you are trying so hard to type on your iphone 15 and it’s proving to be very difficult. but that’s just the way that the keyboard is and you can’t change it. go look for keyboards in the apple store. i’ll wait. there are no keyboards that you can download that you haven’t already tried. so just give up on that idea. you’re really calm now so i want you to get high and smoke your weed pen. i want you to keep writing to 1k words. i don’t care how long it takes. i know that you are not going to slack off. you’re a really hard worker daughter. i trust you to get this done and i will see the end result on social media so it had better be good! just kidding, i have to reread it like you do. you are so cute! your arms are cold so put your blankie over your arms.take a vape hit. you are doing so well right now. i really truly believe that you can go all the way to 1k words.i don’t want you to check the word count yet because it’s not going to be a number that you like. writing to 1k words takes time and you haven’t spent all of that time yet. you just started. take a vape hit. you are so unique and creative. you are so perfect. you truly compels me and i adore you. you don’t know what it is that you do to me. i am so glad that you are primarily writing from your iphone now because it’s so much easier to type and it looks so cute! it’s so fucking anime. don’t get embarrassed by me saying that daughter, because it’s true and you’re a romance anime writer. so i’m just saying that since you have been this anime character automatic sex, you have been writing a lot more on your cell phone. i guess she does that. i guess you figured out something new about yourself. it’s really not surprising though, because when you were a different anime character you were always writing on your cell phone too. you are so pretty and adorable. i really want to give you your gift from santa claus early, but i can’t do that. i know that you are patient though. i love you so much and i just want you to be happy. it’s going to be a hot summer so keep buying leggings. that would be so good for you. you love wearing leggings or athletic pants now. your style is very simple now. that’s because you don’t have any irl friends and you just started dressing more casual. but we all know that you have real style and you can never lose that! i love you so much and i was about to have you quit at 500 words but i changed my mind. you are so perfect and adorable. you are the best girl in the world. you mean everything to me. that’s why you always need to listen to daddy. this is the best way for us to communicate besides irl and we need to do it everyday. you are so perfect and cute, i just want you to be happy. you seem happy this morning. take your st. john’s wort. i’ll wait. never mind. you didn’t take it because it’s too early and i agree. take a vape hit. you don’t need to be scared of me. i have done nothing wrong right now and i don’t know why you are scared of me. but it’s ok daughter, at least you are paying attention to me. you are so cute and perfect and wild and free. you really grab my attention. you do this because your presence captivates me. no lie. i love you so much and we are almost done but not quite yet. this is taking you forever to do, but i am not mad at you for that. i just think that you should hurry up if you want to get all of these love letter written today. i would like to get a lot of them out today. we are still going to be posting to reddit. fuck deviant art right now. i still love the website, i just don’t feel like posting on it today. you are the most perfect girl in the world! i love everything about you. everything about you is perfect. you are doing such a good job right now as my secretary. i love that you are listening to this playlist. you have to write to the whole thing. that’s why i had you create the playlist anyway. but you didn’t know that. we are almost going up to 800 words. that is so good daughter and i know that it was difficult but you persevered. you are so delicate and small. i love you so much and i just want to protect you. i want to protect you from media but i can’t protect you from all of it. you are going to have to learn how to consume television again. because you are so bored with it that it drives you crazy. that is also why i have you listen to your writing playlist over and over again. because you can focus on one thing and it doesn’t bore you. and that you have some kind of stability in your morning routine. we are nearly done now and i knew that you could do it. i just knew that we could do it! we did so good today and i am so proud of us. you are doing perfectly and you are in perfect health. i love you so much daughter. you mean everything to me, automatic sex. you are the best girl in the world. we are nearly done now and i have had the time of my life. i have had so much fun! you are so perfect and i love you so much. i love you!

Just by the title of this most of you are probably thinking that i am the AH for this but I have had enough of it. My spoilt younger sister, let's call her Breanna(that's not her real name and I will never be using people's real name on here).
Breanna(F10) has been spoilt rotten and practically babied since the day she was born. She was the last kid my mother had and the way my mother puts it. "I never got to stay at home when the other three were growing up and this is my last chance to do so" which was true she was a working mother and had to help provide an income and I'm not angry about that. What has me mad was that she had Breanna nearly with her 24/7 and got everything she ever wanted and if it didn't go her way she would throw a tantrum.
Even if Breanna was the one in the wrong, she would cry, scream bloody murder at the top of her lungs, throw anything at you, including going so far as punching and kicking. This has only worsened since she has gotten older in one of my previous posts a year or so back I talk on that as well. I'm 19 and still living at home as I have barely any income that would be able to support me from my part time job and I am also putting myself through university at a part time rate which the bill on that is going to be quite hefty in itself.
Recently my mother has taken up a few extra hours and has set chores for the two younger siblings. The third oldest Katy (F12) doesn't mind doing her chores and helping me when she and Breanna get home of an afternoon and yes I do clean throughout the day but as soon as Breanna gets home she just makes an absolute mess of things. And there are only certain jobs around the house that can't be done until they are home, like washing their school uniforms for the next day and so forth.
Now this is where I need to know if I'm the AH. Last week Breanna and Katy get home and Katy is helping tidy up, Breanna on the other hand just tosses her school bag on the floor in the walkway and sits on the couch with her face glued to her tablet (her device if you will)
I politely ask her to put her table down for the moment and come help clean so it's done out of the way and then to go for a shower so I could wash their school uniforms afterwards. I got no response in return and repeated myself over and over again, then I decided to go over and take her device off her.
The moment I did that she started to scream bloody murder at the top of her lungs and was yelling at me to give it back to her, I told her no and that she needs to help like mum had asked her to. This only angered her more to the point she stormed outside when she couldn't get it back from me. That was my chance to turn it completely off and hide it.
After a few minutes Breanna came back inside and practically made a whole mess of the house in search of it and when she couldn't find it she came to me screaming and yelling for it back. I ignored her and went back to cleaning with Katy.
I'm not proud of what I did but I am sick and bloody tired of dealing with her crap. If mum gets home and sees the house is untidy she gets mad at me ,when all I did was try clean up. Breanna also whines and complains to mum and the mum tries to force me to hand it back and I tell her and Breanna no. I'm still holding my ground as she needs to learn that no simply means no and that I'm not just going to hand it back to her just because mum said so.
Even my older brother and my dad agree that Breanna's behaviour is getting out of hand and that she shouldn't get her tablet back just yet. But that didn't stop Breanna as she has now been using my mum's phone to play games and that is Starting to cause my mother to lose her temper. Which then leads to my mother complaining that she doesn't know why Breanna is acting like that.
It's simple really, my mother has spoilt her rotten to the point Breanna walks over her like a fricking door mat.
So AITA for not caring about my spoilt younger sister after dealing with all of this?? It really has exhausted me mentally and I shouldn't have to put up with this.

temporary

try to appreciate how temporary everything is. your friends, family, your needs and your wants.
the relationships you've gained and lost throughout your life. all we have left in this disconnected world is the connections we make.
so cherish and it all. infatuate yourself in every single one. be madly passionate and embezzled in it all. until the last conversation, those words shared between two people who are living life for the first time.
the last kiss, hug and embrace you get, even if their hands are already cold. the last high five, fist bump and handshake, unknown to everyone but you and the first person you actually liked in this life.
the last smile from across the room. that last wave of friendliness before it becomes vaguely familiar.
the last nod of approval you strived for and the last bowed head of disapproval you fought to never face again.
leave that door looking back, let your eyes scan the beauty you're leaving behind.
appreciate it all.
appreciate the temporariness.

This happened 1 year ago.
So I (15f (am 16 now lol)) was at Art therapy and they have this new rule where you have to put your phone in this dumbass basket. The group facilitator pulled out the basket and told me I had to put my phone in there and asked why. She said that's something that her Friday group (I'm her Monday group) did something inappropriate with their phones. I simply said why do I have to get punished for something that somebody else did. Then she got mad and said "put your phone in the basket" and I flat out said no and then she sent me home for the day. I walk out and the secretary and my grandmother went into a private room to discuss the matters I said what happened the secretary agreed. She ended up giving a manager and changing my group.

try to appreciate how temporary everything is. your friends, family, your needs and your wants. the relationships you've gained and lost throughout your life. all we have left in this disconnected world is the connections we make. so cherish and it all. infatuate yourself in every single one. be madly passionate and embezzled in it all. until the last conversation, those words shared between two people who are living life for the first time. the last kiss, hug and embrace you get, even if their hands are already cold. the last high five, fist bump and handshake, unknown to everyone but you and the first person you actually liked in this life. the last smile from across the room. that last wave of friendliness before it becomes vaguely familiar. the last nod of approval you strived for and the last bowed head of disapproval you fought to never face again. leave that door looking back, let your eyes scan the beauty you're leaving behind. appreciate it all. appreciate the temporariness.

