so last night, so this is now the time for district and school administration to provide feedback on the policy.
3. Report from Behavioral Health & Special Education subcommittee - The recommendation to co-locate the Curtis-Tufts school in/with the new high school was approved. The administration and building committee will need to flesh this out for inclusion in the materials to be presented to the MSBA.
4. CCSR recognition - summary of the program by advisor Richard Trotter (400 students, 70 projects this year), two student presentations (a high school student who talked about the program generally as well as his Mystic River clean up projects, and two elementary school students talking about their Letter Carriers Safety program), and appreciation for the support of the Cummings Foundation.
5. Humanities awards recognition - Young Playwrights Project, Student Government Day, Boston Globe Scholastic Writing Awards, Geography Bee, Day on the Hill, Shakespearean Monologue Competition, Immigration Learning Center Teen Perspectives Contest, Ethics Bowl, Mock Trial, Model United Nations - congratulations to all students and their advisors
6. High school update & climate survey results presented by principals Marta Cabral and Chad Fallon - This included data comparisons between last year and this year (all trends were positive), discussion of community norms and core values, an update on the exploratory program (CTE/arts rotation and placements), and some highlights from several CTE programs/projects (scarpentry heds, health assisting, awards, licensing, apprenticeships/placements, the biodiesel collaborative project, and the robotics team), three year strategic priorities, an update on last year’s Welch Report (various pieces in progress, other recommendations planned to go into effect next school year), and a proposal for an alternative program proposal to provide a small group learning environment to meet individual needs (pilot was approved by the committee for next school year).
7. Proposal for CTE program expansion and additions - Chad Fallon provided an overview of the enrollment/wait list numbers, shared the results of a (still-in-progress) student survey about potential new offerings (criminal justice/protective services, dental assisting, IT/networking, plumbing/HVAC, veterinary science, and the various “other” responses to an open-ended prompt), and laid out plans for expanding those programs with the highest wait list numbers (auto technology, cosmetology, electrical, and health assisting programs). The committee passed a motion directing the administration to further flesh out the proposals for inclusion in the building committee’s materials for MSBA.
8. Budget presentation (6:38 p.m., so 1.5 hours into the meeting) - Interim Finance Director Gerry McCue provided some additional context for the budget proposal received on May 6. There were questions and comments from the school committee and student representatives (including a petition), and Member Ruseau made a motion to send a cuts-free budget to city council and the Mayor. Public comment from students, alums, teachers, and parents ensued, focusing on the coordinator of performing arts position, marching band and color guard, the Missituk teaching staff, and a smattering of other items including library, technology, administrative assistants, and kindergarten numbers. Also of note, the Superintendent answered some questions about the performing arts coordinator position around 8:30 (3.5 hours in).
9. Budget vote - The committee voted to approve the motion offered before public comment began. As noted previously, this is NOT the approved budget but rather, the amount we (school committee and the district) are asking the city for. The city council will review the request in the context of the full city budget, ask questions, offer opinions, but eventually the Mayor’s office will present a final budget for city council approval and, once approved, whatever the school number is will come back to the district, who will then prepare a final budget for school committee to vote on.
10. Motion to table the update from the MSBA building committee’s meeting last week - passed and, following condolences, the meeting was adjourned. Next regular meeting is June 3.

BONUS CONTENT! What is the difference between a level funding budget and a level services budget? Level funding provides schools with the same dollar amount as they received in the year before. Because things tend to cost more year to year (due to inflation, contractual raises, etc.) having the same amount of money usually means reducing services. Level services, on the other hand, keeps the services the same but due to aforementioned cost increases, requires a higher dollar amount than the previous year. What did the district/school committee ask for this year? We voted to ask not just for level services, but level services plus additional funding to meet additional district needs (the items presented at the May 6 meeting, nothing new since then).
Superintendent should be at tonight's city council meeting to make this ask and answer questions.

Hi guys. Making another shot at this. Cut prices on a few things because I'm just running out of room for storing my new builds. Order multiples and I may cut you a deal.
This post is mostly for people interested in buying, but I love a trade! If you're interested in trading see my latest post in /letstradepedals. I post there every other week, usually on Tuesday. I got non-DIY stuff in the trade post, too.
What I got for sale is hand-built stuff that I made, mostly relatively unique or heavily tweaked designs built on vero or point to point. Many are housed in upcycled tins, a few in hammond boxes. I've also got small practice amps built inside whatevers that you can crank up and enjoy at low volumes. They all run on standard 9v pedal power.
PRICES DON'T INCLUDE SHIPPING -- I ship USPS priority using pirateship.com, so expect shipping to be between $5 and $15 depending on how close you are to Tennessee. Would prefer to not deal with international shipping, but if you want it bad enough to pay for it, I'm game.
I accept Paypal or Venmo.
MOBILE USERS: There are 4 columns in the table below: Name, Price, Links, and Notes. If you don't see all 4, scroll over or ask for more info.
Fuzzes

Name	Price	Links	Notes
Bazz Me Fuss You #1	$90	PIC DEMO	A bazz-fussified perversion of the Escobedo push-me-pull-you, featuring controls for octave and volume. This is the first unit I've built using my own custom PCB. Housed in a painted 125B with top jacks.
Space Fuzz	$80	PIC DEMO	This is a Hollis crash sync fuzz that I souped up with an LFO to modulate the filtesync frequency. Really wild flangery/phasey type gated fuzz sound. At the right settings you can get some octave-down effects as well. Housed in a ~3.5 inch square game tin reinforced with recycled plastic. Pretty pleased with this build.
SwirlFuzz	$75	PIC DEMO	Modulated octave fuzz prototype. It's an octave fuzz, but you can switch on an LFO to modulate the octave amount. Controls for Rate, Depth, Gain, and Volume, plus switches for waveshape and mode (Normal/Octave/Modulated). In a circular tin reinforced with recycled plastic.
Big Green Fuzz for Attractive Bass Players	$75	PIC Demo	Like my bazz-me-fuss-you circuit, but with a big muff tone stack, a clean blend, and optional clippers for more compression. Housed in a big round tin reinforced with recycled plastic and designed specifically for attractive bass players. Unattractive ones may not really gel with this.
Creature from the planet Chyowngg	$65	PIC Demo	Prototype of a unique fuzz I've been developing that I call the Chyowngg fuzz. It's a 2-stage octaver that gives a bright synthy tone with a distinctive envelope (hence the name). You can toggle each stage from octave to non-octave mode for a variety of interesting timbres. Also has a tone control, but the tone control is before the octave stages so it results in interesting behaviors depending on the switch settings. It's in a tin meant to be painted like an alien, though some say it looks more like a triceratops.
Baller Fuzz	$60	PIC DEMO	Another Bazz-Me-Fuss-You build with an added BMP-style tone control. In a slightly beaten-up heart-shaped basketball tin. Y'all ready for this?
Wiff Spwinkles on Top	$45	PIC Demo	This point-to-point fuzz lives in the same neighborhood as the Harmonic Percolator, but has a few differences. I altered the way the gain knob works, and added a switch to toggle bass cut. It's housed in an ice-creamity welly tin.
Dumbo's Bazzrite Fussrite	$40	PIC Demo	A bazz-fussified mosrite fuzzrite circuit I cobbled together in point-to-point wiring style. Housed in a little Dumbo puzzle tin with GLITTER! Controls are for balance (kind of tone-cum-gain) and volume.

Drives, Distortions, and Boosts

Name	Price	Links	Notes
Bronze Drive	$85	PIC Demo	This is a point-to-point, transistor based overdrive I designed based loosely on the Davisson Easy Drive. Good for low-gain crunchy tones and plenty of output volume on tap if you want it for a boost. Tone circuit is like a BMP stack but with a mid hump instead of a mid cut. Housed in a painted 125B with top jacks.
Copper ZenerMorph Drive	$65	PIC Demo	This is an experiment in zener diode clipping. Nice crispy drive that gets beefier as you turn up the gain, lots of good edge-of-breakup tones to be had. Housed in a decorated tin reinforced with some plastic.
GOOST	$65	PIC	A simple JFET boost vaguely based on the Runoffgroove Fetzer valve. Switch toggles bass cut for a treble-boosting sound. Point-to-point build housed in a small tin reinforced with recycled plastic.
B is for Beast	$55	PIC DEMO	This fun little drive/boost consists of two cascading MOSFET gain stages with optional clipping in between. It goes from clean and loud to massive wall-of-gain distortion nicely. Controls for gain, clipping, and volume. In a small heart-shaped tin about 4in by 4in.
Shining Hope Drive	$40	PIC Demo	Differential mirroring drive, gives a kind of overdriven-mixer-channel distortion. Controls for gain, tone, and volume. Housed in a star-shaped Christmas tin.
Green Sparkler Boost	$35	PIC	Just an Escobedo Duende JFET boost built point-to-point in a sparkly little round tin. Gives a little gain and a bit of warmth to the tone.

Non-Dirt

Name	Tier	Links	Notes
Gift of Chykka Wakka	$65	PIC DEMO	First build of an all-transistor envelope filter I designed. Built point-to-point style and housed in a little giftbox tin reinforced with recycled plastic. Controls for Q and Sweep, switch toggles envelope smoothing.
Vortex of Funk	$65	PIC DEMO	Second build of the Chykka-Wakka circuit, this one features attack, Q, and range controls. Built point-to-point and housed in a painted tin.
BZZZ BOOP BEEP	$50	PIC DEMO	A basic square wave oscillator on a momentary switch. Can go from bzzz to boop to beep with a sweep of the big knob. Also has tone and volume controls, and a 3-way switch for different decay amounts. Use it to simulate a spring door stopper or dying cow. Or bleep your foul-mouthed frontman. Or mess with the sound guy. Or send Morse code to the bar. I dunno. Housed in a painted tin reinforced with recycled plastic.

Little Amps

Name	Price	Links	Description
Ample iMank	$65	PICS DEMO	This is a Runoffgroove Ruby Amplifier built into this old multimedia speaker enclosure designed to look like an old iMac. Glows blue when you turn it on. It runs from a standard 9v pedal power. It's not terribly loud, nor terribly clean, but if you dig the classic mac vibe it might be fun. Controls for gain and volume, and a power switch on the back.
Nosy Amp	$75	PICS DEMO	Another solid-state amp based on the Ruby amplifier, housed in a repurposed bookshelf speaker. This one actually has pretty decent volume, even on 9V (can run on 12V as well for more), and can stay clean while getting loud enough for a quiet jam with friends.
Fleur-de-Lis Amp	$90	PICS DEMO	A tiny bookshelf speaker turned into a practice amp. This one features a class D power amp for lovely cleans, and a custom designed discrete preamp that gets punchy & crunchy when cranked. Runs on 9V but pretty loud nonetheless.

That's all for now. I just keep building and building, though, so there'll be more.

Penny Stocks & Small Caps:

• 5.8M FLOAT $BYFC gets a notification from Nasdaq regarding LATE filing of form 10-Q and 10-K.
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• 5M FLOAT $KWE receives a warning from Nasdaq%20(TSXV,with%20the%20minimum%20bid%20price) for Minimum Bid Price Deficiency.

OTC Catalysts:

• 🚨🚨🚨727k FLOAT $RHHBY GRANTED BREAKTHROUGH Therapy Designation from FDA for complex breast cancer treatment!
• Two banks $SCZC and $FISB WILL MERGE.
• CBC Bancorp to ACQUIRE $CBOBA for $3.5 BILLION!
• 🚨$LTNC shares on X (Twitter) yet another BIG INSIDER BUY!
• $ILST RELEASES Q1 2024 REPORT!
• $QEDN WILL RELEASE a press release regarding a MAJOR deal by the end of the week!

Market News:

• 🚨Britain's inflation rate could drop BELOW the Bank of England's 2% target
• 5 takeaways from Biden’s new Student Loan Forgiveness date changes.
• Orange Juice hits a fresh all-time high. 🍊
• Stock Market hits highest level of GREED since April 3.

Don't miss the full newsletter, https://mailchi.mp/pennystocks.today/newsletter, check it out.

Hi all!
I wanted to come here and express some experiences that I feel occasionally, or sometimes a couple of times a week, that I don’t know if I should be concerned about.
It happens randomly, and I wouldn’t call them painful, just I can feel it, but sometimes they happen on the right side of my abdomen, under the right side of my breast? And sometimes left too, and around my belly button.
I am a month and a half now from my op, and idk if these feelings are normal because my stomach and incisions are still healing, or whether it’s because there is something wrong that I am not aware about.
I don’t have nausea, or vomiting, or any kind of fever. Just these weird uncomfortable feelings…
Thanks!

Here's what's holding you back...
Firstly, all those 'influencers,' Apps, & YouTube vids are teaching you to use a suspension trainer with 'Movement-Centric Technique.'
Which is USELESS for building lean muscle.
Secondly, the diet "advice" you're listening to is clickbait and cookie cutter.
It's failed you in the past, and it will continue to fail you if you keep listening.
There are only 2-Steps you need to do for fantastic results:

1 Use your suspension trainer with 'Muscle-Centric Technique' ✅

2 Optimise your nutrition to improve your insulin sensitivity ✅

Then you'll build muscle and lose fat faster than you ever thought possible.

#1 Muscle-Centric Technique

If you’re pulling-pushing-hanging with your suspension trainer but never seeing any changes in your body.
You're using it with "Movement-Centric Technique."
Which is a waste of time.
Why?
Your body weight load is shared across multiple muscles.
So no single muscle takes enough load to cause a muscle and strength building stimulus.
You need to use "Muscle-Centric suspension trainer Technique"...
Isolate the muscle you want to target and don't allow other muscles to help out.
By using slow, controlled technique, and your mind-muscle connection to squeeze the muscle powerfully.
Then all your body weight load goes onto that muscle.
And you get a BIG muscle building stimulus.
Which means you build lean muscle all over your body.
More muscle, more fat burned at rest.

#2. Improving your insulin sensitivity

FACT...
"It's NOT about what you eat. It's about how effectively your body USES what you eat."
Which comes down to your insulin sensitivity.
Think of your body as an engine...
If the engine (your body) isn't working correctly, it doesn't matter what petrol (the food) you put in. It still won't work well.
If you struggle to build muscle, have belly fat, and low daily energy…
You don't have good insulin sensitivity:

• Poor insulin sensitivity (poor engine) = your body dumps food into fat cells ❌
• Good insulin sensitivity (performance engine) = your body places food into muscle and functional cells ✅

When you focus on optimising your nutrition to improve your insulin sensitivity, you'll:

1. Build lean muscle faster.
2. Wake up your dormant fat burning hormones.
3. Double your productive energy.

These 2-Steps Are How Over 10,000+ People...
From ages 25 - 84 (our oldest member) in the Fitness Freedom Athletes community...
Have built lean muscle, shed fat, and transformed their body using just a suspension trainer - from home!
And me?
I've been using just a suspension trainer to transform my body for over 8+ years now...
And became known online as the 'TRX Traveller,' you can read that CRAZY story here.
Seeing this work over and over for people is why I’ve dedicated myself to helping people like you.
And the reason I created Fitness Freedom Athletes.
You’re gonna love the results when you apply 'Muscle-Centric Technique' in your workouts.
And optimise your nutrition for better insulin sensitivity.
Muscle-Centric Master, Coach Adam Body Transformation Coach Build Lean Muscle & Transform Your Body Anywhere!
P.S. if you’re fired up and ready to get started today, here are #3 things you can do right now to get into momentum...
#1 - Do this 'Beginner Suspension Trainer Workout' with me on YouTube to build muscle & strength
#2 - Want to enhance a specific area of your body? Checkout my free ‘Muscle-Centric Suspension Trainer Exercise Technique YouTube Playlist'
#3 - Get the Suspension Trainer Total Body Transformation Program (Beginner Level)!!!
If you’re like me, ambitious and ready to start building muscle and burning fat with your suspension trainer today...
Learn how to use the ‘Muscle-Centric Suspension Trainer Technique' to build lean muscle & transform your body in just 8-Weeks with the Suspension Trainer Total Body Transformation Program...
Check it out here
Not a beginner level? Take the 'Which program Quiz' for the Intermediate and Advanced level Suspension Trainer Programs

Parents need to know that Airplane! is a fast-paced, comic parody of the very popular disaster movies of the 1970s (Airport, The Poseidon Adventure). For the makers of this film, nothing is to be taken seriously, not even an impending airplane crash. Many of the drug and sexual references may fly over the heads of younger viewers. But absolutely nothing is sacred -- sexuality, violence, racial stereotyping, and substance abuse all are grist for their ingenious silliness. There's brief nudity (breasts), lots of sexual innuendo, and sexual sight gags, including a romantic interlude between a stewardess and an inflatable pilot, and scenes in which a pedophile comes on to a young boy. Characters fall out of windows, commit suicide in a variety of ways, fight, drink alcohol, sniff glue, snort cocaine, and use occasional coarse language ("ass," "s--t," "crap," "pisser," and more).

Sort of a reference to this https://www.reddit.com/NatureofPredators/s/ASiX51M6GI
TELLUS’S DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SERVICES
ABOUT - Our story - How you can help.
HOME - Log In/Sign Up - News - Announcements
HELP OUR KIDS - Guardianship - Adopt - Volunteer - Donate - Jobs
RECOURSES - Caretaking Info - Online Store - Classes
CONTACT US - Talk to Us - Email
HELP - Language - Navigation - Helpdesk
TALK TO US.
Hey all! Welcome to the Tellus Child Services Q&A thread. If you got any questions about raising and/or caring for human children, ask away below or PM me directly. Your email address will not be publicly displayed and we will be discrete about your personal info, but we would appreciate if you would give your species so we can have some context to answer your questions with. Unless you chose otherwise, your species will be public and represented by an initial at the side of your user tag.
Please note that racist commentary will not be tolerated and will be taken down. I know there’s some hard feelings going on out there, but leave our kids out of it.
David Schneider, Head of Tellus’s Department of Child Services.
COMMENT HERE

• [ ] I am not a robot

What Species are you? - [ ] Smigli - [ ] Krev - [ ] Resket - [ ] Jaslip - [ ] Trombil - [ ] Ulchid

• [ ] (Hide race?)

User Name: —————————— GUEST ——————————-
Email —————————————-
—————————————-
COMMENT ———————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
SCALEOF1210 (K): What kinda of toys do human pups like?
DAVID: I dunno, what kinda toys do Krev pups like?
SCALEOF1210 (K): Oh.
DAVID: It’s alright. Just try to think through that lens and you’ll do fine.
_
GUEST (S): Why is being without your “clothes” so embarrassing? Is it religious?
DAVID: Not exactly. It started out as a way to stay warm when we migrated out jungles and savanna’s, but the side effect was that it made the absence of coverings a) feel insecure, and b) an open floodgate of carnal attraction. So actually, to answer your question, we’re covering our reproductive organs. It’s a modesty thing. The practice got applied to the kids anyway.
GUEST (S): Female humans have sex organs on their chests?
DAVID: No. but female mammaries become more pronounced as they mature and tend to draw male sexual attention.
GUEST (S): Whyyyyyyyy?
DAVID: Simply put: they remind us of mom.
GUEST (S): Ahhhhhhh!
DAVID: I was really trying to avoid spelling that out, y’know?
GUEST (S): Hey man, I don’t have have feet. Why would I care about tiptoeing?
DAVID: Huh. You know, I really think I’m learning a lot about Smiglis.
GUEST (S): Hey! Good for you! 🎉
_
GUEST (R): What’s wrong with regurgitation feeding? It helps with digestion.
DAVID: Maybe for avians, but It’s not sanitary for humans. We have a different digestion/immune setup. And no offense, It’s also just really, really gross to us.
_
GUEST (K): How do you hold a human pup?
DAVID: For Krev, cradle them in the your arm and be sure to support their head. That’s important because it’s too heavy for them to hold up by themselves. Again, no tail rides until they’re at least two years old.
_
SNOWFLOWER333 (J): Do humans kits really need to nurse well into adolescence? I don’t think I can keep it up for that long….
DAVID: Hang on, are you saying you’ve been NURSING one of your charges?
SNOWFLOWER333 (J): Right along side my own. I know Tommy’s not a jaslip and that it’s not human milk, but I figure it’s still better for him than formula. Should I not?
DAVID: Uhhhh… dunno. I’m gonna discuss this with my colleagues. In the meantime, stick to the formula we sent.
SNOWFLOWER333 (J): Alright, David. Though, about that first question….
DAVID: Long story short: we’d harvest milk from domestic bovines as a culinary ingredient and breakfast time staple, but breast feeding stops with infancy. You wouldn’t be sucking a teenager.
SNOWFLOWER333 (J): 😅oh good!
DAVID: Would be a little awkward, huh?
SNOWFLOWER333 (J):🤣A little.
_
GUEST (U): How do you hold a human pup?
DAVID: Cradled in your…. flipper. I guess. Just keep their head supported, it too heavy for them to hold up. You can also hold them to your chest with their head resting over your shoulder.
GUEST (U): We don’t really have shoulders.
DAVID: Nnnnnevermind then.
_
OBORSHINE (K): Is it okay to post my human child on the Internet?

DAVID: I suppose, but try not to embarrass him. OBORSHINE (K): 😜Aww but I’m a mom! Embarrassing him is my job! DAVID: In that case, we’ll send you his baby pics. 

OBORSHINE (K): Yeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss.
_
CALLMESPEED (T) Is it okay to give my child cybernetic implants to cure conditions?
DAVID: That will depend on what condition we’re talking about, but yes, probably. Be sure that they are approved by a human doctor, though.
_
GUEST (S): "Why do you have so many wiggly bits!"
DAVID: Erm, wiggly bits?
GUEST (S): “Yeah! With all the toesy toes and fingery things”
DAVID: Oh! Um, well other race have them too, but I guess ours ARE quite long and nimble. Well, we specialized pretty early on in tool manipulation, soooooooo.
GUEST (S): Raaaaaaaad!
DAVID: Happy to impress. I guess?
_
GUEST (J): How do you hold a human Kit?
DAVID: I wouldn’t know how to hold anything with a prehensile tail, you’re the experts there. But however you do it, be sure that you support the kids head. A human infants head is too heavy for them to hold up by themselves.
_
CALLMESPEED (T): Damn Schieder, always forcing us to cope with the weaknesses of the flesh, and denying us the certainty of steel.
DAVID: Ah, hello Malcom. Does Speed know you’ve hacked his account?
DAVID: Look, that’s not solely my decision kiddo. We put it to a vote. Maybe things will change in the future, but in the meantime, just wait till you’re 18 before you chop your limbs off. You can probably still get an implant, though.”
_
SHOPCLASSREJECT (S): Yeesh, David! How can my kid hit me with a ball from across the room?
DAVID: 😁Talent, my friend. Did you know that humans are being trained as grenadiers in the Consortium army? We have excellent throwing arms. Oh! Uh, you weren’t hurt though, were you?
SHOPCLASSREJECT (S): Eh, A little. My cheek is swollen, but it’s not like I had any bones or teeth to break.. I was mostly just surprised at how fast it came at me.
DAVID: Sorry Shopclass, He should have known better, but it’s a pretty common childhood offense for humans.
SHOPCLASSREJECT (S): Got a new rule, though: no throwing things in the house.
DAVID: Sounds like a good rule.
_
MRS.DOGGY (J): Hey, just got home with my kids and when I was helping Heather remove her foot coverings….. having 5 hind toes is normal for humans, correct? I just want to make sure.

DAVID: 😁 Correct. And we don’t have dewclaws either. MRS.DOGGY (J): Oh good! MRS.DOGGY (J): Erm , that it’s normal, I mean. 

_
GUEST (K): WHY WAS I REJECTED! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
DAVID: Im sorry sir, I don’t know, but I’m sure it was anything against your character. Given our situation and our unfamiliarity with non-humans, we are being excessively cautious with our young and more than 75 percent of applicants were turned down as a result. Perhaps you can try again in a year or two when humanity is a little more accustomed to other sapient species. Please forgive us.
_
BUNCHBERRIES (K): So I noticed one of my female charges has enlarged mammories. Does that mean she secretly has children?
DAVID: No. It’s means she’s a teenager.
DAVID: That’s a normal development.
BUNCHBERRIES (K): 😮‍💨 Oh, thank you .
_
GUEST (R): How do you hold a human hatchling?
DAVID: Cradled in your wing-thing. Just keep their head supported, it too heavy for them to hold up themselves.
_
GUEST (S): How would one hold a human hatchling?
DAVID: cradled in your…. noodley appendage. Support their head.
_
GUEST (K): Me and my wife would like to foster, but- forgive me for asking- can we expect dung throwing to be a problem?
DAVID: 🤣HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nah. I understand why you’re asking, but we’re higher evolved than that.
_
GUEST (K): Can I have one?
DAVID: You can apply to adopt or foster a child, but that’s no guarantee. We are VERY discriminate about applicants, especially nonhuman ones. Before you put pen to paper, I would consider very carefully whether it’s a child you’re looking for or a pet.
GUEST (K): What’s a pen?
DAVID: Ah, the times we live in…
_
NANNYBIRD35 (R): Jackie has accurately described me as a “Big Bird”, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why he sings a song asking how to get to a place called Sess-Me Street every other time he sees me. Was there something special about that place? What does it have to do with ME?
DAVID: Ok, that’s funny! He thinks you’re a character named Big Bird from a children’s show called Sesame Street [Video link]. Btw, let me know if she ever calls a Krev “Oscar”. I’m gonna laugh.
_
MRS.DOGGY (J): What is a “doggie” anyway, and why do my kids call me that?
DAVID: I was WONDERING when that would come up. I didn’t think it would be useful to explain before, but we had these domestic canines back home called Dogs and you kinda resemble one. They were intelligent, trusty, loyal creatures that helped us hunt, herd livestock, guard our turf, and and were beloved members of our families. None of the kids have met a dog in the flesh, but they’ve been lionized in books and cartoons and your resemblance to them is strong enough to trigger an instinctive adoration we had towards them.
MRS.DOGGY (J): They…. think I’m a pet? Like with you and the Krev?
DAVID: Hey, if they haven’t told you to ”Sit” or “Roll over” I think you’re good. But the point is, the kids trust you implicitly, and when you’ve suddenly been thrown to aliens after living in a hole all your life, having a comforting face to keep you stable counts for a lot.
MRS.DOGGY (J): Oh! 😊Well, I think I can live with that.
_
OBORSHINE (K): How do I take care of Samsons head fur? It’s getting so long and tangled!
DAVID: Oh right. Only jaslips need to brush. We’ll send you a proper hair brush. In the meantime. Get a jaslip brush- one with wide bristle spacing- and gently comb the knots out, starting from the bottom and slowly working your way up. We can also try to get you in contact with a human who has experience cutting hair.
_
TEACUPGUY (K): Dang, I had no idea human fur would get longer. How much longer does it get?
DAVID: Down to their hips or farther. Doesn’t really stop. You’ll either want to get it trimmed or let grow so you can tie it up behind their heads.
_
GUEST (T): How do you hold a human hatchling?
DAVID: Cradled comfortably in whichever bionic limb is not capable of crushing a car. Make sure to keep their head supported. They don’t have the neck muscles to hold it up
GUEST (T): 😊 Oh that’s fixable.
DAVID: Thanks but NO.
_
BUNCHABERRIES (K): David! Jeremy’s caught the MONKEY POX!
DAVID: … The what?
BUNCHABERRIES (K): What do I do?! He’s been getting worse and worse all week!
DAVID: Stay cam Berries, What are the symptoms?
BUNCHABERRIES (K): He’s broken out in purple spots! And he’s aslo listless. Stomach ach. Head ach. Poor boy can’t even get out of bed! He just sits there and groans and today he asked if I was an “angel” I’m at wits end!
DAVID: Ah. THAT monkey pox. School’s in session, right?
BUNCHABERRIES (K): Is that really relevant?!
DAVID: Just trust me. Check his backpack. Is there a pen or marker that is the EXACT same color as the spots?
BUNCHABERRIES (K): There is.
BUNCHABERRIES (K): Why?
DAVID: Take it and draw a little dot next to the ones on his skin. Make it roughly the same size.
BUNCHABERRIES (K): Ok. Done.
BUNCHABERRIES (K): OH THAT SEAKY LITTLE-!
DAVID: My work here is done.
BUNCHABERRIES (K): HE IS SO GROUNDED!
_
HAPPYHATCHLINGS: David, this is Tisa at Happy Hatchlings Early Learning School. We’ve noticed that our human students can’t seem to get comfortable in their napping nests and keep hanging their feet over the edges. It’s like they can’t curl up!
DAVID: They can’t. Not long term, anyway, and not as tightly as other Consiortium races. You’re going to need longer, flatter beds that they can stretch out on and keep their spines relatively straight. We’ll be sure to send you some cots.
_
DADJOKE (K): 😉 Thanks for the sponges, but I think my wife’s got bathtime covered.
[Folder Attachments: 7 photos ]
[Pic 1: A shot of two shirtless human boys [ages 5 and 6] in makeshift “war paint” running screaming past the camera as a jaslip with a wild grin skids around the corner after them.]
[Pic 2: The victorious jaslip sits on her haunches with one of the boy hopelessly tangled in her tails and the other grappled between her forelegs. The latter is getting her full professional attention as she licks the warpaint off his face, ignoring his cries of disgust and attempts to wiggle free.]
[Pic 3: Said boy apparently opened his mouth at an inopportune moment and is now spitting and sputtering while Mama Jaslip laughs herself to tears.]
[Pic 4: One of the boys laughing hysterically as the jaslip pins him down across her forelegs and licks his belly.]
[Pic 5: a close up on one boy getting his hair worked on, wincing uncomfortably as Mama Jaslip get a blunt claw in his eyebrow while maneuvering his head this way and that for the right grooming angle.]
[Pic 6: Arm around the boys shoulder, Mama proudly presents her work to the camera; one mostly warpaint free human with a complimentary cowlick. The lock of hair is stuck straight up, stiff with spit, like an alfalfa leaf. Mama is winking at the camera and doing her best thumbs-up while the boy is shooting a disgruntled side eye at his brother who is laughing at the abominable hairdo.]
[Pic 7: Mama has one of the boys lying on his stomach while she leisurely grooming his back. He’s resting his chin on his arms, looking sleepy. His brother, nestled among Mama’s tails in the back ground, is yawning. Mama kinda looks tired herself.]
[Pic 8: All three of them are asleep. Mama seems to have nodded off on top of the boy she was cleaning, her head draped across his back. The other is lying against her side, his head barely visible above the nest of tails blanketing him].
DADJOKE (K): The kids have started calling her “The Kissy Monster” when she gets like this.
DAVID: Oh my gosh! This is so freaking cute! Do have them use the sponges, though. Tongue bathing isn’t really doable for longterm human hygiene.
DADJOKE (K): 😊Glad you liked it. But yeah, I get it. Most consortium races aren’t keen on the slobber fest either.
CRAZYTAILS (J): 😏Funny, YOU didn’t seem to mind the other night.
DADJOKE (K): 😳…
DAVID: 😳…
CRAZYTAILS (J):😏 You forgot this was a joint account, didn’t you?
DADJOKE (K): Just wasn’t expecting you to be logged in right now. Hi sweetheart.
CRAZYTAILS (J): 😊Hey scalyboi.
DAVID: Um, hey, before you two keep flirting dirty, what was it the boys were marked with?
CRAZYTAILS (J): Hm? Oh, just washable marker. They were playing “Viking Warriors” or something, running around, slaying monsters, ambushing DadJoke in his den, and beating each other silly with pool noodles for a two hour straight. That until I, the dreaded Kissy Monster, vanquished them both and subjected them to bath and bedtime! Muahaha!
DADJOKE (K): As for what you really wanted to know, she didn’t suffer from licking the stuff. The markers are made with Jaslip kits in mind, so they needed to be nontoxic and tasteless in case they or their parents have to clean up some body doodling.
CRAZYTAILS (J): same with Jaslip cosmetics, btw. Some are even flavored. Makes cleaning up after dates pretty fun, right Daddy?
DADJOKE (K): Fluffykins, if I say I’ll be leaving the office in half an hour, will you stop embarrassing me on a public forum?
CRAZYTAILS (J): 🥰I’ll be waiting with the candles.
_
GUEST (K): Is it ok to pet humans pups?
DAVID: Lemme put it this way; what do you call a Krev who goes around petting Krev children?
GUEST (K): Creepy?
DAVID: 👉Bingo.
GUEST (K): Huh? What’s that mean?
DAVID: It means yes, petting kids is creepy.
_
DR.WORM (guess): Hey, what’s an appropriate amount of holopad time for the kids, 10 hours or 12?
DAVID:…
DAVID: Doc- First of all; not a real doctor, i presume?
DR.WORM (S): Sure ain’t!
DAVID: 😉👉👉But you ARE a real worm?
DR.WORM (S): YES! I KNEW I picked the right pop culture reference!
DAVID: 👍👏🏻Sure did. Sure did.
DAVID: Sooooo let’s talk screen time.
DR.WORM (S): Yeeeeeaaaaah aright, I was kiiiiinda guessing 10 was a too much. Is 8 right?
DAVID: Try two.
DR.WORM (S): TWO?!?!
DAVID: Yup.
DR.WORM (S): TWO HOURS?!?!
DAVID: Yup, yup, yup.
DR.WORM (S): HOLY [expletive] MAN! I’VE BEEN FRYING THEIR BRAINS!
DAVID: You open sometime this week, Doc? We’re gonna help you out.
_
GUEST (R): You let jaslip take care of your hatchlings? Are you crazy?! [COMMENT DELETED]
_
CRAZYTAILS (J): What IS a wolf? The boys Insisted I be one in one of their games.
DAVID: This guy [attachment]
CRAZYTAILS (J): Woah. Now THAT’s a handsome face.
DADJOKE (K): Eh-hem.
CRAZYTAILS (J): Well, not handsomer than my husband’s.
_
CRAZYTAILS (J): Is growing long head-fur some sort of defense mechanism against grooming? Because it’s starting to work. Hard to get the stringy stuff off my tongue. Bleugh.
DAVID: heh. Sounds like the boys need a haircut. Swing by Tellus, we got some barbers that can shape em up.
DAVID: Or just let them grow it out until they can tie it behind their heads
CRAZYTAILS (J): The latter sounds like less trouble honestly.
_
BETWEENBILLOWS (U): Should I be concerned that Maria has a figurine of a dead human nailed to a T on a necklace? It’s kinda morbid.
DAVID: Believe it or not, that’s a religious symbol. Did she not tell you about it?
BETWEENBILLOWS (U): David, she barely talks to us at all. It’s been three weeks and she hardly leaves her room.
DAVID: Hmm... Well THAT might be cause for concern. Let’s talk over PM.
_