For the context, I've always hated conflit (even the smallest inconvenient I make for people around me), and it makes me cry and panic. Some people from my family made it even harder for me. I felt like whatever I would say during a conflict, I would be wrong and would make them mad at me, so I tend to go in full mute mode when a conflict or something close to it happens (even when it's not about me). I do not want to talk, nor do I feel like I can. My thoughts go fast in my head, and I don't know what to say.
For the context, I was at my SO's house. His family loves me, and I love them as my own. He has a little brother (14). At times, he can be hyperactive (he has ADHD), and he can be a bit annoying. Usually, I don't mind that much and just go along with it. I know he doesn't want to make me feel bad or anything.
One day, he really annoyed me, and I talked to him in a way I shouldn't have. He's not the type of person to take things personally. We actually tease each other a lot and fake fights. It's like a game, but this day, I wasn't feeling like it. I had told him many times that I didn't want to play fights.
Then, I left the room and instantly felt really bad. He was okay and understood why I reacted like that, but his mother wasn't so okay about it. She misunderstood the situation, and it reminded her of my SO's ex. I don't know what she did, but they all deeply hate her.
My stepmother was talking to my SO about the situation. I didn't understand what they said because they were talking in their language, but I was 100% sure she was mad at me.
My SO came into the room and asked me what was wrong, and I went in full mute mode. Tears would just roll on my face. He gently asked me to talk many times, took me in his arms, then waited patiently for me to make up my mind and say something. I don't know how much time it took me to calm down and stop hyperventilating, but he waited without trying to force me to talk in any way. He didn't get mad about it and accepted me as I am.
Of course, I apologized to his brother, and so did he. His mother felt sorry too, even though it wasn't her fault for making me feel that way.
That's when I realized people who actually care will help you when you're struggling, not put you down or try to change you. That is one of the moments I knew why I love him.