A shoutout and apology basket to u/kabhes and u/HeadWood_ who’s suggested questions I kinda stole. There were several others that I wanted to feature but couldn’t figure out how to work with.

I was looking at why gen alpha seems to be even worse than kids in general. At first I was concerned about the fact that they barely even have the attention span for tv shows like Big City Greens and Bluey instead being dumped in front of horrifying content farms and even addictive stuff like c—melon.
Then it went a little deeper when I saw videos of teachers talking about how their regular kids(like kids without disabilities) are struggling below grade level and this is like 6th grade students having almost no attention spans and having reading levels and learning levels far below like 3rd grade levels, and not knowing certain basics There was even a video that mentioned how even sped kids despite their disadvantage had higher reading levels than normal kids. And the normal kids seemed not to even be trying to better themselves.
Then I learned about the Sephora girls and how they are straight up menaces to other people and demand skincare that isn’t designed for their age group and can damage them(instead of getting age appropriate skincare). I learned about the horrible Sephora moms enabling this with instagrams
Then I learned about young boys(like 6-9 year olds) accessing extremely sexist streamers and a pretty notorious rapist and trafficker named “quagmire” Tate who was just arrested for sex trafficking influencing young minds to regress regarding equality and no means no etc. I then saw more teachers saying how toxic kids are becoming and they seem to have no real life goals other than being influencers. And then quitting because of such flagrant behavior.
I was confused by all of this like it seemed like the parents weren’t even trying to teach the kids basics like how letters are pronounced, how to tie shoes, not to steal the cookie, etc. this continued to be hard to understand like it didn’t make sense. Like these problems used to be a very small minority like not everyone is like this but now it seemed that not “everyones kids are bad” while still a fair amount seemed even smaller compared to to it seems like the kids who were never taught seemed to increase.
Then when I saw one video which talked about the Sephora kids she brought up a TikTok talking about why gen alpha ended up so bad and the video brought up the accessory baby trend of the 2010s that really blew up around that time. I then watched the TikTok and that’s when it clicked. The kids who were born then are the same that are gen alpha. I remembered that on YouTube and other sites was filled with teens who were excited about having a baby and belly progressions etc.
it made total sense why gen alpha is horribly underprepared because many of these kids were(and are) the accessory babies born in the 2010s that were born to a large minority of(a lot of) teenagers who wanted to showcase their cute baby as if they were a furby accessory trying to copy the celebrity (spesficially the kardashians and Kyle Jenner) accessory baby trend which resulted in the aesthetic of parenting and having a cute baby without any of the actual work needed to raise a baby to a functioning human being with good literacy skills, a reasonable education and basically becoming a functioning person.
Oh and teen mom the tv show(which despite showing some of the darker sides and contributing to a decline in teen pregnancy’s some dumb kids still took inspiration) . It’s made even worse because now TikTok and instagram reels glorifying pregnancy at young(like teenage) ages for aesthetics even if said person was not ready or willing to handle responsibly raising a future adult and showing none of the true consequences and sorrow that comes with ruining your and a future humans life, instead being filled with instagram photos of cute mommy and baby in matching outfits on highly staged photos with no hint on how difficult it is to raise a human being.
Anyway The baby was never supposed to grow up as a person and become a functioning human being but to be a silent being with no thoughts of it’s own to dress up and show off to instagram and Pinterest. Essentially a doll. However when that baby started to grow up into their own person and becoming a human being because as it turns out baby’s grow up to be a functioning adult. The parents has no desire to be a parent and does not know how to raise a functioning human so they dumped them in front of iPads in order to get them out of the way and basically negelect them. The consequence is that now we have an entire generation of kids who have not been taught basic lessons and how to be a functioning person.
It even affects the kids who weren’t accessory babies and are being raised by people who actually want to see their child succeed in life , because the peer pressure to act more mature than before has ramped up significantly as the moms of the accessory babies shunned kid appropriate outfits and acting their age and stuff because they wanted the babies to be dressed up in adult fashions for instagram photo ops and have engrained that acting like a kid is stupid and that they go from accessory Baby to hot young adult with no inbetween in their minds which warps them to act like an “adult” when way too young. It’s essentially the traditional 10 year old wants to act older but warped far beyond what it used to be and if a kid simply acts like their age group they are often picked on by accessory baby bullies which means that a lot of kids are now under peer pressure to grow up way too fast because the accessory kids that dominate the school and act like monsters towards everyone else.
It’s because they were never taught how to be a good Person. And it’s because of the parents who wanted accessory babies for instagram rather than raising a human. Like it’s the 30 year mellenials who take their kids only to instagramamble play areas, dressing them up for photo shoots every week in new clothes, going on instagramamble vacations and even having another baby only for clicks.
This is the reality of the situation we are seeing the consequences of this in real time. The kids were never taught how to be a person and because of that they have almost no manners and learned all their lessons from toxic influencers and or consumerist influencers. It’s because the parents neglect them instead of providing moral lessons on how to be a good person, teaching them right from wrong, or even providing them good tv shows like BCG, and bluey instead dumping them in front of iPad content farms that rot their attention spans without any moderation causing them to have no imagination and tech addictions and then for the boys watching toxic influencers like Andrew quagmire tate and his merry band of Herbert the perverts(it’s a family guy reference). And for the girls being brainwashed into acting like adults and buying skincare that burns their skin instead of age appropate skin care.
This is scary because they are our next doctors, artists, writers, musicians, librarians, mechanic, firefighters, plumbers, etc. and they end up with social media addicitions and have shockingly short attention spans thanks to overstimulating YouTube shorts and they were never taught how to be a successful person who thrives in society all because they were treated as disposable photo props to get more IG likes.
To be clear not every parent is like this and there are many parents trying to raise their kids good and teaching them to be a good person but it is concearning how the accessory babies are now being turned into monsters at shockingly young ages. I really hope people wake up and realize that this is a problem and how we need to educate kids and prevent toxic Tate influences on boys And toxic trends on girls. We need to let kids learn positive values and teach the, about diversity and how to be a good person and helping other people and doing good things and working hard to achieve whatever goals they want.
We need to fix this and help prepare kids to be a functioning good adults so that they can succeed. It’s a whole mess that we need to do better with our next generation of people because we need to stop treating kids like they are just instagram photos and they aren’t babies with on and off switches but babies that grow to toddler then kid tween teen until they become an adult who should be able to do basic functions in society.
I am legit concerned about the next generation and them being addicted to content farms rather than quality shows with educational and entertainment value and not being taught basic morals like don’t steal the cookie, everyone is equal, clean up after yourself, don’t rudely interrupt other people. or even helping them get to grade level reading and stuff(and I’m not counting kids with disabilities, like autistic and adhd kids) to function in society. like I literally heard that sped kids with disabilities and autism etc are literally doing higher reading levels than regular kids because a lot of the regular kids were never taught. It’s legit concerning.
*it should also be mentioned that this seems to mostly happen with really really young parents 9/10 times as most kids who were conceived by parents at older ages(30 something when they had kids) don’t seem to have this problem(or very rarely)

I was looking at why gen alpha seems to be even worse than kids in general. At first I was concerned about the fact that they barely even have the attention span for tv shows like Big City Greens and Bluey instead being dumped in front of horrifying content farms and even addictive stuff like c—melon.
Then it went a little deeper when I saw videos of teachers talking about how their regular kids(like kids without disabilities) are struggling below grade level and this is like 6th grade students having almost no attention spans and having reading levels and learning levels far below like 3rd grade levels, and not knowing certain basics There was even a video that mentioned how even sped kids despite their disadvantage had higher reading levels than normal kids. And the normal kids seemed not to even be trying to better themselves.
Then I learned about the Sephora girls and how they are straight up menaces to other people and demand skincare that isn’t designed for their age group and can damage them(instead of getting age appropriate skincare). I learned about the horrible Sephora moms enabling this with instagrams
Then I learned about young boys(like 6-9 year olds) accessing extremely sexist streamers and a pretty notorious rapist and trafficker named “quagmire” Tate who was just arrested for sex trafficking influencing young minds to regress regarding equality and no means no etc. I then saw more teachers saying how toxic kids are becoming and they seem to have no real life goals other than being influencers. And then quitting because of such flagrant behavior.
I was confused by all of this like it seemed like the parents weren’t even trying to teach the kids basics like how letters are pronounced, how to tie shoes, not to steal the cookie, etc. this continued to be hard to understand like it didn’t make sense. Like these problems used to be a very small minority like not everyone is like this but now it seemed that not “everyones kids are bad” while still a fair amount seemed even smaller compared to to it seems like the kids who were never taught seemed to increase.
Then when I saw one video which talked about the Sephora kids she brought up a TikTok talking about why gen alpha ended up so bad and the video brought up the accessory baby trend of the 2010s that really blew up around that time. I then watched the TikTok and that’s when it clicked. The kids who were born then are the same that are gen alpha. I remembered that on YouTube and other sites was filled with teens who were excited about having a baby and belly progressions etc.
it made total sense why gen alpha is horribly underprepared because many of these kids were(and are) the accessory babies born in the 2010s that were born to a large minority of(a lot of) teenagers who wanted to showcase their cute baby as if they were a furby accessory trying to copy the celebrity (spesficially the kardashians and Kyle Jenner) accessory baby trend which resulted in the aesthetic of parenting and having a cute baby without any of the actual work needed to raise a baby to a functioning human being with good literacy skills, a reasonable education and basically becoming a functioning person.
Oh and teen mom the tv show(which despite showing some of the darker sides and contributing to a decline in teen pregnancy’s some dumb kids still took inspiration) . It’s made even worse because now TikTok and instagram reels glorifying pregnancy at young(like teenage) ages for aesthetics even if said person was not ready or willing to handle responsibly raising a future adult and showing none of the true consequences and sorrow that comes with ruining your and a future humans life, instead being filled with instagram photos of cute mommy and baby in matching outfits on highly staged photos with no hint on how difficult it is to raise a human being.
Anyway The baby was never supposed to grow up as a person and become a functioning human being but to be a silent being with no thoughts of it’s own to dress up and show off to instagram and Pinterest. Essentially a doll. However when that baby started to grow up into their own person and becoming a human being because as it turns out baby’s grow up to be a functioning adult. The parents has no desire to be a parent and does not know how to raise a functioning human so they dumped them in front of iPads in order to get them out of the way and basically negelect them. The consequence is that now we have an entire generation of kids who have not been taught basic lessons and how to be a functioning person.
It even affects the kids who weren’t accessory babies and are being raised by people who actually want to see their child succeed in life , because the peer pressure to act more mature than before has ramped up significantly as the moms of the accessory babies shunned kid appropriate outfits and acting their age and stuff because they wanted the babies to be dressed up in adult fashions for instagram photo ops and have engrained that acting like a kid is stupid and that they go from accessory Baby to hot young adult with no inbetween in their minds which warps them to act like an “adult” when way too young. It’s essentially the traditional 10 year old wants to act older but warped far beyond what it used to be and if a kid simply acts like their age group they are often picked on by accessory baby bullies which means that a lot of kids are now under peer pressure to grow up way too fast because the accessory kids that dominate the school and act like monsters towards everyone else.
It’s because they were never taught how to be a good Person. And it’s because of the parents who wanted accessory babies for instagram rather than raising a human. Like it’s the 30 year mellenials who take their kids only to instagramamble play areas, dressing them up for photo shoots every week in new clothes, going on instagramamble vacations and even having another baby only for clicks.
This is the reality of the situation we are seeing the consequences of this in real time. The kids were never taught how to be a person and because of that they have almost no manners and learned all their lessons from toxic influencers and or consumerist influencers. It’s because the parents neglect them instead of providing moral lessons on how to be a good person, teaching them right from wrong, or even providing them good tv shows like BCG, and bluey instead dumping them in front of iPad content farms that rot their attention spans without any moderation causing them to have no imagination and tech addictions and then for the boys watching toxic influencers like Andrew quagmire tate and his merry band of Herbert the perverts(it’s a family guy reference). And for the girls being brainwashed into acting like adults and buying skincare that burns their skin instead of age appropate skin care.
This is scary because they are our next doctors, artists, writers, musicians, librarians, mechanic, firefighters, plumbers, etc. and they end up with social media addicitions and have shockingly short attention spans thanks to overstimulating YouTube shorts and they were never taught how to be a successful person who thrives in society all because they were treated as disposable photo props to get more IG likes.
To be clear not every parent is like this and there are many parents trying to raise their kids good and teaching them to be a good person but it is concearning how the accessory babies are now being turned into monsters at shockingly young ages. I really hope people wake up and realize that this is a problem and how we need to educate kids and prevent toxic Tate influences on boys And toxic trends on girls. We need to let kids learn positive values and teach the, about diversity and how to be a good person and helping other people and doing good things and working hard to achieve whatever goals they want.
We need to fix this and help prepare kids to be a functioning good adults so that they can succeed. It’s a whole mess that we need to do better with our next generation of people because we need to stop treating kids like they are just instagram photos and they aren’t babies with on and off switches but babies that grow to toddler then kid tween teen until they become an adult who should be able to do basic functions in society.
I am legit concerned about the next generation and them being addicted to content farms rather than quality shows with educational and entertainment value and not being taught basic morals like don’t steal the cookie, everyone is equal, clean up after yourself, don’t rudely interrupt other people. or even helping them get to grade level reading and stuff(and I’m not counting kids with disabilities, like autistic and adhd kids) to function in society. like I literally heard that sped kids with disabilities and autism etc are literally doing higher reading levels than regular kids because a lot of the regular kids were never taught. It’s legit concerning.
*it should also be mentioned that this seems to mostly happen with really really young parents 9/10 times as most kids who were conceived by parents at older ages(30 something when they had kids) don’t seem to have this problem(or very rarely)

I have a few instances happen to me that don’t feel right. I know a few of these are definitely assault of some sort. I’ll just bullet point them below and let you tell me whether or not they are..