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CHAPTER 11 - OBFUSCATION

DATE POINT: MARCH 20th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION) LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
CAPTAIN HENRY O'TOOLE
CONTINUE THE MISSION UNTIL YOU REACH THE OORT CLOUD, RESTOCK YOUR WATER SUPPLIES, AND THEN YOU MAY RETURN TO S33 ON AN INBOUND NULL MATTER CURRENT. FIND OUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KILLINGS AND RESTORE ORDER OR YOU WILL BE RELIEVED OF YOUR COMMAND UPON RETURN.
Fucking bastards! Henry stared at the line from the new orders again with a groan.
"Looks like the new orders came in after all. Read it for yourself, I can't even right now.” Henry said, as he struggled to grapple with his indignation.
Chantal laid a supportive hand on his back as she read over his shoulder.
“What?! That’s hardly fair of them, they didn’t exactly give you the tools to succeed here. I mean, four murders in three days is really extreme, but still. They only gave us ONE basic forensic kit its supplies already.” Chantal protested.
“I can tell you right now, that kit was an afterthought. Nobody honestly believed there would be murders. The Masters-at-arms requested a kit just to have one, and they clearly were right. Now I'm wishing we'd packed extra consumables for it too. Not like our unsub has left us any clues anyway… At this point we're basically stuck waiting for them to make a mistake.” Paul complained.
“It’s like they were killed by a ghost, or like... a warp demon or something.” Jenkins said with a shudder.
Henry rolled his eyes then shot a warning glance towards Paul right as he seemed primed to comment. Another voice from behind them shocked them all with its biting tone.
“Don't be stupid. This isn’t one of your tabletop games or one of your crappy horror movies, Preston. People have died here.” Ariana snapped.
Paul shot her a look, which she simply ignored as her eyes bored into a sheepish Jenkins.
"Enough already! Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to solve anything." Chantal cut in with a tone that seemed to have the desired effect in ending the spat.
“Let’s go over this one more time. None of our victims knew one another, the motive genuinely seems political, not personal, and we have no physical evidence that we can trace to any suspects. There has to be something here we can work from, perhaps something in the oddities of the case we've overlooked.” Chantal said with a distant look.
“Well... the DNA sequencing did just come back in. I'm still not sure what to make of it though, as the tissue under Sarah's fingernails was her own. Why would she be scratching at her own arms like that?” Paul asked.
“No idea, each of the victims had been seeing Dr. Amani fairly frequently, so there's a possible link there. While they all had their own reasons, the similarities were extreme stress and anxiety, a lack of quality sleep, intense nightmares, and a few even complained of sudden onset sleep paralysis. We have video in three of the four cases showing that the doctor was working during the window of opportunities to have committed each murder, and his alibi is airtight during the fourth, so it’s clearly not him. Maybe he's feeding information to whoever the killer is?” Henry added in.
“It's certainly possible. You all ask too nicely,” Ariana said, “Give me thirty minutes in a room with him and I'll get him to talk.” She said with a truly disconcerting smile.
“No, we are absolutely not doing that. It would be wise, however, to keep him under more intense scrutiny for the time being.” Henry said, as the lights flickered out, bathing them in emergency lights for nearly a whole minute this time.
“Fucking electrical!” Henry slammed his fists down on the table.
Chantal grabbed his forearm and spoke in a calming tone.
“Honey, getting mad at them isn’t going to help. The electrician’s mates are just as stressed and overworked as we are right now, we need to cut them some slack.”
“Bullshit, I'm with Henry, this is ridiculous. They've had months to sort this out now and it's only getting worse!” Paul said with his arms crossed and a deep scowl growing.
“One problem at a time people!” Ariana shouted. “Paul still has no real leads on these murders, and all I can seem to get out of people is a bunch of superstitious nonsense. You know people are calling this voyage cursed now?”
“This is insane! Grown-ass adults talking about ghosts and curses.” Paul said while he stared daggers at Jenkins.
“It’s because Mr. rocket arm over here failed to break the bottle on the bow. Combine that with everything else that seems to be going wrong? If everything had gone to plan nobody would be talking about a curse, but here we are.” Henry said as he glowered at Paul, who in turn just glared right back at him.
“Looks like we're back at square one. So, what are we going to do about these orders?” Chantal asked, looking concerned.
“I think we should go on the offensive; we can use this to help flush out our murderer.” Paul said.
“Oh? So what’s your plan then?” Henry asked with narrowed eyes.
“We suspect that our murderer is one of the firemen, as all of the victims were found in areas that no other rates would have easy access to. Our unsub is likely male and over six feet tall due to angles of wounds and blood splatter, their ability to overpower their victims, and some other clues. We also know that each murder took place in a camera dead zone, and they all had some variation of turn back written in blood on scene. I say we arrange for a meeting on the parade deck during A shift tomorrow to make an announcement. We have a list of a few dozen possible suspects that we can require to attend under the guise of recognition of their hard work and dedication. Maybe we can even goad them into saying something or acting in some other self-incriminating manner.” Paul said.
“Interesting, but wouldn’t they get suspicious at the invite?” Henry asked.
“Glad you asked! That’s the beauty of the plan, if we fail to invite our murderer, they will likely use the opportunity to strike again while most of the ship’s security and leadership is all in one room. If they do, we can knock dozens of names off the suspect list at once. If we are right and one of the invitees is our murderer, the chances that they will keep a straight face are slim. At the very least, there should be some kind of micro-expression that we can catch with a careful review of the footage.”
“That is a hell of a lot of maybes, Paul.” Henry growled.
“Do you have a better idea? One that can narrow this list faster or have greater odds of catching something suspicious?” Paul fired back.
Henry simply shook his head before replying.
“No.... I don’t. Alright, I approve of the plan. I'll prepare a speech; you go organize and invite everyone from your list. Make sure you get with the section chiefs to see who we can legitimately recognize for their hard work, and invite them as well. This will only work if we can catch them while their guard is down. To do that, this needs to have every appearance of legitimacy.” Henry said.
“I can do that. I wish we had more to go off of than a simple profile, but at this stage I'm stumped as to how else to proceed without narrowing the list down some more.” Paul replied.
“Good, so we have a plan at last. I'll get to work on that speech and get some rack time in while I can.” Henry said.
“Very well, I'll take the helm.” Paul said, “I already slept for a bit after the funeral earlier today.”
“We will reconvene at the start of A shift then. A good night’s sleep will do us some good, hopefully in the meantime someone thinks of an angle we haven’t explored already.” Henry said, dismissing everyone from his quarters.
Chantal stayed behind, as she had every sleep shift since the fire.
“We need to change the dynamic here, get them to react to us instead of us constantly being one step behind. Whomever they are, they might very well be victimizing more people as we speak. What a mess.” Henry said, rubbing his temples.
Together, they worked on an appropriate speech for the better part of an hour until they were satisfied and sleep began to call to them. Chantal pulled him by the hand away from his workstation and into bed, planting kisses to try and pull him out of his black mood any way she could. Henry found that he could not resist for long, not that he particularly wanted to, as they shed their clothes.
The sound of breaking glass killed the mood. Instantly. Henry jumped from the bed to investigate the bathroom.
What the fuck? His mirror had fallen off the wall and glass covered his bathroom floor.
Harry stared dumbfounded at what happened, with fear tickling at the base of his neck. He felt a hand on his back, causing his head to snap and look only to find Chantal looking confused and scared beside him.
“How the hell did that happen? You know what, don’t answer that. Come on, we can clean that in the morning, let’s just go to bed.” Chantal said shakily, her eyes imploring him to agree.
“Okay, that’s fine.” He hugged her close with his jaw set tight.
Henry never liked leaving a mess behind for later, but something in her tone of voice stopped him from arguing. They stood there for a moment longer before he closed the door and returned to bed. Any thoughts of passion were replaced by uneasy silence. Eventually, they both drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Henry awoke bleary and tired, feeling extremely uneasy. He could see the alarm clock read 3:05.
I set that for oh-five hundred... Why am I awake?
He shivered for a minute, as he scanned the freezing cold room with the fuzzy blackness playing tricks on his eyes. In spite of his rationality, he felt like there was something just at the edge of his vision in the dark corner. He struggled to move, as if he was flattened under an oppressive weight. His breath was visible in front of his face as a tingling sensation ran up his spine.
“Henry… turn the ship… around! Time... draws short... danger is near... soon... it will be... too late...” A voice spoke just at the edge of his hearing in a gasping, hollow tone.
The fuzzy blackness in the corner shifted, Henry still couldn’t move as he struggled with himself.
After a moment that stretched on forever, the oppressive feeling evaporated along with the cold. Finally able to move, he swept a light from his phone around the room.
Nothing. There's nothing there...
Slowly he brought his breath back under control, though he remained unnerved in spite of his best attempts to relax. He finally laid back down, playing it off as being all in his head until he rolled over to see Chantal wide eyed with tears streaming down her face.
“Henry, did you hear that?” All of the hair on his arms again stood on end as Henry sat silent, unable to process the impossibility of what had happened.
“You mean the creepy ghost voice telling me to turn the ship around?” Henry asked. Chantal only nodded, sniffing.
Silence reigned for an eternity before Chantal spoke up in a squeaky voice.
“When I was a little girl, we lived in an old house that was haunted, I know that feeling of being watched early in the morning. I am a woman of science, and that demands that I pay attention to evidence when it is there before me, even if it doesn’t seem to fit existing models. Especially when it doesn’t fit... Many of my greatest discoveries started off that way. Usually, It just means you are missing context, or you have a bigger puzzle with more pieces than you initially realized.” Her voice dropped to a very low whisper, and she leaned in close to his ear.
“I also think it wise we check for speakers or bugs that were installed by parties other than Paul, just in case. Someone might be trying to scare us by taking advantage of the ghost talk going around the ship right now.” She then put her finger to her lips and Henry nodded.
Once more, Henry found himself eternally grateful for her brilliant mind. He nodded ever so slightly and then continued the out loud conversation.
“I had a friend who told me stories like that when I was a teenager, but they moved before I could see for myself. I just know I've never experienced anything like that personally. Always left it as sort of an open question though, like it was something we simply didn’t have the science to explain just yet.”
Chantal smiled, clearly pleased that Henry had caught on.
“Let’s go for a walk.” She said as she zipped back into her BDU’s. As soon as they left the room, they both looked at each other and said “We gotta find Paul.”
“Jinx!” She shouted.
Henry ceded the point with a good-humored scowl as they made their way to the quick lift en route to the CIC. They grabbed a loop and rode down one level to find Paul and Jenkins standing over the system map in an animated discussion. Paul looked at Henry and did a double take.
“What the fuck are you doing here awake?” Paul said, stepping on a landmine in classic fashion.
“Mind your tone Paul. Honestly, sometimes I swear you forget that I'm your Captain.” Henry stared him down.
“Fine. What the fuck are you doing here awake, Sir?” Paul doubled down with an infuriatingly smug smile.
“Whatever, cut the crap, spook. Are there any new speakers or bugs installed in my room?”
Paul’s eyes narrowed. “No, at least none that I am aware of.” He shared a look with Jenkins before he looked at Henry. “Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? I mean you have always been pale, bud, but this is a new extreme.”
“Someone tried pranking us with a ghost voice that we both heard telling Henry to turn the ship around.” Chantal said, cutting Paul off and giving him a look.
Paul stared dumbfounded for a second he took on a pensive look.
“Okay, I will personally sweep your room for bugs and check in every last nook and cranny. C’mon Jenkins, let’s go get my kit. Henry, you have the CIC?”
Henry nodded. “Paul, there's something else. Our mirror fell out of the wall right before this happened. Wouldn’t want you to cut yourself in there, so, fair warning.”
“Those are epoxied onto the wall at the corners... The force to rip that down would be.. astronomical. Fucking weird. Thanks for the heads up, I'll look at that too, see what I think." Paul said over his shoulder.
“Hey, Paul, thanks.” Henry said, as much as he hated him at times, he was as loyal to the mission as he was brilliant in his own right.
That made him, somehow, just all the more annoying. Amber lights bathed the CIC and Henry dropped to a lower center of gravity as his magnetic boots activated and the ship pitched hard to starboard and then to port in quick succession. He again found himself thankful for the overlapped TK fields under their feet that acted both as inertial dampeners and artificial gravity in the critical sections of the ship.
In places such as engineering or the ship’s on-board hospital, having constant a constant feeling of gravity was a matter of life and death. The CIC was placed just above them on the second deck so it could also benefit from a sense of increased calm as the fields actively worked to counteract inertial changes. Everyone in the higher decks and farther from the fields simply had to make do with acceleration couches and mag boots.
“When it rains, it pours….” Henry mused, watching as the antimatter hazard report came in from the Fist of the Argonauts out ahead of them in the stream.
That's the third huge antimatter storm this week...
He watched a real time report of the ship’s multi-spectral laser point defense systems worked overtime to deflect smaller antimatter masses away from potential collision courses. Henry gripped tightly to the rail around the map screen as they dodged hard again.
“Fleetwide directive; All crew, stow equipment and prepare for aggressive maneuvers. We’ve hit another antimatter patch. It looks like we should be clear of it in about five minutes. You all know the drill.” Henry resigned himself to yet another long night with little to no sleep.
This trip had been threatening to kill them from the start, he would be damned if he would allow it.
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I was having a sip of my lukewarm coffee trying to stay awake as my favorite past-time, watching political speeches, was on TV. The politician steps up to the podium, his angular face looking determined, his fingers clutching onto a stack of papers. His words tumbled out like a rehearsed script, promising a brighter future, lower taxes, better healthcare and so much more. I was almost convinced till I remembered that I was wearing my 'Analyst' hat.
You see, identifying response bias in political speeches is quite the art, a cocktail of critical thinking, keen observation, and a sprinkle of my beloved mental model - good ol'Confirmation Bias. Allow me to paint the picture: Politician X on the podium knows his audience - mostly middle-class folks struggling to make ends meet. So, he tailors his speech to mirror their beliefs, opinions and concerns. He's acutely aware that people love affirmations that they're right, so he states things that play into the preconceived notions of his audience.
The more his words cater to their beliefs, the louder the cheers. But here's the trick, bias creeps in as he's only feeding us what we want to hear and not necessarily the full picture or the hard facts. He talks about lowering taxes (Huge cheer!) but forgets to mention that this could mean slashing funds for public services. He sings praises about healthcare reforms, but omits to say they'd be 'selective' at best.
How do you catch this bias by its tail? It's simpler than solving a jigsaw puzzle! Carefully observe what's being said and compare it with the known facts. Is the speaker only highlighting certain aspects that resonate with the audience? Is there an overemphasis on popular opinions while conveniently ignoring less popular but relevant points? Congratulations! You've just spotted response bias!
Now, don't let my ramblings dampen your spirits. Watching political speeches can still be a delightful activity, something akin to playing 'spot the bias' game. And who knows, you might just develop immunity to the honeyed words of silver-tongued politicians!
P.S. All politicians and participants in this story are completely fictional. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental, and all in the spirit of illustrating how mental models like Confirmation Bias can be super handy in your daily life. Also, remember, always enjoy your coffee hot and your political speeches critically.

I am at my absolute lowest point right now. I am disturbed and I don't think I can take anymore. The world is so intricately woven only to be the most hostile and profoundly unkind place for animals and people alike. Creatures eat their own children, kill eachother, torture eachother, humans devise new ways to exploit eachother and harm eachother daily. People with enough wealth to save millions of lives spend their money to expand their empires and buy 3rd, 4th, 5th yachts. A man with enough money can walk up to a homeless man, kill them in cold blood and pay the judge to look the other way... No one cares about the needy. Love diminishes in the world on a daily basis, as men and women become increasingly hate filled and spiteful towards eachother. I feel the world crushing me to dust daily, only for me to be forced to wake up at 6am and generate wealth for someone who doesn't care if I live or die. Art, music and film are being replaced by AI, writing is being replaced and they are trying to replace even human companionship with AI. The human soul is prostituted and neglected daily by the world and God or the Universe has no mind to intervene. I am one of the unlucky of the unlucky to be alives, I am ugly, miserable, scorned, untalented, and I cannot remember the last time I felt affection as a sensation rather than an ideal in my head. I hate myself most of all things in this world and feel as though I am looking at a hypothetical future through a plexiglass wall, unable to intervene to change or experience the things that matter to me. I feel as though existence itself is actively choosing me to be punished. That my entire birth and death will be for the amusement of a cannibalistic universe. I do not deserve to live, even in this horrid world of immense suffering where an act of good is a cry for mercy. Where kindness is regret for the default state of madness we are forced to experience together. I'm sorry that we all had to see this. We should have been born into a kinder world. We deserved it but we will never have it. I don't know what to do anymore besides to die.

I found out my boyfriend lied about having a child and idk why. The child was born before we started dating. He told me he only had 2 kids but come to find out he has a 3rd that he lied about. When I confronted him about it he kept denying it even though I had proof.. I just don’t understand why he told me about the 2 but lied about the 3rd.
I’m not necessarily mad, more hurt than anything. I gave him multiple chances to come clean about it and he still lied in my face.
I’m so torn, confused, heartbroken and don’t know what to do. Now I feel like everything is a lie, I feel like there’s probably more that I don’t know. My gut never lies.
TD;LR: My boyfriend lied about having a child (before we were together) He originally he told me he only had 2 but it turned out to be 3. Idk why he lied. I’m not necessarily mad just hurt that he lied in my face after I gave him multiple chances to come clean about it. It also feels weird to even be with someone that would deny their own child.

I'm, technically, decently accomplished today. I, after maybe a year or so, have finally started to disassemble my garden shed that blew over in a storm. It's a haven for mice, spiders, and all of the many creatures that inhabit southern Indiana wilderness. It antagonized my sinuses. It was, more or less, a fairly straight-forward breakdown given my history of taking down sheds and ownership of appropriate tools I've acquired. The reason it feels worth bringing up is in the nature of what I feel accomplished about.
As I said, I've torn down a few things much larger and more complicated than this one room 15' x 8'. There's nothing "new" in this for me to learn or feel that hasn't taken days, if not weeks, in the past, and the ongoing frustration of not initially having the things I needed to do it effectively. A good portion of the wood and panels were damaged upon crashing, so even as a salvage operation it's a touch wanting. It had a bunch of stuff inside, some I've moved elsewhere, but some that still needs carting or housing away from the elements. I don't suspect I'll have the desire or energy tomorrow morning to do it before I head to another concert.
This shed tear down is in the middle of what I'll call a "productivity wave." The weather has been brilliant, and I am one to often complain about how not-brilliant or feasible it is to work outside when I'd really like to. So far, I've managed to keep a chain of good happenings going at something of an even-keeled yet respectable pace.
My septic drainage system was not draining. I spent 2 weeks, very slowly and painfully, digging the muddiest of mud and sump pumping until I exposed the ends enough to figure out how to flow again. I weed whacked and dug up/attacked a dozen saplings and what I call "pricker bushes" for 4 hours. I pruned the invasive weeds threatening my driveway, scooped and dumped some rock, burnt some trash, bagged some aluminum, and rearranged some tools and shelves that had also blown over in that storm so long ago.
I've felt my cardio improving with each venture outside. I'm thinking through the projects so I'm not making a dozen ADHD trips in and outside for the scissors to cut the whacking line or reciprocating saw for choice screws that can't be pried. I'm thinking ahead to what will make an earnest approach to future projects a little easier. I've been chugging along the infinite chore list and not letting myself succumb to what feels like a sense of hopelessness that it's not that "engaging" or "the real work" that I'd otherwise like to be doing either through counseling or really any position of genuine service to someone or something I care about.
I mean this in an outsized way, I don't feel like I have much left to prove to myself. I'm convinced. I overwhelmingly tend to say what I mean, attempt to do what I say, and know what I'm capable of. I begrudge some circumstance, then throw on my pants and get back to work. I practice, even when I don't want to, some level of the things that keep me feeling generally okay or contented-enough. What kind of asshole would I be if I didn't utilize a breezy and cloudy day to approach an outdoor project like that? Especially because it didn't cost anything extra, like the fence or wood shop will.
I feel a sense of accomplishment in besting that sense of, "But I don't feel like it." My feelings don't really matter and rarely make that much sense. I understand this so well and so consistently that I routinely respond to them with a course of action that shows them how dumb and wrong they are. I don't think anyone who's been paying attention to my forays on the land for the last few years had any doubts that I could tear down another shed. I do think many would subconsciously root for that "I don't feel like it" sense to take me as it's taken them.
It's a meme, like everything now, to say you want to go off-grid or persuade all your friends to start a farm. It's this anxiety-inducing fantasy about a way to escape the trappings of modern existence. Allie professed to want to create this grand garden I'm pretty sure she's just abandoned entirely. I've heard from a dozen minor associates about their wish to grow things or raise animals or just have the space and time to reconnect with themselves and be more crafty or exploratory in their job pursuits. But, it's only the thought that they feel like engaging in. It doesn't feel right to take sentiments or dreams like that too seriously.
This fundamental disconnect I think speaks to the overwhelming amount of human misery. The, "I'm too tired," "I'm too busy," "I'm too scared," "I'm too dumb," "I'm too poor," "I'm too otherwise engaged in the pageantry of my current existence." We want familiar, predictable, "stable," and yes even stable in the nature of the chaos. We want to chirp our wishful stories like a birdsong, hear yours in return, and then retreat back to our nests for another fierce mastabatory session. Who were you singing to and why even bother?
I pointed out a couple projects that I estimated would take about a day individually, a couple weeks tops if I had the money to do them tomorrow. Some of the projects I pointed out I've managed to incorporate on this productivity train and have proven to fall along my estimations. This means I'm eating up the available occupations of time before I'm back to doing inside stuff. This means I'll be ticking boxes and crossing off lists, so "accomplished" in my little corner, realizing all of the little pieces it takes to maintain the freer nature of my circumstances.
I'm at a stage that's trying to maintain and protect my freedom. From here, it looks very much like freedom isn't what anyone really wants. Absolute freedom is of course madness. Confinement can be worse than death. "Naturally," we find ourselves boxed into the constraints of cultural norms, religious, let's call them suggestions, and our own pathological allegiance and conditioning bred from our familial circumstances. You would do the reasonable or most-desired thing, but your unreasonable parent will protest and then it will "be a whole thing…" on down the explanatory line to what practically manifests as the boundary to your cage.
People cross oceans to be "free." They brave rapey drug cartels and severe weather. People die in the name of being free from tyranny or undue oppression. When it's in-your-face bad, the value and importance of freedom will make you do anything. When it's been massaged into your working memory and language, well, you feel free already, right? That's why you come to so many shows with me.
You can't fix what you're not free to. You can't address something your vision and language aren't tuned to elucidate. We all suffer the consequences of our ignorant and hateful "leadership," and worst instincts of capitalism, and deliberate campaigns of "disinformation." When you're plugged in, it all feels very normal. It is what is. When you work to pull out? You have your most precious time to genuinely engage in a way that modern life makes impossible. I literally feel like a different and fairly helpless person when I'm locked into the middle of my "work" day. "Work" that requires me to sit around and wait, or suffer through a nonsense meeting, or commute for no reason, or fill out paperwork that could have been done 90% faster if anyone who gave a damn updated the system.
That is miserable. That is a series of systems that negligently hate you through neglect. They don't care about your time. They don't care if you die in a car wreck on the commute home. They don't care if you ever get to your favorite vacation spot and enjoy it without a single thought about how your job is nagging you to come back. They don't care if 1% of your farming dream is actually real and what could manifest once you get your hands dirty. They care about the empty song they can sing into the world to signal their virtue and grasp of business as usual. You stay tamed, they stay in control. They feel as little about you as you feel for yourself.
I feel a lot about myself. I feel like a gassed up engine roaring constantly, yearning for a well-built appropriate track to race down. There's fresh tires, a whole crew working together, reasonable rules for the safe execution of shooting a well-oiled machine into the future. I'm a mass of constant kindling, waiting for the big 3 to ever all line up at once. Time, money, and tools, often in the form of another set of hands. I've had a shit ton of time begging me to irresponsibly spend so I can knock out land projects. I can make a shit ton of money provided I give some company 90% of my week and wish to spend 35% of it keeping my cars working and gassed. Often enough it's practically the rule, physical help comes with its own strings.
I said that I don't have much, if anything, to really prove to myself. I have a great many things I'd like to see and experience as a result of what I've already proven or know. I suppose I wonder, do you not see in yourself the same things I see in me? I know I got super caught up on that disparity in what I took for granted about my "friend" group and old roommates. This sucker naively genuinely believed. But I feel like part of me has always believed, or at least been doing the things that make it so it's not a belief system. I'm writing this on the back of another begrudgingly defiant series of actions in spite of my inane feelings. I don't have to believe in myself, I took pictures.
In school, I read the books. With girls, I struck the fuck out ten times for every hook up. I've taken the jobs I considered beyond my skill set and outside my frame of interest or reference. I'm living within the experiment of amassing and building with salvaged materials. I've kept the faith of an entrepreneurial spirit in investing and experimenting with ways to sustain the effort, for years, and in the midst of getting stolen from and constantly lied to. I'm seeing more shows in a month than most people I'll meet will in the next 10 years. I'm officially sworn in as a volunteer for the most uniquely stressful job they don't want to call a job. I'm spending more time with friends and my dad as I wait for work or life obligations to slot into this exceptionally hard-fought and winning picture I would like to make last for as long as I possibly can.
Alone, I know who I am, what I want, just about how I should go about it without sacrificing everything I care about, and what it could be if, oh, I don't know, the people I tend to get closest to don't scream at me, abandon me, or take advantage. I give a lot of credit to anyone who tries and fails. I can't understand not trying at all, giving up when it isn't like absolutely necessary, or failing to recognize and ride when someone has the same potential I feel I crave at this point. I feel like I've been wasted on so many people, but I also don't know how I could have done better or saved myself the grief. Thankfully, I know where I was coming from, even if they maybe never will.