• when I was 10 or so I had a friend’s dad “teach” us how to swim in the pool while on vacation. He would have us lay belly down floating on the pool and tell us to paddle, then squeeze our breasts, followed by shoving us out further into the pool very hard. It felt so wrong and couldn’t pinpoint why. Definitely assault
  
• my cousin would regularly tease me and do things like “hold me hostage” from the ages of 10-12. Luckily we never saw each other much but one summer when I was 12 he convinced me to sit in a dark room with him where he stole my first kiss. He then kissed all down my torso. I remember feeling confused for liking it but horrible because of who he was. He continued to message me online and confess his love for me online the following year but we long lost touch for a while, until I was 15. He was married and would still hold my hand when we were alone. I didn’t see him again until I was 18, where he similarly kissed me. I’ve since felt more disgusted beyond measure by him and never told this to anyone. I hope I never see him again but that may not be possible. Oh and he was 24 when I was 12, so the age gap is 12 years. I’m 26 now.
  
• when I was 19 my boyfriend may have sexually assaulted me. I started dating him when I was 18 (he was 27) and we never used condoms. He convinced me not to. Even though I felt like I knew better. He usually pulled out and we were fine until one day we argued on vacation and he came inside without prior consent on whether that was okay to do this time. But I feel like because I never made him put on a condom I was always at risk of that. I ended up getting pregnant and had an at home abortion. I feel like even with proper support it’s a traumatizing experience regardless.
  

Hi ShopifyeCommerce - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of the week's top stories, which I cover in depth in the newsletter. Let's dive in...
STAT OF THE WEEK: Amazon could finally surpass Walmart to become the nation’s biggest company by revenue, having grown by 12% last year compared with Walmart's growth of 6%. Two more years of similar growth discrepancy would push Amazon past Walmart in sales.
Shopify is suing Shopline in New York federal court, accusing it of illegally copying Shopify's software to build its own e-commerce platform. Shopline is a Singapore-based subsidiary of the Chinese technology company JOYY Inc. Shopify said in the lawsuit that Shopline created a “thinly disguised knockoff” of its Dawn theme to power a competing e-commerce service. The lawsuit even says that the “Shopify” name still appears in the code of various versions of Seed that Shopline is distributing, and that Shopify found a Chinese webpage hosted by Joyy with the title “Seed Theme” that still carries headers reading “dawn-test.”
In other lawsuit news this week — Temu is facing legal action from 17 companies accusing it of violating new EU laws with “manipulative practices” such as making it difficult to delete your account, and lack of transparency over who their sellers are and why certain products are recommended to customers. Temu was the most downloaded app in the UK in 2023 and still remains as a top downloaded app in 2024.
The state of Arizona has taken legal action against Amazon, launching two lawsuits that accuse the company of monopolistic behavior and deceptive practices involving dark patterns. The first lawsuit claims that Amazon's business practices violate the state's Consumer Fraud Act by employing dark patterns to make it difficult for users to cancel their Amazon Prime subscriptions. The second lawsuit alleges that Amazon breaches Arizona's Uniform State Antitrust Act by maintaining a monopoly via enforcing agreements with third-party sellers to prevent them from offering lower prices on other platforms. It also challenges Amazon's Buy Box algorithm under the Consumer Fraud Act, claiming that it favors sellers who use Fulfillment By Amazon. The legal actions echo similar complaints from the FTC and various states.
Last week Amazon made a big splash with its first-ever event during upfront week, taking over Pier 36 in New York which has previously hosted upfront presentations from Disney and TelevisaUnivision. The company called on celebrities including Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, and Alicia Keys to demonstrate how premium their content is. Amazon worked to separate itself from its competitors by showcasing its scale. Prime Video now has an average monthly ad-supported reach of 200M customers, with 115M in the US, making it the largest premium ad-supported streaming service both globally and in the U.S. It also announced new upcoming series such as Spider-Man Noir, Tomb Raider, and a prequel to Legally Blond.
eBay launched a new feature called “resell on eBay” that is designed to make it easier for brands and consumers to list clothing for sale on its marketplace. The feature is built into Certilogo, which was acquired by eBay in 2023, which features an AI-powered digital ID printed on the product tag to help brands manage the lifecycle of their garments and give consumers a way to confirm the item's authenticity. Users scan a QR code on a product's smart label to generate a “resell your garment” button. Clicking the button directs the user to check the authenticity of the item through Certilogo's AI authentication system by signing in with their eBay account. From there, an eBay listing is prefilled with information from the brand about the item. Users can then edit the listing, upload additional photos, and publish the item for sale.
Poshmark launched a new paid marketing tool called “Promoted Closets” that gives sellers the ability to promote their entire shop at once. The tool uses machine learning to automatically promote individual product listings from a seller's entire inventory, identifying shoppers' search terms and matching them with promoted items. Promoted Closet works on a cost per click model where sellers only get charged when a shopper clicks and views the item from a promoted listing. There's an option to set the budget manually or get a recommendation from Poshmark. Each campaign lasts for 7 days.
Klarna says that it is not sharing its customer data with credit bureaus in the US because the bureaus “do not have proper models to responsibly process the data and ensure good consumer outcomes.” It does share its data with UK credit bureaus. Klarna added that the credit models used today in the US “were built decades ago and calculate data based on monthly payments, long-term loans, and open lines of credit. But BNPL does not fit into these categories.” The company claims that BNPL is different because it offers bi-weekly instead of monthly payments, and unlike a credit card, Klarna doesn't offer an open line of credit.
Third party sellers on Amazon, which make up 60% of sales on Amazon's marketplace, are reconsidering how heavily they'll discount products this year for Prime Day, given how much seller fees have increased on the platform in recent months, according to Modern Retail. According to data from SmartScout, Amazon FBA fees for standard-sized products have jumped 96% over the past 10 years, outpacing inflation. Seller fees can eat up about half the cost per sale on Amazon, according to Marketplace Pulse. That doesn't leave much room for running Prime Day deals, which primarily benefit Amazon as opposed to the individual merchants who are pressured to wipe out their little remaining margin for the sake of running a deal at all.
Netflix announced durings it Upfronts presentation that it's launching its own advertising platform to compete against Google, Amazon, Hulu, Comcast, and other ad giants. Amazon has only been in the advertising business for a year and a half after launching its ad-supported tier in Nov 2022. Netflix originally partnered with Microsoft to develop its ad tech, which let the streaming platform enter the ad space quickly and catch up with rivals like Hulu, which has offered an ad-supported tier since 2010. Launching its own in-house ad tech will allow Netflix to take full control of its advertising and create targeted and personalized ad experiences. Netflix wants to experiment with “episodic” campaigns, which involves a series of ads that tell a story rather than delivering repetitive ads. Brilliant!
Slack is under attack after users discovered that the company has been using their messages, content, and files to train its global AI models, which Slack uses to power their channel and emoji recommendations and search results. It was discovered that if you don't want Slack to use your data, you have to e-mail the company to opt-out, which isn't a good look for a company that makes a big deal out of telling customers that “You control your data.” In response to the outrage, Slack published a blog post to clarify how its customers' data is used.
Google will now let you perform a “web” search, which lets you filter out almost all of its AI results and knowledge panels that currently take over its SERPs, leaving you with just links and text like the old days. The order of the search results are the same regardless of whether you pick “web” or “all”, and it doesn't block links to YouTube videos or Reddit posts. There are also still ads that appear above and below the results.
YouTube is officially launching its YouTube Select “creator takeovers,” which lets advertisers buy out the ad inventory on channels representing the top 1% of content on the platform. The program began as a pilot at the end of 2023 and is now opening to more top creators.
Wix launched three new AI-powered image enhancement and creation tools to help users create and display high-quality images. The new tools include an AI Image Creator to make the images, Object Eraser to remove unwanted objects in the images, and AI Image Editor to add/edit portions of the image. Honestly, the three tools kind of sound like one tool with three features, but you do you, Wix.
Temu, which is already 20% bigger than Shein in the US and gets 42% of its business from the US, Mexico, and Chile, is turning its attention to Europe and wants to grow rapidly in the region. The company has redirected its enormous ad spend to Europe and Mexico while Washington scrutinizes its business practices in the US.
Visa announced major changes to how its credit and debit cards will operate in the US in the coming months and years. The new features mean consumers will be carrying fewer physical cards in their wallets, and will make the 16-digit card number increasingly irrelevant. The biggest change will be the ability for banks to issue one physical card that is connected to multiple bank accounts, which consumers can apply usage rules to.
Mastercard and Salesforce announced a new integration designed to help customers speed up the resolution of transaction disputes and chargebacks, as well as reduce costs associated with resolving them. The partnership will integrate Salesforce's Financial Services Cloud with Mastercard's dispute resolution services, providing real time notifications and a central dashboard for managing disputes.
Meta is taking inspiration from BeReal and Snapchat by developing a feature for Instagram called “Peek” that allows users to post authentic pictures that can only be viewed once. A photo shared via a Peek would have to be taken with your camera in the moment, as you would not be able to upload an image from your gallery, and you won't be able to add filters or edit the photo.
Ikea launched a TikTok livestream where cats and dogs model and demonstrate new Ikea products for pets. The Pet Shopping Network will appear for everyone in the UK on TikTok and showcase pets demonstrating Ikea's 29-piece pet furniture range.
Sam's Club is planning to launch an online shopping portal in Hong Kong within the next two months, giving the territory access to its products via e-commerce. The service will include free delivery for purchases over 599 yuan ($83).
Amazon raised warehouse worker wages to $15/hour five years ago, but today half of workers surveyed told researchers they struggle to afford food and rent. Amazon called the researcher's methodology “deeply flawed” and said the company had tried to raise its concerns with the study’s authors but never heard back.
Lots of layoffs this week… Amazon laid off more than 100 customer service reps, Walmart let go of hundreds of corporate staffers and ordering employees across the US and Canada, Gopuff laid off 6% of its staff, and Indeed laid off 8% of its workforce.
Remember that former diversity program manager at Facebook who stole more than $4M from the company through fake business deals in exchange for kickbacks? I first reported on Barbara Furlow-Smiles in December of last year when she pled guilty to the theft. Well, last week she was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for her scheme.
In the world of corporate turnover… The chief of Amazon Web Services, Adam Selipsky, is stepping down next month after a three-year term to be replaced by Matt Garman, a senior VP who has overseen sales and marketing at AWS. Also, eBay's VP of Global Communications, Michelle Friedman, departed the company to take on a role at Samsara, a cloud platform built for tracking and analyzing data from physical operations.
Meta is shutting down Workspace, a version of Facebook that had been built to enable communication among business teams and organizations. Sources say that it will be business as usual on the platform until August 25, 2025, and then it will be read-only until May 2026. Meta is recommending Zoom-owned Workvivo as a migration-ready alternative.
Ted Baker Canada is holding store-closing clearance sales across locations in the US and Canada after filing for bankruptcy in April. As of May 10th, online shopping is no longer available and all sales are final across the company's brick-and-mortar retail locations.
Sezzle, a US-based BNPL service, partnered up with Celerant Technology, a POS system for retailers, to offer a BNPL option when checking out in-store . The two companies had partnered in 2023 to offer BNPL options online, and now the solution is being brought to brick-and-mortar stores.
BuyBay, a Dutch recommerce platform, is launching a SaaS product using its own recommerce software. Retailers and manufacturers can now resell unreturned products from their own distribution center, which helps reduce CO2-emissions and increase profits.
Setapp Mobile, a subscription-based alternative to the Apple App Store that's now possible thanks to the EU's Digital Markets Act, went into invite-only beta last week. The new app store allows customers to play with a range of apps without being hit with reduced features, ads, options to upgrade, and without spending money on something they may not use. The biggest challenge with the Setapp iOS store is getting the app installed on your iPhone, which involves following a link, installing software, and then activating it — a process made intentionally cumbersome by Apple.
Avalara expanded its partnership with Shopify by joining the Shopify Tax Platform. Avalara has powered tax calculation for Shopify Plus customers since 2015, and now through the Shopify Tax Partner Platform, the company can serve all Shopify customers with their global tax compliance tools.
Walmart delivered 4.4B items the same day or next day, beating Amazon, which said it did 4B items in one day. Walmart's advantage is that it uses stores for its same-day deliveries.
Plus 9 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest including Gorgias's $29M Series C-2 round, which it plans to use the funds from to launch its new AI Agent.
I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week! For more details on each story and sources, see the full edition: https://www.shopifreaks.com/shopify-sues-shopline-ebays-qr-code-netflixs-new-ad-serve What else is new in e-commerce? Share stories of interesting in the comments below (including in your own business) or on shopifreaks. -PAUL Editor of Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter PS: Want the full editions delivered to your Inbox each week? Join free at www.shopifreaks.com