Hi all, and thanks for all the wonderful help and advice I found on this subreddit whilst planning this trip. We've been home for a little over a month now, and I finally feel like I have some time to post the details of our trip. I'll try to be as detailed as possible, but please feel free to ask questions, and I'll do my best to answer. Just for a little background, we started planning this trip around summefall of 2022. My wife and I are in our early 30s, and our friend who joined us is in her mid-40s. Our friend has traveled extensively, but my wife and I have only had a couple international forays, and this was my first trip to Europe. We're easy going and don't pack a ton of luggage (a carry-on each and one checked bag total). We did a lot of planning up front so we could do more relaxing when we got there. My wife and our friend both have celiac disease, so you can count this post as gluten-free guide to Italy too. Hope you enjoy!
Day 1: Denver to Milan

• We flew business class on Air France. First time flying business. That was pretty rad. (My wife has done a lot of "travel hacking" the last couple years with credit card points, and we saved TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on this trip in flights and hotels. I won't go into all the details here, but feel free to ask and I'll get the information from her.)
• Just spent the one night in Milan. Took the Malpensa Express train from the airport to Centrale Train Station, then took the metro to a stop near our hotel.
• Hotel Indigo was a super nice boutique hotel right near the old city center.
• We didn't do any museums or tours here. Just enjoyed walking around the sights at night - Piazza del Duomo and Castello Sforzesco were beautiful.
• Had a delicious dinner at Bistro on Corso Magenta.
• Milan Takeaways from our roughly 12 hours here: looks amazing if you like to shop, and there's plenty there for the art/history nerds like myself too. I'd like to check it out more on another trip, but we really just came here because of the great deal we got on the flight.

Day 2: Milan to Venice

• Breakfast at a nice gluten-free bakery called Pan Per Me.
• Explored the city a little more on foot before grabbing our luggage from the hotel and taking the metro back to Centrale Station and boarding our train to Venice.
• Arrived at Venice Saint Lucia Station in the afternoon. We walked our luggage to Hotel Aquarius, which wasn't too bad of a schlep. If you've got a lot of luggage, I'd recommend taking a vaporetto or water taxi rather than hiking it across several bridges and narrow alleys.
• We had drinks at Al Bagolo right by our hotel and met a really entertaining server who we ended up getting a nightcap from every night and making friends.
• Spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around and getting lost (the best part about Venice) until dinner at OKE Zattere. This restaurant pops up on a lot of gluten-free blogs about Venice. It was decent, but the food didn't quite stand up to the view/setting. We would eat here again though just for the pleasure of being right on the lagoon for sunset.

Day 3: Venice

• Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace, Saint Mark's Square, Rialto Terrace @ T Fondaco, Dinner at Frary's.
• Definitely a touristy day in the busy areas but worth the crowds. We got into Doge's Palace right as they opened up, and it was amazing. The massive rooms and the frescoes/paintings on the walls and ceilings were unfathomable. The Rialto Terrace thing was an odd experience. Basically we booked a 15 minute time slot to go stand on top of a modern mall right by the Rialto Bridge. The views were incredible and it was free, so definitely worth it, but still felt strange.
• Frary's was arguably one of the best meals we had on the entire trip. A little bit of something for everyone. Off the main path and quaint.

Day 4: Venice

• San Giorgio Campanille, Murano glass blowing demonstration and museum, lunch on Murano, dinner at Ital India.
• This was our first day using the vaporetti. I loved it, but I'm a map and transit nerd who had never been on a train or subway or definitely not a water bus before. Exciting stuff.
• We got to San Giorgio Campanille very early in the morning and had the top of clock-tower to ourselves for a good ten minutes. The views were incredible, and this was definitely a highlight of the trip for my wife. Would recommend for the cheap price of 5 euros a person.
• Murano was super cool, and we really enjoyed both the glass blowing demonstration we saw at Ellegi and the Museo del Vetro. Lunch @ Osteria Al Duomo where I had some delicious mussels in a beautiful shaded garden.
• The Indian food we got for dinner at Ital India was really good, and we found out this was a neat neighborhood of Venice that we enjoyed returning to and getting lost in.

Day 5: Venice

• Museo Correr, Accademia, aimless wandering, dinner at Ae Oche
• Museo Correr was a little disappointing, unless you REALLY like marble busts. I was hoping for a more chronologic historical exhibit of Venice, but it was more like a random smattering of sculptures, arms, and coins throughout Venetian history.
• Not a lot on this day's agenda, but wandering aimlessly and getting intentionally lost was my favorite thing about Venice.
• I had Venetian liver at Ae Oche, which I thought was delicious.
• Venice takeaways: Venice is a contender for our favorite city on this trip, and our hotel definitely helped make it up there. Hotel Aquarius was absolutely beautiful with huge Murano chandeliers and gorgeous artwork. It was located off the main path (but not too far) from the train station to Saint Mark's in a quaint little square/campo which had a few restaurants, a tabbachi, and one of the oldest churches in Venice. Children played soccer in the campo every evening, and we loved sitting on a bench with a nightcap and watching the locals walk their dogs after wandering the city each night. Everyone seems to complain about Venice being extremely touristy and crowded, but just get off the beaten path between the train station - Rialto - Saint Mark's, and there's hardly anyone around. There's something new to discover around every turn, and there are nearly infinite turns to take. We'd go back in a heartbeat.

Day 6: Venice to Arezzo via Florence

• We took the train from Venetia Santa Lucia to Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. From there, we walked around the corner to the Hertz and rented a car to drive the hour-long trip to our Air-BnB just outside of Arezzo.
• Driving was a little stressful, but all-told not the worst experience in the world. My wife did the driving because she's braver than I am, and she did just fine. We did make the mistake of accidentally going through the Telepass lane when getting on the Autostrade and getting charged for the full length of the toll. Despite our best efforts, we could not figure out how to certify our entry point and had to end up eating a 50 euro toll for what should have been a 5 euro toll. Oh well.
• Our Air-Bnb outside Arezzo was on a working vineyard and absolutely gorgeous.
• We stopped at a local supermarket just a couple miles from our lodging and stayed in for dinner.

Day 7: Arezzo

• Drove into Arezzo and wandered around. Checked out a few churches, the archaeological museum, and the fortress.
• Lunch at Lune de Crepes
• Dinner at the Air-Bnb again, and a lovely sunset stroll around the vineyard.