Hi - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of the week's top stories, which I cover in depth with sources in the full edition. Let's dive in...
STAT OF THE WEEK: Amazon could finally surpass Walmart to become the nation’s biggest company by revenue, having grown by 12% last year compared with Walmart's growth of 6%. Two more years of similar growth discrepancy would push Amazon past Walmart in sales.
Shopify is suing Shopline in New York federal court, accusing it of illegally copying Shopify's software to build its own e-commerce platform. Shopline is a Singapore-based subsidiary of the Chinese technology company JOYY Inc. Shopify said in the lawsuit that Shopline created a “thinly disguised knockoff” of its Dawn theme to power a competing e-commerce service. The lawsuit even says that the “Shopify” name still appears in the code of various versions of Seed that Shopline is distributing, and that Shopify found a Chinese webpage hosted by Joyy with the title “Seed Theme” that still carries headers reading “dawn-test.”
In other lawsuit news this week — Temu is facing legal action from 17 companies accusing it of violating new EU laws with “manipulative practices” such as making it difficult to delete your account, and lack of transparency over who their sellers are and why certain products are recommended to customers. Temu was the most downloaded app in the UK in 2023 and still remains as a top downloaded app in 2024.
The state of Arizona has taken legal action against Amazon, launching two lawsuits that accuse the company of monopolistic behavior and deceptive practices involving dark patterns. The first lawsuit claims that Amazon's business practices violate the state's Consumer Fraud Act by employing dark patterns to make it difficult for users to cancel their Amazon Prime subscriptions. The second lawsuit alleges that Amazon breaches Arizona's Uniform State Antitrust Act by maintaining a monopoly via enforcing agreements with third-party sellers to prevent them from offering lower prices on other platforms. It also challenges Amazon's Buy Box algorithm under the Consumer Fraud Act, claiming that it favors sellers who use Fulfillment By Amazon. The legal actions echo similar complaints from the FTC and various states.
Last week Amazon made a big splash with its first-ever event during upfront week, taking over Pier 36 in New York which has previously hosted upfront presentations from Disney and TelevisaUnivision. The company called on celebrities including Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, and Alicia Keys to demonstrate how premium their content is. Amazon worked to separate itself from its competitors by showcasing its scale. Prime Video now has an average monthly ad-supported reach of 200M customers, with 115M in the US, making it the largest premium ad-supported streaming service both globally and in the U.S. It also announced new upcoming series such as Spider-Man Noir, Tomb Raider, and a prequel to Legally Blond.
eBay launched a new feature called “resell on eBay” that is designed to make it easier for brands and consumers to list clothing for sale on its marketplace. The feature is built into Certilogo, which was acquired by eBay in 2023, which features an AI-powered digital ID printed on the product tag to help brands manage the lifecycle of their garments and give consumers a way to confirm the item's authenticity. Users scan a QR code on a product's smart label to generate a “resell your garment” button. Clicking the button directs the user to check the authenticity of the item through Certilogo's AI authentication system by signing in with their eBay account. From there, an eBay listing is prefilled with information from the brand about the item. Users can then edit the listing, upload additional photos, and publish the item for sale.
Poshmark launched a new paid marketing tool called “Promoted Closets” that gives sellers the ability to promote their entire shop at once. The tool uses machine learning to automatically promote individual product listings from a seller's entire inventory, identifying shoppers' search terms and matching them with promoted items. Promoted Closet works on a cost per click model where sellers only get charged when a shopper clicks and views the item from a promoted listing. There's an option to set the budget manually or get a recommendation from Poshmark. Each campaign lasts for 7 days.
Klarna says that it is not sharing its customer data with credit bureaus in the US because the bureaus “do not have proper models to responsibly process the data and ensure good consumer outcomes.” It does share its data with UK credit bureaus. Klarna added that the credit models used today in the US “were built decades ago and calculate data based on monthly payments, long-term loans, and open lines of credit. But BNPL does not fit into these categories.” The company claims that BNPL is different because it offers bi-weekly instead of monthly payments, and unlike a credit card, Klarna doesn't offer an open line of credit.
Third party sellers on Amazon, which make up 60% of sales on Amazon's marketplace, are reconsidering how heavily they'll discount products this year for Prime Day, given how much seller fees have increased on the platform in recent months, according to Modern Retail. According to data from SmartScout, Amazon FBA fees for standard-sized products have jumped 96% over the past 10 years, outpacing inflation. Seller fees can eat up about half the cost per sale on Amazon, according to Marketplace Pulse. That doesn't leave much room for running Prime Day deals, which primarily benefit Amazon as opposed to the individual merchants who are pressured to wipe out their little remaining margin for the sake of running a deal at all.
Netflix announced durings it Upfronts presentation that it's launching its own advertising platform to compete against Google, Amazon, Hulu, Comcast, and other ad giants. Amazon has only been in the advertising business for a year and a half after launching its ad-supported tier in Nov 2022. Netflix originally partnered with Microsoft to develop its ad tech, which let the streaming platform enter the ad space quickly and catch up with rivals like Hulu, which has offered an ad-supported tier since 2010. Launching its own in-house ad tech will allow Netflix to take full control of its advertising and create targeted and personalized ad experiences. Netflix wants to experiment with “episodic” campaigns, which involves a series of ads that tell a story rather than delivering repetitive ads. Brilliant!
Slack is under attack after users discovered that the company has been using their messages, content, and files to train its global AI models, which Slack uses to power their channel and emoji recommendations and search results. It was discovered that if you don't want Slack to use your data, you have to e-mail the company to opt-out, which isn't a good look for a company that makes a big deal out of telling customers that “You control your data.” In response to the outrage, Slack published a blog post to clarify how its customers' data is used.
Google will now let you perform a “web” search, which lets you filter out almost all of its AI results and knowledge panels that currently take over its SERPs, leaving you with just links and text like the old days. The order of the search results are the same regardless of whether you pick “web” or “all”, and it doesn't block links to YouTube videos or Reddit posts. There are also still ads that appear above and below the results.
YouTube is officially launching its YouTube Select “creator takeovers,” which lets advertisers buy out the ad inventory on channels representing the top 1% of content on the platform. The program began as a pilot at the end of 2023 and is now opening to more top creators.
Wix launched three new AI-powered image enhancement and creation tools to help users create and display high-quality images. The new tools include an AI Image Creator to make the images, Object Eraser to remove unwanted objects in the images, and AI Image Editor to add/edit portions of the image. Honestly, the three tools kind of sound like one tool with three features, but you do you, Wix.
Temu, which is already 20% bigger than Shein in the US and gets 42% of its business from the US, Mexico, and Chile, is turning its attention to Europe and wants to grow rapidly in the region. The company has redirected its enormous ad spend to Europe and Mexico while Washington scrutinizes its business practices in the US.
Visa announced major changes to how its credit and debit cards will operate in the US in the coming months and years. The new features mean consumers will be carrying fewer physical cards in their wallets, and will make the 16-digit card number increasingly irrelevant. The biggest change will be the ability for banks to issue one physical card that is connected to multiple bank accounts, which consumers can apply usage rules to.
Mastercard and Salesforce announced a new integration designed to help customers speed up the resolution of transaction disputes and chargebacks, as well as reduce costs associated with resolving them. The partnership will integrate Salesforce's Financial Services Cloud with Mastercard's dispute resolution services, providing real time notifications and a central dashboard for managing disputes.
Meta is taking inspiration from BeReal and Snapchat by developing a feature for Instagram called “Peek” that allows users to post authentic pictures that can only be viewed once. A photo shared via a Peek would have to be taken with your camera in the moment, as you would not be able to upload an image from your gallery, and you won't be able to add filters or edit the photo.
Ikea launched a TikTok livestream where cats and dogs model and demonstrate new Ikea products for pets. The Pet Shopping Network will appear for everyone in the UK on TikTok and showcase pets demonstrating Ikea's 29-piece pet furniture range.
Sam's Club is planning to launch an online shopping portal in Hong Kong within the next two months, giving the territory access to its products via e-commerce. The service will include free delivery for purchases over 599 yuan ($83).
Amazon raised warehouse worker wages to $15/hour five years ago, but today half of workers surveyed told researchers they struggle to afford food and rent. Amazon called the researcher's methodology “deeply flawed” and said the company had tried to raise its concerns with the study’s authors but never heard back.
Lots of layoffs this week… Amazon laid off more than 100 customer service reps, Walmart let go of hundreds of corporate staffers and ordering employees across the US and Canada, Gopuff laid off 6% of its staff, and Indeed laid off 8% of its workforce.
Remember that former diversity program manager at Facebook who stole more than $4M from the company through fake business deals in exchange for kickbacks? I first reported on Barbara Furlow-Smiles in December of last year when she pled guilty to the theft. Well, last week she was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for her scheme.
In the world of corporate turnover… The chief of Amazon Web Services, Adam Selipsky, is stepping down next month after a three-year term to be replaced by Matt Garman, a senior VP who has overseen sales and marketing at AWS. Also, eBay's VP of Global Communications, Michelle Friedman, departed the company to take on a role at Samsara, a cloud platform built for tracking and analyzing data from physical operations.
Meta is shutting down Workspace, a version of Facebook that had been built to enable communication among business teams and organizations. Sources say that it will be business as usual on the platform until August 25, 2025, and then it will be read-only until May 2026. Meta is recommending Zoom-owned Workvivo as a migration-ready alternative.
Ted Baker Canada is holding store-closing clearance sales across locations in the US and Canada after filing for bankruptcy in April. As of May 10th, online shopping is no longer available and all sales are final across the company's brick-and-mortar retail locations.
Sezzle, a US-based BNPL service, partnered up with Celerant Technology, a POS system for retailers, to offer a BNPL option when checking out in-store . The two companies had partnered in 2023 to offer BNPL options online, and now the solution is being brought to brick-and-mortar stores.
BuyBay, a Dutch recommerce platform, is launching a SaaS product using its own recommerce software. Retailers and manufacturers can now resell unreturned products from their own distribution center, which helps reduce CO2-emissions and increase profits.
Setapp Mobile, a subscription-based alternative to the Apple App Store that's now possible thanks to the EU's Digital Markets Act, went into invite-only beta last week. The new app store allows customers to play with a range of apps without being hit with reduced features, ads, options to upgrade, and without spending money on something they may not use. The biggest challenge with the Setapp iOS store is getting the app installed on your iPhone, which involves following a link, installing software, and then activating it — a process made intentionally cumbersome by Apple.
Avalara expanded its partnership with Shopify by joining the Shopify Tax Platform. Avalara has powered tax calculation for Shopify Plus customers since 2015, and now through the Shopify Tax Partner Platform, the company can serve all Shopify customers with their global tax compliance tools.
Walmart delivered 4.4B items the same day or next day, beating Amazon, which said it did 4B items in one day. Walmart's advantage is that it uses stores for its same-day deliveries.
Plus 9 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest including Gorgias's $29M Series C-2 round, which it plans to use the funds from to launch its new AI Agent.
I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week!
PAUL Editor of Shopifreaks E-Commerce Newsletter
PS: If I missed any big news this week, please share in the comments.

I was looking at why gen alpha seems to be even worse than kids in general. At first I was concerned about the fact that they barely even have the attention span for tv shows like Big City Greens and Bluey instead being dumped in front of horrifying content farms and even addictive stuff like c—melon.
Then it went a little deeper when I saw videos of teachers talking about how their regular kids(like kids without disabilities) are struggling below grade level and this is like 6th grade students having almost no attention spans and having reading levels and learning levels far below like 3rd grade levels, and not knowing certain basics There was even a video that mentioned how even sped kids despite their disadvantage had higher reading levels than normal kids. And the normal kids seemed not to even be trying to better themselves.
Then I learned about the Sephora girls and how they are straight up menaces to other people and demand skincare that isn’t designed for their age group and can damage them(instead of getting age appropriate skincare). I learned about the horrible Sephora moms enabling this with instagrams
Then I learned about young boys(like 6-9 year olds) accessing extremely sexist streamers and a pretty notorious rapist and trafficker named “quagmire” Tate who was just arrested for sex trafficking influencing young minds to regress regarding equality and no means no etc. I then saw more teachers saying how toxic kids are becoming and they seem to have no real life goals other than being influencers. And then quitting because of such flagrant behavior.
I was confused by all of this like it seemed like the parents weren’t even trying to teach the kids basics like how letters are pronounced, how to tie shoes, not to steal the cookie, etc. this continued to be hard to understand like it didn’t make sense. Like these problems used to be a very small minority like not everyone is like this but now it seemed that not “everyones kids are bad” while still a fair amount seemed even smaller compared to to it seems like the kids who were never taught seemed to increase.
Then when I saw one video which talked about the Sephora kids she brought up a TikTok talking about why gen alpha ended up so bad and the video brought up the accessory baby trend of the 2010s that really blew up around that time. I then watched the TikTok and that’s when it clicked. The kids who were born then are the same that are gen alpha. I remembered that on YouTube and other sites was filled with teens who were excited about having a baby and belly progressions etc.
it made total sense why gen alpha is horribly underprepared because many of these kids were(and are) the accessory babies born in the 2010s that were born to a large minority of(a lot of) teenagers who wanted to showcase their cute baby as if they were a furby accessory trying to copy the celebrity (spesficially the kardashians and Kyle Jenner) accessory baby trend which resulted in the aesthetic of parenting and having a cute baby without any of the actual work needed to raise a baby to a functioning human being with good literacy skills, a reasonable education and basically becoming a functioning person.
Oh and teen mom the tv show(which despite showing some of the darker sides and contributing to a decline in teen pregnancy’s some dumb kids still took inspiration) . It’s made even worse because now TikTok and instagram reels glorifying pregnancy at young(like teenage) ages for aesthetics even if said person was not ready or willing to handle responsibly raising a future adult and showing none of the true consequences and sorrow that comes with ruining your and a future humans life, instead being filled with instagram photos of cute mommy and baby in matching outfits on highly staged photos with no hint on how difficult it is to raise a human being.
Anyway The baby was never supposed to grow up as a person and become a functioning human being but to be a silent being with no thoughts of it’s own to dress up and show off to instagram and Pinterest. Essentially a doll. However when that baby started to grow up into their own person and becoming a human being because as it turns out baby’s grow up to be a functioning adult. The parents has no desire to be a parent and does not know how to raise a functioning human so they dumped them in front of iPads in order to get them out of the way and basically negelect them. The consequence is that now we have an entire generation of kids who have not been taught basic lessons and how to be a functioning person.
It even affects the kids who weren’t accessory babies and are being raised by people who actually want to see their child succeed in life , because the peer pressure to act more mature than before has ramped up significantly as the moms of the accessory babies shunned kid appropriate outfits and acting their age and stuff because they wanted the babies to be dressed up in adult fashions for instagram photo ops and have engrained that acting like a kid is stupid and that they go from accessory Baby to hot young adult with no inbetween in their minds which warps them to act like an “adult” when way too young. It’s essentially the traditional 10 year old wants to act older but warped far beyond what it used to be and if a kid simply acts like their age group they are often picked on by accessory baby bullies which means that a lot of kids are now under peer pressure to grow up way too fast because the accessory kids that dominate the school and act like monsters towards everyone else.
It’s because they were never taught how to be a good Person. And it’s because of the parents who wanted accessory babies for instagram rather than raising a human. Like it’s the 30 year mellenials who take their kids only to instagramamble play areas, dressing them up for photo shoots every week in new clothes, going on instagramamble vacations and even having another baby only for clicks.
This is the reality of the situation we are seeing the consequences of this in real time. The kids were never taught how to be a person and because of that they have almost no manners and learned all their lessons from toxic influencers and or consumerist influencers. It’s because the parents neglect them instead of providing moral lessons on how to be a good person, teaching them right from wrong, or even providing them good tv shows like BCG, and bluey instead dumping them in front of iPad content farms that rot their attention spans without any moderation causing them to have no imagination and tech addictions and then for the boys watching toxic influencers like Andrew quagmire tate and his merry band of Herbert the perverts(it’s a family guy reference). And for the girls being brainwashed into acting like adults and buying skincare that burns their skin instead of age appropate skin care.
This is scary because they are our next doctors, artists, writers, musicians, librarians, mechanic, firefighters, plumbers, etc. and they end up with social media addicitions and have shockingly short attention spans thanks to overstimulating YouTube shorts and they were never taught how to be a successful person who thrives in society all because they were treated as disposable photo props to get more IG likes.
To be clear not every parent is like this and there are many parents trying to raise their kids good and teaching them to be a good person but it is concearning how the accessory babies are now being turned into monsters at shockingly young ages. I really hope people wake up and realize that this is a problem and how we need to educate kids and prevent toxic Tate influences on boys And toxic trends on girls. We need to let kids learn positive values and teach the, about diversity and how to be a good person and helping other people and doing good things and working hard to achieve whatever goals they want.
We need to fix this and help prepare kids to be a functioning good adults so that they can succeed. It’s a whole mess that we need to do better with our next generation of people because we need to stop treating kids like they are just instagram photos and they aren’t babies with on and off switches but babies that grow to toddler then kid tween teen until they become an adult who should be able to do basic functions in society.
I am legit concerned about the next generation and them being addicted to content farms rather than quality shows with educational and entertainment value and not being taught basic morals like don’t steal the cookie, everyone is equal, clean up after yourself, don’t rudely interrupt other people. or even helping them get to grade level reading and stuff(and I’m not counting kids with disabilities, like autistic and adhd kids) to function in society. like I literally heard that sped kids with disabilities and autism etc are literally doing higher reading levels than regular kids because a lot of the regular kids were never taught. It’s legit concerning.
*it should also be mentioned that this seems to mostly happen with really really young parents 9/10 times as most kids who were conceived by parents at older ages(30 something when they had kids) don’t seem to have this problem(or very rarely)

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Episode 4: The Newly Dead

Last time you began in the aftermath of a landslide. After the chaos of the previous day, the mountain peak, the blight, the death of the Virtuous (all of which happened within a single day) you finally had a chance to rest and take stock of all that had occurred. I found a spot to camp. Dolly confessed ‘in all her travels what she experienced on Mt Atria was the first time she’d witnessed something that she couldn’t understand’.As the only members of the party not affected by the blight, I took Raidion aside to see whether they could offer the others any help. Raidion shrugged off this suggestion, telling I that ‘they were out of their depth and he was only staying with them because they were currently useful to him’. Around the fire, Endellion, Kelnys and Dolly spoke of what had brought them to the Web. Endellion revealing that she had wanted to escape a life she led before. Morgan suggested that (rather than escape) the Web merely offered a different kind of cage. After being pressed by Dolly, he (Morgan) disclosed that he had joined the Web to ensure that he was able to (in his words) “hurt the right people”. It was Kelnys’ turn to confide next that the Web had killed his family, but he also revealed that his family were not dragonborn. As the party began to rest, Raidion took Dolly aside and thanked her for the gift of the daisy chain bracelet. Taking her into his confidence, he revealed that he had been struggling to sleep, due to a whispering deck of cards that he carries in his pack. Dolly told him ‘that when things begin to call out, it is a sign that they possess great power and that power is hard to escape’. As the rest of the party settled down, Endellion and Morgan took first watch. Morgan beginning to scratch the symbols of Ignas from his armor. Endellion questioned him on his loss of faith and Morgan told her that ‘having lost so much already, the death of his god had hit him hard’. The pair challenged one another on the nature of faith, choice, and loss before they too finally got some sleep. The next morning you descended, made your way down to the foot of the mountain and to the Festival of Benediction. There you met Polyanna, a junior cleric supervising the construction of a stage. As she fussed and attempted to heal those of the party suffering from the blight, Endellion insisted that you be taken to Jasmee (the cleric that Barabask instructed you to seek out). Polyanna led you through the hubbub of the festival with its traders, musicians and worshippers until you found Jasmee offering instruction to a group of young religious students. Raidion immediately blurted out that the Virtuous were dead and Morgan handed her the letter that Barabask had written. Jasmee read that letter, her expression darkening. She asked if you had been sickened by the blight that now infected the mountain. When you confirmed that you had, she gathered guards and escorted you away from the festival. As the sounds of revelry faded into the distance, you entered a forest glade, far from prying eyes. There Jasmee rounded on you and with a whispered ‘I’m sorry’ cast Guiding Bolt on Endellion. She called to the guards that you had tried to kill the Antiqua and they, too, leapt into combat. As the fight began, Dolly appealed to Jasmee to stop her attacks, insisting the party had nothing to do with the deaths on the mountain. The cleric seemed in turmoil, stepping back and observing as Morgan roared a battle cry. Endellion added her appeals to Dolly’s with little effect. Raidion tried to use Hypnotic Gaze, as per, but Jasmee was angered by his attempts to deceive her with magic. At last Dolly’s words seemed to land and Jasmee threw her the letter which Barabask had written. After reading it, Dolly made one final plea for reason and the cleric at last commanded that the guards cease fighting. She cured Dolly, Endellion, Kelnys, and Morgan of the blight and told the party that she would report their deaths back to Barabask. With that she departed, leaving you alone in a forest glade.