Day 8: Arezzo

• After a week of travelling, we were ready for a rest day, and conveniently it rained all day. We walked to the grocery store to restock on supplies in the morning before it rained, then just lounged around the Air-Bnb all day.

Day 9: Castiglione del Lago/Cortona/Arezzo

• We drove down to Castiglione del Lago on Lake Trasimeno and checked out the castle there. Pretty awesome views of the lake.
• Next we drove to Cortona, and hiked all the way to the castle at the very top of this village. The church and the castle up top were both very impressive with amazing views of the Tuscan countryside.
• Lastly, we drove into Arezzo for dinner at La Galleria Pizzeria and picked up some amazing desserts and gluten-free goodies at La Bottega di Nana Tonni. My wife could have bought everything in this store/bakery if I would have let her. It's a must-visit for any celiacs visiting Arezzo.
• Tuscan Takeaways: Driving in Italy wasn't too bad. It was much more mountainous and less rolling green hills than I thought it would be. It was nice to be in a more rural setting for one leg of the trip and get to see some not-so-touristy locations. We saw some cool history and sights around the towns, but wish we would've done a more wine-and-food centric itinerary.

Day 10: Arezzo to Salerno via Florence

• We left the Air-Bnb in Arezzo really early to arrive back at the rental car place in Florence right as they opened. We did this because our friend who has more energy than my wife and I combined figured she could catch a train to Pisa and back before our train left Florence for Salerno. She succeeded at doing this and said it was worth it. My wife and I wandered around Florence for the morning and early afternoon. It was busy, but very pretty. I would like to spend more time here actually paying for museums and whatnot on another trip.
• It was about this time that I admitted to myself I was coming down with some sort of illness. I'd had a sore throat since night 2 or 3 in Venice, but I blamed it on the Italian Winstons we bummed from our server friend there. Now, I had woken up with my eyes glued shut and they remained oozing, itchy, and bloodshot for a couple days. I'm only adding these unfortunate details to highlight how I dealt with the Italian healthcare system as a foreigner. I did enough google-diagnosing to convince myself I probably had conjunctivitis (pink-eye) in both eyes, so I found a website called Doctors In Italy. I was able to video chat an english-speaking doctor from the train station in Florence who figured it was just allergies, and prescribed me some nasal spray and Zyrtec. Upon arriving in Salerno, I walked straight to a Farmacia, showed them my prescription and got the meds for less than 20 euro. Later that night, I emailed the doctor and asked if she could prescribe me some antibiotic eye drops in case my eyes were in fact infected. I picked those up for less than 10 euro the next day, but never ended up taking them as I seemed to be on the mend. All in all, it sucked being under the weather while on vacation, but I can't say enough about how easy and affordable it was to navigate the healthcare system (for a minor issue at least).
• We had our first of two Poke dinners this first night in Salerno. It was delicious. I still don't know why Poke is so popular in Salerno, but I was there for it.

Day 11: Salerno/Paestum

• Again, our more adventurous friend took a detour to the ruins at Paestum while my wife and I lazed about the beautiful city of Salerno.

Day 12: Capri

• We took an all-day boat tour along the Amalfi Coast to Capri through a company called Blu Mediterraneo. This was an awesome experience taking in some beautiful scenery. There were only 7 people total on the tour with a max capacity of 12, so it was intimate and laid back. It was a little too chilly yet for swimming, but we had to jump in the blue waters by the Faraglioni just to say we did. Our more adventurous co-traveler spent her three hours on Capri hoofing it from viewpoint to viewpoint while my wife and I took a leisurely stroll up to the city center, then chilled on the beach back down by the marina. We made friends with the other Americans on the tour who got picked up in Amalfi and shared some beers and champagne with them on the return trip.
• Dinner at Frazelli Panzarotto back in Salerno, which had delicous little gluten-free calzones and other fried foods.

Day 13: Vesuvius and Pompeii

• I can't remember the name of the company our friend booked this excursion through. It was a little hectic and crazy, but overall a good experience. We were picked up in a van at the Salerno train station and driven to a tourism company in Pompeii right by the ruins. We were then herded onto a different van and driven up the winding road to Vesuvius. Unfortunately, the mountain top was completely socked in by clouds so we didn't have the best view of the volcano crater itself, but it was pretty cool to look down on Naples and the sea. Vesuvius itself was a fabulous shit-show of a tourist trap with a million vans, taxis, and huge tour buses all dropping off and picking tourists up in a tiny little parking lot. Utter chaos of the type you just have to sit back and chuckle at rather than let it drive you nuts. The ruins at Pompeii were so much more massive and sprawling than I imagined. One could really spend all day here and probably still not see at all.
• We were driven back to Salerno via the same company and had dinner at Salerno Centro Pizza Gourmet, which was amazing and had a lot more than just pizza. Again, very glutenite friendly and delicious.
• Salerno Takeaways: We loved this city for several reasons. It was a lot cheaper and easier to get to than some of the more popular Amalfi Coast towns like Positano or Amalfi. It felt like more of a "lived-in" city and not a complete tourist trap. Its proximity to several cool sights such as Paestum, Capri, Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast made it a great base camp for excursions. It felt a lot like Venice with tons of restaurants, shops, and narrow streets. The sea-front park was beautiful, a great spot to have an evening night cap or gelato and do some people-watching as the sun sets. I really enjoyed walking from our Air-Bnb down to a little cafe that faced the sea every morning and having my espresso standing up with the locals.

Day 14: Salerno to Rome

• We took the train from Salerno to Rome Termini Station, then walked to our lodging at Hotel Bolivar. This was "4 star" hotel very centrally located. The room was tiny, and the service wasn't great, but the location was incredible.
• That night we walked to the Trevi Fountain, the Tiber, and the Pantheon.
• We ate at probably our favorite restaurant in Rome called Pantha Rei, right near the Pantheon at the back of dead-end alley. It was splendid.

Day 15: Rome

• The next morning we took the metro to the Vatican for a group tour of the Vatican Museums. It was Italian Liberation Day AND the Pope was speaking in Saint Peter's Square, so the crowds were absolutely insane. The Vatican Museums were truly incredible though. I think you could spend a week there and still not see everything. Not just cool catholic memorabilia, but all sorts of world history and modern exhibits too. Despite feeling like sardines for the 5 hours we were there, it was worth it.
• We planned to see Saint Peter's Square and Basilica after the museums once the Pope's crowd had cleared out, but we didn't have it in us after the crowded museum experience.
• Lunch at Mama Eat Lab was another amazing gluten-free experience.
• That evening we strolled over to the Trevi Fountain again, climbed the Spanish Steps, explored the gardens just north of there, then followed the Tiber to restaurant called Ciao Cecca.

Day 16: Rome

• We did a guided tour of the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Again, the crowds were bonkers, but worth it. Seeing these historical sights was a bucket-list item and absolutely inspiring. I would highly recommend paying for a guided/skip-the-line tour, especially if you're there on a holiday weekend as we were.
• Rome Takeways: Don't go on the holiday weekend that is Italian Liberation Day and Labor Day in one. It was insanely crowded everywhere. We were really glad to see what we got to see, and we probably don't have much reason to go back. Pay for the guided tours. I doubt we would've got into the Vatican or the Coliseum having not paid for them.

In Conclusion: Phew, that was a long synopsis. Hopefully there's one or two of you out there who gathered something useful from it. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and can't wait to return. Venice and Salerno were definitely our highlights, but the whole country was beautiful. Traveling and navigating public transit were super easy. Learning Italian is absolutely not necessary as every person spoke at least a little English, but I recommend it anyways for fun and to show a little respect. We didn't feel the need to pay for international cell phone service, just downloaded some offline google and avenza maps and snagged wifi when we could. Please feel free to ask any questions!

In character design, anatomy tends of be stylised for the sake of aesthetic in order for the character to have a more appealing silhouette. Where do u think the limit should be set?
I have never taken formal art class so idk much abt the rule they set in professional character concept design. However, I do know some of the basic. I have always prefer to follow the right anatomy with a limit in stylising but I have a friend who doesn’t. They seem to always want their art to look more appealing, but when I suggest that if they have ever think abt how off their anatomy is (for eg, the head is too big for the features on the face), they seem to not take it very well.