Previous Episode: Oathbreaker

♪Episode Song References♪

ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

• 00:22:10 Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz - Put Yo Hood Up
• 02:31:44 Evanescence - Bring Me to Life

Highlights

• 00:01:15 Ben recalls how their original plans of being the mature adult in the group has dissolved. “I think we’re all making bad choiced, if I’m honest.”
• 00:09:20 Morgan announces his departure and what he will report back to The Spinner.♪Episode Song References♪ ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ 00:22:10 Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz - Put Yo Hood Up 02:31:44 Evanescence - Bring Me to Life Highlights 00:01:15 Ben recalls how their original plans of being the mature adult in the group has dissolved. “I think we’re all making bad choiced, if I’m honest.”
• 00:09:20 Morgan announces his departure and what he will report back to The Spinner.

Raidion:“We are dead.” Morgan:“That makes you more useful to the Web.” Endellion:“Good luck, Oathbreaker.”

• 00:10:32 Ben:“It’s been a pleasure, Alan.”

Harry:“Goodbye, Oathbreaker. Send my regards to Mrs. Breaker.”

• 00:11:46 Kelnys:“It’s too bad we’re dead, I wanted to sell some spoons in that market.”
• 00:16:54 I:“It mights be caramel!”
• 00:17:17 Raidion and Endellion relenting to one hour at the festival
• 00:18:31 Ben makes funny sounds of disapproval upon the suggestion of entering without disguises.
• 00:21:30 Harry:“It is Dolly DeWinter, rather than Dolly DeSpring.” (roll for bad pun damage)
• 00:24:34 I:“When you is dead, calories don’t count!”
• 00:25:20 Fan Art Moment Popcorn gnome with golden goatee and purple hair.
• 00:26:18 Harry:“Just the four of you, then? Just the three of you, then? Just the two of you, then?” You can hear the hope die in his voice after each one.
• 00:29:17 PG:“Sometimes I catch sight of myself in a still pool over the edge of a blade and think ‘What are you like?’”

He just goes back to stirring his corn.

• 00:31:16 Harry:“Is there any part of Raidion that has enjoyed this?”

Ben:“Yeah.”

• 00:36:42 Doug:“Wait a minute! I have a skill called Spooncarving and I’ve got plus ten on that.”

shows Harry the skill on his sheet Harry:“God, they’re cheating! I didn’t know it was possible.”

• 00:38:24 Harry:“You know when you’re a kid and you get given Calpol and you’re like ‘Nothing’s better than this’?”
• 00:45:05 Raidion:(still attempting the serious parent voice, but relenting completely)“You have one more hour.”
• 00:48:36 Endellion spots someone who will recognize them at the festival and alerts the team.

Hollie:“I am necking the rest of this wine and it is (serious tone)‘We need to go’” Dolly:“So sorry everyone, but as you can see, our spoonshaper is done for the day…”

• 01:01:23 I marvels at the high chair and tray technology
• 01:05:39 Endellion just sits there sipping wine, looking like every character from Absolutely Fabulous.

Hollie:“Sweetie. Darling.”

• 01:11:35 Raidion attempts to bury the phantom deck of cards he’s been carrying.
• 01:24:47 With Kelnys guiding them through the woods, the group happen upon a campfire with a group exchanging celebratory remarks about the attack upon Alvelion.
• 01:26:36 I’s foot finds a stray twig, but doesn’t appear to reveal his presence.
• 01:27:20 The mysterious figure in a silver mask.

“Waiting. We wait until we hear otherwise.” “I can’t wait. Not knowing that there’s so many of them not knowing that they’re still in there.” “We have done our part for now. We wrote the message. That was what was required of us then. What is required of us now is to wait.” Curly:“I will bleed that council. Start with Trusk, real slow.”

• 01:31:12 Dolly rolls a 7 on a stealth check and is revealed
• 01:34:55 Dolly:“The web is wide.”

“Good for the web.”

• 01:45:25 INITIATIVE
• 01:47:17 Dolly falls unconscious
• 01:48:01 Alex:“Like Sean Bean.”
• 01:50:56 Ben:“It’s not intimidation, it’s just a stupid thing that Raidion would say.”
  
• 01:57:33 Dolly revived with a healing potion
  
• 02:13:16 I’s impressive stealth skill allows him to disappear in a puff of popcorn and a whiff of caramel.
  
• 02:17:55 Dolly’s back! And she’s pissed!
  
• 02:21:00 Raidion successfully takes out the silver-masked ranger with a chromatic orb.
  
• 02:23:31 Kelnys falls unconscious
  
• 02:25:04 “Butterkist boi”
  
• 02:33:22 “The shadow will flood.”
  
• 02:36:20 In a tandem effort with Raidion, I subdues the final enemy.
  
• 02:36:51 “The old Christopher Lee stabbed in the back story.”
  
• 02:38:20 I:“Who sends you?”
  

“Those who send us all.”

• 02:41:15 A note that reads:

“Camino, Write the message on the mural. Return to the forest and wait. The water will soon rise”.

• 02:45:35 Harry describes the city of Baruun like a three-tiered cake with a single great staircase dividing the round walls. There is a painted and carved mural of the Virtuous on the middle tier near the stairs.
• 02:47:47 Raidion expresses the desire to pose as the three dead spies and use the opportunity to investigate the plot.

I:“Oh, I likes this.” Dolly:“This could be an awful, awful plan. Obviously I’m up for it.” So, the five of you, under the canopy of the forest, with the fire still burning, sit. And wait.

1a) Matriarch [Victory for All] is a Spear support.

Passive	Description
1) King of Praise.	[Start of battle] Recovers own BP (+2) Grants all surviving allies Battle Integrity* (Effect permanent in battle). * Battle Integrity – Attack Damage increases by 20%. When attacked by an attack that would cause Resist, damage taken will be reduced (30%). When attacked by an attack that would cause Resist, evades enemy's attack (12%). [When landing an attack] Recovers own HP (very small effect). Recovers own BP (+1)
2) Standing Ovation.	[When landing an attack] Increases all surviving allies' STEND/DEX/AGI/INT/WIL/LOV/CHA (5%). [When landing an attack with an Attack type skill/spell] Glinting Throw will be activated. Ritual of Wisdom will be activated (50% chance). White Spear will be activated (50% chance). (Each activates using skill Rank 1)
3) Off & Def Skills VI.	Attack damage increases 40%. When being attacked, reduce damage taken by 30%.

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Piercing Song.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	E	Spear	Direct Single Foe Pierce+Sun attack.	Grants all surviving allies Defense Boost 15% for 1 turn.
2) Lance Dance.	(13 - 10BP when fully awakened).	SS	Spear	Indirect Single Foe Pierce+Sun attack.	Before attacking, grants all surviving allies Battle Integrity for 1 turn.
3) Illusion.	(13 - 10BP when fully awakened).	SSS	Spear	Direct Single Foe Pierce+Sun attack.	Recovers user’s HP (large effect).

Mama Matriarch is back again! This time, she is a more of an offensive support. Passive 1’s Battle Integrity has been buffed to be permanent in battle, and the one from Skill 2 – Lance Dance, can stack, though for 1 turn only.
As with all styles that incorporate chases, damage and utilities is dependent on RNG. None the less, she should help in some high difficulty Boss fights and Remembrance Battles.
Has lots of options for inheritance, notable ones includes Heaven's Heal and Paean of Protection.
2a) Maria [Honor Belongs to All] is a Club support.

Passive	Description
1) Healing Light.	When being attacked, reduce damage taken by 30%. [After activating Light Celebration Ceremony] Activates the following (Max times: 1 time per battle): ・Grants all surviving allies Aura of Light 4 times* (No turns limit). ・Grants all surviving allies End of Turn: Recover HP (very small effect) (Effect permanent in battle). * Aura of Light – Start of turn, activates the following (Max limit: 4 times): · Grants oneself Attack Boost 50% for 1 turn. · Grants oneself Attack Boost 30% for 1 turn. · Recovers own BP (+2) [End of turn] Recovers own BP (+2) Cures all surviving allies from darkness/sleep/paralysis/petrification.
2) Offense & Defense Hope III.	[Start of turn] Increases attack damage for all allies (15%). Reduces damage taken for all allies (15%). When attacked and HP reaches 0, recovers all surviving allies' HP (very large effect).
3) Protective Healing.	When attacked, damage taken will be reduced (30%). [End of turn] Recovers own HP (very small effect).

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Light Healing Attack.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	E	Club	Direct Single Foe Blunt attack.	Recovers all surviving allies’ HP (very small effect).
2) Light Celebration Ceremony.	(7 - 5BP when fully awakened).		Sun	Support All Allies.	[Use Limit: 2 times per battle] Grants all surviving allies Aura of Light 4 times* (No turns limit). Grants all surviving allies Heat Up (10%). Grants all surviving allies Defense Up (5%).
3) White Dance.	(13 - 10BP when fully awakened).		Club	Support Fast All Foes.	Reduces targets’ STDEX/AGI/INT (15% - 20% at max rank 99). Increases all surviving allies’ END/WIL/LOV/CHA (20% - 30% at max rank 99).

Maria will be useful for the Remembrance Battle with Megalith Dragon. Especially since things are still not looking good for Clubs in that area.
Inherit Golden Dragon Dance from her previous Saga Soul style.
3a) Fake Gustave [My Plan Triumphs] is a G.Sword attacker.

Passive	Description
1) Fake Overlord.	[Start of Battle] Recovers own BP (+4). [Start of turn] Activates the following (Max: 5 times per battle): · Grants oneself Weak Heat Up (50%). · Grants oneself End of turn BP Recovery (+1) (Effect permanent in battle). · All other surviving allies take recoil damage (10% of their Max HP). [When landing an attack] Recovers own HP (very small effect). Increases own STEND/WIL 15% [When landing an attack with an Attack type skill/spell] Cursed Quartet will be activated. (Activates using skill Rank 1).
2) Weak Maximum Voltage.	[Start of turn] Grants oneself Weak Heat Up* 50% (Max times: 4 times per battle).
3) Off & Def Skills VI.	Attack damage increases 40%. When being attacked, reduce damage taken by 30%.

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Twin Black.	(4 - 3BP when fully awakened).	E	G.Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash+Shadow attack.	Attacks random enemies (2 times).
2) Dark Chaos Dancing Sword.	(17 - 14BP when fully awakened).	SSSS	G.Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash+Shadow attack.	Recovers all surviving allies’ HP (small effect). Twilight Flash is then activated.
3) Cursed Quartet.	(17 - 14BP when fully awakened).	C	G.Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash+Shadow attack.	Attacks random enemies (4 times). (Only the first attack will activate user's abilities.)

Fake Gustave is a rather selfish attacker, similar to Razem. He does have a party heal via Skill 2. He can probably help with Spiral 270, if one does not have any of the recent Shadow attackers.
Con is that his Skill 3 is random targets, and not sure if wise to inherit Dark Drive from his previous style, as that skill has a 30% HP recoil…..
4a) Sephira [Sky Blade] is a Sword attacker.

Passive	Description
1) Sky Barrier.	[Start of battle] Recovers own BP (+2). Grants all surviving allies Elemental Enhance (Slash) (50%). Grants all surviving allies Defense Up (Indirect) (30%).
2) Martial Spirits.	Martial Spirits. [Start of turn] Increases own STEND/DEX/AGI/INT/WIL/LOV/CHA (15%). [When landing an attack with an Attack type skill/spell] Moonfall Slash+ will be activated. Heaven and Earth+ will be activated (50% chance). Doppelgangers+ will be activated (37% chance). Plural Slash+ will be activated (25% chance). (Each activates using skill Rank 1)
3) Dauntless Resolve	[When all allies are still surviving] Own attacks' damage increases (30%). When oneself is attacked by an attack that would cause Resist, damage taken will be reduced (40%). [End of turn] Recovers own BP (+1).

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Mirage Feather.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).		Sword	Support Self	[Use Limit: 4 times per battle] Recovers user’s BP (+4). Grants self Phantom (Effect permanent in battle).
2) Gleaming Slash+.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	D	Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash+Sun attack.	D powered Direct Single Foe Slash+Sun attack. Before attacking, increases the user's STR (15% - 25% at max rank 99).
3) Phantom Sky.	(15 - 12BP when fully awakened).	E	Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash attack.	Attacks random enemies (4 times). (Only the first attack will activate user's abilities.) Grants all surviving allies' Slash Attack Boost (20% - 25% at max rank 99) for 2 turns with each attack. Recovers user HP (very small effect) with each attack.

Sephira finally gets a limited SS style and looks to be a fun style to have!
Unfortunately, she is in a weapon type that has too many options and thus, may be difficult to find a spot for her in the party.
1b) Asellus [Thanks to Everyone] is a Sword jammer.

Passive	Description
1) Half-Mystic Swordsman.	[When landing an attack] Recovers own HP (very small effect). Recovers own BP (+1). Grants oneself Attack Boost 10% for 2 turns. [When landing an attack with an Attack type skill/spell] Mirage Step+ will be activated. Skill 3 will be activated (37% chance). (Each activates using skill Rank 1) [After activating an OD attack] Skill 3 will be activated. (Activates using skill Rank 1)
2) Mirage Fencer.	Attack damage increases 20%. [Start of turn] Grants oneself Impale Union* 2 times for 1 turn. * Impale Union – When landing an attack, activate the following (Max limit: 2 times): · Reduces target’s STINT 5%. · Grants target Defense Down 10% for 1 turn. [When being attacked] Reduce damage taken 10%. Evades enemy's attack (37%). [End of turn] Increases own OD gauge 45.
3) Tactful Offense & Defense.	[Start of turn] Grants oneself Attack Boost 50% for 1 turn. Grants oneself Defense Boost 30% for 1 turn. [On every 3 turns counting from the start of battle] Grants oneself Attack Boost 50% for 2 turns. Grants oneself Defense Boost 30% for 2 turns.