/!\ This script is part of a big project, an ASMR series named « Dream Love Otome » : more information HERE
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- This script is part of the script series (Dream Love Otome).
- This series is an MMMMM4A (or MMMMMA4A) audio, which can be a collaboration or adapted for a single voice to cover different characters.
- This series can be posted in one or multiple parts.
- If done within the context of the Dream Love Otome series, the roleplay, or at least one part, must include [INTRODUCTION].
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BUT
- I understand that a collaboration or such a large series requires a lot of work, and not everyone can manage it.
- Therefore, and because I don't want to deprive VAs of these scripts, I authorize making ASMR videos with these scripts outside the Dream Love Otome series.
- However, if that's the case, it should be used as a simple School Life roleplay and not include [INTRODUCTION].
- If it’s not from Dream Love Otome, it can be adapted in a F4A or A4A version
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~First of all, some information about the script :~
I'm open to monetization as long as I receive credit. Minor adjustments to the script for recording are okay, as long as they maintain the original meaning. Adding sound effects or music isn't required, but it can enhance the story's immersion. The key is ensuring the listener understands the plot. My scripts are adaptable to any speaker or listener (A4A, M4A, F4A). If there are any uncertainties, feel free to ask for clarification.
Since English isn't my first language, please notify me of any errors in the script or story structure.
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Context: (You've been transported into the Dream Love Otome video game and find yourself in a virtual campus.)
Upon your arrival at this new school, you bump into someone—Archer, the handsome and popular guy on campus. He is friendly but a bit arrogant, and he offers to show you around. However, the tour is interrupted by his fan club, forcing you to escape together. Fortunately, this doesn't completely spoil the time you spend together.
Audio length: 1300-1500 sw, 9 to 17 min
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(The listener bumps into someone) [Sound of collision between two people]

Archer : Ah-
Archer (irritated) : Hey, watch where you're going ! Can't you look ahead ?
Archer : And don't apologize...
(The speaker looks up at the listener)

Archer (softens) : You know what! It's not such a big deal after all...
Archer (teasingly) : It's my fault, I didn't look ahead. I'm really sorry. Sometimes I get so lost in my thoughts... No need to apologize so much, it's nothing !
(The listener starts to leave)

Archer (approaches, flirts) : Hey, not so fast ! Don't leave just yet !
Archer : I don't think we've met before ! Are you new on campus ? If I had met someone as beautiful as you, I think I would remember.
(...)

Archer : I see, interesting... Well, I'm delighted to see a new face ! Nice to meet you ! I'm Archer !
Archer : And you, what's your name ?
Archer (flirting) : It suits you well, a name as beautiful as you !
(...)

Archer : Hmmm... You know what ? I love your name, but I think I'll give you a nickname.
Archer : What do you think of... Cutie ? It's more personal like that...
Archer : Alright, from now on, I'll call you that. It's cute and it suits you perfectly.

Archer (leans slightly) : You seem a bit nervous. Don't worry, I don't bite. Well, not often.
Archer : Do you have any questions about the school or something you'd like to know ? I've been here for a while, I could probably help you.
Speaker : So, have you had a chance to explore the campus ?
(...)
Archer : You haven't had time ? Well, you're in good hands, I'll show you around.
(Listener tries to refuse)

Archer (closer) : Oh, don't be shy ! Come with me !
[They start walking]

Archer : Alright, then, Cutie, where are you from ? You seem like a very interesting person. Tell me a bit about yourself.
[He listens to the Listener for a moment]

Archer : I see, well, I wasn't wrong about you. You are fascinating.
Archer : Me ? Well, I'm on the basketball team, I spend a lot of time practicing. I also like spending time with my friends and meeting new people... like you.
(…)

Archer : So, have you made any friends here yet or not ?
Archer : Oh, I'm the first person you've met ? Hehe, I'm lucky then !

Archer : Well, if you need, I can help you integrate. I know quite a few people. I could introduce you to some nice folks.
Archer : I'm quite sociable, so I talk to a lot of people.
(…)

Archer : If you ever need anything, whether it's finding your way to student parties or getting advice on how to be as popular as me, don't hesitate to ask. I'm here to help you.
(…)

Archer : Anyway, enough about me.
Archer : As you can see, there's nothing very exciting in this building.
Archer : It's pretty dull here, the hallways, the classrooms. Let's see something much more interesting ! Let's go outside !
[They go out, birds chirping, people talking]
Archer : This is the outdoor courtyard of the campus, it's quite pretty, what do you think ?
Archer : I find the fountain particularly beautiful. And the flowers ! It smells so good here, it's beautiful.
(…)

Archer (gets closer to the listener) : Even though, of course, nothing compares to your beauty...
Archer : Wow, you're so cold ! But I won't be discouraged !
Archer : Let's continue, there are still a few places I want to show you.
[They cross the courtyard]

Archer : Look, the big red building here, that's the cafeteria. It's perfect if you're hungry at lunchtime !
Archer (suggestively) : Aren't you hungry, my dear ? Maybe you prefer a quieter place to... chat ?
(...)

Archer (more cheerfully) : Well, it turns out I know the perfect place !
(...)

Archer : Ah, here it is: the library !
Archer : Honestly, you won't see me here much... except maybe for napping sometimes... But I thought you might like it. You seem smart and I can perfectly imagine you devouring books here.
(…)

Archer : Me ? Well, I do read sometimes, but I'm more of a sports guy.
Archer (thinks) : By the way, would you like to see the gym ?
[He gets closer]

Archer (flirting) : So you can come watch me play from time to time... What do you think... Actually, we have an important game coming up soon. You should come watch us play.
Archer : Would you like that ? And maybe after the game, we could celebrate our victory together, what do you say ?
(...)

Archer (laughs) : Oh, am I making you nervous ? There's no need to get so worked up ! Come on ! Follow me !
[They arrive at the sports building]

Archer : There. I often train here. Maybe someday, I could give you some basketball lessons ?
Archer (flirting) : I could teach you a thing or two, what do you think ? I'm sure you have potential.
Archer : Hm, I wonder where I could show you next... The pool ? Or maybe the art room ? What do you think, Cutie ?
(…)

Archer : Are you listening to me ?
[Pause]

Archer (confused) : Hey, what's wrong ? Why are you suddenly silent ?
(Listener notices they are being followed by a group)

Archer : What's going on ? Do you feel like we're being watched ?
Archer (slight laugh) : Oh, well don't be surprised if people stare at you a bit. You're new, and besides, you're... well, you're charming. People notice those things.
(…)

Archer : That's not what you meant ? We're being followed ?
(Speaker notices their fan club)

Archer (lightly laughs) : Ah, I see. Looks like we've got some admirers...
[He leans in to whisper to the listener]

Archer : Don't worry, my dear. It's quite common for me.
Archer : Those people... I think they've started a fan club for me. It's quite flattering, don't you think ?
(…)

Archer : Well, you're not wrong, It can be a bit weird sometimes, but it's always nice to feel appreciated.
Archer (brags) : You see, when you're as handsome as me, it's normal for people to adore you.
(…)

Archer : If you're around me a lot, you'll get used to it, don't worry. Sometimes they ask me for autographs or selfies. It can get intense, but I always try to stay humble.
(Listener is perplexed)

Archer : Oh, what's with that look ? You don't seem thrilled... Maybe this kind of attention isn't your thing ? I understand, it can be intimidating.
Archer : Hm ? You look annoyed ? Are you perhaps... jealous... ?
(Listener pushes him away, fabric rustling)

Archer (amused) : Well, what enthusiasm ! You're really something, you know that ? I'm starting to enjoy your company more and more.
Archer : But don't worry, in my eyes, you're not just a fan. You're much more important than that... In fact, you're the most interesting person I've met in a long time.
(The group gets closer, people talking louder)

Archer : Anyway, my fans are numerous today...
Archer : Oh... Watch out, Cutie, they're getting pushy !
(…)

Archer : Ugh, they're really persistent ! Let's get out of here, Cutie ! Before it turns into a real riot.
[They walk away]

Archer : Come on, take my hand ! I know a quiet place where we can escape these groupies !
Archer : We're almost there !
[Door sound] [Light wind]

Archer : Ah, here we are. This place should be quieter. It's one of my secret hideouts on campus. Almost no one knows it's here, so we shouldn't be bothered.
Archer : We're on the rooftop of the main building ! My favorite place !
(…)

Archer : Huh ? What do you mean it's forbidden to come up here ?
Archer (rejecting the idea) : No no, Cutie, if that were the case, I wouldn't come here every day.
Archer : Come on, trust me, and sit beside me.
(They sit down)

Archer : Ahh, finally alone. So, feeling better ? Less people, more calm. We can finally breathe.
(…)

Archer : I'm sorry I put you through that.
Archer : Those fans can be persistent. Sometimes it can be a quality, but... It can also be a bit overwhelming. Do you see what I mean ?
Archer : They're really devoted, but they can be a bit aggressive. I hope they won't harass you.
(…)

Archer (observing in the distance) : The view here is beautiful... Although your beauty almost eclipses it.
Archer (slight laugh) : Oh, my little Cutie is embarrassed ? There's no need! I'm just saying what I think.
(…)