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Shade Cut.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	E	Sword	Direct Single Foe Slash+Shadow attack.	When the attack hits, grants the target Defense Down (10% - 15% at max rank 99) for 1 turn.
2) Illusion Step.	(5 - 3BP when fully awakened).		Sword	Support Fast All Allies.	[Use Limit: 2 times per battle] Grants all surviving allies Phantom for 4 turns.
3)	(13 - 10BP when fully awakened).	SS	Sword	Fast Direct Single Foe Slash+Shadow attack.	Before attacking, grants all surviving allies Impale Union 2 times for 1 turn.

Asellus was used in a number of clears for 7 Heroes Romancing difficulty, back when she was first released JP side. Her Impale Union provides party with a more stable INT/STR debuff for the fight.
Illusion Step also provides another layer of protection against Soul Steal, albeit still RNG dependent.
Inheritance options are plenty, but for further INT debuff, can choose to inherit Plum Dance.
2b) Death [Netherworld Needs No Honor] is a Shadow Staff attacker.

Passive	Description
1) Death's Realm.	Increases attack damage for all allies 30%. Reduces damage taken for all allies 30%. [Start of battle] Recovers own BP (+4). Grants all surviving allies End of Turn: Recover HP (unc.) (v. large/2 times) (no turn limit). All other surviving allies lose 1 LP as recoil damage at start of battle. [End of turn] Recovers own BP (+1) Recovers all surviving allies’ HP (very small effect).
2) Maximum Voltage.	Grants self Heat Up 30% (Max times: 5 times per battle).
3) Mighty Warrior.	Attacks' damage increases 20%. When attacked, damage taken will be reduced 30%. When attacked by an attack that would cause Resist, damage taken will be reduced 40%.

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Death Cut.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	E	Shadow	Indirect Single Foe Shadow+Slash attack.	When the attack hits, recovers user’s HP (very small effect).
2) Wave of Malice.	(10 - 7BP when fully awakened).	C	Shadow	Indirect All Foes Shadow attack.	Before attacking, grants the user Elemental Enhance (Shadow) (50%). [Use Limit: 3 times per battle] After attacking, grants the user "End of Turn: Recover BP (+1)" (Effect: permanent in battle).
3) Black Dimension.	(17 - 14BP when fully awakened).	A	Shadow	Indirect Single Foe Shadow+Slash attack.	Attack 2 times. When the attack hits, chance to reduce target’s INT (15% - 20% at max rank 99) (Only the first attack will activate user's abilities.)

Death here is a direct upgrade of his previous style, now with the ability to for party members to revive twice, while LP cost is still only at 1. Hey, at least there’s no inflation in Death’s Realm.
He can also probably help with Spiral 270 by inheriting Netherworld Scythe or Funeral Parade.
3b) Patrick [Honor of the Bafal Empire] is a Sun Staff support.

Passive	Description
1) Mass Power Charge III.	[Start of battle] Recovers all surviving allies' BP (+3).
2) Command of Assault.	[Start of turn] Activates the following (Max: 3 times per battle): · Grants all surviving allies Action Order Up (extreme effect) for 1 turn. · Grants all surviving allies Attack Boost (40%) for 1 turn. · Increase all surviving allies’ STDEX/AGI/INT 25%.
3) Weak Point Union V.	When all allies are still surviving, activates the following for all allies: ・Weak attacks' damage increases 30%. ・When attacked by an attack that would cause Resist, reduces damage taken by 30%.

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Sun Rays.	(4 - 3BP when fully awakened).	C	Sun	Indirect Column of Foes Sun attack.
2) Minister’s Wisdom.	(9 - 7BP when fully awakened).		Sun	Support Self Fast.	[Use Limit: 1 time per battle] Grants user Command of Assault (No turn limit). Grants all surviving allies Max BP Increase (Increase: 10/5 turn(s)). Recovers all surviving allies’ BP (+5).
3) Chained Sunbeam.	(11 - 8BP when fully awakened).	SS	Sun	Indirect Column of Foes Sun+Pierce attack.	Before attacking, increases all surviving allies' INT (15% - 25% at max rank 99)).

Patrick is a support for short burst Boss fights and was used predominantly in the newly revamped Final Isle event, when it was released in JP side.
Inherit Star Shining Bits to give him some self-sustain, if required.
4b) Eire [Guided by the Melody] is a Bow support.

Passive	Description
1) Grace of Air.	[Start of battle] Grants all surviving allies Protection of Fair Wind* (Effect permanent in battle), Protection of Head Wind** (Effect permanent in battle). *Protection of Fair Wind – Start of turn, grants oneself Evasion 1 time (37% chance) for 1 turn. ** Protection of Head Wind – When being attacked indirectly, increases own STDEX/INT 20%. [End of turn] Recovers own BP (+2).
2) Study of the Wind.	[When landing an attack with an Attack type skill/spell] Wind Notes will be activated. (Activates using skill Rank 1) [After activating an OD attack] Wind Notes will be activated. (Activates using skill Rank 1) [After activating Missile Shield+] Recovers own BP (+5). Grants all surviving allies End of Turn: Recover HP (very small effect/2 turn(s)), End of Turn: OD gauge increase 15 for 2 turns.
3) Anti-Skill Ironwall IV.	When attacked, damage taken will be reduced (30%). When attacked by skill attacks, damage taken will be reduced (50%).

Skill	BP/LP	Power	Spell Weapon	Damage Type	Description
1) Gust Needle.	(1 - 0BP when fully awakened).	E	Wind	Indirect Single Foe Slash+Pierce attack.	[Critical: Floating] Grants user Guard Up 12% for 2 turns. When activating an OD attack, also grants all other surviving allies Guard Up 12% for 2 turns.
2) Missile Shield+.	(11 - 8BP when fully awakened).		Wind	Support Fast All Allies.	Grants all surviving allies Guard Up (medium), Defense Boost (Indirect) 25%, and Defense Boost (Skill) 25% for 2 turns.
3) Wind Notes.	(12 - 9BP when fully awakened).	SS	Wind	Indirect Single Foe Slash+Pierce attack.	Increase all surviving allies’ WIL (20% - 30% at max rank 99). When the attack hits, chance to reduce target’s INT (15% - 20% at max rank 99).

Eire is a great support for the Remembrance Battle with Megalith Dragon. Her ability to increase party’s OD gauge also synergizes with other Bow styles like Prefecture Liz and the latest Therese.
Overall, the 2 banners are mid IMO, with pros and cons for both. If low on gems and not rushing to clear the current content, can wait and see what comes next, especially as we are getting close to anniversary.
(Note**I apologize in advance if there are any errors. Please point them out in the comments and I will amend accordingly)
(My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9z27AwCtB8en\_aFEVJ7plQ)

Suspects post below does a great job of summarizing every Hoge update we covered this week… here is the other half. The Weekly Wrap Up Report covers news and information from the entire crypto world. Below is word for word, apologize for the typos and run on sentences. I don’t proof read this but the info is worth hearing. Tune into the Wrap Up to get fully updated each week!
What is going on everyone!!! Where the heck do I start this week. What an insane week of news in the crypto world. Year one of industry adoption is in full force! Before get into crypto… Roaring Kittys back! Haha what a legend. After three years of no posts on Monday he posts a picture of a guy in a gaming chair going from a relaxed sitlayed back sitting position to a forward facing intense gaming sitting position, to say let’s go it’s game time! If you’ve ever been a gamer u know when ur sitting forward your intensely focused on winning the game your in. If you live under a rock maybe you don’t know who Roaring kitty is but he is the Reddit legend that sent game stop to hundred of dollars, he started the retail traders vs hedge fund crazy run that happened in 2020. Truly one of the most exciting things to be a part of as you watched how hedge funds really work behind the curtain. It’s sickening how they are able to loot companies and force bankruptcy’s to fill their pockets and ruin so many lives in the future. Roaring kitty followed up that post with a serious of great movie and show clips that rallied the retail traders. And in one day it went from $18 to $68 costing hedge funds billions of dollars in the process. I’m not gonna lie I paid my mortgage over night scooping some GameStop in after hours on Monday. Fight the power baby! You gotta love when someone stands up to the corrupt rules, us regular people don’t get to play by. Game stop trading was halted 32 times on Tuesday as they tried to control the crazy price movement. Let’s see where it goes from here but he’s back and that was exciting to see!
But to the real news of the week… we just found out which companies are holding Bitcoin! On May 15th companies had to disclose their Q1 13f reports to the SEC. A 13F is a quarterly report that institutional investment managers must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose their equity holdings. The form is required for managers with more than $100 million in assets under management.
Guess how many 100m asset companies disclosed that they hold the Bitcoin ETFs? … did you guess do you have a number in mind? Looney go ahead take a guess
1,028 of these high value firms disclosed they hold Bitcoin worth a whopping 10.9 billion dollars in total! And this is only Q1 of this year. Before January 11th of this year that number was under 25. We are so early and this is year one of industry adoption of the strongest form of property ever invented. A brand new asset class has been legitimized and it’s called scarce digital property. It isn’t just companies like Microstrategy, square, and Tesla holding Bitcoin, it’s banks like Wells Fargo and Susquehanna, it’s massive hedge funds and small hedge funds. Probably the most exciting part is pensions now hold Bitcoin! The State of Wisconsin Investment Board discloses it holds almost $100 million of BlackRock's spot #Bitcoin ETF. This is the 9th largest pension fund in the US and a top 50 pension fund in the world. 35 trillion dollars is the sum of all pension funds in the world. Sadly most pensions will not be there when someone wants to retire in ten years from now. But now that Bitcoin introduces hard money to the world, these pension funds can possibly be saved for its current employees looking to retire in the future, the same goes with social security and our insane debt issue we are facing. Bitcoin solves the money printer issue. This is just the first quarter after the ETFs launched…. And Guess what the Bitcoin ETFs aren’t going anywhere and have just started opening the door to trillions of dollars of funds looking for the best alpha to store their value. The game theory is about to get insane. El Salvador the first country to adapt Bitcoin as its countries currency has mined 474 Bitcoin worth $29 million using volcano-fueled geothermal power in the last three years. They turned the free energy coming off their volcano into 29 million dollars. And that’s at today’s price. If Bitcoin goes to 200k next year like most predict that’s almost 100 million dollars their volcano gave back to the country. Every country can do this with the free energy they have.
Bitcoin is so scarce, besides TIME, it is the only other probably scarce thing in this world. As of 2023 there are 626,619 Ultra High Net Worth Individuals in the world. An Ultra High Net Worth Individual is someone who has investeable assests of at least 30 million dollars. And there are only 21 million Bitcoin forever, which is only 18 btc per UHNW in the world. And as you now over 4 million are lost for ever, one million coins are in the satoshi wallet, and thousands of holders already hold more then 18 Bitcoin…. What happens when they want to accumulate.
Scary Fact of the Day: this ones really scary I apologize…. But If your salary was $500,000 per day, every day (weekends/holidays included) since The Great Pyramid in Egypt was built. Which was 2600 BC so 4,624 years ago. and you spent nothing… you'd still have LESS money today than the U.S Government borrowed in March to operate through Sep of 2024... This is why we need Bitcoin.
Luckily some of our elected officials are realizing this can’t be sustained. This week US Congressman Thomas Massie introduced a bill to abolish the Federal Reserve. Stating they hurt the American citizens every time they print new money. The federal reserve is not ran by elected officials and they do not have to answer to the president or congress. They get to push the magic money printer money whenever they want to.
Once someone understands bitcoin they don’t go back.
I’m having alot of fun in my new craftsman program at work. I have a great group of guys going through it with me, and we will all be together for the next 10 weeks. My boss is the man and gave me ten minutes to explain Bitcoin to everyone during lunch and boy did they have some questions! I also let them know I will only bring it up if someone asks about it, so they don’t have to avoid me. Haha Explaining Bitcoin to someone for the first time might be my favorite thing to do on earth. To see the gears turn as they started to understand how Bitcoin actually works and what issues they thought were there actually weren’t. Like many people a few of the guys blended crypto as a whole with Bitcoin. And it’s important to understand they are not the same. Bitcoin is its own fundamental new element in the world.
We all face our own issues in life, if you’re lucky enough to be healthy then most issues revolve around finances. And sadly we don’t all have the rich uncle that will randomly say hey Sam I know the worlds tough and things are more expensive here’s 10 thousand dollars to make your life easier. Haha we all wish that would happen but we all know it never will. So without a random act of kindness out of no where people find themselves trapped financially making just enough to get by or just enough to feel comfortable. If your not investing your not keeping up with inflation and if your not keeping up with inflation your money will be drained. That is a fact, as food and good prices continue to go up. Bitcoin is that life raft that reprices your time and increases your moneys value. If you’re able to get one more person off of 0 because they actually understand what Bitcoin is now you may have changed their life forever. It’s no one’s fault that they don’t understand how money works. This stuff isn’t taught, you need to go out and learn it on your own. And who the heck has time or even wants to do that. The problem is that so much that worked for our parents generation will not work for us. I know I say it every week but this is the . Com era of money and property and it’s just getting started.
I know that was a lot there was just so much important stuff to cover this week.
Solana went on a nice run this week. Going from $137 to $164. Robinhood Europe announced they now offer Solana staking. In the 24 hours after this staking went live the total value locked in Solana jumped by 5%. So that may of had something to do with the price jump. I live in New Jersey where it’s still illegal to stake my tokens for a yield. Thats some bums. You want to hear an absolutely insane stat. On Monday May 13th this week, 23,110 tokens were created on Solana. Yesss take a second to grasp that ridiculous number. 23,110 new tokens launched in one day on Solana. The previous record was 16,000 tokens Degens are getting out of control, many were made to try and ride the GameStop roaring kitty news. But the best part is Solana handled it well with no interruptions. This is by bar the consensus chain so far this bull run and when FireDancer launches at the end of this year it could cement them as the future of micropayments.
The only other token I see giving them a run for their money is you guessed it Internet Computer Protocol, ICP. While they do not have the hype or the volume Solana does, frankly absolutely no chain expect Etherium can say they have the volume Solana does. They have built an entirely unique form of blockchain that is evolving quickly. They call it the only third generation blockchain. If you tune in here then you understand the reverse gas fee model they have introduced. Canisters are filled by the developers and users can interact with the dapps and platforms without needing to hold ICP to use it. These canisters are also tamper proof and unhackable. No need fire firewalls or security teams protecting your data. That waste of money and threat is gone forever with this technology. DFINITY announced this week that half a million canister smart contracts are now deployed on #ICP. In a span of just 72 days, the number of canister smart contracts deployed on #ICP surged from 400k to 500k.
Yesterday DFINITY launched their Year 4 roadmap and key milestones for ICP. How crypto YouTubers aren’t all talking about this I really don’t understand. I feel like crypto is already confusing enough that when you try and grasp what ICP has actually built it’s hard to take it all in. I’m not going to deep dive this for you. But if you follow DFINITY here on X go give it a read it’s worth it! The future is going to be insane, with much of today’s waste gone from the system.
Last thing before I get to the Hoge updates, the stock of stocks Micro Strategy our generations Berkshire Hathaway will be added to the MSCI World Index fund, effective May 31. It stands for the Morgan Stanley Capital International and includes a stock index designed to track broad global equity-market performance. This index comprises the stocks of nearly 3,000 companies from 23 developed countries and 24 emerging markets. This is the first of constant buy pressure as we all await for micro strategy to be included into the S&P 500. If your going to get it make sure your in before that news!