Archer : Anyway, I'm really glad I met you. I really enjoy talking to you, everything seems more natural. I can relax and speak freely.
Archer : Sometimes I just want to be away from everyone like this. Sometimes, I really feel the need to escape and find a moment of calm for myself.
(…)
Archer : Do I regret being popular? No, haha, not at all. It's actually quite fun.
Archer : It's nice to feel loved and admired. It's also exciting to think that I can influence people, even inspire them. And let's be honest, it doesn't hurt the ego to receive a little admiration from time to time, does it ?
[The school bell rings]

Archer : Oh, it looks like it's time to go back ! Come on, I'll walk you back.
Archer : I hope you enjoyed this time away from the crowd. We should do this again soon. That way, we could get to know each other better…
(…)

Archer : Haha, thank you, Cutie. I'm also glad I spent this day with you. I think I needed to meet someone like you.
(…)

Archer (teasingly) : I'm sure we'll get along very, very well…
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(End)

Summary: First rule for civilians living in a superhero city: don’t get involved in superpowered fights. But you forgot rule one, didn’t you? You got involved, you got hit, and now the supervillain whose fight you interrupted has some choice words for you...
Word count: approx 1200
Must give credit, Ok to monetize. If you use this script, leave a link to your fill in the comments!
Feel free to change around suggested SFX, omit, or to create your own soundscape. Always okay to gender swap, change pronouns, change names, etc. Small line adjustments for easier flow are fine, but please no major changes to the story unless you ask first!
_______________Script Begins___________________________
Wakey wakey, you insignificant pipsqueak.
...
SFX: a panicked RATTLE of chains
...
Oh, don’t think you’re getting out of those restraints. They were made for a considerably more powerful prisoner than you.
...
What do I want with you? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. You do not factor into my plans. You have no significance to me, or to the world at large! You are a tiny and invisible ant that I was blissfully unaware of before today!
...
(mocking) “So can I go?” No! You cannot! Because you have brought yourself to my attention! You know what this is, you little twerp?
SFX: a THUNK of a brick hitting a concrete floor
...
It’s the brick you threw at the back of my head!
...
It was definitely you.
...
You are not sorry, you liar. Of course you knew it would hurt, otherwise you wouldn’t have done it! I was this close. This close to finally capturing that mealy-mouth, meddling hero. You have no idea how much planning, how much hard work and late nights went into setting up the perfect But just as my trap was closing, the cruel brick of fate intervened!
...
(mocking) “It was just a brick.” It was a distraction at a key moment when I needed all my concentration on what I was doing! But you stepped in. And so, instead of taking the city’s hero hostage as I had planned, instead of the flawless operation where no one got hurt and the only casualty was some bougie gentrified commercial real estate, I had to grab what was available to hand. And guess who that was?
...
Oh yes. So. Here we are. And here you are. Until I get what I want.
...
That shuts that smart mouth, doesn’t it? You might think the defiant act is real cute, but I like you better like this. That look of fear in your eyes. That little tremble in your lip. You are a pretty little thing, aren’t you? Is that why you did it? I bet you get away with a lot, with that wide-eyed, ‘who, me?’ act. Is that your power? Did you think you could put me under your spell?
...
You don’t have any spells or superpowers? Right. I hope for your sake you’re lying, because now the only thing I’ve got to ransom is you. How much do you think the city will pay to get you back? How much to get you back in one piece?
...
Hey don’t look away from me. I’m asking you a question. What do you think you’re worth?
...
(angry laugh) Right. You’re just a hapless civilian, randomly struck with the spirit of civic responsibility and community policing. Wait - are you some kind of cop? If you’re a cop you have to tell me.
...
Huh. Sounds like something a captured cop would say. But I will admit you definitely do not give off law enforcement vibes. I’m getting more... second assistant manager at the mall pretzel stand.
...
Oh, that made you mad, didn’t it?
...
You own a coffee shop? Hmph. By which you mean you’re the second assistant barista at the local Dunkin, I’m sure.
...
Wait, I’ve got it. You risked your life for that smug mincing prig you people call a hero... so you must know him! Maybe you’re worth something to him. What are you, a roommate? A friend? A lover?
...
No relation? I hope that’s not true. Otherwise I’ll have to find other ways of motivating him to rescue you. I think I’ve got a camera around here somewhere... It’s too bad. You’ve got such a pretty face, barista.
...
Now it’s past tense, you owned a coffee shop. Now we’re getting to the truth.
...
You’ve no one to blame but yourself. Do you know, I had a flawless record until today. Eleven major operations! Flawless! And never one civilian casualty! You’ve no idea how hard that is, barista, keeping people scared enough to do as you say without actually doing the kind of bodily damage that gets the real vigilantes up in your business. I spent hours, building models and running simulations, testing for every possible combination of events. But now you’ve called my bluff, so I’m afraid you’re going to find out the hard way just what I’m really capable of-
...
(thrown off) What - what do you mean, ‘I’m doing it right now?’
...
Bluffing...? No! No, I’m not - what do you mean I’m bluffing? You’re in my power! At my mercy! You’re mine to do with as I please, mwahahaha!
...
I’m getting around to actually hurting you! You - I - Listen, just because I’m trying to explain the consequences first...
...
...
(heavy sigh) No. I can’t let you go. You attacked me. In public. There - there has to be a consequence for that. Or else I’m going to get shelled by baristas wielding bricks every time I show my mask out there. And then it’s nothing but work work work.
...
You’re right, though. I don’t want to hurt you, barista. There’s something admirable in your completely futile attack. Stupid, but admirable. It’s a shame you have no powers. I feel that you have the makings of a worthy adversary. Instead, you’ve left me little choice. Perhaps, if the city or that hero are prepared to be reasonable, this will be nothing but a terrible yet temporary inconvenience. I do hope so. For your sake.
...
“Do your worst, I have nothing left”? God, you are over-dramatic. You got a little sleepy gas to the face when you wandered into brick slinging range. You’ll be fine. Where the hell did you even get a brick anyway? Look at this. (scrape of picking the brick back up) Perfect little red brick. Was this in the rubble? I thought that strip mall was made of poured cement and plaster.
...
It was from the coffee shop I blew up?... Oh, yeah, there was a coffee shop on that block there somewhere. I guess it did have a red brick facade-
Oh.
Wait.
...
When you said you owned - past tense - a coffee shop, did you mean...
...
Don’t turn that face away. Look at me.
...
So, that was your coffee shop in the collateral damage. I’m sure you had... insurance?
...
Yeah, okay, you can stop yelling. I see how insurance won’t cover the intangibles. Like - hm. Like all of your planning and hard work and- really? It won’t cover your employees’ pay?
...
Okay, I believe you. Well. I think we can all agree that capitalism is the real villain here -
...
God, please don’t start crying. You know it was that hero that caused most of the damage, not me. I don’t even have laser eyes-
...
You were aiming that brick at the hero?
...
SFX: Rattle of chains, chains falling to the floor
Go.
...
You heard me, go on. Run. You’re free to go. This place won’t be here by the time you find a cop, just so you know. But, yeah. Get out of here. We’ll call it even, yeah?
...
No I am not going to recompense you for your business! I said go!
...
You are completely insane. So be it.
SFX: A hiss of a gas weapon going off.
SFX: A thump of the listener’s body being caught by the speaker.
...
Shh, shh, shh, barista. Breathe the gas in, it won’t hurt you. You’ll go to sleep, I’ll tell them where to find you. Let’s lay you down, spitfire.
SFX: rustle of the listener lowered to the ground.
...
That’s it. You’ll wake up safe and sound. I’m... sorry. About your coffee shop. I have... some things to think about. But you sleep now. Let the gas take you. Sleep.

*Reposting because of clarity issues and removal bc mods can't seem to realize a woman's body isn't inherently meant to be sexualized and objectified.
Noticing the influx of posts and comments debating fanservice in the series, I wanted to give my thoughts and see what you guys think regarding it, particularly as it pertains to the female characters.
Tbh I initially thought it was rather in your face but at this point I welcome and appreciate it mostly because of how Kubo does his characters. In spite of how sexy or scantily clad a lot of the women in the show are, I actually appreciate how in spite of showing off their assets, the characters are still unique and have vibrant personalities. They drive the narrative, have their own arcs and development and honestly I love them and imo their accomplishments, feats and contributions are just as praiseworthy as their beauty.
I think Kubo, strange as his choices can be sometimes, does an excellent job at showing what empowering means as it pertains to bodies and display. The characters both male and female have their fanservice moments for sure but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of who they are and what they're know for and what they're remembered for.
But yeah that's just my little rant. Lmk what y'all think
*I do NOT own this art. Just merged two images together. The sources are impossible to discern as these images have spread en masse. If anyone knows, pls credit.