This is part of a much bigger video essay I want to work on, I'm only in season 2 of Better Call Saul and I watched all of Breaking Bad, but I just wanted to make this part of the script just to get it out of my head!
When you are trying to make a sympathetic character it should always be worth noting how their suffering began.
Because there are characters whose suffering is caused by their actions and characters whose actions are caused by their suffering.
This means that there are characters who can suffer as a consequence of their misdeeds and actions, but there are also characters who do misdeeds because they suffered at the hands of outside forces, and those misdeeds would probably have never happened if their suffering was mitigated or nonexistent
An example of a character whose suffering was caused by their actions would be Hitler from Downfall. As I explained in my video essay comparing this movie to Gods and Generals, Downfall is a tale of what happens when a flawed human being is put on the mantle of God. The movie presents this notion by following Hitler at his lowest points in the bunker and then empathizing that this is the result of his actions, actions he refuses to take self-accountability, even when the Soviets have him cornered.
An example of a character whose actions are caused by their suffering is Eren Jaeger from Attack On Titan. While we could go fully in-depth about how everything is Eren's fault or something, that would be pushing it. Eren by the end of the series, becomes a genocidal psychopath ready to kill billions in his pursuit of freedom. But, the Rumbling would never have happened if Eren’s circumstances had been different. Marley sent Reiner and the others to invade Paradis, Reiner convinced the group to break down the wall under Theo Magath’s orders, and these actions would later spark a long spiral of hate and trauma that would eventually lead to Eren killing 80% of the world.
It’s much easier to sympathize with Eren than it is with Hitler, other than the fact that one was a real person while the other is based on Norse mythology because Eren’s actions were the result of outside forces that caused him to suffer for years, meanwhile, Hitler’s suffering in Downfall was the result of his crimes against the world.
This is something to take into account when looking at the reason Jimmy is more likable than Walter. The reason Jimmy became Saul Goodman in the first place was due to a long path of sabotage and abuse that Chuck put him through, basically forcing Jimmy into a corner.
Jimmy’s entire purpose in studying Law was to earn the respect and pride of his brother, it’s also why Jimmy constantly puts his own time and money on the line to try and take care of his brother. Because at the end of it all, Chuck is Jimmy’s brother, and he still loves him.
However, Chuck has no love for Jimmy and constantly mistreats him, trying to get him disbarred, holding him back from golden opportunities, and even breaking his moral code to try and make Jimmy’s life one of pain. It’s Chuck’s actions that caused Jimmy his suffering, and it’s Jimmy’s suffering that caused his actions. If Chuck had been a little more supportive of his brother, then it’s most likely that Jimmy would’ve been the most respectful lawyer around.
This is different when looking at Walter, Walt’s life is a little mundane and somewhat boring. He’s stuck in two dead-end jobs and has nothing to live force, but his still surrounded by people who love him and he’s not in total misery like Jimmy was. It wasn’t until he started his drug empire and became Heisenberg did he suffered. He lost everything, Skyler divorced him, Walt Jr. disowned him, Holly grew up without a father, Jesse (his surrogate son) hated him, and his empire crumbled. By the end of the series, Walt is at his lowest point, but he deserves it because all of it is his fault.
However, Jimmy’s pain in the first half of Better Call Saul and a fair amount into the 2nd half was caused by his brother who sabotaged him at every corner.

Hey!
I really do need some compassion on this one. I´ve been trying to figure out what is wrong with my body lately. Many years ago chiropractician pointed out that I have so called "chicken breast", I didn´t pay much attention to that comment, but after 2 years now I´m noticing it more and more, the sunken chest. I do work out and everything and I´m in a really good shape, but I´ve been having back pain for atleast 3-4 years now.
It´s that dull pain that comes and stays (below scapulas under lats or under scapulas). I can work out and everything, but the pain disturbs my everyday life, especially standing up, walking, sitting etc. There are bad and good days, usually it gets better on the same day when I train back, but comes back the day after.
Can this back pain be related to sunken chest?
Other problem that I have is the belly, 9% BF and the belly stucks out like I´m about to give a birth in a month (all respect). When I flex the six-pack it´s fully visible, but the moment I relax my belly it is a mess...this thing makes me really unconfident, I mean REALLY... so I constantly hold it more in so I wouldn´t look like a mess. Yes, I do train abs, but maybe should focus more on em.
I´ve always been super skinny. Always! I started my journey as a 78kg (192cm) underweight straw and now I´m 96kg. I love where I´ve gotten, I love that my body is stronger and looks better then ever. I feel like the back and chest were the hardest parts to develope, still is. Back exercises, especially pull-ups have always been my enemy, they have always been super super hard for me. It´s the pain and belly that make me question, is it right what I do? Is it from the deadlifts? and so on, just to find out that when you cut out all the heavy exercises, you still have that pain....
So yeah, I thought I needed someone with the similar problems to tell me they understand. Thank you when you took the time to read it through, appreciate it.

Yes. ISIS does exactly what Muhammad did in the 7th century. And it also adopts a lot of what the subsequent “rightly guided” caliphs did. Because after all, ISIS is a Salafi organization (Salaf- as in “Al-Salaf Al-Saleh” = the rightly guided predecessors - referring to the four “rightly guided” caliphs following Muhammad).
Long answer:
Let’s take a look first what ISIS is doing. If we can agree what these “atrocities” are, then we can look further and dig deeper whether we can find something similar in Islamic scripture and history.
So, here’s what ISIS does:
BEHEADING OF PRISONERS
Scriptural base:
Qur’an 8:12- “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off.”
Qur’an 47:4- “Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), strike off their heads; at length; then when you have made wide Slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives”: thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens.”
What Muhammad did:
Then the Messenger of Allah commanded that ditches should be dug, so they were dug in the earth, and they were brought tied by their shoulders, and were beheaded. There were between seven hundred and eight hundred of them. The children who had not yet reached adolescence and the women were taken prisoner, and their wealth was seized.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir - The Campaign against Banu Qurayzah
Narrated Aisha . . . No woman of Banu [tribe] Qurayzah was killed except one. She was with me, talking and laughing on her back and belly (extremely), while the Apostle of Allah . . . was killing her people with the swords. Suddenly a man called her name: Where is so-and-so? . . . I asked: What is the matter with you? She said: I did a new act. [Aisha] said: The man took her and beheaded her. [Aisha] said: I will not forget that she was laughing extremely although she knew that she would be killed. (Abu Dawud)
TAKING FEMALE SEX-SLAVES
Scriptural base:
Qur’an - 4:24 - "And all married women are forbidden unto you save those captives whom your right hand possess. It is a decree of Allah for you.
What Muhammad did:
Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2, # 2150:
Abu Said al-Khudri said: "The apostle of Allah sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the apostle of Allah were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Quranic verse, "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess". That is to say, they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period." (See Qur’an 4:24 above)
Sahih Bukhari Vol.3 #432
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri that while he was sitting with Allah's messenger we said, "Oh Allah's messenger, we got female captives as our booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?" The prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence."
Sahih Muslim, Vol.2, #3371
Abu Sirma said to Abu Said al Khudri: "O Abu Said, did you hear Allah's messenger mentioning about al-azl (coitus interruptus)?" He said, "Yes", and added: "We went out with Allah's messenger on the expedition to the Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab women; and we desired them for we were suffering from the absence of our wives, (but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. So we decided to have sexual intercourse with them but by observing azl" (withdrawing the male sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid conception). But we said: "We are doing an act whereas Allah's messenger is amongst us; why not ask him?" So we asked Allah's messenger and he said: "It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born".
Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, page 151
"He [the Lord of Alexandria] presented to the prophet Mariyah, her sister Sirin, a donkey and a mule which was white....The apostle of Allah liked Mariyah who was of white complexion and curly hair and pretty.... Then he cohabited with Mariyah as a handmaid and sent her to his property which he had acquired from Banu al-Nadir."
Tabari's History, volume 39, page 194
"He (Muhammad) used to visit her (Mariyam) there and ordered her to veil herself, [but] he had intercourse with her by virtue of her being his property."
THROWING DOWN HOMOSEXUALS FROM ROOFS AND STONING THEM AFTERWARDS
Scriptural base:
Qur'an 4:16 If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, Leave them alone; for Allah is Oft-returning, Most Merciful.
Sunan Abu Dawud 38:4447 Narated By Abdullah ibn Abbas : The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.
What Muhammad and companions did:
Mishkat, vol. 1, p. 765, Prescribed Punishments
Ibn Abbas and Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, 'Accursed is he who does what Lot's people did.' In a version...on the authority of Ibn Abbas it says that Ali [Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law] had two people “burned” and that Abu Bakr [Muhammad's chief companion] had a wall thrown down on them.
Modern Exegesis:
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 5177
Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq judged in accordance with this, and he wrote instructions to this effect to Khaalid, after consulting with the Sahaabah. ‘Ali was the strictest of them with regard to that. Ibn al-Qasaar and our shaykh said: the Sahaabah agreed that [the person who does homosexual acts] should be killed, but they differed as to how he should be killed. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq said that he should be thrown down from a cliff. ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said that a wall should be made to collapse on him. Ibn ‘Abbaas said, they should be killed by stoning. This shows that there was consensus among them that [the person who does homosexual acts] should be killed, but they differed as to how he should be executed. This is similar to the ruling of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning the person who has intercourse with a woman who is his mahram [incest], because in both cases intercourse is not permitted under any circumstances. Hence the connection was made in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever you find doing the deed of the people of Loot, kill them.” And it was also reported that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever has intercourse with a woman who is his mahram, kill him.” And according to another hadeeth with the same isnaad, “Whoever has intercourse with an animal, kill him and kill the animal with him.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 2420; Abu Dawood, 4464; al-Tirmidhi, 1454; al-Haakim, 4/355).
Imam Sirajudeen Bakrin, Nigerian Tribune, December 30, 2011
However, there is a divergence of opinions on the methodology to be used in executing the punishment. While some scholars such as Abu bakr [the first Rightly-Guided Caliph] and Ali [Muhammad's son-in-law and the fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph ] were of the view that such a person should be beheaded and set on fire thereafter, Umar [the second Rightly-Guided Caliph] and Uthman [the third Rightly-Guided Caliph] thought the wall should be fell on him. To Ibn Abbas [Muhammad's cousin], he should be taken to the tallest building in the town, thrown upside down while some men stand on the ground waiting to meet him with stone in replication of the destruction done to the people of Lut (Lot) by Allah.
STONING OF ADULTERERS
Scriptural base & what Muhammad did:
Sahih Bukhari (6:60:79) - Two people guilty of illegal intercourse are brought to Muhammad, who orders them both stoned to death.
Sahih Muslim (17:4192) - "in case of married (persons) there is (a punishment) of one hundred lashes and then stoning (to death). And in case of unmarried persons, (the punishment) is one hundred lashes and exile for one year"
Sahih Muslim (17:4196) - A married man confesses to adultery. Muhammad orders him planted in the ground and pelted with stones. According to the passage, the first several stones caused such pain that he tried to escape and had to be dragged back.
Sahih Muslim (17:4206) - A woman who became pregnant confesses to Muhammad that she is guilty of adultery. Muhammad allows her to have the child, then has her stoned.
The description is graphic: "Khalid b Walid came forward with a stone which he flung at her head and there spurted blood on the face of Khalid and so he abused her."
Ibn Ishaq (970)

• "The adulterer must be stoned." These words were a part of Muhammad's farewell address to his people on the occasion of his final pilgrimage to Mecca.

ASSASSINATION OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS & “SLANDERERS OF ISLAM”
What Muhammad did:
Bukhari vol.3 book 45 ch.3 no.687 p.415.
(687) Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: Allah's Apostle said, 'Who would kill Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf as he has harmed Allah and His Apostle? Muhammad bin Maslama (got up and) said, 'I will kill him.' So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to Ka'b and said, 'I want a loan of one or two Wasqs of foodgrains.'" After dickering over what to hold as mortgage, they agreed that Muhammad bin Maslama would mortgage his weapons. So he promised him that he would come with his weapons next time."
Source: Ibn Ishaq, pp. 675-76 / 995-96.
Asma was a poetess who belonged to a tribe of Medinan pagans, and whose husband was named Yazid b. Zayd. She composed a poem blaming the Medinan pagans for obeying a stranger (Muhammad) and for not taking the initiative to attack him by surprise. When the Allah-inspired prophet heard what she had said, he asked, "Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter?" A member of her husband’s tribe volunteered and crept into her house that night. She had five children, and the youngest was sleeping at her breast. The assassin gently removed the child, drew his sword, and plunged it into her, killing her in her sleep.
The following morning, the assassin defied anyone to take revenge. No one took him up on his challenge, not even her husband. In fact, Islam became powerful among his tribe. Previously, some members who had kept their conversion secret now became Muslims openly, "because they saw the power of Islam," conjectures Ibn Ishaq.
Al-Tabari vol.9 p.167:
Al-Aswad was assassinated because he claimed that he was a prophet, after coming out of the Khubban cave. He was killed a day or two before Mohammed's death.
Al-Tabari vol.9 p.121
"The Messenger of God called me and said, 'It has reached me that Khalid b. Sufyan b. Nubayh al-Hudhali is gathering a force to attack me. He is either in Nakhlah or 'Uranah, so go to him and kill him.'"
Abu Dawud vol.1 no.1244 p.328
"He (the prophet) said, :Go and kill him. I saw him when the time of the afternoon prayer had come. I said : I am afraid if a fight takes place between me and him (Khalid b. Sufyan), that might delay the prayer. I proceeded walking towards him while I was praying by making a sign. When I reached near him, he said to me : Who are you? I replied : A man from the Arabs ; it came to me that you were gathering (any[sp] army) for this man (i.e. the Prophet). Hence I came to you in connection with this matter. ... I then walked along with him for a while; when it became convenient for me, I dominated him with my sword until he became cold (dead)."
Al-Tabari vol.8 p.122
According to Ibn Ishaq: Kinanah b. al-Rabi' b. Abi al-Huqayq who had the treasure of the Banu al-Nadir, was brought to the Messenger of God, who questioned him, but he denied knowing where it [the treasure] was. Then the Messenger of God was brought a Jew who said to him, "I have seen Kinanah walk around this ruin every morning." The Messenger of God said to Kinanah: "What do you say? If we find it in your possession, I will kill you. "All right he answered. The Messenger of God commanded that the ruin should be dug up, and some of the treasure was extracted from it. Then he asked him for the rest of it. Kinanah refused to surrender it, so the Messenger of God gave orders concerning him to al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam, saying, "Torture him until you root out what he has." Al-Zubayr kept twirling his firestick in his breast until Kinanah almost expired [died]; then the Messenger of God gave him to Muhammad b. Maslamah, who beheaded him to avenge his brother Mahmud b. Maslamah."
The list goes on.
CONCLUSIONS:
All the included sources are Muslim sources. A lot of scholars are using this material to come up with Fatwas and also material for their sermons.
If you have read through my brief write-up, you can see that what ISIS is doing today is almost an exact carbon copy of what Muhammad and his warband were doing back then.
Therefore I urge you all to study all the facts about Muhammad and Islam first, before defending the narrative that ISIS is not Islamic.

I don’t know whats worse EA dropping packs with minimal content or the CC creators who lock clothing item or 10-15 second animations behind paywalls. So, i stumbled upon KingBlackCinema as I am a new Sims 4 player who plans on starting my own machinima series using a lot of mods and animations made by creators. I actually liked his animations but then I noticed that it said they were available to download on Patreon. I was ok with that because I thought lt it was just an early access thing but no. A lot of the animations he made had a permanent paywall on them and he was pretty arrogant about it as well in a lot of his posts which gives me an ick because he knows that he’s not allowed to do this and that it’s pretty frowned upon to use paywalls within the CC community. I commented on his post about an animation thats been behind a paywall for nearly 5 years just simply asking why it’s still under a paywall after all this time and I was met with a pretty snarky response saying something along the lines of “I have to make money somehow lmao. Sorry my price is a burden on you lol.” First of all, I don’t care what your price is for the patreon if you know that it’s wrong to lock it behind a paywall and that it violates terms of service than why the hell are you doing this and risking losing all the hard work you’ve done? Second, there’s plenty of people who play with CC and no DLC because they want a break from greediness of EA so why would you do the exact thing people want to avoid. I did more digging about him on his YouTube and he makes it a habit to pretty much dangle it front of you constantly by threatening to stop publishing animations. Yeah asking for credit is one thing but you shouldn’t dangle it like a carrot in front of your own supporters. I told him that I’m not a fan of his use of the paywall or his inflated ego and he pretty much brushed me off and told me that I was wrong even though he violates terms of use. I told him that and he was like “I don’t care. If you don’t have the money to pay then go on with your broke ass.” . I called him greedy and that he really let his supporters think he can be high and mighty like he’s better than all the other CC creators and then I was blocked. So, thats the end of my long story. Still such a shame though he’s a good creator but goes about it in the wrong way.